Chapter 53: New Dragon Pet
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Zhu Minglang bit his finger and quickly drew a sigil on the forehead of this young dragon whelp, the very sigil of a Spirit Contract, which he was signing with this soul that was about to dissipate.
The young dragon showed hardly any resistance, probably because its internal organs were shattered to pieces, leaving it with no strength to fight back.
Its soul, under the signing of the Spirit Contract, became linked with Zhu Minglang, and upon success, Zhu Minglang immediately sent it into his Spirit Realm so that the spiritual energy there could sustain that last breath of life.
This was actually very dangerous.
The young dragon was a dying life; if it did not survive after the Spirit Contract was signed, it would mean Zhu Minglang’s dragon pet had died, causing the Spirit Contract to shatter.
Once a Spirit Contract shattered, it would backlash severely against Zhu Minglang, not only causing him to suffer a grave soul injury but also rendering the contract thoroughly necrotic, beyond repair.
A broken Spirit Contract could no longer be signed with other dragons.
Zhu Minglang currently had only three Spirit Contracts.
As one aspiring to be a Dragon Shepherd, losing an important Spirit Contract during one’s growth was a major taboo.
But some lives, they just emanate an indescribable radiance, making it very hard for Zhu Minglang to ignore.
Still, he went ahead with it.
Even at the cost of a sacrifice, Zhu Minglang hoped that the young dragon whelp in his arms could survive, for it so yearned to stay in this world, even if most of its brief life was filled with torment and pain.
It was now night, and Zhu Minglang felt the elder should be in the Reserve Dragon Storage Hall.
He flew towards the Reserve Dragon Storage Hall and, pushing the doors open, immediately saw the old man lying drowsily on a rattan chair.
“Elder Master Wu, please help me save it,” Zhu Minglang said without any hesitation, opening his Spirit Realm and placing the young dragon whelp in front of Master Wu.
Startled awake by Zhu Minglang’s voice, what Master Wu saw before him was a bloodied whelp, its body almost twisted to breaking, looking as pitiable as the corpse of a cur by the roadside!
Master Wu’s first reaction was to lay the whelp flat and then use his spiritual power to create a warm mist like that of a hot spring, enveloping the young dragon whelp while quickly massaging its bones back into place to ensure proper blood flow.
“Go to the Rehabilitation Pavilion, get a barrel of Healing Spring Water, hurry!”
Master Wu instructed Zhu Minglang.
Zhu Minglang did not dare delay and immediately ran towards the Rehabilitation Pavilion.
Having signed the Spirit Contract, the young dragon’s pain was now transmitting to Zhu Minglang’s mind through their soul connection. Upon tasting barely a tenth of this soul feedback, Zhu Minglang was finding it quite unbearable.
With this bond and connection, Zhu Minglang was even more determined not to let the young dragon die. He found a wooden barrel, filled it with Healing Spring Water, and flew back once again.
The night grew deeper in the Reserve Dragon Storage Hall, where several little heads curiously gathered around the platform, bewildered as they watched the young dragon whelp lying there opening its eyes, then closing them again, and before long, opening them once more…
Finally, Master Wu, his face covered in sweat mixed with blood, told Zhu Minglang to lift the young dragon whelp, letting its body be completely submerged in the wooden barrel filled with the Healing Spring Water.
“It’s good that you arrived in time,” Master Wu said with a long sigh of relief, then added, “Otherwise, I would have gone back to sleep.”
“Will it survive?” Zhu Minglang looked at the young dragon whelp in a complete coma and expressed his concern.
“Hmph, as long as you can bring it to me and it’s still breathing, I can keep it alive,” said Mr. Wu.
“On my first day at the Dragon Taming Academy, I knew right away that you sir, are an immortal among men,” Zhu Minglang sincerely admired.
“You’re being reckless. A dying young dragon; if it dies, so be it. Do the creatures of the great forest not die every day? So a young dragon can’t die, is that it? You almost jeopardized your own future!” Mr. Wu’s tone grew stern as he expressed strong disapproval of Zhu Minglang’s actions.
After understanding the situation, Mr. Wu really didn’t know how to assess his student Zhu Minglang.
As a Dragon Shepherd, the soul is very important. If one wishes to advance further, the Spirit Contract absolutely must not be broken. It affects not just one dragon, but also the growth of the Dragon Shepherd himself.
“It was a special circumstance,” Zhu Minglang said with a wry smile.
“Tonight, you’ll keep watch. I’m going back to sleep. Oh, and by the way, settle your account later. The Rehabilitation Pavilion isn’t a charity,” said Mr. Wu, pounding his back as he walked out of the Reserve Dragons Storage Hall.
Zhu Minglang quickly bowed in thanks; the man had helped him out a great deal once again, and keeping watch for the elderly was the least he could do!
“Oh, do you know what breed it is?” Mr. Wu stopped at the doorway and turned back to ask Zhu Minglang.
“Not yet, ” Zhu Minglang replied.
“You, signing a Spirit Contract with a dragon when you don’t even know its breed… You’re lucky, that boy. When it wakes up, feed it some Nanmu Juice. It’s perfect for producing Jade Blood,” Mr. Wu said, finally cracking a smile.
“Isn’t it a Green Forest Dragon or a Forest Giant Dragon?” Zhu Minglang asked in surprise.
“Much stronger,” came the reply.
After speaking, Mr. Wu had reached the doorway, followed by several particularly clingy Juvenile Spirits, but they were quickly scolded back by Mr.
wu.
Zhu Minglang bid him farewell and closed the door of the Reserve Dragons Storage Hall.
After patrolling for a while, the Juvenile Spirits were as unruly as ever, clamorous and restless. Without being coaxed back into their nests and locked up, they simply didn’t wish to sleep.
It wasn’t until the latter part of the night that the Juvenile Spirits finally settled down to sleep, and only then did the Reserve Dragons Storage Hall quiet down completely.
Zhu Minglang walked over to the wooden barrel and gazed at the young whelp, trying to see the extraordinary qualities Mr. Wu had mentioned. But Zhu Minglang had only seen it bloodied and battered; he reckoned he would only be able to tell what made it different once it was fully recovered.
As the onset of winter began, glistening frost covered the Dragon Taming Academy. It hung from the branches now bereft of leaves, lay scattered among the bushes, and spread over the small courtyards.
Zhu Minglang stretched and realized he was the first to wake up that day, his classmates seemed still to be hiding under their blankets, and even the most studious Li Shaoying was nowhere to be seen training the Juvenile Spirits.
Zhu Minglang was also tired, but he had no choice; he had a lot to do lately.
First, he had to go to the Foundry early in the morning to regain his basic skills. This required diligence and persistence.
Luckily, after being promoted to a true Dragon Shepherd, Zhu Minglang’s physique had improved greatly, and he no longer had to wander near the boats every day, his body sore and fatigued, pondering life.
Next, he had a large sum of Dragon Den Treasure to deal with. He needed to find a suitable place to offload it so he could become wealthy.. That way, he could buy high-quality nectar for Little White and forge the Heavy Armor he wanted!