The Goldflame Dragon Lion's Advancement Stage!

Time slipped by quietly, and winter vacation arrived.

After five months of exploration, Li Xingze had gained a preliminary understanding of what this cheat ability did:

Each month, he could randomly draw a Forbidden Curse magic scroll.

Of course, these Forbidden Curse magic scrolls were single-use.

Forbidden Curse Scrolls had two modes of use. One was direct generation, but this mode could only be used within a ten-kilometer range.

The downside was enormous: he, a mere Initial-Level Mage, simply could not break free from the gravitational vortex of a Forbidden Curse. It would be all too easy for him to "die together" with his enemy.

Different Forbidden Curses had gravitational vortices of different sizes. It was fine if the vortex covered less than ten kilometers.

But if it exceeded ten kilometers, he would be finished.

The other method was manual casting, but the price was consuming an additional Forbidden Curse Scroll. This would directly create a Forbidden Curse Mage to cast it, who would disappear immediately after releasing the Forbidden Curse magic.

Over five months, counting the Fire Element Forbidden Curse he had obtained during Awakening, Li Xingze now had a total of six Forbidden Curse Scrolls.

Five of them were Elemental Forbidden Curses, along with one Mind Element Forbidden Curse.

"Mo Fan should be able to cast his spell by now, right?"

Li Xingze did not become impatient because of this. He still needed a little over a month to control his seventh Star Particle.

This speed was already quite good. Dimensional Elements were inherently harder to cultivate than Elemental Elements.

Moreover, the Summoning Element was different from the Elemental Elements. Even if he could complete the casting, he would still need to visit the Summoning Plane to find a Summoned Beast that suited him.

That process would also take a great deal of time, so Li Xingze was in no hurry.

Rather than settling for an unremarkable Summoned Beast, Li Xingze hoped to find one with a decent bloodline—at the very least, one stronger than a Netherwolf.

The reason Mo Fan had been able to raise a Netherwolf so well in the original story was entirely because of protagonist plot armor.

For ordinary Summoned Beasts with low bloodlines, the success rate of advancing might not even reach fifty percent.

What was the difference between fifty percent and failure?

Li Xingze did not consider himself exceptionally lucky. For all he knew, his Summoned Beast might simply die during its advancement.

If that happened, not only would he have wasted so many resources and so much time, he would have to find another Summoned Beast from scratch.

"Xingze Ge, are you going out for a run again?"

Just as Li Xingze was about to head out to exercise, a soft, sweet voice came from behind him.

"Xin Xia~"

Li Xingze turned around and saw Xin Xia smiling at him.

Xin Xia possessed the gentle, endearing air of a girl next door. Her jet-black hair fell to her waist, and her small face was framed by fair, flawless skin. Her deep black eyes resembled the night sky, and her appearance perfectly reflected her personality.

"Only by keeping myself fit can I protect you better." Li Xingze gently pinched Xin Xia's little face. It was soft and tender.

At Li Xingze's words, Xin Xia's face immediately turned rosy.

"You awakened the Summoning Element, Xingze Ge. Exercising is good, but don't overwork yourself," Xin Xia said worriedly.

"Don't you know what my body is like?" Li Xingze said with a helpless laugh.

Hearing those easily misunderstood words, Xin Xia's face reddened even further, and even her neck turned pink.

After teasing Xin Xia, Li Xingze headed out and started running along the path. He even ran into Mo Fan on the way.

Ever since seeing Li Xingze start exercising, that guy had decisively joined the grind rather than let himself be left behind.

Later on, even Zhang Xiaohou joined them.

Li Xingze was naturally delighted by this. Mages were fragile to begin with, so they needed to train their physiques even more.

Not that they needed to fight demons head-on, but they at least needed the reflexes to dodge a demon's attacks.

"Hehe, I can cast Thunder Seal without any pressure now. When are you going to let us see your Summoned Beast?"

While running, Mo Fan did not forget to curiously ask Li Xingze.

Summoners were extremely rare in Bo City. It seemed Bai Yang was the only other summoner, yet that guy was an undercover agent for the Black Vatican.

During this time, Mo Fan had looked up information online about summoners and Summoned Beasts, and the results had startled him.

Among Initial-Level Mages, summoners were like tigers among sheep—invincible against opponents of the same level!

Li Xingze merely replied calmly, "It depends on my luck. If my luck is bad, I might not find a suitable one even next year."

"Huh?"

Mo Fan was full of confusion. Was the Summoning Element really that difficult to cultivate?

"Oh, right, let me warn you—don't do anything weird to Xin Xia!"

"Don't worry, we've already done every weird thing there is."

"You bastard! I'll fight you!"

In the blink of an eye, another two months passed.

A month ago, Li Xingze had already completed control over seven Star Particles.

Over the course of a month, Li Xingze visited the Summoning Plane five times, yet failed to encounter a Summoned Beast he liked. The best he had found was merely a Netherwolf.

"Am I really going to give up on having a Summoned Beast?"

Li Xingze was deeply troubled. After reaching the intermediate level, most summoners chose to give up on their Summoned Beasts—their "contract workers"—and instead focus on nurturing their Contract Beasts, their "biological sons."

It was exceedingly difficult for beasts with low-grade bloodlines to undergo a class breakthrough, as though they were defying the powers that ruled above them.

Not every Summoned Beast possessed Old Wolf's courage, and not every summoner possessed Mo Fan's luck.

"One more try."

Li Xingze closed his eyes. Seven Star Particles arranged themselves in sequence, ultimately forming a trail of stars.

Then, with a flash of white light, Li Xingze opened his eyes again and found himself standing on a lush green prairie.

Beneath the clear, cloudless sky lay a flat grassland stretching as far as the eye could see.

In an instant, Li Xingze's gaze locked onto a golden figure.

A dragon lion wreathed in golden flames stood atop a hill more than two meters high, gazing down upon all living things.

Its body resembled a statue forged from gold, every scale gleaming with dazzling light. A gradient of gold and orange-red flowed across its hide like molten lava.

Sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds and fell upon its body, making the Goldflame Dragon Lion seem as though it were bathed in sacred radiance, all the more solemn and untouchable.

The Goldflame Dragon Lion held its head high with pride. Its dragon horns were like two sharp swords piercing straight into the heavens, the light at their tips seemingly capable of cleaving the sky apart.

Its golden eyes were as deep as ancient stars, burning with undying golden flames and exuding the majesty of a king.

Its mane fluttered in the wind like blazing fire dancing amid a gale. Each sway released an intense heatwave, as though it could reduce everything around it to ash.

Its limbs were powerful and sturdy, its claws sunk deep into the hard rock.

With just one glance, Li Xingze's attention was utterly captured by the figure.

"This dragon lion's bloodline is definitely not low. Why not... choose it?"

After giving it some thought, Li Xingze realized that if he kept searching like this, he had no idea when it would end.

The Goldflame Dragon Lion appeared to still be in its juvenile stage, yet it was already very close to General-Level.

If he contracted it, Li Xingze could save a tremendous amount of resources.