Shen Biqian was finally pushed to the edge by the unreliable voice’s repeated insults.
“If you think my body is so terrible, then find another one to possess! I never begged you to come here!”
After shouting, she suppressed the anger boiling inside her chest and continued:
“Now tell me which two elemental affinities I have!”
The voice seemed stunned.
It had never imagined that a human—one it considered weaker than even an ant—would dare yell at it.
Back in the day, it had…
Wait.
What exactly had it been like back then?
“You going to answer me or not? If not, get out of my body!”
The voice actually sounded amused.
“Since the day I became conscious, you’re the first person who’s ever dared yell at me.”
After a pause, Shen Biqian felt as though an invisible gaze was carefully examining her from head to toe.
“You’ve got some nerve. Not bad.”
“Much better than those trembling cowards who used to stand before me.”
“As for your poor talent, I can help improve that.”
Shen Biqian didn’t notice that he had said since I became conscious rather than since I was born.
She simply concluded that this voice had a strange tendency toward being abused.
After being yelled at, it suddenly wanted to help improve her body.
Of course, the more benefits she could get from him, the greater her chances of surviving the coming apocalypse.
Her anger gradually faded.
Perhaps this unreliable voice would become her greatest support in the apocalypse.
“Then thank you in advance,” she said.
“Now can you tell me which elemental affinities I actually have?”
She needed a definite answer before she could relax.
“Wood Element and Fire Element.”
The voice finally answered.
“Although you only possess two elemental affinities, that’s actually pretty decent talent for alchemy.”
Wood Element.
The moment she heard those words, Shen Biqian felt completely relieved.
That meant she wouldn’t die from having her life force drained.
Instead, the Wood Element would allow her to embark upon the path of cultivation and give her a means of survival in the apocalypse.
As for alchemy…
That seemed far too distant to have anything to do with her right now.
“Alright.”
The voice sounded impatient.
“I’ve given you the cultivation technique. You can leave now.”
The instant he finished speaking, Shen Biqian felt her body shake.
She was forcibly expelled from the starry space.
What a rude man.
When Shen Biqian opened her eyes again, daylight had already filled the room.
She remained lying in bed, quietly organizing her thoughts.
Based on what the mysterious voice had told her, he likely came from a world of cultivators.
Perhaps he had once been an incredibly powerful expert.
As for why he had ended up on Earth—a place without a single cultivator—or why only his consciousness remained while his body had disappeared entirely, she had no idea.
She had read plenty of cultivation novels.
The concept of body possession wasn’t unfamiliar to her.
However, possession required a soul.
The voice seemed to be nothing but a void.
She couldn’t sense any soul at all.
Then again, perhaps souls weren’t visible in the first place.
As a result, Shen Biqian couldn’t determine whether the voice harbored intentions of taking over her body.
She remained cautious.
Still, her highest priority now was cultivation.
She had to reach the First Layer of Qi Condensation before the apocalypse arrived.
Taking a deep breath, she finally revealed the first genuine smile she had worn in days.
In this life, she finally possessed the means to change her fate.
She would make this second chance count.
Having sorted out her thoughts, she reached for the mysterious book she had picked up the previous night—the book that might have changed her destiny.
She searched all over her bed.
It was nowhere to be found.
Trying to contact the voice, she called out in her mind:
“Hey, where’s the book?”
For a long time there was no response.
Just when she was about to give up, the voice lazily replied:
“It was me in the first place. It’s not strange for it to disappear.”
“And another thing.”
“My name isn’t ‘Hey.’”
“I’m called…”
A pause followed.
“Right… what am I called again?”
Shen Biqian was speechless.
A person who couldn’t even remember his own name was truly a rare specimen.
Ignoring his endless muttering about his forgotten identity, she finished washing up and left the dormitory.
She found a quiet place on campus where Wood Element energy was particularly abundant.
Crossing her legs, she sat down and closed her eyes.
Following the cultivation method of the Five Elements Art, she began practicing.
Her chest rose and fell gently.
Each breath formed a perfect cycle.
As she breathed, Wood Element energy entered through her forehead and nourished her body and bones.
Gradually, a green vortex formed around her.
Wood Element particles from the surrounding area were drawn toward her before pouring into her body.
Time passed second by second.
Yet she continued cultivating tirelessly.
Su Jianmo found the situation rather strange.
Normally, wherever he went, the peculiar green specks would swarm around him eagerly.
Today was different.
Most of them seemed to be attracted elsewhere.
Curious, he followed the flow of green specks.
Soon he discovered Shen Biqian.
She sat cross-legged at the center of a green vortex.
The green specks that had caused him endless trouble were pouring into her forehead one after another.
Su Jianmo didn’t know exactly what she was doing.
Still, he vaguely suspected she was cultivating.
As he approached, even the green specks surrounding him began merging into her vortex.
The number of specks around him steadily decreased.
Eventually, he simply found a nearby spot and sat down as well.
A faint smile appeared in his usually cold eyes.
When an extremely thin stream of spiritual energy finally formed a complete circulation path inside her body, Shen Biqian knew she had succeeded.
The first step was complete.
From now on, all she needed to do was continue absorbing Wood Element energy and gradually strengthen that tiny thread of spiritual power.
“Whew…”
Slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, Shen Biqian felt the spiritual energy flowing gently through her body.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly into a relieved smile.
“Are you done cultivating?”
A calm voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.
To Shen Biqian, however, it was like a thunderclap exploding out of nowhere.
Her eyes flew open.
“You?!”
“I was drawn here by those green specks.”
“Oh.”
She responded blankly.
Looking at him, Shen Biqian suddenly felt awkward and at a loss for what to do.
Su Jianmo.
The campus heartthrob whose name could make countless girls’ eyes light up with admiration.
Shen Biqian had always believed that someone as ordinary as herself lived in a completely different world from him.
Although they had been classmates for two years, they had probably exchanged fewer than three sentences in total.
She still didn’t understand why, in her previous life, he had suddenly appeared when the demonic beasts were about to tear her apart and told her that from then on, he would protect her.
At this moment, her emotions were incredibly complicated.
She didn’t know how to interact with him.
By all rights, they were still practically strangers who had barely spoken.
Yet she couldn’t pretend that those two weeks of unwavering protection in her previous life had never happened.
Su Jianmo found her dazed expression rather amusing.
She had always been cheerful and quick to smile.
This was the first time he had seen her look like this.
“Have you gone silly?”
“Uh…”
Shen Biqian let out an awkward sound and forced a smile before steadying herself.
“I was just surprised to see you.”
“You can see these Wood Elements too?”
As she spoke, she looked up at him.
Then she suddenly froze.
The dense mass of Wood Elements that had always surrounded him was completely gone.
“Where are all the Wood Elements around you?!”
“Wood Elements?”
Su Jianmo looked surprised.
“You mean those green specks around me?”
When Shen Biqian nodded repeatedly, he replied casually,
“You absorbed them.”
“Uh…”
Shen Biqian froze again.
No wonder her cultivation speed had nearly doubled halfway through her training.
But those Wood Elements were extremely important to him as well.
She shouldn’t have absorbed them all like that.
Seeing the guilt on her face, Su Jianmo tried to reassure her.
“It’s fine.”
“They’ve been surrounding me all this time and causing quite a few problems in my daily life.”
“You actually helped solve one of my troubles.”
“If anything, I should be thanking you.”
That only made Shen Biqian feel even guiltier.
“Don’t say that.”
“You just don’t know how important they are to you.”
She hesitated before speaking seriously:
“Anyway, from now on, whenever I’m cultivating… stay farther away from me.”