"You!" Qin Yang roared, his face flushing with anger. "I should have killed you the moment I saw you!"
"Too bad you didn't!" The Nine-Tailed Ice Phoenix chuckled, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction. She preened like a young maiden reveling in victory.
No wonder the ancients warned that women and villains are equally difficult to deal with!
The ancients weren't lying!
"Enough!" Panda interjected from the side. "I still have unfinished business with these two..."
Qin Yang stared at the panda, his face a study in exasperation. "With your shapeshifting ability, how small can you get? If the secret realm's gate is too narrow, you might..."
Before he could finish, the mountain-like panda suddenly shrank until it resembled a small terrier!
The transformation was utterly adorable, making it look like a genuine panda cub...
But moments later, the panda rapidly expanded back to its original size, its face contorted in displeasure. "Being large is more imposing," it grumbled. "I despise shrinking to such a scale."
"Good enough," Qin Yang nodded.
He had originally intended to reserve one Demon Realm Ring for the panda.
Looking at the three demonic beasts, Qin Yang declared, "Very well, I'll accept you all."
He cleared his throat and began reciting solemnly: "I, Qin Yang, hereby form a pact with you three. Henceforth we shall share glory and disgrace, enduring hardships together..."
Qin Yang spouted out a long string of oath-taking phrases straight from a TV drama, emptying his mental vocabulary reserves once again.
The Nine-feathered Ice Phoenix, Three-headed Flame Hound, and Thornstone Turtle exchanged bewildered glances, the atmosphere growing strangely... perplexing.
"What's he muttering about?" the Fire Dog whispered.
"I can't understand it," the old turtle shook its head.
"This seems like... an equal pact?" The Nine-feathered Ice Phoenix cast a peculiar glance at Qin Yang.
The other two mythical beasts also wore complex expressions upon hearing this.
An equal pact? The concept sounded strangely obscure and distant...
Humans and mythical beasts had always been at odds, with all pacts being master-servant agreements where humans enslaved the beasts.
If not for Qin Yang's formidable strength, the Nine-feathered Ice Phoenix would never have accepted him as its master.
Now that this was an equal pact, there was no question of lowering one's status.
"What are you waiting for? Sign already!" Qin Yang snapped, growing impatient. Why were these creatures dawdling?
"Do you understand what this pact means?" the Nine-feathered Ice Phoenix spoke up.
"What do you mean 'understand'? Are you saying all that long-winded speech was for nothing?" Qin Yang rolled his eyes.
The three mythical beasts looked at the panda, noticing it was off to the side, happily grinning.
The three mythical beasts secretly nodded. No wonder even the Tian Swallowing Beast would sign a pact with this boy. It wasn't just about his strength...
In truth, even without an equal contract, the Tian Swallowing Beast—having been saved twice by the Qin Family—would naturally have been willing to submit to Qin Yang out of gratitude.
However, when the panda discovered that the contract he'd signed with Qin Yang was actually an equal one, he couldn't help but feel elated.
The three remaining mythical beasts wasted no more time and swiftly formed their own contracts.
A mysterious force flickered through the world as a connection was forged between Qin Yang and the three beasts. Now they could even communicate through shared thoughts.
"It's truly an equal contract!" the Fire Dog exclaimed, delighted. "We can break it unilaterally at any time!"
Qin Yang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? There are different types of contracts with mythical beasts?"
The four beasts were instantly dumbfounded, including the Treasure Rat perched on Qin Yang's shoulder.
So it wasn't due to noble character after all, just sheer ignorance...
The Nine-feathered Ice Phoenix explained, "There aren't many types. Only two: master-servant contracts and equal contracts."
The Fire Dog added, "In a master-servant contract, the master can annihilate the beast's soul with a single thought, though they'd suffer backlash. An equal contract... means we're all equal. If I ever want to leave, I could simply..."
"I'm not interested," Qin Yang interrupted bluntly. "Time waits for no one. Let's go!"
The three demonic beasts felt deeply humiliated. What did he mean by "not interested"? For any other, forming a pact with them would be an opportunity that could make their ancestors' graves smoke with envy!
Qin Yang took a step forward, activating the Dragon Soaring Steps. He transformed into a divine dragon.
The three demonic beasts had no time to argue. They turned into streams of light and occupied the Demon Realm Ring on Qin Yang's hand.
Qin Yang was taken aback. The Demon Realm Ring was actually quite convenient.
"Wait for me!" The panda saw Qin Yang about to fly away. It suddenly shrank to the size of a kitten and perched on Qin Yang's head.
"You don't like shrinking? You dare ride on my head? Do you want me to..." Qin Yang's threat went unfinished as the panda obediently settled on his shoulder.
The Treasure Rat had already claimed the other shoulder.
"You can shrink even smaller..." Qin Yang muttered in exasperation.
The panda scoffed. "What's so surprising? I was just demonstrating earlier. Even if the secret realm's gate were the size of a dog's hole, I'd still squeeze through!"
Qin Yang had no retort.
With a dragon's roar, Qin Yang vanished from the spot.
The area was left in utter chaos, bearing witness to a cataclysmic battle that had shaken the heavens. Yet no one could have foreseen such an outcome.
The Qin Family's domain stood nestled among three encircling mountains, a paradise untouched by mortal affairs.
At one exit, the ground bore clear traces of demonic beasts.
Qin Yang halted, his figure materializing from the air.
"No great battle occurred here," he concluded after inspection. "These beasts showed no intent to destroy..."
Indeed, these demonic creatures had submitted to the Qin Family's authority!
He strode purposefully toward the family compound.
The panda perched on his shoulder suddenly spoke: "Do you plan to go in like that?"
"Hm? What else should I do?" Qin Yang asked.
The panda scratched at his shoulder. "Aren't you cold?"
"Preposterous!" Qin Yang chuckled. As a master of frost power, how could he possibly feel cold?
Yet he understood the panda's meaning. Glancing down, he realized his body was completely exposed save for the scorched "undergarments" covering his lower body.
Qin Yang frowned. At least some semblance of dignity must be maintained. He hastily changed into clean clothes, allowing the Treasure Rat to burrow into the new garment's pocket.
"Hey, you there! Yes, I'm talking to you!" A white-haired middle-aged man approached from a distance, flanked by a group of young descendants.
"Why does this look like... a group preparing to ambush me?" Qin Yang assessed the party. Could there be more remnants from the Demon Hunter's Field?
Qin Yang suppressed his aura and prepared to strike them down.
A young clan member shouted, "Ignorant fool! When you see the Fourth Elder, you should hurry over and pay your respects!"
Another youth called out, "Are you from the patriarch's family? Our Fourth Elder's strength is no less than the patriarch's. How dare you look down on our Fourth Elder, you brat?"
It was clear that this middle-aged man with white hair held a high position in the Qin Family.
"I'm not from the patriarch's family," Qin Yang shook his head.
"Not? That's good!" the young clan member snorted.
The white-haired man frowned. "The plan to surround and kill Qin Yang has been put on hold. The wedding was hastily arranged, so we need to hurry. If we're late, it'll be troublesome!"
The white-haired man seemed preoccupied, completely failing to notice the faint killing intent in Qin Yang's eyes.
The white-haired man hurriedly led the way, and the group passed by Qin Yang.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up! Today is a great day of universal celebration - two of the Eight Divine Clans are uniting in marriage. Don't you want to participate?" a young clan member called out.
Qin Yang relaxed his sword-like finger position, a strange smile appearing on his face as he followed.
"Universal celebration? Heh." The middle-aged man sneered inwardly.
"Universal celebration? I'll make you celebrate properly!" A cold glint flashed in Qin Yang's eyes before disappearing.