Chapter 5

Xia Muqing had no idea how furious her homeroom teacher, Teacher Li, had gotten late at night because of one of her assignments.

She slept peacefully and woke up the next day to the soft whimpering of the little Swiftwind Dog, stretching luxuriously.

After pouring a bowl of nutritious milk biscuits for the little Swiftwind Dog, Xia Muqing took a sandwich from the fridge. While nibbling on it, she browsed the trending news on her phone.

【Abnormal spatial fluctuations detected in S City area, possible unstable spatial boundary points appearing. Security departments have intervened. Residents are advised to exercise caution while traveling…】

【Recently, poaching gangs spotted in the outskirts. Please protect your mystical beasts. Report hotline: 10101…】

【Divine Beast Tamer Chengcheng brings back rare footage from another dimension, suspected discovery of the second-stage evolution method of the Nine-Color Deer?】

“The Nine-Color Deer?” Xia Muqing murmured. “That’s quite a rare mystical beast, definitely with the potential to evolve into a divine beast… Hmm, Xiao Feng, what’s up?”

Without her noticing, the little Swiftwind Dog had come over beside her, holding its biscuit bag in its mouth and trying hard to push it toward her.

“Awwooo!”

“Want me to eat it?” Xia Muqing smiled. “No need, I have a sandwich. These are special nutritious biscuits made just for you. If I eat them, it’d be a waste.”

“Awwooo!”

The little Swiftwind Dog didn’t give up and kept pushing the biscuits toward her with its little paws, blinking its big, wet eyes.

So cute and adorable, Xia Muqing felt her heart melting.

“Alright, then I’ll eat one.”

She picked up a small biscuit and put it in her mouth.

It tasted wonderful — a delicious chicken flavor, with a light milky fragrance spreading in her mouth.

This wasn’t ordinary dog food but a specially formulated nutritious product designed for mystical beast pups, and it was very expensive.

To be honest, one meal for the little Swiftwind Dog could equal several days’ worth of Xia Muqing’s sandwiches.

Xia Muqing was basically “raising herself frugally but spoiling her pet.”

After breakfast, the little Swiftwind Dog obediently ran to the door, waiting for Xia Muqing to take it to the training center.

But Xia Muqing smiled and said, “No training today, how about we go out and play?”

The little Swiftwind Dog looked surprised, caught completely off guard.

“Even training needs a balance between work and rest.”

Xia Muqing dug a sunhat out of the cabinet and also found a small harness. “You’ve already scored over 10,000 in the dodge game, and I promised I’d reward you.”

“Do you want to go out for a nice meal, or find a fun place to play and have a blast?”

The little Swiftwind Dog: “…Awwooo!”

Fun!

Xia Muqing had never skimped on the little Swiftwind Dog. With several boxes of nutritional supplies generously sponsored by Zhu Ning, the little Swiftwind Dog had always been well-fed.

Now it wanted to experience more fun things.

If it could be like an arcade with lots of flashing lights and as fun as the dodge game, that would be perfect.

Xia Muqing: “Alright!”

—

An hour later, Xia Muqing arrived at the suburban amusement park with the little Swiftwind Dog.

In this world, mystical beasts were fully integrated into human life. Even amusement parks offered combo tickets that allowed visitors to bring their contracted mystical beasts along to play—though some attractions had size restrictions for the mystical beasts.

The little Swiftwind Dog was still only palm-sized, so it was no problem at all.

Xia Muqing used a special harness to carry it on her front. Along the way, it looked around excitedly, occasionally sticking out its tongue to lick its nose.

Actually, after signing the contract, Xia Muqing could have stored it in the mystical beast space, but the little Swiftwind Dog preferred sticking close to her, so she habitually carried it separately.

“Do you want something thrilling like the drop tower, roller coaster, pirate ship, giant pendulum, or rapids adventure… or something more relaxing like the Ferris wheel?”

The little Swiftwind Dog: “??”

She listed so many thrilling rides, but only one relaxing option?

Xia Muqing shrugged. “Can’t help it, the amusement park mostly has thrilling rides.”

“How about we try the roller coaster first, just a light test?”

Since it was a weekday, the park wasn’t crowded, and Xia Muqing only waited in line for half an hour.

The park’s signature roller coaster was called “Summit Flying Dragon,” reaching speeds of 120 km/h with a highest point of 88 meters—a true sensation of breaking through the clouds.

Just standing below and looking up made one’s heart tremble.

Xia Muqing looked at the towering roller coaster reaching into the clouds and quietly swallowed her saliva.

She was actually scared too.

But this time, bringing the little Swiftwind Dog on the roller coaster was not just for fun—it had a deeper purpose.

So at this moment, Xia Muqing had no choice but to grit her teeth and go for it.

“Hold on tight, Xiao Feng! Grab onto me!”

The roller coaster started, slowly climbing a small hill—

Then plunged straight down!

“Ahhhhh!”

—

After the ride ended, Xia Muqing’s legs felt weak, and she was panting heavily. She slowly moved to a lounge chair, carrying the equally limp little Swiftwind Dog.

Wow, that was really thrilling—so thrilling she felt like half her soul had left her!

Next to her, the little Swiftwind Dog was panting nervously.

But its eyes were bright.

Its instincts let it sense danger, but the roller coaster had full safety measures and a trusted owner nearby. That feeling of security was very different from the danger of being attacked.

So amid the tension, it fully felt the roaring wind—the mist rushing past like the sky’s roar, the vast blue expanse. The roller coaster raced with it at lightning speed, over mountains and seas, soaring into the clouds!

“Awwooo!”

It wanted to ride again!

Xia Muqing: “…”

Seeing the little Swiftwind Dog so excited was rare. Xia Muqing clenched her teeth and stood up from the chair: “Alright, then we’ll go again.”

Another dizzying round.

When they got off the second time, Xia Muqing’s vision went dark—but the little Swiftwind Dog was even more excited.

It even tried to channel its spiritual energy, trying to mimic the feeling of chasing the wind and lightning—pale blue spiritual flow gathering around it, gradually forming a howling wind. The little Swiftwind Dog’s fur was blown messy by the wind, and its white coat blurred like scattered clouds.

Xia Muqing: “…!”

Could this be… the prototype of the skill “Cloudfall”?

Suddenly, Xia Muqing was energized.

To be honest, she brought the little Swiftwind Dog on the roller coaster hoping it would experience extreme speed and strong wind—but she only imagined it would recall the feeling later during training. She never expected that just two rounds on the roller coaster would already inspire the little Swiftwind Dog.

This talent—if people heard about it, they’d probably be so jealous they’d cry.

Since Xiao Feng was doing so well, Xia Muqing felt she couldn’t back down either.

It’s just a roller coaster, right? Ride it—ride it hard!

Not just the roller coaster, but also the drop tower, and the giant pendulum!

If “Cloudfall” can be inspired this way, then after riding the giant pendulum, maybe the “Wind Vortex” skill could be strengthened too?

—

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

When Xia Muqing returned to school the next day, her legs still felt weak, and the world seemed to be spinning nonstop.

Yesterday at the amusement park, she rode the roller coaster six times, the giant pendulum four times, and the drop tower twice…

If it weren’t for the fact that she had recently played the dodge game with the little Swiftwind Dog and improved her physical condition, she probably would have collapsed at the park yesterday.

But the little Swiftwind Dog didn’t feel this kind of pain.

The physical advantage of a mystical beast was fully exposed at this moment. After playing so many rides, Xiao Feng was only getting more and more excited. When leaving, it reluctantly tugged at Xia Muqing’s clothes, wanting to come again next time.

Xia Muqing took the chance to promise it that once it fully mastered the new skills, they would come back to the amusement park to play.

No matter what, yesterday was totally worth it—even though her body was tired, Xia Muqing felt happy inside.

As for Xu Ling, at first she worried about why Xia Muqing had such dark circles under her eyes, but after learning what happened, she was just plainly jealous.

“Can you really understand skills by playing at an amusement park? That’s ridiculous! Why can my little Oriole—ah wait, that’s not what I meant!”

“That was just me talking big, it doesn’t count. Of course, my little Oriole is the best!”

Xu Ling started fussing nervously over her own mystical beast again, making Xia Muqing smile and shake her head.

But honestly, Xu Ling’s Bright Moon Oriole really did have outstanding talent and was well trained. Although it wasn’t Xia Muqing’s contracted mystical beast, Xia Muqing couldn’t see its five-dimensional stats, but from her gaming experience, she could sense its mental state to some extent.

According to Xu Ling, after deciding on a dual-type development path, the Oriole had indeed been working harder than before. It had already begun to master the early forms of attack and support skills, and it would definitely learn them fully by the end-of-month exam.

Xia Muqing nodded.

This proved that the Oriole really had potential for dual-type development. Since that was the case, she would do everything she could to help her friend’s beast achieve the strongest evolution.

The two chatted casually on the way and soon arrived at the classroom.

After a short while, another person pushed open the classroom door.

Most of the classmates had already stored their mystical beasts in their beast control spaces because by the time of the exam—even though it was a city-wide mixed test—there was a small chance they could be assigned as enemies through the lottery. At this moment, it was better to keep personal information private.

But the mystical beast of the boy who just walked in boldly rested on his arm, proudly raising its head with an attitude that seemed fearless of anything.

Xu Ling immediately spotted it, widened her eyes, and poked Xia Muqing’s elbow hard: “Look, look, Liu Pan’s mystical beast!”

Xia Muqing was also stunned for a moment.

Because resting on Liu Pan’s arm was clearly a bright green snake with dark red eyes, a jewel-like pattern on its forehead, and scales shimmering like jade.

A Azure Nether Serpent!

“Damn, damn, damn!” Xu Ling cursed angrily, “I didn’t buy that snake, and he just got lucky? What should we do, Muqing? That snake is really strong!”

Xia Muqing didn’t need Xu Ling to remind her—she could tell at a glance. That snake’s pupils were an unusual dark red, with vertical slits scanning maliciously, its blood-red tongue hissing nonstop, and its entire body radiated strong aggression.

Xia Muqing was sure Liu Pan had taught it the skills “Bloodthirsty” and “Rage.”

This was an absolutely ferocious beast.

Not only was the snake fierce, but its owner was just as unpleasant. Liu Pan saw Xia Muqing and Xu Ling, and with a cold face, sneered: “Hey, poor loser, what trash did you pick up?”

“Want to bring it out and fight?”

“With its tiny body, it wouldn’t even last one bite against my mystical beast. Could it be that after seeing the Azure Nether Serpent, you’re too scared to even bring it out of your beast control space?”