Chapter 3: The Prodigy Summoner's Beloved

"Green Vine."

In the dead of night, a low, cold voice echoed through the darkness.

Beneath the bright moonlight, a green vine with a budding flower atop, its tendrils curling and twisting to about half a meter high, resembling a young child, stretched out its limbs and emerged from the green glow.

The green vine conveyed much until the moon had passed its zenith, when Yu Xuan finally sent it back.

Unaware of this scene, Lu Ningshi slept soundly next door.

—

The triennial Summoner’s Tournament was set to commence on the first day of September.

At the registration venue, Sun Le spotted Yu Xuan, waving and shouting, “Yu Xuan!”

“I heard you contracted another beast. Congratulations!”

He squeezed through the crowded crowd, wiping sweat from his brow, cheerfully offering his congratulations.

Yu Xuan’s expression remained cold. “What do you want?”

“The competition is about to start. Want to come check out our team?”

“No need.”

It was well-known that Yu Xuan didn’t form teams or join any guild; he preferred to compete alone in individual matches.

Sun Le shrugged, unsurprised. He had expected this.

“Yu Xuan, it’s been five years. Haven’t you forgotten about that thing yet?”

Knowing the likely outcome but unwilling to give up, Sun Le continued, “Our Flame Legion is one of the three major guilds. I can guarantee that if you join us, you’ll be our ace.”

Their ace was him, but his three contracted beasts had been with him for so long that opponents had thoroughly studied them.

Meanwhile, other guilds had absorbed many new talents over the years, making their teamwork stronger than ever.

If the Flame Legion lacked a new ace, they might very well fail to reach the top three this time.

“I don’t remember. No consideration.”

Yu Xuan’s cold gaze remained unchanged, his words clipped and final.

“Alright, I’ll go ahead then.”

“Hey, Yu Xuan, are you sure you won’t reconsider?”

Sun Le stood on tiptoe, neck stretched, shouting amid the crowd.

Yu Xuan turned away without a trace of hesitation.

Outside the gate, the plaza bustled with people.

Lu Ningshi leaned against a car door, a lollipop in her mouth, absorbed in a hopping game on her phone.

“I want a lollipop too!”

Her skirt was tugged downward. She swiped sideways on the phone, and the little character in the game plopped into the river.

A chubby little boy’s arm, resembling a lotus root in shape, sticky and dirty fingers grabbed at her red skirt and pulled again.

“Give it to me quickly, I want to eat too,” he ordered arrogantly.

“Get lost!”

Lu Ningshi flicked his hand away like shooing a fly, tugging at her skirt spotted with black stains, her nose twitching slightly.

She used considerable force, and the boy’s knuckles reddened.

“How dare you hit me? You evil wild fox, you slut, nobody wants a bastard like you!”

He glared with wide eyes, furiously pointing at her and unleashing every insult he knew.

Lu Ningshi pressed a hand over his mouth, half-lifting him and pinning him against the car.

Her slender fingers traced his face, leaving a red scratch where they passed.

“Little brat, since you can’t speak properly, maybe I should help pull your tongue out.”

Her left index finger pressed under his chin and jabbed upward, “Just poke a hole here, I guarantee I can pull out a whole one.”

The boy’s eyes suddenly widened, full of terror.

Tears streamed down his face, making his pressed-together features look even puffier and soaked.

“Wah… wah wah…”

He struggled with all limbs, pounding on her wrist.

“Move again and I’ll chop your hand off,” Lu Ningshi threatened darkly.

“Ah—what are you doing, you slut? Let go of my son!”

Nearby, a gaudily dressed woman chatting with someone turned sharply when she saw her son being bullied, shouting at the top of her lungs.

“Lao Yang! Lao Yang, come quick! Someone’s bullying our son!”

“Who? Who dares bully my son?”

Holding a cotton candy, Lao Yang pushed aside the person blocking his way.

His eyes lit up when he saw Lu Ningshi in the crowd, about to speak, but then noticed his son convulsing in her grasp, a wet patch spreading on his pants, utterly miserable.

“Is it because of trash like you that he was born a bastard?”

Lu Ningshi glanced sideways upon hearing the commotion.

She sized up the man’s crew cut and rough, dark skin and sneered, “No wonder. The ugly old man gave birth to a fat, filthy one. They really are the same kind.”

“You’re asking for death!”

Lao Yang’s face instantly darkened. Since becoming a Rank One Summoner, no one had dared speak to him like that.

Two words from Lu Ningshi enraged him to the point of boiling, wishing she would immediately kneel and beg for mercy.

“Falcon, come out!”

Lao Yang shouted, and suddenly a huge eagle appeared behind him.

It flapped its wings, forming two whirlpools around it.

“You’re a summoner?”

Lu Ningshi raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

She was just wondering where to start, and this opponent had come right to her.

Tsk, what luck.

Lao Yang stared at Lu Ningshi and smiled darkly, “It’s too late to beg now. Falcon, tear her apart!”

A summoner like him could easily kill a defenseless woman.

Even if he killed her in public and onlookers saw, what then?

An ordinary person’s death wouldn’t concern the Association.

The falcon reared back and screeched, its brown talons striking toward her.

“Beg for mercy? I won’t give you that chance.”

Lu Ningshi sneered.

She stood her ground as faint mist quickly gathered at her fingertips, condensing into a dark, purplish-black mass.

“Green Vine.”

Several green vines darted swiftly through gaps in the crowd, then suddenly shot upward, firmly binding and tightening around the falcon’s wings, beak, and claws.

The falcon let out a piercing scream, feathers falling like snowflakes as it flailed.

Lu Ningshi turned sideways, frowning in displeasure.

Who was it?

Who could control his summoned beast in a single strike?

Startled, Lao Yang hurriedly looked back.

“Yu—Yu Xuan?!”

He trembled all over, eyes wide with disbelief.

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