Chapter 1022 - Cutie
“What’s the use of being pretty? Handsome man, I can fly the fastest here. Look!”
Zeng!
A beautiful wind spirit spread her wings and instantly disappeared in front of Wang Zhong’s eyes before reappearing again. She proudly said, “I just flew 10 rounds around this place!”
“You’re boasting. You only traveled nine rounds!” Another spirit exposed her. “You’re lying.”
“Hmph, hmph. What’s so good about flying quickly? Look at me!” A female elemental spirit with dazzling golden wings widened her mouth, and over ten golden needles whizzed out and landed near Wang Zhong’s feet. In an instant, over ten bottomless pinholes were formed. “No one can block my Soul Golden Thorns!”
“Bastard. Kammule, you almost hit me!” A flaming elemental spirit flew into a rage. She had a fiery temper, and when she opened her mouth, flames soared into the sky. The flames were extremely hot, causing the grass around her to vanish and dry up instantly. This shocked the other elemental spirits and caused them to retreat. Even Lao Wang, who was usually not afraid of fire, felt as if his body was being roasted to the point that sweat was dripping out, even though he was three or four meters away.
“Aiyo, don’t fight, don’t fight.” Wang Zhong hurriedly waved his hand. He was slightly confused. They were probably not scheming against him. There did not seem to be anything on him that was worth plotting about.
It was chaos in the sky as hundreds of elemental spirits squeezed together. As they flew about, a seemingly clumsy elemental spirit was obviously not as nimble and was struck. Wang Zhong quickly stretched out his hand and caught her.
She was an adorable and small little thing. Her body radiated a rich water elemental aura. She held her shoulder that had been hit and looked extremely weak and pitiful. Her large and watery eyes made her look pitiable as Wang Zhong looked at her with great sympathy. When Wang Zhong looked at her soft appearance, he immediately thought about Scarlet. He felt that he wanted to protect her.
Lao Wang curiously asked, “Are you willing to become my messenger?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The water spirit hurriedly nodded her head like a chick pecking at grains.
Wang Zhong smiled and said, “Then come with me.”
The water spirit’s shoulder no longer hurt, and her wings were no longer weak. Her watery eyes lit up, and she flew to Wang Zhong’s shoulder with a whizzing sound. She took the chance while Lao Wang was not paying attention to suddenly turn around and show her middle finger to the other dumbstruck elemental spirits.
“…”
“…”
After a brief silence from the elemental spirits, they immediately exploded.
“That little bitch played dirty!”
“How have I never thought of this method?!”
“How shameless! I should have stripped off my clothes and charged at him! That man’s smell is too good!”
The water spirit was extremely pleased. Wang Zhong had an aura that she felt was extremely pleasant, making the others somewhat crazy. They had never seen such a top-quality product like him. They did not even know what the reason was. There was simply a natural sense of attraction that they could not resist.
Outside, Celeste’s world outlook had been completely overturned. It was as if she had seen a fake Spirit Flower Garden. When Wang Zhong walked out and stopped beside her, she still could not completely close her widened mouth.
Was it that easy? She was suddenly somewhat speechless. Why had she spent so much effort to work here…?
“How much do I need to pay?” Lao Wang asked politely.
“One Star Coin!” Before Celeste could speak, the water spirit on Lao Wang’s shoulder had already answered in a lovely voice. “Master, you have to treat me well in the future. Nini will be yours from now on.”
“Sure.” Lao Wang was not bothered by this. Although he was slightly surprised, the lower the price, the happier he would be. However, Celeste, who was beside him, instantly felt as if she could barely talk back.
One Star Coin… Although it was said that elemental spirits were not bought using money, signing a contract with an elemental spirit required complicated processes, many contracts and documents, as well as ceremonial objects, and so on. Furthermore, it was a tradition to give the Spirit Flower Garden a large “betrothal gift”. For just one Star Coin… Was this water spirit planning to keep a gigolo?
Of course, Celeste did not dare to point this out as the elemental spirit’s gaze was already threatening her. Even the Shell race supervisor Erza, one of the five great kings of the Heavenly Gates, did not have the right to restrain the elemental spirits.
“Then let us sign the contract.” Lao Wang simply threw out one Star Coin.
He looked rich and arrogant. As a result, Celeste did not know whether to laugh or to cry. “O—okay… Please come with me.”
The contract with an elemental spirit was not as casual as with an ordinary messenger. Celeste had prepared for a long time.
It was a room that was specially for signing contracts with spirits. There was a wide and bright hall without any pillars. The ground was engraved with various complicated runic arrays that made Lao Wang’s scalp tingle when he looked at them. Meanwhile, the many holes in the ground were filled with Gold Star Stones.
The Star Stones in the divine territory were both a kind of currency as well as a solid dimensional energy body with high density. The spiritual power contained inside the Star Stones was extremely pure and rich and was very suitable to be used on these kinds of runes. The complex runic array stretched over 100 square meters. The holes along the boundary of the array were densely lined up. Lao Wang estimated that there were about 1,000 Gold Star Stones mounted inside the holes. However, Lao Wang was not flustered. It was as if the one Star Coin he had paid and this array were completely equivalent.
There was a crystal platform that was about half a person tall in the middle of the array. Celeste walked reverently there and placed a glittering, translucent crystal on the platform, which radiated a gentle light. It was as if it had become the starting point and the center of the entire array and spurred on the runes around it. All the energy in the Gold Star Stones had seemingly and instantly been absorbed by the runes and disappeared into thin air. Small golden lights pierced through the gentle light from the rune, forming many tiny spots that were extremely pretty.
At the same time, Wang Zhong, who was standing beside the crystal platform, immediately felt that when the array was activated, it was as if an ancient pathway had been opened up. The entire room seemed to have connected with an extremely distant space. In that space, there was a pair of gentle and extremely powerful eyes slowly looking attentively at them with the intention of a judge and a witness.
The owner of this gaze was too frightening, and they were unimaginably powerful. Even the strongest supervisor of the Shell race, Erza, was a far cry from this being. Even Wang Zhong felt as if he could not move and did not dare to lie while he was being stared at.
Up till this point, all the arrangements for this ceremony were full of mystery and holiness. However, the way they signed the contract made Lao Wang slightly speechless.
“Wang Zhong, are you willing to take water spirit Nini as your messenger, to take care of her, to trust her, to treasure her, regardless of whether her wings break or she becomes impaired or holds you back? Do you pledge to defend her with your life and never give up on her?”
“I am willing.” Lao Wang felt that these lines were slightly familiar and awkward but still replied seriously. The gaze that came from a distant and ancient space was still staring at him. He was more scared of the gaze than of the awkward lines.
“Water spirit Nini, are you willing to follow Wang Zhong and become his messenger? Are you willing to follow him everywhere to conquer all lands, regardless of whether he is strong, rich, or has a new favorite? Do you pledge to follow him for the rest of your life and never betray him?”
“I’m willing, I’m willing!” Water spirit Nini nodded her head like a chick pecking at grains.
…Why was she so anxious? Celeste was slightly speechless. “Please press your hand here.”
Wang Zhong and water spirit Nini pressed their hands on the crystal at the same time. The crystal, which had been radiating a gentle white light, suddenly dazzled. Both Lao Wang and Nini felt something sharp protruding from the crystal, easily piercing through their skins.
Closely after, a drop of blood from their hand was absorbed into the crystal. The two drops of extremely fresh blood blended with each other in the crystal and radiated bright colors while being engulfed by a gentle white light. In the end, they split again into two drops and retreated to the two sides before charging back into their bodies.
Boom!
The gaze that came from an ancient and distant space suddenly disappeared, as if it had finished witnessing the entire process. The space closed, and the room returned to its original brightness.
“Master, Master!”
Their surroundings went back to normal, and water spirit Nini charged towards Wang Zhong as if she was flying. Even the blind would be able to smell her joy and surge of emotions.
Mysteriously, there was a sudden sense of affinity between them. Putting Nini aside, even Lao Wang felt that he had been best friends with the small spirit in front of him for many years. They felt a mutual affinity with each other, as if it had something to do with the blood contract they had completed.
Beside them, Celeste was less surprised than before but was filled with even more admiration. As a prodigy of the Shell race, she was a genius that had received special care and attention from the Shell race supervisor. However, she was now admiring an Earthling from a level-4 civilization… If this matter was exposed, no one would believe it.
“Congratulations.” Celeste smiled and walked over. “You… are such a strange person.”
To be honest, Celeste had never admired others. She had a good background and good natural endowments but had also tasted bitterness[a].
“Ha ha. You will definitely have your own. They are all very warm.” Lao Wang was in a good mood. He had obtained a decent messenger for almost nothing. In the morning, he had even seized two combat signs without much trouble. Today was his lucky day. “I should thank you.”
“You’re too polite. This is just my job,” said Celeste politely. “I will send you out.”
At that moment, the daughter of the Heavenly Shell Crown Prince had collapsed. She had no strength to ridicule him.
When they walked out of the Spirit Flower Garden, Nini, who was on his shoulder, was unusually excited. After such a long time, this was her first time walking out of the Spirit Flower Garden. Even though the gathering spot of the elemental spirits was very ordinary, the small wooden house where the Spirit Flower Garden was situated was simply an entrance to a spatial pathway. The spatial pathway was the passageway that they had walked through after entering. This was one of the few elemental-spirit dwelling spots in the divine territory. The elemental spirits were relatively few in number. They had to sign a contract with creatures from civilizations to prevent themselves from being tainted.
“Master, Master! Look! There are so many people!” Nini sat on Lao Wang’s shoulder and flapped her soft and beautiful wings as she shouted in shock.
The sound of an elemental spirit was simply pleasant, especially water elemental spirits. Her voice was so moist that it was as if water was about to drip out, making everyone feel limp. Surprisingly, the noisy street was so “shocked” that they fell silent.
Countless people looked over. Lao Wang had been inside for one or two hours. A group of people had sighed that another fool who had given up his life for nothing had walked in. However, they never expected that he would walk out unharmed. Furthermore, he did not just walk out. What was that on his shoulder that was calling him master? The water elemental aura was very strong. Was it… a water elemental spirit?!
The street was quiet, and everyone was dumbstruck.
He was a young fellow who seemed to be in his early 20s. Although he was from the Heavenly Gates, he wore the clothes of the Combat Cultivation Hall. Everyone knew that the Combat Cultivation Hall was the lowliest Hall in the Heavenly Gates. However, someone from there had actually been accepted by a water spirit, who had become his messenger?
Was—was he going to defy the heavens?
The silence, countless uncertain gazes, and the raw jealousy and hate from the street caused Lao Wang, who was very brave, to touch his nose uncontrollably.
“This is injustice!”
The street flared up, and the shops could not continue doing their business. Almost everyone rapidly surged towards Lao Wang. They did not want anything else but to get close to the legendary elemental-spirit messenger. An elemental-spirit messenger was not just some ordinary messenger. They had many peculiar abilities. They were naturally the pets of the divine territory. In fact, just getting close to them would increase one’s affinity with this world. Just this point alone was enough for people to scramble towards her.
The reactions of the people around him were slightly crazy. Those who were slightly closer to him even had the impulse to charge towards Lao Wang. Meanwhile, Nini was very pleased with this kind of reaction. On the other hand, Lao Wang was alarmed and hurriedly went back into the store.
The elemental spirit was much more ostentatious than he had imagined!
“Hm?” When Celeste saw Wang Zhong come back, she was dumbfounded. After she heard about the situation from him, she could not help but laugh.
This was the first time this had happened. In the past, anyone who had received the favor of an elemental spirit was definitely a famous person in the Heavenly Gates. This kind of person longed to declare their excellence to the world. However, Wang Zhong was obviously not this kind of person. To be honest, even her mentality was not too balanced now.
When Celeste saw Wang Zhong’s worried look, she could not help but laugh. “I thought that you were omnipotent. It turns out that you have your worries too.”
Wang Zhong was dumbfounded as he did not understand why Celeste would have such thoughts. “Miss Celeste, do you have any way? I don’t think I can walk out on the streets like this.”
“Call me Cel. I think that we have some affinity between us,” said Celeste with a smile. Indeed, this kind of style could not be found on Earth. The disposition of high-leveled civilizations seeped out from their bones. However, Nini, who was at the side, was unhappy.
“We are not familiar with each other. There’s no need to be too affectionate. Master, we have a contract. I will usually stay at the Spirit Flower Garden. If there is anything, you just have to summon Nini,” said the water spirit. She obviously disliked Celeste, but Celeste was not surprised.
Wang Zhong sighed and reluctantly left after much difficulty. When Lao Wang walked out, the endearing little Nini instantly turned into a female demon. Her eyes lit up. “Hurry, hurry, hurry. Help me open the door. I can’t wait to see the jealous and envious eyes of those little bitches!”
…Was this really an elemental spirit…?
Celeste did not know whether to laugh or to cry. She already had no power to fight back. She helped Nini open the rune door. Then, she watched as the little fellow jumped in with a whoosh. A large group of elemental spirits immediately surrounded her and chattered incessantly.
Celeste was also very curious about what they were talking about. However, it was a pity that Wang Zhong was not around. These small fellows had started to speak in spirit language that she completely did not understand. She could only see water spirit Nini being surrounded and looking very pleased, as well as the envious gazes from the other elemental spirits around her and their chattering noises…
Was that Earthling so charming? Just what about him attracted these small fellows?
Celeste could not understand. She completely could not understand. Perhaps if there was a chance, she could learn from his experiences.
Without water spirit Nini on his shoulder, when he walked out, the street was much quieter. However, the strange and burning gazes still stared straight at Lao Wang. He even heard the sound of people drooling.
He had to hurry up and leave!
He did not wait for Jhonas. Wang Zhong did not say anything else and returned to his hostel!
He returned to the mushroom house and sat down. Then, he consolidated the Devouring Heaven Technique several times. Meanwhile, Flying Pig Jhonas leisurely returned from shopping. The moment he came in, he looked very pleased with himself. “I guessed that you came back. Look at what I got.”
Of course, Flying Pig knew that Lao Wang was short of money. It was not difficult for him to bring a messenger for Wang Zhong. However, riding on the principles of Jhonas’s family, he had planned this well.
“Oh, you bought a messenger?”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Jhonas was extremely excited to be asked this question. He jumped up and went into a horse stance. His left hand was on his hip, while his right hand was stretched out straight in front of him. “Come out! My cutie!”
Buzz buzz buzz~
A black shadow flew out from his messy hair and obediently landed on his palm. It was not slow, but when Lao Wang took a closer look, he almost could not control his laughter.
It was a fat insect with seven or eight pairs of wings. Its entire body was black, and it was very chubby. Was this a messenger?
If it was a messenger, then so be it. But with that face and the fact that it was called cutie, Lao Wang felt that calling it a clown would be humiliating to Simba, and its appearance…
When Lao Wang thought about Simba, he felt emotional. He had spent a very long time in the divine territory, but that fellow had been asleep all this while. If not, he would have probably liked this place.
“This is my messenger, the Winged Cloud Insect!” Jhonas excitedly shouted at Wang Zhong. “How is it, how is it?! Boss, isn’t it super cute? Look at its fat body. It’s so bright and beautiful. It can even fly very quickly. Its speed can rank as one of the top five among all the messengers. Tsk tsk tsk. This is simply a miracle! Just now, after I bought it, I allowed it to fly around the mushroom houses. If not, how would I have known that Boss was at home? Heh heh. Isn’t it very convenient? It has really helped me greatly.”
[a]correct?