"Woof!"
The puppy rubbed against Zhang Chen's leg, showing an unusual level of affection, seemingly more so than its summoner, Zhao Xiyue.
"Haha, look at this! Zhao Xiyue, the favored one, actually summoned a puppy!"
"How amusing. I didn't expect even a genius to have off days!"
"Haha, a puppy? Do you even need to summon something like this? Couldn't I just buy one from a pet market?!"
"What do you know? Zhao Xiyue's summon doesn't cost money, but buying a puppy does!"
"Hahaha, you're right. The favored one really knows how to save money!"
A group of girls, whose talent was inferior to Zhao Xiyue's, had been waiting to see her embarrassed. Upon seeing her summon a puppy, they erupted in derisive laughter.
"Woof!"
It wasn't over yet. Immediately after, another puppy leaped out. This one was similar in size to the first, both appearing to be only a few months old. However, it was pure white, exuding an aura of nobility.
"Haha, two puppies! How impressive, summoning two contracted spirits at once. Truly a genius!"
"Double the summon, double the savings!"
The crowd laughed even harder. Zhao Xiyue, her face flushed, remained silent. She understood that the outcome of a summon couldn't be forced.
"Woof, woof!"
Both puppies first doted on Zhang Chen for a while before coming to Zhao Xiyue's side and nudging her with their noses, as if hungry and asking for food.
"You're hungry? I only have some leftover breakfast..." Zhao Xiyue said, taking out the small portion of breakfast left in a plastic bag. The puppy resembling a husky picked it up and placed it in front of the white puppy. The latter devoured it in a few bites, still licking its nose, seemingly asking if there was more.
"There's really no other food. Please bear with it for a little while. After class, I'll buy you lots and lots of meat, okay?" Zhao Xiyue clasped her hands together, whispering her plea. It was already humiliating enough to summon two puppies. If these two puppies started barking here, the over two hundred people present would immediately notice. It would be a massive social disaster, and then it would truly be over!
"Oh dear, our talents are truly lacking. We only summoned some fierce beasts, nowhere near as cute as what the favored one summoned!" The girls who had just mocked Zhao Xiyue walked over with their respective contracted spirits. They were a three-meter-long python, a black panther the size of an adult dog, a snarling earth wolf, and a beetle the size of a wok lid with massive fangs. Just by their appearance, these creatures looked much fiercer and more terrifying than Zhao Xiyue's two summoned puppies.
"Oh my, our contracted spirits are hungry too. Why don't we offer Zhao Xiyue's two puppies to fill our spirits' bellies?"
"Yes, it's said that when a contracted spirit dies, the master can re-contract a new one. We're doing this for your own good!"
"But what if Zhao Xiyue re-contracts another puppy?"
"Hahaha, how unlucky would she be? Did she fall into a kennel?!" The girls mocked her again maniacally. As they spoke, the four fierce contracted spirits had already surrounded the two puppies, emitting threatening growls.
"Oh, it seems they don't need our reminder; they've already found their food!"
"In that case... the battle between contracted spirits should be resolved by the spirits themselves. As masters, we shouldn't let such a small matter damage our harmony, right, Xiyue?!"
"Oh, don't worry. Zhao Xiyue is the favored one; she wouldn't get angry with us over such a trivial matter!" The girls egged each other on, slowly closing in on Zhao Xiyue and surrounding her. In essence, they were preventing Zhao Xiyue from intervening to help the two unfortunate puppies.
"You are truly despicable!" Zhao Xiyue tried to push them away, but they were too many. Moreover, they couldn't freely use spiritual power in class, and relying on sheer strength alone, Zhao Xiyue couldn't possibly contend with four people. At this moment, the four fierce contracted spirits also launched their attack on the two puppies.
"Roar!"
In this moment of extreme peril, the two puppies suddenly let out fierce roars, and their bodies rapidly grew. They became as large as small cars. In front of them, the previously ferocious four contracted spirits looked as small as toys.
*Chomp! Chomp!*
The two giant wolves began to chew them up, one by one, with expressions of enjoyment, as if saying: "Thank you for nature's bounty!"