The car ultimately didn't hit the tree trunk.
Because at the moment of impact, a circular passage resembling a spatial rift suddenly appeared on the tree trunk.
Later, after Jia Yunwan explained, she learned that the tree was actually her father's tamed beast, possessing spatial attributes that allowed it to assist with teleportation.
Li Miao slumped on the back seat, utterly drained.
"You really scared me to death just now."
The Husky echoed with a bark.
Jia Yunwan found it amusing: "Was it thrilling?"
"Extremely."
"Once your tamed beast grows stronger, you'll encounter far more thrilling things—especially within spatial rifts."
"Like what?"
"Like fighting for survival under the claws of mutated beasts."
Li Miao: "..."
That seemed a bit beyond her reach for now.
After all, she was still just a poor high school senior, facing the biggest challenge of her life: the college entrance exams.
The car sped smoothly across the flat ground, and as their destination drew closer, Li Miao finally caught sight of the massive castle hidden within the dense forest.
Judging from its imposing structure, it could easily accommodate a hundred thousand people. But when they got even closer, Li Miao realized the castle's capacity was likely far greater—perhaps even exceeding five hundred thousand?
Li Miao couldn't help but glance at Jia Yunwan.
"What?"
Jia Yunwan asked, puzzled: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Li Miao asked seriously: "I just wanted to ask—how far is it from your bedroom to the bathroom? I need to mentally prepare myself."
Jia Yunwan: "..."
"Don't worry, it's not that far. Just the length of a street."
Hearing this, Li Miao actually believed her and even began instructing the Husky to memorize the location of the bathroom later to avoid getting lost or making a mess—or else she'd throw it out.
The Husky barked in understanding.
Jia Yunwan was speechless for a long moment and simply gave up explaining. By the time the Slime drove them into the castle, they finally stopped beneath a tall tower at its center.
Li Miao grabbed her luggage and looked up. "Wow!"
"Stop 'wow'-ing, my dad is waiting for you upstairs!"
Jia Yunwan quickly nudged her along.
Li Miao silently made her way inside with the Husky in tow.
But once inside, she realized the tower's interior was almost devoid of furniture, its vast space stretching dozens of meters high. Standing inside, she felt as tiny as an ant. And in the center of the hall was a tamed beast—tiger-like in appearance, covered in snow-white fur, with two pairs of pale wings on its back and a single translucent blue horn on its forehead.
"Roar."
The beast noticed Jia Yunwan and let out a call, as if speaking to her.
Li Miao turned to Jia Yunwan.
"I was as quick as I could be!"
Jia Yunwan retorted to the beast. "Don't accuse me unfairly!"
The beast bared its fangs, exhaling sharply from its nostrils. "Roar!"
"Ugh, seriously. Why the rush? Stop nagging, I'm going up now!"
As Jia Yunwan led Li Miao further in, she threw a glance at the beast. "Move aside—you're blocking the elevator."
The beast: "..."
The tiger-like beast silently rose and made way.
Li Miao couldn't help staring at it—it looked so incredibly cool!
And it was so tall and massive that, in comparison, the Husky seemed like a clown.
Husky: Are you serious right now?
As if sensing her gaze, the beast narrowed its eyes slightly and glanced down at Li Miao.
"Rooaar!"
It pulled a face.
But with its fluffy features, the "ferocious" expression didn't quite land—instead, it looked more like a little tiger playfully baring its teeth, with a look that screamed, "I'm fierce!"
Li Miao's heart melted from the cuteness.
So adorable!
A big cat like this? She could cuddle ten of them a day!
But for now, Li Miao had pressing matters and could only resist the urge to pet it, reluctantly following Jia Yunwan into the elevator.
The elevator quickly took them to the top floor.
Li Miao glanced at the décor outside and noted how similar it was to her own apartment complex. The only difference was that back home, the hallway wasn't private, so they couldn't leave clutter everywhere.
Here, the hallway belonged solely to Jia Yunwan's family—so it was packed with random items.
At the center of the hallway was a very ordinary door. Opening it revealed a small foyer—
No grand palace, no oversized ten-meter-wide bed, no space large enough to fit a two-meter-tall beast. Just a simple home, five bedrooms and two halls, about three hundred square meters.
Li Miao blinked in confusion.
"Teacher, is this really your house?"
"What? You don't believe me?"
Li Miao gave an awkward laugh. "N-no, I'm just a little surprised, haha..."
Jia Yunwan rolled her eyes.
"You think we built that giant castle just to live in it? It's for my dad's tamed beasts. The actual space we live in is pretty much just this."
"Don't overthink it—it's not as extravagant as you imagined."
Li Miao grinned sheepishly.
Taking off their shoes, the two stepped inside, where they immediately spotted a middle-aged man lounging lazily on the sofa, watching TV. He tilted his head toward Li Miao.
"Oh, here you are?"
Before Li Miao could reply, Jia Yunwan spoke first: "If I hadn't come, would you have frozen all my other IDs too?"
Jia Chengyi sighed. "I was just worried about your safety."
"I'm not a kid anymore—spare me the dramatics."
Jia Yunwan rolled her eyes again, then waved at Li Miao. "Come on, let me introduce you. This is my dad, Jia Chengyi, currently working at the Cultivator Alliance as a Special Invitation Cultivator."
Li Miao froze at the title for a second—then immediately stiffened and bowed deeply.
"Hello, Uncle!"
A Special Invitation Cultivator!
That was someone even capable of influencing the evolution of Saint-rank tamed beasts—the absolute peak of the cultivating world.
Unlike Beastmasters, Cultivators had only four ranks:
Junior, Intermediate, and Senior, with the most elite being Special Invitation Cultivators—known as the ones who could elevate a Saint-rank beast to Deity-rank!
At that thought, Li Miao's heart burned with excitement.
No matter what, she had to become Jia Chengyi's disciple this time—no matter the cost!
Jia Chengyi smiled kindly in return, telling her to rest well and recover her strength—generic small talk.
Li Miao eagerly agreed, promising to behave.
After all, she still had a full fifteen days before returning to her base. There was no need to rush.
Once Li Miao was settled into the guest room arranged by Jia Yunwan, the middle-aged man dropped his smile.
"Interesting."
Jia Yunwan tilted her head at Jia Chengyi. "You're really that interested in my student?"
"You really plan to take her as your disciple?"
"Take her? Of course I will."
Jia Chengyi chuckled. "With two innate talents—one of which matches mine—how could I possibly pass up such an excellent disciple?"
"Wan'er, you've finally done your old man a solid this time."
Jia Yunwan froze.
She was utterly stunned.
"Wait—what did you just say?"
"You're saying she has two innate talents!?"