C2 The Evolution of the Dragon Blood

Real Dragon's Blood: During your transmigration, your physical form was ravaged by a space-time tempest, leaving only a sliver of your pure bloodline intact. When a spirit animal is imbued with the real dragon's blood, its quality will significantly increase, allowing it to evolve toward a true dragon.

This item belongs to the host. The system will charge a nominal storage fee of 1 point.

Upon reading the description of the real dragon's blood, Zhou Mu was astounded.

He had never imagined that he was actually a descendant of dragons.

Zhou Mu calmed his surging emotions. But as he perused the other items, his excitement grew.

Second-Rank Spirit Crystal: Elevates a first-rank, five-star spirit animal to a second-rank, one-star, granting it a new skill. It requires 200 points.

Third-Rank Spirit Crystal: Advances a second-rank, five-star spirit animal to a third-rank, one-star, and bestows a new skill. It requires 300 points.

Bloodline Refining Stone: Enhances the spirit animal's bloodline, offering it a chance to advance. The higher the quality, the more Bloodline Refining Stones are needed, and the slimmer the chances of advancement. It requires 500 points.

A spirit animal's quality is usually set in stone. An ordinary spirit animal remains ordinary, even if it ascends to the ninth rank.

Yet, the System Shop's items could actually improve a spirit animal's quality. Should this information leak, it might send the entire world into a frenzy.

Moreover, spirit crystals were treasures in their own right.

Once a spirit animal reached five stars, a mountain of materials was needed to climb to the next rank.

This process was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also fraught with the risk of failure.

Spirit crystals, on the other hand, could directly upgrade a spirit animal's level.

And he could only acquire them with points.

To earn these points, he would have to trade something of his own.

"Zhou, did you overeat today?"

Hai Ming was startled.

"No, I'm alright. I'm heading home now."

Zhou Mu gestured dismissively.

Due to his frail health, his parents had purchased a house for him near the school and hired a caretaker to look after his well-being.

Once home, Zhou Mu locked the door behind him. He summoned Gator and exchanged for the real dragon's blood.

Gator fixated on the real dragon's blood for a full ten seconds before finally turning to gaze at Zhou Mu.

Its instincts assured it that this object held great benefits.

It persistently nuzzled Zhou Mu's hand.

"If you keep evolving, could you turn into a human?"

Zhou Mu stroked its small head.

"Drink this and strive to evolve!"

Zhou Mu presented the vial of real dragon's blood to Gator. It seemed to grasp his intent, nodding before diving in.

The scarlet blood was licked clean in an instant. The next second, Gator's body began to expand swiftly.

In under thirty seconds, it transformed into a massive serpent, six centimeters in diameter and over three meters in length.

Its scales took on a deeper emerald hue, and its head rounded out even more.

Moreover, Zhou Mu noticed that four retractable, razor-sharp fangs had emerged in its mouth.

Having evolved, Gator immediately coiled around Zhou Mu's arm and, catching him off guard, took his finger in its mouth.

"What do you intend to do?"

Zhou Mu's first thought was that Gator intended to consume him. As he was about to withdraw his finger, he felt a chilling energy.

Instantly, the pressure in his chest vanished, and his breathing eased considerably.

Stunned, Zhou Mu hastily checked his attribute panel.

Name: Gator (Little Green)

Quality: Leader

Level: First Rank, One Star

Attribute: Poison

Upgrade Requirement: 2,500 kilograms of first rank fiend beast flesh or other energy-rich substances.

Reversal of Feed: Elite skill. It can store its power to enhance its master's strength, agility, and physique. The enhancement depends on its quality, level, and the frequency of reversals.

Dragon's Might: Leader skill. It can overpower any fiend beast or soul not exceeding its own quality, with a chance to compel their submission.

First Rank Skill:

Bite: Targets are bitten and torn.

Zhou Mu was astounded. The real dragon's blood had elevated Gator to leader quality.

He could benefit from Gator's Reversal of Feed!

Spirit animals below leader quality couldn't muster even half their strength before Gator.

Those with feeble wills might even succumb to Gator's dominance.

The quality of a contracted spirit animal is constrained by the master's physique attribute. A person with a physique of five can contract an ordinary quality spirit animal. With twenty points, an elite quality. And only with a hundred points, a leader quality spirit animal.

Aside from the exceptionally gifted and wealthy few, 99.999% of students could only bond with ordinary-grade spirit animals upon graduation.

Achieving 20 points in Constitution before acquiring a spirit animal was a monumental challenge.

No one had reached a physique score of 100 points in over four centuries.

The spirit animal consumed Zhou Mu's bloodline. Once it advanced, it nourished Zhou Mu in return.

As Gator's level and quality increased, Zhou Mu grew stronger as well.

His return to health brought him immense joy.

Zhou Mu's inherited memories revealed he was poisoned at a young age. Though he clung to life, his body was severely damaged.

Despite consuming numerous tonics, his physical condition remained subpar.

Thus, he was limited to contracting with the smallest spirit animal, one that wouldn't overtax his frail body and risk his life upon forming the bond.

However, Zhou Mu's predecessor passed away the day after the contract was made, leaving Zhou Mu with an unexpected boon.

Zhou Mu traded all the toxins within him to the system. Following Gator's promotion to leader grade and its subsequent nurturing, Zhou Mu's chronic illness vanished, and his physical quality began to improve gradually.

Five minutes later, Zhou Mu checked his panel and discovered his attributes had doubled from before.

Name: Zhou Mu

Level: None

Strength: 8 (Enhances physical attack, carrying capacity, etc.)

Agility: 8 (Enhances movement speed, reflexes, dynamic vision, etc.)

Constitution: 6 (Enhances body defense, recovery, stamina, etc.)

Martial Arts: None

Soul Intensity: 0.8 / 222 (Recovering slowly)

Soul Technique: None

Spirit Animal: Gator

His Soul Intensity remained unchanged. To restore it, he'd need to resort to special methods.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

Zhou Mu removed his finger from Gator's mouth and cleaned it off.

Gator's new skill, acquired after its advancement, was a pleasant surprise. He hadn't yet tested the might of Dragon's Presence and was unaware of its full potential.

The required amount of fiend beast blood and flesh for leveling up had skyrocketed from 50 to 5000 catties.

"Chunhua, could you buy me a hundred catties of third-rank fiend beast meat?" Zhou Mu sent the payment to Chunhua via his phone.

At this stage, Gator's hearty appetite was no cause for concern. Its diet could easily be substituted with the flesh of higher-grade spirit animals. However, once Gator ascended to the seventh rank, things would get more complicated. High-rank fiend beasts were scarce, and hunting them was a formidable challenge. Yet, recalling Gator's abilities, Zhou Mu's confidence was renewed. He planned to enlist fiend beasts to procure food for Gator in the future.

Within just thirty minutes, someone arrived with the meat. The flesh of a third-rank fiend beast, teeming with nutrients, fetched a steep price, well beyond the reach of most. But Zhou Mu's family had deep pockets. The vendor had conveniently chopped the meat into manageable chunks.

Zhou Mu offered a piece to Gator. Typically, snakes swallow their food whole, but Gator ate with the delicacy of a young girl. After consuming roughly sixty catties, Gator's level had progressed from first rank one star to first rank two stars.

Zhou Mu then purchased an additional 500 catties for Gator's consumption. It's worth noting that Gator was exceptionally beautiful, with a vibrant emerald hue and a sleek figure.

Time flew by, and with an endless supply of third-rank fiend beast meat, Gator eventually reached first rank five stars. Zhou Mu refrained from using a second-rank spirit crystal to elevate Gator to the second rank one star, as the second round of testing was imminent.

In this world, the college entrance exam offered three opportunities, each consisting of two parts, with overall scores determining eligibility. Three months before university commenced, candidates could attempt the exam once per month. The first part assessed attribute strength, and the second, combat prowess. A soul intensity of one point and a physical attribute of five points were the benchmarks for passing. Combat scores needed to be at least second rank.

If a candidate's bonded spirit animal achieved second rank before the exam, they automatically received a second-rank evaluation. Zhou Mu held back Gator's advancement, aiming for the rewards that came with an A-rank assessment.

The exotic resources offered by the Animal Whisperer Union are beyond the reach of any currency. Even if they're of no immediate use to him, he can trade them for points within the system.

Aside from Zhou Mu, it's a path nearly every graduate would take.

Failure is not the end for them; they still have opportunities ahead.