Chapter 21: Summoned Beast

Qin Tang and Qin Xun stopped digging up plants and looked over in confusion.

When they saw the white porcelain tea bowl in Qin Bi's hand, their eyes froze. Suddenly, both men stood up and walked over quickly. Rong Yan also wore a look of stupor; it was his first time seeing someone condense a magical tool.

Jiang Xu scrambled up from the ground; she had taken a tumble during the previous commotion.

The group gathered around, filled with surprise and curiosity.

"You have condensation ability?" Rong Yan asked.

Although Qin Bi felt somewhat unmoored and ethereal, she still sensed everyone's shock. Her heart raced—not with her usual panic, but with a sense of pleasant surprise.

She didn't explicitly say she had condensation ability, but instead said, "I occasionally condense these kinds of tea bowls."

Qin Xun said excitedly, "That *is* condensation ability."

Qin Tang was too moved to speak. He was the eldest legitimate son of the Fourth Branch. When the Fourth Branch previously had a legitimate eldest daughter, they had enjoyed great prestige as the betrothed family of Rong Jun. However, after the eldest daughter passed away, Rong Jun no longer looked after the Fourth Branch.

Furthermore, Qin He disliked the Fourth Branch, making their lives difficult over the years.

"Good, it's good that you have condensation ability," Qin Tang said, a mix of joy and bitterness in his voice.

Qin Bi could not handle any emotional instability right now; Qin Tang's emotions directly affected her. Her eyes reddened, and she began to cry again. *Oh, for goodness' sake,* Rong Yan thought, his chubby face wrinkling like a bitter melon.

If a parasitic flower has condensation ability, it would have been better if someone else had it.

"Don't cry, don't cry," Qin Lang said, his mood brightening. He coaxed Qin Bi with a good temper; earlier, her crying had made him feel quite frustrated, but now, stimulated by the magical tool, he felt energized. He coaxed her, "Sister, now that we have summonable magical tools, we can kill the demon beast."

Qin Bi sobbed, "I know."

Jiang Xu felt a massive headache coming on. She shot a look at Qin Xun, and Qin Bi followed the gaze toward Qin Xun. Trying to wink at someone right in front of them was impossible to hide; she saw it. *What are you doing?* Qin Xun was almost laughing from exasperation.

Realizing the situation, Qin Tang asked Qin Bi for the tea bowl, while Rong Yan and Jiang Xu immediately crowded in to inspect this summonable magical tool.

Qin Lang also watched expectantly, "Two summonable tools should be enough to kill that demon beast; it's a low-level one."

Qin Bi offered a suggestion: "There are no patterns. I noticed other people's tea bowls have plants and beasts on them."

The white porcelain Qin Bi had condensed was clean, without a single pattern.

Rong Yan, being knowledgeable, gave her guidance: "You can use spiritual plant energy wood to draw patterns."

Hearing "spiritual plant energy wood," Qin Bi had an impression of it. She took a piece of spiritual plant from her storage bag. "This one? I have it."

"Yes, yes, yes, that's the kind of spiritual plant energy wood." Everyone was excited now. Rong Yan felt that killing a demon beast wasn't impossible, so he quickly instructed Qin Bi: "Use the spiritual plant energy wood and mobilize your condensation ability to draw a small beast, or even a plant—either is fine."

Rong Yan was just about to suggest that vine plants have strong lethality and are easier to draw than other small beasts or plants.

Just as Qin Lang was about to chime in with an idea, Qin Bi wiped her tears and said, "I know how to draw cats."

"Uh..."

Rong Yan, Qin Tang, and the others looked at each other. There were people who used cats as summoned beasts, but they were usually too small. In terms of combat power, size was an advantage, but for a novice in condensation ability, proficiency was most important.

If Qin Bi wasn't good at drawing anything else and ruined a drawing, the magical tool would be practically useless.

"Drawing a cat is fine too," Rong Yan conceded. It was good enough that this parasitic flower was finally standing on her own; what more could they expect? Rong Yan had never had such a headache in his life. "Just try to draw the small beast looking as fierce as possible."

Qin Bi thought for a moment. "I don't know how."

Rong Yan: "..."

Qin Tang spoke up, "Draw whatever you want."

That made things easy. As Qin Bi began to draw, Jiang Xu called Qin Xun to go scout the horned demon beast. It was an elk, quite large and herbivorous, located not far away.

While Qin Tang and Qin Lang watched intently, Rong Yan turned his gaze away so as not to watch Qin Bi's drawing process.

They all assumed it would take half a day; many condensation masters took several days or even half a month to complete a summoning pattern.

Who would have thought that a "newborn calf" would be so formidable? Qin Bi first drew a circle, then tore a "pancake" shape to form the cat's head, added two round eyes, and with a few strokes, finished the nose and mouth. Before she had even finished a bowl of tea, she was done.

"Done," Qin Bi said, handing the tea bowl to Qin Tang.

Qin Tang froze. *Is this a joke?!*

Qin Lang was also stunned. Rong Yan turned back to look, and indeed, a cat was drawn on the magical tool. Qin Bi's drawing was extremely simple, but it held the flow of condensation energy, making it a living little beast in its own right.

Rong Yan blinked. "The summoned beast looks a bit small."

Qin Bi had tried her best to make it large. She poked her head out. "The tea bowl is only this big."

*This concubine-born daughter of the Heir Apparent knows nothing at all,* Rong Yan thought. He stopped talking and gathered Qin Tang and Qin Lang to discuss killing the demon beast. Thinking about how she had been suppressed for so many years, Qin Bi's heart raced at the thought that her condensed tool could actually kill a demon beast.

Condensing the tool had been an accident, so Qin Bi wanted to see if she could do it again.

Moving a bit away, she found a patch of sandy soil and dug into the dry earth. Once the soil was slightly moist, Qin Bi grabbed a handful of soil with a small handkerchief, squeezed it in her hand, and a moment later, condensed another tea bowl.

Qin Bi's heart was pounding. She took the tea bowl and tried to condense again, but her vision went dark. She was startled, guessing that the consumption of condensation energy was too intense; a tool condensed by accident couldn't be successfully made every time.

Qin Bi took the tea bowl back and presented it like a treasure. "I condensed another one."

Qin Tang was stunned. "..."

Qin Lang: "...What the hell?!!!"

Feeling dizzy, Rong Yan said excitedly, "Try condensing again."

Qin Bi told him, "I tried, but I couldn't do it, and my vision went dark."

"Then don't try anymore," Rong Yan said. "You've exhausted your condensation energy."

When Jiang Xu and Qin Xun returned, they reported the situation regarding the demon beast. Taking advantage of the gap, Qin Bi drew a summoned beast on her new magical tool—still a cat—and finished it in a few strokes.

Now that they had three summonable magical tools, Qin Tang's group didn't dare to be flashy.

For no other reason than their lack of overall strength; they were worried someone might steal their magical tools.

Taking a detour, they saw the demon beast lowering its head to eat grass. Rong Yan took out his magical tool and summoned a bean sprout with a few leaves. Qin Bi's expression froze. *What can a vegetable do?!*

Qin Tang took the tool Qin Bi had condensed and summoned a cute little beast. The kitten wasn't large—a white tabby—and it let out a "meow." With its milky voice, it clearly lacked any killing intent.

The bean sprout's vines lashed out toward the demon beast. The tabby cat didn't move at first.

Qin Bi grew nervous, but fortunately, once the bean sprout and the demon beast started fighting, the white tabby dashed forward to join the fray. Qin Tang and Rong Yan watched the battle using their magical tools.

Qin Bi felt that these tools were truly amazing; the person holding the tool didn't even need to go to the front lines to fight the demon beast—having summoned beasts and plants to do the killing was enough.