The Haggard Poison Dragon

The Analytical Eye displayed a sentence seen on the internet: Darkness is also a form of light, just with a different hue.

It was time again to learn Dragon Language Inscription from Pagliu. Athena seemed to be occupied with something, as she hadn't appeared for two days. Using herb gathering as an excuse, Chen Rui rented a Triangle Rhino and headed toward Blue Wave Lake early in the morning.

Upon arriving at their usual spot at Blue Wave Lake, Chen Rui was prepared to deal with the Poison Dragon's amnesia and had even brought ingredients for Hot Pot to give the guy a treat. However, Pagliu was nowhere to be found; only the dried-up chessboard remained, with the small stones scattered across the ground.

Chen Rui was startled. Had something happened? His life was now bound to Pagliu's through the Symbiotic Contract; if the Poison Dragon met with any misfortune, he would be doomed as well.

Just as Chen Rui was searching the lakeside, a whirlpool suddenly appeared in the water. A massive head slowly rose to the surface. This yellowish-brown head resembled a certain carnivorous dinosaur, featuring a row of short horns, fin-like structures on its cheeks, and a ferocious appearance. Its sharp teeth and dark golden pupils, which glowed with a terrifying light, were fixed intently on Chen Rui.

This... this had to be Pagliu!

Chen Rui's hair stood on end, fearing that the Poison Dragon in this terrifying state might launch an attack due to his forgetfulness. He kept an Aurora Blast ready in his hand to release at any moment.

"Damn you, Chen Rui!" The Poison Dragon suddenly spoke in human language, which put Chen Rui's mind at ease—at least he still remembered him.

"Pagliu, change your form. It's easy to be spotted like this," Chen Rui said with a sigh of relief. "I have something to tell you."

Pagliu flicked his massive head in annoyance, splashing a large wave of lake water toward him, clearly intending to soak him. Chen Rui reacted with lightning speed, pushing off the ground and leaping back six or seven meters to dodge the spray.

"Oh?" The Poison Dragon's voice carried a hint of surprise. Before Chen Rui could feel proud, the dragon head suddenly vanished. A human figure instantly appeared in the air and brought a foot crashing down. Chen Rui couldn't dodge in time and raised his arms to block, but the descending kick performed an incredible maneuver, shifting its angle to appear behind his waist.

"Bang!" Chen Rui was struck in the buttocks by a powerful force. After a dizzying flight through the air, he performed a classic face-plant into the mud, landing squarely on his rear.

"Pagliu, you bastard!" Chen Rui felt a burning pain in his backside. Fortunately, he wasn't injured, so he scrambled up and cursed.

To his surprise, Pagliu was even angrier. He rushed forward, grabbed Chen Rui by the collar, and roared, "What the hell happened to you? You almost killed me!"

"How did I harm you? If you die, I lose my life too!"

The Poison Dragon snorted coldly and let him go. Only then did Chen Rui notice that the Poison Dragon's originally brownish-yellow complexion had turned pale, and he looked much more haggard.

"What happened to you?"

"That's what I should be asking you!" Pagliu snapped. "About the night after you took the poison, the Symbiotic Contract suddenly underwent a strange mutation, crazily devouring my life force and power. Now, my lifespan has been cut in half! My strength has also been greatly weakened!"

"How could this happen?" Chen Rui carefully recalled the events. That night happened to be the end of the Grandmaster Challenge, the Super System had activated, and then... the marrow cleansing... Right, it was that initial evolution!

At the time, the system prompted that it had discovered high-purity life energy and converted it into spiritual energy for advancement. So, it was the power of the Symbiotic Contract! No wonder he had become a Star-Wielder so quickly! It seemed Brother Poison Dragon had truly suffered a massive loss this time.

"Let's get some food first and talk while we eat," Chen Rui said, feeling a bit guilty. He decided to use delicious food to plug Pagliu's mouth first. He immediately went to where he had tied the Triangle Rhino, retrieved the materials, and began preparing a simple Hot Pot as quickly as possible.

"This thing is delicious!" After tasting a few slices, Pagliu couldn't stop praising it and began to devour the food rapidly.

Seeing the Poison Dragon's mood improve, Chen Rui tentatively began, "It's like this, my Grandmaster inheritance has been officially unlocked..."

Chen Rui "framed" some of the Super System's functions as part of the Grandmaster's inheritance, claiming that the inheritance had changed, granting him corresponding power, and that this power would continue to grow.

"So it was you who devoured my power, you damn guy! If this continues, my lifespan will keep getting shorter!" Seeing Pagliu about to flare up again, Chen Rui hurriedly explained that the power of the Symbiotic Contract was only consumed when the inheritance was first unlocked and wouldn't be needed afterward. Therefore, the Poison Dragon shouldn't have felt any more strange changes in the contract over the past few days.

Chen Rui had originally regretted that the "high-purity life energy" from the initial evolution hadn't appeared again, as it would have been a good way to get more spiritual energy. Now, it seemed that even if the prompt appeared, he wouldn't dare to mess with it. His life was the most important foundation for becoming strong; if he could only live for one second, what use would being invincible be?

After hearing Chen Rui's explanation, Pagliu finally set his mind at ease. The Dragon race's lifespan was incredibly long; even with only half left, he still had at least tens of thousands of years. If he remained trapped in this godforsaken place, he might not even survive a few thousand years if his luck was bad before being killed by someone. As for his strength, it could be slowly recovered through cultivation. The key was that Chen Rui's strength could truly be enhanced, which would not only help him escape sooner but also reduce the possibility of accidental death. It wasn't a total loss.

The two had already signed the Symbiotic Contract, so there was no point in dwelling on it now.

Soon, the Poison Dragon's minor grievances were masked by the aroma of the Hot Pot. Upon hearing that Chen Rui also possessed an attack technique inherited from the Grandmaster, he couldn't help but become interested once again.