Chapter Seven: The Little Monster, Jiang Wangshu

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a vast expanse of yellow sand.

Countless stone pillars soared high into the sky, casting their shadows over her small, insignificant figure.

From behind one of the pillars, Huo Jinyu poked his head out and met her gaze, his eyes crescented in a smile. “Master, we meet again!”

The handsome young man, Zou Xiuzhen, swept a glance at Huo Jinyu, his eyes cool and indifferent.

Adjusting the glasses perched on his nose, he looked to Jiang Wangshu. “Candidate number three, you were barely on time—another second and you’d have been late!”

She shrugged. “I’m an expert at cutting it close.”

With that, she turned and shook Huo Jinyu’s hand amiably. “My name is Jiang Wangshu, but just call me Xiao Jiang.”

Huo Jinyu immediately complied. “Master Xiao Jiang.”

Fine—whatever the beauty says goes!

A self-professed lover of beauty, Jiang Wangshu yielded without reservation.

Suddenly, a broadcast sounded, drawing the trio’s attention. “The agility test is about to begin. Candidates, please prepare yourselves. The full score for this test is 200 points. Each time you’re struck, five points will be deducted...”

Whoosh—

A ferocious gale howled, forcing Jiang Wangshu and the others to squint against the storm. Strange sounds echoed all around.

Whizz—

Jiang Wangshu hastily twisted aside as a shard of stone grazed her cheek, leaving a thin line of blood in its wake.

She quickly snatched up a ‘Swift Talisman’ and flung it at a chunk of rock hurtling for her face.

The once-speeding stone froze in midair and crawled forward at a snail’s pace.

She reached out and tapped it, and it dropped harmlessly to the ground.

All around her, stones continued to fly at terrifying speed. With a swift motion, she slapped a ‘Graceful Talisman’ onto herself, and her own speed doubled at once.

“Little Gold, give me a map of the formation.”

The ‘Graceful Talisman’ increased her own speed, while the ‘Swift Talisman’ slowed the stones. Following the formation’s pattern, she dodged the fiercest attacks with ease.

Jiang Wangshu emerged from the formation without so much as a bead of sweat.

Outside, she saw the fierce wind swirling countless stones mercilessly at Huo Jinyu and Zou Xiuzhen.

The two moved with graceful agility, dodging the flying stones with the effortless ease of birds in flight.

It didn’t even look like an exam, but more like a dance with the wind.

“What a delightful sight!”

Jiang Wangshu cradled her face with excitement, eager to share Huo Jinyu’s elegant movements with her money-burning system.

Outside the formation, the auntie who had appeared that morning, Dai Anrong, watched the relaxed Jiang Wangshu with keen interest. Rubbing her chin, she mused, “Since fate keeps bringing me and this little one together, why not give her another big gift?”

She stretched out her right hand, a model of the formation appearing upon her palm. With her left hand, she formed seals and altered several of the formation’s symbols.

A satisfied smile blossomed on her face. “That’s more like it! Young people should be full of spirit!”

Inside the formation, the howling wind ceased and the sand settled.

The three exchanged bewildered glances. “Is the exam over already?” Huo Jinyu asked.

No sooner had he spoken than the towering stone pillars began to spin and shift at dizzying speed.

Each pillar’s rapid rotation generated a powerful suction.

When several drew close together, there was nowhere left to hide.

“Scatter!” Zou Xiuzhen shouted, sliding between two pillars and vanishing from sight.

Huo Jinyu summoned all his strength, shattering a smaller pillar with a punch and escaping the encirclement.

Jiang Wangshu stood motionless, rooted to the spot.

In reality—

Her mind was racing through the newly exchanged ‘Wood Spirit Technique’.

The money-burning system prompted her, “Host, the stronger the formation, the more abundant the spiritual energy. Don’t waste such rich energy—start cultivating!”

Jiang Wangshu immediately sat cross-legged where she stood, closed her eyes, pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, and focused her attention on her core.

Within seconds, she sensed an abundance of chaotic spiritual energy all around her.

This energy was wild and unruly, charged with a menacing aura.

Guided by the system, her consciousness drew in the energy, combed through it, and transformed the wild power for her own use. “Dearest host, have you learned it?”

Confident, Jiang Wangshu replied, “I have.”

The system withdrew its assistance, eagerly awaiting her dazzling performance.

Jiang Wangshu’s consciousness spread outward like a net.

The system cheered inwardly: My host is incredible.

Simulating the same fluctuations, Jiang Wangshu lured the stray energies closer.

The system clenched its fist: Keep going—victory is within reach.

Her awareness transformed into a great tiger. Little cubs, clean yourselves up—I’m coming to eat you.

The spiritual energies, lured in, froze in terror as Jiang Wangshu devoured them in a single gulp.

The system was petrified: Was that really what I just taught her?

Seeing how much faster Jiang Wangshu’s method was compared to its own, it wiped its brow.

Well, whatever works—this is pretty convenient, after all.

Immersed in her meditative state, Jiang Wangshu gulped down mouthful after mouthful of spiritual energy.

Impatient with just one mouth, she conjured several tigers, all chasing down the energy nearby and swallowing it in great bites.

Outside the formation—

Dai Anrong had expected to see the little one leaping about the arena, but to her surprise, Jiang Wangshu was sitting in meditation.

She laughed and pressed a hand to her forehead. “This little one relies on talismans far too much!”

With a wave, she increased the formation’s difficulty around Jiang Wangshu.

The power of the pillars jumped from Class A to Class S.

The highest grade of talismans permitted in the testing arena was only 3A, and S-class energy would render any talisman useless.

Dai Anrong watched Jiang Wangshu intently. The moment a talisman shattered, she would lower the energy back to Class A to avoid accidents.

After a while, she frowned in confusion. This shouldn’t be happening! A 3A talisman shouldn’t last this long.

As she puzzled over it, a red warning light flashed on the wall. “Warning, warning: insufficient spiritual energy in spirit stones. Please replace immediately!”

She was dumbfounded. Glancing at the corners of the room, she saw five top-grade spirit stones, now ashen and dull.

She had only just checked them yesterday—they should have lasted through ten more exams at least! How could this be?

At once, she projected her consciousness into the formation to investigate.

She followed the rapidly vanishing spiritual energy.

Jiang Wangshu’s meditating figure appeared before her.

She stared, slack-jawed, as Jiang Wangshu absorbed the chaotic spiritual energy like a whale drinking in the sea.

She knew spiritual energy, once converted into a formation, was impure and aggressive.

Not only was it impossible to absorb, most people couldn’t even sense its existence—they could only feel the imminent threat.

But here was someone not only sensing it, but gulping it down greedily, treating the increased difficulty like a lavish feast.

No wonder the energy was being depleted so quickly—there was a little monster inside!

Surprise and wonder mingled in her heart.

While she was still in a daze, the last trace of energy in the stones was consumed.

“The test is over ahead of schedule. Candidate number one, Zou Xiuzhen: 95 points. Candidate number two, Huo Jinyu: 85 points. Candidate number three: 95 points.”

Everyone was ejected from the formation.

Jiang Wangshu opened her eyes, still unsatisfied.

Cultivation was such fun—just like feasting—she hadn’t had nearly enough.

Dai Anrong saw the hunger in Jiang Wangshu’s eyes and smiled secretly. “Hurry along, all of you! I need to prepare for the next group of candidates!”

The three left the examination hall.

Huo Jinyu gazed at Jiang Wangshu in awe. “Master Xiao Jiang, you’re amazing! You were only hit once!”

Zou Xiuzhen lowered his eyes, shooting a glance at Huo Jinyu. “I also scored ninety-five. I could tell you—”

“Oh, please!” Huo Jinyu gave him a look of disdain. “With your monstrous calculation skills, as if I could ever understand.”

In the shade nearby, Little Black sat surrounded by a neat row of twenty bottles at his feet. He tilted his head back, dousing his face with water from a bottle, when he suddenly sensed the presence of his ‘emergency rations’.

He turned sharply, frowning in displeasure, and strode over in long, determined steps.

Couldn’t his ‘emergency rations’ be a bit more self-aware? Disappear for a moment and she was already picking up the scent of other humans.