The Cockroach-like Girl Is My Beast-Chapter 432 - 403: Stop Playing with My Tail

"Hey, wake up."

Lin Guang awoke from a deep sleep, feeling something gently prodding his face.

He opened his eyes and found it was the tip of a black and red tail.

Half-asleep, he grabbed the tail tip, which was sharp like an arrowhead yet vaguely heart-shaped, and instinctively pinched it lightly between his fingers. It was actually soft, with the delicate texture of the finest leather and exuded a familiar fragrance.

"...Stop messing with my tail, at least consider the occasion, okay?"

A girl’s helpless yet amused voice came from above: "Someone’s looking for you."

Lin Guang snapped awake and sat up from the bed.

The room was brightly lit,

and the three girls were still there.

But there were two more people in the room now.

—It was Leng Shengnan and Du Qing.

"Why are you guys here?"

He asked.

"It’s been almost a month since we last saw you."

Du Qing raised his eyebrows; a faint smile appeared on his gloomy yet handsome face: "As teammates, of course, we had to come and check on you."

"I can’t believe someone who could defeat such opponents would go down so easily."

The brown-haired boy in front of him still had the same image as the impressionable beautiful boy, his attire unchanged as if he hadn’t experienced the injuries from that Celestial Ladder Mountain event.

However... something had changed a bit.

The aura around him had grown significantly stronger.

Additionally, his black trench coat was still the tattered one from the third trial of the Celestial Ladder Mountain, full of tears and holes.

Yet it somehow complemented his aura, even giving off a mutually enhancing effect.

—Du Qing seemed to be commemorating his disgrace in this manner.

Lin Guang smiled: "No, I mean, weren’t you supposed to have a special training today?"

Leng Shengnan laughed: "It’s long over, what time do you think it is? You must have been confused in your sleep."

Lin Guang checked his phone and realized he had been asleep for two hours; it was already 7 p.m. Chelina might have wanted him to rest a bit longer and didn’t wake him up as planned.

... No wonder he felt much more rejuvenated when he woke up.

The cold senior in front of him had not changed much, except that her eyes were as bright as Du Qing’s, and her aura had significantly improved.

She looked at Lin Guang and suddenly put away her smile, showing a serious expression: "Is your progress smooth? How is your condition?"

"The harvest is quite good, and my condition is under control. The inheritance from Celestial Ladder Mountain is very powerful and highly cost-effective."

Lin Guang smiled, choosing to deliver the good news rather than the bad,

"Before the state competition, I should be able to raise my Talent to the level of four Dao Marks."

"..."

Upon hearing this, not only did Leng Shengnan show an uncontrollable surprise, but even a rather complex look flashed through Du Qing’s eyes.

The inheritance was indeed impressive... worth the difficulties and level of skill required to obtain it.

For a prodigy like Du Qing, from a powerful sect, Dao Marking was indispensable. To ensure Du Qing could progress further in this state competition full of talented competitors, the Celestial Star Sect had already started marking Dao Marks for him.

The appearance of a second star on his Dao Marks previously was due to this.

As for why it hadn’t been sooner... the Three-Star threshold is challenging; without a strong enough foundation and capacity, marking Dao Marks is naturally difficult.

Now, Du Qing’s [Wings of Dawn] already had a second complete Dao Mark, and the Six-winged Holy Light Beast had completed its first.

But... the spiritual materials consumed were by no means insignificant.

The Celestial Star Sect, as one of the top medium-sized sects in Li Hai City, possessed many resource Secret Realms and several Divine Objects. Although none could directly mark Dao Marks, the sect retained a grand array inheritance centered on Divine Objects that could achieve the same effect by consuming spiritual materials and Divine Objects of the corresponding Attribute.

However, activating this Grand Array required significant expenses.

Even marking from 0 to 1 Dao Mark required a great deal of resources—and for Du Qing to use, these spiritual materials had to be Light Attribute.

It’s known that Light Attribute spiritual materials are hard to come by, akin to Spiritual Elements, with a high premium.

Du Qing and his Six-winged Holy Light Beast combined, had extra marked two Dao Marks, consuming resources unimaginable to an average person, a fortune that could easily train several Purple Talent civilian geniuses to the Five-Star Peak.

And Lin Guang? He simply used one ordinary Divine Object and Tier Six Spiritual Materials each to mark half a Dao Mark.

Not to mention, the more foundational Dao Marks there are, the more challenging they are to mark.

Yet...

If it’s about Lin Guang, Du Qing felt this reasoning was fitting.

He didn’t continue with further words but looked at Lin Guang and the three girls beside him, a platinum flash passing through his eyes: "You said this time you’re aiming for the championship, so I assume you’ve all made your preparations."

"You already know most of your opponents; you should have an idea about the level of this competition."

"You and I will be marking Dao Marks, and surely they will too. Though they might not be as efficient as you, they have vast resources from sects and families as backing, and they’re rapidly improving... so don’t underestimate anyone."

"It’s rumored that Yin Long has been in seclusion for four months, and since this state competition is held in Li Hai City, he has the home field advantage and can stay secluded until the last moment. By then, the number of Dao Marks will likely be quite terrifying."

"Besides Yin Long, his team has two other people, generally ranked over five hundred in Talent, who didn’t compete for the inheritance last time but are still prodigies, reaching the level of one Dao Mark wouldn’t be difficult."

Du Qing leaned against the wall: "As for the point competition, starting in May, whether you participate or not doesn’t matter; the worst-case scenario is Leng Shengnan and I can secure second place to advance, allowing you to conserve your Ability intel."

"Jiang Nalan and his team probably think the same way."

"..."

He thought of something and frowned: "I originally wanted to challenge Jiang Nalan, but he refused me."

"Otherwise, I could have tested some things for you."

In a moment.

Not only was Lin Guang a bit surprised, but also Chelina and Vishdair showed astonishment.

Du Qing?

Challenging Jiang Nalan?

The old Du Qing would never have uttered such words.

It’s not about saving face; this was fact.

According to Du Qing’s previous character, it’d be impossible to have the will to challenge someone ’stronger than himself.’

Du Qing looked at Lin Guang, simply shook his head, and calmly said, "People change."

"You change, she changes, so of course, I will change too."

"Alright, I won’t disturb you anymore."

He turned around, heading out of the ward.

Leng Shengnan also smiled and turned to leave: "Then, I’ll take my leave too."

—Du Qing hadn’t mentioned one thing.

After the Celestial Ladder Mountain inheritance ended,

The day after his injuries healed, and his spirit recovered, he voluntarily entered a certain trial within the sect—that was a challenge left by the first sect leader, the Celestial Star True Man.

There were no rewards, just a test and challenge of oneself.

He spent a full three days and nights to come out from within, even though he was battered all over, he seemed to have figured something out.

The former Du Qing would never have done such a thing, but the Celestial Ladder Mountain trial, along with life at the Experimental School during this period, had changed him immensely.

He seemed to have found his path.

Interestingly, True Man Pu Xiang was not surprised by this event, instead laughed proudly—it seemed he sent Du Qing to the Experimental School precisely to witness this.

The Celestial Star Sect Leader, a Seven-Star powerhouse, who had always appeared somewhat cold to Du Qing and seemed to observe him, finally accepted Du Qing as a close disciple after he came out of seclusion and designated him as the next sect leader, determined to fully cultivate him.

As he said...

People do change.

No exceptions for anyone.