My Infinite Cultivation System-Chapter 70: The second contract

Ice radiated from its body in visible waves.

The ground around it had transformed into a winter landscape. Frost spread outward in intricate patterns, spiraling across roots and rocks like nature’s own calligraphy. Trees nearby were coated in crystalline ice, their branches bowed under the weight.

Deep gashes marked the ape’s chest and arms. Wounds that looked like they had been carved by something massive, something vicious. Silver blue blood seeped from the injuries, freezing the instant it touched air. Each drop became a tiny sapphire on the frost covered ground.

Alex’s interface flickered to life.

[Name: Frost Veil Ape]

[Talent: Absolute Zero (Ultimate)]

[Rank: Mid Level Planetary Realm]

[Note: It is dying after fighting with a star realm beast]

Star realm.

Alex’s blood ran cold, and it had nothing to do with the ice.

A star realm beast was so far above him that it was not even worth comparing. Planetary beings could destroy planets. Star beings could destroy stars. The gap between them was like the gap between an ant and a mountain.

And this ape had fought one and survived long enough to crawl here and die.

For a long moment, Alex simply stared at the ape.

The sheer presence of the creature was overwhelming even in death. Its aura pressed against him like a physical weight, making it hard to breathe. Every instinct told him to back away slowly, to leave this place, to forget he had ever seen anything.

But he did not move.

Because beneath that overwhelming pressure, beneath the ice and the wounds and the silver blue blood, something else caught his attention.

The ape’s eyes opened.

They were blue. Not merely blue, but the blue of ancient glaciers, of the deepest ocean, of the sky at the moment just before dawn. They found Alex through the darkness and the frost covered trees, and for one endless second, those eyes held his own.

Then they closed again.

The ape did not have the energy to do anything else. It did not have the strength to lift a finger, to growl, or to move at all. It was simply waiting for the end.

Alex’s heart hammered in his chest.

A reckless idea was forming in his mind. An idea that only came to someone who had spent too long alone in a dangerous place.

"Ember," he whispered. "Can you communicate with him?"

The little dragon tilted his head, flames flickering uncertainly along his scales. "I do not know, master. But I should be able to."

"Good. Ask him if he wants to become my contracted beast. If he does, I will heal him."

Ember’s eyes widened. "Master, he is planetary realm."

"I know what he is. Ask him."

The little dragon nodded slowly. Then he opened his mouth and released a sound that was neither roar nor screech. It was something older, something that resonated in a way Alex could not fully comprehend.

The ape’s eyes opened again. A deep growl rumbled from its massive chest, making the ground vibrate.

Then Alex heard it through his bond with Ember, through whatever translation force connected them. The ape’s voice echoed in his mind.

"Baby dragon, leave this place. Do not speak nonsense. He is merely monarch level trash. How can he heal me? Let me die with dignity."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

He could understand what the Ape was saying through his bond with Ember.

Monarch level trash. From a planetary beast’s perspective, that assessment was accurate.

But he did not retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward out of the trees and into the frozen clearing. He stopped at the edge of the frost patterns, close enough to feel the crushing cold radiating from the ape’s body.

He placed his hands behind his back and met those ancient blue eyes.

"I can guarantee you one thing," Alex said evenly. "If you follow me, the planetary realm will be only your beginning. In a few years, you will be able to kill that nine headed hydra yourself."

Ember translated it for him.

The ape’s eyes narrowed. Another growl followed.

"Do not mock me, little creature. Do not toy with a dying mind. I can still crush you like the insect you are."

Alex did not respond with words.

Instead, he released his restraint.

The dragon transformation surged through him like fire through dry grass. His body shifted and expanded. Scales covered his skin. His eyes sharpened into slits. His aura burst outward, no longer monarch level, but something entirely different.

Emperor level nine.

The pressure rolled across the clearing, cracking frost and splintering ice. Alex stood transformed, alien and powerful, and met the ape’s stunned gaze.

"Guess how long it took me to reach this level," he said quietly. "A few months."

Silence settled over the clearing.

The ape studied him with unreadable eyes. Seconds passed. The wounds continued to bleed frozen blood.

Then the voice returned.

"You promise this? You speak the truth?"

"Yes."

The ape’s massive chest rose and fell with difficulty. The silver blue blood flowed more slowly now. The cold was spreading faster. Death was near.

"Very well," the ape said at last. "We will form contract. But if you lie to me, and I gain even the smallest chance in the future, I will kill you."

A faint smile touched Alex’s lips. "That is fair."

He stepped forward through the frost until his hand rested against the ape’s enormous arm. The cold pierced through scale and skin into bone, but he did not withdraw.

"Initiate contract," he said.

[Ding! Host is initiating his second beast contract.]

[Ding! The subject is doing this willingly. The natural contract is being established.]

[Ding! The beast can now use divine sense.]

[Ding! The contract is successful. The return power is too much for host now. Do you still want to accept it?]

Alex inhaled sharply.

Of course. Contracting a beast so far above him meant inheriting a fraction of its strength. A planetary level seven beast’s power would crush him instantly.

"Big guy, let me take a little rest now. I will heal you again later," Alex said before collapsing onto the ground with a dull thud.

"Master!" Ember reached him in an instant and hovered anxiously over his body.

The ape’s condition had stabilized somewhat.

"Little dragon, do not panic," the ape rumbled. "Your master is all right. He is merely exhausted."

Ember did not respond. He landed on Alex’s chest and activated his talent.

"Life Elementalist."

A surge of vivid green energy burst outward.

In an instant, a tremendous amount of that energy began flowing into Alex’s body. At first glance, it resembled wood elemental energy, but it was fundamentally different.

Ember’s talent allowed him to manipulate life force itself.

Wood element could revitalize cells by providing nourishment, but life element supplied raw life energy directly. The cells did not need to convert it. They absorbed it immediately.

The ape’s eyes widened.

"What kind of energy is this? My wounds feel as though they are healing faster."

However, the talent had a fatal flaw.

"It is transferring his life essence to you," the ape continued gravely.

That was precisely why Alex had relied on his light elemental healing instead. He possessed the life talent as well, but when he had attempted to use it, he felt a violent pull from within his body. The drain had been unmistakable. That was why he had avoided it.

He had simply forgotten to warn Ember.

Within three minutes, Alex’s eyes opened. His vision focused quickly as he sensed the flow of energy.

"Ember, stop," he said sharply.

Ember halted immediately, though his small body swayed slightly in the air. He looked visibly tired.

Even though a saint tier beast possessed immense vitality, losing raw life essence was still exhausting.

"Ember, do not use your talent again until you become a planetary being," Alex warned firmly.

"Okay, master. But Ember was very worried for master," the little dragon replied, pressing himself into Alex’s embrace.

Alex held him gently and rubbed his head. "I know. I am sorry for worrying you."

Then he looked toward the ape.

"Let us begin again, big guy. I know exactly when to stop this time."

Three days later, the final wound was closed.

"Thank you, master."

The voice was deeper now and steadier.

Alex looked up at his new companion. "You are welcome. But we have work to do."

"Can you capture some low level crimson mantics alive?"

"Alive?" the ape asked.

"Yes. I need them.", Alex said calmly.

He had already decided to use the Ape to hunt love level planetary monsters like the crimson mantises. That would surely increase his evolution speed and he will be able to leave this place sooner.

A faint, dangerous smile formed on Wu Cong’s face. "As you command."

He disappeared from sight in an instant.

Alex exhaled and summoned his interface.

[Beast Master: 2/12]

[1. Ember: Saint Level 9]

[Cultivation Base: 40.003%]

[2. Wu Cong: Planetary Level 6]

[Cultivation Base: 0.00000004%]