Lu Jun felt this trip was well worth it.
Little did he know, Han Ji actually felt he profited even more. He had clearly realized the potential of the Lu siblings—Lu Jun had killed Councilman Luo Mian, and Lu Mei's monarch-level Holy Spirit partner…
Sharing a portion of mutual interest with the Ancient Capital and tying the two of them to the same chariot—why not? After all, Zhu Meng had also strongly recommended them.
Thinking of this, Han Ji's smile became even brighter, and he casually said, "Our Ancient Capital Museum still has quite a few good treasures stored away. I can make the call to gift you one as a thank you."
Artifacts from the magical world were different from those of the technological plane.
The former, most of which were magical tools and weapons passed down from ancient times, weren't so fragile. They contained immense power and couldn't be simply regarded as antiques—they were the foundation of a city.
In this regard, among all the major cities in the Nine Provinces, the Ancient Capital was undoubtedly one of the deepest in heritage.
Han Ji asked, "You're a Water, Curse, and Summoning tri-element, right? Our collection of Water-element relics is pretty limited—most are in the Bashu region. We have the most in Curse. What would you like?"
Hearing this, Lu Jun scratched his head. He had seen most of the treasures in the Ancient Capital Museum already. Most were tattered and worn—like the Glazed Feather Garment—and weren't of much help.
As for Curse, he had no need for it at all. The boost from the Ancient King's Armor Robe outclassed everything, and his Water double-talent plus the Water-Avoiding Pearl were already powerful enough.
He said casually, "Summoning then, just pick a good one for me."
"I see." Han Ji pondered, then reluctantly said to his subordinate, "Go bring over that ancient bamboo slip."
Moments later, a Guardian Mage walked in carrying a jade tray. On it lay an ancient bamboo slip that appeared to be from the pre-Qin era.
Han Ji spoke with deep reluctance, "This is an ancient pact, the [Gate Pact]. Once your Summoning magic reaches the Advanced Level [Gate of the Beast Tide], tear open this bamboo slip. A surge of immense power will permanently transform your Advanced spell."
"Besides summoning the beast tide, you will gain an additional innate contract slot. The summoned creature will be able to freely travel between both realms and will guard the Gate of the Beast Tide."
Lu Jun was shocked. This item could be considered a supreme treasure of the Summoning Element.
First off, it gave an extra innate contract. Normally, most Summoners only had one innate contract beast at the Intermediate level, and one Dimensional contract
Only a few elite mages might unlock a second innate contract at the Advanced level.
If he used this [Gate Pact], Lu Jun would very likely possess a third innate contract.
Building the Summoning Element into a four-beast lineup—it was insane. A single same-level summoned beast could already overwhelm several mages. Four together would essentially mean invincibility.
Of course, the downside was the enormous resource cost. Summoners typically only supported one innate contract beast, while the dimensional contract beasts were just cannon fodder and loosely maintained.
Even then, they already dragged down the growth of their other magic systems.
Second, this summoned creature could freely traverse the Magic World and the Summoning Plane. Don't underestimate this ability.
Although dimensional summoned beasts also had this function, they couldn't remain in the real world for long and needed mana to sustain themselves.
The significance of the Gate Pact was that the creature could replace its master in conquering one beast group after another in the Summoning Plane. This allowed the Advanced spell Gate of the Beast Tide to unleash its full potential.
It was similar to Mo Fan's Old Wolf—his high-level beast horde was composed entirely of wolf beasts under his command, enabling unified coordination and more precise operations.
Dimensional Summoning had similar capabilities, but again, not everyone had Mo Fan's wealth of resources and deep emotional bond with his Old Wolf.
Most people's dimensional beasts were just cannon fodder.
Lu Jun felt excited—he'd struck gold. In the future, to sustain four beast, he'd have to start a company to earn money.
"Thank you very much, Chairman Han."
He accepted the Gate Contract bamboo scroll with a beaming smile.
Han Ji's face twitched slightly as he pointed out, "This treasure does have some drawbacks. For example, the third Innate Contract's summoned beast has species limitations—it must align with concepts like Guardian or Gatekeeper-type demons."
"Creatures of this kind mostly existed in ancient times. The most typical one would be the Hell Three-Headed Dog, which exists in every nation."
"Also, once you use the Gate Contract, you won't be able to cultivate any other high-tier Summoning System methods."
Lu Jun nodded in acknowledgment, not paying it much mind. Whether to use it or not was a matter for the future—he hadn't even found a suitable first innate Contract yet, so there was no need to think too far ahead.
After all, there were many Summoning System cultivation methods. What if he encountered a better one down the line?
Just like Mo Fan, who later received the Magical Media Ring from a European teacher named Blanche—it was another kind of Summoning System method, which burned the Soul Essence to increase the number of beasts summoned.
It was outrageous—just one high-tier spell could summon seven to eight Commander-level beasts.
People who witnessed it would start to question whether the framework of magic had collapsed—commonly referred to as a combat power collapse.
But thinking about it carefully, high-tier magic was already beginning to transcend the basic magic framework. With all kinds of opportunities stacking up, even within the same Magic System, everyone developed their own unique characteristics.
Lu Jun himself was still inclined to mold the Summoning System into an elite single-soldier combat style—especially considering that he had already confirmed awakening the Undead Element at the Super Tier.
After all, when it came to swarm tactics, who could outdo a Deadly Undead Scourge?
Yeah, his path was a bit different from Mo Fan's.
With bountiful gains, Lu Jun returned to the hotel. Mo Fan had gone into seclusion on Mount Hua to recover his cultivation, and Lu Jun also planned to return to Magic City to enter closed-door training for a while.
Especially after breaking through to high-tier in the Metal Element, he needed time to master Star Orbits and truly elevate his killing power to its peak.
There were only a few months left before the National Institute Battle.
Before that, Lu Jun needed to first make arrangements for the half-Calamity Light Element survivor he had picked up—Lu Weixi.
Inside the hotel, he quickly found the white-haired youth, wanting the boy's Light Element to purify his body.
Because Lu Jun had discovered that after the ancient King's Armor attacked his spirit, it had also started corroding his physical body.
He could feel his body growing heavier while walking on the road. Lifting his pale arm, faint age-spot-like markings emerged—features of a living corpse, making him very uneasy.
"A Death-element treasure… The Throne of the Underworld isn't something ordinary people can bear."
Lu Jun feared death and urgently sought treatment.
As soon as he opened the door, he shouted, "Xiao Lu, I need your help with cultivation!"
At those words, Lu Weixi, who had been quietly resting in the bedroom, instantly panicked.
Lu Weixi had heard from the old sages of Parthenon Temple that some Holy City priests, or even choir leaders from the Divine Temple, were known to like young boys…
Thankfully, after Lu Jun offered a proper explanation, Lu Weixi sighed in relief.
The white-haired boy began manipulating Star Orbits, his expression becoming sacred, his entire body resembling a small sun. Soft golden radiance poured from him, bathing the living room in the light of dawn.
Sanctify · Radiance · Purify!
A beam of light descended, and Lu Jun's entire face and body glowed golden, as if he were basking in the midday sun. The morning brilliance was dazzling to the point of dizziness.
Sss sss sss~
Wisps of black smoke rose from Lu Jun's body, dissipating in the radiance, and his physique once again became pure and clean.
"It's nothing serious, just some residual Death Element energy,"
Lu Weixi said after a brief check.
"Mm, thank you."
Lu Jun felt a warm sensation enveloping his entire body, and the burden lightened significantly.
"I should be the one thanking Brother Lu for bringing me out of that Death Zone."
Lu Weixi seemed slightly uneasy. For some reason, he felt a deep fear toward Lu Jun—a kind of natural aversion, as if facing a natural enemy.
The Undead Element and Light Element were inherently incompatible.
"Your body is troublesome, too."
After dealing with some signs of corruption, Lu Jun scanned the youth up and down and murmured thoughtfully.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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