Chapter 120 I Am Your Most Loyal Believer!
Although the evil spirit liquid poured into the princess' body was not absorbed by the demon heart, it still granted Xia Feng a slight increase in mental power—albeit an extremely minuscule one.
It took a long time to rise by just 0.01, and it was estimated that he would only gain 1 Soc per hour.
Though the efficiency was slow, even the smallest gain was still valuable. Xia Feng did not dismiss it and continued to eagerly accept the Evil Dragon Lady's enthusiastic offerings.
"Ahhh—!"
Unable to restrain himself, he let out a cry of pleasure.
This continued for ten minutes before Di Si finally stopped.
Xia Feng slumped weakly before the throne. Beneath her translucent starry skirt, her bare feet were pale, the soles tinged pink. She lifted one slightly, as if intending to hook his chin, but after a brief hesitation, she quickly lowered it again.
The dragon-tailed woman gazed down at him, her pupils calm. "Do you feel it, human? This is a pain you cannot endure."
[Current mental power: 40.1 Soc]
Xia Feng took a deep breath, looked up, and grinned excitedly. "Lady Di Si, please increase the intensity!"
"..." Di Si had never encountered such a stubborn human, one who could still smile despite such agony.
"Hopeless." She studied him for a moment before obliging and amplifying the torment.
Xia Feng's soul trembled in ecstasy as his mental power steadily climbed.
[Your mental power has been permanently increased by 0.01 Soc]
[Your mental power has been permanently increased by 0.01 Soc]
Though the progress was sluggish, it amounted to 1 Soc per hour.
After three hours, he had gained a full 3 Soc.
[Current mental power: 43 Soc]
Having been toyed with by the Evil Dragon Lady for three hours, he had earned a 3-point mental power boost—equivalent to a spirit-infused fruit.
What a fantastic deal! Xia Feng's dark pupils were slightly unfocused as he collapsed onto the ground, utterly spent.
Though he was indeed exhausted, his spirit aching and on the verge of collapse, he was more than satisfied with the 14-point mental power gain from this visit.
He decided then that the Evil Dragon Lady would be his No. 2 experience booster from now on.
As for No. 1? That title, of course, belonged to Lady Mu.
Seeing the human male finally fall, the dragon-tailed woman returned barefoot to her throne.
Her majestic, cold vertical pupils stared down at Xia Feng, silently awaiting the moment he would face reality and beg for mercy—
"Lady Di Si!" Xia Feng suddenly stood, his eyes blazing. "From this day forth, I shall be your most loyal believer!"
"..."
Faced with that radiant smile and the sincerity burning in his eyes like an inextinguishable flame, even her perpetually indifferent vertical pupils flickered with something unreadable. This was the first time she had ever encountered such genuine devotion.
This human's faith surpassed her expectations.
Could such unshakable devotion truly stem from mere physical desire? It seemed the Homo sapiens, descendants of the Savage Era, were still capable of astonishing even dragons.
Perhaps this was the power of lust?
Truthfully, she did not fully understand human lust.
According to the teachings of her elders, when humans felt physical desire for another, their bodies' hormonal responses would produce an emotion called "liking"—one that could vanish as swiftly as it appeared. One moment, they might adore something; the next, they might despise it.
But if this emotion persisted, it could evolve into something called "love."
She did not quite grasp what love was, but her elders had likened it to the "glory of the dragonkin." Every member of their race bore the duty of dedicating themselves to the prosperity of dragonkind.
And human "love" meant that each person in a relationship was responsible for devoting themselves entirely to the other's life and happiness.
"I have matters to attend to in the outside world, so I must stop here for today."
Xia Feng gazed at the throne, his smile bright. "But Lady Di Si, I will return!"
With those words, his figure faded—
And vanished.
Beneath the World Tree.
The churning gray mist flowed silently around the Supreme Throne.
The star-skirted woman sat motionless, staring at the spot where the human male had disappeared. After an immeasurable silence, her vertical pupils cooled, and she averted her gaze.
At the same time, a snow-white tail slid down from beneath her skirt, coiling around her delicate ankle. The faintly pink tip twitched rapidly.
Pressing her lips together, she reached down and stilled the increasingly restless tail. For the first time, her cold, pale eyes flickered with something akin to distress.
Dragons were a race of intense desires. As they entered maturity, their reproductive instincts grew ever stronger, even threatening to override their will. This was nature's way of ensuring their survival as a rare species.
Di Si had not expected that after ten thousand years of slumber, she would awaken into this stage—where the continuation of her lineage had become imperative. It was the duty of every dragon, and as a dragon god, she could not shirk it.
Yet in her current state, no living being could withstand her draconic pressure and corrupting power.
Her thoughts drifted. Finally, by suppressing her tail, she managed to rein in her instincts and relaxed.
Her gaze lingered on the empty space before the throne. After a moment's contemplation, a heavy tome materialized from the void and settled onto her lap.
Plucking a raven-feathered quill from the air, she opened the long-sealed pages.
Judging by the markings on the cover, she had slept for at least ten thousand years since her sealing.
Whether it was ten thousand or twenty thousand, it mattered little.
She designated the day of her awakening as [Awakening Day] and began to write.
[Day One of Awakening: The evil spirit seal grew restless. This was the seal detecting an anomaly, but fortunately, I suppressed it.]
[However, what this dragon did not anticipate was that the seal, dormant for millennia, would be roused by an ant.]
[This ant is feeble, a foolish and ignorant Homo sapiens. Yet when he beheld me, he showed no fear—only excitement.]
[He does not resemble a typical Homo sapiens.]
[At the very least, compared to those of ten thousand years past, his aesthetic sense is peculiar. I cannot tell if this is an evolutionary shift in his race's tastes or if he is merely an outlier.]
[But… it matters not.]
[He claimed to have fallen for me at first sight.]
[Yet what, exactly, is "like"?]
[He also vowed to endure the endless pain that drives me to despair—for my sake.]
[He did not lie.]
[He was sincere. But he overestimates himself.]
[Before departing, he declared he would return.]
[Yet I know that when human desires fade, so too do their fleeting impulses. The likelihood of his return is slim.]
[He should not return, correct?]
[After all, he did not even specify when.]
[Out of respect for my sole believer, I shall grant him three days. Three days at most. After that, I shall return to slumber.]
...
Xia Feng had no idea that the Evil Dragon Lady kept a diary—nor that she believed he would never return.
What a joke! As the No. 2 experience booster, she was a powerful counterbalance to the No. 1 experience source—there was no way he would let her go so easily!
After returning to reality, Xia Feng spent several days lounging around, playing games and reading novels. As for diligent training?
Sorry, that didn't exist.
It was impossible to train. Absolutely impossible in this lifetime.
Leaning back on his bed, he sipped sparkling water and munched on potato chips while watching a livestream on his computer screen.
The top six of the Spiritual Song Competition.
To be honest, this year's netizens were utterly outrageous. They had rallied behind Mu Qingtong with sheer enthusiasm, propelling her effortlessly to the top six.
Listening to the ear-grating, off-key vocals coming from the screen, Xia Feng's eyelid twitched.
Especially when he saw the barrage flooded with comments like:
"So beautiful!"
"My ears are blessed!"
"Only Goddess Mu could sound this divine!"
"Long live Goddess Mu!"
"Mu Sect forever!"
Xia Feng was numb. His mouth hung slightly open in disbelief, and the ittle bear biscuit in his hand fell with a click.
The livestream's metrics were skyrocketing, with viewers pouring in nonstop.
Judging by the barrage comments, many had migrated from short video platforms, drawn by curiosity about the legendary Goddess Mu's beauty.
And honestly, when Mu Qingtong appeared on the lavish stage in an elegant black dress, she was stunning. In terms of pure aesthetics, her looks perfectly aligned with the beauty standards of all 51 regions and over 80 races within the empire's population of nearly 10 billion.
Xia Feng wasn't sure if Mu Qingtong's face actually catered to the preferences of 80+ races, but according to analyses from prominent beauty bloggers online, it seemed to be the case.
After enduring Mu Qingtong's dog-bite-of-a-singing-voice for a while, Xia Feng roughly grasped why she was so popular. It wasn't just her looks.
It might also be the artistic conception and emotions conveyed through her singing.
The reason spiritual songs were called spiritual was that they carried emotions so potent they could immerse listeners in vivid, almost hallucinatory experiences. Even through electronic devices, the effect barely diminished.
Though Mu Qingtong's singing was objectively terrible, listeners could still sense the vast, lofty grandeur in her songs—as if the music originated from the horizon itself.
Xia Feng focused, listening carefully, and suddenly his eyes widened. For a fleeting moment, he saw it—a king standing atop infinite celestial steps, hands clasped behind his back, pale golden eyes gazing down at him with such majesty that he nearly kneeled in instinctive worship, yearning to prostrate himself eternally at those steps.
But the vision vanished as quickly as it came.
The barrage erupted:
"AHHH! Did you see that?! A god! An actual god!"
"Insane! This is definitely the spiritual song's effect, not some illusion ability!"
"Hah! All the haters saying Goddess Mu cheated just got slapped in the face!"
Xia Feng pulled up Mu Qingtong's public fan metrics.
[Mu Qingtong]
▶ 438 million followers | 7.83 billion likes & comments
▶ V Singer | Certified contestant of Spiritual Song Competition
▶ Representative works: "Black Sea", "King"
▶ IP Territory: Area 51 | Sovereign City
In under two months, she'd amassed 438 million followers. Xia Feng could only think one thing: This is terrifying.
For context, Ye Houbai—the empire's most iconic singer—had taken 30 years to reach 800 million followers. And after this competition, Mu Qingtong's numbers would likely double.
Staring at her absurd metrics, a question struck Xia Feng:
Is this woman… conducting mass hypnosis?
Mu Qingtong never acted without purpose. She must have some hidden goal in joining this competition. But what?
"Wait—!" Xia Feng suddenly bolted upright and slammed his laptop shut, cutting off Mu Qingtong's singing.
Supernatural abilities came in endless varieties. If Mu Qingtong was participating in a spiritual song contest, her real aim might be to disseminate something far more sinister through her music.
Like spreading a virus—infecting everyone who listened? The idea hit him like lightning.
If true, then he'd already been exposed.
Damn it! Xia Feng cursed internally. This woman's powers are evolving straight into final-boss, world-ending villain territory!
But this was just speculation.
Regardless, he wouldn't listen to Mu Qingtong's singing anymore—better safe than sorry when dealing with her potential ability to deepen its "poisoning" effect the more one listened.
Even if it was paranoia, staying guarded against this wicked witch was never a mistake.
[Player No. 17, please note]
[The fourth round of evolution is about to begin]
[Teleportation countdown: 3 minutes]
The Wheel of Life cycled every 15 days.
Unknowingly, the time to re-enter had arrived.
Xia Feng was thrilled. After killing Player No. 17, his total life points had soared to 65.
According to the Wheel's additional prompts, he now held the highest life pool in the game—by a massive margin.
By his calculations, the others likely capped at around 40 life points. There was no way they could outbid him for the B-rank Spirit Gear.
Sitting on his bed, he waited until the surroundings blurred into swirling pixels that rushed toward him.
This being his third entry, he weathered the disorientation with practiced ease. As the blinding light faded, he scanned the area.
To his right, Platforms No. 10 and No. 11 were illuminated, yet their operating stations stood empty.
"Welcome back, distinguished guests. We now commence the fourth round of evolution."
The abyssal darkness of the arena was pierced only by a central spotlight.
The top-hatted referee—his face obscured by a pure black mask—didn't waste time. With a chuckle, he announced:
"I trust you've all been eagerly awaiting this. The rare B-rank Spirit Gear, [Rectification Order], has a starting bid of 20 life points—"
Before the referee finished speaking, the arena erupted.
Four or five players joined the fray instantly, driving the price upward in rapid succession.
Finally, Player No. 9 spoke. His voice was gruff, unmistakably middle-aged:
"I've cooperated with many of you before. Those who know my strength will understand—I bid 30 life points. If you'd rather not make an enemy of me, do me this courtesy—"
"31 points."
Platform No. 4 lit up, its occupant's tone icy calm.
No. 9 stiffened, his glare sharpening. "No. 4, I've done the math. You only have 38 life points. Are you certain you want to challenge me?"
No. 4 met his gaze indifferently. "You talk too much."
"Fine. Remember this." No. 9 spat before growling, "32 points!"
"33."
The bidding war escalated between the two as Xia Feng observed silently.
"35."
When No. 4 coolly declared 35 points, No. 9 abruptly muted his microphone and withdrew.
In truth, No. 9 could have bid 36—he had 42 life points remaining. But that would leave him with a perilous 6 points afterward. The mandatory Basic Predation round deducted exactly 6 life points.
If someone with a counter-type status targeted him then, he'd die instantly.
The realization infuriated him. He'd assumed his health pool was untouchable—only to be outmaneuvered by this madman, No. 4.
"35, once," the referee began the countdown.
"35, twice—"
"36 points."
Platform No. 17 lit up, Xia Feng's voice cutting through the tension.
The arena froze. Every head turned.
No. 4's frown deepened. "40."
The field reeled. Players checked their panels—no violation alert? Did that mean No. 4 genuinely possessed 40 life points?!
"Let me make this clear," No. 4 stated flatly. "I have 45 life points. You can't compete."
"44," Xia Feng said.
No. 4: "..."
(End of Chapter)