This Was Not the First Spiritual Tide

"Hehe, lucky me. There happened to be a Flame Flame Fruit Tree in that forest, and the Flame Cloud Falcon's skill proficiency happened to reach the proficient level."

"Everything just happened to line up."

After hearing Chen Yuan's explanation, Chen Wenhao fell into a long silence. After an unknown amount of time, he finally said, "Bro, that wasn't luck. It's because you have exceptionally outstanding talent as a Beast Tamer."

"You should join the Beast Tamer Academy."

Chen Yuan stretched and waved a hand. "Forget it. I still need to take care of Grandpa at home."

Hearing Chen Yuan's answer, Chen Wenhao seemed to want to say something, but in the end, a thousand words turned into a long sigh.

Chen Yuan did not continue the topic and instead said, "Oh, right. I bought the advancement requirements for the Condensing Wind Hound today. It said I need Wind Whisper Grass. Do you know where to find it?"

"Wind Whisper Grass..." Chen Wenhao pushed up his glasses and pondered carefully. "We don't have any around here. Even if there is some, it only appears in small areas and is extremely difficult to find."

After a brief pause, he said unhurriedly, "Bro, you don't actually need to look for it yourself. You can just buy it."

"Buy it directly?" Chen Yuan froze.

"Yes." Chen Wenhao said slowly, "The Beast Tamer Association is already preparing to establish the Beast Taming Mall. When it launches, you'll be able to directly buy things online with Contribution Points."

"And Beast Taming stores will also be set up in various places, where you can directly purchase things with cash."

"How long until the online mall opens?" Chen Yuan asked.

Chen Wenhao shook his head. "Bro, I'm not an insider at the Association."

"It's fine. I'll ask someone else." Chen Yuan then remembered Zhou Xu, an officer at the Baokun City Beast Tamer Association.

"Oh, right. I heard the Beast Tamer Academy has several departments. Which department are you in?" Chen Yuan asked.

"The research department. We study Extraordinary Creatures."

Chen Yuan nodded thoughtfully. "What plans do they have for you?"

Chen Wenhao replied, "You can graduate after studying for half a year, then choose a career path based on your own circumstances."

"You can stay at the academy as a teacher, go to a research institute, or take up a post at Beast Tamer Association branches in different cities."

"Do you have any plans at the moment?" Chen Yuan asked.

"Not yet. I'll take it one step at a time."

After hanging up, Chen Yuan saw that it was still early and called Zhou Xu.

"Brother Zhou, sorry to bother you, but is there currently a way to purchase Spiritual Plants?" Chen Yuan asked.

A voice tinged with laughter slowly sounded. "What a coincidence. The Association headquarters is preparing the Beast Taming Mall, and it'll go online in two days. When that happens, you can buy whatever Spiritual Plants you need."

"They'll deliver them right to your home."

"Do you need any Spiritual Plants right now?"

Chen Yuan replied, "Wind Whisper Grass."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for it," Zhou Xu said.

"Thank you, Brother Zhou." Chen Yuan was relieved.

"It's nothing. You're a member of our Association too, so just ask if you need anything." Zhou Xu smiled faintly.

"Then I do have a question that's troubled me for a long time." Chen Yuan hesitated before asking the question that had puzzled him for so long. "Why did the Association already possess so much extraordinary knowledge when the Spiritual Tide had only just begun?"

After a slight pause, he added, "If it involves confidential information, just pretend I never asked, haha."

Brother Zhou pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It does involve confidential information, but I can tell you one thing."

"Actually, this is not the first Spiritual Tide."

September 3rd, Tuesday.

The weather was clear.

"So this isn't the first Spiritual Tide."

Even early the next morning, Zhou Xu's startling answer still echoed in Chen Yuan's mind, giving rise to countless speculations.

He could be certain of one thing: there were no records related to a Spiritual Tide in any historical documents. Clearly, the authorities had deliberately concealed the matter.

When had the previous Spiritual Tide occurred?

Were the related materials being unlocked now left behind from that time?

"This Jade Pendant should be a product of the previous Spiritual Tide." Chen Yuan rubbed the cold Jade Pendant and murmured softly.

After pondering for a while, Chen Yuan shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

Those matters could not affect him, far away in Xuanhe Village.

Setting his thoughts aside, Chen Yuan got up briskly, woke the soundly sleeping Cola, and left the bedroom.

As he led Cola out of the courtyard, Chen Yuan saw two familiar figures locked in fierce battle.

The Gray Feather Falcon and Spark.

Yet the process was as miserable as ever. The Gray Feather Falcon was being beaten one-sidedly, without the slightest ability to fight back, and was quickly defeated.

But after this defeat, the Gray Feather Falcon did not fly away as it usually did.

It chose to stay beside Spark, shamelessly asking how it could become stronger.

Spark answered its questions indifferently, wearing an extremely aloof expression. Yet the Gray Feather Falcon did not feel snubbed in the slightest, looking every bit like a lackey.

"So it finally got beaten awake." Chen Yuan laughed in spite of himself.

The Gray Feather Falcon had once been exceptionally stubborn, challenging Spark again and again until it could no longer get up.

Now, it seemed to have been beaten into submission. It had actually taken the initiative to ask for advice on becoming stronger, and its fawning manner even made Cola frown.

Chen Yuan smiled and led Cola through the courtyard, quickly arriving beside the fish pond.

The Moistening Duck had its butt in the air, sleeping soundly in the fish pond.

"Awwoo~"

Seeing his new friend, Cola could not help letting out a howl, waking the Moistening Duck.

"Quack."

The Moistening Duck opened its bleary eyes, sleepily glanced at Cola, wiggled its plump butt, changed positions, and went right back to sleep.

"Aw..." Cola immediately fell silent.

"It sleeps even more than you do." Chen Yuan looked at Cola gloomily, feeling that his farm's future development did not look too promising.

With Cola and Duckie around, could this farm still improve?

Fortunately, the Moistening Duck did not sleep for long before waking up again. It rubbed its head, tidied up its fluffy hairstyle, and looked at the man and pet.

Chen Yuan asked, "Are you satisfied with the new environment?"

"Quack quack."

The Moistening Duck nodded first, then quickly shook its head.

Chen Yuan froze. "What aren't you satisfied with?"

The Moistening Duck turned to look at the fish pond, rapidly scanned around, pointed in every direction, and shook its head. "Quack quack quack."

This place isn't pretty, quack. It's too plain, quack.

And there are no rocks to sunbathe on, quack.

Because Duckie's expression was so animated, and because it kept gesturing with its hands, Chen Yuan actually roughly understood what it meant.

He rested a hand against his chin and thought for a moment before agreeing. "You're right. It is a little plain and not very pretty."

Even an ordinary fish pond should be properly built up.

"We can plant some trees around the pond, which will provide shade in summer. Then we can get some flowers and grass to decorate it a little."

"Rocks are easy. I'll go haul a few back later."

Chen Yuan quickly came up with a plan and beckoned to the Moistening Duck. "I'll solve these issues one by one. Come over here first."

The Moistening Duck swaggered over.

Chen Yuan reached out and patted its head, smiling. "Your hairstyle really is pretty fluffy. It's like a ball of cotton."

The Moistening Duck gave him a disdainful look, then carefully tidied its hairstyle again.

At the same time, the data panel appeared:

First collection of Moistening Duck. Origin Points +2

Race: Moistening Duck

Attribute: Water

Level: 2 (Tier 1)

Favorability: 23

Skills: Water Surge (Basic 1.7/3) + Water Arrow (Basic 0.2/3) +

Quality: Elite

Conditions to advance to Commander Quality: Insufficient Origin Points (9.1/10)