Chapter Twenty-Five: The Cause

"You just said that the Hellbone Dragon was sealed into Hell?" Chu Tian narrowed his eyes, asking thoughtfully.

"No, my lord! It was Purgatory!" Barbossa shook his head and continued to explain: "If it were merely sealed in Hell, the Hellbone Dragon could easily return to the mortal realm. Only the more mysterious Purgatory is capable of truly imprisoning a tenth-tier magical beast!"

Chu Tian fixed his gaze on Barbossa, pressing urgently, "So you're saying the Tenth-Tier Golden Dragon King can traverse space?"

"Yes, my lord!" Though he didn’t understand why the marquis cared so much about this question, Barbossa answered earnestly: "The domain power of a tenth-tier magical beast can indeed tear through space. Their strength is already approaching the divine. While they can't manipulate space as a god can, sealing an opponent into another realm is well within their power."

Hearing Barbossa’s answer, Chu Tian furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice, "Then could they also bring others from another space to the Phantom Beast Continent?"

"Well..." Barbossa hesitated, pondering for a long time before replying with certainty, "From the principles of magic, such a situation is entirely possible!" As he finished, Barbossa seemed to recall something else and added, "But there’s one thing for certain: if two tenth-tier beasts unleash their domains simultaneously, it could very likely cause a spatial disruption!"

"Hmph!" Chu Tian suddenly snorted, startling both Selina and Barbossa. "Vladino, what's wrong?" Selina asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking that the power of a tenth-tier magical beast is truly terrifying," Chu Tian replied calmly. Though his expression was tranquil as still water, a raging storm had already arisen in his heart.

Two tenth-tier magical beasts capable of rending space, the location being the border of the Sunset Mountains and the Duskmire Marsh, and the timing coinciding exactly with the days when Chu Tian crossed over—this string of clues revealed a truth: ******! I was brought here by those two damned beasts!

Upon reviewing the process of his crossing, Chu Tian finally confirmed it: it was the spatial rift created by the battle of tenth-tier beasts that caused his transmigration!

Half a year ago, on a day on Earth, Chu Tian had just left a pet hospital, grumbling about the difficulties of finding work as he made his way back to school. But as if fate itself opposed him, the clear sky suddenly turned, and what had been a fair and sunny day became filled with thunder and lightning. Passersby scattered into nearby buildings for shelter.

Chu Tian hurried along with the others toward any place that could shield him from the rain, but he was luckier than those with empty hands—he had a traditional Chinese medicine textbook, which he used as an umbrella.

That textbook was itself a mockery of his fruitless job hunt. The difficulty of finding work as a veterinarian had forced Chu Tian to think outside his field—using traditional Chinese medicine to treat animals! This was the gimmick Chu Tian devised to impress potential employers.

The day before his interview, Chu Tian borrowed the textbook from the library and crammed a long list of terms about meridians and acupuncture points throughout the night. The next day, brimming with confidence, he attended the interview. But his little ruse was quickly exposed—when the scholarly interviewer heard Chu Tian forcibly applying traditional Chinese medical theory to animals, he erupted in anger, scolding Chu Tian for "desecrating Chinese cultural heritage," and promptly threw him out.

At least the book still had its uses; though it failed to fool the interviewer, it saved Chu Tian from the rain. As he congratulated himself for having a book as a shield, the sky suddenly went pitch black. Amidst rolling layers of dark clouds, a bolt of lightning struck Chu Tian, and instantly, a massive black vortex swallowed him whole...

When Chu Tian opened his eyes again, he was already in the Sunset Mountains. The textbook had completed its mission—falling apart, leaving only a few pages of meridian diagrams. Even those, after Chu Tian tired of looking at them, were tossed away.

Over the following month, Chu Tian began living like a primitive man, until he met Canas.

Praise the Goddess of Life! Just my luck—first, I can’t find a job, then I get dragged into another world by two wretched magical beasts, Chu Tian thought with a bitter smile. But then he recalled the beautiful, gentle Selina, the bratty yet adorable Little White, and looked at his own luxurious estate. Chu Tian laughed—this place wasn’t so bad, after all! At least it was much better than Earth!

With that thought, Chu Tian chuckled at himself and murmured, "Heaven and earth are indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs; but a man must still live, mustn’t he?"

Though his words were softly spoken, they were loud enough for the other two to hear. "Heaven and earth are indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs..." Selina savored the philosophical phrase and sighed softly, "Vladino, you always surprise me!"

Barbossa, too, grasped the meaning behind the cryptic wisdom, though he misunderstood, thinking Chu Tian was encouraging him. He suddenly looked up, his pale, sullen face flushing with excitement, and said with emotion, "My lord! Even without magic, I will strive to live on!"

At this, Chu Tian couldn’t help but laugh. Perhaps a career as a literary thief truly has a bright future...

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Barbossa became Chu Tian’s butler and magical advisor! Although his abilities as a mage had yet to be tested, Barbossa was undeniably an excellent steward.

Thanks to Barbossa’s training, Chu Tian’s household of ‘Imperial Assassins’ became much more disciplined, and no major blunders occurred again. Of course, Little White also deserved some credit—were it not for its efforts in upholding Chu Tian’s reputation, chasing after the servants to inspect their work, and assisting Barbossa with its sharp fangs, Barbossa’s job might not have gone so smoothly!

Though the servants were now well-behaved, the mess left behind still required Chu Tian to clean up.

The Zieg Grand Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in Pompeii City and the largest in all of Caesar, was where Chu Tian and the Minister of Magic, Damar, now sat in the top-floor private suite. The reason: Chu Tian was there to apologize to Damar! After all, when your own servants beat up your superior so badly he didn’t dare show his face for half a month, some kind of gesture was required.

"Heh, Lord Damar, I truly must apologize for what happened last time. My servants didn’t recognize you and even went so far as to..." Chu Tian looked at Damar’s still-swollen face, bowing his head in contrition.

Chu Tian couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and helplessness at Damar’s experience. Never before had an imperial minister been so unassuming—dressed little better than a commoner while visiting, and who could say where his handsome salary went?

"It’s fine, it’s fine! I’m perfectly all right now," Damar replied, rubbing his face. He glanced at the lavish spread before them, swallowed hard with a loud gulp, and slyly licked his upper lip. "Vladino, a feast like this at the Zieg Grand Hotel must cost a fair bit of gold, doesn’t it?"

It was no surprise Damar would ask. The Zieg Grand Hotel, named after its owner, was headquartered in the commercial kingdom of Scott. Though Zieg’s fortune couldn’t rival the Pampas family, he was still a magnate—as shown by the hotel chain’s presence across the continent.

All Zieg Grand Hotels followed a luxury model, serving only the elite. Gaining entry was a mark of status, and the prices matched.

"It’s nothing much, only two or three thousand gold coins..." Chu Tian replied nonchalantly.

Damar was startled, swallowing again. "Two... two or three thousand?!" His eyes went wide in disbelief, as though he’d just heard a fairy tale.