Fang Tao let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning pale. Dissolving a contract causes considerable trauma to both the Beast Master's and the Guardian Beast's souls.
Without elixir pills and heavenly and earthly treasures for treatment, it would take at least several months to recover.
Fang Tao clutched his head, his gaze fixed fiercely on Chu Chen, his eyes filled with intense killing intent.
"Kid, let's see how this plays out." With that, he turned and walked off the stage.
At this moment, under the stage, a man in a black robe was watching Chu Chen with great interest.
However, he did not linger and quietly followed the departing Fang Tao.
Chu Chen squatted down to check the situation of the Thunder Ant.
The continuously dripping insect blood had accumulated into a small pool. The broken contract severely damaged its soul, and even worse, its heart had already died.
The severe injury and dead heart were causing its life force to continuously drain away. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before it would completely perish.
Seeing the Thunder Ant's weakening state, Chu Chen couldn't help but comfort it: "Don't be afraid, you'll get better soon."
Lei Yao approached as well, letting out a few low growls as if to comfort the Thunder Ant.
The Thunder Ant's eyes flashed with a hint of spirit, but the next moment, they returned to their dull state.
"Chu Chen, you should go rest first. Leave this to me." Zhou Ying suddenly appeared beside him and said seriously.
Chu Chen turned his head and softly asked, "Sister Zhou, what do you plan to do with it?"
Zhou Ying replied in a serious tone, "Abandoned Guardian Beasts usually hold deep hostility towards humans, so..."
Before Zhou Ying could continue, Chu Chen interrupted, "Sister Zhou, I want to save it once. After all, I'm partially responsible for this."
Zhou Ying shook her head and said, "This has nothing to do with you; it's just unfortunate that it didn't meet the right person."
"Sister Zhou, the Thunder Ant has a strong combat will. If possible, I hope to contract with it."
Cultivating combat will is extremely difficult. Besides having remarkable willpower, one must also have an indomitable heart. This is the main reason Chu Chen wants to contract with the Thunder Ant.
Zhou Ying's expression changed suddenly. She quickly spoke to stop him: "You must not. The Thunder Ant's quality is merely Ordinary Level Upper Grade. Reaching the Peak of War General Level is its limit, and that's if it's lucky. If it's unlucky, it might remain stuck here all its life. Moreover, it's an abandoned Guardian Beast, and it might never trust humans again. Forcing a contract would likely be hard to command."
Chu Chen's expression didn't change in the slightest; he had already considered everything Zhou Ying mentioned. Nevertheless, he felt grateful to Zhou Ying.
"Don't worry, Sister Zhou. I still have some time before breaking through to Soul Warrior. I plan to use this time to build trust with the Thunder Ant. If it doesn't work, I'll let it go. I'm not foolish enough to jeopardize my future." Chu Chen said with a smile.
Zhou Ying's expression slightly relaxed upon hearing this, but she hadn't given up on persuading him.
Chu Chen seemed to perceive her thoughts and quickly said, "Sister Zhou, let's treat the Thunder Ant first; it won't last much longer."
Zhou Ying promptly arranged for several staff members to carry the Thunder Ant into the treatment room.
Li Yue glanced at the Thunder Ant's injuries and frowned, "Where's Fang Tao? Why has his Guardian Beast's soul been severely damaged?"
Zhou Ying briefly explained Fang Tao's actions.
Upon hearing this, Li Yue's face darkened significantly, and she bit her teeth, saying coldly, "What scum, for it to encounter such a Beast Master truly is its misfortune. Nevermind, I'll be a good person to the end and save its life."
Chu Chen's face immediately lit up with joy. He had been worried about the cost of the Thunder Ant's treatment, not expecting Sister Li to be so kind as to provide treatment for free.
"Thank you very much, Sister Li," Chu Chen expressed his gratitude with a smile.
Li Yue looked at Chu Chen with some confusion.
Seeing this, Zhou Ying shared Chu Chen's previous thoughts with her.
Upon learning the reason, Li Yue looked at Chu Chen with a gentler gaze. She clearly understood how tragic the outcome was for Guardian Beasts abandoned by their masters.
This also indirectly showed that Chu Chen was a kind-hearted child.
Without delay, Li Yue summoned the Holy Light Flower and began to treat the Thunder Ant.
A few minutes later, after the Holy Light Flower injected the last Holy Light Ball into the Thunder Ant, it collapsed on the ground, looking utterly exhausted.
Seeing this, Li Yue showed a look of distress and quickly took out a Third-Grade Star Power Pill from her pocket.
Since the Holy Light Flower doesn't have a mouthpart, Li Yue had to use Soul Power to melt the pill and then pour it into the stem of the Holy Light Flower.
At this moment, the Holy Light Flower was like a dry sponge, frantically absorbing the potion. Its limp body gradually stood upright again.
Seeing this, Li Yue let out a sigh of relief. The treatment for the Thunder Ant had heavily exhausted the Holy Light Flower, almost draining its Star Power completely.
"This is such a big loss. Zhou Ying, you have to compensate me." Li Yue grumbled, looking at the weakened Holy Light Flower.
Zhou Ying patted Li Yue's shoulder with a smile and said, "Don't blame me; it was your choice to volunteer. However, the exchange competition is not over yet; I promise you can cover your losses."
Hearing this, Li Yue stopped her banter, hummed in assent, and put the Holy Light Flower back into her Soul Sea.
After another round of playful teasing, Zhou Ying left.
Chu Chen came to the Thunder Ant and checked on its condition.
A moment later, Chu Chen sighed silently. Although the Thunder Ant's injuries had healed, the soul trauma remained, and its mental state showed no signs of improvement. It still appeared lifeless.
Seeing this, Li Yue said sternly, "Don't hold too much hope for it. There have been Beast Masters who tried to contract abandoned Guardian Beasts before, but very few succeeded. Moreover, these beasts have a high likelihood of desertion."
"Thank you, Sister Li, for the warning. I'll be careful," Chu Chen replied with a smile.
Li Yue nodded slightly without saying anything further.
Chu Chen gently touched the Thunder Ant's head, speaking softly, "Come with me; I won't hurt you."
The Thunder Ant remained motionless as if it hadn't heard Chu Chen's words.
Seeing this, Chu Chen wasn't discouraged, as he was already prepared for a long-term battle. The Thunder Ant's situation was extremely unique and couldn't be resolved quickly.
However, the priority was to take the Thunder Ant away from the Daoist School. After all, this was where it had worked, and everything here would evoke bad memories of its interaction with Fang Tao, which was highly detrimental to its recovery.
The idea was good, but putting it into practice was quite troublesome.
Firstly, there was the transport issue. In its current state, the Thunder Ant couldn't obediently follow Chu Chen. Given its size and weight, without assistance, Chu Chen wouldn't be able to do anything with it.
Secondly, there was the placement issue. The Thunder Ant was currently unowned, which meant no one knew what it might do. It could suddenly attack Chu Chen at any moment.
Lastly, there was the cost issue. Given the Thunder Ant's current condition, cultivation resources could be temporarily halted. However, it had already entered its mature stage and required at least ten kilograms of food daily to meet its basic daily needs, which, of course, was not enriched with Star Power.
Thinking of this, Chu Chen immediately felt a bit regretful. With his current financial ability, it would be challenging to support this big guy.
Li Yue seemed to notice Chu Chen's predicament. She took off an elegantly designed ring from her right pinky finger and said with a smile, "Aiding through to the end, I'll give you another hand. This is a Beast Taming Ring. Just infuse it with Soul Power, and you can store a wild Star Beast inside." With that, she handed the Beast Taming Ring over.
Seeing this, Chu Chen showed his delight without hesitation and quickly accepted the Beast Taming Ring, continuously expressing his gratitude.
Li Yue waved her hand and said, "Enough, hurry and take it away, lest you ruin my reputation."
Chu Chen dared not delay and promptly stored the Thunder Ant in the Beast Taming Ring, then left the treatment room hastily.