Starting with the Broken-Winged Frost Butterfly: Beast Taming

Chapter 105 Rebirth and Return: The True Form of Master Mirror!

Zhu Ran suddenly awoke with a start, feeling a sharp pain in his soul. It was as if a giant's arm had been stuffed into his mind, continuously pouring in spiritual energy.

This spiritual power was so immense that he had difficulty breathing for a moment, and then blood spurted from his seven orifices, his face covered in blood.

But Zhu Ran got up, wiped her face, and recovered from the shock.

The barren world of the soul is like a baptism by spring rain.

In an instant, birds sang and flowers bloomed, all things revived, and a clear stream flowed through, leaving beautiful traces everywhere.

"This is... spiritual reciprocation?!"

Zhu Ran came to his senses and realized that this was exactly what spiritual feedback was.

Although it was comparable to Xuexi's performance, this time it was far too exaggerated, almost doubling the original total amount of energy.

But the thought that this was a complete reversal, rather than a partial one, brought Zhu Ran comfort and made him accept it with a clear conscience.

"I don't know how much time has passed—"

Having just woken up, all sorts of thoughts swirled in her mind, and Zhu Ran's eyes regained their clarity.

Those eyes, which had turned ice-blue because of Xue Xi, now had a faint golden light, and their gaze was much clearer than before.

Then Zhu Ran saw that all around him were swarms of beasts, just like cattle and sheep in a wholesale market, with groups of them here and there, creating quite a lively scene.

Strangely, they did not look at themselves; their bodies all maintained an eerie posture, gazing into the sky.

Following their direction, Zhu Ran looked up.

Wow!

Zhu Ran couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Is this the original form that Mirror Elder has recovered after his reversal? I knew it couldn't be an ordinary dressing mirror, that would be too low-class!"

Now, the gilded frame is inlaid with black wood grain, the upper half brimming with vitality, the lower half with deathly stillness. The mirror is deep and boundless, as if nested with countless subspaces, and one can see the scene inside by looking beyond the surface.

But—ruins?

The main structure of the ancient kingdom of soldiers is ruins, and the scene in the mirror corresponds to it. Could it be that all of these are real scenes, rather than strange phenomena?

Suppress your restless emotions and focus on the Encyclopedia of Error Evolution.

What could be more exciting than checking the attribute panel after a pet's transformation?

[Race]: Ancient Mirror

[Attribute]: Spirit/Space [Life Level]: Mature [Bloodline Strength]: S (A)

[Core Talents]: Gaze Cage/Glass Storm/Spatial Storage/Shattered Mirror Rebirth/Virtual Mirror Leap [Racial Skills]: Mirror Image Clone, Mirror Rewind, Mirror Light Heart Slash, Thousand Mirror Strangulation, Dimensional Mirror Tunnel, Soul Stealing [Status]: Newborn/Guardian Spirit, etc., S-rank? Guardian Spirit? What's going on??

Zhu Ran's eyes showed confusion.

Didn't he just help Professor Jing with the reversal experiment?

The combination of potion and ritual was so strenuous that even he found it difficult. Without the Soul-Replenishing Pill, he would not have been able to make it to the last step.

Then—then she fell into a coma.

With Xuexi and Siji Kasaya by his side, he was not worried about his own safety.

But what's going on right now? During the time he was unconscious, Elder Jing woke up on his own, defeated all the Kings of the Beasts, and took the lead in winning the Guardian's Inheritance?

That's not right. The mental feedback just arrived; it was because of the mental feedback that he woke up early, otherwise he would have slept for at least another day and night.

Zhu Ran's mind was becoming increasingly confused. The threads were scattered everywhere, with no beginning or end in sight, which made him a little frantic.

"Boss, you're awake?!"

The beast-head chain suddenly shook its head, shaking off some kind of negative state. Its bear eyes widened, and it saw Zhu Ran clearly, filled with boundless joy.

"Boss, they say I betrayed the Beast Clan. Did I betray them? I was just tricked by Fu'er—"

The Four Seasons Robe also woke up, muttering, "But now, I think I know what unexpected good fortune is."

"It was quite unexpected before, but I didn't know what was good about it. Now—I'm starting to get a clue."

At that moment, the two beasts started talking all at once, sharing what had happened while Zhu Ran was in a deep sleep.

Zhu Ran was stunned. The earth-shattering event had begun not long after he had fainted?

And the location where it appeared was right next to Mirror Elder. As the Origin Soldier Beast, Mirror Elder was immediately honored by this favor.

Isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?

Zhu Ran hurriedly checked her right wrist.

After winning the fortune and opening the lucky dice, he noticed three faint marks on his wrist.

The contract for fortune and misfortune failed, so a contract for the Four Seasons Robe was formed instead. One mark was removed, leaving two.

Unsurprisingly, this is the mark of "absolute good luck".

Zhu Ran originally had two chances left, and he had to use them wisely in the limited time he had left.

But now, one of the marks is gone, leaving only the last one.

"Is it the mark triggered during the ritual that ensures my reversal experiment goes smoothly?"

"Or was it that, after the reversal began, due to good fortune, Elder Jing was the first to enter the vision of the will of heaven and earth, instantly capturing the guardian spirit's inheritance?"

Zhu Ran racked his brains, but both possibilities existed, and he couldn't be 100% certain.

"Never mind, this is fantastic news no matter what!"

Zhu Ran swept away the resentment in his heart, wandered and fled through the cracks in the ground, repeatedly falling into encirclement and suppression, experiencing many crises. Now, it is finally time to settle old debts.

"Master Jing, have you regained any of your past memories?"

"Hmm," the ancient magic mirror transmitted telepathically, "I've remembered part of it."

Zhu Ran was taken aback. "Only a portion?"

"Hmm." The Ancient Magic Mirror said calmly, "I have actually lived two lives. In my first life, I was called the Demon King, one of the oldest natives of the Ancient Kingdom of War, witnessing its rise and fall, and holding a high position of power."

"But more than a hundred years ago, in order to go further, I did not hesitate to split my origin and give birth to a new individual, and then let the new body devour the old body—in an attempt to break through to S-rank."

"I failed, and at one point fell back to my larval stage."

"Then it evolved from a juvenile form into a mature form in an incorrect form —"

Zhu Ran blinked. In other words, Mirror Elder was actually a product of erroneous evolution. This was the ancient truth that had been buried in the past.

"I am me, and yet I am not me."

"The memories I had of the first Demon King were already incomplete a long time ago, and even now that they've been restored, I can't remember them all—"

The old magic mirror paused, then smiled faintly, "Actually, this is for the best. Say goodbye to the past and embrace a new life."

"Next, I will live a completely different life under the name 'Jing Lao' (Mirror Old Man), and perhaps I can go further."

Zhu Ran smiled slightly and nodded gently.

He then looked at the group of beast kings who were still in a "dazed" state, and asked, "What's wrong with them?"

"A cage of gaze."

The old magic mirror smiled and said, "Those who look directly into the mirror will have their spirit pulled into the space within the mirror. At best, they will become sluggish; at worst, they will become dull and lifeless."

Zhu Ran exclaimed in surprise, "They all became immobile just because they glanced at you?"

"Not entirely."

The ancient magic mirror struck down a beam of light, which shone directly on the Soul Fire Lamp, saying, "Take this lamp for example. Its soul is extremely powerful, and its perception is extremely keen. It's a bit difficult to imprison it with just a gaze."

"So I used 'Soul Stealing' to steal one of its abilities, strengthening my soul and weakening its senses, thus allowing me to subdue it easily."

"Ee." Xuexi shook her antennae, a little frightened.

It also looked at Grandpa Mirror, more than once, and saw nothing unusual.

It seems that Grandpa Mirror turned a blind eye and added it to the whitelist, so there's no need to worry about the gaze trap.

But isn't this "Soul Stealing" too overpowered? It can actually strip the target of an ability and turn it into its own—

"Not all abilities can be stripped away; there is a certain degree of randomness involved, and activating them is also very mentally taxing."

The old magic mirror provides a secret explanation.

It was like a private chat room, where only it and Zhu Ran could participate in the conversation.

Xuexi, Siji Jiasha, Jingxiang, Tuntun, Haha, and others listened attentively; they were guests.

Zhu Ran was impressed. Is this what S-rank is? Although it was promoted to S-rank through the method of guarding spirits, it only takes effect in this world.

But this suppressive force was far too strong. A group of A-level beast kings were stunned and unable to break free of the "gaze cage" for several minutes.

Zhu Ran even suspected that, if Mirror Elder wished, he could keep them locked up indefinitely until their bodies decayed and their souls withered away.

"Zhu Ran, this...it really worked?"

"Damn, I've seen a fully-formed C-rank before. It seems, maybe, perhaps, its aura is weaker than the Old Mirror of Magic?"

"Nonsense! This is a guardian spirit. In its home turf, it's not unusual for both its own kind and other races to be suppressed—"

Ma Ye, A Dou, Crocodile Sister, and Lord Hou all smiled.

Tang Jiamu, who had returned from outside, was holding the corpse of a king of beasts. His gaze was blank, and his eyebrows were slightly raised.

"When legend becomes reality."

"When fantasy becomes reality."

"The students trapped in the secret realm are all saved; at least their lives are no longer in danger!"

Crocodile Sister was overwhelmed with emotion, her heart pounding with excitement.

A young man two cycles younger than him, still in school, is involved with an S-class supernatural being and is expected to become everyone's savior.

This achievement and this honor cannot be fully expressed in just a few words.

"Zhu Ran, quickly ask Elder Jing if there's any way it can open the secret realm passage and help us return to the human world!"

Zhu Ran felt a chill run down his spine. Indeed, now was not the time to be complacent; countless troubles still awaited resolution.

"The original secret passage has been closed and cannot be reopened."

The ancient magic mirror transmitted its voice to all of humanity this time: "However, I can open a temporary passage. If you evacuate quickly, the probability of you safely returning to your original world is not low."

"Temporary passage, huh?!"

Sister Crocodile murmured, "So, if we all get out, this passage will close?"

"Yes, you cannot return a second time."

The ancient magic mirror slowly said, "This world does not like your arrival. Your departure will make both sides happy."

"What about Zhu Ran?"

A Dou couldn't help but ask, "He's now your Beast Tamer, bound to your destiny. You certainly can't break free from the guardian spirit's control. Can he leave?"

The old magic mirror thought for a moment and replied, "Currently, there are two options."

"One option is for Zhu Ran and I to stay in the secret realm until we are separated. Then I will send him away from the secret realm and back to the human world."

"The other option is that Zhu Ran will live in the ancient kingdom of soldiers in this life. Resources are not scarce here. With me here, no beast can harm him. We can maintain the contract until his lifespan ends and he dies of old age naturally."