Chapter 1246. Friendship. Entrance Exam Start!

To say Shen Miao was surprised was an understatement. How would one react when someone like Yasenia seemingly popped out of nowhere? In the first place, Yasenia’s extraordinary aura would leave any average cultivator breathless. Then, her beauty would make one’s heart and soul tremble even if Yasenia suppressed it as much as she could. Lastly, the white wedding dress she wore created such a strange atmosphere around her that one didn’t know how to react.

So, even the usually calm Shen Miao was angered when her friend blurted out that such a being was her Beast Companion.

“Do you think such a half-assed explanation is enough, you stupid Xuefei!”

With that lioness-like roar, Feixue jumped like a startled deer and straightened her back. “S-Shen Miao, don’t shout. She is currently concocting a precious pill for me. I promise to explain everything, so give her a bit of space, please.”

Hearing her friend’s begging, Shen Miao could only swallow her anger and glare at her. Still, she was sensitive enough to understand the importance of the current situation. However, who would've known that Yasenia would look at them and smile at that moment? “Oh, don’t mind me. Continue, continue. This is a relatively low-level pill, so I could concoct it even while sleeping.”

It was Luan Feixue’s turn to glare at Yasenia as if she were her number one enemy. “You stupid Dragon, can’t you read the mood of the room for once in your life!?”

Yasenia giggled while her tail moved back and forth and her wings flapped around, clearly amused. “Look how well suited for each other you are. Both of you love roaring like wild lions when angry~.”

Shen Miao and Luan Feixue were stunned speechless and looked at each other.

‘Is she having fun?’ Shen Miao’s gaze asked. Luan Feixue answered with a little stomp, as if scolding the question itself. ‘Of course she is!’

“What a headache…” Shen Miao thought that she had made a somewhat peculiar friend, but who would’ve known that her friend was more than simply strange? “Anyway, miss…” Looking at the dress, Shen Miao changed her wording. “Madam Dragon has spoken, so take her offer and explain to me about her.”

Luan Feixue sighed and nodded. Then, she proceeded to recount a simplified story of their encounter, which made Shen Miao understand things.

After hearing about it, Shen Miao spoke. “So, you are telling me that, when walking around the forest, Lady Yasenia fell from the sky and formed a contract with you.”

Luan Feixue blinked innocently. “Yeah, that would be the summary of the summary.”

Seeing her innocent expression, the urge Shen Miao had to slap her face was not small. ‘Isn’t it clear that this dragon has ulterior motives!? How could it be so simple as to repay a favor!? She is clearly hiding something very important!’

As she was thinking as such, she felt the gaze of the dragon landing on her, and a smirk appeared on those seductive lips. This small gesture chilled her back, making her even more wary of Yasenia.

“Don’t be so on guard.” Yasenia slowly stood up, stretching her wings and arms for a second before sighing in comfort. “While I do have some hidden reasons, they are not harmful to Feixue as long as she keeps my identity a secret~.”

Waving her hand, the cauldron opened, and a dozen flawless pills floated up. Then, with another flick of her wrist, a pill container appeared in each of her hands. The pills were then divided into two groups of six and placed in the blue and green containers. “Perfect~.”

After placing the pills on Luan Feixue’s hands, she smiled. “Eat one a week. If you don’t manage to develop it after you run out of them, that means that you have no talent for these paths. When that ends up being the case, don’t get sad~, we’ll focus on the spiritual path and make you strong either way.”

Luan Feixue said solemnly. “I swear that I’ll be successful.”

Still wary, Shen Miao asked about the pills. “What are those?” Her tone was clearly guarded. “I don’t recall ever seeing such pills.”

Yasenia raised her eyebrow and glanced at her lightly. “Do you dare say that you know all types of Spirit-Ranked pills under the Heaven? Of course, you won’t know what pills I craft since I am clearly not from nearby.” The dragoness looked at Feixue and patted her head once. “Either way, my job here is done. Don’t bother me unless it is important or you are about to die.”

Her body turned into a flash of light, and she dove into Luan Feixue’s Beast Pocket. Once there, she gently caressed her stomach. ‘A few more years and you’ll start showing~. I wonder how long it will take for you to be born.’

With the space she created for her children in her soul, Yasenia changing from physical to immaterial would not affect the baby in the slightest.

On the outside, Shen Miao sighed with a complicated expression. “Speaking of which…” Shen Miao sniffed the air and frowned. “The scent on you is from that dragon, right? It was no perfume or anything like that.”

Luan Feixue nodded awkwardly. “Yeah… Sorry for lying to you, Shen Miao. I just didn’t know what Yasenia would do if I revealed her existence to you. So, I could only keep her a secret.”

Complicated was the word to describe Shen Miao’s current feelings. She had trusted Feixue quite a lot, and she also liked her and became friends with her. However, she didn’t expect this new friend to have a mature dragon inside her Beast Pocket.

Baihe’s attitude was also explained after knowing about Yasenia. Baihe probably sensed Yasenia’s presence on Feixue, making the crane not dare protest when Feixue mounted on her back. Shen Miao sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Is there something else you are lying about? Just blurt it out before we leave this place.” Her tone became serious. “If you keep so many secrets around me, how could I ever trust you? You need to choose between deepening our friendship or keeping those secrets. Because, if I ever come to know about them later, I’ll be very angry!”

“Then…” Feixue struggled for a second, but seeing Shen Miao’s sincere eyes, she relented with a sigh. “My name is not Xuefei. I am Luan Feixue. But please, don’t call me that in public. I want you to call me Xuefei even when that’s not my name.” Feixue looked at Shen Miao carefully. “Do you think that’s possible?”

“...”

Shen Miao looked at her friend silently. ‘Even her name was false… Well, half false since she at least used her real name's characters. Even then…’ Shen Miao rubbed her forehead and turned to walk away. “Let me think. I can’t give you a straight answer right now.”

Yasenia glanced at the two girls for a second without worry. This was the perfect time to appear between them. If she delayed it more, her existence would probably lead to the end of their friendship. If she said it earlier… that was also impossible because she had not confirmed if Shen Miao was a trustworthy person.

Only this time around did Yasenia have the chance to show her existence without, inevitably, leading to both girls separating. Still, that was just the best moment, not a guarantee. ‘Well, both girls are young, so they should be able to talk it out.’

After that day, Shen Miao and Feixue were clearly somewhat estranged. Still, they talked with each other and shared things like before. As the days passed, Shen Miao could feel the sincerity in Luan Feixue’s gestures, and she slowly warmed up again. By the time the sect’s entrance test arrived, both girls were using their names to call each other and had entirely made up.

The dragoness smiled with satisfaction. ‘I wonder how the tests of these immortal sects are conducted…’

Luan Feixue and Shen Miao arrived at the base of the mountain, where every participant gathered. Looking around, both girls could see numerous people of all ages, backgrounds, and strengths. Those with strong families were easy to spot, as they often appeared arrogant, indifferent, or disdainful towards those around them.

Shen Miao and Luan Feixue were such people as well, not putting others in their eyes as they glanced at the front indifferently. For them, making friends was secondary, as entering the sect was their priority.

Even then, they were two pretty girls, so they naturally attracted the attention of the surrounding people. Speaking of appearances, after being nurtured by Yasenia’s passive energy, Luan Feixue had recovered her past appearance. Her face was now perfectly healthy, with her body having regained some plumpness. She was slender and had moderate curves, but she could not be considered one without curves.

Yasenia noticed as well how the majority of people here leaned toward slender and elegant body types. ‘Hm… After residing in a city of dragons, the contrast is truly spectacular. Also, why are 90% of cultivators gathered here human?’

Her only guess was that, since this was a higher heaven, the awakening of the bloodline in humans was much more common. This led to the world being predominantly ruled by humans.

The bloodline awakening that occurred during the Sixth Realm breakthrough would give special powers to humans. For example, Andrea’s [Sun Eating Tiger] bloodline gave her the ability to swallow most flames while increasing her physical strength and agility a few notches. Perhaps she would not be able to win in a frontal battle against a bona fide beast. Still, with her other human traits like cunningness and agility, she would not be on the losing end.

In short, the physical weakness humans had compared to other races was largely solved after reaching the Sixth Realm, making them a race that, with their numbers, could easily overwhelm entire worlds and put them under their control.

“Welcome to the [Star Immortal Sect]’s yearly entrance test. Many of you should already be familiar with the rules, but every year, there will always be people who are unaware. Therefore, this old man will explain it in a few words.”

Yasenia stopped her harmonizing process and paid attention to the old man floating in front of the sea of youths.

“The first trial will be to reach a certain height on the [Star Climbing Mountain]. Depending on your cultivation base, you must reach a certain height. One thousand meters for Meridian-Dantian Creation Realm cultivators, two thousand meters for Body Modification Realm cultivators, three thousand meters for Mental Nourishing Realm, four thousand for Unification Realm, and five thousand for Dantian Spiritualization Realm.”

The old man smiled. “If you are in the Transcendence Realm, you must reach the peak of the mountain, which is at 10,000 meters of height. Once at your respective heights, you will be given the instructions to follow for the next test.”