Zhu Hongying’s question made Yun Tianye fall silent. He knew, in fact, that someone of Hua Guguang’s status would only accept an ordinary Contractor. But how could he accept it? His son was so exceptional, a young man who once had a chance of becoming the Yun Family Head, was now to become someone else’s Contractor!

Forever subject to another’s will!

"We can compensate in other ways. We can let Hua Guguang set other conditions!" Yun Tianye said hesitantly, his voice clearly lacking conviction.

"Tianye, if you’ve set your mind on her, then go and try. But do not touch that girl. Her existence poses no threat to Hua Guguang! Do not harm an innocent! Who knows, she might be the one destined for Yun Han!" Zhu Hongying warned Yun Tianye. After tucking the blanket around her unconscious son, she turned and left.

Ning Xuan didn’t know who had sent assassins to kill her. However, after thinking it over for a long time, she concluded that the Bai Family didn’t know enough about her situation to spend so much money hiring a professional assassin organization to kill her. Chen Nan had also repeatedly emphasized that his father had no way of contacting the people from the Slaughter Pavilion. So, after ruling out these two possibilities, only one answer remained.

’One of my four hidden Contractors wants to kill me!’

This realization sent a chill through Ning Xuan’s heart. She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet someone wanted her dead. ’In any world, weakness is the original sin!’

Over the past few days, Ning Xuan stayed in her lab and created three bottles of Bone Healing Potion and twenty bottles of Blue Flame Grass Potion. After deducting costs and fees, she had earned a total of 2.4 million Star Coins!

She spent 1.2 million Star Coins on a Space Button and used the rest of the money to buy more alchemy ingredients.

While crafting potions, Ning Xuan also kept up with her spiritual power Cultivation. The Soul Nourishing Scripture could already operate automatically without her needing to consciously guide it. Furthermore, the act of alchemy itself helped train her spiritual power control. Ning Xuan felt her spiritual power had improved greatly, yet she never felt close to a breakthrough.

The month was up, and it was time to return to school. By now, just from Alchemy, Ning Xuan’s Star Network account had a balance of 20 million Star Coins!

However, she still didn’t feel like she was about to break through. To check the specific status of her Spiritual Power Level, Ning Xuan once again entered the information center for a spiritual power test. This time, the results were:

Profile

Civilian (Minor)

Name: Ning Xuan

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Mother: Ning Zilan (Deceased)

Father: Bai Xiwen (Deceased)

Registered Address: D-level Star, D618 Planet, Zone 4 Residence, Xingluo Bay

Enrolled School: Xingluo Bay Middle and High Level Joint Academy

Major: Alchemy

Spiritual Power: C-level (Value 999)

Brain Domain Width: A-level

Companion Spirit (Superpower Body): Unawakened

Superpower Talent: Slash

Contractors: 5 (Information for 4 is hidden)

Ning Xuan stared at the spiritual power value of 999 and felt like a progress bar stuck at 99%. It simply wouldn’t advance, as if the system had malfunctioned. ’Is this a bottleneck?’

She didn’t know what the problem was. A staff member cleaning the machine nearby saw her troubled expression and couldn’t help but ask if she needed any help.

"Do you know why a Spiritual Power Value might get stuck at 999 and be unable to break through?" Ning Xuan asked, clinging to a sliver of hope. ’If I can just break through to B-level, I can at least find out who my enemies are.’

This was the same staff member who had just conducted Ning Xuan’s test. Because her Spiritual Power Value was so high, he had taken a closer look at her case. Hearing her question, he immediately smiled. "Miss Ning, you may have awakened late, but your talent is exceptionally high. You only awakened two months ago, and your Spiritual Power Value has already multiplied by twenty. The reason it’s stuck at 999 is that you awakened too recently and haven’t awakened your Companion Spirit yet. It’s impossible to advance to B-level without an awakened Companion Spirit, because a female Spirit Controller’s Companion Spirit can materialize at B-level!"

"Miss Ning, your actual Spiritual Power Value is likely higher than 999. As long as your Companion Spirit remains unawakened, the tested value will always cap out at this number!" the staff member explained enthusiastically.

After listening to the staff member’s explanation, Ning Xuan smiled, thanked him, and walked out of the testing room. She then logged onto the Star Network to search for relevant information. After a targeted search, Ning Xuan discovered that the staff member was correct. If she wanted to break through to B-level, she first had to awaken her Companion Spirit!

Ning Xuan stared blankly at her Light Computer’s interface. Just then, Chen Nan walked in from outside and asked with concern, "Contractor, are you all right?"

Ning Xuan sighed. "I’m fine! Let’s go! We need to head back to school!" Today was the day their leave of absence ended, and it was also the day Ning Xuan was to join the special training class.

"Yes, Contractor!" Chen Nan replied. He opened the car door for Ning Xuan, shielding the top of the doorframe with his hand to prevent her from accidentally bumping her head. After Ning Xuan got in, Chen Nan followed. Ning Xuan had been cultivating diligently for the past while in order to raise her Spiritual Power Level to B-level as quickly as possible. Seeing the test results had left her disappointed, but also more relaxed. The moment she got into the car, she felt drowsy. "I’m going to close my eyes for a bit. Wake me when we get to school!" Ning Xuan said, lying down on Chen Nan’s lap and wrapping an arm around his waist, intending to take a nap.

Chen Nan carefully adjusted his posture to let her sleep more comfortably.

Perhaps because her mind was at ease now that she knew why she couldn’t advance, Ning Xuan slept incredibly soundly. When she woke, she felt refreshed and cheerful. Ning Xuan sat up from Chen Nan’s lap, stretched, and asked, "Ah Nan, are we at the school yet?"

Then she prepared to get out of the car.

"Contractor, wait!" Chen Nan grabbed Ning Xuan.

"The temperature outside is cold. Y-you should put on an insulated suit first!" Chen Nan’s voice held a trace of nervousness.

"Cold?" Ning Xuan repeated in confusion. Just then, she saw that the world outside was a vista of ice and snow.

"Where are we? Weren’t we going to school?" Ning Xuan’s expression darkened as she realized something was wrong and demanded.

"Contractor, someone is trying to assassinate you. To ensure your safety, we can no longer stay at the house in Xingluo Bay. We’ll lay low out here for a few days. Once the danger has passed, we’ll go back!" Chen Nan explained as he unfolded the insulated suit and began to put it on Ning Xuan.

"Chen Nan, how dare you! Are you kidnapping me?" Chen Nan was usually so obedient and docile, always following her every word. Ning Xuan never imagined he would pull a stunt like this.

"Contractor, a while ago, didn’t you want to explore the Mysterious Barrier Land and see the world outside? Although it’s cold here, the natural scenery is magnificent. Just treat it as a vacation, okay?" Chen Nan pleaded, looking at Ning Xuan.