Along with her anger, a deeper sense of shock welled up from the bottom of Gu Yuexi's heart.
In that instant of fury, she had clearly felt a faint power feeding back to her from the mosquito's body through their Blood Covenant connection!
A Beast Tamer received one-tenth of their Contracted Beast's power!
It was just that Chu Sheng's power had been too minuscule before, so Gu Yuexi had never felt it.
But now…
She could clearly "perceive" that the Qi Blood within Chu Sheng's body was abnormally vigorous!
'This Qi Blood... it's at least... around fifty points!'
Gu Yuexi estimated a number in her mind that made her own scalp tingle.
Fifty points of Qi Blood!
Although that was still a long way from the one-hundred-point threshold of a First-Grade Demon Beast.
However! It was already equivalent to the level of a full-grown wolf or a half-grown wild boar!
In other words, the mosquito before her, less than ten centimeters long, already possessed the Life Force and Qi Blood intensity of a common beast!
And… it had only taken two short days!
It had grown from an ordinary mosquito with a Lifespan of only a few days and negligible Qi Blood into a "monster" comparable to a common beast!
Gu Yuexi was completely dumbfounded.
Her gaze toward Chu Sheng had transformed completely—from initial disgust and helplessness, to later shock and curiosity, and now to something akin to looking at an unknown mythical creature.
'This guy's potential seems... ten thousand times more terrifying than I ever imagined!'
'Could it be... that my greatest opportunity in this life wasn't being reborn, but... forming a contract with it?'
An absurd thought, yet one that made her heart race, uncontrollably surfaced in her mind.
Meanwhile, faced with the Empress's "interrogation," Chu Sheng just calmly flapped his blade-like wings and transmitted his thoughts.
'Don't get so worked up. It's just a dead snake, right? If it's drained, it's drained.'
'Look, I got stronger, so you got stronger too, didn't you? This is a win-win for both of us! Win-win!'
'Besides, your Cultivation speed is slower than a snail's crawl. By the time you finished draining that snake, the opportunity would have been long gone! You have to rely on me. I'm efficient and get fast results!'
Although he couldn't articulate such complex words, the smug sentiment of 'don't make a fuss' and 'this is for our own good' was transmitted precisely into Gu Yuexi's mind.
Gu Yuexi was speechless.
She was so furious she was seeing red, nearly coughing up a mouthful of old blood on the spot.
'So that's how it is!'
'You ate my meal and then complained that I was eating too slowly?!'
'Is there no justice in this world?!'
But… she couldn't refute it.
Because what this guy said seemed... to actually make a bit of sense.
When it grew stronger, she did indeed receive feedback. And its "Cultivation" efficiency was countless times higher than her own.
Gu Yuexi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to swat the mosquito dead, and began to calmly think about the problem at hand.
No matter what this mosquito's origin was, one fact was unchangeable—her Cultivation Resources were gone!
The joint exam was only a little over ten days away. Her current strength had just reached the First-Grade Middle Stage. If she wanted to take first place in the exam, win the five hundred thousand Federation Coin prize, and obtain the King-level Demon Beast cub, she had to break through to Second-Grade before the test!
Otherwise, it would all be for nothing!
'I must... I must find another Demon Beast with a High-Level Bloodline!' Gu Yuexi's eyes became firm once more.
But the problem was... she was out of money.
She was now completely broke, not even knowing how she would pay next month's rent.
Buy another Demon Beast cub with a High-Level Bloodline? That was just a fool's dream!
After thinking it over and over, only one option remained in Gu Yuexi's mind.
An option fraught with risk, but also the only feasible one.
'I'll go to the Black Forest outside the city and take on Demon Beast hunting missions!'
The Black Forest was a vast, primeval forest outside Jiang City inhabited by a large number of Demon Beasts. It was the main place for Lingwu High School students to train and for Martial Artists to hunt Demon Beasts in exchange for resources.
By taking missions there, not only could she earn a handsome reward to solve her urgent financial problems, but more importantly, she might stumble upon some unexpected gains while hunting Demon Beasts.
For example, finding the corpses left behind after two High-Level Demon Beasts fought to the death? Or getting incredibly lucky and discovering a Heavenly and Earthly Treasure that could increase her Qi Blood?
Although the chances of this were minuscule, about the same as winning the lottery, for the current Gu Yuexi, it was her only hope.
'That's settled then!'
A glimmer of determination flashed in Gu Yuexi's eyes. She stopped hesitating and immediately began to pack.
She glanced at Chu Sheng, who was perched on the table leisurely grooming his blade-like wings, and coldly transmitted a thought.
'Follow me!'
Chu Sheng was just pondering how to use his Evolution Points when he received the command and froze for a moment.
'Going out? Where to? Is there something good to eat again?'
He was happy for the change of pace, so he flew up and landed steadily on Gu Yuexi's shoulder.
Gu Yuexi didn't grab the box this time.
She knew it was no longer necessary. This mosquito was no longer a fragile insect that needed protection.
'Nearly fifty points of Qi Blood!'
'An ordinary adult man might not even be able to beat it!'
Just like that, the girl and the "mosquito," carrying a dagger and their remaining savings, pushed open the door and headed straight for the Lingwu Hall in the city.
...
Jiang City Lingwu Hall.
Located in the most bustling part of the city center, it was a magnificent building that covered a vast area and was filled with a sense of modern technology.
This was the gathering place for all of Jiang City's Martial Artists and Beast Tamers. Whether it was accepting missions, trading resources, or sparring, it could all be done here.
At this moment, the mission hall of the Lingwu Hall was bustling with people coming and going.
On a giant electronic screen, all sorts of mission information scrolled by.
[D-Level Task: Hunt three First-Grade Early Stage Iron-skinned Pigs. Reward: 30,000 Federation Coins, 10 Contribution Points.]
[C-level Task: Collect ten stalks of Clear Spirit Grass. Reward: 100,000 Federation Coins, 50 Contribution Points.]
[B-level Task: Hunt one Second-Grade Middle Stage Howling Moon Wolf King. Requirement: A team of at least three Second-Grade Martial Artists. Reward: 500,000 Federation Coins, 300 Contribution Points.]
Gu Yuexi, with Chu Sheng in tow, walked into the noisy hall. Her expression was as cold as ever, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.
She walked straight to the counter in the mission posting area to register her information.
Meanwhile, Chu Sheng, perched on her shoulder, curiously sized up their surroundings.
His [Blood Food Tracking] Skill allowed him to clearly "see" that every person in the hall contained Qi Blood Power of varying strength.
'It's... like a mobile, all-you-can-eat blood bank!'
'Whoa, this place is full of experts!'
Chu Sheng smacked his lips. He could even sense several experts whose abundant Qi Blood far surpassed that of the Wind Blade Wolf. To him, their Qi Blood fluctuations were as conspicuous as searchlights in the night.
'Looks like I'll have to come hang around here more often. Maybe I'll find some Top-Grade blood bags!' Chu Sheng silently marked the Lingwu Hall in his mind as an important "feeding spot."
Just as Gu Yuexi was waiting in line to register, a somewhat familiar voice, tinged with shock, came from the side.
"Gu Yuexi?!"
Gu Yuexi and Chu Sheng turned their heads at the same time.
There was Chen Hao with a few other students, staring at them with an expression like he'd just seen a ghost—or more accurately, staring at Chu Sheng on Gu Yuexi's shoulder.