Chapter 15

The green venomous scorpion, sensing a threat, began to stir restlessly. Its eyes, glowing with a seductive green light, flashed with murderous intent as it charged toward Song Tianqi.

“Duoduo!” Xu Jintang hurriedly called out.

Song Duoduo was well prepared. As the green scorpion launched its attack, she mobilized all her spiritual energy. Dark purple mandrake flowers quietly sprouted near the scorpion. With her full effort and the help of the rain, the mandrake flowers slowly bloomed beneath the dark clouds.

A peculiar fragrance rapidly filled the entire area—more intense than before.

In just a second, all of Song Duoduo’s spiritual energy was drained. Her lips turned pale, and a faint weakness showed on her face. Usually, the mandrake flowers she summoned would only bloom halfway, but this time, she had overexerted her spiritual power to force the flowers into the next growth stage.

Xu Jintang saw this and quickly guessed: this technique should only be fully mastered after reaching the second level. Using it early was essentially overextending.

The level-two green venomous scorpion was completely hit by the hallucination effect, staggering in circles, unable to act.

As the hallucination faded after three seconds, Xu Jintang immediately struck. The power of the Domain of Ice instantly enveloped the battlefield, her spiritual energy beginning to burn fiercely. Coldness spread throughout the area, and the air temperature dropped sharply.

The green scorpion, having just recovered from the hallucination, shook its head, clearing its mind and preparing to attack. But the terrifying chill caused it to sense a threat from a higher-level beast. It stopped moving, raising its tail cautiously and scanning its surroundings.

Xu Jintang stood two meters away, staring at the scorpion. “I’m right here.”

The scorpion’s eyes darkened, and three venomous needles shot toward Xu Jintang, but its movements were hindered by the ice power.

Rain continued to fall steadily, and the cold mixed with the water, coating the scorpion’s shell with a thin layer of frost. It shivered and flicked its tail again.

Insect-type beasts fear the cold. This chill also carried the oppressive aura of a high-level beast, forcing the scorpion to remain wary.

Having exhausted all her spiritual energy, Song Duoduo rested outside the battle range. Although far away, the cold air still reached her.

She looked at Xu Jintang in surprise. The squad leader’s ability even had a cooling effect?

Xu Jintang’s spiritual power was draining rapidly, almost burning away. Fortunately, her spiritual sea was vast and well-stocked.

She avoided direct confrontation with the scorpion, striking only twice before retreating each time. The scorpion, controlled by the domain power, moved sluggishly and couldn’t catch her, only able to chase in circles.

Frustrated at being unable to land a hit, the scorpion vented by stabbing the ground repeatedly with its tail, throwing up clumps of dirt.

At that moment, seven seconds had passed.

In Song Tianqi’s hand, a massive crimson fireball had formed. Sweat and rain mixed on his forehead as his arm trembled uncontrollably, clearly struggling to control the power.

The huge red fireball crackled as it burned the air, seeming ready to explode at any moment.

Without hesitation, Song Tianqi gritted his teeth and hurled the fireball at the green scorpion.

At that instant, the world fell silent.

Xu Jintang turned to watch the fireball’s explosion.

In the scorpion’s terrified eyes, the fireball’s glow flickered. Before it could escape, the massive fireball engulfed it entirely.

After the silence, a thunderous explosion echoed.

The entire cave, including the spots where Xu Jintang and Song Duoduo stood, was swept by the terrifying blast.

As the fireball detonated, raging flames spread through the rainy forest.

Inside the simulated battlefield cabin, the simulation stopped. Xu Jintang, who had been “killed” by the blast, slowly regained consciousness.

This was her first time dying and leaving the simulation.

Her body felt as if crushed by a truck, every inch aching.

Rubbing her forehead, her tense nerves gradually relaxed.

“Song! Tian! Qi!” Song Duoduo, also “killed” by the explosion, immediately shouted upon waking, “You blew us up too!”

Song Tianqi awkwardly coughed. “It was my first time using that move—I didn’t control the power well.”

If it hadn’t been the simulation, he wouldn’t have dared try such a risky technique. If it had gone wrong in reality, the consequences would have been grave.

“Everyone’s spiritual energy is almost depleted. That’s enough training for today,” Xu Jintang added. “But Song Tianqi, I suggest you practice that ability more in the simulation—it’s a bit dangerous to use otherwise.”

Song Duoduo crossed her arms and snorted, “Right? Who blows up their own teammates?”

Song Tianqi scratched his head awkwardly. “Okay, I’ll practice more.”

Though they had died unexpectedly, the three had gained a clear understanding of each other’s strength and limits—the training was fruitful.

After leaving the operation room, the trio tacitly agreed not to question why they had concealed their power before. After all, they were not very familiar when they first teamed up.

Now that they knew each other’s true capabilities, there was no need to dwell on the past.

By evening, the crescent moon shone even more brightly overhead.

Back in her dorm, Xu Jintang sat cross-legged by her bed, continuing to cultivate her spiritual energy.

Suddenly, the voice of the Ice Soul Dragon echoed: “I’ve detected that a high-level ability user recently entered your star system—possibly tracking me. Be cautious.”

Xu Jintang’s heart tightened. “They won’t find me, right?”

“Unlikely. No beast besides me has lived inside a human’s spiritual sea. And those people wouldn’t expect me to cooperate with humans.”

As long as she didn’t foolishly reveal the Ice Soul Dragon’s existence, it was hard for anyone to suspect her.

Xu Jintang relaxed a little.

After the battle with the level-two beast, the trio’s combat coordination improved significantly.

In the round of sixteen to eight elimination, they easily crushed their opponents and won.

Riding the momentum, they planned to push straight into the top four.

However, the academy suddenly announced a delay in the preliminary assessment.

Without special circumstances, the academy wouldn’t halt the assessment abruptly.

Xu Jintang sensed something was amiss and immediately sought out Song Duoduo for information.

“You came to the right person,” Song Duoduo straightened her back, cleared her throat, then lowered her voice: “I just heard that it’s related to the level-ten divine beast, the Ice Soul Dragon. Apparently, its lifespan is about to end, and its power is greatly diminished. But now, it’s gone missing.”

“The federal government fears the dragon’s last vengeance might target humanity, killing innocents. So they’ve been tracking it. I heard the dragon’s aura was spotted in our star system, so many of the federation’s top experts have rushed here, probably preparing to hunt it down.”

Xu Jintang was stunned. “The federation already knows where the Ice Soul Dragon is?”

Song Duoduo shook her head. “If they knew, they wouldn’t be making such a fuss. They must not have found it yet, so they’re panicking. Also, all the leaders and teachers with combat ability from every academy in our star system were called to a meeting. They’re probably worried the dragon will fight desperately before it dies, so they want to have more people ready—just to be safe.”

Xu Jintang rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming. “Maybe the dragon doesn’t even intend to fight back. We’re just overthinking.”

Song Duoduo didn’t dwell on it. “Anyway, it’s got nothing to do with us. Let’s just follow the academy’s instructions.”

That afternoon, Song Tianqi also heard the news. While eating in the cafeteria, he kept pulling Xu Jintang into conversation.

“So many people mobilized just for one Ice Soul Dragon? Is it really that strong?” Song Tianqi wondered.

Song Duoduo answered, “Of course. It’s a level-ten divine beast—the only one in the entire galactic continent. At its peak, even the federation’s strongest ability users combined couldn’t defeat it.”

Nearby, Jiang Shiyi suddenly joined in: “I heard that eating its blood and flesh gives ability users a chance to reach level ten themselves.”

Song Tianqi’s expression turned horrified. “Shiyi, you’re terrifying. You want to eat someone’s flesh?”

Xu Jintang, who had been silent, choked and coughed.

But no one paid much attention—still discussing the Ice Soul Dragon.

Jiang Shiyi continued, “It’s not just me. Many want to eat it. They claim it’s to protect humanity, but it’s really for their own greed.”

Her expression was filled with disgust.

Finally finding a kindred spirit, Xu Jintang quickly nodded, “Right, right! Why not just train hard instead of eating someone else’s flesh?”

Then she lowered her head and ate, pretending to know nothing.

At that moment, their communicators vibrated.

An urgent notification popped up: [A high-level beast suspected in the Blizzard Forest. The area is now fully sealed off. During the lockdown, no one is allowed to enter or exit. All ability users in star system FM795 must remain vigilant during the hazard inspection.]

Soon, Song Duoduo and the others received the same notice.

It seemed the search for the Ice Soul Dragon would continue for some time.

Xu Jintang silently picked up some food, chewing thoughtfully.

Just as the Ice Soul Dragon said, no one suspected that this legendary divine beast was currently hiding within the spiritual sea of a first-level ability user.

Their search was limited to the Blizzard Forest.

Sighing, she wondered how much longer the investigation would last.