8: Chapter 8 The Empress Dropped Out of High School

Xia Youchu returned to her residence and casually placed the bag containing the Medium Grade Yuan Stones and herbs on the table.

One hundred Medium Grade Yuan Stones, three stalks of Spirit-Condensing Grass.

For ordinary Yuan Apprentices and Yuan Practitioners, this counted as a significant fortune.

But for her, who once possessed the Nine-Winged Golden Cicada and whose goal was the vast sea of stars, these resources were merely a drop in the bucket.

It was barely enough to even support her in cultivating step-by-step to the Yuan Master Realm.

Moreover, she still had to set aside a portion to feed that useless, silly Gecko that did nothing but eat and sleep.

She glanced at Ling Tian, who was currently sprawled on her bed, sleeping soundly with all four feet in the air.

After this little thing returned, apart from expressing the thought of "hungry" once, it hadn't made any other movements.

"Can't count on it..."

Xia Youchu sighed softly in her heart.

Reborn into this life, the starting difficulty was Hell mode.

Inside the Family, the Grand Elder's faction had temporarily backed down after this incident, but their resentment would inevitably be deeper.

That fool Xia Lingfeng was not to be feared, but the Grand Elder behind him and their external forces were the true heart-deep threats.

Resources cut off, the path ahead was uncertain.

She walked to the window, looking at the continuous eaves of the Xia Family Mansion outside, her gaze gradually becoming sharp.

In her past life, she had ascended to the Emperor Realm and traveled through many ancient ruins, where she had obtained a Cultivation Technique—the "Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art."

This Demonic Technique did not follow the orthodox path of drawing Qi and Spirit Refining; instead, it took a different path, using oneself as a furnace to forcibly devour the flesh and blood of Yao Beasts and even the Origin essence of other living beings, converting them into her own use to strengthen her Physical Body and condense Demonic Yuan.

The advantages were extremely obvious: the cultivation speed was extremely fast, the requirements for resources were relatively low, and the combat power was formidable, especially excelling in close-quarters combat and endurance battles.

But the disadvantages were equally fatal.

First, devouring heterogeneous energy and life Origin would lead to impure power and an unstable Foundation. Breaking through each major Realm would become exceptionally difficult, with Bottlenecks as solid as divine iron, requiring far more resources than an ordinary person to break through.

Second, the cultivation process was accompanied by immense pain and danger. If one were not careful, they would be backlashed by the heterogeneous energy and explode to death, or be impacted by the residual will of the Yao Beast, leading to Qi Deviation.

In her past life, as an Empress, she had her own pride and bottom line, so she did not choose to Cultivate this kind of Demonic Technique.

But in this life...

Xia Youchu clenched her fists.

"A bottom line is a luxury that only the strong can afford."

"If one doesn't even have the power to survive or the power to protect what one wants to protect, then empty talk of a bottom line is merely self-consolation for the weak!"

The Battle of the World Pass and the danger of the Human Race's collapse were still fresh in her mind.

She had no time to Cultivate step-by-step!

"The Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art, although the path ahead is dangerous, at least gives me a way to quickly obtain power!"

"Is breaking through major Realms difficult? I have the experience of my past life, and my understanding of the Law far exceeds that of ordinary people, so I may not be unable to force a Breakthrough!"

"As long as I have enough power, any enemy is merely a whetstone!"

She made up her mind.

The last trace of hesitation in her eyes completely vanished, replaced by a sense of determination to burn her bridges.

"The Family is no longer a place to stay for long."

There were too many eyes and ears here. Cultivating the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art would not be quiet and could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Moreover, the Grand Elder's faction would never let it go. Staying in the Family would only result in being restrained at every turn.

She needed a broader stage.

The next morning, at the first light of dawn.

Xia Youchu was already packed and ready.

She wore a neat black outfit that outlined her developing, well-proportioned figure, and her long hair was tied into a ponytail.

She checked her bag one last time.

A few changes of clothes, some fresh water and dry rations, a sharp dagger, as well as those one hundred Medium Grade Yuan Stones and three stalks of Spirit-Condensing Grass.

Wait!

Xia Youchu looked at the exceptionally tidy tabletop and discovered that her one hundred Medium Grade Yuan Stones were gone!

The three stalks of Spirit-Condensing Grass were also gone!

Where were her Yuan Stones?

Where was her Spirit-Condensing Grass?

Where was her reliance for her cultivation in the coming period?!

"Burp~~~"

At this moment, a long, satisfied burp came from Ling Tian next to her.

Xia Youchu froze in place, looking at Ling Tian, then looking at his body which was clearly a size larger than last night...

Everything was self-evident.

The evidence was ironclad!

"You damn thing!!"

Xia Youchu completely exploded!

She grabbed Ling Tian, her slender fingers tightly gripping his neck, shaking him violently!

"Spit it out! Spit it out!! That was all my possessions! All of them!!"

She was trembling with anger, her eyes slightly red.

Since her Rebirth, even when the contract failed, even when she was made difficult by the Family, even when the path ahead was uncertain, she had never lost control like this.

But this Gecko! This damn Gecko!

It swallowed her Nine-Winged Golden Cicada, destroyed her hope, and now it had eaten all her final resources!

This was going to cut off her Foundation!

"Cough, cough... Let, let go... I'm dying, I'm dying..."

Ling Tian was dizzy from being shaken.

He wanted to spit it out, but even the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art wasn't as awesome as his digestive System. What he ate had long been converted into evolution points and attributes; there was nothing to spit out!

"I'll kill you! I'll go down with you!"

Xia Youchu really had the intent to kill, her fingers tightening even more.

Ling Tian felt it was getting hard to breathe.

Damn, this woman is crazy!

Is it worth it for a few Yuan Stones and herbs?

When I make it big, I'll compensate you with a whole Yuan Stone mine!

Xia Youchu ultimately did not strangle Ling Tian to death.

However, she was truly out of options.

Forget it.

Just treat this silly Gecko as an accessory.

An accessory that only knows how to eat and might piss her off to death at any time.

She thought for a moment, then used a breathable small cloth bag to put Ling Tian inside and hung it at her waist.

After all, it was her War Beast, it could not be discarded casually.

Ling Tian squirmed inside the cloth bag, expressing slight dissatisfaction.

But then he thought about it.

Following Xia Youchu, this mobile cafeteria, was better than looking for food aimlessly by himself.

Xia Youchu walked out of the room and headed straight for the Family Affairs Hall to handle the procedures for going out for training.

As expected, the process did not go smoothly.

The deacon of the Affairs Hall was one of the Grand Elder's people; his attitude was perfunctory, and he used various excuses to delay things.

"Young Miss Youchu, you have just contracted your War Beast, and this is the time when it needs stable cultivation. Is it too hasty to go out for training?"

"Indeed, the outside world is dangerous. Given your current... hehe, it is safer to stay in the Family."

Xia Youchu was expressionless, too lazy to argue with them.

She directly released a trace of cold Aura; that was the majesty belonging to the Empress of her past life.

"My mind is made up. The procedure—are you going to process it, or not?"

The deacon was intimidated by this Aura, his face turned pale, and he dared not make things difficult anymore, sullenly stamping the seal.

Once the procedure was finished, Xia Youchu turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Behind her, the deacon watched her retreating back and spat, "Pah! Does she still think she is that Genius? Going out for training with a Gecko? I'm afraid she won't even know how she dies!"

Leaving the Xia Family Mansion, Xia Youchu did not immediately head to the wilderness for training.

She had one more place to go.

School.

She was a senior in high school this year and was about to face the college entrance examination.

The college entrance examination in this world was also a crucial step for the carp to leap over the dragon gate.

Getting into top-tier Beast Taming academies, such as the Great Xia Dynasty's most prestigious "Qingbei Academy" or "Imperial Capital University," would not only provide the best education and resources but also allow contact with higher-level circles, which was crucial for future development.

Originally, she intended to contract the Nine-Winged Golden Cicada, aiming directly for Qingbei Academy.

But now...

Walking on the road to school, Xia Youchu calculated in her heart.

"The academy route requires a large amount of resources to support, whether it is War Beast cultivation or self-cultivation."

"I am now lacking resources, and my War Beast is in this state; entering the academy would only make me a laughingstock."

"More importantly, the cultivation of the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art requires constant fighting and killing, and requires devouring the flesh and blood of Yao Beasts. The relatively gentle environment of the academy is not suitable for me."

"What I need is a battlefield! A place that allows me to quickly accumulate resources and transform in blood and fire!"

Then, the college entrance examination had lost its meaning for her.

The place she needed to go was the frontier, the wilderness, those chaotic places where Yao Beasts ran rampant and Laws were loose.

Therefore, she decided to go to school to process her withdrawal.

Ling Tian stayed in the cloth bag, poking half his head out to observe the outside world.

Listening to Xia Youchu's inner voice, he couldn't help but feel admiration.

"This woman is quite ruthless."

"However, it sounds like she can get a lot of delicious food? The flesh and blood of Yao Beasts sounds delicious."

Ling Tian licked his lips.

He was in urgent need of evolution points now; anything containing energy was his target.

Following Xia Youchu to fight and kill seemed like a good choice.

At least, as long as it tastes better than wall plaster, it's fine.