After returning, Yun Jin told Gun Gun about the duel.
Gun Gun, already looking a little slow-witted and adorably dopey, somehow appeared even more dazed after hearing it.
"Big Brother actually has a past like that?" Huan Huan, who was nearby, immediately bristled with righteous indignation. "Big Brother, I support you. Go beat them all!"
Yun Jin hadn't gone into much detail, but Huan Huan got angry just hearing the gist of it.
Being abandoned by one's master was no small matter for a beast. A beast that's cast aside or released might be able to recover, but for many, the result is catastrophic. Some see their cultivation drop drastically, others don't survive at all.
Beasts aren't like humans. If a contract is made, the beast sees the human as family—someone they would never abandon.
Huan Huan was a particularly proud beast. Back when she met Liu Li Zhēnzūn, even then she only agreed to enter her storage pouch, never signing a contract.
Only if they got along well later would a contract even be considered.
Before Liu Li intended to gift her to Yun Jin, she discussed it with Huan Huan in advance. Huan Huan agreed to meet Yun Jin, and only then did Liu Li bring her out that day. That's how she ended up with such a good master.
What happened to Gun Gun, however, was entirely inexcusable. His original master simply wasn't treating him as a living being.
Gun Gun scratched his head. "Master, how did you know my former master was him?"
Gun Gun thought he had hidden it well. He didn't think he'd let anything slip.
"You think it's hard to find out something like that?" Yun Jin raised a brow. "Why? Don't you want to defeat him in broad daylight and make him regret everything?"
Gun Gun's eyes lit up.
Yes.
Of course he did.
Back then, he had trained tirelessly, day and night, just for a sliver of approval.
Compared to when he'd first signed the contract, he had made huge progress.
But beasts grow slowly. Rather than raise one from scratch, Han Xiaoyu clearly preferred to contract one that was already strong.
Progress like Gun Gun's wasn't even worth noticing in his eyes.
After being abandoned, the other beasts in the Beastmaster Pavilion were worried about him. But that only made Gun Gun feel more humiliated. That's why he became so mischievous and defiant—he wanted all the other beasts to know that being thrown away didn't matter. He, Gun Gun, was still doing just fine.
But...
Late at night, when the world was quiet...
Gun Gun would still sit there in a daze, staring at the moonlight streaming in through the window. He could sit like that all night long.
Did he want revenge?
Did he want that person to regret it?
Yes.
He absolutely did.
But Gun Gun wasn't sure if that kind of thinking was right, or if it might cause trouble for Yun Jin. He cherished his new master and didn't want to bring her any unnecessary trouble. So he thought—those things in the past that didn't matter anymore, maybe he should just let them go.
That's why, ever since contracting with Yun Jin, Gun Gun had never brought up revenge. Even when he found out Han Xiaoyu had returned, he didn't let a trace of emotion show. He thought that since he was now the Big Brother of the group, he had to be more mature and steady, to set a good example for Huan Huan and any future beast companions of Yun Jin.
But then his master said—
She had already arranged the battle for him. She wanted to watch as he defeated Han Xiaoyu fair and square. "Master, doesn't that make me look too vengeful?" Gun Gun was a little unsure. "I'm honestly okay with it."
Gun Gun, usually fearless and reckless, showing this side of himself made Yun Jin smile.
She replied coolly, "Gun Gun, remember this. In this world, there are plenty of people who love to preach big moral lessons. Forgiveness. Patience. Be thankful for your suffering. Forgive those who hurt you. All those lines, everyone can say them—as long as the pain and suffering didn't happen to them. That's when they'll speak with confidence and self-righteousness, like they've achieved enlightenment.
You've been with me long enough. You should know what kind of person I am. I don't swallow grievances. If I'm forced to take something, I'll return it a thousandfold, ten thousandfold. I never forget a grudge. Anyone who's wronged me? I've written them down in my little notebook. None of them will escape."
As Yun Jin spoke these utterly unrepentant words, she looked completely justified.
"Of course, those who are good to me—I'll repay them a hundred times over too. That's how things should be. That's the only way I can feel at peace. Gun Gun, you're my beast. If you suffer a grievance and don't even dare fight back, I'll look down on you."
Gun Gun's eyes gleamed even brighter.
Suddenly, he stood up and declared arrogantly, "Master, just you wait! Back then, he couldn't even be bothered with me. Tomorrow, I'll make sure he's not worthy to look me in the eye!"
He muttered under his breath as well, clearly already scheming how to make his victory as flashy and dramatic as possible.
As for whether he could win?
Gun Gun had never worried about that.
Ever since his bloodline awakened, he wasn't just a high-grade beast in terms of rank—his racial skills were absurdly powerful.
Huan Huan also bounded over, full of interest. The two beasts began chattering excitedly, discussing how to make the win as eye-catching as possible.
Yun Jin left the two little creatures to it. She was about to sit down and enjoy some tea when she suddenly felt something stir in her heart. Her gaze turned toward the door.
It was Gu Jinghong.
He had emerged from seclusion.
"Master." Gu Jinghong bowed respectfully.
He had completely finished converting his Blood Qi Art. From now on, it was a proper immortal cultivation method, no longer tainted by anything demonic.
Yun Jin glanced at Gu Jinghong's status panel.
After the conversion, he was still at the early stage of Nascent Soul, but the purity of his spiritual power had improved significantly. In terms of actual strength, he was far superior to before.
Not bad at all.
Yun Jin nodded in satisfaction.
Now that the Blood Qi Art's hidden dangers were resolved, and with the servant contract keeping him bound, Gu Jinghong could finally be sent out to help her gather emotional value.
"Not bad. Rest and recover for a few days. Soon, I might need to send you out on a mission," Yun Jin said.
"Yes." Gu Jinghong nodded. His long, foxlike eyes were calm, but within them flowed a deep and unreadable emotion. "To serve you is my greatest honor."
Yun Jin rolled her eyes. "Stop sucking up."
She looked at his panel again, and suddenly remembered something. Aside from cultivation, Gu Jinghong also had solid skills in formations—proficient in Level 2 formations and skilled in Level 3.
Yun Jin remembered clearly.
When she first checked his panel, he was only passably familiar with Level 3 formations. Now, he was skilled.
It seemed that while he had been trapped by the Blood Qi Technique and couldn't train his spiritual power, he had made breakthroughs in formation work instead.
"System, I can forcibly upgrade Ye Cheng's skills by one tier. Gu Jinghong is my servant, so everything he has belongs to me. That should include his skills, right?" Yun Jin asked.
The system's voice rang out:
[Only formations Gu Jinghong learns from system-produced materials will trigger the effect.]
Yun Jin understood immediately.
Back then, when she had just taken Ye Cheng in, they had the title of master and disciple but not the actual relationship, so the forced skill upgrade didn't activate.
Only after she taught him three system-refined techniques did the bonus appear.
It would be the same with Gu Jinghong.
He needed to learn formations that had been simplified by the system. Only then could his formation expertise benefit her as well.
That made things slightly more troublesome—but only slightly.
Before sending Gu Jinghong on a mission, she'd milk this formation bonus for all it was worth. That way, she could gain formation experience while doing nothing.
With that thought in mind, Yun Jin looked at Gu Jinghong.
"Jinghong, you also practice formation techniques, right? Got any basic ones you can teach me?"