"Chen An, which one do you want?"
"All three are pretty much the same," Zhao Xing said with a smile, "It depends on who’s willing to follow me."
"Please hold this ring in your hand, Marquis Yuan Rang," said the officer beside him, passing over a collar that was a bit large—it could even fit around an elephant.
"Buzz~" As soon as Zhao Xing grabbed the contract ring, a pulling force emanated from it, tugging at his Life Soul.
Zhao Xing didn’t resist and smoothly infused a trace of Soul Power into it.
All three puppies sniffed an unusual scent and growled towards Zhao Xing.
The Mastiff’s territorial awareness was strong; once the three Gray Lion cubs roared, the surrounding pups quickly scattered.
"Not willing to go?" Seeing the three strongest constantly back away, as he moved forward a step, they retreated a step.
By the third step, Zhao Xing no longer advanced; he shook his head and turned around.
He could have forcibly taken one, but fate can’t be forced.
Once Zhao Xing had turned, he laid the contract ring sideways at chest height and gently pushed it towards the puppies.
"Whoever wants to come with me, enter this ring," he said.
After speaking, Zhao Xing quietly observed.
If no puppy chose him, he would give up on the Gray Lion and select one of the remaining Greyhounds.
Ever since he learned spells related to fate, Zhao Xing came to believe in such things.
"Woof woof~" Eight puppies, as if understanding Zhao Xing’s words or simply out of curiosity, slowly approached the contract ring.
Just as one was about to stick its head through, suddenly—
A dark shadow leapt from behind the group of dogs, stepping on its companions’ backs and sprinting rapidly.
"Buzz~" It bit the ring in its mouth, attempting to drag it down.
"Woo woo~" The Gray Lion pup hung mid-air, continuously shaking its head and paddling its legs, but the contract ring didn’t budge an inch.
Zhao Xing watched, amused—the little thing treated it like a toy.
Unable to bite through or drag it down, it released its grip and fell to the ground with a plop.
Yet it continued to frantically paw at it.
"Bark~" It still prevented other pups from approaching.
It was very young, merely a month-old, but quite ferocious; its forehead, waist, and legs were covered with bite marks and missing plenty of fur.
Though the other pups had marks too, none had as many as it did.
"This is the most combative one," said the dog breeder nearby, "It doesn’t relent, even after losing, it even challenged the biggest three."
Hearing this, Zhao Xing moved closer.
But this balding Gray Lion cub, while it drove its peers away, didn’t drive Zhao Xing away. Instead, it stared at him curiously.
Zhao Xing crouched down, "Do you want to come with me? If you do, crawl in here."
The contract ring had already shrunk considerably; Zhao Xing held it with one hand, resting it on the ground.
If this bald Gray Lion pup took two steps, it could crawl through it.
It wagged its tail and ducked its head through the ring.
The ring swiftly contracted, becoming a pale golden collar that hung around its neck.
Zhao Xing felt a faint connection with the Gray Lion Dog, understanding that the Soul Contract had been established.
"Congratulations, Marquis Yuan Rang," the dog breeder offered his respects.
"Chen An, the Gray Lion is not affectionate towards humans; this little fellow actually took the initiative to come close to you—it looks like it’s fated," Liu Wanliang said with a smile.
"Indeed, it’s fated," Zhao Xing replied, holding the Gray Lion as he walked out.
But he couldn’t hold onto the little fellow for long before it grew restless and began to wriggle around.
Zhao Xing then let it loose to run about the palace.
Watching the energetic Gray Lion pup, Liu Wanliang asked, "Chen An, what do you plan to name it?"
Zhao Xing walked out of the palace alongside Liu Wanliang; the Gray Lion was now leaping onto a white jade pillar, howling skywards.
Zhao Xing pointed at it and laughed, "I have a cat named Ao Tian; let’s call this one Xiao Tian."
With the Aotian Cat and the Xiao Tian Dog, Mr. Zhao now had his hands full with both cats and dogs.
After the banquet, Princess You Ruo called on Zhao Xing and Ji Zixuan to accompany her for a walk around Heavenly Lake.
"Why did you choose only one? I was thinking of giving you several more slots in the preliminary rounds of the Beast Competition," she said.
Zhao Xing replied, "The strength of troops lies not in numbers. For this year’s winter preliminaries, I’m merely joining in for the excitement. The three additional slots teacher-mother gave me are already enough."
The Beast Competition has preliminaries every year, continuing until the cut-off a decade before the actual event.
Actually, this year’s winter preliminary slots for the Purple Cloud Islands have already been decided.
Princess You Ruo was essentially squeezing him in at the last minute.
Zhao Xing’s current situation really meant he was just joining the excitement.
Because even in the preliminaries, there are a multitude of Fifth and Fourth Grade battle creatures participating, with Sixth Grade beings very rare.
The islands to the west, ranked number one was Dragon Lion Island, which entered three Fourth Grade beasts.
The Mountain Cat was only Early Fifth Grade, and the Gray Lion was still a young pup, so this year was really just for testing the waters.
Princess You Ruo said, "If you want, I can also give you several Fourth Grade battle beasts and even assign you a few seasoned handlers."
Zhao Xing shook his head, wanting to borrow influence from Princess You Ruo, but not to be too tied down, as it could affect his future promotions.
Of course, he spoke differently, "Thank you, teacher-mother, for your kind offer; I’ve already benefited greatly. If teacher-mother were to intervene further, it could tarnish your reputation."
"I wouldn’t like to see people gossiping about you behind your back."
Princess You Ruo smiled, "Who would dare speak of me? But it’s good this way, too."
"I’ve heard that your contract with the Bishui Daoist School is progressing well, with even Qin Hongying coming to the Prince Mansion to inquire about you," she said.
"With this performance, you’re certainly living up to your teacher’s name."