Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Xu Jintang's eyes widened slightly, staring in shock at the colossal creature that had suddenly materialized before her.

The Frost Dragon coiled in the air, its body five times her size.

A faint light glinted off its scales, reflecting a piercing, cold gleam.

...The ancestors truly spoke the truth—dragons really do exist in this world.

But her current situation seemed rather perilous.

Calming her emotions, Xu Jintang quietly retrieved a Teleportation Rune from her Space Bracelet, clutching it in her palm, ready to act as circumstances dictated.

She cleared her throat and asked with feigned composure, "What kind of deal?"

A distant, lingering, mysterious voice slowly resonated, "I will help you become stronger. In exchange, I require residence in your sea of consciousness for a period of time."

"Why me?" Xu Jintang questioned.

"Because you are the only human I’ve encountered today with a double-sized sea of consciousness."

Xu Jintang froze. "A double sea of consciousness?"

The Frost Dragon continued, "There’s no time to waste. I will first remake your body, and explain later."

In the next moment, the Frost Dragon charged directly at her. Its speed was so blindingly fast that Xu Jintang had no time to react before its head was right in front of her.

Surprisingly, as the Frost Dragon touched her body, it inexplicably passed directly through. Its massive head penetrated into her.

A torrent of intense energy flooded her body, first bringing a warm sensation, then growing hotter and hotter, until it felt like her entire body was being scorched.

Xu Jintang’s face contorted in pain. She opened her mouth to stop the Frost Dragon, but the agony overwhelmed her, making it impossible to form a complete sentence.

I thought this was a deal?!

Isn't it against the rules to just force it on me before I've even agreed?!

"Your body isn't ready to fully absorb my energy yet. I will use my dragon bones, dragon flesh, and dragon blood to rebuild your entire body. The process will be excruciating, but if you endure it, you will be reborn."

"I’m starting now," the Frost Dragon’s warning sounded.

Even more intense pain surged through her.

It was as if a hammer was systematically shattering every bone in her body, only for some immense force to wrench them back into place.

The agony on Xu Jintang’s face intensified. She clenched her jaw tightly, her hands balled into fists, leaving deep red crescents on her palms from her nails.

As the Frost Dragon’s energy fully infused her body, the pain grew even more unbearable, pushing Xu Jintang to the very edge of consciousness.

She bit down on her lip so hard that blood welled up, clinging desperately to her last shred of awareness.

"She’s still conscious," the Frost Dragon murmured in surprise, noticing Xu Jintang hadn’t fainted.

It had been prepared to protect her mind if she couldn’t endure.

Unexpectedly, the girl held on by herself.

Replacing her bones with dragon bone, her flesh with dragon flesh, then washing her entire body with the essence of its dragon blood, and finally replacing her skin with dragon scales—the process was sheer agony.

The blood from Xu Jintang’s bitten lips dried, only for fresh beads to form and stain them red again.

At last, it was over.

Feeling the pain subside, Xu Jintang asked weakly, "Is it over?"

"Yes," the Frost Dragon’s voice replied.

Without caring that she was still in the perilous Monster Forest, Xu Jintang collapsed and fell asleep.

The Frost Dragon, now drastically reduced in size, slowly circled within Xu Jintang’s sea of consciousness, a faint glimmer flashing in its deep eyes.

It was nearing the end of its life, and its power had greatly diminished. Those human powerhouses who coveted its dragon bones and bodily essence would surely not let it go easily.

Now, by taking apart its own flesh and bone to rebuild Xu Jintang, and having its soul reside within her sea of consciousness, it could continue living while completely concealing its presence from those pursuing it.

Admittedly, this deal was selfish on its part.

But it had also given the girl a monumental opportunity.

When Xu Jintang awoke, her entire body ached as if it had been taken apart and poorly reassembled. The slightest movement made her grimace in pain.

"Awake?" the Frost Dragon’s voice sounded.

Xu Jintang’s expression was far from pleased. "So what exactly are the benefits of this deal for me?"

"Let me introduce myself first. I am the Frost Dragon, the only divine beast in this world to have reached the Tenth Rank. I command the power of ice and wind. At my peak, not even the combined forces of your human experts could so much as scratch me."

"Now, my life is nearing its end, and many are hunting me. Knowing I cannot survive, I chose to flee. During this time, I encountered many humans, but none had a sea of consciousness capable of accommodating me—until I met you."

"I have now fused my dragon bones and flesh essence into your body. You cannot fully absorb the energy yet, but as you train and grow stronger, it will continuously enhance your physique."

"Secondly, your domain superpower originally only had a slowing effect. Now, I’ve added an Ice attribute to it. But you’re still too weak to utilize my ice power in combat. You’ll need to advance to a Second Rank Superhuman before the Ice attribute can be of any use."

Xu Jintang frowned slightly. "Then what’s the deal with me having a double sea of consciousness?"

The Frost Dragon chuckled lightly. "I was also curious why your sea of consciousness is larger than others your age. After entering it, I discovered you have another latent superpower that hadn’t been activated. I went ahead and awakened it for you."

Xu Jintang: "!"

She actually had a second superpower?!

The Frost Dragon: "I’m not very familiar with human superpowers. All I can see is that its form is a balance scale. Close your eyes, and I’ll teach you how to look inward at your sea of consciousness."

Curious, Xu Jintang complied.

Looking inward requires at least Second Rank power, but with the Frost Dragon’s guidance, her consciousness was instantly drawn inward.

The surface of her sea of consciousness was a translucent ice-blue, with a miniature Frost Dragon soaring above it.

Beside it hovered a silvery-white balance scale suspended in the air. The scale’s needle swayed left and right, surrounded by shimmering starlight against a strange, starry backdrop, exuding an aura of mystery.

Is this her second superpower?

After wandering around in her mindscape for a while, the miniature consciousness form of Xu Jintang turned and flew to the balance to observe it closely.

However, after looking for a long time, she couldn’t find anything unusual.

The Frost Dragon spoke up: "I can sense that it’s a stellar attribute superpower. If I remember correctly, there’s a profession in your human world called Inscriber. The prerequisite to becoming an Inscriber is awakening a stellar attribute superpower."

The Frost Dragon’s words reminded Xu Jintang.

She studied the balance before her with even more surprise, "It’s actually a stellar attribute superpower?"

After observing for a while longer and still finding nothing, Xu Jintang shifted her attention to the Frost Dragon, her expression turning serious. "Then I’d like to ask, what's the deal with you living in my mindscape?"

Before this, she had never heard of any monster's consciousness being able to reside in a human’s mindscape.

The Frost Dragon: "To put it simply, I’ve abandoned my physical body and now exist as your ice superpower. Don’t worry about me harming you—our lives are bound together. If you’re in danger, I’ll step in."

That's incredible! A monster can voluntarily become a human’s superpower?

Xu Jintang was even more astonished.

The Frost Dragon probably guessed Xu Jintang’s thoughts and continued to explain: "However, before you have the ability to protect yourself, I don’t recommend revealing my existence to others. Many powerful humans are currently tracking my whereabouts, just to obtain my dragon bones and dragon blood. If my location is exposed, those pursuing me will surely target you."

"Right now, every part of your body has been transformed by me into a priceless treasure. Even if they can’t get my dragon bones or blood, obtaining your bones and flesh would still be highly beneficial."

Xu Jintang’s lip twitched.

This was basically a forced deal.

However, the Frost Dragon’s appearance had indeed brought her a great opportunity.

After examining the balance a bit more and finding nothing new, Xu Jintang emerged from her mindscape, opened her eyes, and returned to reality.

She stood up from the ground and brushed off the dust from her clothes.

She would have to quietly find another opportunity to inquire about this balance superpower.

Suddenly, the communicator on her chest vibrated, reminding her that the rush collection mission was about to expire.

The task was going to be overdue!

Xu Jintang quickly turned around and ran toward the forest exit.

Thirty minutes later, Xu Jintang arrived at the branch of the Inscriber Association in the main city just minutes before the task was due to expire, submitting ten Snow Spirit Herbs to the task issuer.

The task issuer wore a white robe and had an elegant demeanor.

However, his expression was a bit unpleasant at the moment. "Two more minutes, and I would have been late for my Inscriber assessment!"

Xu Jintang quickly apologized, "Sorry, I ran into some unexpected trouble on the way. My apologies."

The man snorted coldly, took the ten Snow Spirit Herbs, then processed the payment to Xu Jintang before turning and walking into the Inscriber Association branch ahead.

Xu Jintang watched his back as he walked away.

So he’s an Inscriber.

No wonder he could post an urgent mission with double the reward.

When Inscribers create runes, they can incorporate specific spiritual plants or other rare materials to improve the quality of the runes.

Inscribers themselves are generally not short on money, and only this group would issue tasks so lavishly.

Another thousand Star Coins were deposited into her account. Seeing her account balance grow, Xu Jintang’s mood improved significantly.

The dragon residing in her mindscape had gone quiet, so she didn’t pay it any more mind and began excitedly looking into information about Inscribers.

The high demand for runes in the market has led to Inscribers’ status rising increasingly.

It’s said that even a First-Class Inscriber would have countless superhumans willing to befriend them.

However, the conditions to become an Inscriber are incredibly strict:

First, one must possess a stellar attribute superpower.

Second, it depends on the superhuman’s natural talent for inscription.

In fact, only one out of every hundred thousand people awakens a stellar attribute superpower.

This single requirement alone cuts off the path for countless people who wish to become Inscribers.

Since Xu Jintang now actually has this stellar attribute superpower, she wants to seize this opportunity to try.

If she can successfully inscribe runes, she’ll hit the jackpot.

Xu Jintang searched for information about Inscribers on the Star Network. After learning the basics, she quickly headed to the main city’s secondhand market.

She had checked the price of Inscription Pens—a brand-new one costs at least six hundred Star Coins. But secondhand Inscription Pens generally sell for just over three hundred on the market.

For someone as poor as her, saving money wherever possible was essential.

The market was packed with people, many stalls set up haphazardly, with vendors standing nearby loudly calling out their wares.

Xu Jintang walked around and her eyes settled on an inconspicuous stall.

She casually approached the stall, "Boss, what are you selling here?"

The stall owner hadn’t had any customers all morning and, seeing someone finally inquire, eagerly explained: "I sell things that Inscribers need. Look at this Inscription Pen—it’s only been used once before being sold. It’s practically like new, but the price is half that of a new one. Today, you can get it for just three hundred Star Coins."

The stall owner looked at Xu Jintang curiously and asked, "Miss, are you an Inscriber?"

Xu Jintang immediately waved her hand, "No, I’m just curious."

This world’s Xu Jintang is only fifteen years old and looked really young. To the stall owner, this girl definitely seemed innocent.

The stall owner began trying hard to convince her: "They say you need some stellar attribute superpower to become an Inscriber, but I think that’s nonsense. You, miss, seem to have the talent for it. Why not give it a try? Coincidentally, I have everything an Inscriber needs here, and I’ll give you the lowest discount on all of it!"

Xu Jintang frowned and went along with it, pretending to be clueless, "Huh? Really? But three hundred Star Coins still seems a bit expensive to me."

Seeing an opportunity, the stall owner looked around, pulled Xu Jintang aside, and lowered his voice: "Two hundred, and you can take it right away. A new Inscription Pen would cost six or seven hundred. I’m giving you more than half off, and I’ll even throw in ten Neutral Raw Stones for free—they’re also used for inscribing. How about it?"

There are so few people who can become Inscribers that regular people have no need for an Inscription Pen.

Professional Inscribers spend big money to custom-order high-end Inscription Pens.

As a result, the stall owner’s beginner-level secondhand Inscription Pen hadn't gotten any interest.

Today, finally having a potential customer, he was willing to break even rather than not sell the item.

Xu Jintang deliberately hesitated for a while before pretending to make up her mind, "How about 150 Star Coins? If that works, I'll take it right away. If I really become an Inscriber, I’ll come back to buy materials from you."

The stall owner clearly looked pained but still nodded, "Deal!"

However, he didn’t take Xu Jintang’s words seriously.

Becoming an Inscriber wasn’t that easy.

Xu Jintang paid the money and happily stored the Inscription Pen and the freebie into her Space Bracelet.

After leaving the secondhand market, Xu Jintang returned to the academy.

The academy provided students with free single dormitory rooms—one per person, identity-locked, accessible only by swiping a card, offering decent privacy.

Xu Jintang locked the door, sat down at the desk, and took out the Inscription Pen and the Neutral Raw Stone.

A Neutral Raw Stone was a white stone about the size of a thumb. Inscription runes were made by inscribing patterns onto such stones.

The Inscriber Association had officially published some basic inscription patterns online. She found the Defense Inscription pattern, positioned the raw stone, and made all the preparations.

Once everything was ready, Xu Jintang started calling out.

"Bro Long, Bro Long, do you know how to create inscriptions? Teach me."

The Frost Dragon, who had been woken up: "...How would I know how to do you humans' stuff?"

Xu Jintang looked skeptical, "Aren't you the world's only Divine Beast? How come you don’t know anything?"

The Frost Dragon had no choice but to offer guidance: "First, try to condense your Stellar Attribute spiritual energy into threads and infuse it into the Inscription Pen. Then, use the pen to trace the pattern onto the raw stone. That should be how it’s done."

"I'll give it a try."

Two seconds later, strands of blue threads extended from Xu Jintang’s palm and flowed into the Inscription Pen.

The Inscription Pen instantly shone with a faint light.

Xu Jintang’s eyes lit up. She picked up the Inscription Pen, while channeling spiritual energy, and began engraving the defensive pattern onto the raw stone.

While inscribing, she had to ensure the flow of spiritual energy remained uninterrupted and stay focused to avoid mistakes in tracing the pattern lines.

She concentrated all her energy on the task at hand.

After what felt like a long time, a drop of sweat trickled down Xu Jintang’s forehead, and her hand holding the Inscription Pen shook slightly.

She completed the final stroke of the pattern.

The originally dull white raw stone suddenly emitted a bright light and gradually changed shape. A few seconds later, it took the form of a Defense Inscription.

"Success!"