Chapter 3: Harmony of Power

“Hey, could you buy me a little time?”

As the three men attacked Dongfang Jiang and Pandana, Pandana spoke to Dongfang Jiang in a voice only they could hear.

She couldn’t say why, but Pandana now felt an inexplicable trust in Dongfang Jiang.

She closed her eyes and poured her magic into the ring, and the dark green ring began to glow faintly.

“Okay, I understand.”

Dongfang Jiang scooped Pandana up in his arms.

His objective shifted now—he just needed to dodge the three attackers’ strikes and wait for Pandana to make her move.

“Tch, just running around like a rat, huh?”

Without a weapon and holding Pandana, Dongfang Jiang chose to evade the trio’s attacks rather than fight back.

Besides, he was gradually getting used to their rhythm, dodging even the big man’s blows while holding Pandana, and even managing to cause them some trouble.

The three burly men attacked the pair for over ten exchanges, but couldn’t land a single hit.

The bald man stopped what he was doing, panting heavily, and pointed at Dongfang Jiang and Pandana, shouting.

“Heh, you’re out of tricks. Once we wear you down, I’ll skin you alive!”

The bald man’s eyes darted as he quickly thought of a countermeasure.

He ordered his underlings to keep attacking while he stood still, pulled a gourd of wine from his belt, and took a sip with relish, watching Dongfang Jiang dodge his men’s attacks.

“Hmm, no matter how fast you are, if I watch long enough, I’ll eventually find a weak point.”

What the bald man planned to do next was simple: while Dongfang Jiang was dodging, he’d toss something at him at an unexpected moment.

After the shift in strategy, Dongfang Jiang found himself at a disadvantage.

He was essentially just a college student with some boosted stats, severely lacking in combat experience.

In the next round of attacks, the bald man’s thrown stone struck him square in the back.

Dongfang Jiang was knocked to the ground and rolled several times.

He shielded Pandana, and his back slammed heavily into the wall.

“Ooh, the little rat’s caught.”

Seeing Dongfang Jiang unable to get up, the three men surrounded him.

Dongfang Jiang took a deep breath, set Pandana aside, spat, picked up a broken brick from the ground, and stood up.

“Whew. All right, Mr. Dong, leave the rest to me.”

Dongfang Jiang had bought Pandana enough time.

She reached out, gently wiped the dust from his face, and her expression turned serious.

The bald man didn’t take Pandana seriously.

He pointed at her with a lecherous grin and led his men slowly toward them.

Dongfang Jiang noticed Pandana’s right ring finger glowing faintly.

He knew he needed to draw their attention away.

“Get lost!”

Dongfang Jiang took a deep breath, let out a roar, and hurled the brick in his hand.

Sure enough, everyone’s attention was diverted to him.

“Whoa, that was close, boss.”

One of the bald man’s underlings knocked the brick away with his club, fawning over the boss.

“Not bad. Your cut of this job just went up by ten percent.”

“That’s only if you finish this job, you three.”

Dongfang Jiang glanced at the ground and knew the outcome was decided.

He rubbed his aching back and taunted the trio.

“Hey, kid, I like your attitude…”

The bald man tried to take a step forward, but found he couldn’t move.

He looked down at his feet—the floor had turned into a swamp.

In just a few seconds, it had swallowed all three of them up to their ankles.

The three stared in shock at Dongfang Jiang and Pandana.

The ring on Pandana’s hand emitted a dark green glow.

Clearly, she was the one who had turned the ground into a swamp.

They tried to say something, but Pandana’s Swamp Ring flared even brighter.

A massive dark green hand, like swatting a fly, slapped down on top of the three men, and they were instantly engulfed by the swamp.

Where they had been swallowed, three pure white flowers bloomed.

If not for the bald man’s wine gourd still lying there, Dongfang Jiang would have thought the whole thing was an illusion.

“As Mr. Dong said, the outcome is decided.”

Looking at the ground, which had returned to calm, Pandana announced softly.

“But… my surname is Dongfang… ‘Mr. Dongfang’ would be better…”

“Huh? Is that so? I’m sorry, Mr. Dongfang.”

Hearing his correction, Pandana felt a bit embarrassed and traced circles with her finger.

But then she noticed him rubbing his back, and it seemed to spark an idea.

She clasped her hands together and said to him.

“Oh, right, Mr. Dongfang, I see your back is injured. Let me rub it for you.”

Before Dongfang Jiang could refuse, Pandana’s hand was already on his back.

Her technique was just right, and Dongfang Jiang silently nodded.

He saw Pandana’s ring emit a bright emerald light, and a strange, indescribable comfort spread across his back.

As he received Pandana’s treatment, Dongfang Jiang heard the System, which had been playing dead for a while, start chattering in his ear again.

[Where have you been?]

Dongfang Jiang struck first, questioning the System, but it ignored his question and spoke directly to him.

[Host, because the Swamp Guardian’s affinity toward you has reached the standard value, the Earth Ring has now been unlocked for you, and you have also been granted the authority ‘Harmonization’.]

[Harmonization?]

Before Dongfang Jiang’s confusion could be resolved, the ring that had been sitting in the center of the safe appeared on his index finger.

He felt the energy Pandana was pouring into him being converted into something entirely his own.

He could now control the energy she had injected into his body.

Once his body had mostly recovered, he manipulated that energy to feed it back to her.

“Huh… that’s weird…”

Pandana noticed the Earth Ring on Dongfang Jiang’s index finger, and felt him returning energy to her.

His energy replenishment was highly efficient, and before long, she was mostly recovered.

The Earth Ring gave off a brown glow.

After coming into contact with it, Pandana let out a relieved sigh.

[Oh, oh? Mr. Dongfang can feed energy back to me through the ring. According to what I’ve read, am I Mr. Dongfang’s household minister?]

“What’s wrong?”

Dongfang Jiang noticed the strange expression on Pandana’s face and looked at her curiously.

Pandana took a deep breath and bowed to him.

“Mr. Dongfang, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am your guardian, Pandana.”

At the same time, the System’s voice chimed in again, speaking directly into Dongfang Jiang’s ear.

[Because you have earned the approval of the Swamp Guardian, your lifespan has increased by one year, and the quest ‘Seven to the Fourth Power’ has been unlocked.]

[Seven to the Fourth Power: Build your own family around the Gaia Ring, and let your family stand at the pinnacle of the world.]