"But your body seems to be even more frail than when you came."
"Will there be a problem with the Contracted Spirit Fond Spirits if you don't rest for a while?"
Concern filled Jia Pengpeng's face as he hesitated.
Ye Hanjun shook his head: "The jerky that Elder Jiang gave me, it seems to be from a Jade Infant fetus."
"After eating it, I feel warm all over, and my state of weakness has improved slightly."
"In addition to that, as an Active Awakener, my innate soul is stronger than others of the same age. Supporting a spirit pact... shouldn't be a problem."
"Okay, then we'll set off."
Jia Pengpeng nodded, raising his arm:
"Come out, Da Xiong!"
"Caw! Caw!!"
The moment the Giant Sparrow appeared, it let out a loud cry. Apparently being confined in the Contract Space is unbearable torture for it.
"Target, the Chick House!"
"Estimated time of arrival, before 7 o'clock!"
At this time, the sun was setting west, the fiery sunset was burning brightly, stars began to seep out from the Night Curtain, and the illusory shadows of three crescent moons quietly loomed overhead.
Ye Hanjun did not speak much, grabbing onto the feathers of the Giant Sparrow with one hand and closing his eyes with the other, adjusting his breathing as much as possible.
Healing a body full of wounds is not an instantaneous task, it requires a long cycle.
The Blood Covenant ritual related to the Instructor requires a substantial amount of resource preparation and equally requires a robust body and vibrant soul to ensure an absolute success rate.
The only thing Ye Hanjun could do now was to contract the first spirit belonging to the Instructor, to enhance his ability to survive from the most critical perspective.
After all... If one doesn't even have a contracted spirit, how could they be a Patron?
"Mr. Han, we're here."
The giant sparrow gradually descended, and Ye Hanjun opened his eyes and slid from its back onto the ground.
When he looked up, under the shrouded dusk, a white city gate stood high above, at least fifty meters high.
Gazing further within, roads are paved with regular blue stones, and on both sides were all kinds of spacious and brightly lit shops. With the colorful lantern shadows swaying in the evening breeze, a dreamy and diverse world is born there.
"Mr. Han, I am neither a student nor a mentor, so I don't have the qualifications to enter this area."
Jia Pengpeng scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
Ye Hanjun pondered for a few seconds, thanked him again for his help, indicated that he would go alone, and that he didn't need to worry.
"Goodbye for now, Mr. Han." Jia Pengpeng grinned, making a heartfelt wish:
"I have a premonition that Mr. Han's arrival will set off a considerable splash at the Canghai Pavilion."
"I look forward to seeing Mr. Han lecturing at the podium and also look forward to seeing what breed and attribute Mr. Han's first contracted spirit will be."
"Let's wait and see."
Ye Hanjun waved his hand and marched forward.
As he passed the entrance, he took out his Personal Badge.
With a beep, there was a slight resistance in his body, as if passing through a thin bubble.
"Oh, another newcomer?"
The first shop on the street, an old man with his bare torso was sitting on a stool leisurely enjoying the cool breeze with a palm fan. In front of him, a patterned large python noticed Ye Hanjun passing but only sleepily opened its eyes before falling back asleep.
"Feel free to look around, newbies can take away a spirit from the Chick House for free with their Personal Badge. The academy covers the expenses!"
The old man greeted without showing any intention of getting up.
Ye Hanjun felt as if he had arrived at a declining marketplace, with no crowd, and even less vitality.
"Uncle, how old is this big-eyed dog? It doesn't seem to be very healthy."
"Oh, it's just one month. Its eyes were scratched by a cat demon, and it's got a bit of a bacterial infection."
Going straight over to the third shop on the right, a young man and woman were inquiring about the state of the spirits, the unique earnestness of the young showing on their faces.
Ye Hanjun glanced over, didn't stop, and continued to walk forward.
Upon arrival, the first impression was very average at best.
It was mostly small-volume spirits, either locked in large cages or in specially made barriers, either fast asleep or being naughty. Their mental state was not great.
This is the Chick House that the Canghai Pavilion specifically breeds high-quality spirits? As expected, there shouldn't be high expectations, a small place is still a small place in the end...
Ye Hanjun brows furrowed as he continuously scanned the street.
Although it's called the "Chick House", it's essentially a pedestrian street.
The general management scheme is to divide the area into sections. On average, one shop is assigned to one specialist, and they look after ten spirit babies.
The species are diversified, but the quality is nowhere near enough to make Ye Hanjun stop and take a second glance.
"Huh, this is a Camellia Dog? Its eyes are pitch-black, and its teeth are almost fully grown. Quite a suitable contract object..."
After fifteen minutes, Ye Hanjun stopped at shop No. 65.
The keeper of this shop was actually lying on a hammock reading a scroll, indulging in a sea of knowledge.
And right in front of his shop was a 40-centimeter-long puppy, not tied up, sitting on the ground obediently and curiously looking at the passersby.
"Woof! Woof!"
When the little puppy met Ye Hanjun's gaze, it stood up and wagged its tail, showing a warm attitude.
Ye Hanjun looked closely at this Camellia Dog. It had dark green fur that was very clean, showing it had been well cared for regularly.
The petals on top of its head were golden and although they had not completely bloomed, there was already a faint tea leaf aroma lingering.
"It's a pity, if I contracted such a Fond Spirit, it could help me accelerate the conditioning of my body."
"However, the fighting power of the Camellia Dog is lacking, and because of the healing flower bud on its head, it becomes an easy hunting target for other Fond Spirits..."
Ye Hanjun shook his head. The pup had a human-like understanding, and its swiftly wagging tail slowly ceased. It pitifully returned to its original position.
"There will be a more suitable Patron for you, don't rush."
Ye Hanjun thought for a moment. Not in hurry to leave, he took a step forward and caressed the forehead of the baby Camellia Dog.
A scene similar to the one with the Ghost Shadow Spider occurred. As he casually rubbed and lightly patted, the young pup's eyes narrowed, showing an expression of pure enjoyment.
"I'm leaving, see you if fate allows it."
Ye Hanjun got up and took a step forward.
The Camellia Dog whimpered and reluctantly watched him leave.
...
"Naughty Frog, Wind Butterfly, Black Ape, Beak Grass, Wicked Wisp..."
"The further I go, the quality improves, but these varieties are too disappointing!"
As a Patron, one can imagine the significance of the first Fond Spirit.
However, being powerful alone cannot be considered the main reference factor.
The top priority of the Fond Spirit contract is still the 'Ability'.
'Knights' must contract riding pets, otherwise, their abilities will be buried, and they will never be able to advance to the 2nd rank in their lifetime.
'Magic Apprentices' are suitable for contracting spell-type Fond Spirits, which can enhance the power of both's spells.
'Scouts' are suited to Fond Spirits with outstanding observational skills or hiding abilities, so they can complement each other when active in the field, instead of hindering each other.
...
First ensure suitability, define the essential traits, then consider the strength, potential, and personality of the Fond Spirit... Only then there won't be a mistake.
The ability Ye Hanjun currently needs to match is 'The Instructor'.
In all ancient books, this title does not have a like-named entity.
Combining the fact that he was identified as an E-level on the surface, but his actual exhibited ability is extraordinary, just the skill 'Talent Identification' alone can crush thousands of peers.
Ye Hanjun has reason to suspect that 'The Instructor' may possess uniqueness and speciality, and attempting to define it in few words... would be much too simplistic!
But alongside the anticipation, there's indeed no shortage of worries.
The Circle of Patrons has a theorem; if you lack knowledge about your abilities and are unclear about what type of Fond Spirit you are suited to –
The best way is to get close to the Fond Spirits.
At that time your sixth sense, will give you a faint spiritual prompt when you encounter a target that fits your properties and abilities.
Or alternatively, it might give you a warning when you encounter a species that is an absolute non-fit, discouraging you from contracting them.
Of course, these prompts are vague, they take the type of Fond Spirit's abilities as a macroscopic measurement standard and not detailed down to each individual spirit.
But Ye Hanjun firmly believed that his current spiritual perception is at least ten times that of his peers at the same rank.
All the way here, unbelievably, there have been no prompts to help him discern the suitability of his ability from a vocational perspective.
This only has two possibilities.
Either the Fond Spirits here are too mediocre, and none of them will contribute to the growth of his ability,
Or, 'The Instructor' belongs to the "Undefined Abilities", does not have an absolute fit or non-fit in its essence, and its freedom is extremely high.
...
"Roar! Roar!"
"Meow! Meow!"
"Baga! Baga!!"
Shortly after, Ye Hanjun saw a fat pig that was more than 2 meters in length, its entire body pink and tender, extremely cute and naive.
This is the 'TonTon Pig'. It has tough pigskin that can block sharp instruments.
Coupled with its gigantic size, a casual collision can make small Fond Spirits have a hard time.
"There's still no spiritual prompt or warning, but this TonTon Pig, the quality isn't bad..."
Ye Hanjun had a brief moment of enthusiasm.
When he thought about the TonTon Pig's habit of eating eight meals a day, each meal consumed in a huge iron bowl, he had to decisively abandon the idea.
—There were too many expenses.
If the Fond Spirit was easier to maintain, it would be a stress reliever for him, the resources saved could be used elsewhere.
"Huh, there are Blood-sucking mosquitoes in the Giant Frog Marsh?"
At stall 90, there were five large glass covers inside, with five black and red mosquitoes buzzing incessantly.
Ye Hanjun was fond of the largest one, which had reached the state of 'Great Completion' of the Mud-cast fetus, and unlike the other four, it had the additional ability of 'Sprint.'
"It's agility based, not rideable."
"It possesses the trait 'Blood-sucking self-healing'. Even if it's at the brink of death, as long as it sucks sufficient fresh blood, it can quickly become lively again."
"The most critical point is, with careful cultivation, it can ascend and evolve towards the 'Dragonblood Mosquito.' Its potential can be regarded as superior..."
With bright eyes, Ye Hanjun once again had the thought "this Fond Spirit can be a possible choice."
But he was not in a hurry to make up his mind, there were probably about 20 stalls behind, it would be more prudent to finish looking at all of them.