Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Rearing Thunder Beasts
"Why do you say that? Why say you were lucky? According to the surveillance footage from that day, the intensity of the thunder in your mine district was extremely powerful, no different from the other districts," a member of the investigation team asked, confused.
"We were lucky because we didn’t encounter any evolved Thunder Beasts. Although most people died from the Thunder Power, most of that thunder was controlled by Guardian Beasts. Our mine district didn’t run into any, so isn’t that just good luck?"
"And I just so happen to be able to use Thunder Power for my cultivation, which weakened the thunder’s might to a certain extent." Ning Xuan kept the dozen or so much-larger Thunder Beasts hidden. She needed to observe these creatures more. If her superiors found out she had captured Thunder Beasts alive, they would probably try every means possible to take them away.
After this battle, Ning Xuan’s position within the company was exceptionally secure. Anyone who dared to disobey her orders would be treated as an enemy by all.
This sentiment was known as a personality cult.
Among the dozen or so mine districts managed by this year’s new recruits, all except for Ning Xuan’s Ninth Mine District had a mortality rate of around 30%. The commanding officers of three districts died in the thunderstorm, and the nearly 2,000 survivors from those three districts were placed under Ning Xuan’s command.
Ning Xuan was promoted from First Lieutenant to Major in one fell swoop, and the troops under her command were reorganized into the D13 Group.
After a seven-day rotation, Ning Xuan returned to the underground base. The team she led would receive a ten-day rest and recuperation period.
With her promotion to Major, Ning Xuan’s living quarters were upgraded from a rest pod to a 60- or 70-square-meter house.
As soon as Ning Xuan returned to her residence, she released the dozen-plus Thunder Beasts from her Space Ring. This particular Space Ring had been obtained from the New Star Body. Unlike a Space Button, which could only store inanimate objects, this Space Ring could hold living creatures.
Eleven Thunder Beasts instantly filled the entire house. Ning Xuan quickly stuffed ten of them back into the Space Ring, leaving only one out.
The juvenile Thunder Beast, originally only a meter long and shaped like a ferret, now stood a full two meters tall. The Thunder Beast’s pure white fur shimmered, with faint arcs of thunder jumping across it.
Seeing Ning Xuan raise her hand, the Thunder Beast darted over affectionately and even stuck out its black tongue to lick her hand.
Ning Xuan tentatively cut her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto its tongue. After a moment, the Thunder Beast’s form didn’t change at all, nor did any special telepathic link form between them.
’It seems this Thunder Beast can’t form a contract through blood.’ In theory, then, Ning Xuan couldn’t establish a deeper connection with this type of Star Beast. In other words, she couldn’t be certain if the Thunder Beast had truly submitted or if she could control it.
After reaching this conclusion, for a fleeting moment, Ning Xuan wanted to eliminate these Star Beasts, or perhaps turn them in.
A species that couldn’t be fully controlled, even if it currently acted submissive and affectionate, was a potential threat. After all, most of the soldiers who died each year were killed in attacks by Thunder Beasts.
’However, since the Space Ring can store the Thunder Beasts, I can observe them a while longer and see if these Star Beasts have any other use.’
In the following days, Ning Xuan refined the Thunder Power in her meridians while recovering from her injuries. She also regularly fed a measured amount of her blood to the Thunder Beast she was experimenting on.
By the end of the ten-day rest period, Ning Xuan’s blue meridian had become tougher and thicker. In terms of width, it was only slightly narrower than her red meridian.
She soon threw herself back into battle. Each rotation lasted seven days, after which the legion would reorganize and enter a rest period.
After three rotations, during the current rest period, Ning Xuan felt a restless stirring within her blue meridian. The Little Red Bird was growing more and more reluctant to stay inside her body, frequently flying out to move around.
The assistant in charge of Ning Xuan’s daily life saw the Little Red Bird and was a little curious at first, but the assistant was discreet and didn’t ask any prying questions.
Ning Xuan sat cross-legged in the center of the meditation room, stroking the Little Red Bird with her finger. "You can feel it, can’t you? Your little partner should be taking form very soon."
"CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP." The Little Red Bird chirped disdainfully a few times. Ning Xuan could almost read the look in its eyes: ’I’m only allowing it to appear in this world as a favor to you.’
Ning Xuan smiled and stroked the Little Red Bird’s head. She could feel the Wind and Thunder Power inside her becoming harder and harder to control, churning restlessly in the depths of her bloodline.
’It’s happening again...’ she sighed softly. The blue Spirit Vein under her skin suddenly lit up, casting her entire arm in an eerie blue glow, with faint flickers of lightning visible.
"CHIRP—" The Little Red Bird flew out from her hair, circling her anxiously.
Ning Xuan jerked her head up and discovered that at some unknown point, an energy vortex had formed in the room above her head and around her body.
A fine web of electricity surrounded Ning Xuan, and her hair floated up as if in a breeze. The Little Red Bird had transformed into a ball of flowing fire, circling above her head.
A draconic phantom faintly materialized behind her. Although it was blurry, its pair of vertical pupils, crackling with electricity, were clearly visible.
’A dragon with the Wind and Thunder attribute will surely be able to control the Wind and Thunder Power...’ Ning Xuan felt the tumultuous power surging within her, and the corners of her lips curled into a smile.
She had placed many Thunder Energy Stones around her body. She could feel the dragon coalescing within her blue meridian, its body solidifying bit by bit, drawing the external Thunder Energy and the energy from the Thunder Energy Stones into her body.
Ning Xuan slowly raised her arm. The vortex of energy danced upon it, and tiny serpents of lightning coiled around her fingertips.
The blue light on Ning Xuan’s right arm flared, and a fine pattern of Dragon Scales began to appear on the surface of her skin.
However, the Thunder Energy was clearly losing its momentum, and the coalescence of a Companion Spirit required far more of it.
’The Thunder Energy Stones are gone. Where else can I find more Thunder Energy? Does this mean the Companion Spirit won’t be able to form today?’
Just as Ning Xuan was worrying, she suddenly thought of the Thunder Beasts. ’These Thunder Beasts can absorb Thunder Energy... I wonder if I can draw the Thunder Energy out of their bodies?’
Ning Xuan immediately released the Thunder Beast she had fed her blood from the Space Ring. Black Vine Silk pierced into the Thunder Beast’s body, drawing out its Thunder Energy and channeling it into her own.
The Thunder Beast struggled violently, its eyes flashing with a ferocious light, but it was bound by the Black Vine and could not break free. The moment the creature shrank back to its original size, Ning Xuan stored it in her Space Ring and swapped it for another. She discovered she could extract Thunder Energy from unfed Thunder Beasts as well, and by the time she was draining the tenth one, the phantom behind her finally solidified.
