Chapter 1

In my first life, I chose the Black Dragon.
He called me dull and rigid, then secretly took up with my junior sister.

In my second life, I chose the Azure Phoenix.
He found my looks too ordinary and fell for my junior sister’s breathtaking beauty.

In my third life, I chose the White Qilin.
He thought I was too weak and coveted her heavenly spiritual root. At the beast-taming tournament, he abandoned me and joined her side.

After three lifetimes of betrayal, I finally figured it out.
My standards for choosing a beast were completely wrong. No wonder it kept happening.

So, in my fourth life, I marched straight to the back of the line and scooped up the dying female beast.

“I choose her!”

Everyone froze.

01

The Black Dragon, Azure Phoenix, and White Qilin stood at the head of the line. They were the finest spirit beasts of this generation.

The Beast-Taming Sect’s disciples eyed them with undisguised longing. But as the eldest disciple, I had first choice. They had to wait.

I swept my gaze over the three beasts. Still young and weak, they looked so innocent, so eager for me to choose them.

I knew better than anyone what they really were: three ungrateful wretches.

Whichever one I chose, I would end up ruined.

In my first life, the Black Dragon found me dull and rigid. In my second, the Azure Phoenix thought me plain. In my third, the White Qilin called me weak.

They had conveniently forgotten how they became so powerful. I had risked my life for the best resources and raised them painstakingly, one mouthful at a time.

Then they turned on me in an instant—and somehow each believed himself grievously wronged.

Where was all that indignation when they took my opportunities?
When they drained my spirit energy?
When they used my resources?

Only after they became famous did years at my side suddenly seem like a terrible humiliation.

Hah!

I had thought, If this one doesn’t work out, surely the next will.
The next proved just as worthless. So I thought, Surely the one after that.
Another ingrate!

I began to doubt myself.

I had done everything I could for them. I didn’t think I had done anything wrong. Wasn’t it only natural to treat your contract beast well?

Most likely, the problem was how I chose them.

All three traitors had been male.

That made the answer perfectly obvious: no males!

Wouldn’t choosing a female be a thousand times better?

02

Under everyone’s astonished gaze, I passed the Black Dragon, Azure Phoenix, and White Qilin and headed straight toward the back.

For some reason, almost every spirit beast in that interminable line was male.

I looked them over without pausing.

At the very end, I finally found a female.

She was snow-white, soft and fluffy. Unfortunately, she was barely breathing, collapsed where no one spared her a glance.

I picked her up.

“I choose her!” I announced.

Everyone stared.

My master was furious enough to rap me on the head. “Mo Jinghong, have you lost your mind? I won’t allow it! Choose the Black Dragon, the Azure Phoenix, or the White Qilin. Any of them—but not that!”

“Master, my contract beast has to be one I want. I don’t like any of those three.”

“You! Have you gone mad? Spirit beasts like them come along once in ten thousand years!”

“Looking at them makes me sick.”

She nearly fainted with anger.

The other sect masters hastily chimed in. “Very well. It’s your choice, so don’t regret it. Hurry and form the contract.”

They could hardly have been happier to see me pass over those three. Now their own disciples had a chance.

My master stamped her foot. “No! Absolutely not! Mo Jinghong, if you dare bind yourself to it, don’t call me your master again!”

I stopped, torn.

She had raised me from infancy. She was both my teacher and my mother. After such a declaration before everyone, I couldn’t simply defy her.

I knew she wanted the best for me.

To anyone watching, choosing a dying female beast was as good as throwing away my future. How could she bear to watch that happen?

In all three previous lives, she had stayed beside me after each betrayal, exhausting herself to help me rise again.

I could oppose anyone else. Not her.

I tightened my arms around the beast.

My master came over and pinched my ear. “Put it down. Go choose one of those three. Their talents are outstanding. Even if you shut your eyes and picked at random, you couldn’t go wrong.”

I sighed. “Master, we’re not meant for each other.”

“Nonsense! How could you not be? You’re the eldest disciple of the Beast-Taming Sect!”

“Look who they’re staring at.”

She faltered and instinctively turned.

At once, she noticed.

All three beasts had their eyes fixed on my junior sister.

“Well…”

“Choosing a contract beast has to go both ways, Master. What good is my consent alone? They don’t care about me at all.”

She fell silent, then frowned unhappily. “Fine. You needn’t choose them. Choose another.”

“I only want her.”

“No! What even is that thing? A mongrel beast that can’t so much as take human form. Its potential is pitiful. Jinghong, you deserve better!”

“Master, I only want her.”

“You… Are you trying to kill me with anger?”

“I’ve thought this through. She’s the one I want. I don’t care about the others.”

“But why…?”

She looked bewildered.

I had always obeyed her and seldom opposed her wishes. She couldn’t understand what was so wonderful about this female beast that I would defy her again and again.

But I remained firm.

She looked at me for a long time.

At last, she yielded.

“All right. It’s your contract beast. Decide for yourself.”

I smiled.

I had known she would agree.

Someone who truly loves you will always be willing to give ground for your sake.

03

I carried the female beast back to my courtyard and put her in the bed I had prepared for her, right beside my own.

Young contract beasts had to stay near their owners like this, even when sleeping. Their owners’ spirit energy would nourish them day and night, allowing the two energies to grow compatible and preventing rejection or conflict when the beast matured.

I studied her for ages and still couldn’t tell what she was.

Her snow-white fur was soft and slightly curly, like a sheep’s, but her claws looked feline.

I felt her head. No horns. Probably not a sheep.

Yet her limbs were long and sturdy, without a cat’s suppleness.

Perhaps my master was right. Perhaps she was a mixed-breed beast.

If so, I would accept it.

Such beasts had very limited potential. Even if I lavished every precious herb and treasure on her, the furthest she could reach might fall short of where the Black Dragon, Azure Phoenix, and White Qilin began.

But that hardly mattered.

However powerful a spirit beast was, if it wouldn’t do anything for you, it was no more useful than dirt by the roadside.

Worse, those three had turned around and bitten me.

The stronger you made them, the worse the bite.

Why should I put myself through that?

In this life, I would quietly raise this little mongrel.

Whatever she lacked, I could make up for it.