Chapter One: Taken Home by a Comic Book Hero

Su Li was roused by a pecking.

Blinking open her eyes, she saw a pale blue bird flapping its wings flamboyantly, puffed up with pride. Without the slightest courtesy, she raised her paw and sent the foolish bird flying.

The silly creature tumbled across the ground, whimpering, and the moment it caught that feline glare, it meekly tucked its head beneath its wing in submission.

Su Li couldn’t be bothered to pay it any heed and lazily sprawled back down.

It had been 109 days since she crossed into the world of the comic.

Though, to her misfortune, she’d been reborn as a demon beast.

There was no sign before the accident. That evening, she’d been strolling barefoot along the seashore when a sudden gale, riding atop massive waves, swept her away. When she opened her eyes again, she had arrived in this foreign land.

“Fuzzball, you’re picking on Fengxi again.” A helpless, low chuckle sounded from her left.

Su Li turned toward the young man in blue, lounging on a soft couch with a book in hand. At ten years old, he already exuded a clear, distinguished air, hinting at the extraordinary beauty he would possess in the future. In her dazed state, bewitched by his looks, she thought: No wonder he’s the protagonist of the comic “Contract Spirit Beast”!

“Contract Spirit Beast” was a globally popular serialized comic, telling the fantastical journey of Shen Luo, the Child of Destiny, as he grew from weakness to strength on his path of cultivation. What set it apart was that the protagonist’s contracted divine beasts were all absurdly adorable and cheeky, each enjoying popularity equal to the hero. Among them, “Fuzzball,” the fan-favorite beast who met a tragic end, set a national record for single-volume sales.

Fuzzball was a mysterious ancient divine beast, cat-like in form, with fur as white as snow and a dark red spider lily totem emblazoned on its forehead, making it even more enigmatic. Until its death, the comic never revealed its origins.

And now, to her dismay, Su Li was that very beloved beast doomed to become cannon fodder!

She began sharpening her claws in frustration.

She’d entered this world right at the first pivotal plot point: the protagonist, by chance, rescued a gravely wounded, mysterious beast from the jaws of a fierce monster, and the two inadvertently formed a soul contract.

Truly, fate was out to destroy her!

A soft sigh brushed her ear as Shen Luo tapped her forehead, saying, “Fengxi’s still just a hatchling. Go easy on him.”

Su Li bristled—she was only defending herself!

Her round cat eyes blazed with accusation, making Shen Luo laugh. He scooped her up, gently stroking her fluffy back. Before she could throw a tantrum, he deftly pulled a silvery dried fish from his spirit box and popped it into her mouth.

The crisp, tender fish was infused with a rich, spiritual energy that coursed through her limbs, filling her body with warmth. It was Su Li’s favorite treat. Mouth still open, she impatiently nudged his arm with her tail, displeased by how slow he was.

“Master, Fengxi wants some too.” The scene of warmth between boy and beast was too much for the blue bird. It had just scrambled onto the table when it was swatted down again. Unable to take human form, its words fell on deaf ears, and its owner saw only a blue blur streaking away.

The boy frowned.

The white beast looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Just then, a clamor of footsteps rang out from outside. In moments, seven or eight youths in rich, ornate robes burst in, craning their necks to gawk at the white fuzzball in Shen Luo’s arms.

“So this is the zero-rank beast you signed a soul contract with?” The leading boy in green lifted his chin, a malicious smile on his lips. “Fitting, for the Shen family’s greatest good-for-nothing.”

The group burst into raucous laughter.

Su Li’s ears flicked up—trouble had arrived.

In the world of “Contract Spirit Beast,” there were three types of contracts for beast tamers: soul contracts, master-servant contracts, and equal contracts, ranked from deepest to shallowest bonds.

A soul contract was an ancient, sacred pact, forged by entwining a wisp of the contractee’s and beast’s souls into a spirit array, an eternal bond. Such a beast was known as a life-bound spirit beast.

A tamer could have only one life-bound beast in a lifetime. The higher the beast’s rank, the stronger it was and the more it could aid the tamer on their path to immortality.

Beasts in this world were divided into twelve ranks; the higher the rank, the greater the power and purer the ancient bloodline. That silly twelve-rank bird she so despised, for instance, was a descendant of Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Great Divine Beasts.

But a zero-rank beast? That was even lower than a first-rank pet, absolute trash.

Su Li quietly thought: So what if you’re a divine beast’s descendant? Never underestimate a struggling youth—in the end, she’d become the most formidable beast on the continent!

“I was wrong about him. I thought he was the most gifted of the Shen family’s younger generation.”

“So what? A loser who can barely draw in spiritual energy, paired with a useless cat that catches mice—what a perfect match!”

“What a pity about that twelve-rank Vermilion Bird.”

…

Hearing their words, Su Li instinctively glanced at Shen Luo. The boy’s face was calm, almost blank, but the whitened knuckles on his copy of The Encyclopedia of Beasts betrayed his feelings.

“It is a pity,” the green-robed youth said, his eyes bright with greed as he stared at the young Vermilion Bird on the floor. Though it looked little different from an ordinary bluebird, it could not hide its divine heritage. If only he could make it his own…

Almost without thinking, he reached out to grab the bluebird. But as his fingers grazed its feathers, a flash of white darted past and kicked the bird away.

The bluebird tumbled several times and landed at Shen Luo’s feet, blinking its beady green eyes in confusion.

Su Li: “You idiot. If you don’t want to end up roasted, hide yourself.”

With a chirp, the bluebird scampered up onto the couch and burrowed into the boy’s robe, leaving only its colorful tail quivering in the air.

Not only was it dumb, it was a coward, too!

Su Li couldn’t bear to look. As she turned around, she was startled to find a face looming before her, those peach-blossom eyes ablaze with fury. “You damned cat! How dare you ruin my plans!”

The green-clad youth instantly pulled a dagger from his spirit ring and lunged, thinking: Killing this beast will deal a heavy blow to Shen Luo. Then, while he’s distracted, I’ll seize the Vermilion Bird… I am the true hope of the Shen family.

The dagger, edged with wind, radiated a murderous intent. Su Li’s red cat eyes narrowed. In a flash, she leapt, her sharp claws raking three bloody lines across his cheek, then sprang onto his round head and launched herself to the rafters above.

“Ah—!”

A wail pierced the air.

Everyone watched as the green-robed youth crashed to the floor, three deep claw marks slashing from his eye to the corner of his mouth, blood streaming.

Meanwhile, the white beast lounged nonchalantly on the beam, her fluffy tail swaying in delight.

Shen Luo, at last, let out a breath of relief.

“What are you idiots standing around for? Kill that beast!” the green-robed youth shrieked, beside himself.

The others glanced at one another, but none moved.

Seething, the green-robed boy cursed, “I am the clan leader’s grandson! Whoever kills her, I guarantee you’ll never lack cultivation resources in the future!”

For these branch family youths, cultivation resources were an irresistible temptation; they all looked eager to act.

Seeing this, a glimmer of interest flashed in Su Li’s bright eyes. So it was him.

“Heh.”

Shen Luo gave a cold laugh. Rising from his seat, he strode to stand before Shen Fan, his gaze sweeping sharply over the crowd. “Are you sure you want to oppose a beast tamer who has contracted a twelve-rank divine beast?”

A chill crept into everyone’s hearts.

Shen Fan sneered, “So what? You’re just a useless cripple who can’t even draw in spiritual energy.”

“Pity some people can’t even match a cripple,” Shen Luo replied, crouching down, the cold in his eyes deepening. “Since I could contract the Vermilion Bird, what makes you think I won’t rise again in the coming years? No matter who you are, or where you hide, I will pour all my strength into vengeance.”

His quiet, low voice carried a hint of murderous intent, making Shen Fan’s hair stand on end. He forced a threat out through chattering teeth: “I’d like to see what you, a cripple, can achieve in a year’s time.”