Xia Yuan's words sounded casual, but everyone in House Mo felt an unprecedented pressure!
The hall fell silent again.
After a long while, Mo Cheng finally spoke.
"Since you've put it that way, Xia Yuan, we have no choice but to accept it."
Mo Wushuang opened his mouth, then stopped.
He was still unwilling to let it go, but he knew better than to offend Xia Yuan.
Mo Cheng turned to Mo Shiyu. "But Shiyu, since you've said it, you must get into a top university for Contract Spirit Masters within a year. You can't go back on your word."
Mo Shiyu nodded, her expression unusually serious. "I won't. If I fail, I'll dissolve the contract myself."
She knew Xia Yuan had chosen to stay with her out of gratitude.
If she remained unable to support him when he fought at full strength, she wouldn't want to stay by his side and hold him back.
Mo Shiyu had her pride too!
Xia Yuan was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Mo Shiyu to make a vow like that.
Mo Cheng gave a slight nod of approval.
Mo Shiyu understood that, as head of House Mo, Mo Cheng had no selfish motives. He had always put the family's interests first.
Mo Wushuang, on the other hand, was only a distant relative of Mo Cheng's. He belonged to a branch of the family, though he had a talent for cultivating spiritual power.
Mo Wushuang gritted his teeth. In the end, there was nothing he could do. He strode out, pausing beside Mo Shiyu to sneer.
"One year to get into a top university? Little sister Shiyu, you certainly are confident."
"I'll look forward to the good news. I hope you prove worthy of an overwhelmingly powerful SSR Contract Spirit like Xia Yuan!"
Mo Shiyu shot him a cold glance. "That's none of your concern."
Mo Shiyu and Xia Yuan didn't stay at House Mo for long. After lunch, they returned to the academy, ready to run a dungeon!
Now that she knew Xia Yuan possessed monstrous strength, Mo Shiyu had grown bolder too.
The academy's freshmen were still struggling to form teams and clear beginner dungeons together, while the two of them were already preparing to tackle a three-star dungeon!
As celebrities at the academy, they caused a stir and drew every eye wherever they went.
As luck would have it, Jiang Li had also come to the dungeon area with the C Rank Contract Spirit she had just bought, the Skeleton General. She planned to run a beginner dungeon.
Jiang Li spotted Xia Yuan in the crowd, and her eyes instantly reddened!
She looked at his handsome face, silver hair, and towering six-foot-three frame. He was a powerful SSR Contract Spirit who was easy on the eyes.
Then she glanced at the Skeleton General beside her—a C Rank Contract Spirit she had bought for ten thousand Spirit Stones with a loan, its whole body radiating a terrifying aura. Endless regret surged through her!
Because she had passed up the chance to contract an SSR, her family now treated her like a criminal. Even her own father refused to give her Spirit Stones...
Jiang Li knew all about Xia Yuan's exploits yesterday. He had cleared a two-star dungeon alone and killed a level-70 B Rank Contract Spirit in a single blow!
A Contract Spirit that invincible should have been hers!
But she had chosen to give up the contract herself...
"Damn it! Why did you have to be such a powerful SSR?"
"Why is heaven doing this to me?"
The more Jiang Li thought about it, the angrier she became. She kicked the Skeleton General beside her. "What are you looking at? You can't even talk! You're useless! Why can't you turn into an SSR?!"
The Skeleton General stared at her with its hollow eye sockets, looking utterly innocent.
Meanwhile...
Mo Shiyu and Xia Yuan had decided to enter a three-star dungeon. Upperclassmen crowded around them again with their Contract Spirits, eager to join them.
Unfortunately, every one of them was mercilessly turned down.
Xia Yuan wanted to level up on his own.
Mo Shiyu's C Rank cat spirit had a hidden trait that reduced spiritual-power consumption, and Xiao Hei would barely take any of his experience. Otherwise, Xia Yuan wouldn't have wanted to bring her along either.
"Chubby Yu, do you have enough spiritual power? Did you bring medicine to replenish it?"
Ever since the assassination attempt, Xia Yuan had never let his guard down at the academy. He constantly used his Six Eyes to watch his surroundings.
He couldn't keep the Limitless Technique active the whole time, but this was enough to guard against trouble.
Mo Shiyu's expression turned a little strange. She looked away, embarrassed and miserable, like a husband whose lack of prowess had forced him to take medicine. "I brought some..." she muttered.
Xia Yuan nodded. "Good. We don't want someone launching a surprise attack when you're out of spiritual power."
Mo Shiyu understood his concern. Besides, her trip back to House Mo hadn't been for nothing.
Along with plenty of potions that could temporarily restore spiritual power, she had brought several barrier artifacts that could save their lives in an emergency.
"Come to think of it, how do Contract Spirit Masters cultivate spiritual power?"
Xia Yuan asked out of curiosity.
"By using it," Mo Shiyu said. "The way to train your spiritual power is to drain it over and over."
Xia Yuan paused, then laughed. "That's easy enough. No wonder you dared to make that bet with the old man from House Mo!"
Mo Shiyu huffed. "I'm not stupid!"
The moment she finished speaking, her head spun and the world turned upside down.
Xia Yuan had deftly picked her up and stepped through the three-star dungeon's portal!
The onlookers gasped again.
"That's insane! He's going to clear another dungeon alone, and this time it's three-star!"
"Even we upperclassmen wouldn't dare challenge a three-star dungeon with a team unless we had to!"
"You really can't judge an SSR by ordinary standards..."
"Whoa. With combat power like that, will Chuanbei Academy finally make a name for itself at this year's National College Spiritmaster Championship?"
"Clearing a three-star dungeon alone must be worth three thousand Spirit Stones, right? That's almost enough for twenty pulls. I'm jealous!"
"..."
This three-star dungeon looked like a tropical rainforest. It was open and brightly lit.
"Vine-Claw Hunter!"
"Rot-Moss Swamp Beast!"
"Symbiotic Spore Poison Moth!"
Mo Shiyu expertly called out the monsters' weaknesses as usual, though Xia Yuan never needed her to.
Carrying Mo Shiyu, he charged forward at lightning speed and began another slaughter!
Spiked vines suddenly shot up from the ground.
Xia Yuan sprinted forward, twisted a full hundred and eighty degrees in midair, and dodged them cleanly. Then he hit the Vine-Claw Hunter with Cursed Technique: Blue!
A huge beast burst from the swamp beneath him, its maw opening wide to swallow him whole.
But Xia Yuan had sensed it long before. One kick sent the Rot-Moss Swamp Beast flying, and a blast of Cursed Technique: Red punched through its neck.
The rainforest's monsters came in wave after wave. Xia Yuan darted among them, dealing with each one effortlessly.
Mo Shiyu and Xiao Hei, dangling from his hand, felt as though they were on a roller coaster. Both wore expressions of utter despair.
Mo Shiyu had never imagined that, on top of his absurdly powerful skills, Xia Yuan would be so strong at Taijutsu too!
Her SSR really was just as his status panel described: apart from his personality, every one of his abilities was perfect!
He truly was an all-round Contract Spirit!
The monsters in a three-star dungeon ranged from level 40 to level 60!
The dungeon boss was always level 60, the upper limit!
It was far more difficult than a two-star dungeon.
But as long as Xia Yuan activated the Limitless Technique, he was nearly invincible and could clear the dungeon without taking a scratch.
With Cursed Technique: Blue and Cursed Technique: Red that he could cast almost instantly, plus his extraordinary Taijutsu, he remained remarkably efficient.
Ten minutes later...
They reached the dungeon boss's lair once more!
Mo Shiyu could finally get down and rest for a moment. Being carried like that had been hard on her waist.
She stretched her graceful body and loosened up. "I wonder if we'll get a Red-Name Boss this time. In a three-star dungeon, it would be level 70. But surely we won't be that unlucky. Getting one twice in a row would be lottery-winning odds..."
Xia Yuan removed his sunglasses, revealing eyes like the Ice Soul. "Let's hope so."
Once Mo Shiyu had rested...
The two of them entered the boss's territory.
The instant they stepped inside, red warning lines appeared around them.
An emerald-green humanoid mantis suddenly dropped from above. It had a powerful build, sharp blades embedded in both arms and legs, and blood-red pupils.
It was no bigger than a human, yet its presence was oppressive!
A red level marker glowed above its head.
"Level 70. Blade King!"
Cold sweat broke out on Mo Shiyu's face, and she shrank back in fear. "Looks like we really are lucky!"
Xia Yuan's expression was the complete opposite. Grinning, he calmly analyzed the situation. "Maybe it isn't luck. Clearing the dungeon quickly might be what triggers a Red-Name Boss!"
Before you continue