Seraphine’s words hit the bottom of the cliff like a match to kindling, setting everything ablaze with renewed intensity.
The Fire Rock Dragon’s massive head snapped up at the ntion of “Fla Heart Stone,” sending cascades of rubble tumbling from its scaled hide. Xue Bufan’s face went ashen as he pressed his hand against the beast’s stone-like scales.
“Fire Rock Dragon, don’t forget our agreent!” he hissed under his breath. “I swear I’ll find you a Fla Heart Stone—just co back with !”
He kept making promises, but the dragon’s burning eyes stayed locked on Seraphine like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.
anwhile, the young beauties of Luanyang Palace fluttered around in silk robes and jade ornants, serving tea and burning incense with practiced grace. Each one possessed their own brand of ethereal charm, yet none could steal even a fraction of attention from the woman lounging on the silk couch. She monopolized spring itself—every ounce of elegance and intoxicating allure belonged to her alone.
Even a passing ant would’ve been dazzled by her radiance, let alone a dragon.
Nobody questioned whether Seraphine would lie about having a Fla Heart Stone. With her status, deception was beneath her.
Xue Bufan’s panic intensified.
“Don’t forget—if he hadn’t saved your life back then, you wouldn’t be alive today! His orders were to follow !” he warned in a desperate whisper.
The Fire Rock Dragon’s head drooped slightly, clearly torn.
Seraphine held her teacup with elegant fingers, watching the man and beast’s “negotiations” like she was enjoying premium entertainnt. Amusent sparkled in her eyes. Elder Li from the Lianshan Sect seed to have lost all confidence in the Fire Rock Dragon over this Fla Heart Stone business—he just stood there sighing instead of speaking up.
Xue ngtao watched Xue Bufan with obvious worry before quickly lowering her head and retreating to an inconspicuous corner.
And ? Well, I couldn’t help but pull out the ice pop that 019 had given .
Ti for a lick! Monts like these definitely called for snacks.
Seraphine caught my movent from the corner of her eye, glancing over with raised eyebrows.
What the hell is that thing?
I was a silver orb of light, using two matchstick-thin appendages to grip a square object with a handle. Don’t ask how I did what ca next, but sohow the green square thing suddenly lost a corner, and my perfectly round body started trembling. Green color began spreading through my internal systems while electrical currents crackled across my surface in cascading waves of gold.
I was basically a walking light show—so garish that Seraphine couldn’t bear to look directly at !
Did it eat sothing toxic? she wondered.
I floated over like I’d been drinking bootleg alcohol, wobbling dizzily as I held up my ice pop.
“Host, this thing… it actually has what humans call ‘sweetness’!” I announced, thoroughly bewildered.
This was my first ti learning that the Main System’s snacks actually had flavor. I’m a system—how the hell was I supposed to taste anything?!
But sohow I had. Sweet and cooling, the sensation nearly crashed my data streams.
The Main System really was the Main System—they’d already developed this kind of functionality!
The shock left even more disoriented, generating a mont of pure existential confusion as my two large circles and one small circle stared straight at Seraphine.
Seraphine: …
Get away from before I go blind.
She transmitted her disgust directly to , telling to stop being an eyesore, then casually picked up a delicate pastry from a nearby servant’s tray and held it next to .
Here. Eat.
The Luanyang Palace pastries were works of art—this one was shaped like a phoenix with golden silk tail feathers spread wide, its eyes dotted with sesa seeds. Still dazed, I slowly drifted forward and enveloped the pastry, which was about the sa size as . The phoenix seed to spread its wings inside my silver form.
But I couldn’t actually taste it.
Strange sensations surged through my data core as I carefully tucked the partially-eaten ice pop into my inventory, staring intently at the item now labeled “Half-Eaten ice pop.”
Looked like I needed a vacation too.
Seraphine’s attention remained fixed on —apparently watching a multicolored glowing orb was more entertaining than observing a half-dead dragon and an underdeveloped “protagonist.” She shot an impatient look at them.
“Have you made up your minds yet?”
“Roar.” The Fire Rock Dragon’s head slumped to the ground in defeat.
Seraphine glared at it. “What’s with the roaring? Do I look like I speak dragon?”
Xue Bufan’s mouth twitched. “Palace Lord, it is still a dragon, after all.”
Not human, so naturally it can’t be expected to speak human language.
He patted the Fire Rock Dragon’s scales consolingly.
See? The Luanyang Palace Lord might be rich and powerful, but she’s got a volatile temper and isn’t easy to get along with. Why not choose instead?
Seraphine casually tossed her pastry back onto the tray and dusted off her hands before standing. “I don’t have ti to waste on this. Since you’re not interested, I won’t force the issue. It’s just one Fire Rock Dragon—I’m not that desperate to have it.”
Xue Bufan felt a surge of unexpected hope at this reversal.
That’s when Siyi, standing beside the couch, smiled sweetly and chid in: “Exactly! After all, Palace Lord, you were born with supre-grade Fire spiritual roots. Every ti you advance, you achieve Great Perfection completion. Less than twenty years of cultivation and you’re already at the Golden Core stage. Give it another century and you’ll probably shatter your core to form a Nascent Soul. Fire-attribute spirit beasts are just icing on the cake for soone like you. If a fire-attribute spirit beast were truly willing to follow you, I imagine that when you reach the Nascent Soul stage, any spirit companion following you might also advance and cultivate a human form.”
Seraphine’s lips curved into a smile as she transford into a streak of flowing light, shooting up toward the cliff’s edge.
Siyi followed behind, placing her hand on Xue ngtao’s back to urge everyone back to the palace while laughing: “It’s such a sha about all those fire-attribute treasures in the palace treasury. Who knows when they’ll find a suitable master.”
“Oh, that reminds .” Siyi turned around, glancing at Xue Bufan with a slight smile. “Young Master Xue, I heard that before your spiritual roots were destroyed, you had Lightning roots? Lightning and fire… they complent each other quite well.”
Xue Bufan felt there was sothing unnervingly aningful in Siyi’s gaze. His heart lurched when she spoke, and by the ti she finished, the Fire Rock Dragon beside him let out an enraged roar, dragging its massive body in desperate pursuit of the Luanyang Palace group without looking back.
“Fire Rock Dragon!” Xue Bufan cried out in shock and fury. He never expected that the mont Seraphine released her claim, the previously hesitant dragon would imdiately choose her instead!
“Damn it, why?! Isn’t it supposed to be my spirit beast? And it clearly knows my spiritual roots have already been…” His rage peaked, his expression cycling through multiple emotions before settling into an eerily calm mask, as if soone had counseled him back to composure.
I scanned and recorded Xue Bufan’s entire emotional sequence, filing it under [Host’s Complete Victory]. Just before the proximity warning could trigger, I zipped back with a “whoosh.”
The Luanyang Palace spirit ship waited in place as I slipped through a window into the cabin.
Seraphine was gripping the Fire Rock Dragon by both horns, studying it like a fascinating specin. She glanced at sideways, released the dragon’s horns, and called out for departure.
The formation arrays blazed to life, spiritual energy flowing as the ship carried its passengers—and one dragon—howard.
In private, Seraphine was far more relaxed and indulgent than her public persona. She kicked off her shoes and sprawled bonelessly across the couch, letting one leg dangle while her foot rested on the Fire Rock Dragon coiled on the floor. She beckoned over with a mocking laugh.
“Co et your sister—Error.”
: ???
“Echo and Error…”
Seraphine repeated our nas with obvious relish, her foot rubbing against the Fire Rock Dragon’s gray scales—the contrast making her skin appear even more luminously pale. She propped her cheek on her hand, eyes sparkling with sudden inspiration as she sat up abruptly and clapped her hands in delight.
“Perfect! Echo and Error—you two sound like every IT departnt’s worst nightmare!”
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