Chapter 16: Click Clack

The Emperor’s Domain is a unique skill possessed by the extraordinary beings of the Emperor race. It allows them to unleash their energy pressure, capable of altering the very climate and topography of the sky and land.

Within their Emperor’s Domain, the Emperor race reigns supreme, wielding absolute control over everything. No creature can escape the watchful gaze of its master.

Under the weight of the Emperor’s Domain, everyone struggles, each breath becoming a laborious task.

Among them, the little skeleton suffers the most. As a dark-type familiar, it naturally counters light-type creatures; however, the energy level of the Emperor’s Domain far surpasses that of low-tier elite races.

Its ability to counter the Daylight Flame Wolf is virtually negligible, while the wolf’s dominance is lethal. The shadows within the domain have dissipated significantly, leaving the little skeleton with nowhere to hide. It is overwhelmed by fear, collapsing to its knees and, despite its desperate struggles, remains pinned to the ground.

“Ellen!” Mu Huiyue, also pressed to the ground, attempts to summon the little skeleton back to her familiar space, but she feels an unusual resistance from their bond.

Ellen is unwilling to return to the familiar space under such circumstances, leaving its master to face this challenge alone.

From above, Mu Tong observes his daughter and her struggling familiar with a condescending gaze. “Do you understand now? Inferior beings hold no value for cultivation. That little skeleton will never evolve into the Emperor race, no matter how much blood, sweat, and tears you invest. You cannot bridge the chasm of innate bloodlines!”

“…Inferior being.”

Mu Huiyue murmurs the phrase, her mind flashing back to her initial familiar, the fiery red wolf, Pali.

The futile efforts of the flame giant wolf and that very word are nightmares from her past that Mu Huiyue has never dared to confront.

“Am I, who cannot awaken as a Beastmaster, not seen as inferior in your eyes, Father?” She raised her gaze, locking eyes with Mu Tong.

“Those meticulously prepared high-tier familiars, along with the guaranteed admission to Xingzhou University, you’re planning to hand them over to Mu Yixia, aren’t you?”

With his legendary status, Mu Tong is a nominal professor at Xingzhou University, much like the school’s president has already earmarked Lin Fei for a position. In the past, Mu Huiyue never doubted that these opportunities belonged to her; however, after Mu Yixia awakened first, Mu Tong has yet to mention it to her. The answer was painfully clear.

Mu Yixia froze, taken aback by how the flames of conflict had reached her. Instinctively, she shuffled behind her father.

“Those were meant for Beastmasters, so of course, they are for Yixia,” Mu Tong replied, furrowing his brow at his daughter’s unwavering gaze. “It’s precisely because you’ve awakened that I rushed back to reassess my earlier decision. You forfeited everything, Mu Huiyue.”

To Mu Tong, a low-tier creature like the contracted little skeleton was no different from an ordinary person. In his eyes, Mu Huiyue had already lost the race before it began and would never achieve greatness, let alone ascend to legendary status.

“I haven’t asked you why you would contract such an inferior creature.”

“And you never inquired how I, an ordinary person, returned from the secret realm,” Mu Huiyue retorted, each word laced with weight.

Strange emotions surged within her. She should be indifferent to Mu Tong’s actions, yet memories of the past swirled in her mind.

In her recollections, she saw the past Mu Huiyue yearning to confront her father directly.

The memory of Mu Huiyue, who desperately sought validation from an authority figure, stood before the insurmountable mountain at the end of her life. Now, the current Mu Huiyue chose to face and shatter it.

“Click… clack…!”

The little skeleton collapsed in front of Mu Huiyue, nearly scorched by the light-type energy within the Emperor’s Domain, yet, in the disbelief of all, it gradually pushed itself up with its slender bones, rising slowly but resolutely.

“Clack!” The little skeleton spread its arms, fearlessly standing before its Beastmaster, facing the massive and terrifying Daylight Flame Wolf.

“Ellen…” The dark-haired girl widened her eyes slightly as warmth surged in her tear-filled gaze.

She clenched her fist tightly, nearly drawing blood, using the pain to force herself to focus and resist the pressure of the Daylight Flame Wolf’s Emperor’s Domain.

Bearing the weight of the Emperor’s Domain, Mu Huiyue stood tall alongside her familiar.

A flicker of surprise crossed the Daylight Flame Wolf’s eyes; it seemed to have never imagined that such a feeble dark-type familiar, something it could crush with a mere sneeze, could stand in its Emperor’s Domain.

“Because Ellen saved me in the secret realm, I was able to return alive.”

Mu Huiyue raised her head against the pressure of the Emperor’s Domain and continued, “We’ve achieved many victories together. Ellen has exceptional combat talent, and I am grateful to have encountered it and made it my first contracted familiar.”

Mu Tong fell silent for a moment, realizing he had never asked his daughter how she left the secret realm.

Receiving news from the hospital that she had successfully awakened and was safe was enough for him as a father.

But that was no reason for Mu Huiyue to gamble her future recklessly.

He lifted his hand, and the Daylight Flame Wolf, following his command, dissipated its Emperor’s Domain, swishing its tail as it returned to its favorite shady spot.

The legendary Beastmaster turned to his daughter, “What do you want to say, Mu Huiyue?”

“I want to say that innate talent is not the only standard of judgment. Inferior beings have their own paths, and this is the path I have chosen.”

Mu Huiyue picked up the somewhat weakened Ellen, gazing resolutely into her father’s eyes. “Just wait and see how an inferior being surpasses itself, Father.”

This time, even Mu Yixia, who had been hiding behind, showed an expression of astonishment. Could she have misheard? Her sister, who treated their father’s words as absolute law and worked harder than anyone to fulfill his expectations, was actually rebelling against him?

After saying these words, Mu Huiyue turned and left the garden, ending this family gathering that had yet to even begin.

Mu Tong seemed to say something else, mixed with Mu Yixia’s attempts at comfort, but Mu Huiyue didn’t care.

She declined the driver’s offer to ask questions and walked aimlessly outside, her mind a whirlwind of memories.

In Mu Huiyue’s recollections, she had never before resisted her father like this.

Essentially, she was no longer Mu Tong’s daughter. The girl who had tried desperately to gain her father’s approval and walk the path he desired had vanished in the secret realm of the Undying Castle.

Perhaps she was still influenced by past memories, which made her unable to suppress the feelings of the former Mu Huiyue, leading her to voice this torrent of frustration.

The high school Mu Huiyue might not have seen it clearly, but she had now understood the true nature of these “family” members. Mu Tong loved her more than others, and the same went for Mu Yixia.

Thus, they could coexist harmoniously when needed. Mu Tong required a daughter he could arrange, and Mu Yixia needed a father who could provide her with resources.

Within such a framework, it didn’t matter that their father was often absent and indifferent to home, nor did it matter what kind of Beastmaster his daughter aspired to become.

In fact, it was the seemingly aloof Mu Huiyue who was genuinely emotional. She expected her father’s recognition, getting angry at his absence—because she still held hope for him, she allowed herself to be hurt by his emotional distance.

As a mature worker bee, the most rational approach should have been to follow Mu Yixia’s lead and present herself as a qualified heir, extracting more resources from the legendary Beastmaster.

Yet even now, Mu Huiyue found it difficult to accept Mu Tong’s cultivation philosophy, even though he had gained the acknowledgment of most people in this world and earned the title of “Legendary” Beastmaster.

The image of the fiery red wolf, Pali, lingered in her heart. If pursuing power and a higher status meant abandoning her initial familiar, then what did the so-called “lifelong contract” between Beastmasters and extraordinary beings truly signify?

Believing that the bonds forged with partners can create miracles is a flicker of innocence that still quietly resides in her heart, even after she has become a rather mundane adult.

Even in a game composed purely of data, Mu Huiyue invests her emotions in the characters she nurtures. How much more so in a real world where she can forge contracts with her partners?

She has encountered a little skeleton with exceptional battle instincts, one that thinks wholeheartedly of her.

So, she chooses a path where even an “inferior being” can thrive. Together with Ellen, she aims to stand at the pinnacle of the competitive world, proving to everyone that the path to the summit is not a single, predetermined route.

Noticing her steps slowing, the little skeleton peeks out from the shadows, gazing up at her deep in thought.

“Clack…?” (Are you upset by what that person said, Huiyue?)

“Clack!” (Don’t be sad! I’ll work hard to become stronger!)

The little creature gently tugged at her pant leg, its determination echoing in its clacking sound.

“Clack clack!” (One day, we’ll be stronger than everyone!)

Mu Huiyue crouched down, meeting the earnest gaze of her little companion, and smiled as she patted its skull.

Ellen is not an “inferior being.”

It’s a super little skeleton capable of withstanding the Emperor’s Domain of light, one that will never back down in the face of any opponent, no matter how formidable.

She extended her hand and lightly bumped fists with the resolute little skeleton, solidifying their resolve.

“Yeah, we will definitely become stronger than everyone!”