Chapter 9: Collar

Chapter 9: Collar

Rong Mi was leaning against the driver's seat, recuperating his mental energy.

He had just drained his entire mental domain to calm the surface of Silver Wolves' mental sea.

But it was only a superficial calm.

To heal the damage in the mental domain, stabilize the energy vortex beneath the surface, eliminate the ice butterfly toxins, and foster new mental branches - all this could not be accomplished in a single session, nor would it be done within a couple of days.

The original owner had inadequately trained their mental endurance, which paled in comparison to the results Rong Mi had achieved before.

If his stamina, mental strength, or trust with the Silver Wolves could be further enhanced... the healing effect would be even better and less strenuous.

Unlike now, where just this short while had left Rong Mi drenched in sweat.

The young man let out a long sigh, embracing the Silver Wolf with both arms. He closed his eyes to steady his breath for a while. When he opened them again, he realized that the wolf had woken up at some point.

The wolf's ice-blue eyes were gazing at him. Noticing that Rong Mi had opened his eyes, it tilted its head to avoid the hand that the youth had been resting on its head.

Rong Mi: "..."

The wolf seemed to have intentionally waited for him to open his eyes before dodging, so he could witness its movement.

...It was a bit adorable!

Actually, Rong Mi had been somewhat worried that after the treatment, the Silver Wolf would suddenly retaliate and freeze him into an ice sculpture when his mental energy was depleted.

But it appeared that the wolf had a sense of gratitude, realizing that he had saved its life!

Staring into each other's eyes, Rong Mi and the wolf remained in that position for a moment. Then, the young man decided to test the wolf's attitude and moved his hand back to the wolf's head.

Silver Wolf: "..."

It didn't attack, remaining on its side. It just tilted its head again and flicked its ears.

Rong Mi: "!!"

Flicked its ears!

Rong Mi was captivated.

"Too cute..." He couldn't help but mutter, stroking it again.

Silver Wolves: "..."

Silver Wolves was getting fed up with this incorrigible human.

It pushed away Rong Mi's hand, stood up on his knee, turned its head to survey the surroundings, and instinctively released a bit of mental energy to scan the area.

"Oh, no using mental energy now. Your mental domain is far from being fully recovered," Rong Mi said, lifting a hand to protect Silver Wolves, worried that it might fall off his leg due to dizziness before its body had fully recuperated. He earnestly warned, "Retract your mental energy immediately. You've just gone through a mental disorder... At least three days without using any mental energy!"

"How about staying with me for a few more months? I'll take good care of your mental domain."

"I won't even charge you. Just let me hug and pet you as payment!"

Silver Wolves: "..."

Silver Wolves ignored him.

It leaped down from Rong Mi's knees, its ice-blue eyes narrowing slightly.

The wolf was disobedient; instead of retracting the thread of mental energy, it continued to probe further.

It was carrying out Lu Yi's order.

The Admiral wanted to confirm the exact location and condition of the High Rank Ice Butterfly.

This was not a difficult task for Lu Yi initially. His level, intensity, and sharpness of mental energy were all high. Originally, he only needed to use a bit of his mental energy to explore the ice layer beneath to understand the situation.

But during his episode of mental domain disorder, he had been injected with a large dose of mental domain blockers, stabilizers, and soothers. Though he failed to control the disorder, the sensitivity of his mental energy threads had significantly decreased due to these medications in the short term.

In the Admiral's perception, his entire mental landscape had become blurred. As the Silver Wolf was his spiritual entity, it was less affected, but only marginally so.

The once crystal-clear world of mental energy now appeared somewhat hazy, making it difficult to discern easily.

Like spumes, silver mental energy spread into the air, covering most of the planet within Lu Yi's line of sight.

It took Lu Yi some time to locate his target.

He furrowed his brow slightly.

The location of the High-Level Ice Butterfly was beneath a mountain surrounded by a forest.

Perched atop this mountain was a large, white starship emblazoned with the words "Ice and Fire Tournament." Clearly, it had some connection to the ongoing competition on the planet.

The peak was situated far from the Ice Butterfly's nest in the snowfield below. Only at the extreme depths of the earth were there two narrow crevices, connecting remotely to the nest beneath the distant snowfield.

However, the thick crust of the planet's soil sank precisely in the center between these two crevices, directly beneath the mountain, creating a strange, mirror-like scene in contrast to the towering peak above.

The rock walls pointed downward, forming a steep cliff, with a deep chasm at its midpoint.

The High-Level Ice Butterfly's dwelling was nestled within a cave beneath the cliff.

This creature was enormous, almost filling the entire cavern. Its red body was entirely concealed under its light blue wings, seemingly still in a state of slumber, indicating temporary safety.

Lu Yi's mental energy remained unretracted.

He wished to discern the shape of the body beneath the butterfly's wings – one criterion for assessing the High-Level Ice Butterfly's rank. However, his blurred mental perception only allowed him to make out the outline of the creature.

Rong Mi raised an eyebrow.

In his view, the wolf was displaying a non-violent, uncooperative stance, insisting on using its mental power.

He had no idea what the wolf was trying to perceive with its mental power, but he guessed it might be due to the star beast awakening in an unfamiliar place and wanting to investigate its surroundings.

He cared for star beasts and small creatures, that is, except for uncooperative patients.

With a stretch of his hand and a bend of his waist, Rong Mi scooped the Silver Wolf back into his arms while it was still mid-air.

At the same time, the recently restored purple mental power emerged and reformed into a collar around the wolf's neck, easily closing around it.

"Click."

Accompanied by a soft sound, Rong Mi's mental power radiance reached out like claws, retrieving the threads of the wolf's mental energy and stuffing them back into its mental sea.

This was a specialized use of mental power unique to therapists.

Silver Wolves: "!"

Despite its dismissive attitude towards Rong Mi after the healing session, the wolf had actually lowered its guard against the young man.

Caught off guard by Rong Mi's sudden move, its fur bristled, and it let out a fierce roar.

On the starship, Lu Yi's mental energy instinctively erupted, releasing an icy fury that condensed into frost beneath his feet. The vessel, ascending from the depths of the Ice Sea, trembled slightly, almost losing its balance.

The Admiral's body tensed, exuding a cold aura as he reached to touch his neck.

Through his empathetic connection with the wolf, he could vividly feel a stranger's mental energy collar around his own neck.

Neither Lu Yi nor the Silver Wolves had ever experienced such a vulnerability, their life force in someone else's grasp.

The ice-blue eyes of the Arctic Silver Wolf gleamed with a sharp silver light, locking onto Rong Mi as its aura fluctuated.

Rong Mi maintained a casual expression but was internally tense, closely observing the wolf.

For an instant, he thought the wolf would lunge at him, and indeed, the Silver Wolf bared its fangs.

The wolf took a step forward.

Then, it growled lowly, its expression cold and menacing, yet it didn't take any further action for a while.

Rong Mi, already prepared to defend and counterattack, was confused, "…?"

The wolf let out two more warning snarls. Following that, it swished its tail, turned around, and crouched down, starting to scratch at the collar around its neck.

After much effort, it couldn't remove the collar.

"Can't take this off," Rong Mi explained kindly, finding the wolf adorable, "In three days, when the chaos no longer affects the stability of your spirit domain, I'll remove it for you."

Frustrated, the wolf turned its back on Rong Mi, clearly showing its intention to ignore him.

It kept silent, its mouth shut tight.

The silver fur standing on end perfectly conveyed its inner anger and stubbornness.