She didn’t know why, but the thought of this little creature being bullied, being hurt, being alone in this plane full of strong beasts... it made her chest feel tight.
Her fingers gently stroked its soft, red scales.
The lizard was still breathing, still holding on, despite everything.
Gu Jin’s aura grew colder.
She lifted her head and stared at the dragon, her eyes like ice.
The dragon frowned. "What?"
Gu Jin’s voice was quiet but full of fury.
"Say that again. Say that it’s weak. Say that it’s pathetic."
The dragon hesitated. Something about the way Gu Jin was looking at it made even him feel uneasy.
Gu Jin slowly stood up, still holding the little lizard close to her chest.
"I don’t care if its core is broken. I don’t care if everyone looks down on it." Her voice was firm, unshaken.
"No one decides my partner except for me. And if anyone dares to hurt it again—"
A sharp, chilling aura exploded from Gu Jin’s body.
The dragon stiffened. Even Si Kai took a step back.
"I will make them regret it."
Gu Jin ignored the dragon and looked down at the tiny lizard in her arms. It was weak, trembling, and hurt, but its round eyes blinked up at her with trust.
She took a deep breath and made her decision.
Slowly, she lifted her other hand and drew a small glowing symbol in the air. A soft green light surrounded her fingertips.
"Little one," she whispered, "do you want to be my partner?"
The lizard stared at her for a moment. Then, with a soft chirp, it nodded.
The contract symbol glowed brighter, and Gu Jin pressed it gently against the lizard’s forehead.
A warm light wrapped around them both. The bond formed instantly.
A strange feeling rushed into Gu Jin’s chest.
It was... warm. A connection.
Something deep inside her trembled like a locked door had been opened just a little.
The lizard let out a soft sound and snuggled into her arms, its body feeling lighter as if the contract had given it some strength.
The dragon scoffed. "Idiot."
Gu Jin looked up, but the dragon was already turning away.
"Hmph. I gave you a chance, but you threw it away for that." Its golden eyes were full of disappointment. "You’ll regret it one day."
With a powerful beat of its wings, the dragon soared into the sky and disappeared.
Si Kai groaned and slapped his forehead.
"Sister! Are you crazy?! You had a chance to form a contract with a dragon! A real, powerful, legendary dragon! And you chose... that?" He pointed at the chubby white lizard in disbelief.
Gu Jin smiled slightly and ignored his outburst.
Instead, she sat down and gently placed her hand over the lizard’s small body. A soft green glow surrounded her fingers as she used her plant element’s healing ability.
Slowly, the lizard’s injuries began to heal. The blood on its lips faded, and its breathing became steadier.
Si Kai crossed his arms. "At least tell me why. Why would you pick a weak beast when you had a dragon literally begging to be your partner?"
Gu Jin was quiet for a moment. She watched as the little lizard rubbed against her hand, looking peaceful.
"...I don’t know." She finally said. "But when I saw it, I felt something."
Si Kai raised an eyebrow. "Felt what?"
Gu Jin hesitated. She wasn’t sure how to explain it.
Ever since she met this tiny creature, she had started feeling something deep inside her.
It was... something more.
Something she couldn’t understand yet.
She gently stroked the lizard’s head.
"I think... I think it’s connected to me somehow," she admitted.
Si Kai blinked. "Connected? How?"
Gu Jin shook her head. "I don’t know. But I want to find out."
"Anyways, scan its lineage for me, as well as the potential." Gu Jin said.
Si Kai sighed but still fixed his gaze in the small creature’s direction.
His mouth opened, then closed. He blinked.
Gu Jin frowned. "What? What does it say?"
Si Kai rubbed his eyes like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
"This... this has to be a mistake," he mumbled.
Gu Jin’s heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"
"Unknown species..." Si Kai muttered.
Gu Jin stared. "What does that mean?"
Si Kai shook his head. "It means... this thing doesn’t match any known species in the summoning plane."
Gu Jin’s grip on the lizard tightened slightly. She looked down at the tiny creature in her arms.
The lizard blinked up at her, tilting its head like it didn’t understand what was going on.
Si Kai ran a hand through his hair.
"This is weird. Even the weakest beasts at least have a proper classification. But this little guy? It’s like it doesn’t exist."
Gu Jin’s fingers gently stroked the lizard’s soft scales.
"It exists," she said firmly. "It’s right here."
"That’s not what I mean, Sister! I mean no one knows what it is! No recorded species, no known lineage, and its potential is completely unknown!"
Gu Jin’s lips curved into a small smile. "So that means no one knows its limits either."
Si Kai gave her a deadpan look. "That’s... not how it works."
Gu Jin just shrugged and looked back at the lizard.
"So what if no one knows what it is? That just means we’ll have to find out ourselves."
The lizard let out a soft chirp and rubbed its tiny face against her fingers.
Si Kai groaned again. "You really are impossible."
But Gu Jin didn’t care.
Soon both of them returned to the real world.
When Long Yifan saw them opening their eyes, he asked curiously,
"Did you contract any beast?"
Gu Jin nodded and summoned the white chubby lizard.
Si Kai had a disappointed look on his face and he announced,
"I know it’s my mistake. I should have convinced her to contract something better, but she wasn’t listening.
Worse, the beast belongs to an unknown species, so I don’t even know if it can be called a beast anymore. Its core is broken too. It cannot even cultivate too!"
Long Yifan raised his hand, stopping Si Kai from speaking any further.
His sharp eyes locked onto the small white lizard, and his expression changed from curiosity to pure shock.
"Wait," Long Yifan muttered, stepping closer. He stared at the creature intently, his brows furrowing.
"This... this isn’t just any beast. Gu Jin, do you have any idea what you’ve contracted?"
"What do you mean? Si Kai said it’s an unknown species."
Long Yifan let out a deep breath, shaking his head. Then, with a voice filled with disbelief, he said,
"You’ve struck gold. No, more than gold—you’ve struck divinity!"
Si Kai blinked, looking at Long Yifan as if he had gone crazy.
"What? What are you talking about? Are we even looking at the same thing? It’s just a chubby lizard! A weak, unknown, chubby lizard!"
Long Yifan ignored him and turned to Gu Jin, his tone serious.
"This beast... it carries the Lineage of Chaos."
Gu Jin’s heart skipped a beat. Even Si Kai, who had been complaining non-stop, suddenly stiffened.
"The Lineage of Chaos?" Si Kai repeated, his voice cracking slightly.
"No way. That’s impossible!"
"I wasn’t sure at first, but now I am. Each summoning plane only ever has one Chaos lineage beast, and Gu Jin... you just found it."
Gu Jin felt her breath hitch.
She looked down at the little lizard in her hands, who was blinking up at her with innocent, round eyes.
Could this small, seemingly weak creature really be that special?
Si Kai, still in shock, shook his head.
"Wait, wait, wait! I need you to explain. What’s so great about the Lineage of Chaos? I thought the strongest lineages were the Dragon and Phoenix!"
Long Yifan smirked slightly, crossing his arms.
"That’s because you only know what’s common knowledge. Let me break it down for you."
He raised a hand and started listing the lineages one by one.
"At the bottom, we have ordinary beast lineages—these are the common ones, like wolves, tigers, and even elemental creatures. They’re strong, but nothing special."
"The next are the Supreme beast lineages- they are powerful beast-like two-winged lions, saber tooth tigers. They are much stronger than ordinary beasts and if raised correctly they can evolve till Supreme Rank."
"Above them are the Sacred lineages—beasts with divine blessings, such as unicorns and celestial birds."
"Then comes the Lineage of the Phoenix—beasts that control life and rebirth, creatures of pure fire and immortality. They are nearly impossible to kill permanently."
"At the same level is the Lineage of the Dragon—beasts of raw power, destruction, and supreme authority. They are kings of battle, feared and respected."