Fang Qing struck the spine of his blade against the back of the man standing before him, who still had his back turned.With a muted smack, the man’s back took the blow and he collapsed face-first onto the rough earth.Coldly watching the man he had felled in a single strike, Fang Qing pressed the question.“‘Holy Sanctuary’—what did you just call it?”The man heard the calm, powerful tone of Fang Qing’s inquiry and his mind raced. He forced a hopeful edge into his voice.“I can tell you everything I know… if [N O V E L I G H T] you spare me.”Fang Qing snorted, raising his long blade so that its tip pressed against the man’s nape.“If I say spare you, you’ll die. If I say kill you, you won’t. Don’t bargain with me.”Feeling the ice-cold steel at his neck and the murderous intent radiating from the figure behind him, the man trembled.“All right… I’ll speak.”As soon as he spoke, the frozen malice behind him vanished, and his voice returned to its previous flat calm.“Tell me what you know, and you’ll live.”The man’s voice quavered.“‘Holy Sanctuary’ is a force that can traverse worlds at will. I’m a newly joined Contracted Member of the Sanctuary. A Contracted Member has only one mission: carry out the tasks assigned by the Sanctuary. Success brings reward; failure brings punishment.”After hearing the man’s explanation of the Holy Sanctuary, Fang Qing nodded once, then issued his command.“Invite me.”An “invite” was a prerogative granted to Contracted Members: they could extend membership to any being, and once the invitee accepted, they too became a Contracted Member of the Sanctuary.The man dared not refuse, not with the blade still at his throat.[Contracted Member #82145 invites you to join the Holy Sanctuary. Do you accept?]Fang Qing did not hesitate and chose to accept.The man caught sight of a sudden white light that enveloped the youth behind him. The blade at his neck vanished, and the presence he had feared faded away.He turned his head to see nothing but empty air, and collapsed in relief, cursing Fang Qing for being sent on a mission only to face a powerful enemy and die without a trace.…As the white light surrounded Fang Qing, an overwhelming dizziness overtook him. Though he fought to stay conscious, the vertigo proved too strong and he blacked out after a few moments.He awoke lying in a nameless, pitch-black space. Nothing was there except a line of glowing white text:[Detected: Contracted Member’s talent not yet awakened. Forcing awakening…]A pale blue light suddenly shone down on Fang Qing’s body, and incredible changes began. His short hair lengthened; his fair, handsome face softened; his arms grew slender, the calluses from sword training vanished, replaced by smooth, delicate skin.At the same time, his chest swelled, rising from a flat plane to gentle curves. Even his internal structure shifted in ways both subtle and profound…When the transformation finally ceased, the pale blue light faded into the darkness. The space grew silent.After some time, the dizziness subsided and Fang Qing opened his now-dark eyes. Immediately he sensed something was wrong.As a martial artist, he had total control over his body and could sense the smallest change. Yet now he discovered his body was utterly foreign—were it not for the familiar flow of true qi within him, he would swear he had become someone else.He paid no mind to the eerie surroundings. He sat up and touched his body with these unfamiliar hands. As his gentle palms glided over his new, smooth skin, the reality of the change struck him.But even knowing, he hesitated not to touch where his body had changed most.The result needed no explanation.In that moment Fang Qing truly realized: he had become she.And he knew without doubt who was responsible.With a calm tone laced with deep anger, she demanded, “Holy Sanctuary, what have you done to me?!”As her impassioned words fell, text appeared before her:[As a new Contracted Member, you may ask three questions. The Holy Sanctuary will answer within your privileges.]Fang Qing read the text and urgently posed her first question.“Why was I turned into a woman, and how can I revert?”[Question 1: The Contracted Member’s gender was changed due to talent. Question 2: Once your strength is sufficient to fully master the talent, you may revert to your original gender.]Reading the answer, Fang Qing’s anger eased and she began to ponder. Talent? She needed to open her personal panel to see exactly which talent had caused this change.Every Contracted Member could access a personal panel to view their attributes and status—data for reference, not absolute truth.Personal PanelContracted Member ID: 84197Name: Fang QingPrivilege Level: Lv1Current Power Rating: Peak Stage 1Health: 100%Mana: 360Strength: 18Agility: 19Stamina: 19Intelligence: 16Charisma: 15Luck: 1(Note: Standard adult male stats: 5 points; Luck: 1)Personal Talent: S-rank Dark Conversion—choose an object and apply Dark Conversion to alter its properties. Usable when Dark Energy reaches 100%.Current Dark Energy: 100% (automatically absorbed; cannot increase speed)…Dark Conversion? Fang Qing wondered why a talent without any mention of physically transforming the user could have turned her into a woman. Yet she could not fully understand it until she used it. Now was obviously not the time—apart from her blade Wu Qian and its scabbard, all she wore was the black coat she’d donned before joining the Sanctuary.Putting the talent aside, Fang Qing considered what to ask next. She had already extracted much information by force, so perhaps she should ask for something more… vital. But if she asked for restricted information, the Sanctuary might refuse.After weighing her options, she decided to inquire about the talent itself. That way, the Sanctuary could answer within her privileges.“Explain the specifics of Dark Conversion.”[This answer will be provided within the scope of the Contracted Member’s knowledge.][Personal Talent Dark Conversion: upon use, the selected object is enhanced in a dark direction—pain, darkness, death, and so forth.][Note: Enhanced objects may undergo drastic changes and entail unpredictable risks.]Having read the Sanctuary’s response, Fang Qing understood her talent: it was an object-enhancement ability with potential risks. An idea formed in her mind—but before she could act, the text reappeared.[Your three question privileges have been used. World transmission commencing…]The familiar white light enveloped Fang Qing once more. As she vanished from the dark space, new text appeared there:[Detected S-rank talent. Initiating Core Contracted Member Trial. Transmission destination changed.]

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.