Ch. 24 - The Empress's Scheming Thoughts
Reborn as a Gluttonous Divine BeastThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
Happy 2026, everyone! Today there's only one chapter updated, and tomorrow the same 🙏
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Happy 2026, everyone! Today there's only one chapter updated, and tomorrow the same 🙏
Two streams of pure vital energy flowed into Ling Qingxue's body, and combined with the spiritual herbs she absorbed, her cultivation surged to the late stage of the First Rank.
Ling Qingxue's eyes trembled slightly, her heart pounding with shock.
Another breakthrough! And two levels at once!
Is this the terrifying talent of an ancient ferocious beast?
Human cultivation speed was laughable compared to the Taotie.
Ling Qingxue warily watched Wu Liang. His strength had already surpassed hers, only his spiritual power was weaker.
And spiritual power was her last advantage. If even this power was surpassed, she would have no way to counter Wu Liang.
If he rebelled against her, she feared she would be finished.
"No, I must cultivate the "Divine Star Ten Thousand Manifestations" technique with all my might and focus on improving my spiritual power. A magical beast's spiritual power generally improves slowly. As long as I can maintain my lead, I can prevent a rebellion!"
Using the Heavenly Mandate contract, as long as she maintained her spiritual power advantage, she could still control the situation.
In terms of the speed of improving physical cultivation, even with a super-doubled effort, she couldn't match Wu Liang.
"Little Xuexue, let's go! Help me find spiritual herbs and magical beasts to enhance my spiritual power. My spiritual power is severely unbalanced!" Wu Liang urged.
Hearing this, Ling Qingxue's heart skipped a beat.
"You, you shouldn't focus on enhancing your spiritual power. It is useless to you. You don't know any mental techniques. Your spiritual power only needs to be enough to withstand mental attacks."
Wu Liang scratched his head with his little paw.
"That seems to make sense, but I'm too unbalanced. My defense and attack are almost at the Second Level, but my mental power is only at the First Level mid-stage..."
Ling Qingxue's lips twitched.
Unbalanced was good, because it meant she still had a chance.
"It's alright. The strength of magical beasts lies in their physical bodies. The stronger your physical attributes, the stronger you are. Mental strength isn't important to you. I have more experience in that area than you do."
"Alright, I'll eat more spiritual herbs from now on. They greatly improve my spiritual strength."
Ling Qingxue silently committed this to memory.
You'll never get to eat a single spiritual herb that improves spiritual strength again!!
Wu Liang, bored, perched on Ling Qingxue's shoulder, his gaze sweeping around.
"Little Xuexue, where should we go now? There are still three days until your school's mock exam. If we return today, we'll have about two days left."
Hearing this, Ling Qingxue hesitated.
She was currently a First Rank late-stage Physical Cultivator. At the same time, she was a First Rank mid-stage Spiritual Master, and she would soon break through to the late-stage.
Continuing to kill First Level magical beasts was easy for her, but the effect would be minimal.
Wandering aimlessly in the Green Forest was a waste of time.
"I wanted to get that Star Stone, but it's a bit difficult with our current strength."
"Star Stone? Is it tasty?" Wu Liang asked curiously.
Ling Qingxue's forehead creased with annoyance.
"The Star Stone is a high-quality Earth-grade treasure. It can help me cultivate my techniques, but it's not for eating."
Hearing the words "high-quality Earth-grade," Wu Liang's eyes lit up.
Ling Qingxue realized she'd said something wrong...
She coughed lightly. "The Star Stone's use is very singular. Eating it won't do you any good, but it's very important to me."
Wu Liang immediately lost interest in the Star Stone.
"Since it's so important to you, let's just go and snatch it! I can fight Second Level beasts now!"
Ling Qingxue shook her head helplessly. "No, I remember in my previous life, the Star Stone was in the Starry Sky Sparrow's nest. That was a Third Level late-stage beast. Its strength is far beyond our capabilities, and it's extremely fast. We wouldn't be able to escape if we were discovered."
"Oh, Third Level late-stage! That's indeed quite difficult... But maybe my brilliant mind can come up with a solution," Wu Liang said with a grin.
If strength isn't enough, then we can only outsmart it.
Magical beasts should be less intelligent than humans; at least before the King Level, the vast majority were inferior to humans.
"Little Xuexue, do you have any way to become invisible or conceal your aura?" Wu Liang asked.
"Yes, I do. I have methods to conceal my aura using martial arts techniques and spirit formations."
Ling Qingxue turned her head to look at Wu Liang on her shoulder.
"You want to use an invisibility ability to steal the Star Stone?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure what the success rate will be."
Ling Qingxue shook her head heavily.
"No! The Starry Sky Sparrow's eyes are extremely special. If you reveal even the slightest weakness, it will detect you. You won't be able to escape its eyes."
Just as the two were about to temporarily abandon the Star Stone, a sharp cry pierced the sky.
"Howl—!"
Ling Qingxue looked up at the sky.
High above, a deep blue bird-like magical beast with a wingspan of seven or eight meters was chasing a martial artist riding a Thunder Eagle.
That bird-like beast happened to be the Starry Sky Sparrow she had just mentioned.
It was also at the late-stage of the Third Level, most likely the same one.
Because Starry Sky Sparrows were very rare and needed to absorb stellar power to become stronger, they were particularly fond of treasures like Star Stones.
That Star Stone was the one the Starry Sky Sparrow had carried into its nest.
"Little Xuexue, isn't this our chance?" Wu Liang asked with a smile.
Ling Qingxue smiled faintly, her eyes sparkling.
"Indeed, there is our chance!"
If the Starry Sky Sparrow left its nest to chase after the human martial artist, she could easily obtain the Star Stone.
Immediately, she used a concealment technique to hide her and Wu Liang's aura before heading towards the Starry Sky Sparrow's nest, which she remembered.
This was an excellent opportunity. If she missed it, she might have to wait until she broke through to the Second Rank late-stage, or even the Third Rank early-stage, to try and seize the Star Stone.
As if realizing something, Ling Qingxue suddenly stopped, her expression turning serious.
Wu Liang looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"That Starry Sky Sparrow was deliberately lured away; their purpose was probably also to obtain that Star Stone!"
In her previous life, she knew there was a Star Stone inside the Starry Sky Sparrow's nest because someone had taken it out.
And those who took the Star Stone were a mercenary group called the Thunder Mercenary Group.
The Thunder Mercenary Group was no ordinary force; it was the top mercenary group in Linjiang City, led by Lei Tianbao, a Fourth Rank martial artist.
This man was vengeful and ruthless, and those who opposed him met a tragic end.
Once, someone, who was dissatisfied with his methods, hurled insults at him in the street, only to be killed by him with lightning, along with his entire family.
If Ling Qingxue were to get involved now, she might be safe if she wasn't discovered, but if she was, she would have made a formidable enemy.
Even if she saved Zhao Xin and gained Zhao Tianlan's favor, Lei Tianbao would definitely try to assassinate her.
Unless she chose to stay at Linjiang Middle School for the next four months, she would always face his relentless pursuit!
Wu Liang stroked his chin with his little paw.
"But there's only one Star Stone. If we miss this chance, we might never find another. Besides, we don't even have enough money for food, let alone buying one. It seems like we have no other choice but to steal it."
This was a true reflection of the reality of low-ranked martial artists.
No money, no resources—the only path left was to risk their lives!