Divine Seal: Child of the Elements, starting with a contract with Gu Yuena.

Outside the city, a dusty carriage slowly came to a stop. A steady hand lifted the curtain of the carriage, and Gu'ao peeked out, looking at the familiar giant city before him with a complex expression.

After a long and winding journey of more than two months, Gu Ao returned to the city he thought he would only visit once and would never set foot in again.

"Ancient and profound."

A clear, bell-like, and energetic call came from inside the carriage.

Immediately afterwards, Na'er, with her silver hair and silver eyes and stunning beauty, gracefully stepped out of the carriage.

With Na'er by his side, it was inconvenient for Gu'ao to ride a horse alone anymore, so for comfort reasons, he hired a carriage to take him around.

Of course, this not only costs more money, but also takes much longer to travel.

Gu Ao reached out his hand, and Na'er naturally grasped it, using the leverage to jump off the carriage shaft.

Thanks to Gu'ao's careful feeding—no, care—Na'er became noticeably more cheerful than before.

She curiously surveyed yet another city—they had already passed through many cities along the way, while Gu'ao stared intently at the towering gates of Brahma City, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Na'er's voice gently reached his ears, interrupting his reverie.

"Guo, is this our final destination?"

"For the time being."

Gu Ao withdrew his gaze and turned to the girl beside him, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions that were difficult to discern. Na'er returned his gaze with a clear, pure look, as if it could reflect all the turmoil in his heart.

With a slight smile, Gu Ao took her hand, and she returned the handshake. The two then walked slowly into the city.

Just like back in Quiri, the first thing to do after entering the city was to find a hotel.

Guo booked a double room, but during his stay in Quiri, Na'er refused to sleep alone, so Guo had no choice but to change to a double room.

Gu Ao stroked her hair; her long, silver hair, flowing like moonlight, was smooth and beautiful, shimmering like fine silk as it brushed against his fingertips.

"Na'er, I have something to take care of. I'll be back tonight."

Kona tightly gripped the hem of Guo's clothes, stubbornly refusing to let him leave even a step.

Gu Ao gently took her hand and said, "Look, this is our pact. No matter how far apart we are, we can sense each other. So, I will not abandon Na'er."

Under Gu'ao's tutelage, Na'er learned to perceive the Equal Contract—something that normally requires cultivation, yet she miraculously mastered it despite having no spiritual power.

After settling Nar in, Guou wandered alone through the city, eventually stopping in front of a solemn building.

Using the Brahma branch temple as a springboard to reach the Knight's Holy Mountain, whether he succeeded or not, Guou thought he would never return.

If successful, return to the Magic Temple and confess to Elder Yu, then use this opportunity to initiate a magician's contract mount at the temple.

If that fails, they will return to the Magic Temple as if nothing happened, and will not stay in a knight's branch temple to play house.

However, he is currently in a Schrödinger-like state of being neither successful nor unsuccessful.

Did it work? Gu'ao failed to summon his mount, as evidenced by the fact that Mount Knights could not.

Why not? There is indeed another Na'er by his side now.

In fact, he was not incapable of returning to Jialing Pass and back to the Magic Temple.

But if he went back, there was no way he would leave Na'er in Brahma City or Quiri City.

However, taking her back would inevitably attract the attention of the temple.

More importantly, Gu'ao worried that someone in the magic temple, where powerful figures abound, might discover Na'er's unusual nature.

In contrast, Brahma City, with his current strength, is capable of handling most unexpected situations.

At the entrance of the Brahma branch temple, the two guards seemed to have noticed him; they were the same two young knights who had accompanied him on his first visit.

"My lord knight, you're back!"

Upon seeing Gu Ao, they appeared very excited, and one of them immediately turned around and strode into the hall.

The other person respectfully explained, "The Lord of the Temple specifically instructed that if you, Sir Knight, return, you must report to him immediately."

The familiar scene brought a sense of nostalgia to Gu Ao; he had indeed experienced too much these past few days.

When did I start becoming so sentimental?

Gu Ao shook his head slightly. At this moment, Ouyang Cheng, the master of the Brahma branch hall, strode out of the hall in a hurry.

"Let's go inside and talk."

Upon seeing Gu Ao, Ouyang Cheng's eyes lit up. He stepped forward, put his arm around Gu Ao's shoulder, and led him into the hall.

------

Second floor, the temple master's office.

"How is it?" Ouyang Cheng asked expectantly.

Gu Ao simply shook his head slowly.

The other person paused, then asked incredulously, "Could it be...?"

"I'm sorry, Lord, I have failed to live up to your expectations."

Ouyang Cheng seemed to deflate instantly. He had a bad feeling long before Gu Ao returned.

The round trip from Brahma City to Knight's Holy Mountain takes only a month, but Gu'ao's trip lasted more than two months, almost a full month spent on the Holy Mountain, and even had some left over.

In his view, Gu'ao may have spent a lot of time adjusting after suffering the blow of failing to obtain a mount before setting off to return.

Looking at the undisguised disappointment on Ouyang Cheng's face, Gu Ao suddenly felt a surge of impulse.

If Ouyang Cheng were to lose faith in him because of this, Gu Ao could then legitimately leave the Brahma Branch Hall and the Knight Temple, thus focusing more of his attention on Na'er.

Unexpectedly, Ouyang Cheng clenched his fist in frustration and sighed, "It's all my fault. I should have gone with you myself."

This is not your fault.

Gu Ao actually wanted to leave Knight's Holy Mountain and not return to Brahma City, but head directly towards Jialing Pass—Knight's Holy Mountain was closer to the latter.

"It's alright! With your talent and strength, you'll excel even without a mount. There are still two years until the selection competition, so you have every opportunity to break through to the fifth tier, and you can also find a suitable mount through other means..."

Ouyang Cheng's words were exactly the same as the words of comfort from the guardian of the Holy Mountain of Knights. Gu Ao couldn't help but smile bitterly. They were indeed well-intentioned, but he was really not that fragile, nor had he suffered such a great setback as they claimed.

"Lord of the Palace, I..."

Gu Ao wanted to say a few more words in his defense, but Ouyang Cheng interrupted him directly.

"Don't be too sad. Even without a mount, you are still a member of the Brahma Branch Hall, and the Demon Hunter Group will not turn you away because of this."

"..." Gu Ao was speechless for a moment, not knowing what else to say.

"You should take a good rest for a while and adjust your condition and mindset."

In Ouyang Cheng's view, Gu Ao's expression still seemed very heavy.

Gu Ao remained silent, then changed the subject: "Palace Master, could you grant me an Awakening Stone?"

Although Ouyang Cheng didn't understand why he suddenly needed this, considering Gu Ao's current emotional state, he didn't ask any further questions and directly agreed to his request.