Chapter 1241: Great Omen of Misfortune
"Hey..." Celestial Serpent said with a frown, "I'm preparing to make you stronger."
"Stronger...?"
"This is also Azure Dragon's intention," Celestial Serpent said. "I've thought it over repeatedly, and I feel this path is the safest for me..."
Xiao Ran felt like she didn't quite understand what Celestial Serpent meant. "What are you doing here, speculating about Azure Dragon's intentions? If he has some meaning, does he need you to tell me?"
Celestial Serpent shook his head and said in a deep voice, "You don't understand Azure Dragon."
"I... don't understand Azure Dragon?" Xiao Ran laughed angrily upon hearing this. "That's a good joke. I don't understand Azure Dragon... then why would he entrust me with such an important mission? I'm your commander now."
"Don't fool yourself," Celestial Serpent said. "Today was your first time meeting Azure Dragon. If I'm not mistaken, even you don't know why Azure Dragon gave you this mission, right?"
While speaking, Celestial Serpent turned back to clean up the knives on the table. He wiped the blood stains off his scalpel and then walked over to a box to rummage through it.
"Even if I don't know..." Xiao Ran changed her tune, "I've indeed been heavily favored by Azure Dragon, you have to admit that, right?"
"So I said you don't understand Azure Dragon."
Xiao Ran watched as Celestial Serpent pulled a round object from the box, held it in his hand to examine it, then tossed it back and began searching for a second one, continuing to speak:
"To Azure Dragon... you can be useless now, but you can't be useless forever."
"What... what do you mean I'm useless now..." Xiao Ran asked irritably, "Don't just talk nonsense..."
"Wisdom, physique, 'Celestial Arts,' methods, cunning, strategy..." Celestial Serpent looked down at the box and said flatly, "Which one do you think you have?"
"I..." Xiao Ran was stunned for a moment. "I think you still haven't grasped the situation... I have 'connections.' Azure Dragon is backing me now, understand?"
"You're the one who hasn't grasped the situation," Celestial Serpent sighed. "You actually dare to treat Azure Dragon as your 'connection'... Don't you know that in his eyes, you're not even a person?"
"You..."
"If I had to say what's special about you..." Celestial Serpent shook his head, "It can only be that you've had incredible luck. God knows which eye opened, allowing someone like you to survive until now, to board the 'Train' safely, even to walk through corridors swarming with countless 'Zodiacs' and 'Rebels,' all the way to Azure Dragon's presence, and Azure Dragon, who was in a bad mood, actually didn't kill you... Ordinary people really wouldn't have such luck."
Celestial Serpent paused after speaking, feeling something was off.
Could all of this... not be luck at all?
No, he decisively abandoned that thought. If all of this was premeditated by someone, then there was no point in him struggling anymore. The opponent was too terrifying; he might as well just admit defeat.
"Luck is also part of strength, isn't it?" Xiao Ran sneered. "Saying I don't understand Azure Dragon... do any of you really understand him? Maybe he likes my type, you men just don't know it."
Celestial Serpent slowly stood up, walked to the table in the center of the room, and tossed a few things onto the surface.
Xiao Ran gasped when she saw them—four bloody eyeballs lay on the table.
"Ah... you pervert..." Xiao Ran stammered. "What are you doing?"
Celestial Serpent picked up his knife again and continued wiping it.
"Don't be ridiculous..." he said with a bitter laugh. "'Azure Dragon likes your type'... We've been 'Celestial-level' for so many years, and we can't even tell if Azure Dragon is male or female. How do you conclude he likes your type?"
Xiao Ran could no longer focus on Celestial Serpent's words. She just felt that all the "Serpents" here seemed a bit twisted—after all, who in their right mind collects eyeballs at home?
"What are you going to do...?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Sigh..." Celestial Serpent picked up a pair of used disposable gloves from the table and put them on. "No need to be afraid. I won't let you die, only make you stronger."
"These eyeballs..." Xiao Ran pointed at the table. "These eyeballs can make me stronger?"
"That's right." Celestial Serpent nodded after putting on his gloves. "Have you heard of the 'Divine Beasts' here?"
"'Divine Beasts'..." Xiao Ran hesitated. "I think I know about Vermilion Bird... He was the one who ruined me like this, but he's already dead."
"Yes." Celestial Serpent leaned on the table with his hands and looked up at Xiao Ran. "Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise are both dead. We urgently need new administrators."
"New... administrators?"
The word "administrators" definitely piqued Xiao Ran's interest.
"These four eyeballs, each represents a type of ability," Celestial Serpent said. "Originally, a 'Divine Beast' should only be implanted with three abilities, plus their own 'Celestial Arts' to make four. Aside from Azure Dragon and the Heavenly Dragon, 'Divine Beasts' have four, 'Celestial-level' have three—that's the rule Azure Dragon established."
Only then did Xiao Ran feel she had slightly misunderstood the situation.
Although Celestial Serpent's actions looked somewhat frightening, she hadn't expected his goal was to make her acquire those marvelous spells.
She still remembered how she had been when Vermilion Bird stole her sanity—that man floating in midair, superhumanly strong and appearing and disappearing like a god descending to earth.
Could she reach that level too?
"So... these are the 'abilities'?" Xiao Ran pointed at the eyeballs on the table.
"Yes."
"What are they?" Xiao Ran asked again.
"Mainly for emergency response and close-quarters combat." Celestial Serpent looked at the eyeballs on the table. "Pretty much the job Black Tortoise used to have. After all, you need to handle the problems on the 'Train' first."
"In other words..." Xiao Ran paused. "I'll be Black Tortoise from now on?"
"Ha..." Celestial Serpent couldn't help but laugh at that, then quickly shook his head. "No, no, no... Don't insult Black Tortoise. She's my most satisfactory creation to date, and the name 'Black Tortoise' is one I'm very pleased with. It's steady and restrained, fitting Wu Xuan well. I can hardly call you Black Tortoise."
"What kind of talk is that..." Xiao Ran said. "Can't I be more to your liking than that Xuan or whatever?"
Celestial Serpent sneered, his expression ambiguous, and only sighed. "Hard to say, but I don't mind giving you a new name, one more in line with your personality and style."
"What is it?"
"'Qiongqi,'" Celestial Serpent said.
"'Qiongqi'... What kind of weird thing is that?"
Xiao Ran paused, feeling that her vocational school textbooks probably hadn't covered this animal, but the name sounded decent.
"In any case, it's also an ancient beast, similar to 'Black Tortoise' in principle." Celestial Serpent reached out and patted the table before him. "When you're ready, come lie down."