The afternoon sunlight was tranquil, spilling across the rooftop. The girl lay there, watching faint clouds drift across the blue sky, the restlessness in her heart gradually settling down.
Right now, she was the only one here. The other girls were all resting in their own rooms, even Anna, who was always so clingy, had grown sleepy and fallen asleep.
This wasn't some kind of seasonal slump. It was simply a leisurely, languid state of mind—an indulgent enjoyment of rest. It couldn't be called laziness, nor could it be said that she wasn't doing anything.
It was just that... she didn't know how long such peaceful days could last. If possible, she truly wanted to continue like this with everyone forever. But unfortunately, that wasn't possible.
"Hey... if one day we could all soar through this sky, what do you think would happen?" Chu Lian murmured softly. Even though no one was there to hear her, she didn't care.
This was her time alone. She could say whatever she wanted. She didn't care whether anyone heard it, nor did she care about the meaning of her own words.
"The blue sky—clear like the sea. Or perhaps the sea is the sky's reflection upon the earth, and the sky is the sea reflected in the heavens... both colors are equally enchanting."
"One day, I'll create a place of my own in this sky. I'll build a secret garden and let many, many people I like live there."
"But... that'll probably take a very long time. After all, with my current strength, I'm still far too weak." Chu Lian sighed, though she didn't truly feel inferior.
After all, from the moment she began cultivating until now, it hadn't even been a month, yet she had already reached her current level. Such rocket-like progress—how many people could compare?
The only reason she always seemed weak was because her opponents were far too strong. If possible, she also wanted to rely on her own strength to resolve things, rather than having Ayase, Li Mingxue, or Yukari Yakumo step in—those peak-level powerhouses.
Just like back then in Miami, when she fought that giant dragon. At the time, she had exhausted every ounce of her strength and energy, used up all her skills, even activated the final mode of the Divine Spirit Art. The feeling of finally defeating it... was incredibly exhilarating.
It had been a long time since she'd had such a battle.
After all, Earth-rank peak beings who had fallen from Heaven rank were incredibly rare in this world, let alone ancient creatures like that.
"Well, intense, satisfying battles are the best way to improve. But still... if there's a cheat available, I'm definitely using it." Chu Lian's thoughts drifted, though she still remembered what she was here to do.
As she thought about it, she suddenly seemed to recall something. She rummaged through her dimensional space and tossed a pile of items onto the ground.
Then, tapping her fingers, she began counting them one by one. As she counted, she let out a somewhat emotional sigh.
"Gains... I wonder how much these will be worth once I get to the Origin Land. Though... there are some I'm not really willing to exchange."
"Condensed Earth Dragon Blood: SS-grade, seventh-tier evaluated bloodline. The dragon you hunted using Poison Dragon Grass has lived for over ten thousand years. If it hadn't fallen for your trick, perhaps in another ten thousand years, it could have become a... twenty-thousand-year-old Heaven-rank dragon."
"Oh, come on. Don't expect a seventh-tier bloodline race to break into the realm level. Aside from a few races like humans, which don't rely on bloodlines to surpass their limits, other races need corresponding bloodline levels to break through."
"So even if other races look down on humans, they can't deny that humans are an exceptional species. Well, as long as they don't go courting death on their own... though, if humans didn't court death, would they still be human? I'm a bit curious about that."
"I'll give it a new feature score: 35 out of 100. Sure, after using it, you gain a 420% boost in strength output, obtain a half-dragon body, and can even transform into an Earth Dragon... but seriously, who would want something this ugly?"
"Mm, the new feature introduced by Shiroha is getting rave reviews. I'll give you five stars." When Chu Lian picked up the vial of blood—refined from the dragon she had shot on the island after exiting the great barrier in the Land of Exile in Overlord—a screen appeared before her, filled with detailed information.
As she read through it, she realized that for items that hadn't changed significantly, Shiroha wouldn't provide additional explanations. In other words, aside from a slight increase in power output, there was essentially no difference from before.
"As expected... ordinary dragons really don't have much status. Even at Heaven rank, the evaluation is still this low." Chu Lian glanced at it. At most, this vial was worth only a few tens of thousands more crystal coins than the previous one.
Although the power output had increased by 20%, for those who weren't strength-based or didn't heavily rely on raw power, such an increase wasn't very significant. So its market price wouldn't be much higher.
"Thank you for the five-star review. Shiroha is now at your service. Dear customer, please take out the next item so I can evaluate it for you."
"Yeah, yeah..." Chu Lian replied helplessly. She had obtained these items quite a while ago, but she simply hadn't taken them out to examine them before.
Now that she was taking everything out at once, it was basically giving Shiroha a chance to rack up good reviews. It would be strange if she didn't act enthusiastically. It seemed she wanted to take advantage of Ayase's absence to make some achievements and earn her approval.
"Dragon Tooth Spear: SS-grade item. Forged from the toughest dragon tooth and the sharpest tip of its tail, it possesses the ability to pierce through anything."
"Anti-Magic: Magic defenses of S-rank or below are ineffective against it."
"Mage's Bane: When the opponent casts a magic attack, you can use this spear to shatter the spell, nullifying it—limited to spells of S-rank or below."
"Piercing Shot: This spear can be fired like an arrow."
"Evaluation: 58 points. While dragon bloodlines may be worthless, it cannot be denied that their bodies are full of treasures. Take this Dragon Tooth Spear, for example—wielding it allows you to dominate any mage-type enemy with ease. Of course, for someone like you who possesses the Key of Seven Illusions, this might be nothing more than a mediocre item."
"This one's not bad. I can keep it for myself. As for bloodlines... I'll pass. Carrying something I can't use is pointless. It's better to exchange it for something I actually need." Chu Lian glanced at it and stored the Dragon Tooth Spear away.
"Dragonscale Vest: SS-grade item. This is crafted from the toughest scales from the Earth Dragon's abdomen. While it doesn't possess the same defensive strength as other parts, it is far softer and easier to wear in comparison. You can treat it like a close-fitting garment."
"Protection: After equipping it, any single instance of damage that does not exceed 40% of your total vitality will be nullified. This applies to both physical and energy-based damage."
"Life: Before you suffer a fatal blow, this Dragonscale Vest will automatically be destroyed, transforming into a dragon soul that protects you, allowing you to avoid death once."
"Evaluation: 95 points. This is a life-saving divine item. Use it well, and it may grant you a chance to turn the tide."
"This thing..." Chu Lian looked at the small piece of clothing in her hands. It was entirely white, seemingly composed of countless tiny scales, and felt incredibly comfortable to the touch. However, its design resembled a one-piece swimsuit—if worn, it would be rather embarrassing.
"Even if it's embarrassing, I have to keep it for myself. I didn't expect something this powerful to be hidden here. Judging by its value, it far surpasses that vial of dragon blood." There was no way Chu Lian would sell something like this. She would only keep it for personal use.
Even if she didn't wear it, there were plenty of people around her who might need it. Selling it would be no different from throwing away a chance at survival—something she would never do.
"Phew... five-star review. Shiroha, let me see just how satisfying the remaining items will be." Chu Lian carefully stored the Dragonscale Vest in her space. She hadn't yet decided who it suited best—only after choosing someone would it truly have an owner.
"In the future, I should check my loot immediately. That way, I might discover things I can use sooner." This served as a reminder to Chu Lian that it was best to assess her gains as soon as possible.
"Dragon Crown: SS-grade item. This is an intelligent item. After equipping it, your energy recovery speed increases by 500%, total energy increases by 300%, casting speed increases by 150%, and you gain Dragon's Might."
"Dragon's Might: Suppresses all lifeforms with bloodline tiers below the eighth tier and weaker than you, rendering them unable to move. Effective range: 10 by 10 meters."
"Dragon's Wrath: The fury of dragons burns all things. Consumes at least 70% of your energy to summon Dragon's Wrath and annihilate enemies. Cooldown: 320 hours."
"Dragon's Hatred: The resentment of dragons treats everything as an enemy. Consumes 80% of your total energy. Upon activation, all lifeforms below Heaven rank fall into negative states for up to 10 seconds—randomly triggering confusion, rage, fear, cowardice, and more. Cooldown: 360 hours."
"Dragon's Summons: Calls a dragon to assist you, on the condition that you have never harmed any dragon. After use, next activation time: unknown. Conditions: unknown."
"Equipment Requirements: Spiritual Sense 500, innate mental-type ability user."
"Item Evaluation: 99 points. This is the true divine artifact. Although it has extremely high requirements and long cooldown active skills, it cannot be denied that this is an item capable of matching an entire army alone. Even as a national treasure, it would be more than worthy."
"...!" Chu Lian inhaled sharply. If the previous Dragonscale Vest was a life-saving artifact, then this Dragon Crown was a pure offensive divine item. Its overall evaluation had actually reached an almost perfect 99 points.
That meant that even within the system's exchange list, this would rank among the absolute top tier. How could she not feel excited?
"Shiroha, why did an S-rank mission end up rewarding me with three SS-grade items? And each one is stronger than the last—some even surpassing the value of the dragon itself?"
Chu Lian couldn't understand. Was this some kind of system bonus? That didn't seem right. A system this stingy wasn't the type to hand out benefits so easily.
"Because you killed an opponent far above your level, and you preserved its body exceptionally well. In fact, it was a female dragon. Inside her were two dragon eggs—twins, something rare among dragonkind. She went to that island to give birth, but you encountered her and shot her down."
"The dragons inside her carried the bloodline of a Heaven-rank peak Dragon King—a fourth-tier Golden Dragon. If they had been born without incident, they would have become third-tier Metal Dragons."
"With that single arrow, you not only killed her, but also extinguished her bloodline. That is why, when refining her corpse, this Dragon Crown was formed. Obtaining such an item is nearly impossible—yet you acquired it by sheer coincidence. One could only say... fate is truly unpredictable."
After reading Shiroha's explanation, Chu Lian fell silent. So her arrow had killed not just one dragon, but a mother and her two unborn children... It was indeed cruel.
But what was done was done. She had acted to complete her mission. Their positions were opposed—there was no right or wrong.
"That explains why there are abilities like Dragon's Wrath and Dragon's Hatred... Those must be the resentment formed from the souls of the two unborn Metal Dragons, right? In that case... I'll probably never be able to use this thing."
Chu Lian felt a trace of regret, but there was nothing she could do. For items that possessed self-awareness, unless their souls were destroyed, their requirements for a user were extremely strict.
If they did not acknowledge you, then even a realm-level powerhouse would be unable to use them—let alone the one who killed them.
But destroying the souls would greatly reduce the item's effectiveness, possibly even ruin it entirely. So that was not an option.
Fortunately, she wasn't a spell-focused mage but a warrior. So even though it was a pity, she didn't dwell on the dragon-shaped crown.
"In the future, I should check items immediately... and please leave a rating, dear customer." Chu Lian had felt quite moved by the first part, but the latter half left her speechless. Still, she gave it a five-star rating.
After storing the crown, Chu Lian turned her gaze toward the remaining items, wondering what kind of surprises they might bring.
Just as she was thinking this, a sharp sound of air being cut suddenly came from behind her. A figure, wielding a slender blade, lunged toward her back.
"Eh..." Rising to her feet, Chu Lian let out a soft sigh.
Turning around, she extended one hand. With just her index and middle fingers, she lightly caught the katana thrust at her. Looking into the white-haired girl's eyes, she asked softly, "Why go this far?"
"There's no 'why'..." Her eyes were unwaveringly resolute...