Butterfly Shadows and Giant Cocoon

Zhong Ling's words made the driver cough violently, as if he had choked on something.

Big! Uncle!?

I'm only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old!

Is it because I dressed too maturely today, or because I've been cheated on for the past few years and it's made me look older?

Even if my hairline is receding more severely than someone who's bald, I don't think I'd be mistaken for a bald guy!

Am I really that confident and charismatic?

If it weren't for the driver's reminder, Zhongyi would have almost forgotten the settings she personally set when compiling the game data.

The natal beast does not suddenly appear during the soul awakening ceremony, but has been growing in the soul base all along.

As the natal beast grows, it will indeed influence the tamer's dreams through synesthesia.

However, what affects a Beastmaster's dream is not only their natal Beast, but also the Beastmaster's talent.

Just as Zhong Ling was about to tell Zhong Yi what her dream was about, Zhong Yi changed the subject.

Zhong Lingcai suddenly remembered that before leaving the Beast Taming Shop, Zhong Chenghuai had reminded her more than once that if she could really awaken her innate Beast Taming and Beast Tamer talents, she should never reveal any related information to outsiders.

Even when teaming up in a secret realm, teammates will only ask about the natal beast and contracted beast, and will not inquire about the beast tamer's talent.

Because each Beastmaster possesses a unique Beastmaster talent, it can be considered their greatest trump card on the path to growth.

As a trump card, it naturally cannot be revealed!

Zhong Yi and the driver chatted for a few minutes before arriving at the entrance of the Beast Tamer Association.

No matter when, there will always be people going to the Beastmaster Association to perform the Soul Awakening Ceremony.

Many thirteen- or fourteen-year-old children, with eyes filled with either anticipation or trepidation, were led into the gates of the Beast Tamer Association by their parents.

The expressions on the faces of these parents were far more unsettled than those of their children.

The desire for one's son to become a dragon and one's daughter to become a phoenix remains the same whether one cherishes the past life or this one.

After getting off the vehicle, and after the bald driver drove the beast-riding carriage away...

Zhong Ling tugged at Zhong Yi's sleeve and said softly.

"Young master, for the past few years I've been dreaming of butterflies flying around me. These butterflies love to land on me, but as soon as I try to catch them, they fly away."

"However, I have more than one recurring dream. Sometimes I dream that I am trapped in a big cocoon."

"Several times I've been woken up in the middle of the night by the suffocating feeling!"

"I've always had these two dreams alternately, and in the last six months, there have been occasional times when the two dreams have merged."

Zhong Ling met the standard to participate in the Soul Awakening Ceremony six months ago, but was unable to participate due to her predecessor's circumstances.

As the natal beast continues to grow within the soul base, its influence on Zhong Ling's dream will indeed become increasingly significant.

If, as Zhong Ling said, she dreamed of both butterflies and a giant cocoon.

Therefore, it is highly likely that Zhong Ling will be able to awaken both her innate beast taming ability and her beast tamer talent.

It's uncertain whether the butterfly or the cocoon is related to the natal beast.

The Beastmaster Association is very grand, with fourteen giant beast statues made of gold crystal rock standing on each side of the entrance.

These twenty-eight colossal beast statues each represent a magnificent city in the New Xia Federation!

The colossal beast statue representing Starlight City is embedded at the top of the Beastmaster Association in the upper district of Starlight City.

The Beastmaster Associations in every major city of the New Summer Federation are built according to this system.

The giant beast statue, crafted from gold crystal, gleams like gold under the sunlight.

Yet it doesn't have the heavy luster of metal; instead, it possesses the transparency and luster of crystal.

The main entrance is large enough to allow thirty people to walk in side by side.

It was Zhong Ling's first time in such a place, and she was clearly a little nervous.

Zhong Yi was actually visiting for the first time, but she was already used to this place because she had seen it countless times on screen before.

As soon as they entered the gates of the Beast Tamer Association, a waiter immediately came forward to greet Zhong Yi and Zhong Ling as they walked from the gate to the Awakening Area.

"Hello, is it the older brother bringing his younger sister to awaken her Soul Foundation?"

"I need to verify your identities before you participate in the soul-awakening ceremony."

Upon hearing the waiter's address, Zhong Ling hurriedly tried to explain that she was merely Zhong Yi's servant.

Before Zhong Ling could explain, Zhong Yi spoke up.

"That's right, but it's not just her, I also have to participate in the soul awakening ceremony."

"Just register my identity information. There should be two other Soul Foundation Awakening slots under my identity information besides mine."

After saying that, Zhong Yi handed his ID card to the waiter.

Zhong Ling, clutching Zhong Yi's sleeve, lowered her head slightly. Her eyes were inexplicably stinging, and her nose felt sore.

Zhong Ling always saw herself as a servant, but Zhong Yi clearly saw herself as a younger sister.

It feels so good to have an older brother's love!

The servants of the Beastmaster Association are all specially trained and are themselves skilled beastmasters.

Even this waiter, who had seen his share of ups and downs, couldn't help but gape in astonishment.

What the hell?! A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy actually wants to participate in the soul-awakening ceremony?!

If it weren't for verifying the identity card, it would have been discovered that Zhong Yi indeed had no record of participating in the soul-awakening ceremony.

The waiter felt that the boy in front of him was making a fool of himself.

"You have a shop at 827 South Cross Street, and you do have two slots for Soul Foundation Awakening."

"You two come with me, I'll take you to the Awakening Room."

As the waiter led the way, he introduced Zhong Yi and Zhong Ling.

"We offer a very affordable Soul Awakening Package here; you can check it out."

"The potions in the package are all personally prepared by star-level creators, and drinking them will greatly help in the Soul Awakening Ceremony."

I took a beautifully printed brochure from the waiter, and saw that the Enlightenment Set Meal was divided into 5 tiers.

The cheapest option costs 18 federal dollars.

The most expensive tier costs 488 Federal Credits, and the number of potions included in the package increases with each tier.

However, regardless of the package price, the effects of these drugs are largely the same; they are all used to help improve concentration and maintain focus.

The soul-awakening ceremony is related to the child's future, and there are quite a few parents who are willing to grit their teeth and spend money to buy a package here.

The outcome of the Soul Awakening Ritual is actually determined as early as a person's birth, and the essence of the Soul Awakening Ritual is simply to activate the Soul Foundation and reveal this outcome.

Zhongyi would never pay such a "stupidity tax".

Seeing that Zhongyi glanced at the brochure twice and then put it away, showing no intention of buying it, the waiter said no more.

"Awakening rooms 1 through 3 are full. Please move to Awakening Room 4."

"Once Awakening Room 4 is full, someone will help you with the Soul Awakening."