Lin Hao gripped the hilt of the stone-embedded sword, rainwater dripping from his cloak. The rented room’s oil lamp flickered as he braced himself. "Tianyan Academy can wait. Let’s see what you’re hiding."

Ding! Seal release confirmed. 50,000 taels deducted.

The sword slid free with a metallic shriek. Black miasma erupted, coiling around his arm like living smoke. A roar shook the room’s foundation—not through air, but directly into his bones.

"ROARRRR—!"

The Wolf Spider skittered backward, mandibles clacking. The Kung Fu Fly buzzed frantically as Lin Hao’s pupils dilated. His spiritual vision revealed the nightmare within—a shadowy dragon with eyes like molten rubies, its spectral claws raking at the confines of his mind.

Ding! Soul Defense Protocol activated. 100,000 taels deducted.

Emerald chains materialized in his mentalscape, binding the beast mid-lunge. The demon dragon thrashed, its psychic scream shaking Lin Hao’s teeth. "PATHETIC MORTAL! YOU DARE CAGE A CHILD OF THE ABYSS?!"

Lin Hao smirked through gritted teeth. "Took you long enough to show yourself."

The dragon’s form flickered—ancient scales peeling to reveal raw, oozing spirit-matter. Centuries sealed within the sword’s prison had eroded its might, yet its fury burned undimmed. It slammed against the emerald barrier, each impact sending starbursts across Lin Hao’s vision.

"Release me! I shall grant you dominion over burning kingdoms!"

"Hard pass." Lin Hao willed the chains tighter. The dragon howled as green light seared its shadow-flesh. "Now talk. Why were you sealed in this ‘Soul Devourer Sword’?"

The beast stilled. Memories flickered through their forced mental link—a moonlit battlefield, a warlord screaming as the blade drank his soul, then centuries of choking darkness. "The smith… betrayed me…" its voice guttered like dying embers. "Forged this prison… stole my true name…"

Lin Hao pressed. "Your ‘true name’ controls you?"

The dragon’s tail lashed. "Even broken… I am Zhar’goth… Scourge of the Obsidian Wastes!" Its roar faltered as the chains constricted. "Mercy… Great One…"

Lin Hao leaned closer, the Fly’s compound eyes capturing every twitch of the spirit-beast’s disintegration. "Serve as my blade’s spirit, and I’ll grant you…" He paused, channeling the system’s cold inflection. "...limited sunlight."

The dragon’s snarl died. "Sunlight?" Its voice cracked. "Millennia since I…"

"Deal?"

Black ichor dripped from the beast’s jaws as it bowed. "Zhar’goth… accepts."

Ding! Soul-binding complete. Sword evolution available. Consume 500,000 taels to upgrade?

Lin Hao’s thumb brushed the corroded blade. "Do it."

The sword dissolved into liquid shadow, reforming as a sleek dao with dragon-scale patterning. Zhar’goth’s growl resonated from the steel. "First blood…"

"Patience." Lin Hao sheathed the blade, noting how shadows bent away from its edge. "We’ve school to attend."

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Outside, lightning split the sky—three jagged strikes forming an inverted crown. On the palace’s highest tower, Ziye lowered her spyglass.

"Demon-binding?" She traced the fading sigils in the rain-smeared window. "Interesting curriculum for a ‘blind’ student."

Her fingers danced, etching a warning into a messenger talisman. The characters glowed crimson: Target wields Zhar’goth. Expedite Academy infiltration.

The paper crane took flight, wings slicing through storm clouds. Far below, Lin Hao’s rented window darkened as the Wolf Spider spun blackout silk across the glass.

The game escalated.

----------------------------------------

Draconic Metamorphosis

The sword pulsed in Lin Hao’s grip like a living heart. Zhar’goth’s voice slithered through their mental link. "Blood binds us, Master. Shall we dance?"

Lin Hao pricked his thumb on the jagged edge. Crimson droplets sizzled against the blade’s obsidian surface, etching fractal patterns that glowed like magma veins. The rented room’s shadows twisted into serpentine shapes as the oath-seal flared.

Ding! Soul-binding established. Host gains [Dragonblood Ascension] trait.

Agony lanced through his right arm. Black scales erupted from his skin, each plate grinding into place with the sound of shattering pottery. His fingers elongated into talons, shredding the sleeve as dark energy rippled across bulging musculature.

"Control it," Lin Hao growled through clenched teeth. The Fly’s compound eyes reflected his transformation—a human arm morphing into something primal, beautiful, and terrifying.

"Apologies." Zhar’goth’s mental voice dripped with poorly concealed glee. "Your mortal vessel requires... adjustment."

The Wolf Spider skittered backward, mandibles clacking in alarm. Lin Hao flexed his draconic hand, watching lamplight glint off razor-edged claws. A testing swipe cleaved the wooden bedpost like butter.

Strength: 4.7x baseline. Durability: 3.2x. Qi consumption: 12 units/sec. The Fly’s analysis scrolled through his mind.

"Limited sunlight, my ass," Lin Hao muttered, watching scales retract. His arm reverted to flesh, sleeve hanging in tatters. "You nearly drained me dry."

"A necessary calibration." The sword’s hilt warmed apologetically. "Full transformation awaits your ascension."

Lin Hao tossed the Skyfall Ore from hand to hand. The metallic black stone absorbed light like a singularity. "This prison of yours—how’s it work?"

Memories flooded their connection: starless voids, the taste of centuries, a smith’s hammer ringing against divine metal. "Forged from celestial iron to chain gods. Insert blade, and..." Zhar’goth’s shudder rattled the sword. "...silence."

The Fly landed on the ore, antennae vibrating. Scans revealed nested spatial folds within—a labyrinth where even light crawled. Lin Hao pocketed it hastily. Some toys were too dangerous for daylight.

Dawn found him at the market’s fringe stalls. Merchants recoiled as he approached, the sword’s aura coiling like smoke. A grizzled artificer peered through truth-seeing lenses.

"Storage pouch. High-grade." Lin Hao slapped down 500,000 taels. The gold card’s twin phoenix seal made the man swallow audibly.

"Y-yes, honored guest!" A silk satchel embroidered with containment arrays changed hands. Lin Hao willed the sword inside, watching it vanish into extradimensional folds.

Ding! Inventory system synchronized. 27/30 slots occupied.

Back in the rented room, he spread his acquisitions: Venomous Nightshade (Grade III), Stellar Core Fragments, a vial of Shapeshifter’s Mercury. The Wolf Spider vibrated with anticipation.

"Feast," Lin Hao commanded. The spider lunged, fangs sinking into the Nightshade. Its carapace darkened to void-black as poison glands swelled.

Ding! Wolf Spider evolution progress: 87%. Toxin potency increased to paralyze Tier 4 warriors.

The Kung Fu Fly circled the Stellar Core, wings harvesting crystalline dust. Its transparency deepened, edges sharpening to monomolecular keenness.

Ding! Kung Fu Fly achieves Rank C+. New ability: Photonic Refraction.

Zhar’goth’s chuckle echoed in his skull. "Pets and toys. Meanwhile, Tianyan’s trials approach."

Lin Hao traced the academy’s sigil on a stolen recruitment poster. Five elements interlocked around a draconic crest—the same emblem he’d seen in Ziye’s secret missive.

"Patience." He fed the Shapeshifter’s Mercury to both creatures. "We’ll arrive... memorably."

The Spider’s form blurred, resolving into a perfect replica of Lin Hao’s face. It grinned with too many teeth.

Ding! Wolf Spider unlocks [Doppelganger] skill. Duration: 15 minutes. Cooldown: 24 hours.

Somewhere in the palace archives, an alarm talisman shattered. Ziye unrolled the latest report, lips curving at the sketched image—a black-scaled arm tearing through stone.

"Zhar’goth’s host..." She burned the parchment, watching ashes spiral. "How deliciously reckless."

The game board shifted. Kings and pawns prepared their moves. And in a shabby rented room, a blind man smiled, sharpening claws against destiny’s edge.