Chapter 711 — The Contract Universe

Shi Jin truly wanted to go pet some kittens.

Rather, the closer he drew to the Contract Universe, the more a sense of unease crept over Shi Jin.

Though he talked all day about making the cosmos eternal, about achieving eternity alongside his pet beasts.

Shi Jin firmly believed that undertaking this task—arguably the hardest in all the cosmos—would leave him uneasy even if he prepared for another billion years.

Shi Jin admitted that he could sometimes be rather full of himself, but he only got cocky when he held certain victory, or when losing the bet would cost him little—at worst some embarrassment. He had no shame to lose anyway.

The risks of the Contract Universe, however, clearly exceeded mere shamelessness.

The relaxation was genuine. It was not only about finding Teacher Cat—before entering the Contract Universe, Shi Jin wanted to look around and trace the marks of the road he had traveled.

Shi Jin wanted to unwind, and Eleven naturally accompanied him. Shi Jin stroked Eleven's head, and the two arrived at Ping City. By now, Ping City had changed beyond recognition.

Its current economic level could already be called a first-tier metropolis. What surprised Shi Jin most, of course, was the current choice for president of Ping City's Beast Master Association.

Shi Jin and the others walked to the foot of the Beast Master Association building and looked up, traversing time and space.

A gentle, refined young man with glasses was diligently attending to his paperwork. By his leg, an Ice Armor Beast God lay sprawled on the floor dozing.

The most striking thing in the room was a large picture frame hanging on the wall. Inside it was a photograph of a battle arena—on either side, two youths brimming with spirit, each sending out their pet beast.

Mid-tier Transcendent, Ice Armor Beast!

Mid-tier Transcendent, Iron-eating Beast!

The photo looked like a still captured from surveillance footage, frozen at the moment the referee announced the start of the match.

"His name should be Chen Kai, right." Shi Jin: "Our first battle opponent, and he actually became the president of Ping City. His pet beast has grown so powerful too... he must have had some fortuitous encounter."

"Chirp, chirp!" Eleven was surprised as well.

Mm, he also wondered what position that Old Feng Ying, who had taken them to fleece the Evolution Holy Spring, had risen to by now.

At this point, even the Bamboo Stone Martial Hall had changed its master.

As Shi Jin wandered about, he discovered that Sister Xiong Qi and her daughter had likely both gone to Realm King Star to fight in the rankings.

He shook his head with a smile. Even though Eleven had reached the cosmic tier, it still could not hold back the march of the panda army.

After all, the Myriad Races Ranking War allowed participation by minor races. Given Lin Zhuo's personality, how could she ever rest until she had researched every evolution of the Iron-eating Beast and squeezed out every last drop of potential?

Shi Jin couldn't help feeling that this mother-daughter pair loved giant pandas even more than he did—and he was a transmigrator who had come from Earth.

After making a round of Ping City, Shi Jin arrived at the Ancient Capital.

He found that most of his acquaintances had gone to Realm King Star, with only a few remaining. It wasn't that Blue Star was much worse than Realm King Star now.

It was simply that Realm King Star was novel!

Everyone had lived on Blue Star for decades—who wouldn't want to go out and see the world, do some traveling?

Of course, Teacher Ying had been at Ancient Capital University recently. Perhaps having had her fill of traveling around with Shi Jin, she now felt nostalgic for the place where she had grown up.

Who could have imagined that this small university had not only "produced" several Super Gods, but also a Cosmic Overlord?

The current landscape of Ancient Capital University was both familiar and strange to Shi Jin. For instance, the association president had been replaced by the Dragon Tamer Yu Shu.

For another, the university's chancellor had also changed—now it was Hao Ling of the Mechanical College, who had assisted Eleven's evolution and helped Shi Jin research mechanical life. He had successfully taken office, while Feng Jin had long since retired.

"Hmm." Chongchong actually found it quite incomprehensible—how had that brat Yu Shu become the president of the Ancient Capital Association?

Shi Jin was amused. "Because Yin Huan and the others are doing even better—they've all gone off to play on Realm King Star."

Perhaps these competitors from Shi Jin's era had harbored a certain wishful thinking early on, hoping to overtake him.

But as time wore on,

as Shi Jin became the strongest being in the cosmos, even those Blue Star geniuses who had ascended to Realm King Star could only smile bitterly when they heard Shi Jin's name again. Some would boast of their connection to Shi Jin; others would be too embarrassed to admit they had once been his rivals.

"Feng Jin, back from your travels on Realm King Star?"

Shi Jin finally came to visit Feng Jin at his residence. The old man had taken good care of him and was also Lu Yan's elder, so Shi Jin brought supplements with him.

"Shi—Shi Jin??" Feng Jin, who had been sitting in his old man's chair listening to music, jolted. "Damn, what wind blew you here?"

Shi Jin's face darkened. "How have you gotten more trendy the older you get?"

"Nothing better to do anyway, so I came back to visit."

"Is it that you're going to contract some universe or other?" Feng Jin suddenly said.

"You know about that too??" Shi Jin was stunned. He hadn't told Feng Jin.

"Qing Yi mentioned some of it to me—said the risk was great." Feng Jin fell silent, then said: "Looking at your eyes, I can sense it. You look like you're about to do something important. Is the psychological pressure rather heavy?"

Shi Jin was speechless. "Ginger is spicier with age. I wasn't deliberately hiding it, but you, old man, being able to see through the mind of the cosmos's strongest with one glance—you could brag about that for a hundred million years." "Quit it! I don't really understand. After the spiritual energy revival, I haven't done much cultivation. Is it really that dangerous?" Feng Jin said.

"It's not all that dangerous, surely." Shi Li said, "Don't worry. Wait—why are you looking at me like that, old-timer?"

"Ahem, well, I was just thinking—if it really is dangerous, you're not exactly young anymore. You ought to leave behind some offspring before you go."

Shi Jin: ...???

So now he was being cursed to his face.

"It really is you, kid." By the time Shi Jin arrived, the newcomer's aura was well concealed, but it could not fool the Gemstone Cat, who was intimately familiar with even Shi Jin's ordinary form.

The Gemstone Cat of the Ancient Capital University teleported over to Feng Jin's side and eyed Shi Li. "So you've stopped tinkering with all your nonsense? Must be nice, having time to wander about."

"Mm. Though I suppose that distance is a mere thought for you."

"You came at just the right time." Shi Jin scratched his head. "Teacher Ying, I'm planning to set off for the cosmos-contract in a while. Who knows how long it'll take to succeed."

"I've come to ask a favor."

"So soon? What is it?" The Gemstone Cat's expression sharpened.

Shi Tan was in far too much of a hurry.

Still, before setting out to do something so momentous, what could Shi Jin possibly need to ask of it?

Entrusting an orphan to its care?

"Could you try a little harder, please? The Empress and I made a bet. I said that before I succeed in contracting the cosmos, you'd definitely reach cosmic tier. The Empress said, 'That cat? Not a chance.' So can you let me win? Though I know the odds are practically nil."

The Gemstone Cat: ...???

"Get lost!!!"

And here it had thought Shi Jin had come about something serious. Instead he just showed up to talk rubbish?