Chapter 1 After Seven Days

Seven days later, Fencheng, a small border city in Hua Xia.

A military base stood deep within the mountains and forests, far from the urban area of Fencheng. In front of a natural lake within this deep forest, Jiang Xiao was sitting on the edge of the lake.

He rolled up his trouser legs, soaking his calves in the lake water. In the center of the lake, a huge whale was rising and falling, dominating the lake.

It not only occupied the space, but because of its massive size, researchers had to request the military to widen and deepen the natural lake considerably.

*Poof!*

Weng Weng Whale turned its body, gently flapping its pectoral fins, sending a huge wave that crashed onto Jiang Xiao.

"Ouch..." Jiang Xiao shielded his face with his arms, completely soaked by the wave.

"Weng..."

Jiang Xiao grimaced, feeling quite helpless.

So big and still so naughty, does it live up to your 200-plus tons of weight?

After the researchers' measurements, Jiang Xiao knew very well the weight of Weng Weng Whale.

In fact, when Jiang Xiao discovered that Weng Weng Whale weighed more than 200 tons, it startled him.

Could this belly crush a group of Star Warriors to death?

Speaking of which, you should find someone of similar size to play with, otherwise, it's easy to become "bullying."

"Little Jiang friend." Behind him came an old female voice.

"Hmm?" Jiang Xiao turned around and quickly stood up, saying, "Mr. Di."

"Hehe." Di Lian showed an admiring smile, her wrinkled face full of traces of time, "As I expected, little friend really came to Dragon Cave and also presented Hua Xia with a great gift."

Jiang Xiao waved his hand with a smile and said, "There's no gift or anything, that's my mission, it's what I should accomplish."

"This is the Weng Weng Whale you brought back from the North Atlantic? And the royal nobles of the Xi Ma Kingdom just let you take it away right under their noses?" Di Lian looked at the huge, sail-shaped dorsal fin exposed in the lake, and said with a smile.

Jiang Xiao also laughed, saying, "Seriously, Mr. Di, who do you think would dare to use force against this kind of creature?"

Di Lian nodded, unable to resist another sigh, "I heard that it helped the Tail Feather Troupe hunt down a Qiong Long (imprisoned dragon), unbelievable, unbelievable."

"Ah." Jiang Xiao gestured to the researchers far away on the lakeside, saying, "Your team members are very good, they didn't make things too difficult for Weng Weng Whale."

"Hehe." Di Lian smiled and stepped forward, signaling Jiang Xiao to sit down, "Just as you said, I'm afraid no one dares to offend this kind of creature, and no one can bear the consequences that follow."

Di Lian, wearing a white coat, didn't care about the wet mud and sat down as well.

Her turbid eyes looked at the calm lake surface, seeming to see through the undercurrents: "I heard that your Hua Xing Cheng Wu (Transform Star into Martial Prowess) is very unique, and you had already mastered some of its functions during the Star River Stage."

"Yeah." Jiang Xiao recalled the past few days of being questioned by the military and testing the strength of his star techniques, and couldn't help but grin, saying, "My Hua Xing Cheng Wu can strengthen the power of the star techniques in my Star Chart, and I've only grasped the basics now.

If I'm really lucky enough to enter the Star Sea Stage and get the chance of Ti Hu Guan Ding (sudden enlightenment), I can truly achieve Hua Xing Cheng Wu, I believe the strength of my star techniques will increase even more."

"It should include the Black and White Candle Fire living in your star slot," Di Lian said, "I once asked you to try to make the Black and White Candle Fire rely on my Mist Dragon, but I didn't expect you to make the Candle Fire rely on a remarkable guy. Even three points stronger than the Mist Dragon."

"Just lucky, just lucky." Jiang Xiao said repeatedly, "Weng Weng Whale is very intelligent, this kind of creature cannot be subdued by human Star Warriors at all, it shouldn't even be owned by humans, it chose me, not me subduing it."

"Hmm." Di Lian nodded repeatedly, agreeing, "Your守夜军 (Shou Ye Jun, Night Watch Army) high-level officials revealed a lot of information about your star pet to me.

When I came, I also looked at the data provided by my assistant, Weng Weng Whale is really too smart, in some aspects, even we humans are ashamed."

Speaking, Di Lian turned to look at Jiang Xiao, her slightly turbid eyes full of admiration: "What kind of person with what kind of qualities would make it willingly follow?"

"Uh..." Jiang Xiao scratched his head embarrassedly. If it were anyone else, Jiang Xiao would already be acting cocky, but he had special respect for this "national treasure" level figure.

Di Lian dedicated her life to 星学 (Xing Xue, Star Studies) and Hua Xia. She and her team worked diligently, researching 星珠 (Xing Zhu, Star Beads), 星技 (Xing Ji, Star Techniques), and 星兽 (Xing Shou, Star Beasts) for decades, and the textbooks she compiled and published nurtured generations of Hua Xia students.

This kind of person can be said to be the backbone of the country, the kind of person who is truly worthy of respect. Therefore, Jiang Xiao had always kept a low profile in his contact with Di Lian.

Di Lian suddenly smiled, saying, "But little friend's names are also interesting, Ying Ying Bear, Weng Weng Whale..."

Jiang Xiao: "..."

Di Lian was also unpretentious, smiling kindly, and continued, "The name Sea-Swallowing Clothes is more normal. Have you thought about the upper limit of the Black and White Candle Fire's ability? How many star beasts can it rely on, or is there no limit to the number?"

Jiang Xiao shook his head and said, "If it could rely on one when it sees one, could I form a star beast army?"

"Hehe." Di Lian smiled dumbfounded and said, "That's a beautiful wish. I looked at the data my assistant gave me. Your Black and White Candle Fire has grown too fast. Compared with the last measurement data, it's simply a qualitative change. I don't know if it's because this mutated little guy is too powerful, or if it's due to the function of your Bei Dou Jiu Xing Tu (Big Dipper Nine Star Chart)."

Jiang Xiao cautiously asked, "How long will the research take? How much longer do I have to stay here?"

Di Lian said, "Individual cases don't have much research value. Since we parted ways in Kang Ke Jin De, do you know how many soldiers across the country, including in Central Asia, have received the mission to travel all over the Nightmare Mountain Other Dimension Space, guarding the side of the Holy Ruins day and night, just to wait for a Black and White Candle Fire?"

Jiang Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "What was the result?"

Di Lian shook her head: "So far, no second Black and White Candle Fire has been found. You are very lucky."

Jiang Xiao smiled and said, "It's the child from Da Jiang Province who is lucky, he picked up the Black and White Candle Fire."

"Hmm." Di Lian looked at Jiang Xiao quietly and said, "If you hadn't rescued their family of four and saved that town from the Nightmare Mountain crisis, how would that family have given you this special little guy?"

"Aiya, Mr. Di, stop praising me, if you praise me any more, I'll really get carried away..." Jiang Xiao scratched his head embarrassedly.

Di Lian said, "You are now an important figure in exploring the Dragon Cave. Once the order is issued, all your star beasts will be returned to you in their original numbers. We will not affect your mission progress."

"Hmm..." Jiang Xiao pondered for a moment, but sighed and said, "Dragon Cave closed three days ago."

Di Lian nodded, but said, "Don't worry, it will open again."

Jiang Xiao sighed, "I thought it was because of the large-scale opening of the Holy Ruins that the country believed that the other planet was going to merge with Earth, so it mobilized a large number of corps to quickly explore Dragon Cave. Now I know, alas..."

Di Lian said, "Of course, there are the reasons you mentioned, but the closure of the Dragon Cave passage half a year ago really scared a lot of people. The last time Dragon Cave closed was three and a half years ago."

Facts have proved that Dragon Cave has closed more than once. The most recent time was half a year ago. For a time, Hua Xia and the Russian Federation were a little dumbfounded, wondering when Dragon Cave would open again.

And a month later, in the original location, the tunnel of the Dragon Cave stubbornly opened again. To this day, people have not figured out why that special channel entrance exists.

At this time, it is also the special period of other-dimensional opening and the coming of the Holy Ruins. The concept of the other planet merging with the Earth has been known by the upper layers. Under the influence of various factors, the task of exploring the Dragon Cave has been reopened.

However, no one expected that after half a year, the entrance to the Dragon Cave closed again. This time, it is unknown when it will open again.

Di Lian asked suspiciously, "Actually, Dragon Cave is very strange, don't you think? It's not a normal world, it's different from all other lower dimensions."

Di Lian continued, "Any lower dimension of an other-dimensional space does not have the concept of time passing, but Dragon Cave has day and night, and it is a rapidly rotating day and night, and the terrain there is very special."

Jiang Xiao nodded, "Hmm, I felt it, one moment it's day, the next moment it's night, it's really hard to adapt."

Di Lian suddenly asked, "Have you ever wondered if there really exists a Holy Ruin in Dragon Cave?"

Jiang Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Di Lian.

Di Lian said, "There is no doubt about the power of the star techniques of the creatures in Dragon Cave. I think you have already felt it intuitively, and the Holy Ruins of each space gate are very unstable.

The dragons in Dragon Cave can easily smash the unstable Holy Ruins with a single star technique, so... why has Dragon Cave existed for so long?"

"This..." Jiang Xiao pondered for a long time and said, "That is indeed a question."

Di Lian stretched out her palm and patted Jiang Xiao's shoulder gently, saying, "Then we have to wait for people like you to answer it for us."

Jiang Xiao nodded heavily, "It's an honor."

Di Lian looked at the young Hua Xia face beside her, and couldn't help but smile, smiling very happily and very contentedly.

The old and the young fell silent, quietly looking at the lake in front of them.

Jiang Xiao said, "I'm sorry about the research on the little Candle Fire. It doesn't want to rely on other creatures. It doesn't seem to be interested in the star beasts you brought. It prefers to stay in the Star Chart with Weng Weng Whale and Ying Ying Bear. I can't force it to obey."

Hearing Jiang Xiao's words, Di Lian asked with concern, "By the way, the higher-ups have rewarded you with the Star Dragon Egg. I heard that the emotional development of Black and White Candle Fire and Star Dragon Cub has been minimal?"

"Hmm." Jiang Xiao nodded, "The little Candle Fire and it are very incompatible. It's almost to the point where they fight as soon as they meet, let alone rely on each other."

Di Lian sighed, "After all, the dragon clan is proud. Even if it is a Star Dragon Cub, it is still the most powerful type of creature in the world."

Jiang Xiao grimaced and said, "You weren't here a few days ago. Did you watch the surveillance video? My little Candle Fire just showed up in front of the Star Dragon and was slapped away by the little broken dragon's tail..."

Di Lian looked at Jiang Xiao with a smile and said, "I also saw you blessing the Star Dragon Cub."

Jiang Xiao's expression was slightly awkward: "Uh..."

Di Lian: "You rarely encounter this kind of untamable star beast in your career, right?"

"You bet." Jiang Xiao smacked his lips and said, "Don't even mention star beasts, even the se... cough cough, anyway, after I cast this blessing, there is no creature that cannot be 'milked' into submission. As a result, that Star Dragon is really unconvinced, arrogant to the bone!

It's simply a model of 'a scholar can be killed but not humiliated'. Just an hour ago, I tried to cultivate a relationship again. Guess what?"

Di Lian asked curiously, "I wasn't there, what happened?"

Jiang Xiao's temper also flared up, saying, "Really, I'm really convinced, it almost self-destructed just now! Can you believe it?

It wanted to self-destruct without saying a word as soon as it saw me. This nature is really too strong, just like its father! It scared me so much that I quickly 'milked' it again..."

Di Lian: "..."

If there were no accidents, his father should be the Star Dragon that self-destructed in the grassland.

As he spoke, Jiang Xiao's expression was a little strange, saying, "Although I became a villain, I seemed to have fulfilled Little Jiang Xue."