I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

"...You've actually been given a divinely bestowed secret technique from a completely different field. Just who is this alien god of yours?"

The person in the mirror clicked their tongue in amazement.

"Could it really be as I suspect, the old master who has returned from the 'Great Silence'..."

Just as Xue Jing was about to speak, his gaze suddenly shifted, looking at the corpse of the true dragon beside him.

At this moment, the tattered dragon corpse, covered in fine knife wounds, was slowly but visibly collapsing towards the center.

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes slightly: "What's going on?"

The person in the mirror said leisurely, "Don't worry, it's already dead."

"...Pureblood dragons are born of nature without fathers or mothers, and after their death they will naturally return to nature."

"Its flesh and blood will turn into nutrients, nourishing the land. This area will be very fertile for the next few decades, or even hundreds of years, and everything planted will yield a great harvest."

"In addition, it will leave something behind."

Xue Jing asked, "What is it?"

The person in the mirror: "Egg."

"It must be the survival instinct that remains after death. A final dragon egg will be laid on its body, which will largely inherit its own genes."

"However, only those born in nature qualify as pure-blooded dragons. The dragon eggs they lay, no matter how close they are to the original dragon, are only a semblance of it. Moreover, since they are merely 'embers' after death, they are even inferior to the bloodline of guardian dragons."

"This dragon egg is your spoils of war. What do you plan to do with it?"

Xue Jing thought for a moment and then smiled, "Give it to Renia; we owe her a lot this time."

The person in the mirror nodded, somewhat relieved.

"You're quite generous... If this dragon egg were auctioned off, it should fetch at least 50 million Zhuxia coins."

Xue Jing: "?"

He scratched his head: "Can I take it back?"

The person in the mirror said irritably, "Don't be so petty. A word spoken is a word kept."

Xue Jing smiled and said, "Just kidding, it's only fifty million."

He stretched and planned to find a place to take a nap.

Although my stats were immediately maxed out after using Twin Resurrection, I didn't feel tired at all.

But the memory of the previous hours of intense fighting was still there, and following the momentum of that memory, he felt it was better to take a rest.

The final strike, 'Cherry Blossom Full Moon,' also took a heavy toll on mental energy, as it was an ultimate technique.

"Hmm? Wait a minute, look at its head."

The person in the mirror suddenly spoke, pointing to the dragon horns on the real dragon's corpse.

The tree was entwined with twisted black branches, but the cherry blossoms that had bloomed on the branches had all withered and decayed.

Upon seeing this, Xue Jing suddenly realized, "Oh right, I almost forgot about that."

"This is the real 'spoils of war'!"

As he spoke, Xue Jing reached out and touched the black branch on the dragon's horn.

With a touch of his finger, he immediately left a 'sign' on the branch.

When Xue Jing opened the panel, he saw that the Lv6 level Plant Contract should be in a state of near full mana bar because all the previous seeds had been destroyed.

However, as soon as the contract was formed on the branch on the dragon's horn, the name of the contract immediately became dull and lifeless, and the blue bar was consumed by more than half!

"The more powerful the plant, the greater its consumption."

Xue Jing's eyes lit up, and he pulled the branch off the dragon's head and threw it on the ground.

Then he snapped his fingers, and the branch immediately took root in the spot, wriggling and multiplying, growing into a towering black tree tens of meters tall in no time.

Countless silvery-white cherry blossoms bloom on the branches, creating a breathtaking sight.

A petal fell slowly at a speed of five centimeters per second and was caught in Xue Jing's palm.

"I'll call you 'Dragon Sakura'."

Xue Jing whispered.

After he finished speaking, he felt something was off.

Hidden Dragon Style, Dragon Horns, Dragon Cherry Blossom...

"Damn, it makes me feel like I have dragon cancer, with most of my martial arts skills related to dragons."

……

Chapter 170 Dragon Cherry Power, Magical Martial Arts Training, Excellent Skill, Makes My Magnetic Field Rotate

"It's off! It's off!!"

"The mirror world's reflection and fusion have actually been broken? Wasn't it said that we had to destroy the core of the boundary area to do so?"

Outside the 'Roaring Waterfall', several staff members wearing heat-resistant protective suits stood in front of the equipment and exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't the core of Roaring Falls a pure-blooded dragon? Could our previous assumptions have been wrong? That shouldn't be the case."

"The core of a typical border area should house the strongest creature, so a pure-blooded dragon should be no problem... Could it be a 'regular' core?"

"Anyway, it's good that it's broken. Go and inform Dr. Shen immediately!"

"Could it be that the boy named Xue Jing really killed the pure-blooded dragon...?"

"Haha, what are you kidding? How could that be? He's only seventeen."

……

Inside the tent, Dr. Shen and the members of the Void Blade Squad breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the news.

"Xue Jing actually succeeded..."

"No wonder she's someone that Miss Wu values ​​so highly. How did you find such a talent?"

Dr. Shen relaxed after six days of tension and smiled.

"At his age, he actually managed to take down a pureblood dragon single-handedly... No matter what method he used, this achievement is among the best in the world."

"It's such a waste that such a genius is only an unofficial member of White Raven..."

Xu Ren crossed his arms and said, "There's nothing I can do. He himself has no intention of officially joining the organization. Ordinary people would kill to get in and get a government job, but he doesn't care at all. If I hadn't used the divine relic as a lure, he wouldn't even want to be an unofficial member..."

Dr. Shen pondered for a moment and said, "This time, the higher-ups will probably offer even more favorable terms. Let's try to get it again. I think it would be a loss for the country if this person didn't join the organization..."

Xu Ren: "I can only say that I tried my best... but the chances are slim. He is not someone who can be restrained."

Dr. Shen nodded: "Then let's do it this way. You contact Miss Wu's side, and I'll arrange for someone to go to the border area to meet Xue Jing and handle the follow-up matters..."

……

Several thick, black roots twisted and turned, binding and tying up the beast as if it were a chick.

Two of the roots, with their pointed ends, pierced directly into the neck of the vomiting beast, and a faint 'glug glug' sucking sound could be heard.

The beast let out a shrill scream, its body visibly shriveling up. In less than half a minute, it was drained dry, reduced to skin and bones, and died on the spot.

Xue Jing snapped his fingers, retracting the black roots of the dragon cherry.

"As expected, Dragon Cherry possesses the ability to absorb life force."

"...However, the speed at which it absorbs the energy is quite different compared to when a pure-blooded dragon uses it."

He spoke.

Compared to the previous pure-blooded dragon's burst of petals that instantly drained him dry, when he used Dragon Cherry, even a mere vomiting beast took half a minute to absorb him, which was a bit inefficient.

"It's very simple. Pureblood dragons are powerful because of their core abilities."

The person in the mirror sat on Xue Jing's shoulders, swinging her little feet in a very good mood.

"This dragon cherry is merely a vessel for it to unleash its core power. Simply put, its core power is a 'magnifying glass,' which amplifies the dragon cherry's ability to absorb life force infinitely, thus creating that effect."

Xue Jing nodded: "I see."

Although it was a bit of a disappointment that Ryuzakura wasn't as monstrous as he had imagined, it didn't really matter.

The [Plant Contract] skill increases the strength of the contracted plants as the skill level increases.

As the Plant Contract level continues to increase, the speed at which Dragon Cherry absorbs life force will also increase.

Most importantly, even excluding the 'life-absorbing' characteristic, the strength of the Dragon Cherry itself was already quite satisfactory to him, far surpassing the Dragon Thunder Plant and Oxygen-absorbing Tree he had previously contracted.

Moreover, Ryuzakura possesses another incredibly powerful ability...

Xue Jing stretched out his right hand, allowing Long Ying to send out a small black tentacle that stuck to his arm.

'Gulp—Gulp—'

Xue Jing closed his eyes and entered a state of inner vision.

The life force within his body seemed to have been fueled, suddenly burning even more fiercely.

This is another ability of Ryūzakura – giving back.

He can feed back the life force he absorbs to himself... We haven't yet tested whether he can feed back to others.

If that's possible, then he'll have an extra, rather unusual, ability to act as a healer.

"From now on, I will never look at my health bar when I fight."

"Your blood is my blood, and my blood is still my blood."

With a thought, Xue Jing caused Long Ying to curl up and grow in reverse, transforming into a black seed the size of a walnut. He took it in his hand, touched it tenderly a couple of times, and then put it back in the pocket of his tactical uniform.

He brought in three extra tactical uniforms; the first few were damaged, and this was the last one.

After being nourished by the dragon cherry, he now feels refreshed and can't sleep.

After thinking for a moment, he simply got into position and began practicing the movements of the Shaking Armor Technique to strengthen his spleen and muscles.

In the few days since arriving at the border, he hadn't practiced any martial arts because he hadn't brought the 'Dragon Thunder Powder' with him and had been constantly hunting down dragons.