It worked?
Hearing the entire Golden Marrow swarm express their willingness to beco his animal companion, Qi Ping could hardly believe it.
This was way too easy!
The whole process had been much simpler than he’d imagined. After eting and communicating with Qi Ping, the Golden Marrow bees had imdiately agreed to form a bond with him.
If other Qi Refinent stage cultivators witnessed this, they’d probably die of envy—especially beekeepers, who knew all too well how difficult it was to raise Cave-Dwelling Golden Marrow bees, let alone form a contract with them.
“Looks like the Beast King Druid is just as overpowered in the cultivation world!” Qi Ping couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
He wasn’t sure about other highly intelligent creatures yet, but the Golden Marrow bees’ reaction was incredibly promising. This suggested that similar creatures would likely respond just as favorably.
In other words, when forming contracts with other animal companions in the future, his Beast King Druid identity would still give him a massive advantage!
Before becoming a Beast King Druid, taming a swarm of Golden Marrow bees had been nothing more than a wild fantasy for Qi Ping.
Yet now, he had actually succeeded!
“Then let’s seal the contract!”
After receiving the Golden Marrow bees’ agreent, Qi Ping wasted no ti. It was best to secure the bond imdiately—delaying could lead to unforeseen complications, and that would be downright infuriating!
“Buzz… (Understood!)”
Following the druidic knowledge in his mind, Qi Ping willed a surge of mysterious energy into motion. Soon after, an intricate contract array slowly took shape.
“I wonder which of the Golden Marrow bees’ talents I’ll inherit…”
Qi Ping felt both anticipation and nervousness.
The Golden Marrow bees had three primary talents: Master Brewer, Venomous Stinger, and Windborne Swiftness.
Based on his past gaming experience, there was an 80% chance of inheriting one of the three main talents and a 20% chance of getting a minor, less significant trait.
The primary talents were of the highest quality, while the secondary ones were usually just trivial bee characteristics. So, which talent he obtained would co down to pure luck.
Qi Ping hoped most for Windborne Swiftness.
In the cultivation world, wind-attributed energy existed almost everywhere. With this talent, he’d gain a speed boost in any area rich in wind energy, along with an increased affinity for wind-attributed spiritual energy.
“Please, please don’t give Venomous Stinger…” he silently prayed.
Although shared talents adapted to the druid’s physiology, Qi Ping couldn’t even imagine what Venomous Stinger would manifest as on his body.
If he actually grew a stinger on his backside… just the thought made his scalp tingle.
After several dozen breaths, a human-sized, erald-green contract array finally took form. With a thought from Qi Ping, it instantly rged into the swarm.
In the DND-inspired modded ga he’d played, a single animal companion slot could bind an entire swarm.
Creatures like bee colonies were treated as a single entity, aning the queen, workers, and drones—along with their life cycles and generations—wouldn’t affect the contract.
The Golden Marrow bees didn’t resist the array, allowing its energy to rge with them seamlessly.
As the energy took hold, an erald glow erupted from their bodies—and an identical radiance rose from Qi Ping.
The process lasted longer than he’d expected, taking a full quarter-hour before the contract was officially complete.
Throughout, Qi Ping remained imrsed in the shared experience of the Golden Marrow bees’ talents.
The bees, anwhile, were benefiting from Beast King’s Blessing, a skill that enhanced their bloodline rather than sharing Qi Ping’s own abilities.
[Beast King’s Blessing: As your animal companion, they gain increased growth speed and a higher chance of successful evolution.]
The effects of Beast King’s Blessing didn’t manifest out of thin air. Instead, the skill reshaped the bloodlines of Qi Ping’s animal companions, elevating them on a fundantal level.
When Qi Ping finally snapped back to awareness and realized how much ti had passed, his first reaction was a pang of unease.
The contract had taken far longer than he’d anticipated. In the ga, it would’ve been instant—yet here in the cultivation world, it had lasted a full quarter-hour!
“Thankfully, nothing went wrong. Next ti I form a contract, I’ll have to make sure I’m in a safe environnt!”
Otherwise, if he were attacked mid-ritual, he’d be done for.
“At least the contract succeeded!”
The Golden Marrow swarm was now officially his animal companion!
These bees, with their mid-tier first-stage bloodline, were creatures that even mid-Qi Refinent cultivators both feared and coveted.
From this mont on, Qi Ping not only possessed a force capable of threatening mid-Qi Refinent cultivators—he could also harvest their precious honey!
Two birds with one stone!
As his first animal companion, the Golden Marrow bees were an excellent choice.
They could fight, generate inco, and remain hidden as a trump card.
Among all the spirit beasts he could realistically obtain, none matched the Golden Marrow bees in overall value.
“Though the shared talent… well, at least it’s not Venomous Stinger, but it’s not Windborne Swiftness either…”
Looking at [Master Brewer], Qi Ping didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
[Master Brewer: You possess a keen instinct for pollen and certain spirit herbs, allowing you to brew them into honey with extraordinary effects.]
“Compared to the bees’ original talent, there are so slight differences…”
The Golden Marrow bees’ innate ability was:
[Master Brewer: Possesses a natural gift for brewing honey, capable of not only transforming pollen into honey but also fernting certain spirit herbs, enhancing their unique properties.]
The key change was: “a keen instinct for pollen and certain spirit herbs…”
“On second thought, this talent isn’t without its uses. Having heightened sensitivity to spirit herbs could actually be quite valuable!”
“Besides, the minor speed boost from Windborne Swiftness probably wouldn’t have made much difference to my combat strength. A money-making skill isn’t bad…”
“If developed properly, this might even turn into sothing surprisingly useful.”
There were no useless skills—only uncreative users. And in a world like the cultivation realm, where possibilities were endless, even seemingly niche abilities could shine.
While Master Brewer couldn’t compare to sothing like alchemy, combining it with his Plant Growth talent would still give Qi Ping a solid foundation for advancing through the Qi Refinent stage.
At the very least, compared to Venomous Stinger, Master Brewer was sothing Qi Ping could accept.
And for now, with the Golden Marrow bees as his animal companion—a force capable of threatening mid-Qi Refinent cultivators—the slight speed boost from Windborne Swiftness wouldn’t have made much difference to a asly first-layer Qi Refinent cultivator like him.
Once he reasoned it out, Qi Ping felt no lingering regrets. This was already a massive upgrade—he was more than satisfied.
Besides, a farming-oriented talent suited his personality just fine.
“And the rewards might not be over yet!”
Qi Ping hadn’t forgotten one of the Golden Marrow bees’ key traits: their high standards for nectar sources.
If they’d chosen to settle here, it ant there had to be an abundance of high-quality pollen or spirit herbs nearby—enough to attract them in the first place!
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