Green Emperor could already see countless adorable spirit stones flying toward it with wings. The resolve in its eyes grew even stronger. It would not give up. It had to seize Yi Tianxing's dark past—his dirty secrets—to blackmail and torment him. Then, its life would finally ascend to the pinnacle: marrying a rich, beautiful bitch, surrounded by kneeling dog-girls licking its paws, becoming the true king of all dogs.
After giving a few instructions about matters in Xuanhuang Town, Yi Tianxing got up and dismissed everyone.
He walked toward the meditation chamber.
Green Emperor saw this and immediately followed closely behind.
Upon entering the chamber, Yi Tianxing really did enter closed-door cultivation. As he silently refined the true qi in his body and circulated his cultivation technique, waves of heaven and earth spiritual energy surged toward him like tides. Having ascended to the fifth level of the Divine Sea Realm, his pull on the spiritual energy was stronger than ever. The speed was over ten times faster than before, and with the ninefold speed amplification from destiny, his cultivation was lightning-fast. One could even see a vortex formed purely of heaven and earth energy manifesting around his body as if it were real.
Massive amounts of spiritual energy poured into his body, flowing through his meridians and swiftly gathering in the Divine Sea.
This time, he was cultivating normally.
The Ancestral Dragon he visualized naturally absorbed the spiritual energy in the Divine Sea, refining it into strands of True Dragon Qi, which rapidly fused into the sea. Compared to before, the rate of True Qi generation was many times faster. With every breath, several—dozens even—strands of True Qi condensed and poured into the Divine Sea.
Previously depleted due to refining the Divine Spring, the Divine Sea was once again filling up.
As the spiritual energy flowed in, it continuously washed and refined his flesh and blood. His body grew stronger, and his blood energy became increasingly vibrant. The cultivation process was, in itself, a form of body tempering.
"He's really in closed-door cultivation."
Green Emperor peeked through the window, surprise flashing in its eyes. It hadn't expected Yi Tianxing to actually be cultivating. But it wasn't giving up—it would keep watch here.
…
Time flew by, and a whole night passed.
In the morning, Yi Tianxing resumed his daily training in the courtyard, repeatedly practicing the Jade-Splitting Spear Technique. Though the spear he used was a rare treasure, it was still being refined, and he hadn't yet decided whether to make it his life-bound divine weapon. More importantly, he still hadn't chosen which weapon to primarily focus on in the future.
The spear technique flowed through his hands move by move.
After the spear, he began practicing his saber techniques.
Whether it was saber or spear, Yi Tianxing found both came naturally. His comprehension of the two forms of martial arts was swift and deep. Every training session brought him new insight. His understanding of the saber technique grew more profound.
After practice, he helped out around town and even trained with the soldiers in the barracks. Whatever training they did, he joined and completed just as well.
He also practiced archery alongside the military.
Yi Tianxing loved archery. A true archer could slay an enemy from kilometers away—clean and efficient. For cultivators, it was possible to kill from even greater distances. With his Innate Yin-Yang Eyes, his vision was exceptionally sharp—perfect for archery. He never neglected this skill.
That day, many more refugees entered Xuanhuang Town and registered as official residents.
Unknowingly, another fulfilling day passed.
At night, Yi Tianxing once again sat in the meditation chamber.
"It's time to break through to the sixth level of the Divine Sea Realm."
"The Divine Spring was refined with the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Sutra, so the techniques are of the same lineage. The breakthrough shouldn't be hard. The key is in comprehending the technique, especially the visualization diagram. With my current understanding of the Four Seas Ancestral Dragon Diagram, it shouldn't be an issue."
He made up his mind to complete the first tier of the Divine Spring stage tonight.
With that resolve, he began visualizing in his mind.
Four Seas Ancestral Dragon Diagram!
With a dragon's roar, a massive, vague Ancestral Dragon appeared hovering above his Divine Sea, exuding an invisible pressure. It was about to act.
Whoosh!!
But just then, a token in the spiritual pearl space suddenly flew out. It glowed with a strange divine light and transformed into a beam. From that divine beam, a vortex-like passage emerged without warning in the meditation room. Deep and endless, one glance into it could stir fear in the heart.
"The World's Number One Martial Tournament… it's starting already?"
The token's reaction completely shattered Yi Tianxing's intention to break through. How could he focus now?
Besides, the passage created by the access token was already open. If he didn't enter now, who knew if the portal would disappear?
"Breaking through can wait, but the Martial Tournament—I can't miss that. Even though I didn't expect it to be now, the town's affairs are all in order. Even if I leave, nothing major should happen in the short term. The town's fate is tied to me—if anything goes wrong, I'll sense it. I'll attend the tournament first."
Ending his cultivation, he took a deep breath and stepped into the vortex without hesitation.
Woof!!
Suddenly, the window burst open and a flash of green light darted inside. Green Emperor, exploding with astonishing speed, lunged toward the vortex to enter first.
"Aha! I knew it! There was a conspiracy! No way you were actually cultivating. I finally caught you red-handed!"
Green Emperor was ecstatic—its eyes glowing green with excitement. It had waited all night yesterday with no results but didn't give up. Today, it continued watching in secret. Just when it thought it had been fooled again, the unexpected portal appeared, sending it into such joy it nearly peed.
Without hesitation, it lunged forward, trying to block Yi Tianxing's path.
Whoosh!!
But Yi Tianxing had already set one foot into the portal. The passage seemed to recognize his aura—when Green Emperor approached, it was stopped by an invisible force. The passage would accept only Yi Tianxing.
"Argh!!"
Green Emperor let out a miserable yelp. It had used its full strength in that leap, only to slam into a wall like granite. Stars danced before its eyes.
"I'm the unyielding Green Emperor!"
The dog shrieked and shook its head, then lunged forward and bit down hard.
"You rabid mutt—have you lost your mind? Let go!"
Yi Tianxing winced in pain. One of his fingers had been bitten. Despite his powerful, tempered body, Green Emperor's teeth had actually broken the skin. A drop of blood welled up.
Yet the dog was stubborn, biting with no intention of letting go.
"You're asking for this. Don't think your cursed luck makes you untouchable. It might affect others, but let's see if it can stop you from suffering under your own master."
Yi Tianxing's face turned cold. This mutt was out of control. It really thought it was untouchable under the cover of misfortune. If he didn't tame it now, he'd become a laughingstock as town lord.
A flash of light appeared in his hand.
A parchment scroll emerged, filled with mysterious runes and ancient script that shimmered and twisted.
A Pet Contract.
First: Once bonded, the spirit pet must show absolute loyalty to its master. No betrayal is allowed.
Second: The spirit pet may not harm its master. Any attack is automatically nullified.
Third: The pet must obey all commands from the master.
Fourth: If the master dies, the pet dies. If the pet dies, the master suffers no loss.
Fifth: Irrevocable for all eternity.
The text flickered rapidly. The contract was already complete.
Without hesitation, Yi Tianxing bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the contract. Then he grabbed one of Green Emperor's paws, sliced a wound with his spear, and forcibly pressed the paw onto the scroll.
Flash!!
The moment both blood marks touched the scroll, the contract lit up, splitting into two beams of divine light—one entered Yi Tianxing, the other entered Green Emperor.
All of it happened in just two breaths of time. Before Green Emperor could react, the contract was already enforced. Under Yi Tianxing's overwhelming strength, it had no chance to resist.
It didn't even see what was written on the scroll.
But now that the contract was complete, it instantly understood the terms.
Its eyes went wide with horror and rage.
It let out a long, anguished wail.
"Noooo! This is unfair! I never wanted this contract! I'm the emperor of all dogs! How can I become a pet?"
"This contract… it's way too unfair!!"