Decision, Requirements

"Kon!" Guihu Luixing and Serana's conversation was interrupted by Dark Moon's determined bark.

She did as Guihu Luixing asked and thought deeply about what he said. Even now she didn't fully accepted what he said, but she still believed him.

Exactly why she believed him, she became scared. Scared of how dangerous the future would be. Scared of never seeing her parents again. Scared of the outcome of the Trial.

After thinking of that, a question popped into her mind. 'Does Luixing need to face something so terrible? Will he be by himself?'

Just thinking about that made her feel worried for him. She wouldn't let him go through that alone, she would be by his side.

She had decided!

"Kon!" she once again barked to show her resolve.

"Have you really thought it through?" asked Guihu Luixing.

She did not say anything, just nodded resolution.

"Very well." The boy nodded "All we need now is to decide the type of contract."

This time, Dark Moon didn't get lost in her fantasies as usual. She would choose the Soul Link Contract, the same as before. This time however, instead of choosing it for the kind of relationship it would create between them, this time she chose it because of the benefits.

Coincidentally, Guihu Luixing chose the same method, for the same reason. His mission, now theirs, would require every bit of effort. They would use every single piece of resource that would aid them in the long run.

"Dark Moon, I want to choose the Soul Link Contract. I believe it's the most efficient and useful. What about you?" he asked.

"Kon! Kon kon, kon!" answered the fox pup.

"Okay, with the contract type decided, we now must learn how to make the contract." he said as he took out the book his father gave him.

They took seats beside each other and started reading.

[The Five Great Contracts

At core, contracts are techniques that bind one or more beings to another. It's unknown where exactly where contracts came from, but it is said that most contracts that are known today were developed by the now disappeared Firmament Binding Sect.

There are as many contract types as there are drops of water in the sea, and most of the require quite difficult conditions in order to be used. Some, however, do not require that, but these contracts are usually weak and usually, useless.

There are, however, five types of contracts that while don't have harsh requirements, they effects can be very useful. These five contracts are called the Five Great Contracts, and it's recommended to any cultivator to learn them from a young age, as it's likely they will be used multiple time in their road.

...]

The book then proceeded to explain the same contracts their parents told them in the dining room, maybe a bit more in depth.

Even so, they didn't skip. They read through all the other contracts, solidifying their knowledge and learning new things, like how to use them.

It didn't take them too long to reach the part that mattered this night.

[Soul Link Contract

If the slave contract is the most powerful of the Five Great Contracts, allowing one to force another into following their will, the Soul Link Contract is the riskiest, but also the most rewarding in the long run.

The benefits include finding a partner who will have the same objectives as you, walk the same road as you, and will do everything in their power to make both of you succeed. Furthermore, the contract also constantly and passively increase the contracted duo's strength. Not only that, but it also allow for communication and emergency aid without caring for distance.

The demerits are obvious. If you chose the wrong person to be your partner, you basically signed your own death certificate. Another point of concern is that if your partner dies, you will receive a harsh backlash, making you incapacitated for a long period of time, once again, likely to be sealing your fate. Finally, once signed, the contract can be undone, but it will still result in a backlash, similar to the one that would be cause by a partner's death.

...]

Guihu Luixing once again was reminded of how harsh, but rewarding this contract was. Dark Moon was also a bit taken aback of how demanding it was, but quickly resolved herself again.

They continued to read.

[To sign a Soul Link Contract, the pair will need to use a drop of their heart blood. They will then send the blood drop directly in the others' heart. To finish, their souls must be in synch. If all steps are done, in said order, the contract will be established.]

Guihu Luixing was a bit startled to read that the contract required the partners to synch their souls.

Normally, this would require one to be at the very least at the Golden Core Realm, where one would have bare minimum control of their souls.

To him, however, this shouldn't be too much of a challenge. Guihu Luixing was now in the Soul Awareness Realm in his Soul Cultivation. He was now aware of his soul as one was aware of certain parts of the body.

As an example, every human has awareness of their diaphragm. They can stop breathing, breathe harder, softer, speak or shout by controlling their diaphragm. Of course, being aware and in complete control were two very different things.

While one can control their breathing, no one can asphyxiate themselves by holding their breath alone.

The same principle applies to the souls of soul cultivators in the Soul Awareness Realm. They could control their own souls, even though said control is greatly limited.

The amount of control Guihu Luixing currently had over his own soul should be similar to what a Golden Core Realm cultivator is capable, meaning he should be able to do his part of the ritual.

The was question was if Dark Moon was also able to do so.

Even though he knew Dark Moon must also have benefited from the Soul Mantra, just like Serana, he didn't know the extent, after all, Dark Moon didn't show any clear signs of change in appearance, different from Serana.

"Dark Moon. As you've read, it's a requirement for both the participants in the ritual to control their souls to some degree. I know you benefited from the Soul Mantra I've been chanting every morning. I need to know if you had enough benefits to proceed with the ritual." he asked her, even though he knew she was keeping a few secrets from him.

Dark Moon already expected that Guihu Luixing would ask this question since the moment she read the requirements.

She felt a bit upset her surprise would undoubtedly fail, be it because she would have to reveal it sooner than she expected or because he would just learn of it when they signed the contract. She just resigned herself from it and decided to be honest.

"Kon!" she barked and nodded.

Soon after, a couple of small fire balls appeared behind her. She had called her Soul Slaves.

"Oooohhhh. What are those! They look soo pretty!" Serana was instantly entranced by them.