Before long, Evan Chu and the group arrived at the place they'd left earlier. The Ice-Fire Twin Dragons were already gone, but at the node where they'd broken the restriction, a teleportation gate had appeared—one they'd all been waiting for.
"Haha! Boss, those two dragons have already broken the mirage—the teleportation gate has appeared! Let’s go!" Goldwing the Golden Vulture called out.
Evan examined the teleportation gate closely and found it was constructed from both ice and fire energies—the elemental fluctuations were obvious. Clearly, this was a gate created by the Ice-Fire Twin Dragons themselves.
His respect for the dragons’ abilities deepened once again.
Just then, Luna’s voice echoed in his mind: “Lin Feng, hurry up and get inside! This teleportation gate will only last for half an hour at most—if you miss it, you won’t be able to leave even if you want to.”
Luna’s warning made Evan realize how serious things were. He immediately called out, “Everyone, get inside! This gate will disappear soon—if you miss it, you won’t be able to leave!”
Just as Evan finished speaking, the Ice Dragon’s voice rang out from above: “Little brother, get through that gate quickly! We could only build a temporary one since we lacked materials. Time is short—may fate let us meet again!”
It was clear the Ice Dragon had left this message with a secret technique as it departed. The group exchanged glances and stepped into the teleportation gate one after another.
A ripple of space swept over them. When Evan and his companions emerged, they found themselves in the midst of swirling snowflakes—everything around was blanketed in silver.
"Big Brother, we’re back in the Monster Beast Forest! Even though everything’s buried under snow, I recognize this place. About three hundred li from here should be the teleportation gate where Zhao Fei and the others left." Macy Mei the Violet Thunder Fox said.
Evan looked around at everything, a bad feeling rising in his heart. He blurted out, “When we left here, it was early summer—lush green leaves everywhere. Now it’s a world of ice and snow. Has winter really come already?”
“That’s right. Every winter, the Monster Beast Forest gets buried in snow like this. Judging by the look of things, it’s deep into the cold season now. Does that mean we’ve been gone for over half a year?” Macy Mei exclaimed in shock.
"Over half a year? Doesn’t that mean the academy tournament is already over?" Jenny Sima said.
“Exactly! That’s what’s got me so worried. I have no idea if the Dean is going to skin me alive when I get back. It’s terrifying just thinking about it.” Evan said helplessly, unable to believe that what felt like only a few days had somehow turned into half a year.
"The Monster Beast Forest tournament is over, but the inter-academy student competition should be happening right about now! If we hurry, maybe we can still make it back in time!" Jenny Sima said.
After all, she was a member of the elite class and had experienced the inter-academy competition before. The final contest always happened within half a year after the Monster Beast Forest tournament ended—by her calculations, it should be happening now.
“Then we’d better not waste any time—Old Gold, transform back!” Evan ordered immediately.
Goldwing flew at full speed, snowflakes stinging their faces. Before long, they arrived at their destination.
Staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar teleportation gate, Evan said, “Jenny, you go back first. I’ll sign Soul Contracts with Macy and Goldwing, then follow. If the competition isn’t over, please let the Dean know what happened.”
Jenny understood what Evan meant, though she thought the Soul Contract ritual wouldn’t take long. If she’d known, she would’ve had them sign it elsewhere instead of waiting until now.
"Got it. Be careful!" Jenny Sima said with a smile.
Evan then cleared the snow from the stone platform in front of the gate, revealing a slot. He took out fifty magic crystals and placed them inside, saying, “Go ahead, and don’t forget to explain everything to the Dean.”
Jenny walked toward the teleportation gate, but nothing happened for a long while. She couldn’t help but ask, “Lin Feng, is the gate broken? It’s not responding.”
Evan thought for a moment and said, “Looks like we’ll have to leave together. This gate needs a hundred and fifty magic crystals for each use. If I send you ahead, I won’t have enough left for myself.”
"Heh, I’m not the one insisting on staying—it’s you asking me to!" Jenny said with a laugh.
"All right, then let’s stay. Goldwing, Macy, which of you wants to go first?" Evan asked.
"I’ll go first!" Goldwing volunteered.
Forming a Soul Contract was an extremely painful process. Once signed, betrayal was impossible—if a beast even thought of betraying its master, the master could erase that wisp of soul, leaving the beast crippled or even dead.
Most monster beasts would never agree to such a contract with a human—unless they genuinely wanted to. Otherwise, it was simply impossible.
Goldwing’s body suddenly erupted with golden light. A cry of agony echoed through heaven and earth, and a six-pointed star sigil appeared above Evan’s head.
Goldwing’s body gradually shrank, finally flying straight into the six-pointed star and disappearing.
The star grew brighter and brighter. Evan felt a tremendous force tugging at his soul, the pain almost unbearable.
“Lin Feng, split off a wisp of your soul and send it into the star. Goldwing’s bloodline means the star can’t separate your soul by itself—you have to hurry, or it’ll be dangerous!” Luna’s timely voice sounded.
Hearing this, Evan didn’t hesitate. He forced himself to split off a wisp of his soul—the pain was indescribable, so intense he almost wished he could faint just to escape it.
The six-pointed star spun in the air for several seconds before vanishing completely into Evan’s body. If he took off his shirt now, a golden bird tattoo would be visible on his back.
Drained and weak, Evan collapsed onto the snowy ground, his head throbbing with pain—he didn’t even have the strength to speak, only managing to glance feebly at Macy Mei.
"Big Brother, forming a Soul Contract really is agonizing. It’s not just you—Goldwing is suffering too. This is an act against the heavens, and he won’t recover for at least half a month," Macy Mei said.
Jenny’s face was full of worry as she looked at Evan’s pale complexion. “Macy, how can you sign a Soul Contract with him when he’s like this? Let’s wait for him to recover. Even if we miss the competition, it’s fine—we can just leave Heavenly Dragon Academy if we have to.”
"Sis, forming a Soul Contract is the ultimate show of loyalty for a beast. Once it’s signed, there’s no escape—if the master dies, the beast will die within days. That’s the power of the Soul Contract.
Big Brother is suffering right now, but I do have another way for him to take me out of here—it just depends on whether he’s willing.”
Evan slowly stood up and asked, “What’s your method? Tell me.”
“I can use a secret technique to turn myself into a monster beast egg. That way, you can carry me out,” Macy Mei explained.
“That’s all there is to it?” Evan asked doubtfully.
“Of course not. While I’m an egg, you have to give me a set amount of Starstones every day to keep up my Stellar Power. Otherwise, my strength will drop all the way down to that of a newborn cub,” Macy Mei said seriously.
This was a serious problem—if Evan was even a little careless, Macy Mei’s strength could plummet. It required absolute trust, no different from a Soul Contract.
The only difference was that when she hatched from the egg, she’d be free again.
“How long would it take?” Evan didn’t dare agree right away—if it took three or five years, he might not be able to manage it, and that could hurt her.
“Half a year. For six months, I’ll need Starstones every day. The higher the grade, the easier it is—a high-grade Starstone every three days, a top-grade one every month, or if you have a legendary Star Crystal, just one will do.”
“Star Crystal? Oh, then hurry up and transform—I think I actually have one of those…”