After taking a few breaths to calm down, Ling Qingxue gave a bitter smile and tossed Wu Liang aside.
"It's all for nothing. Even with a second chance at life, it's still for nothing."
In her previous life, she was stuck at the Imperial Rank; in this life, she's stuck at the First Rank—it was simply laughable.
She thought her move of switching her magical beast was pretty smart, but in the end, she placed herself in a hopeless situation.
Her life was over... utterly over...
If only she had kept her contract with that rat snake; at least she could have returned to the Imperial Rank.
Now, with no way to use her skills, she felt her life was over.
However, a moment later, a ruthless glint appeared in her eyes.
"In my previous life, I emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood; why can't I in this life! So what if it has no bloodline? I'll refine its body and create a new bloodline for it. I can do it!"
The concept of acquired bloodlines existed only in theory, and she was the one who proposed it; there had never been a successful case.
But given the current situation, she had to try. She refused to live a mundane life!
"As long as I sell the King Rat Snake egg and get a Vitality Pill, I can break through the Martial Artist ranks. After that, I can capture a magical beast with a bloodline to make the replacement!"
Hope rekindled in Ling Qingxue's heart.
She had already spent all her money on Vitality Pills, and now her vital energy was stuck at 99 points, just one step away from breaking through.
She had hoped to break through by relying on the vital energy replenishment from the contract, but who knew she would contract a useless, lowly ant without even a bloodline.
Truly unbelievable.
She reached out to grab the King Rat Snake egg beside her.
"Huh, where's my egg?"
Ling Qingxue looked puzzled. She'd clearly put it here.
She looked around, only to find that the most useless thing in the room had eaten the most useful thing.
"Holy shit!!!"
Ling Qingxue completely collapsed. That was the only thing she could sell for money!
Without this, how could she break through to the Martial Artist ranks?!
Wu Liang was confused.
"You haven't fed me for three minutes after I hatched! Are you trying to starve me to death?
What's wrong with finding something to eat? Why are you making such a fuss?
This egg is the only edible thing in the room. Are you expecting me to chew the floor?"
[Ding! King Rat Snake egg consumed. Strength +2, Defense +1, Evolution Points+3!]
[Hint: Evolution points can be used to evolve bloodlines and upgrade skill levels. The host needs 10 evolution points to develop into the next form, the Devouring Beast. Please continue your efforts.]
[Host: Wu Liang]
[Beast: Hybrid Beast (Next Form: Devouring Beast, Evolution Points Required: 10)]
[Rank: Not yet ranked]
[Talent: Devouring All Things (0%)]
[Bloodline: No Bloodline]
[Attack: 6]
[Defense: 5]
[Speed: 3]
[Spirit: 1]
[Evolution Points: 3]
[Skills: Gluttonous Stomach lv2, Greed lv1, Damage Reduction lv1, Size Control lv1]
[Note: Each form evolution will enhance the bloodline level and slightly increase the four main attributes, with a chance to awaken new skills or even mutate skills. The host should prioritize form evolution.]
…
Wu Liang had a sudden realization. "So, when I eat, I can absorb energy from the food, and that's how evolution points are obtained."
[That's right. The Gluttonous Beast devours everything to sustain itself. The host can devour any item, but evolution points can only be gained by devouring life, because evolution points are essentially the evolutionary power within a living being; the System simply converts and stores them.]
[Note: The conversion rate of devouring food is affected by the "Devour All Things" talent. Currently, the host relies solely on its own digestion, resulting in a low ratio. Please pay attention to the favorability factor between you and the contract master; the higher the favorability, the higher the conversion rate.]
Then, he could even swallow bed boards, floorboards, stones, and garbage?!
Good heavens.
Wu Liang simply exclaimed. "Good heavens!"
Under Ling Qingxue's murderous gaze, he opened his mouth and began to gnaw at the wood chips on the floor.
Ling Qingxue: "???"
The sky was falling!
Had she contracted a dumb dog that ate even garbage?
Her face dark, Ling Qingxue lifted him up.
"Stupid dog, don't eat garbage!"
Wu Liang cursed at her, his teeth bared.
"You're the stupid dog, your whole family are stupid dogs, I'm a Gluttonous Divine Beast!"
Ling Qingxue couldn't hear him; his mental strength was too low to even express his thoughts.
Wu Liang checked his favorability level with his human using the System.
-10%?
Are you kidding me? Favorability levels can be negative?!
She must really want to kill me just now...
Wu Liang was a little scared and shrank back.
New account, don't mess around!!!
Ling Qingxue sighed, her expression filled with despair.
"A good hand played terribly; my hopes of advancing to Godhood in this life are probably even slimmer now."
Hearing this, Wu Liang's eyes lit up.
So the protagonist isn't me, it's the pet owner!
Rebirth, isn't that the protagonist's default setting?
With me, the God-Slaying Gluttonous Beast as support, we'll both ascend to Godhood sooner or later.
Ling Qingxue took out a few pieces of dried meat and tossed them to Wu Liang, then began refining her inner energy.
The method of exchanging the snake egg for the Vitality Pill was no longer feasible, so she had to find another way.
Reborn and bound by contract with a mongrel dog—fate was clearly making things harder for her.
Their lives were now intertwined. If the body-forging technique failed, her life was truly over.
Not only that, this mongrel dog would only live for a dozen years at most, leaving her with just a dozen years to live as well.
What the hell could she do in this situation?
What a joke!!
Wu Liang, lying on the ground, had no such worries.
He was starving. His Gluttonous Stomach allowed him to digest food at an astonishing speed, quickly finishing what he ingested.
Those few pieces of dried meat had disappeared in a few bites, not close enough to satisfy his hunger.
[Ding! Beef jerky consumed. Defense +1!]
Just a measly point in defense—pathetic.
The starving Wu Liang was rummaging around the room, gobbling up anything edible he could find.
But these most ordinary things added almost no attributes, making Wu Liang utterly disheartened.
"System, which food increase attributes and evolution points the most?"
[Precious ores, metals, high-level magical beast corpses, spiritual herbs, etc., all increase attributes significantly. Evolution points are related to lifespan; the higher the lifespan rank, the higher the evolution points.]
A normal magical beast, even before reaching the First Level, can still have dozens of points in attack and defense.
An adult dog's attack power is roughly twenty points, while he only had six...
"Damn it, System, you have to compensate me! My start is way too weak!"
[Host, have some shame!]
Wu Liang rolled his eyes. "I'm not even human anymore, why would I need shame? Besides, my human is dirt poor; shouldn't you take care of her?"
[...This is the last time. If the host continues to affect the System's progress, this System will immediately ascend to immortality and leave the host on its own.]
"Okay, okay, hurry up." Wu Liang grinned contentedly.
The System was all bark and no bite; it would be nice to get some more good stuff.
This start was truly appalling. Devouring required food, right? But the pet owner was so poor that all he had to eat was dirt.
What good is having talent if you don't have the means?