I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

He lied to the Red Dragon about something.

Even if Kal'tsit were found and her secret of immortality were uncovered, the only information that might be useless is that "she is immortal."

To truly transcend the mundane and ascend to immortality, one must rely on something more wondrous and effective.

And this entity is the [System] that has been with him since his birth.

The first thing a newborn baby sees is the [system] that greets him.

According to it, it is a newly born "Seeker of the Way" who has been pursuing a path called "Ascension".

The daylight was the first life to accompany it, so it would do its best to help it and hoped that the daylight would "ascend to a higher dimension" with it to explore the true meaning of the "Tao".

The System has no name. According to it, the meaning of the System is: consistent order, orderly sequence, which perfectly conforms to its path. Therefore, it is asked that the daytime call it that.

The system will issue tasks to help Bai Zhou become stronger and will give him good rewards through evaluations. It will also act as a mentor to him, teaching him knowledge on a regular basis.

Bai Zhou once asked the system why it treated him so gently and patiently.

The system's answer is:

The path to enlightenment is long and uncertain, but they are unique fellow travelers. Only by supporting each other can they reach the end.

Therefore, he trusts the system during the day, just as the system trusts him.

Thoughts faded, and reason returned.

"Ascension meme... So, I can use it now, right?"

[Ascension Meme], one of the abilities Bai Zhou obtained from the system. It is a transparent octahedron composed of an unknown crystal. Inside the crystal is a cluster of shining [pheromones]. Injecting it into the body will cause the individual to enter a long enhancement period called [Ascension]. After the enhancement period ends, the individual will enter a completely new life stage. Immortality is merely a byproduct and the most basic characteristic.

【Mythical Ascension】is a type of ascension meme. According to the system, this meme will allow the recipient to evolve into a higher life form that is most similar to the one recorded in the world's history.

The system did indeed provide information about the life form that Bai Ri used memes to eventually evolve into – [Shenlong].

Does the evolution of life in both directions begin with hatching from an egg?

All external objects held by the individual have been removed.

[Ascension meme is being injected. Fellow practitioners, please ensure your surroundings are sufficiently safe.]

Fragments of a transparent, octahedral crystal were scattered on the ground, and golden specks of light formed an egg that enveloped the life within.

[Energy is being injected...]

Dark clouds slowly gathered here, blocking out the sunlight and bringing a storm.

[A storm is brewing...]

Life is changing.

[The Soul of the Holy Dragon merges...]

A sudden storm arose between heaven and earth, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Time flows by like water.

[The initial correction of the meme ascension is complete, taking two full calendar days.]

Suddenly, a dragon's roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

"I have returned."

Beneath the storm, a true dragon emerges from its shell.

He used his powers to dispel the demons, allowing the sun to shine on the land once more.

The golden arcane energy enveloped his body, transforming into clothing, and his figure slowly disappeared into the forest.

■

Squatting beside a puddle, Bai Zhou scrutinized his current appearance.

A perfectly reforged amber horn, a finely trimmed, dark tail with orderly overlapping scales, dazzling holy blue eyes, and a slightly youthful face...

Wait, something seems off.

Bai Zhou scrubbed his face, and the reflection in the puddle made a strange expression in response.

"I……"

Have you turned into a child?

The face reflected on the water wasn't that of someone in their twenties, but rather what he looked like when he was eleven or twelve.

This... I never said that ascension would make you younger!

“Xi, cubs are excellent disguises. Foolish weaklings cannot see the truth.”

The Heavenly Fiend whispered in the daytime's ear, its words filled with joy. In its view, as long as it could become stronger and acquire enough arcane energy, any change would be worthwhile.

"...That's certainly true in principle."

"That's good. This way, no one will recognize me, which will definitely help with future actions."

During the day, I don't dwell on changes.

The ascension took quite a while; two days had already passed for him, and Kal'tsit was probably nowhere to be found.

He had to hurry and find that Filin that had been alive for who knows how long.

As for what to do after finding him, that depends on his mood at the time.

"I hope you won't make my trip in vain, the ageless Kal'tsit."

###

[A small restaurant in a mercenary community on the border of Kazdel]

"Hey, hey, hey, agent, what's going on with this mission? How did an outsider suddenly break in? And they took all my goods and my employer away!"

The mercenary leader, frustrated by the failed mission, shouted at his intermediary.

"Quiet down, Graytooth."

The middleman carefully wiped the plate in his hand clean, then placed a stack of gold beside him into the plate and pushed it to the mercenary who was complaining incessantly.

"Anyway, you're back alive, and your employer is even willing to pay you a third of the remaining balance. As a loser, you should act more cheerful."

"Tch, if it weren't for that monster, would I need to take this little thing? It's only eleven yuan, not even enough to feed a dog."

The mercenary Rupert gritted his teeth and pocketed the gold coins, but he continued to curse and swear.

"I advise you to quickly buy a drink and get drunk."

The intermediary looked behind him and smiled slightly.

"Welcome, our strongest mercenary, Tian Sha."

"..."

The mercenary Greytooth, who had been loud and boisterous just moments before, was now quiet and obedient, like a pet dog beside a Victorian noblewoman.

The agent poured the visitor a cup of Ussart Oolong tea and then struck up a conversation with him.

"This mission must have been very fruitful, Tian Sha."

"A group of weak people is like a large wheat field; a farmer can cut it down with just a light swing of his sickle."

The mercenary, clad in a black robe and wearing strange armor, sat beside Grey Fang. He didn't touch the flammable liquid, but simply raised his right hand to the intermediary and tossed down a pile of nameplates.

Those were mercenaries, or at least they used to be.

The agent gathered the pile of name tags and checked the names on them one by one.

“Golden Crocodile…Heavy Rock…Black Mountain…”

“Yes, they’re all genuine nameplates. You know, Tian Sha, we in this business have to keep our word. We can’t just hand out fakes to our clients and then slap them in the face and tell them it’s the mission objective. Oh, by the way, your payment, just a moment.”

He bent down, opened the cabinet at his feet, and pulled out a box, pushing it towards the mercenary.

"What you want."

"..."

The mercenary pulled the box over and gently stroked its outer shell.

"Very good, the smell of Olympia".

"Oh, by the way, someone provided information about the missing person notice you asked me to post before."

The intermediary looked at him and pushed out a piece of paper.

"Zetton the Dinosaur, a lone wolf."

"He needs a lot of money to buy equipment, so he basically takes on any kind of mission. This also means that his information network... well, it's quite extensive."

"Zetton the dinosaur...where is he?"

Tian Sha took the paper; a line of text was written on it.

[Meet me at the execution platform on the Hill of Judgment in three days.]

"Three days?"

"Today."

The intermediary wore a smile, showing no remorse for missing the opportunity.

"understood."

The mercenary picked up the box, stood up, and slowly left.

"call--!"

Turning his head to watch the person leave the small restaurant, the mercenary Greytooth finally let out a long breath, grabbed the oolong tea that Tian Sha hadn't touched, and gulped it down in one go.

"What a terrifying guy!"

Like a drowned dog that had just climbed ashore, Greytooth was panting heavily.

"Thank you for your patronage, ten gold coins."

The intermediaries ruthlessly exploited their regular customers.

"Damn! It's ridiculously expensive, like in Syracuse."