Who would've guessed we'd run into them here?
"Since the Tenfold Oblivion Arrow has appeared, I'll go with you," Azure Flame declared. "From now on, Fifth Highness Sean Shaw—you're my master."
Lucy Luan was so thrilled she bit her thumb in excitement.
Sean Shaw stammered, "How could a junior like me possibly accept such an honor?"
"This is the Holy Lord's will," Azure Flame said solemnly. "She once told me that when the Tenfold Oblivion Arrow appears again, that's when I must return to the world."
Sean Shaw bowed his head. "Then I'll trouble Senior Azure Flame!"
"No trouble at all," Azure Flame replied. "The fact that you've earned the Tenfold Oblivion Arrow's recognition is more than enough."
"Azure Flame! Are you really leaving?" Bones protested, clearly upset.
"Yes," Azure Flame answered. "It's time for me to go."
"So what am I supposed to do now?" Bones wailed.
"Come with me!" Bones called out, his voice full of feeling.
"No way! I don't want to go back to the Divine Realm! I can't eat anyone there—I'll be starving all the time!" Bones looked like he was about to cry.
"Then just stay here," Azure Flame replied, casual as ever.
"I don't want to be alone!" Bones wailed, sounding utterly miserable.
"I'll come back to visit you," Azure Flame promised, her tone gentle.
Bones, fuming, hurled the teapot and stormed off to the cave entrance, morphing back into a plant.
Lucy Luan shook her head with a smile and asked Azure Flame, "Senior, we've been ordered to bring spirit beasts to Drake Abyss—each of us needs one. Is there anything nearby that could come with me?"
Azure Flame thought for a moment, then said, "Wait here."
She beckoned, and an egg flew out from the depths of the cave.
It was pure white and flawless, with a few black spots on top.
"This egg—I found it here in this cave," Azure Flame said. "Its aura is really something. If you can hatch it, it'll be way better than anything out there."
Lucy Luan reached out, took the egg, and felt a surge of powerful bloodline energy from within.
"What kind of spirit beast is this?" Lucy asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
"I don't know either. We'll have to wait until it hatches to find out. You can give it a shot," Azure Flame replied.
Lucy Luan nodded, squeezed out a drop of her own blood, and drew a hatching talisman right onto the shell.
Divine Race blood, combined with a special talisman, can kickstart the hatching of spirit beast eggs.
But of course, it all comes down to fate.
Not every Divine Race's blood can wake it up.
Luckily, not long after she finished, a crack appeared in the eggshell.
Lucy Luan lit up with joy and set the egg down on the ground.
Slowly, the eggshell cracked open and a tiny spirit beast crawled out.
Its whole body was snow-white, with huge watery eyes and two black dots above its brows—absolutely adorable.
"Wow! It's a Moonlit Flood-Dragon!" Lucy Luan exclaimed, overjoyed. "So cute!"
"Mama!" The little Moonlit Flood-Dragon wagged its tail, leapt into Lucy Luan's arms, and snuggled close.
Lucy Luan looked at Azure Flame, "Uh... how can it talk right after hatching?"
"Spirit beasts develop a bit of intelligence while still in the egg," Azure Flame said. "Bones and I have lived here for tens of thousands of years—so it picked it up."
Lucy Luan stroked it, unable to let go. "It's got a half-divine bloodline—amazing! This is the one. Let's go home."
...
The gods gradually returned to the Divine Realm.
Once everyone was back, the Celestial Emperor decided to hold a selection ceremony.
The top three will get prizes.
As he put it, everything needs a sense of ceremony.
So he gathered everyone on the plaza and had them introduce their spirit beasts one by one.
Each person had brought back a powerful, highly cultivated demon beast.
Each one was unique, each had its own strengths.
Especially the one Princess Quinn Xiao brought back.
It was an extremely fierce ancient exotic beast.
It was called a Savage Hooktail Beast.
It had the body of a panther, white tiger stripes, a long hooked tail, and fierce, wild eyes.
None of the other spirit beasts dared make a sound in its presence.