I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

"Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jing snapped out of his reverie, glanced at her, waved his hand, and said:

“What, Your Majesty… You can just keep calling me Xue Jing, Renia.”

Renia curled her lip and said, "Your identity has already been approved by the elders and recorded in the 'Book of Laws'..."

"If I act so disrespectfully towards you, I'll be reprimanded by the elders."

Xue Jing stroked his chin: "You are my personal translator, my only means of communication. How dare they be disrespectful to you?"

Renia didn't understand the meaning of "朕" (Zhen, meaning "I, the Emperor") at first, but when the simultaneous interpretation headset received this difficult-to-translate word, it quickly explained its specific meaning to her.

This is how emperors and rulers refer to themselves.

Renia retorted, "You seem to get into character pretty quickly."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "It's probably just a matter of habit... because I'm known as the 'most useless priestess in history,' unable to even tame a dragon, and that's why they've always treated me this way, and even now, they still look down on me."

Xue Jing smiled and said softly:

"Don't worry, probably after tomorrow, you will no longer be the 'most useless priestess in history,' but the 'most legendary priestess in history.'"

Renia was silent for a moment, then her eyes hardened, and she said in a low voice:

"What do you need me to do?"

Xue Jing reached into his tactical uniform pocket and pulled out four... no, three and a half snake-slaying talons.

After thinking for a moment, he took back two of them, handing only the two intact ones to Renia.

"Once the sacrificial ceremony successfully summons the Dragon God, find an opportunity to drive these two claws into its body."

Renya reached out and took the two claws that inexplicably made her heart pound. Clutching her wildly beating heart, she asked, "Where should we nail them?"

The person in the mirror inside Xue Jing's bracelet spoke up: "Anywhere is fine... but the torso or head would be best."

Renia ran her fingers over her two beautiful, shimmering, silvery claws, and asked in confusion:

"But... with my power, it's impossible for me to harm Lord Dragon God, is it?"

Xue Jing said, "Just keep pricking it, don't think about anything else."

After a moment of silence, Renia said with some disappointment:

"Then... will I die?"

Attacking the Dragon God at close range... Regardless of what happens to the Dragon God after being attacked, her fate is obvious.

Will she die?

Xue Jing did not answer immediately, but pondered for a moment before saying seriously:

“I cannot assure you of that, Renia.”

"Your actions are dangerous, and I won't lie to you about that."

"You may die, or you may not... the probability of dying is much greater than the probability of surviving."

All I can say is that I will do everything in my power to protect your safety whenever possible.

"What you are about to do is this dangerous."

Xue Jing reached out and patted her head gently, saying:

"If you're scared, you can refuse. There's no need to feel guilty; it's just human nature."

Renia was stunned for a moment, somewhat lost in thought.

A glimmer of light appeared in her eyes as she murmured, "Why didn't you lie to me and say there was no danger?"

"Why don't you threaten me and force me to do this?"

Upon hearing this question, Xue Jing chuckled.

"...I'm not so depraved as to deceive or coerce a little girl."

He paused, then said gently, "Our relationship is consensual and based on equality. Putting all that aside, you are still my friend, and I would never do such a thing to you."

Renia's eyes brightened slightly: "What if I choose to refuse?"

Xue Jing laughed and said, "Then I'll go and kill the Dragon God by myself."

Renia's eyes brightened even more: "You'll have a hard time without my help, won't you?"

Xue Jing nodded: "To be honest, yes."

"If you don't help me, the probability of me killing the Dragon God will become very low... almost impossible."

Renia's voice trembled slightly: "Can't you do without me?"

Xue Jing said solemnly, "I can't do without you. Only you can help me, only you can do it."

Tears suddenly streamed down the girl's face.

"Only I can do it..."

"How could I refuse after hearing something like that..."

For the first time in her life, the priestess, who was known as the 'most useless priestess,' had her self-worth affirmed.

……

"Were you acting just now? Were you lying to her?"

In the valley, Xue Jing strolled around, searching for dragon thunder plants.

The dozen or so Dragon Thunder Seeds he had collected earlier were almost all destroyed in the deadly battle with the third Guardian Dragon. This time, facing a pure-blooded dragon, he needed to collect even more.

Faced with the question from the person in the mirror, Xue Jing smiled and said:

"Why do you ask that? Do I look like I'm acting?"

The person in the mirror was silent for a moment, then shook their head and said, "It doesn't seem like acting, but I feel that you are a very good actor."

"...I'm just genuinely curious, did you deliberately play the emotional card to get her to agree?"

Xue Jing thought for a moment and said, "One-third of it was intentional, right?"

“I do think that if I say it like that, it should move her and make her do it willingly.”

"...However, not a single word I said was a lie."

“If she is unwilling, I will not force her; this is a mutually agreeable collaboration.”

"I needed to kill the Dragon God, and so did she. Given that we both needed this outcome, I simply gave her a gentle push."

Xue Jing knelt down in front of a golden flower crown, gently touching the petals with his fingers to inscribe a mark on them.

"If we go this far, Renia still chooses to refuse out of fear."

"That means her character is only this bad. I wouldn't entrust her with such a crucial 'claw'..."

The person in the mirror sighed, "You're very mature... not like a child."

Xue Jing put the golden seed into his pocket and smiled, "Is this a compliment?"

The person in the mirror crossed their arms and didn't reply. Instead, they glanced at Xue Jing's glasses and said mockingly:

"Actually, there's an even simpler way to make her wholeheartedly work for you."

Xue Jing understood its meaning, but shook his head and said:

"If it really comes to the task, I won't hesitate to use this face."

"The premise is that it is truly necessary."

The person in the mirror snorted and said teasingly, "Was I talking about your face? You're so narcissistic."

……

Xue Jing spent the entire day collecting dragon thunder plant seeds throughout the territories of the various guardian dragons.

The final harvest was about twenty-five or twenty-six.

It's not that we can't collect more, but rather that we've reached the limit for Plant Contracts.

In order to contract more seeds, he even used 1200 points of divinity to upgrade the Plant Contract to level 6, the same as Shadowflame.

Now, he has completely pushed his strength to the limit he can currently achieve, and Aban really has no more left.

When he returned to this country, it was already close to noon the next day.

At this time, the altar in the square had been completed.

Various ritual objects were placed around the square, along with meat from numerous creatures and various local specialties that Xue Jing couldn't identify, all laid out as offerings throughout the square, which had become an altar.

Hundreds of people from this country, dressed in various colorful sacrificial robes, were in their positions, ready and waiting for the ceremony to begin.

On the high platform at the very center of the altar, Renia, with heavy makeup on her face, dressed in a priestess's robes, wearing a magnificent crown, and holding a hook-blade-like ritual implement in each hand, knelt quietly.

Xue Jing did not enter the city, but stood far away on the hillside, looking down at the sacrificial site below.

Time passed slowly until noon, when the sun was high in the sky and the sacrificial ceremony officially began.

The shaman below the platform seemed to be saying something. After he finished speaking, all the priests started to move on their own, and Renia also began to dance on the platform.

As the ceremony proceeded, a mysterious, invisible force seemed to gradually emanate from the altar.

"Boom——!!"

A deafening thunderclap resounded, and Xue Jing's gaze turned towards the center of the border—the roaring waterfall.

Huge golden lightning bolts kept striking down from the sky, and every time one struck, he would hear a clap of thunder a moment later.

"call out--"

Under Xue Jing's gaze, a huge shadow shot into the sky from the roaring waterfall.

Its speed is so fast that, because of the distance, the experience is not very profound.

However, the continuous sonic booms emanating from its body and the white shockwaves spreading along its path all pointed to one fact.

Xue Jing's pupils contracted slightly: "Supersonic..."

At that speed, just standing on its back would probably be too much for his body to handle, let alone being hit by it...