All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 12: The Ceremony

The lively banquet in the City Lord’s mansion had nothing to do with low-level soldiers like Zhanyue and his companions. After standing guard for a day, they could finally have a good rest.

The military garrison was not far from the City Lord’s mansion. Since there was still a guard mission tomorrow, the soldiers didn’t dare to drink.

“By the way, Captain Cheng, what realm are you in?” Zhanyue asked while holding a lamb leg and eating heartily. Today’s food was really good.

“I’m at the eighth stage of Soul Control, at the door of the Profound Realm,” Cheng Lu said, then patted Zhanyue’s shoulder. “Don’t rush. As long as you’re willing to work hard in cultivation, you still have a chance to enter the Profound Realm in this life.”

In the Myriad Spirits Realm, cultivation begins with the contract object, divided into Spirit Contract Realm, Spirit Communication Realm, and Soul Control Realm, which are the Three Mortal Realms. Each realm is further divided into nine stages, which is the realm where the vast majority of contractors are. Breaking through the Mortal Realms, there are Star Profound Realm, Moon Profound Realm, and Sun Profound Realm, which are the Three Profound Realms. People at these realms are also called Profound Beings and have a high status. Profound Beings have a big characteristic – they possess a contract space and can put their contract object into the contract space, but of course, it’s limited to storing the contract object, not other things.

Beyond the Profound Realms is the Spirit God Realm. People at this realm can be called deities and are extremely rare among the entire human race. The ability they possess is flight without relying on external objects.

“Then what realm is the Eldest Princess of our Eastern Kingdom?” Zhanyue still couldn’t forget that black-haired straight ponytail big sister princess riding a red dragon.

“The princess should be at the peak of the Sun Profound Realm, but because she is a powerful dragon contractor, coupled with her contract beast, she has strength comparable to the Spirit God Realm. Just a few days ago, we received news that the Blood Moon Demon Lord, ranked 11th among the 99 demons under the Night Lord, was killed by the princess. He was a powerful existence at the eighth stage of the Sun Profound Realm and was also very skilled in formations. A favored child of heaven like the princess naturally can’t be compared to us. By the way, what is your contract object and what ability do you have? I don’t know yet.” Cheng Lu looked at Zhanyue curiously.

Zhanyue didn’t hide it and showed Cheng Lu the ‘flame gem’ in the palm of his boxing glove. “Look, it’s this fire-attribute gem.” Then Zhanyue threw out a punch, which directly carried intense flames.

Cheng Lu’s eyes lit up and he praised, “You’re quite lucky. Although you’re just a miscellaneous contractor, you can also master a certain elemental power. Look at mine.” Cheng Lu was seen taking out a dagger from his waist. The dagger was all fiery red, forged from blazing steel. With a swing of the dagger, a trail of fire light was left in the air, also possessing the power of ‘fire’.

“Although we contractors are not proper spirit contractors, we have also mastered a small part of their abilities, which is already much more powerful than other contractors. It’s also because of this reason that I became the captain of the Fledgling Eagle Squad while still in the Soul Control Realm,” Cheng Lu explained. He looked at Zhanyue with increasing fondness, after all, the two of them could chat and had similar abilities.

It’s not only spirit contractors who can master elemental powers. Some other contractors can also obtain them from their contract objects, but they are also relatively rare. Although Zhanyue was disguised as a ‘miscellaneous contractor’, having the ability of flames already made him extraordinary.

“Many people’s abilities are very special. You can’t underestimate any contractor. For example, a friend of mine only contracted a backpack, but that backpack can hold as many supplies as a small mountain. He directly became the core figure of the logistics department and is a treasure in the eyes of the city lord. A few experts were specially assigned to protect him,” Cheng Lu sighed with emotion.

“Isn’t that backpack like a spatial treasure?” Zhanyue asked in surprise. He had read in books that this world indeed had treasures like spatial rings, but the refining method had long been lost. Very few existed in the world, and each was worth a fortune. That backpack contractor was equivalent to having a spatial ring, no wonder the city lord would regard him as a treasured person.

“That’s right, so there’s always someone better. Don’t easily define others based on being a miscellaneous contractor or weapon contractor. After becoming a contractor, we cultivate by connecting to heaven and earth through our contract object. By the way, what cultivation method do you practice?” Cheng Lu asked.

“Cultivation method? I… I don’t have a cultivation method. Is a cultivation method necessary for cultivation?” Zhanyue asked in return.

“It’s not necessary, but a cultivation method can greatly improve a person’s cultivation efficiency. Some cultivation methods can also guide the way your power circulates, allowing you to fully exert your strength. My father left me a ‘Spirit Infusion Method’, although it’s only white-grade, it’s still very rare. Unfortunately, the family rules stipulate that it can’t be passed on to outsiders.” Cultivation methods are divided into nine grades from low to high: white, green, blue, purple, orange, red, gold, rainbow, and divine. However, it is impossible to directly see what grade of cultivation method one practices. The grading of cultivation methods has a special institution in the Myriad Spirits Realm. Cultivation methods that have not been graded are called ‘black-grade’. High-grade cultivation methods are extremely rare in the world. It’s possible for a Spirit God level powerhouse to only possess one or two orange-grade cultivation methods. As for divine-grade cultivation methods, according to the records of the ‘Heaven Viewing Tower’, only seven sets have appeared in history, four of which are now lost.

“Let’s rest early. We still have to stand guard for a day tomorrow. The Holy Maiden chose our Sun City for the Goddess Statue sacrificial ceremony. It’s said that Sun City is the hometown of the Goddess, but I don’t know if it’s true or false. After all, it’s been several thousand years,” Cheng Lu complained.

“I don’t know either. Or I’ll find the Goddess and ask her in a few days?” Zhanyue joked.

“Get out of here. Don’t joke about the Goddess. Be careful or you’ll be accused of the crime of disrespect. You should know that walls have ears. Some words can’t be said casually,” Cheng Lu reminded, then yawned and left.

The next day, when the sunlight shone on the huge Goddess Statue, the sacred Goddess Statue watched this ancient city unchanged for a thousand years in the sunlight. The square below had long been under martial law. Zhanyue and the others stood on one side of the square maintaining order.

The Sun Knight Regiment entered the venue first and laid out a red carpet. Then the cavalry dismounted and lined up on both sides of the red carpet. They held up their cavalry spears, crossing to form an arch.

Under everyone’s gaze, the golden-haired Holy Maiden, dressed in formal attire, slowly walked over. She stepped onto the red carpet alone and walked towards the statue along the direction of the red carpet. She closed her eyes, hands clasped together, praying. Today was the day she came of age, but her wish could only be told to the Goddess.

“Goddess, please bless that the toxin in my body can be resolved as soon as possible, so you won’t have to worry about me anymore. Also… I hope I can be free like a bird, even if only for three days… no… even one day is fine, just one day…”

The crowd watched this holy Holy Maiden, thinking she was praying for blessings for humanity, not knowing what was in her heart. The identity of the Holy Light Maiden had bound her since her awakening. If possible, she would rather be an ordinary person, go wherever she wanted to go, without a bunch of people surrounding her, a bunch of people guarding her, and without implicating others. But she was also afraid of her grandfather’s disappointed eyes, so she had been working hard in cultivation since she was a child, trying to meet her grandfather’s requirements.

Eagle King Zhan Yunfei and Golden Lion Kieran, two powerhouses at the ninth stage of True Profound Realm, half a step into Spirit God Realm, didn’t dare to be negligent at this moment. They vigilantly watched the surroundings from the viewing platform on the side to prevent any accidents.

However, at this time, a signal flare suddenly burst in the clear sky, in the direction of the illumination Tower.

“Someone is attacking the illumination Tower?” Zhan Yunfei frowned. Sun City’s troops were largely deployed near the Goddess Statue, and the illumination Tower was the most empty at the moment.

“Brother Zhan, you go and take a look. I’ll handle things here,” Kieran said.

The eagle circled in the sky and quickly brought back intelligence.

“It’s Blood Throat breaking into the illumination Tower. The tower holds a large amount of illumination Stones that can’t be taken by him. The guards protecting the tower are no match for him. I have to go.” Zhan Yunfei flashed and jumped onto the giant eagle’s back, flying straight towards the illumination Tower.

“Blood Throat, the 4th seat among the 99 demons under the Night Lord?” Golden Lion Kieran frowned. He didn’t expect the Night Lord’s people to cause trouble for Sun City at this time. He didn’t dare to be negligent and looked at the sacrificial ceremony below even more vigilantly.

“It’s… it’s snowing?” Suddenly, many white things fell from the sky. At first glance, they seemed like snow, but upon closer look, they were thumb-sized white paper people, scattering and covering the entire ceremony venue.