"Summoned beast?"
Pang Lai immediately showed some interest. Since this Zhou Haoyu dared to say that, it clearly meant this summoned beast had something special about it.
Perhaps it was a beast of high bloodline.
"In that case, let's see what's so impressive about your summoned beast."
If it were any other claim, Pang Lai would've rejected it without hesitation. But as a seasoned Summoner, he was very curious about certain rare summoned beasts.
The Summoning Plane was unimaginably vast, and the number of magical beasts was far beyond counting. Even someone like Pang Lai surely didn't know them all.
Pang Lai was always decisive and efficient. He immediately brought Zhou Haoyu and Jiang Yu to a spacious training ground.
"You may begin the summoning," Pang Lai said calmly.
Zhou Haoyu nodded, then skillfully linked seven pale moon-colored stars into a Star Path. Immediately after, the Star Path transformed into a dimensional gate about two meters tall.
"ROAR!!!"
Before the summoned beast even appeared, a tiger's roar came from the dimensional gate.
Pang Lai's expression turned slightly grim. That tiger roar actually contained a trace of spiritual attack. Though still weak, it already hinted at great potential.
The first to appear was a tiger's paw, and the moment it touched the ground, a ring-shaped burst of fire erupted from it.
In the next moment, a ferocious and massive body emerged from the dimensional gate, roughly two to three meters in length, its entire body covered in an extremely tough dark-red carapace.
This carapace looked like it had been forged from cooled lava, emitting a metallic sheen.
Its body shape resembled a Siberian tiger but was noticeably larger, and its whole body was clad in that heavy armor.
Most notably, it didn't have a tiger's tail. Instead, there was a long scorpion tail behind it.
The scorpion tail was about two meters long, lifted high at the end to form a sharp stinger. The stinger was black and shimmered with a sinister light, clearly laced with deadly poison.
"How is this possible—this can't be!" Pang Lai's face was filled with disbelief as he stared dazedly at the summoned beast in front of him.
"Teacher, do you know what kind of beast this is?" Jiang Yu was also startled by the summoned beast's presence and quickly asked.
"This magical beast is called the Flame Scorpion Tiger. Within the Summoning Plane, the Flame Scorpion Tiger is considered one of the dominant species. An adult can reach the Commander-level, and a few even break into the Monarch-level!"
"But how could this be possible? Even if Zhou Haoyu's spiritual energy has reached the Third Realm, he still shouldn't be able to contract a beast of this level."
Pang Lai stared at Zhou Haoyu with a mix of shock and doubt. The reality was right in front of him he had no choice but to believe it.
The most crucial point was that this Flame Scorpion Tiger was a summoned beast. There was hardly any room for cheating with these. Some auxiliary summoning materials wouldn't help much either.
If it were a contract beast, then there might be ways to forcibly contract it but not with a summoned beast.
Because of this, summoned beasts were seen by most Summoners as mere transitional partners.
"How did you manage it? With your spiritual energy, you shouldn't be able to contract an advanced-stage Flame Scorpion Tiger," Pang Lai asked Zhou Haoyu directly.
Zhou Haoyu gently calmed the Flame Scorpion Tiger with his hand before explaining, "Xiao Yan was something I encountered by chance in the Summoning Plane. It was seriously injured at the time, and in order to recover faster, it chose to accept my contract."
In truth, Zhou Haoyu had forcibly contracted it. What surprised him was how effective his spiritual Origin energy was—it succeeded in a single try!
"This—" Pang Lai's first thought was to doubt him, but on second thought, it did seem plausible.
If it were severely wounded, and with the help of some auxiliary materials, it might just be possible to succeed.
"Considering this Flame Scorpion Tiger, I'm willing to take you as my second disciple. But I have two conditions," Pang Lai said after thinking it over.
"Please, go ahead," Zhou Haoyu said with joy in his heart.
The box was about to be opened!
"First, you must ensure you never slack off in your Summoning studies. Within two years, you must at least catch up to Jiang Yu," Pang Lai said.
"Teacher, he already has three elements. How could he possibly catch up to me in Summoning?" Jiang Yu said, clearly unconvinced.
Pang Lai didn't say anything more, only looked at Zhou Haoyu quietly, as if waiting for his answer.
"No problem, I agree."
Zhou Haoyu hesitated for a moment but quickly agreed. With his golden finger, two years was more than enough to leave Jiang Yu far behind.
"Second, if there's anything you don't understand in your cultivation in the future, you can come to me. But I won't provide you with any resources," Pang Lai said calmly.
There was an essential difference between Zhou Haoyu and Jiang Yu—Zhou Haoyu came from an influential family and clearly didn't lack resources.
Resources weren't something to blindly stack up. Cultivation built on resources alone was unstable. The Black Phoenix Song Feiyao of Xiayu was exactly such a case.
"No problem."
Zhou Haoyu didn't hesitate at all. His main reason for acknowledging a master was to gain a powerful backer.
"Very well, from now on, you are my second disciple," Pang Lai said, revealing a rare smile.
[Unlock Condition: Met.]
[Unlocking...]
[Acquired Forbidden Curse-level Forging Technique.]
"Forbidden Curse-level Forging Technique..."
Zhou Haoyu's breathing halted for a moment. At a glance, this was clearly related to the profession of a Forger. Most importantly, it had the prefix: Forbidden Curse-level!
Suddenly, countless images of forging magical tools and artifacts were etched into his mind.
In just a flash, Zhou Haoyu had fully comprehended all this knowledge. As long as the materials were sufficient, he could even forge a Forbidden Curse-level magical item on the spot!
Zhou Haoyu was extremely satisfied with this treasure chest reward. It was just what he needed—he had already found these two Demon-Slaying Tools to be too trashy and clunky to use.
Once he forged better Demon-Slaying Tools, these current ones could be scrapped.
Generally speaking, Fire and Lightning Element mages could become Forgers, but Fire mages were clearly more suited.
However, Zhou Haoyu wasn't too worried Xiao Yan possessed fire attributes and might be of use.
If that didn't work out, Zhou Haoyu could always go to the northern corner of Scorched Plains and abduct the Flame Witch to work for him.
Next, Pang Lai gave Zhou Haoyu some instructions, mainly about future cultivation plans, which books to read, and so on.
After Pang Lai left, Jiang Yu looked at Zhou Haoyu with envy and said, "You've got such incredible luck. This is the first time I've seen Teacher show that expression. Your summoned beast is even stronger than most people's contract beasts."
"Heh, your Night Rakshasa is more impressive, okay?" Zhou Haoyu replied with some annoyance.
Although Jiang Yu hadn't contracted the Night Rakshasa yet, the bond between them was already very deep they were truly partners.
The Night Rakshasa had extremely high potential, far surpassing the Flame Scorpion Tiger.
"Heh, my summoned beast is way weaker than the Flame Scorpion Tiger," Jiang Yu rolled his eyes.
"Let's not argue about this. Come on, let me treat you to a drink, Junior Brother."
"I'm the Senior Brother, alright?"
"Don't sweat the details."