Chapter 18: Exams for the Beast Taming University
Watching Shu Can’s little husky get extra treats, Amber suddenly couldn’t hold back anymore.
He bounded over to Su Wudeng’s side, staring at her with profound eagerness, his tail spinning so fast it looked like a propeller.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Does a big glutton like you want to eat, too?” Su Wudeng asked, highly amused.
Amber immediately dialed up the pity act. He tilted his handsome head and let out a wronged, pathetic whimper. Imitating the tiny kittens, he even raised a large paw and gently patted Su Wudeng’s leg.
“Woof~” Amber blinked his massive, innocent blue eyes. Master, I want to eat too~
Su Wudeng watched the dramatic dog with utter amusement. He was certainly a fast learner, and to his credit, he had captured the essence of the kittens’ routine perfectly. It just looked incredibly ridiculous coming from a massive, dignified hound.
This guy usually strutted around acting like the coolest, most handsome dog in the world, yet here he was, resorting to acting cute just for a bite of food.
Su Wudeng couldn’t help but affectionately stroke his furry head.
Seeing that acting cute was highly effective, Amber instantly ramped up the performance. He flopped onto the ground, rolling onto his back with all four paws in the air, letting out adorable little whimpers. He had watched the kittens do this and noticed that their owner loved it, unable to hide her bright laughter.
If it worked for them, it should definitely work for him, right? If the master was happy, the master would give him food!
Amber was so intelligent that he even considered running right in front of the live broadcast camera to show off his cute routine.
But the moment he flipped over, Su Wudeng mercilessly scruffed him by the back of the neck.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going? Get back here.”
The new pet was still in the teaser phase. Although she had announced that the next animal would be a dog, she hadn’t revealed the specific breed yet. If Amber trotted out with his textbook, iconic Husky appearance, the surprise would be completely ruined! A teaser needed to maintain its mystery.
Amber cried out in deep grievance. “I’m hungry! I want to eat!”
Su Wudeng let out a helpless sigh. Squatting down, she gently held Amber’s muzzle. “Where did you learn to be such a smooth talker?”
Taking a closer look, she noticed snack crumbs still clinging to the fur around his mouth. She quickly grabbed a tissue and began wiping his face carefully.
Although Amber didn’t dare to pull away, he kept up his relentless whining. “I want to eat! I want to eat!”
Finally wiping his face clean, Su Wudeng threw her hands up in defeat. “Alright, alright, I get it. Sit down and let me pet you first.”
Amber immediately sat his rump on the floor with perfect obedience, happily enjoying her affectionate scratches. He was incredibly cooperative. He was truly putting his all into earning this meal! Amber felt incredibly proud of himself.
“Since you’re being so well-behaved… go ahead and eat, you massive glutton!” Su Wudeng finally surrendered.
Amber leaped up with joy, bounding toward the snack cabinet with a happy prance.
“The snacks are in the second drawer on the left!” Su Wudeng called out after him. “You are only allowed to eat one bag, no more!”
“Got it!” Amber barked back, but his blue eyes gleamed with sly cunning.
The master only said I can eat ONE bag. She never said I couldn’t eat one bag of EVERYTHING! Hehe, I, Amber, am an absolute genius!
Although Amber and Su Wudeng were positioned off-camera, their entire conversation was picked up perfectly by the microphone and broadcast to the millions of viewers in the stream.
Listening to the interaction, the netizens were practically crying with envy.
“This dog is insanely smart! The shopkeeper can actually communicate with it without any barriers?!”
“No, I’m literally sobbing with jealousy! Shopkeeper, please drop the pre-order link right now! I need a dog like this!”
“No prize for guessing, but what breed do you guys think it is?”
“It has to be a Golden Retriever! It’s so well-behaved and emotionally intelligent, it’s a dead giveaway! Hehehe~ It must be so fluffy and nice to touch!”
“It would be amazing if it were a Shiba Inu! Their round little butts are the cutest!”
“I’m casting another vote for Golden Retriever. They’re gentle, loyal, and incredibly affectionate!”
“Hmm… did no one guess Husky? Why did the silhouette from that teaser video look exactly like a Husky to me?”
“Are you insane? How could a Husky possibly be that obedient? It lets her touch it, follows commands instantly, and can even fetch its own food?”
“Ahhh! Shopkeeper, please just reveal the answer! What breed is it?!”
The live chat was an endless scroll of laughter and wildly enthusiastic guessing.
Meanwhile, inside the Iron Wolf War Pet Shop, the atmosphere was suffocatingly dead.
The store had completely emptied out a long time ago.
Xiaowei and Zhao Zhengzhi stood in the center of the showroom, their faces deathly pale as they stared at the screen displaying Su Wudeng’s joyful interaction with the netizens and the adorable furry kittens. The happier the live chat became, the more agonizing it was for them to watch.
How had everything collapsed in just half an hour?
Thirty minutes ago, they had been mocking Su Wudeng’s deserted storefront. Now, the tables had violently turned. They had been exposed as black-hearted frauds whom everyone wanted to destroy.
Watching the impossibly cute kittens in the video, Xiaowei felt the sight burning her eyes. Compared to the deafening emptiness of her own store, a deep, creeping terror seized her heart.
“What… what do we do now?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Is she going to keep retaliating against us?”
Zhao Zhengzhi didn’t answer. His face was a mask of terrifying gloom.
“Why?” he suddenly growled, grinding his teeth. “Why is she getting all the hype?! We bought top-of-the-line mechanical beasts at premium prices, and no one even cares?!”
“This is all that bitch’s fault!”
Xiaowei shrank back, terrified by the vicious, unhinged look in her boyfriend’s eyes. She asked cautiously, “What if we go over and apologize to Wudeng? She’s always been soft-hearted. She’ll definitely forgive me.”
Zhao Zhengzhi whirled around, grabbing Xiaowei by the shoulders with such crushing force that she cried out in pain.
“Shut your mouth!” he spat venomously. “You think she’s basking in glory right now? You have no idea what kind of massive crisis she’s dragging herself into!”
Xiaowei froze, too terrified to speak.
Zhao Zhengzhi sneered, a dark light in his eyes. “Do you honestly think our shop is the only one affected? She just single-handedly disrupted the entire mechanical pet industry! She has directly threatened the profits of massive corporate stakeholders. Sooner or later, she’s going to cross the wrong person, and they will tear her apart until there’s nothing left!”
“Don’t even think about crawling back to her side. When she goes down, she’s going to die ten thousand times more miserably than us!”
Hearing this, Xiaowei felt a twisted sense of logic in his words. But she still couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Then… what do we do now?”
Whether Su Wudeng died or not didn’t change their immediate reality. What were they supposed to do?
Zhao Zhengzhi released his painful grip on her and marched over to the front counter. He aggressively yanked the drawers open and began frantically stuffing credits and valuables into a duffel bag.
“What else can we do? We run!” he snapped without looking back. “While we still have time, we liquidate this inventory at rock-bottom prices and start over in a different city!”
Xiaowei stood frozen in absolute disbelief, her mind a chaotic mess as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. They had the largest storefront. They stocked the most advanced mechanical pets. Why were they the ones being chased out like rats?
Zhao Zhengzhi glared at her, shouting furiously, “What the hell are you just standing there for?! Get over here and help me pack!”
Feeling intensely wronged, Xiaowei had no choice but to comply.
But just as she took a step forward, the sound of hurried, heavy footsteps echoed from the entrance.
“Freeze! Nobody move!”
Several uniformed enforcement officials stormed into the shop. The captain stepped forward, flashing a digital badge. “Zhao Zhengzhi, Xiaowei. You are both under arrest on suspicion of commercial defamation, unfair market competition, and fraudulent public manipulation. We have conclusive evidence. You’re coming with us.”
Zhao Zhengzhi’s face lost every drop of color. The duffel bag slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
It’s over. We were too late.
Back at Pet Love Home, Su Wudeng had been happily chatting with the netizens for a while when she casually glanced at the time. She jumped in shock.
How did it get so late?!
She hurriedly faced the camera. “I am so sorry, everyone, but I have to wrap up today’s live broadcast here!”
“See you all next time!”
She frantically cut the feed. She had almost forgotten that her sister had invited her to watch the live broadcast of her final exam!
Su Wudeng quickly pulled up the exclusive viewing link Yulan had sent her. Thankfully, the feed hadn’t officially started yet; the screen still displayed a “Waiting for Broadcast” standby screen.
“Phew~ Made it just in time.”
She opened her communicator and sent a quick text to Yulan: How are things? Are you ready?
Meanwhile, inside the Beast Taming University’s massive staging arena.
Su Yulan was meticulously adjusting the final hardware diagnostics on her mechanical pet.
This specific exam tested a student’s ability to seamlessly synchronize with their mechanical beast. Unlike ordinary citizens who merely piloted machines via basic manual controls, academy students were required to achieve deep neural resonance with giant mechanical constructs.
Through a specialized neural-link interface, tamers could directly sense every micro-movement and sensory input of the mechanical pet, operating it as a flawless extension of their own physical body. This state of absolute man-machine integration was known as “Resonance Mode.”
Once in Resonance Mode, the reaction speed, agility, and raw combat power of both the tamer and the machine increased exponentially. This was the pinnacle of mainstream combat doctrine in the interstellar era.
Just as Su Yulan was locking in her final diagnostic checks, a familiar, unwelcome voice echoed behind her.
“I will ask you one final time,” Pei Xueqing said, her expression totally unreadable. “Are you absolutely certain you won’t join our team? We’ve been friends for years. Don’t you trust me?”
Su Yulan didn’t even bother turning around. Her hands paused over the console. “I’m sorry, Xueqing. My answer hasn’t changed.”
It was a blatant, unapologetic rejection. She didn’t even grant Pei Xueqing the courtesy of looking at her.
Pei Xueqing ground her teeth, a toxic fire burning in her chest. She despised Su Yulan’s effortlessly nonchalant attitude. Yulan always seemed so completely at ease, navigating life however she pleased. Yulan had to waste hours after school working part-time jobs, yet she still effortlessly maintained her rank as the number one student.
Meanwhile, Pei Xueqing pushed herself to the absolute brink of exhaustion, only to permanently remain one step behind.
Why?!
The cold, uncompromising warning from her parents still echoed in her ears: “If you don’t secure first place this time, you are useless to this family. We will just have another child.”
At the thought of being discarded, a vicious, cruel light flashed through Pei Xueqing’s eyes. She would not let anyone threaten her survival.
She stared daggers into Su Yulan’s back. “Then don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Turning back to her designated squad, Pei Xueqing gave a sharp, commanding nod. “Everything proceeds exactly as planned.”
Her team members exchanged uneasy glances, but ultimately nodded in helpless submission. If they wanted to secure prestigious military placements after graduation, they had no choice but to rely on the formidable resources of Pei Xueqing’s family.
As for Su Yulan… they could only chalk it up to terrible luck. Who told her to constantly steal the spotlight from Pei Xueqing?
High above the staging arena, dozens of hovering camera drones had already assumed their positions, ready to broadcast the event in real-time to terminals across the galaxy.
Just as Su Yulan finalized her diagnostics, her communicator vibrated softly. She opened it to see the message from her sister.
A profound warmth blossomed in her chest. She knew her sister wouldn’t forget.
She quickly typed back: It’s about to start. You… you have to watch closely.
The exact second the message sent, academy staff moved down the line, confiscating all personal communication devices.
Su Yulan took a steadying breath, running a final visual check over her gear and her beast to ensure everything was flawless.
Suddenly, the colossal holographic screens surrounding the arena flared to life, projecting the stern, commanding face of the University Principal.
“Distinguished guests, and esteemed students,” his voice boomed through the stadium speakers.
“Today, we gather to witness the most critical event of the academic year at the Beast Taming University—the Mechanical Pet Combat Practicum.”
He paused, his tone shifting into one of formal respect. “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Interstellar Peace Company for their continued, generous sponsorship. By providing our academy with state-of-the-art mechanical beasts, they grant our students the unparalleled opportunity to pilot true apex predators. I also extend my thanks to the parents and the global community for tuning in today.”
“Without further ado, I declare this examination officially begun!”
The feed instantly went live across the Star Network.
Though Su Wudeng was miles away in her shop, the electrifying atmosphere of the broadcast completely sucked her in.
When the camera panned to Yulan, Su Wudeng’s eyes lit up like stars.
Su Yulan was clad in a sleek, streamlined silver-white pilot suit that hugged her athletic frame perfectly. Her high ponytail whipped fiercely in the wind, exuding a breathtaking, heroic aura.
But what was truly mind-blowing was the colossal entity standing beside her. It was a mechanical dragon, easily exceeding ten meters in length!
The dragon was forged from silver and sapphire-blue alloys. Its interlocking, steel-plated scales gleamed with a cold, lethal radiance under the artificial sun. The beast held its massive, horned head high, exposing rows of razor-sharp metallic teeth. A highly complex, pulsating energy core was embedded into its spine, periodically flaring with blinding blue light.
“Oh my god,” Su Wudeng whispered in absolute awe. “That is way too cool!”
“Yulan never told me her mechanical beast was an actual dragon!”
Su Wudeng’s heart raced. She wanted nothing more than to physically run her hands over that gorgeous machine. It was a masterpiece.
The camera lingered on Yulan for a few seconds before panning down the line to showcase the other top competitors.
Pei Xueqing stood beside a towering mechanical lion, her chin raised with haughty, unshakable confidence.
Su Wudeng’s eyes widened again. The lion was plated in pure, blinding gold, and its mane was constructed from thousands of flowing, hyper-flexible metallic wires. Its optics glowed a deep, piercing blue. The beast’s hindquarters and flanks were visibly equipped with advanced micro-thrusters, indicating that it was engineered for explosive speed and hyper-mobility.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That is a serious piece of hardware,” Su Wudeng marveled. Though it wasn’t as massive as the dragon, the raw quality of its materials was visibly superior. Given the number of customized thrusters and the fluid articulation of that mane, that lion easily cost hundreds of millions of credits.
She couldn’t help but feel a pang of greed.
Standing behind Pei Xueqing was a boy whose name flashed on the screen as Wang Lei. His beast was an absolute behemoth—a colossal silver-gray mammoth. Its massive, curved tusks glinted menacingly, and a devastating, heavy-artillery energy cannon was mounted directly onto its back.
Further down the line was a girl with thick glasses named Lin Xiaoyun. Her partner was a massive mechanical owl. Its optic sensors were built like high-powered searchlights, and the entirety of its wingspan was lined with sophisticated tactical sensor arrays.
“That one’s definitely specialized for aerial recon and electronic warfare,” Su Wudeng analyzed instantly.
The camera continued down the line, showcasing an endless, dazzling array of apex machines.
“The Beast Taming University really lives up to its reputation,” Su Wudeng sighed in admiration. “These machines represent the absolute pinnacle of what ordinary citizens will ever witness.”
“Just how massive of a sponsorship check did the Interstellar Peace Company have to write to secure an advertising platform this huge?” she wondered.
She felt a deep sting of ambition. When will the living pets from my shop finally command the arena at the Beast Taming University?!
While Su Wudeng was practically vibrating with excitement, the millions of netizens flooding the official live chat were losing their minds.
“Holy crap! Pei Xueqing’s Lion King is a masterpiece! That’s the ‘Golden Lion Heart’—the absolute newest S-Class prototype from the Interstellar Peace Company! I read its burst speed can break the sound barrier!”
“That’s the power of infinite daddy’s money for you. Us peasants can only dream. But look at Wang Lei’s mammoth, the ‘Silver Frost Cannon’! It’s a literal walking fortress! Rumor has it the main cannon can level a mountain with a single charged shot!”
“Watching heavy hitters just bash each other is boring. I’m a fan of Lin Xiaoyun’s owl, the ‘Eye of the Night Owl.’ Its DPS is low, but its recon capability is god-tier! It’s the ultimate shot-caller for team battles!”
“You’re all blind! The absolute sickest rig on that field is Su Yulan’s mechanical dragon! The sheer presence is unmatched!”
“Su Yulan is definitely taking first place this year. She absolutely humiliated everyone with that dragon during the qualifiers.”
“Obviously! And she looks so incredibly badass today! Our Yulan is out here stealing hearts!”
On the field, Su Yulan caught the red light of the hovering drone camera and quickly averted her gaze.
My sister is watching me right now, she thought.
Sis, just watch closely. I’m going to prove to you exactly how strong I am. Once you see this, you’ll know you don’t ever have to risk your life dealing with the black market for me.
The Chief Examiner’s voice echoed across the stadium, cutting through the tension. “Attention, candidates.”
“The parameters of this examination are as follows: We have hidden dozens of designated flags across this sprawling, dynamic arena. Your primary objective is to secure as many flags as possible within the time limit. The candidate holding the highest number of flags at the buzzer will be crowned the victor.”
“Take note: during the retrieval process, all tactical strategies are permitted. This includes forming temporary alliances, or engaging in direct, hostile confrontation to eliminate rival candidates.”
“Show the world the absolute limits of your power!”
“The examination… BEGINS!”
The exact second the examiner’s voice dropped, the flat expanse of the arena began to violently physically mutate.
The ground fractured and elevated, forming treacherous, multi-tiered topographies. Massive steel bulkheads slid and locked against each other, rapidly constructing a sprawling, claustrophobic labyrinth. Anti-gravity platforms and lethal environmental hazards materialized in the airspace above.
The entire stadium functioned like a colossal, shape-shifting mechanical puzzle box, completely unpredictable.
Seconds later, the starting gates hissed open, and a massive holographic countdown timer ignited in the sky.
Su Yulan took a deep breath. With a fluid, practiced leap, she scaled the side of the mechanical dragon and dropped into the cockpit. Her hands flew across the control terminal, seamlessly initiating the neural handshake with the mecha’s core.
As the synchronization finalized, she felt her own consciousness expand, merging flawlessly with the machine. She was no longer a human sitting in a chair; she was the dragon. She perceived the vast arena through its optical sensors, feeling the raw, terrifying power of the hydraulic muscles and the phantom sensation of massive wings extending from her back.
The mechanical dragon threw its head back and unleashed a deafening, earth-shaking roar. Its massive wings snapped open, catching the sunlight in a blinding flash of silver.
Driven by Su Yulan’s will, the dragon launched into the sky, swooping aggressively down into the heart of the chaotic examination grounds.
“Damn, that is just too cool,” Su Wudeng whispered, her eyes glued to the screen. She wondered if she would ever get the chance to pilot something that magnificent.
On the screen, Yulan’s dragon locked onto a target. The mecha’s shoulder-mounted anti-air cannons flared to life, unleashing a relentless barrage of suppressing fire to clear her path!
At that exact moment, Amber casually strolled up beside Su Wudeng, staring at the screen.
“Woof!” Why are you drooling over them? I’m ten times stronger than those clunky toys!
“Woof! Woof!” I’m telling you right now, I could slice every single one of those metal heaps into scrap with a single strike!
Amber puffed his chest out, radiating supreme, unbothered confidence.
Su Wudeng laughed, reaching down to affectionately scratch Amber’s head. “Alright, alright, I know. Our Amber is the strongest in the universe.”
On the broadcast, Yulan drove the mechanical dragon flawlessly through the shifting labyrinth, rapidly securing flags and putting a massive score gap between herself and the rest of the pack.
Su Wudeng watched with a mix of swelling pride and tight anxiety.
Su Yulan’s performance was an absolute masterclass. Her processing speed, tactical decision-making, and fluid control over the mechanical dragon were leagues above the rest of her cohort. Despite the suffocating complexity of the shifting terrain, she navigated it like a fish in water, effortlessly snatching one flag after another.
But as the timer ticked down, a deep frown formed on Su Wudeng’s face.
While the vast majority of the candidates had been completely left in the dust, the minimap tracking UI showed a specific cluster of competitors…
“Wait, this isn’t right…” Su Wudeng muttered, her eyes locked onto several red blips on the radar that were rapidly converging on Su Yulan’s position from multiple angles.
“Are they… trying to jump Yulan?”
As undeniably skilled as Yulan was, a mechanical beast was still bound by its hard-coded physical limits. It was an unspoken rule of the era: those with the deepest pockets bought the most advanced, highly tuned hardware. How could raw talent overcome an insurmountable hardware gap?
No matter how god-like Yulan’s piloting was, she couldn’t break the physical ceiling of her machine. Let alone surviving a highly coordinated, multi-target siege… it was an entire squadron of elite mechas boxing her in!
Her fears materialized instantly.
On the live feed, Pei Xueqing piloted her golden S-Class lion, “Golden Lion Heart,” leading a vanguard of heavy-hitter candidates to completely cut off Su Yulan’s escape routes.
Su Yulan’s sensors blared with proximity warnings. The mechanical dragon whipped its head around, adopting a defensive posture, but the snare had already been drawn tight.
“Pei Xueqing,” Su Yulan’s voice broadcasted evenly over the open comm channel, icy and laced with suppressed fury. “I simply declined your invitation to join your squad. Is that really worth orchestrating a witch hunt?”
This was the final exam. The results dictated their military placements and resources for the entire following year.
Pei Xueqing let out a cold, venomous laugh. She would never publicly admit her true, petty insecurities.
“Excuse me? Since when did the academy mandate that there can only be one reigning champion?”
“Besides, point to the rulebook where it says coordinated hunting is forbidden.”
She paused, her voice sharpening into a lethal command. “Save your breath, peasant. Let’s see how long your ‘talent’ keeps you alive!”
At Pei Xueqing’s signal, the encirclement violently collapsed inward.
Mechanical beasts of every class and model swarmed Su Yulan from every conceivable angle. She was boxed in by aerial bombardments, ground-based heavy artillery, and subterranean ambush units.
Su Wudeng gripped the edge of her desk, her heart racing.
“This is bad. Yulan is going to lose if this turns into an attrition war! How can her single dragon tank the combined DPS of an entire squad?!”
On the screen, Su Yulan’s mechanical dragon was engaged in a brutal, desperate dogfight.
Though she possessed aerial superiority, the suppressing anti-air fire from the ground was far too dense. Whenever she attempted to dive and utilize her mecha’s devastating physical mass for close-quarters brawling, she was instantly swarmed and stun-locked by a dozen opposing units.
Su Yulan cycled through her entire offensive arsenal—scorching dragon breath, crushing tail sweeps, and punishing salvos from her dorsal energy cannons—but she wasn’t fighting a duel. She was fighting an army.
Inside the cockpit, Su Yulan’s breathing grew ragged, her heart hammering against her ribs. Am I really going to lose like this?
No. I absolutely cannot fall here. My sister is watching me.
The only way out is to force a breakthrough… I need to cross the threshold into the next realm and achieve total neurological fusion with the machine!
But how?! I don’t have the mental capacity for it!
Right then, Pei Xueqing’s mocking voice bled through the comms. “Look at yourself, Su Yulan! Your structural integrity is failing. Just surrender already! You’ve lost!”
“If you stubbornly keep this up, you might actually get yourself killed in that cockpit!”
Suddenly, Pei Xueqing’s golden lion erupted in a blinding, transcendent halo of light. The massive machine’s movements shifted from mechanical precision to terrifying, organic fluidity.
The stadium crowd and the millions watching online exploded into absolute hysteria.
“Holy crap! Pei Xueqing just crossed into the Second Realm: The Mind Resonance Realm!”
The official broadcast commentator’s voice reached a fever pitch, rapidly breaking down the technicals for the audience:
“For those watching at home, a quick refresher on the Five Realms of Neural Integration!”
“1. Initial Integration: Baseline manual control. Human and machine operate separately; noticeable latency in reaction time.”
“2. Mind Resonance: The tamer’s consciousness begins bleeding into the machine’s operating system, exponentially boosting reaction speed!”
“3. Telepathic Unity: Human and machine operate with near-zero latency, allowing for predictive, instantaneous combat reflexes!”
“4. Soul Contract: Total conscious fusion. The machine becomes a literal extension of the human’s flesh.”
“5. Daohe (Ultimate Unity): A legendary, mythical state where the organic and the synthetic become one, completely shattering the hard-coded physical limits of the hardware!”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is considered a mark of genius for a freshman to merely stabilize at the Initial Integration Realm. But Pei Xueqing has been hiding her true power! She has successfully breached the Mind Resonance Realm!”
“This match is reaching an unbelievable climax! Both Su Yulan and Pei Xueqing are now officially clashing as Second Realm combatants!”
“But Pei Xueqing holds a massive tactical advantage with her squad! Will we see a new champion crowned today?!”
Inside her cockpit, Su Yulan easily identified the golden aura radiating from Pei Xueqing’s mecha.
She understood instantly. She used the Star Soul Grass to forcibly brute-force her mental capacity into the Second Realm.
Without warning, Pei Xueqing’s golden lion blurred, executing a supersonic lunge directly at Su Yulan.
Despite pushing her thrusters to the absolute limit to evade, the exhausted dragon was simply too slow. The lion’s claws slammed into her flank with catastrophic force. The massive dragon was sent violently spiraling, crashing into the steel terrain dozens of meters away.
Inside the cockpit, the inertial dampeners failed. Su Yulan slammed against the restraints, a thin trail of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. Her vision swam wildly.
No. I cannot lose.
My sister is watching me right now!
Her mind raced to the pristine, silver-glowing spiritual plant resting in her spatial pocket. Do I take it now? But if my foundation isn’t ready, it will be a complete waste of a priceless treasure.
She had intended to save it for when she naturally approached the threshold of the Third Realm. She was nowhere near that milestone yet.
If I consume it and fail to breach the Third Realm—the Telepathic Unity Realm—it will all be for nothing.
But if I lose here… my sister is going to keep risking her life in the underground market just to support me…
Absolutely… NOT!
With trembling, blood-stained hands, Su Yulan reached into her spatial pocket and retrieved the Astraea Grass.
