Ch. 2 - The Empress is a Little Upset

As soon as Ling Qingxue finished speaking, a woman pushed open the door and walked in.

Familiar scenes began to overlap in her mind; it had been the same in her previous life.

Zhang Yuan looked at Ling Qingxue impatiently and casually tossed her a beast egg.

"This is the beast egg the school gave you. You can choose to form a contract."

"Also, there are only seven days left until the joint entrance exam. If you don’t become a martial artist, you'll be expelled from Linjiang Middle School. I advise you to leave on your own."

With this, she turned to leave, her eyes filled with disgust for Ling Qingxue.

She had experienced this kind of disgusted look countless times before and was now used to it.

As for the reason…

Three years ago, a small rift suddenly appeared outside Linjiang City, and a large number of monsters emerged from it, forming a considerable beast tide.

Her parents were two of the city's guardians, but the city was breached in less than half a day. 

Some people blamed her parents for the breached city gates, insulting them even in death—utterly ridiculous!

Thus, Ling Qingxue endured the malice of many people in Linjiang City.

And this was the starting point of her cold and heartless temperament.

"Wait," Ling Qingxue's clear, cold voice rang out.

Zhang Yuan turned to look at her. "Anything else?"

"I want to exchange it for the beast egg in your pocket."

Puzzled, Zhang Yuan took out a magical beast egg, slightly larger than her fist, from her pocket.

"Are you sure? This egg hasn't been tested. I found it during my training; it wasn't issued by the school."

Before a beast hatched, the strength of its bloodline could only be estimated by its life force.

The egg in her hand was clearly inferior to the one issued by the school.

Exchange the beast eggs?

That would be downright foolish.

This egg was something she'd casually picked up from a doghouse; who knew what kind of hybrid beast it was...

But Ling Qingxue didn't explain much. She was a reborn Imperial-rank; no matter how low its bloodline level was, she was confident she could raise it.

All she wanted was to change the past and her own fate.

Re-contracting with a beast was the only option.

Besides, she had no way to obtain other beast eggs.

Zhang Yuan scoffed, her mockery deepening, and tossed the egg to her.

"Consider it a farewell gift before leaving school. Anyway, given the difference in our talents, we'll never see each other again."

She was a mid-stage first-level cultivator, destined for a martial arts university, a world apart from Ling Qingxue, a student incapable of achieving martial arts mastery.

As the door closed, Ling Qingxue looked at the two beast eggs in her hands, a long-absent smile appearing on her face. Only now did she truly feel that her rebirth was real.

"The time to change my fate has come! This Linjiang City is just my starting point!"

Ling Qingxue bit her index finger, channeling a wisp of spiritual power to condense a blood pact, which she then merged into the beast egg.

Instantly, Wu Liang inside the egg felt a fusion of souls.

"Is this my pet caretaker? Why does it feel kinda cold?"

He moved his limbs, finding his strength had increased considerably, and immediately began to scratch the eggshell with his claws, intending to hatch.

The System was reliable; it said one hour, and it was exactly one hour, not a second off.

Wu Liang, sporting a bizarre head and looking like a crossbreed, emerged from the beast egg, soaking wet.

So ugly!

Damn it, what kind of hybrid beast is this?

Where is my majestic, God-Slaying Divine Beast?

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully hatching! The System is at your service. Newbie gift pack will now be issued, and skills will be activated.]

[Newbie Gift Pack Opened.]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Skill Awakening Card +1, Random Skill Upgrade Card +1, and the "Devouring All Things" skill is 0% activated!]

[Devouring All Things: Capable of absorbing nutrients from all things. Conversion rate corresponds to talent activation percentage. Currently at 0% activation, only partially absorbed through the body. This talent is linked to the fixed skill Gluttonous Stomach.]

[It has been detected that the host has been contracted, and the favorability task has been activated. For every 10% increase in favorability, the progress of the Devouring All Things talent will increase by 10%. Please pay attention to the favorability increase.] (Note: Devouring All Things is a unique talent of the Gluttonous Divine Beast, but the host currently lacks the bloodline and cannot use it on his own. The newbie gift pack and favorability task allow the host to use the talent sooner~~)

[Skill activation is successful and can be viewed.]

Wu Liang looked at the various prompts in front of him and, feeling a little excited, began to check his skills.

[Gluttonous Stomach Lv1: Fixed passive skill. It is the digestive ability of the Gluttonous Divine Beast. The stomach can store 10 cubic meters of food and can digest all nutrients to nourish itself.] (Note: Increasing the level increases stomach capacity and digestion speed.)

[Greed Lv1: You have an extremely greedy heart, wanting to possess everything. Activating this skill will temporarily increase all your attributes by 10%.] [Note: Leveling up increases the percentage.]

[Damage Reduction Lv1: You can absorb all physical and mental attacks that land on you. Current damage reduction percentage is 1%.] (Note: Leveling up increases the percentage.)

Wu Liang gasped, his body trembling.

"Awesome! The System is reliable."

[Thank you for the praise, host. Please level up quickly and become the God-Slaying Gluttonous Beast as soon as possible.]

"Okay."

The System was so powerful, what else could Wu Liang say?

Moreover, he also had a skill awakening card, which meant he started with four skills.

Cool!

"System, activate the skill awakening card for me."

[Ding! Skill awakening card successfully activated!]

[Size Control Lv1: The host can consume energy to freely increase or decrease the size of their body. Current range: 2 times.] (Note: Upgrading skills increases the range of changes.)

It's starting to get somewhere.

What a small but powerful creature! Once it grows up, it'll be a behemoth!

There was one random skill upgrade card left, which Wu Liang used immediately.

[Gluttonous Stomach Lv2: Fixed passive skill. It is the digestive abilities of the Gluttonous Divine Beast. Its stomach can store 20 cubic meters of food and can digest all nutrients to nourish itself.]

Not bad. It was still weak at the moment and could only grow quickly by devouring.

After receiving the System's reward, Wu Liang opened his drowsy eyes and saw a stunningly beautiful face appear before him.

This is my pet caretaker?

She seems rather appetizing.

"So weak..."

A muttered complaint pulled him back to reality.

What the heck. How could it not be weak at the beginning?

Ling Qingxue extended a wisp of her spiritual energy onto Wu Liang to examine his bloodline.

A beast's bloodline manifested after hatching, so contracting a beast egg was quite risky. After all, not everyone was a reborn like her.

In an instant, Ling Qingxue's face darkened.

"You have no bloodline! How could you possibly not have a bloodline?!"

No bloodline meant it couldn't cultivate and couldn't become a true magic beast.

The Heavenly Mandate contract required both parties to progress simultaneously, and if Wu Liang couldn't break through his level, she too would be held back.

Sharing a lifeline—that brought limitations.

Ling Qingxue could no longer maintain her composure.

"No way! I possess divine prowess and know the evolutionary paths of countless magical beasts. Even if you have a low-grade bloodline, I'll find a way!"

Ling Qingxue's beautiful eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at Wu Liang.

Under her gaze, Wu Liang felt a chill run down his spine.

Damn, this is a crazy woman! He's in danger.

How was he going to run with those four short legs?

Ling Qingxue grabbed Wu Liang's neck with one hand, seemingly intending to strangle him.

"Hey! I'm a divine beast, stupid human! You better open your eyes!"

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