Chapter 318: Chapter 318: Something’s Still Missing
Ning Xuan felt the abundant Thunder Energy within her blue meridians; even her blood surged with Thunder Power. There was clearly enough energy. But the massive beast’s body, which had already solidified with scales and claws so vivid they seemed real, suddenly shattered with a BANG.
Ning Xuan felt a void open in her heart as the faint connection vanished.
The Little Red Bird flew to Ning Xuan’s shoulder and chirped a few times, as if to comfort her.
Ning Xuan sat there in a daze, her heart filled with a sense of loss.
Ning Xuan had only managed to capture eleven young Thunder Beasts during the first thunderstorm. In the subsequent battles, she never found any more young ones.
The evolved Thunder Beasts were not only enormous with extremely high defense, but also swift and capable of manipulating Thunder. They were far more difficult to deal with than their younger counterparts.
Ning Xuan had tried to capture evolved Thunder Beasts before, but she had always failed. They could be slain, but never taken alive. After a Thunder Beast died, the Beast Core inside its body would immediately explode, making it impossible to preserve.
After killing a Thunder Beast, the only valuable materials that could be harvested were its teeth and hide.
Tomorrow was the start of a new combat period. Just yesterday, Ning Xuan had received news that with the continuous thunderstorms, casualties were mounting. Due to insufficient troops, rest periods would become shorter and shorter. Later on, as the intensity of the war escalated and the number of various Star Beasts increased, there might be no time for rest at all in order to ensure the safety of the base.
Ning Xuan’s strength was outstanding. When she first arrived at the base, her Spiritual Power Level was only A-level. During training, she quickly broke through to S-Class. Later, in the midst of battle, her Spiritual Power Level broke through to SS-level on the battlefield. This speed of advancement amazed many.
This rate of leveling up made everyone more certain of their speculation that she came from a major family. They believed she must have been carrying medicine that allowed for rapid breakthroughs, which, combined with a solid foundation, resulted in such a miracle.
Even so, it was still quite strange and likely wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. But this was the battlefield, where strength meant everything, and no one would probe too deeply.
The team led by Ning Xuan always had the lowest casualty rate and the best combat record. The amount of special ore her team turned in far exceeded that of other squads, leaving the second-ranked team far behind.
It was precisely because of these brilliant achievements that Ning Xuan accumulated a vast amount of military merit in a short time. Her current rank was already Senior Colonel, and she had even been received by the base’s supreme commander. If not for her short time in the military and her lack of seniority, she could have been promoted to Major General with her merits.
The higher her rank, the more people she managed, and the greater the responsibility and expectations. She didn’t want to reveal the aura of her Companion Spirit, the Vermilion Bird, on the battlefield. The methods she had used before were all disguises created by the Ghost-faced Red Vine. However, as the frequency of battles increased and her opponents grew stronger, Ning Xuan increasingly felt that her power was falling short.
Driven by a strong sense of impending crisis, Ning Xuan wanted to awaken a new Companion Spirit before this rest period ended. Doing so would not only rapidly increase her overall strength but also help her keep her identity concealed.
’But today is the last day of the rest period. I’ve clearly accumulated enough energy, so why can’t I ever get it to coalesce and take form?’
’It just feels like something is missing. When I awakened the Vermilion Bird, even though my constitution was too weak to handle it at first, awakening the Companion Spirit felt like a natural process after a few rounds of Body Refinement. Why is it so difficult this time?’
Ning Xuan couldn’t understand. ’In terms of Companion Spirit Level, the Vermilion Bird is Legendary Level. A new Companion Spirit couldn’t possibly surpass that. Besides, the Thunder Energy absorbed by my blue meridians has far exceeded the accumulation of Fire Element Energy back then. I know perfectly well that if I hadn’t come to a Star System this rich in Thunder Energy, it would have taken me eight to ten years to gather this much.’
Though she couldn’t figure it out, Ning Xuan forced herself to think of a solution. She had a premonition that if she failed to awaken a new Companion Spirit this time, the Vermilion Bird’s aura might be exposed.
Ning Xuan took the last young Thunder Beast out of her Space Ring. She recalled that the evolution of young Thunder Beasts seemed to rely on a special ore. The eleven young Thunder Beasts she was raising had been unable to complete their evolution precisely because they couldn’t get this special ore.
’Wait, I have some of that special ore on me. Maybe I can try absorbing the energy within it to see if I can complete the Companion Spirit’s awakening.’
She only knew that the special ore, formed during thunderstorms, contained a peculiar energy and had many special uses. She had never considered using this ore for Cultivation before.
’I’ll give it a try today.’
With that thought, Ning Xuan stuffed the young Thunder Beast in her hand back into her Space Ring and took out an irregular black ore with a full seven facets from her Space Button.
Judging by its appearance, the ore didn’t look like it had formed naturally at all. It looked more like it had been exquisitely carved by hand.
Strange colors flowed across the surface of the black ore, and each of its seven facets shimmered with a different light.
Ning Xuan examined the ore closely. A turbulent, surging energy churned within it. She placed her palm on the ore and tentatively activated her Cultivation Technique to absorb the energy. HISS—the moment the technique began to circulate, her fingertips brushed against the edge of a facet. A purple arc of electricity immediately shot out, searing her skin with a hot, stinging pain and leaving a red mark.
Hissing, she drew in a sharp breath and immediately pulled her hand back. Her action seemed to have triggered some mechanism within the ore. The already turbulent energy suddenly began to rampage inside the crystal as if it were alive, occasionally condensing into monstrous shapes from which faint roars seemed to emanate.
A chill ran through Ning Xuan. ’No, I can’t absorb the energy from this ore directly. If I do, this surging, turbulent energy will make me explode.’
Ning Xuan released her black Vine Silk to probe it, but there was no reaction. The Vine Silk couldn’t absorb the energy from the ore.
’No, that’s not right. Awakening a Companion Spirit probably doesn’t require energy, but rather something like Spiritual Sense.’
’I should just let it find what it needs on its own.’
Ning Xuan once again condensed the phantom dragon. She channeled Thunder Energy into it, watching as the phantom gradually solidified, each Dragon Scale becoming clearly visible. Just as she felt the dragon’s form was complete, Ning Xuan recalled the Little Red Bird into her body. Her blue meridians were covered by red ones. At the same time, she used her Vine Silk to wrap around the special ore and tossed it into the phantom dragon.
BANG! The special ore erupted with an extremely bright light inside the phantom dragon, instantly illuminating the entire space.
