"Passengers, welcome aboard the floating ship Gray Eagle. After a long journey of three days and three nights, we have arrived at the middle ring area of the Endless Sand Domain. We still have three hours to go before our final destination, the Mountain and Sea Academy. Please take a moment to prepare. I am Captain Deng Banting…"

The interior of the ornate cabin was bustling with 20-30 people sitting there, all looking like young boys and girls 15-16 years old.

"Looking to the stars and moon, I've been looking forward to this day!"

"That's right. 12 years of diligent study and training, what is it for? Isn't it just to open up the Soul Sea and become a Master. Be patient and just wait a little more, and you'll get your wish soon!"

"Hehe, what type of pet beast are you guys planning to contract? I've already made up my mind; it has to be a lightning attribute, and the most ideal one is of course the Electric Rat!"

***

The young, still slightly immature faces were filled with excitement and joy.

Bai Wushang watched them silently, a similarly expectant smile running across the corners of his mouth.

When he turned his head and saw the young girl who was sleeping with her arms around him, Bai Wushang sighed instead.

Habitually tapping the young girl's dark and oily head, Bai Wushang rather helplessly said, "Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, wake up—you've been asleep for half the day!"

"Hmm?"

Probably because she had just woken up, a faint blush was still swirling on the young girl's face.

Her looks could not be called stunning, but her countenance was delicate and small enough, with a goose-egg face, straight bridge of the nose, small red mouth, and green hair naturally falling over her shoulders, just like the image of the young sister next door in his mind.

"Is it the station? "Mu Xiaoxiao rubbed her sleepy eyes, her small mouth muttering, still a little irritated on having been woken.

"Soon." Bai Wushang glanced at her with no good grace as he moved his stiff and numb arm. "If you keep sleeping, I'll probably lose this arm!"

Mu Xiaoxiao pouted in disbelief.

"I just dreamed of a Fishbone Bird, and it was delicious…"

Seeing that Bai Wushang was not paying attention to her, Mu Xiaoxiao had an idea as all her fingers sneakily rested on Bai Wushang's shoulder.

"Brother Wushang, let me give you a massage, okay? I've studied orthopedic massage. My technique is first-class!"

Bai Wushang's first reaction was that it was unreliable.

After feeling it twice, he grimaced in pain as expected, and pushed Mu Xiaoxiao's arm away at once.

"Enough, enough. If you have time to play around, why don't you think about how you're going to explain yourself to your cousin when you get to the academy later?"

Mu Xiaoxiao stopped massaging, turned to clutch Bai Wushang's sleeve, and said in an aggrieved manner, "What's there to explain—I just don't want to go to the Green Phoenix Female Academy. Brother Tianxing is in the Mountain and Sea Academy, and Brother Wushang is also going to the Mountain and Sea Academy, so why should I go to the Green Phoenix Female Academy by myself? That's no fun!"

"Well, you can't sneak out without saying anything, can you? Your family must be worried sick…"

Bai Wushang held his forehead and sighed.

Though Mu Xiaoxiao looked harmless and innocent, she was pretty naughty and unruly, and she'd been in trouble quite often. Bai Wushang had taken the blame for her countless times.

Unexpectedly, in the significant event of a lifetime, selecting a pet beast cultivation academy, her family had arranged her entrance into the Green Phoenix Female Academy, one that was more suitable for her. They had formed many good relationships in advance, but Mu Xiaoxiao didn't go, and even followed Bai Wushang secretly, going on a floating ship to the Mountain and Sea Academy.

Mu Xiaoxiao had a cousin three years older than her called Mu Tianxing. He was the eldest son of the current head of the Mu Family, and was currently enrolled as a fourth-year student of the Mountain and Sea Academy.

In Bai Wushang's impression, Mu Tianxing had limited care for his cousin Mu Xiaoxiao. He was as stern as a doting father, treating her with very high demands in her daily studies, cultivation, and work.

This time, Mu Xiaoxiao had capriciously changed academies on her own, and when Mu Tianxing found out about it, she would inevitably receive a scolding.

"Hee hee, let's talk about it then. I'm here anyway. Brother Tian Xing can't chase me back, right?" said Mu XiaoXiao, making a face at Bai Wushang with a strange confidence.

Just as Bai Wushang was planning to lecture Mu Xiaoxiao further…

The floating ship that had been moving steadily forward suddenly trembled violently, causing countless people inside the ship to cry out in alarm.

"Look out the window. What's that?!"

Bai Wushang glanced following the sound, only to see that the azure sky, which was initially blazing with the sun shining high and cloudless for miles, was dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the distance, black clouds rolled in, covering half the sky.

Thick and incomparably bright purple lightning bolts intertwined and collided in the black clouds, dancing like a snake demon in madness.

The sound of the lightning roaring, even through the thick layer of the ship's planking, was still deafening and frightening.

"A thunderstorm?"

Bai Wushang froze, and then felt that something wasn't right—what kind of dark cloud of lightning formed such a large area in just a few dozen seconds?

"Chirp!"

Out of the doomsday-like black cloud of lightning, there was a sudden, mournful bird cry of the utmost intensity, and a behemoth peeked out from the cloud, its scarlet eyes looking distantly at the floating ship.

In the instant of a lightning's flicker, Bai Wushang saw the monster's entire appearance, and his body froze as if he had lost his soul, and was motionless.

It was a colossal raptor with a dragon's head and a bird's body, with a wingspan of nearly 100 meters, but it didn't have a single feather on its body, and purple dragon scales covered it in its entirety.

The scales looked like they were forged out of metal, and were filled with an incredible sense of beauty and power.

Its head resembled that of legendary dragons, with a pair of golden, curved horns that curled backward, looking noble and holy.

However, its beak was a curved one, black and sharp, several meters long, and still stained with the blood of a fierce beast. It had obviously just fought and killed something.

Even more terrifying were its claws, thick as oxen, sharp as knives, and with a ghastly glare. They had to be able to tear through the defensive deck of the floating ship easily!

"Purple… Purple… Purple Electric Dragon Eagle?" muttered Mu Xiaoxiao as she gulped. "How could a monster of this level appear here…"

"It doesn't seem to be in the right mind. Look at its eyes, bright red like blood; it is clearly in a state of rage. What exactly has happened to make it so mad that it has gone out of its way to come to this barren desert, away from its nest…" Bai Wushang forced himself to calm down, and briefly analyzed the situation.

Obviously, the furious Purple Electric Dragon Eagle noticed the floating ship in the distance that was a great deal smaller than it, and its bright red pupils were filled with disgust as its purple scaled wings flapped hard, and swooped over like a lightning bolt.

"Everyone, sit where you are. Defense systems fully activate and activate extreme overload mode!"

The captain's voice of forced composure came over the radio, followed by a rapid deviation of the ship's bow, and the ship shot in the opposite direction as fast as it could.

Bai Wushang and Mu Xiaoxiao were riding on the floating ship that was the latest model configured by the Mountain and Sea Academy and equipped with abundant power. Generally, it was enough to rival the majority of complete form flying creatures, and the safety factor was extremely high in the outer and even middle ring regions of the Endless Sand Domain.

However, this Purple Electric Dragon Eagle was so terrifyingly big that it was likely a monster of the ultimate form!

Seeing the huge and hideous body of the Purple Electric Dragon Eagle getting closer and closer, everyone in the cabin couldn't sit still, and there were even timid girls who cried out all of a sudden.

"Hiss!"

The sharp wings flickering with demonic purple lightning were like a supreme sword, splitting the floating ship in two.

In a flash of lightning, Bai Wushang only had time to pounce on Mu Xiaoxiao, hoping to give her a little extra protection.

Then, the world was spiraling, and his consciousness fell into silence.