Chapter 3

The next second, she turned and sprinted toward Xiao Yiming and his four teammates.

Clearly, all five of them were badasses.

As a support, of course she had to cling to the big shots at a time like this!

When Xiao Yiming saw the cat demon suddenly slow down, his gaze chilled, and he struck swiftly.

"Glazed Glass Sword, pierce!"

A slender sword, translucent as jade from end to end, appeared out of thin air in front of Xiao Yiming.

The meter-long Glazed Glass Sword changed direction. Its blade glinted coldly in the light as it shot toward the cat demon opposite him.

This was probably his magical treasure-type ability.

Xiao Yiming controlled the Glazed Glass Sword, engaging the cat demon in combat.

Its hard claws collided with the blade, producing crisp clangs.

A few seconds later, the Phantom Cat Demon, stabbed repeatedly by the Glazed Glass Sword, finally let out a wail and collapsed, never to rise again.

Xu Jintang, hiding behind them, relaxed a little.

Once the threat was eliminated, Xiao Yiming put away his manifested Glazed Glass Sword and looked hesitantly at Xu Jintang. "So, just now..."

Xu Jintang smiled and answered honestly, "That was my ability."

"So that was it." Xiao Yiming smiled and cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you for the warning."

"You're welcome, you're welcome." Xu Jintang waved modestly.

Xiao Yiming signaled his teammates. "All right, keep resting. We'll set off in five minutes."

After that little incident, Xu Jintang had become somewhat acquainted with Xiao Yiming and the others.

She squatted beside them and asked curiously, "I heard you mentioning school and an assessment earlier. Are you students too?"

Xiao Yiming nodded. "Yes, we're first-year students at Red Ridge Military Academy. We came here today for an assessment."

The other teammates began complaining. "You have no idea how insane our school is. Our assessment requires us to kill twenty Blizzard Apes within three days."

"It took us half a day just to get here from school. If we hadn't run into you, we would've had to search everywhere for where the Blizzard Apes live once we entered the forest. That would probably have taken quite a while too. If we got unlucky and ran into other demonic beasts in there, that would hold us up even longer. Three days isn't nearly enough."

"Exactly. We might all be second-tier ability users, but demonic beasts are stronger than humans at the same tier. Without Captain Xiao, there's no way the four of us could finish this timed assessment."

Xu Jintang rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

From the sound of it, military academies really weren't somewhere

easy

to be.

Even the first-year assessments were this difficult.

She would graduate from Dawn Junior Academy next year. After that, like other ability users, she would have to keep preparing for admission to a higher-level military academy.

Xu Jintang looked up and continued asking, "Is it easy to get into military academies these days?"

Xiao Yiming answered, "Ordinary military academies are fairly easy to get into, but the five great military academies are very difficult."

Xu Jintang sank into thought.

She knew about the five great military academies too.

They were much like Tsinghua University and Peking University in her previous life-god-tier schools that most people could only gaze at from afar.

...Why was the competition so fierce everywhere?

After chatting a while longer, Xiao Yiming and the others were back in form and ready to head deeper into the forest.

Xu Jintang warned them about a few more demonic beasts to watch out for in the forest, then said goodbye.

She had collected enough Snow Spirit Grass and did not intend to stay here any longer.

As Xu Jintang walked back, she examined the blue Inscription Talisman in her palm.

Inscription Talismans were made by inscription masters using special techniques and sold for extremely high prices. High-grade Inscription Talismans were unavailable even if one had the money.

Even so, demand for Inscription Talismans on the market remained high.

That was simply because their effects were so powerful.

For example, the second-tier water-attribute defensive inscription Xiao Yiming had just given her.

The instant it was used, it would form a water-attribute barrier around the ability user, capable of withstanding at least three or four attacks from a second-tier ability user.

At a critical moment, protection against those three or four attacks was enough to accomplish a great deal.

However, Xu Jintang actually had another trump card she had not told them about.

Blizzard Forest was, after all, a place teeming with demonic beasts. Even if the chance of encountering one on the outskirts was slim, it was not nonexistent.

So three months ago, when she decided to enter Blizzard Forest on gathering missions, she had scrimped and saved specifically to buy a second-tier Teleportation Inscription.

Once activated, the inscription could instantly teleport her a thousand meters away, making it a very practical escape tool.

This was what gave her the confidence to come to Blizzard Forest alone.

Satisfied, Xu Jintang put the Inscription Talisman back into her spatial bracelet.

Just as she was about to leave the forest's outskirts, the surrounding air suddenly grew colder, and a cold current slipped down her collar.

Xu Jintang shivered instinctively.

Why had it suddenly gotten so cold?

"Little girl, care to make a deal?"

An aged, mysterious voice sounded behind her.

An enormous dragon's shadow slowly loomed over her from above. Its towering silhouette blotted out all the light overhead, plunging her surroundings into darkness.

Chapter 3

Xu Jintang's eyes widened slightly as she stared in shock at the enormous creature that had suddenly appeared before her.

An ice dragon coiled in the air, its body five times her size.

Faint light fell upon its scales, refracting into dazzling, icy gleams.

...The ancestors hadn't lied to me. Dragons really did exist in this world.

But her current situation seemed a little dangerous.

Xu Jintang calmed herself and quietly took the Teleportation Inscription from her spatial bracelet, holding it in her palm as she prepared to act as circumstances required.

She cleared her throat and asked with feigned composure, "What kind of deal?"

The distant, lingering, mysterious voice slowly rang out. "I'll help you grow stronger. In exchange, I want to live in your sea of consciousness for a while."

"Why me?" Xu Jintang questioned.

"Because you're the only human I've encountered today with a sea of consciousness twice the normal size."

Xu Jintang froze. "A sea of consciousness twice the normal size?"

The Ice Soul Dragon continued, "There's no time. I'll modify your body first and explain afterward."

The next second, the Ice Soul Dragon charged straight toward her. He moved so quickly that his head was already in front of her before Xu Jintang could react.

Unexpectedly, when the Ice Soul Dragon touched her body, he passed strangely through it. His enormous head burrowed into her.

A surge of concentrated energy poured into her body. At first, it felt warm, but then the energy grew hotter and hotter, as though it were burning her entire body.

Pain showed on Xu Jintang's face. She opened her mouth to stop the Ice Soul Dragon, but agony swept through her whole body, leaving her unable to utter a complete sentence.

Wasn't this supposed to be a deal?!

Wasn't forcing it on me before I'd even agreed a bit against the rules?!!

"You can't fully absorb my energy yet. I'll use my dragon bones, flesh, and blood to modify your entire body. The process will be very painful, but if you endure it, you'll undergo a complete transformation."

"I'm starting now," the Ice Soul Dragon warned.

Even more intense pain struck her.

It felt as though a hammer were smashing every bone in her body, blow by blow, before brute force pieced them back together one by one.

The pain on Xu Jintang's face deepened. She clenched her teeth and fists, digging red marks into her palms.

All of the Ice Soul Dragon's energy poured into her body, intensifying the pain until Xu Jintang nearly lost consciousness altogether.

She bit her lip hard, bright red blood seeping from it as she clung to her last shred of awareness.

"She still hasn't passed out." Noticing that Xu Jintang remained conscious, the Ice Soul Dragon muttered in surprise.

He had already prepared to step in and protect Xu Jintang's mind when she could no longer endure it.

He had not expected the girl to hold on by herself.

He replaced her bones and flesh with his dragon bones and flesh, then used the refined energy of his dragon blood to cleanse Xu Jintang's entire body. Finally, his dragon scales replaced her skin.

The process was extremely difficult to endure.

The blood that had just seeped from Xu Jintang's tightly bitten lips gradually dried, only for fresh beads of blood to emerge and stain them red.

Until everything was over.

Feeling the pain inside her disappear, Xu Jintang asked weakly, "Is it over?"

"Yes," came the Ice Soul Dragon's voice.

Without sparing a thought for the fact that she was still in a demonic beast forest filled with danger, Xu Jintang lay down and fell asleep.

Now several times smaller, the Ice Soul Dragon slowly circled within Xu Jintang's sea of consciousness, a faint gleam flashing through his deep eyes.

His lifespan was nearing its end, and his strength had declined drastically. Those powerful humans coveting his dragon bones and the essence of his flesh would certainly not let him go easily.

Now, he had personally dismantled his own bones and flesh to help Xu Jintang undergo a complete transformation.

His soul and consciousness, meanwhile, had taken up residence in Xu Jintang's sea of consciousness.

He could both continue living and completely conceal his presence, avoiding discovery by those powerful humans.

He did indeed have selfish reasons for this deal.

But he had also given this girl an enormous opportunity.

When Xu Jintang woke, her entire body ached as though it were falling apart. The slightest movement made her bare her teeth in pain.

"You're awake?" came the Ice Soul Dragon's voice.

Xu Jintang looked displeased. "So what exactly do I get out of this deal?"

"Let me introduce myself first. I am the Ice Soul Dragon, the only divine beast in this world to have cultivated to the tenth tier. I command the power to summon ice and wind. At my peak, even if your human powerhouses joined forces to surround and attack me, they couldn't harm me at all."

"Now my lifespan is nearing its end, and many people are hunting me. I knew I wouldn't survive, so I chose to flee. I encountered many humans along the way, but none of their seas of consciousness could accommodate me-until I met you."

"I've now merged my dragon bones and the essence of my flesh into your body. You can't fully absorb their energy yet, but as you train and continue growing stronger, they will constantly reshape and improve your physique."