Chapter 1069: Birthday! Cat-Eared Girl?

After learning the situation at the front, Xu Jingming did not stay long at the opening ceremony.

Returning to Song Qiuyun's villa, he called his older brother Zhou Yuanwu and expressed his desire to go to the front.

"I actually didn't want you on the battlefield this early, but since you've brought it up, I'll think about where to send you."

On the holographic projection, Zhou Yuanwu fell into silent thought.

He had already learned from Xu Jingming that Luke of the Lei Ding family had been defeated by him.

Otherwise, he would never have considered sending Xu Jingming to the battlefield.

After a brief pause, Zhou Yuanwu spoke again:

"Alright, go to the Crimson Fortress in the southwest."

My Great Xia has over a hundred front-line battlefields, and the Crimson Fortress is one of the more intense ones.

According to confirmed intelligence, the beasts have stationed at least three Beast Emperors there—all Royal-class, ranging from high-grade ninth-rank to mid-grade ninth-rank.

It's possible the beasts will deploy an even stronger Emperor to the battlefield; you must be extremely cautious once you arrive.

He paused, then added, "If the situation becomes critical, prioritize your own safety above all—even if the fortress is lost, it doesn't matter."

"Understood." Xu Jingming nodded.

With his current strength, as long as the Beast God doesn't appear, no one can harm him.

Even if a Beast God descends, the Divine Light Talisman and the Spatial Beast Bone's teleportation are enough for him to escape.

"By the way, Lei Ding came to see me last night."

Zhou Yuanwu smiled and said, "Lei Ding spent three SSR-grade resources to buy back that fake Embrace of the Fiery Sun."

"Two of those three SSR-grade resources are quite useful for your cultivation; when you come to me, I'll give them to you together."

"No, no, no—these three SSR-grade resources were obtained by Brother Zhou; they have nothing to do with me." Xu Jingming quickly shook his head in refusal.

Without the information he provided, Zhou Yuanwu wouldn't have been able to trick Lei Ding.

But once Lei Ding eventually discovers the Embrace of the Fiery Sun is fake, he will surely harbor resentment toward Zhou Yuanwu.

He knew well that Zhou Yuanwu was deliberately drawing hatred onto himself.

After all, he and Lei Ding had prior grievances.

Now that Zhou Yuanwu had secured the resources, how could he possibly have the nerve to accept them?

"Really not taking them?"

Seeing Xu Jingming's firm stance, Zhou Yuanwu stopped pressing, "Then consider these three SSR-grade resources as something you helped me obtain—I'll deposit them into the Great Xia Resource Repository and award you 200 million contribution points."

200 million contribution points?

Xu Jingming hadn't expected such an unexpected windfall.

He couldn't help but admire Zhou Yuanwu's generosity.

For a mid-grade ninth-rank councilor, accumulating 200 million contribution points would likely take over a year.

After ending the call with Zhou Yuanwu, Xu Jingming took out the fragment of the Annihilation Branch from his space ring.

Since acquiring this odd artifact at the auction, he had periodically taken it out to examine it.

He would also open his system interface to see if he could allocate points.

But unfortunately, no matter how he observed or meditated on it,

even using the Ziwei Eye, he could not perceive any Destruction Principle within its lightning.

Back in Sakura Nation, his system interface had accumulated over ten million ability points,

yet not a single allocation option related to it had appeared.

This meant that acquiring an ability tied to the Destruction Principle would require at least ten million ability points,

possibly even beyond the system's capacity to grant.

"Eva, did the data you obtained from Lord Hei Yu include any information on how to use this principle fragment?"

At 11:57 p. m., two hours later.

Opening the Ziwei Eye, Xu Jingming, still unable to extract any useful information from the Annihilation Branch, sighed.

"No."

The holographic projection of little Eva shook her head, "Within the Breakthrough Tower, Lord Hei Yu was only responsible for managing the training tower—he had access to databases, but nothing related to cultivation."

Hearing this, Xu Jingming felt a pang of disappointment.

To possess a treasure mountain yet be unable to use it was frustrating.

"Looks like I still have to rely on the system." Xu Jingming's eyes flashed.

Since ten million ability points weren't enough, he'd accumulate more—twenty million, thirty million.

He refused to believe he couldn't master the Destruction Principle!

Just as Xu Jingming was about to immerse himself once more in studying the Annihilation Branch, the green-haired, twin-tailed little girl Eva suddenly blinked and spoke:

"S-Class, didn't you forget something?"

"Forget something?" Xu Jingming raised an eyebrow.

With his ninth-rank mid-grade mental strength, nearly flawless in memory, how could he forget anything?

"Dong… dong… dong…"

The classical floor clock standing in the villa emitted a dull chime—midnight had arrived.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

Above the artificial lake outside the league team's villa, dazzling fireworks suddenly exploded.

Inside the villa's living room, Eva waved her tiny hand, and countless virtual fireworks erupted simultaneously.

At the same time, holographic text appeared in the room: "Happy 21st Birthday, S-Class!"

Whoosh—

Suddenly, the space beside him rippled, and from it stepped out Jiang Shuang and Su Qingli, their long legs moving one after the other, smiling brightly at Xu Jingming:

"Jingming, happy birthday."

To celebrate Xu Jingming's birthday, they had specifically returned from the Void Divine Palace.

"My birthday?" Xu Jingming suddenly remembered.

December 16th—this day was indeed his birthday.

Zzzzzz~~~

His smart armband vibrated continuously—messages of congratulations from his family and friends.

"Jingming, happy birthday!"

Another clear, melodious congratulatory voice rang out—it was Jiang Chuxuan and Song Qiuyun returning.

At the training room door, Jiang Chuxuan on the left held a cake, her face flushed with unusual excitement.

The flush on her cheeks contrasted sharply with her smooth white hair.

On the right, Song Qiuyun's cheeks were slightly flushed, her right hand nervously fidgeting with the hem of her skirt—she, usually so composed, now seemed shy and awkward.

The reason for the two girls' demeanor was naturally their attire.

They had already changed out of their Magda uniform battle gear, replacing it with a catgirl outfit.

One white, one black cat—Song Qiuyun wore a white cat-ear headband, Jiang Chuxuan wore a black one.

Their short skirts and thigh-high socks were also one black, one white, each different.

Their round, slender legs, tightly constrained by the thigh-high socks, subtly emphasized their soft curves.

Behind the two girls, one black and one white cat tail protruded.

"Huh? Where did your tails come from?"

Xu Jingming could tell the cat ears were decorative headpieces, but these tails clearly emerged from beneath their skirts.

Neither Song Qiuyun nor Jiang Chuxuan were beast-type enhanced ability users—where did these tails come from?

Could it be...?

Xu Jingming suddenly realized something and drew a sharp breath.

No wonder they were acting so shy.

"It was Sister Chuxuan who told me to do this," Song Qiuyun's face was now crimson as blood.

Jiang Chuxuan excitedly licked her red lips: "It's only a birthday once in a while—must try something different."

She then turned to Su Qingli and Jiang Shuang: "Qingli-jie, Shuang-jie, don't you agree?"

"You little seductress!"

As a ninth-rank Law Saint, Su Qingli swept her spiritual force over them and immediately discerned the tails' construction.

Her face flushed rapidly; she scolded softly, yet showed no strong disapproval.

Jiang Shuang also realized something, her cheeks flushed, her gaze hazy as she looked at Xu Jingming: "Jingming... shall we eat the birthday cake first?"

Cake? Who could possibly eat cake under these circumstances?

Xu Jingming's eyes turned crimson as he lunged forward.

"Tsk tsk, the S-rank is getting increasingly unrestrained."

In midair, the green-haired, twin-tailed little girl Eva covered her eyes with both hands but peered through the gaps between her fingers, thoroughly enjoying the scene...