Unknown Creature in the Dormitory

Actually, as far as Xu Jie knew, graduating from a martial arts school wasn't like this.

Students first had to undergo an assessment at their own school, and then outstanding individuals would be sent to Central Prefecture for further study and a second assessment.

Now, because of him, an assessment team had been dispatched to Jincheng City. For all students at Jinwu University, this was a massive opportunity!

Because passing this assessment meant graduating early, equivalent to Xu Jie's previous life's guaranteed admission quota.

One could imagine how ecstatic the ranked students at the school would be when the news was announced!

What was certain was that almost all senior year students on the ranking board would break through to the Pulse Opening Realm to participate in the Martial Department's assessment!

However...

The closure of the ranking battles was a huge piece of bad news for Xu Jie!

He could no longer kill people by fighting in ranking battles to plunder Lifespan and rapidly improve his cultivation.

Xu Jie did have a considerable amount of Lifespan remaining, and he should be able to break through to the Pulse Opening Realm smoothly, but what about afterwards?

If he couldn't kill people and had no Lifespan, how could he improve quickly?

Xu Jie was a true "three-no" youth: no money, no resources, no background!

Currently, the remaining usable Lifespan he had, along with the medicinal rewards obtained from ranking battles, were not enough to support his cultivation for long.

Apart from killing people to plunder usable Lifespan, he had no other way to improve. He couldn't possibly rely on Chu Mingyue, could he?

Therefore, the school's decision to close the ranking battles was no different from a bolt from the blue for Xu Jie!

After all, he couldn't even leave the school right now...

Not to mention, Xu Jie had planned to quickly advance to the third or fourth rank to confront Xu Bin and force him to reveal information about his mother.

What should he do?

Pushing the door open and entering the dormitory, the agitated Xu Jie's gaze sharpened. He scanned the room, which looked no different from when he had left, and expressionlessly walked towards the chair.

Something had been here!

Although the traces left were faint, Xu Jie recognized them at a glance.

He called it "something" because he judged that whoever had entered his room was likely not human.

Walking to the chair and sitting down, Xu Jie appeared to be meditating with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was subtly sensing any subtle movements around him.

If Xu Jie guessed correctly...

That thing hadn't left yet; it was still in this room!

Without cultivating, Xu Jie waited, like a seasoned and steady hunter who had set a trap and was patiently waiting for the prey to step into it.

Night soon fell. Xu Jie, who had been pretending to sleep on the chair, gradually began to snore lightly, as if he had truly fallen asleep.

Creak, creak...

A very faint sound suddenly came from a dark corner of the dormitory room.

Xu Jie still didn't move, continuing to feign sleep, until...

A slender, long, and small dark shadow leaped up like lightning, flying towards Xu Jie on the chair in mid-air.

Xu Jie, who had been snoring moments before, struck back with lightning speed, accurately grabbing the dark shadow.

Such great strength!

A tremendous force transmitted, making Xu Jie's tiger's mouth go numb. He almost couldn't keep the prey from escaping.

This is interesting!

Xu Jie grinned sinisterly, raised his arm, and smashed it hard onto the table, shattering the only table in the dormitory.

The dark shadow in his hand became dizzy and gradually lost its struggle.

This is...

Having subdued the unknown creature, Xu Jie held the dark shadow and brought it closer to his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a snake-like demon.

It was a small black snake with smooth scales, a small protrusion on top of its head, about ten centimeters long, and as thick as Xu Jie's thumb.

For a snake, it was quite fat!

What impressed Xu Jie even more was that the small black snake's eyes were the large, anime-style kind. They blinked and looked incredibly cute.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

After the small black snake regained consciousness, it didn't realize the danger. It immediately flicked its tongue, greedily absorbing the blood essence that was automatically seeping from Xu Jie's pores.

With Xu Jie's blood condensation after nine Blood Moving cycles, it was rare in the world and definitely a great tonic for any demon.

Xu Jie, on the other hand, rubbed his chin, tightly gripped the small black snake, and strode towards the small kitchen where meals were prepared. He grabbed a cleaver and chopped down without hesitation.

This was living, usable Lifespan.

Only he knew how desperately he needed usable Lifespan right now. He was so lacking, it was maddening!

Xu Jie didn't find the small black snake particularly cute, despite its very adorable appearance.

In his eyes, there were only two categories: usable Lifespan that could be plundered, and usable Lifespan that could not be plundered for the time being.

No matter what kind of demon the little black snake was, or how it ended up in his dorm, it was destined to die by Xu Jie's blade!

With a crisp snap, the cleaver shattered, leaving not even a scratch on the little black snake's scales.

It merely wriggled its body in displeasure, shifted its posture, and continued to lie in Xu Jie's hand, absorbing his vital energy.

Interesting!

Seeing this, Xu Jie became even more excited!

The more extraordinary the little black snake appeared, the more usable lifespan he would gain from killing it.

If it were a genius-level demon, it could even trigger the system's multiplier bonus.

Without hesitation, Xu Jie punched the little black snake!

The little black snake remained unfazed.

Xu Jie squeezed the little black snake fiercely, trying to choke it to death.

The little black snake tilted its head in confusion and glanced at Xu Jie, who was sweating profusely.

Xu Jie grabbed both ends of the little black snake...

Fine, you win!

After toiling for most of the night, Xu Jie wiped the sweat from his forehead expressionlessly and silently flung the little black snake away.

He couldn't kill it!

Or rather, he couldn't even harm the little black snake in the slightest!

He had no idea what species this thing was; its body was ridiculously tough.

Although its strength wasn't particularly high, likely around the Pulse Opening Realm, its physical durability... heh!

Xu Jie suspected that even a martial artist of the third or fourth rank wouldn't be able to kill the little black snake!

So annoying!

Why had he been encountering so many creatures he couldn't deal with lately?

Chu Mingyue alone was enough of a headache, and now a little snake?

Just as Xu Jie threw the little black snake out, it twisted its body in mid-air and, in a way that defied the laws of physics, instantly returned to Xu Jie's hand. It then blinked its big, innocent eyes at him.

Xu Jie: "..."

"Get lost!!!"

Xu Jie roared in fury, suddenly standing up and ferociously throwing the little black snake out the window, shattering the glass.

However, as soon as he sat down, he felt a strange sensation in his hand.

He looked down, and his mind went blank!

"..."

Is it a cockroach?

Can't get rid of it, huh?

Xu Jie's gaze turned colder, his eyes fixed on the little black snake, filled with killing intent.

He planned to break through to the Pulse Opening Realm first, and then... huh?

Just then, Xu Jie felt something slippery in his palm.

He looked down curiously and saw that tears were streaming from the little black snake's big eyes.

It stared at him with its pitiful, wronged snake eyes.

"..."