Zhong Ling's words made the driver choke, sending him into a violent coughing fit.
'U-Uncle!?'
'I'm only twenty-seven or twenty-eight!'
'Is it because I dressed too maturely today? Or have I aged from being cuckolded all these years!?'
'Even if my hairline is receding worse than a bald man's, it shouldn't be enough to get me labeled as middle-aged!'
'Do I really give off that much of an old-man vibe?'
If not for the driver's reaction, Zhong Yi would have almost forgotten a setting he'd personally established when he designed the game's data.
Lifebound Guardian Beasts didn't just suddenly appear during the Soul Awakening Ceremony; they had been growing within the Soul Base all along.
As a Lifebound Guardian Beast grew, it would indeed influence its Guardian Beast Master's dreams through Synesthesia.
However, a Guardian Beast Master's dreams weren't influenced solely by their Lifebound Guardian Beast; their personal Talent also played a part.
Just as Zhong Ling was about to tell Zhong Yi about her dream, he changed the subject.
Zhong Ling then suddenly remembered that before leaving the Guardian Beast Shop, Zhong Chenghuai had warned her repeatedly that if she truly managed to awaken a Lifebound Guardian Beast and a Beastmaster Talent, she was never to reveal anything about them to outsiders.
Even when teaming up in a Secret Realm, teammates would only ask about the status of one's Lifebound and Contracted Guardian Beasts, never about one's Beastmaster Talent.
Because every Guardian Beast Master's unique Beastmaster Talent was considered their greatest trump card as they grew stronger.
And a trump card, naturally, must never be revealed!
Zhong Yi and the driver had only exchanged a few more words before they arrived at the entrance to the Beastmaster Association.
At any given time, there were always people heading to the Beastmaster Association to undergo the Soul Awakening Ceremony.
Many thirteen and fourteen-year-old kids, their eyes filled with either anticipation or apprehension, were being led through the gates of the Beastmaster Association by their parents.
And the expressions on the parents' faces were far more turbulent than their children's.
The parental desire for their sons to become dragons and their daughters to become phoenixes—for their children to achieve greatness—was the same in Zhong Yi's past life as it was in this world.
After they got out of the vehicle and the bald driver had driven the Guardian Beast Vehicle into the distance, Zhong Ling tugged on Zhong Yi's sleeve and spoke in a low voice.
"Young Master, for the past few years, I've kept dreaming about a butterfly flying around me. It likes to land on me, but it always flies away the moment I try to catch it."
"But Young Master, that's not my only recurring dream. Sometimes, I also dream that I'm trapped inside a large cocoon."
"A few times, I've even woken up in the middle of the night, gasping for air!"
"I've always had these two dreams, one alternating with the other. In the last six months, they've even started to merge sometimes."
Zhong Ling had met the criteria for the Soul Awakening Ceremony six months ago. It was because of his predecessor that she hadn't been able to attend back then.
As the Lifebound Guardian Beast continued to grow within her Soul Base, its influence on Zhong Ling's dreams would indeed grow stronger and stronger.
If she was dreaming of both a butterfly and a giant cocoon, as she said, then it was highly likely that Zhong Ling could awaken both a Lifebound Guardian Beast and a Beastmaster Talent.
It just wasn't certain whether the butterfly or the cocoon was related to her Lifebound Guardian Beast.
The Beastmaster Association was incredibly grand. Fourteen statues of Giant Beasts, all carved from Golden Crystal Rock, stood on either side of the entrance.
These twenty-eight Giant Beast statues each represented one of the Heroic Cities of the Xin Xia Federation!
The Giant Beast statue representing Starlight City, however, was mounted atop this very Beastmaster Association building in the city's Upper City District.
Every Beastmaster Association in the Heroic Cities of the Xin Xia Federation was built according to the same specifications.
In the sunlight, the Giant Beast statues carved from Golden Crystal Rock radiated a brilliant, golden luster.
Yet, it wasn't a heavy, metallic sheen; it possessed the translucence and smooth glow of crystal.
The main entrance was wide enough for thirty people to walk through side by side.
It was Zhong Ling's first time in a place like this, and she was clearly a little nervous.
It was actually Zhong Yi's first time here as well, but the place felt completely familiar to him. He had already seen it countless times through a screen.
As soon as they entered the Beastmaster Association and walked toward the Awakening District, an attendant came forward to greet Zhong Yi and Zhong Ling.
"Hello. Are you a brother bringing your sister to awaken her Soul Base?"
"Before the Soul Awakening Ceremony, I need to verify your identities."
Hearing the attendant refer to her as his sister, Zhong Ling rushed to explain that she was merely Zhong Yi's servant.
But before she could, Zhong Yi spoke up.
"That's right. But it's not just for her. I'm also here to participate in the Soul Awakening Ceremony."
"You only need to register my information. My identity should have two slots for the Soul Awakening, in addition to my own."
With that, Zhong Yi handed his Identity Card to the attendant.
Zhong Ling, still clutching Zhong Yi's sleeve, gently lowered her head. For some reason, her eyes began to sting, and she felt a prickling in her nose.
Zhong Ling had always seen herself as a servant, but Zhong Yi clearly thought of her as a sister.
'It feels so good to have a big brother's love!'
The attendants at the Beastmaster Association were all specially trained, and they were also Guardian Beast Masters of considerable strength themselves.
Even though this attendant had seen his fair share of strange things, he couldn't help but gape.
'What the hell? A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy is saying he's here for the Soul Awakening Ceremony!?'
If he hadn't verified the Identity Card and confirmed that Zhong Yi truly had no record of ever participating in a Soul Awakening Ceremony, the attendant would have thought the boy was playing a prank on him.
"You have a shop at 827 South Cross Street, and you do indeed have two slots for the Soul Awakening."
"Follow me, you two. I'll take you to an Awakening Room."
As he led the way, the attendant explained to Zhong Yi and Zhong Ling,
"We offer some very reasonably priced Soul Awakening packages that you might be interested in."
"The potions in these packages are all personally concocted by ranked Creators. Drinking them provides a significant boost during the Soul Awakening Ceremony."
Zhong Yi took the elegantly printed brochure from the attendant and saw that the Soul Awakening packages were divided into five tiers.
The cheapest tier cost 188,888 Federation Coins.
The most expensive was 4,888,888 Federation Coins. As the tiers went up, so did the number of potions included in the package.
However, regardless of the tier, the effects of these potions were largely the same; they were all simply meant to aid concentration and maintain focus.
The Soul Awakening Ceremony determined a child's future, so plenty of parents would grit their teeth and spend the money on a package.
'The outcome of the Soul Awakening Ceremony is actually determined at birth,' Zhong Yi thought. 'The ceremony's true purpose is simply to activate the Soul Base and reveal that result.'
This was an idiot tax Zhong Yi had no intention of paying.
Seeing that Zhong Yi only glanced at the brochure before putting it away, showing no intention of buying anything, the attendant said no more.
"Awakening Rooms 1 through 3 are full. You two will go into Awakening Room 4."
"Once Awakening Room 4 is full, someone will come to perform your Soul Awakening."