My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

Facing the ferocious, armed bear goblin, Xiuqi remained calm, instead displaying a thoughtful expression.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered a bounty he had seen at the Adventurers' Guild in Summertown.

......

Summertown Adventurers' Guild ID: 01806231

"Introduction": A mage apprentice from the North is seeking a "cute" contract partner for a hefty sum. (Only suitable, fully grown, tall, and powerful goblins and bear goblins are eligible.)

"Rewards": Capture a Goblin for 6 gold coins each, or a Bear Goblin for 30 gold coins each.

"Task duration": 2 days; ending on the 17th of the Flower Festival month in 1318.

......

No wonder that person looked familiar at the Adventurers' Guild.

Looking back now, that man was one of Fernand's henchmen.

So that's how Fernán's "contract partners" came about—he bought powerful monsters with money and then forcibly formed a contract with them using magic.

This is indeed in line with the style of this lineage of monks.

It turned out to be the case.

A mysterious smile appeared on Xiuqi's face.

"So it was you who posted the bounty for capturing the bear goblin in Summertown Adventurers' Guild," Xiuqi said softly.

Fernand was taken aback, then his expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure: "I don't know what you're talking about. Gram is a companion I personally tamed."

"30 gold coins to buy a goblin bear, doesn't seem too expensive!" At this moment, Xiu Qi's mindset was no longer the same as before, and he began to calculate how worthwhile this deal was.

"Not 100 gold..." Fernand immediately shut up and coughed awkwardly a few times.

He turned to look at the henchman below the stage who had posted the bounty, his expression extremely fierce.

The attendant, dressed in the academy's black robes, lowered his head as if in shame.

"I'll settle the score with you later!" Fernand said in a low voice.

He turned to look at Xiu Qi, his face radiating a triumphant gleam, his tone flippant:

"Cultivation Apprentice,"

I'm giving you one last chance.

"To admit defeat, or to continue?"

The scaly goblin let out a low growl in unison, slamming its battle axe heavily onto the ground with a dull thud.

The audience was completely silent.

Jasmine sat in the front row, her slender fingers clenched so tightly they turned white, her lovely brows furrowed, her expression seemingly more anxious than the duelists on the field.

"Your boyfriend is in a bad situation right now," said a glamorous woman next to her, also dressed in a silk gown and with a proud, prominent bust.

"Giving up and admitting defeat is the wise choice!"

"Serena, you don't understand!" Jasley said without turning her head, her expression unusually firm.

"Xiuqi will not admit defeat! He absolutely will not!"

"Then let's wait and see..." Serena's lips curled into a beautiful smile.

Everyone in the training ground was watching Xiu Qi, waiting for his reaction.

Xiu Qi raised his head, a mysterious smile suddenly appearing on his face.

"A contractual partner?" he said softly, but his voice carried clearly throughout the room. "Coincidentally, I have one too."

Fernán paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Your goblin? Shuki's apprentice, don't be ridiculous. My Gram can take it down with one hammer blow..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because what Xiuqi took out of his bag was not a card, but a contract scroll that emitted a faint magical fluctuation.

The scroll was made of some kind of monster hide, with fine silver lines inlaid along the edges and a complex contract rune drawn in the center.

Xiuqi unrolled the scroll and began to chant, each syllable seemingly carrying weight, creating visible ripples in the air.

"By the bond of companionship, we transcend the limitations of space..."

The runes on the scroll began to glow, the silver light growing brighter and brighter, gradually coalescing into an illusory portal.

Fernand's expression changed.

This summoning method is not a regular card summoning, but a more advanced spatial contract summoning!

It requires the summoner to be completely willing and for both parties to establish an equal contractual relationship in order to use it!

"Wait, you—" Fernand wanted to say something.

But it was too late.

The illusory portal suddenly swung open.

A giant foot stepped out from the portal—

Boom!

The entire dueling arena trembled.

Then the other foot.

Boom!

The vibrations were even stronger; the audience could feel the floor trembling.

A massive, suffocating figure slowly emerged completely from the portal.

He was ten feet tall, and the width of his shoulders was almost equivalent to three adult men standing side by side.

The rough, grayish-green skin was covered with a thick layer of keratin, which gleamed like rock under the magical light.

Its head was enormous, with two curved fangs protruding from its lower jaw, and its clear yellow eyes reflected the magical light of the arena.

It wore a slightly tight linen garment, held in its hand the largest hammer available from a blacksmith's shop, and carried a huge oak shield.

The cannibal Ado lowered his head, looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, then looked at Xiuqi, making a confused gurgling sound in his throat.

Xiuqi nodded to it and said calmly in Common, "Ado, this is a competition, and we need to defeat the other opponents on the stage."

Ado nodded awkwardly and walked heavily to Xiuqi's side.

With each step it took, the dueling arena groaned under the strain.

The practice area fell into a deathly silence.

A few seconds later, the audience erupted in chaos.

"An ogre!!! That's an ogre!!"

"Ten feet tall... Good heavens, I've never seen such a massive cannibal..."

"It's wearing casual clothes that look like it's at home? And what's going on with this weapon?"

Jasmine covered her mouth, her eyes wide open.

She glanced at Xiuqi's calm profile, then at the cannibal standing like a small mountain, her mind unable to process the information before her.

Serena clutched her heaving chest, her eyes also filled with shock.

Three days ago, she suddenly heard that Jasley had broken off her engagement and started dating a first-year student from the Arcane Academy. She was very curious about what kind of man could conquer this beautiful rose of the aristocratic academy.

She used various methods to investigate almost the entire Xiu Qi family, spanning three generations, and the results were extremely disappointing.

As a close friend of Jasley, she always believed that Shoochi, the son of a country knight, was completely unworthy of the noble lady.

At this moment, she might need to change her opinion of that gray-robed apprentice slightly.

"Maybe it's not that bad..." A blush appeared on her face.

Master Alvin's expression froze for a moment on the referee's stand, and the wrinkles on Gu Lan's usually calm face twisted together in an unusual way.

Master York, standing beside him, looked even worse. He pointed at Hodor, his finger trembling slightly: "The Protection School now teaches its students to form contracts with these monsters?"

Master Alvin shrugged: "The choice of contracted creature is the student's freedom."

"..." Master York.

On the dueling platform, Fernand's expression completely changed.

The burly and powerful goblin was only about as tall as the ogre's chest, and the ogre's arms were thicker than the goblin's thighs, making him look like an underage child in comparison.

What alarmed him even more was that the ogre had been completely obedient to Xiuqi's commands since it was summoned.

There was no furious roar, no frantic destructive urge; he simply stood quietly beside Xiuqi, his clear yellow eyes filled with complete obedience.

This is impossible! Ogres are legendary, foolish, and ferocious monsters; they could never be so obedient!

The armed bear goblin also felt an instinctive fear at this moment.

Its crimson eyes were fixed on Ador, its hand gripping the warhammer trembled slightly, and it let out an uneasy growl from its throat.

Its wild instincts told it that this big guy in front of it could smash its skull with a single slap.

Xiuqi looked up at Fernand, his face still bearing that mysterious smile.

"Fernan the Apprentice," he said calmly, "shall we continue?"

Fernand's face turned pale and then flushed.

He looked at his bear goblin, then at the mountain-sized ogre, his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't say anything.

On the judges' panel, the female mentor also revealed a rare hint of amusement.

She glanced at Master Alvin, then at Master York, and seeing that Fernand made no move, finally raised her hand:

"Both parties have summoned their contracted partners. Duel—"

"start!"