A bitter smile touched Gu Yuexi's lips.
Right now, she was penniless.
She was an orphan. Her parents had died young, leaving her with an inheritance of tens of millions and a spacious, high-end apartment.
To buy the Spiritual Cyan Snake with its High-Level Bloodline, she had resolutely sold her apartment and spent every last penny.
'I thought this would be my ticket to soaring success, but who could have known…'
'Now, the snake is dead, the money is gone, and I've even ended up in a contract with a mosquito!'
A single Vein-Protecting Pill cost at least five hundred thousand on the market. How could she possibly afford it?
'Get a job? With a salary of a few thousand a month, how long would it take to save up that much? Ages?'
Gu Yuexi sank into deep thought, her mind racing as she searched for any possible way to make money.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She'd thought of a plan!
'The Senior Year Joint Examination!'
She had another identity: she was a senior at Jiang City Lingwu High School, and its renowned School Beauty.
In half a month, all the Spiritual Martial Arts high schools in Jiang City would hold a joint mock examination.
To motivate the students, the top three finishers in the joint exam would each receive a hefty scholarship!
The prize for first place was exactly five hundred thousand—no more, no less!
'That's it!'
Gu Yuexi made her decision in an instant.
However, she also remembered her own circumstances.
In her previous life, her Martial Arts Talent had been so abysmal that even as a senior, she had only been a First-Grade Early Stage Martial Artist, placing her at the very bottom of the school.
Meanwhile, most of her classmates had reached the First-Grade Late Stage, and a few of the school's prodigies had even touched the threshold of the Peak of First-Grade.
For that very reason, knowing her own limits, she hadn't even bothered to sign up for the joint exam in her past life.
But things were different now!
'With my current refining speed, I might just be able to absorb all the Spiritual Cyan Snake's Essence Blood within half a month... By then, my strength should reach the Second-Grade Early Stage at least!'
'A Second-Grade Martial Artist going up against a group of high schoolers who are, at best, at the Peak of First-Grade...'
A confident smile graced Gu Yuexi's lips.
'Wouldn't that be a complete curbstomp?'
First place in the joint exam was as good as hers!
With this in mind, Gu Yuexi wasted no more time. She quickly tidied up the mess in her room, stuffed the snake's corpse into a large bag, and hid it under her bed. This, after all, was her "Cultivation Resource" for the next two weeks.
Then, she changed into a clean school uniform, ready to head to school at once to register before the deadline!
"You stay put and don't go anywhere, you hear me?"
Before leaving, she shot a cold, warning glance at Chu Sheng, who was still resting on the hem of her school uniform.
However, the moment the words left her mouth, she felt a sharp prick in her leg.
She looked down to see that detestable mosquito digging its proboscis deep into her thigh!
Next to the mosquito, on her fair skin, were two large, red, swollen welts that were both painful and itchy!
'It's already bitten me twice!'
'And it's biting me again!!'
"You...!"
Gu Yuexi was so furious she nearly choked.
Meanwhile, Chu Sheng had only one simple, happy thought on his mind.
[Ding! Blood digestion complete. Evolution Points +0.2!]
[Current Total Qi Blood: 0.64. Total Evolution Points: 0.3...]
[0.36 Qi Blood required for first evolution!]
'Almost there, so close!'
Chu Sheng calculated mentally, slurping with relish.
'Just a couple more sips and I can evolve!'
[Qi Blood +0.06]
[Qi Blood +0.07]
[Qi Blood +0.9...]
[Ding! Host has absorbed 0.38 Qi Blood! Current Total Qi Blood is 1.02!]
[Upgrade! Host has met the conditions for the first evolution. Begin evolution?]
'Yes, yes, yes!'
Chu Sheng was overjoyed and was just about to tell the system to start the evolution.
But just then, a hurricane seemed to descend from above, and his world started spinning as dizziness overwhelmed him.
'???'
'What in the world just happened?'
Chu Sheng was completely bewildered. When his vision cleared, he was stunned to find himself trapped inside a translucent plastic box.
'It looks like one of those takeout containers...'
Gu Yuexi held the plastic box up to her face, her cool eyes locked on the mosquito inside as she said coldly, "You greedy little thing... From now on, you are not to drink my blood without my permission!"
Chu Sheng was speechless.
'Stingy.'
'What's the big deal about a couple of sips? It's not like it'll kill you!'
Chu Sheng pouted inwardly, but he didn't have the mind to dwell on it. Being inside the plastic box was much safer anyway, so... it was time to start the evolution!
[Ding! First evolution initiated!]
[Estimated time: Three hours!]
The system's voice faded.
Chu Sheng's vision instantly went black, and he fell into a deep slumber.
Gu Yuexi didn't notice anything unusual about him. She simply placed the plastic box in her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and headed out the door for school.
She had actually put Chu Sheng in the plastic box to protect him.
After all, a mosquito was an incredibly fragile creature. Gu Yuexi couldn't rest easy just leaving it out in the open.
...
「Jiang City Lingwu High School.」
As one of the three best Spiritual Martial Arts high schools in Jiang City, it brought together the most talented young men and women from across the city.
It was currently class time, so the campus was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze.
Gu Yuexi walked along the tree-lined path toward the academic affairs office, her backpack on her shoulders and her expression as cool and distant as ever, as if the world around her didn't exist.
She clutched the strap of her backpack tightly, for inside it held her entire "life" and... a lingering, indelible shame.
But what she didn't know was that the mosquito she considered her shame was, at that very moment, undergoing a strange transformation.
The slumbering Chu Sheng felt as if he were suspended in warm amniotic fluid, as waves of a strange Energy washed over and reshaped his body.
Every cell in his body seemed to sing with joy, greedily absorbing this Energy.
Time ticked by, second by second.
After what felt like an eternity, once the warm Energy had fully integrated into his body, the system's notification chimed right on cue.
[Ding! First evolution complete!]
[Congratulations, Host! Race has evolved from 'White-striped Aedes Mosquito' to 'Primary Mutant Blood Mosquito'!]
[Updating panel...]
[Host: Chu Sheng]
[Race: Primary Mutant Blood Mosquito]
[Lifespan: 30 days]
[Qi Blood: 1.1]
[Evolution Points: 0.5]
[Equal Tier: Nothingness]
[Skills: Female Mosquito's Mouthpart Lv2, Blood Food Tracking Lv1, Insect Race Space Lv1]
[Notice: The next evolution requires reaching a Qi Blood Value of 10 and consuming 1 Evolution Point!]
Chu Sheng jolted awake from his slumber and immediately pulled up his panel to check it.
'Holy shit!'
Seeing the changes on the panel, Chu Sheng couldn't help but curse inwardly. Excitement was written all over his mosquito face!
'The changes are huge!'
First, his Race had changed from the ordinary White-striped Aedes Mosquito to the much more impressive-sounding "Primary Mutant Blood Mosquito"!
Second, his Lifespan had jumped to thirty days! That was a tangible guarantee of survival!
His [Female Mosquito's Mouthpart] had also upgraded from Lv1 to Lv2!
Chu Sheng subconsciously looked down at his mouthpart and immediately gasped.
'Holy cow!'
The proboscis, once as fine as a hair, was now as thick as a toothpick and more than twice as long. Its tip glinted with a faint, cold light!
'This thing... Forget human skin, it could probably pierce an elephant's hide with ease!'
And a thicker, longer proboscis also meant that the amount of blood he could drink in one go would increase many times over!