“Brother, are you saying this little puppy is actually a terrifying unicorn? But I cannot find any horn on its head. Oh, it’s so tiny!” Qingyu smiled, as her eyebrows arched in the shape of a crescent moon. Her pearl-like eyes were even blinking in confusion.

“Oh, I would never lie to you! It has only just entered into our world. You know, it’s currently only an infant. I believe, as it grows up, that the horn will appear, which I have seen during my awakening. As far as I know, this little beast is at least eighth-grade. If I’m lucky enough, it could even be a ninth-grade or holy-grade battle beast.” Qinghan stroke the cub in his arms, full of excitement.

By recalling what had happened in that valley, Qinghan reassured himself that this unicorn was really a high-ranked beast, as it had even managed to scare the green dragon away! He hopefully thought that it could even be a holy-grade battle beast. As for the divine-grade battle beast, he didn’t dare to wish for that. After all, throughout the Flame Dragon Continent, he had never heard of anyone who had acquired a divine battle beast.

“Eighth-grade? Or even ninth-grade? Oh, My God. That is crazy… Brother, why don’t you tell the truth to the Elder Clan? Once they realize the identity of this unicorn, they’ll most likely recommend you to be one of the key descendants.” The truth seemed to only increase Qingyu’s confusion.

“Why should I tell them? If I told them the truth, this little unicorn would never get to grow up... Someone will be envious and kill it!” Qinghan shook his head helplessly.

Back when the awakening was about to end, at the moment when his soul was about to fly back into his body, he was hit by a dazzling white ray from the sky. Originally, he thought that he had failed again and that he would come out empty handed yet again. However, he quickly came to the realization that the dazzling white ray was a sign of success. The beast he had summoned had used soul telepathy with him, which let them instantly grasp each other’s memories. At that time, Qinghan’s heart was saturated with joy.

From the soul telepathy he learned, that this little unicorn was born in that valley, and was imprisoned in this confined space because of some unknown power. The first time he had entered this valley, there wasn’t any living beast around. He lived there all alone.

Other beasts then began coming into this valley through the northern lane, which was the only entrance. Strangely, the magic power of this valley couldn’t deter these other animals from coming and going.

Qinghan guessed from this information, that the unicorn was probably deserted by its parents. While the lake in the middle of the valley could possibly have some magical power that attracted other beast to come and drink its water. In other words, it was a mysterious valley, where some beasts might be barred from coming into the innermost part.

“The magical power? The imprisoned beast?” Qinghan murmured, as he felt it was all rather unbelievable. Actually, the Awakening Ceremony itself was mysterious and miraculous. It was justifiable to say that this ceremony originated from the power of the ancient immortals.

But, right now, Qinghan seemed to insist on getting to the bottom of this matter. The events and the possible reasons for the happening of these events kept lingering in his mind.

“Do immortals really exist in this world?”

“If we cannot attribute the amazing ceremony to the power of immortals, then how can we explain all these ancient-related mythical things? The altar, the color-changing halo and the unearthly summoning space… These are all beyond my comprehension. Plus, I’ve always heard that supernatural events happen every now and then in Immortal City…”

“Was it really the Secret Code that propelled me to success?”

“I knew, prior to my unconsciousness, that all my yin veins were broken. How did they recover? Does the Secret Code have a self-healing effect? But, I have never read about such a function in the book.”

He roughly remembered when he was on the verge of waking up, that a flow of comfortable warmth went through his body. However, he was not sure what kind of power led to his recovery as well as his final success.

“Hmm, it may be my good personality that saved me. Haha.” Qinghan couldn’t figure out the reason, so he just jokingly credited himself.

He never knew, that it was the bronze ring, or what he called a fake ring, that saved him at that urgent moment.

……

With regards to the lion-nosed dog, it was ironically funny. At the time when this unicorn was summoned to this new world, it was rather weak and fragile, which had caused the little horn to be retracted into its head. Without the horn, the similarity between this little unicorn and the lion-nosed dog was so striking, that the elders mistakenly believed that it was only a fourth-grade battle beast.

Originally, Qinghan had planned to tell the elders what he had seen in the summoning space and the truth about this unicorn. However, the moment Qinghan exited the altar, he had received a murderous look from Ye Jian, who had seemed to be determined to kill the cub in Qinghan’s arms. From then on, Qinghan had rearranged his plans, as he wished to try and conceal the true identity of this beast.

Thus, a rare unicorn, that might even be a holy-grade battle beast, was misunderstood as a fourth-grade lion-nosed dog.

“Oh! I see… But, brother, why would our Eldest Uncle, I mean, Ye Jian attempt to kill your little beast? As long as it’s a high-ranked battle beast, the family will like it. At least, it is a good thing for the family. I cannot find a proper reason for him to kill a cub; especially if it is a potentially high-ranked one.” Qingyu had always been a good listener, who would speak up whenever she had a question.

“A good thing? Hehe, for most of the elders, like Elder Tianqing, they really expected me to summon a high-ranked battle beast, that would strengthen the influence of our Ye Family. But this wasn’t true for Ye Jian, who had long been overshadowed by our father’s brilliant ability in cultivation. You know, he hated our entire family over such a small matter. Now, his status has steeply risen since the death of our father. And he’ll definitely try to stabilize his power by suppressing anyone who might become superior to him, especially us. Look, if he knew that I had summoned a high-ranked battle beast, which is probably even higher ranked than his own, what would he do to me and my beast? He may secretly kill my little unicorn, before it even has the chance to mature… I’ll never let anyone know the truth, until my beast becomes mature and powerful. Humph, Ye Jian, Ye Qingkuang, Ye Ron, and the others who’ve bullied me, I’ll fight back once my beast has grown up. It’s only a matter of time...”

“Ah!” Qingyu exclaimed out of shock, but she immediately muffled her mouth with her little hands.

“How could this be possible? Why would our Eldest Uncle be so hostile towards us? We’re relatives…” The innocent Qingyu had a hard time trying to digest this negative information. She tried to put everything into place, yet she was still doubtful.

“Alright, sister, It’s time to go to bed. Oh, Remember… Never ever tell anyone about what I have told you today. Well, I mean, the unicorn part.” Qinghan said discreetly.

“Yes, brother. I’ll be as mute as a fish.” Qingyu replied softly, before she went to her bedroom.

…...

Outside the window, the cold wind was blowing loudly.

Lying in his bed, Qinghan couldn’t fall asleep, as his past experiences kept emerging in his mind - His strict and majestic father, and his considerate mother, the night when he had kneeled down in front of the courtyard of the Elder Clan, the attacks he had suffered by Xu Wuhen, the arrogant and despicable looks from Ye Qingkuang, and the disgusting scar on Ye Ron’s face…

“Dear dad and mom, did you look down from the heavens today and see what has happened to me? Your son has summoned a battle beast, which could possibly be a holy-grade one. I have finally obtained some hope in my life, all because of this little cub. Mom, I promise that I’ll move your grave to the ancestral tomb, so that you and father will be able to rest together. In the near future, I’ll also take both of your memorial tablets to the Sacred Temple, where thousands of people will worship you…” Qinghan’s mouth curled up, smiling at the nearby cub, which was sleeping soundly.

“You sleepy little beast. Ever since you’ve been summoned into this world, all you’ve done is sleep. When will you finally wake up...” Qinghan touched its smooth fur, as well as its lion-like nose, appreciating the adorable expression of this little, black beast.

Outside, the moonlight poured down from the sky, while the stars twinkled like the eyes of naughty children.