The contract between a Beast Tamer and a Pet Beast is unchangeable.
At the very instant the contract is formed, a portion of both sides' minds merges together.
Indistinguishable from one another, their hearts become connected.
If one side dies, the other's mind will suffer permanent damage, leaving them unable to use the freed contract slot to form a new contract with another Beast Tamer or Pet Beast.
Because of this, it is rare for truly powerful top-tier Pet Beasts to form contracts with Beast Tamers.
For example, Mythical Pet Beasts already possess godlike power. They have no need for a Beast Tamer's training, and a contract would instead introduce a weakness—so they naturally resist forming one.
But at this moment, this damaged mental contract instead became a bridge through which the Beast Tamer could call back the souls of the dead.
A familiar mental fluctuation spread outward, successfully awakening the lingering souls attached to the remains.
Under the pull of a powerful emotional bond, a miracle followed.
Within a burst of intense white light, the box was forced open, and two figures leapt out, throwing themselves into the arms of the two officers.
As the light faded, two completely new Undead Guardian Hounds appeared before them!
However, these two Earth-born Undead Guardian Hounds differed slightly in appearance from their otherworld counterparts. In addition to their purple-black fur, a ring of ghostly flames burned around their necks, trailing backward along their bodies like a flowing scarf of fire, adding an extra touch of striking presence.
When the flames came into contact with the officers, they caused no burning at all, as if they had no temperature.
Yet Jiang Xing, standing nearby, could clearly feel a wave of heat rushing toward him.
'Flames that can distinguish between friend and foe…'
'And with the birth of the Undead Guardian Hounds, the corpses of those two Howl Hounds have also disappeared—they seem to have formed their new bodies. That's completely different from the otherworld Undead Guardian Hounds.'
'Those were more like pure ghosts—their remains were intact. I buried them myself.'
'Is this difference caused by their origin?'
Jiang Xing's eyes shone as he rapidly recorded data, as if even his fatigue had vanished.
Only after the officers finished sharing the joy of reunion with their companions did the two Undead Guardian Hounds leap forward one after the other into his arms, licking his face nonstop. Even their flame scarves lost their heat toward him.
"Mr. Jiang, the Howl Hounds really came back to life—they still remember everything we went through! Thank you so much, you're our benefactor!"
The two young officers were overwhelmed with emotion. Tears they hadn't shed even when gravely wounded in the attack now streamed uncontrollably down their faces.
The bond between a Beast Tamer and a Pet Beast is not just a contract.
They have already become part of each other's lives—true companions of the soul.
Because of this, the death of a Howl Hound didn't just inflict mental trauma—it was a devastating blow to the heart.
Many officers fell into despair after losing their partners.
Thankfully, their companions had truly returned.
"It wasn't me. It was the bond between you that awakened them from their long sleep."
Jiang Xing gently stroked the two Undead Guardian Hounds as he spoke.
"They're the first batch of awakened Howl Hounds. I need to examine their condition and record their data for future research… would you be willing to stay as guests for a few more days?"
"Just give the word—we'll fully cooperate!"
The officers agreed without hesitation, still filled with excitement.
There were far more people in the police force who had lost partners than just the two of them. If they could help others recover theirs, they would not hesitate.
"Besides, they like you a lot too."
The two Undead Guardian Hounds barked excitedly.
"Woof!!!"
In life, they had been Howl Hounds—their voices were already loud.
Now, barking right in his face, Jiang Xing's heart nearly stopped on the spot.
He escorted the officers and their companions out of the secret realm, took a moment to steady himself, and only then felt his heartbeat return to normal.
'Next time I need to be more careful… getting barked to death by a dog would be way too ridiculous.'
Jiang Xing muttered inwardly as he walked into the courtyard, placing a plate of specially made spirit-fire cubes in front of the purple-black puppy lying beneath the tree. Smiling, he said, "Thank you."
"Woof."
The purple-black puppy let out a soft bark.
As an undead-type Pet Beast, it could perceive more than Jiang Xing.
Recalling the intense emotional fluctuations from earlier, its tail wagged nonstop.
It was happy that it could help them.
…
After thorough testing, these Earth-born Undead Guardian Hounds had indeed undergone changes.
Jiang Xing also updated their registry data accordingly.
[Name: Undead Guardian Hound]
[Attributes: Fire, Undead]
[Talent: Loyal to the Death / Last Stand — Power does not decrease due to injuries; instead, it gradually increases. When near death, all abilities are boosted.]
[Species Tier: Low Commander Tier]
[Species Moves: Intimidate, Tackle, Will-O-Wisp, Grudge, Training Power…]
[Description: A ghost-type Pet Beast. A loyal Howl Hound that has returned through its bond with its master. The flames around its neck represent its blazing soul.]
Perhaps due to having experienced parting once, these Undead Guardian Hounds had gained a new kind of power—
The more heavily injured they were, the stronger they became.
The closer they came to death, the more they resisted it.
After completing their examination, Jiang Xing returned to the Death Secret Realm with his equipment and inspected the environment.
As expected, the concentration of death energy had slightly decreased, proving that the Undead Guardian Hounds had relied on the environment to complete their revival. The reason they were stronger than before likely stemmed from the influence of death divine power.
'Just residual power can bring the dead back to life…'
'What kind of Pet Beast does this death divine power come from?'
Jiang Xing felt a surge of curiosity.
There was no corresponding record in the Pet Beast Compendium—this was an unknown Mythical Pet Beast.
Unfortunately, the otherworld Undead Guardian Hounds had died before the apocalypse. They didn't know why the secret realm had formed, nor why death divine power existed here.
Jiang Xing could only set his curiosity aside.
Of course, not understanding the source of the divine power didn't prevent him from restoring the secret realm.
This death energy was highly aggressive. As long as Jiang Xing created corresponding undead-type energy cubes and scattered them throughout the realm, the refined energy would disperse and quickly be assimilated by the environment, causing the concentration of death energy to recover rapidly.
This proved that the Death Secret Realm was a sustainable, renewable resource.
…
After helping Jiang Xing complete his work, the two officers soon returned to the police force with their Undead Guardian Hounds, causing a huge uproar within the department—
There was actually a chance for fallen companions to return!
Forget becoming stronger—even if they came back as the weakest Pet Beasts, they would gladly accept it!
Chang Feng was also overjoyed at Jiang Xing's results and immediately began arranging for officers to visit Jiang Xing's research institute one after another.
It was both to reunite them with their partners and to provide Jiang Xing with samples, increasing the amount of revival data from the Death Secret Realm.
At the same time, Chang Feng, representing the authorities, declared that all resources consumed in researching the Death Secret Realm and reviving Pet Beasts would be fully covered by the government.
Neither Jiang Xing nor the members of the police force would need to worry about resource shortages.
In addition, Jiang Xing would gain the friendship of the China police force, as well as the right to have one research project approved unconditionally each year!
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