The meeting ended.
On the way home, Gubo was weighed down by worries.
The lights were bright inside the Whitey Building. Gubo opened the wooden door, and the fragrant aroma drifting from the kitchen brought him a little comfort.
Lianyi came out of the kitchen. Seeing Gubo's gloomy expression, she asked gently, "Didn't things go well at work?"
Then Lianyi called upstairs, "Sweethearts, Reilo, come down for dinner!"
Gubo sat down without a word. Laughter came from upstairs as Bailing carried Jiahei downstairs and sat down at the table. Reilo followed her, looked at Gubo, and said respectfully, "Hello, Mentor."
Gubo grunted without looking up at Reilo. "Are you managing to keep up with Class Eleven?"
Surprised that his mentor had taken the initiative to ask after him, Reilo quickly replied, "Teacher Jenny's adventure stories are vivid and fascinating. They've inspired many of the students. It's a shame I haven't met the excellent students at the top two spots on the Elite Rank."
"Mm. That girl was always restless when she was young and traveled to plenty of places. But for scholars who study Evolution's Profound Meaning, experience is as good as study. She's made a modest achievement of it."
After praising Teacher Jenny, Gubo continued, "As for her teaching, she encourages her students to explore the world and discover their own potential. That approach does make it easier for talented students to go further, but students who aren't as gifted can also become lost because of it."
Clearly, Gubo knew the backgrounds and teaching methods of every mentor in the classes under his supervision.
"Since you chose Class Eleven, when the time comes, you can learn about that spirit communicator, Hell, and his Metamorphic Spirit-Communication Technique."
Metamorphic Spirit-Communication Technique?
Bailing cut in with a laugh. "Little Junior Brother, you don't know yet, do you? The mentor who developed the Metamorphic Spirit-Communication field is one of Father's biggest rivals for the academy's vice principal position. And her disciple is the first student in your year to be given a title by the other students—the spirit communicator, Hell!"
Because her father was the head of discipline for the first-year students, Bailing kept up with news about the new students and explained the situation to Reilo.
Reilo froze for a moment, then immediately thought of the heavy responsibility resting on his shoulders!
He was already an unexpected burden to his mentor. If he also caused his mentor to lose the chance to become vice principal, Reilo would never find peace again. He'd be consumed by endless guilt and remorse!
Reilo's expression grew solemn. He stole a glance at his mentor and saw Gubo's serious, troubled look. As if sharing his feelings, Reilo couldn't help tensing up.
He'd originally hoped to earn his mentor's approval by competing for better results. He hadn't expected to have a direct impact on his mentor's standing and future at the academy.
Before, his ambition had filled him with determination. But now the responsibility before him weighed heavily on him, leaving him with no way back!
Once Lianyi had set out plates for all five and taken off her apron to sit down, they picked up their knives and forks and began dinner.
Gubo glanced at the carefree Bailing and cut into his bread. As if making casual conversation, he said, "Weren't you always insisting that you wanted to teach Little Junior Brother yourself?"
"Huh?"
Realizing what he meant, Bailing's eyes widened with excitement. She stared at Gubo in disbelief. "You'll let me teach Little Junior Brother?"
Reilo and Lianyi both looked toward Gubo. Only Jiahei kept his head down, focused on eating dried fish.
Gubo replied calmly, "Since you're willing, teach him his first basic technique as soon as possible and submit the paper. First, make sure his name is on the first-quarter Elite Rank. Some of the academy's mentors have already started paying attention to us. After that, he'll have to rely on himself."
"Wahahaha! Leave it to me! I'll make sure Junior Brother learns a basic technique as soon as possible and gets his name on the first-quarter Elite Rank!"
Bailing agreed eagerly.
At her words, Reilo's eyes filled with anticipation. He was finally going to learn the legendary "magic"!
After dinner.
Seated at the desk in his second-floor bedroom, Reilo quietly reviewed his notes on the Energy Magnetic Field. He also meditated, absorbing natural energy to strengthen his Energy Magnetic Field.
"Little Junior Brother!"
Bailing suddenly barged into Reilo's room. Seeing him startle, she giggled and set the glass container in her hands on his crude workbench.
Then Bailing surveyed Reilo's workbench and frowned.
"Junior Brother, this workbench of yours is way too crude!"
She was referring to the experimental platform Reilo had built from a simple wooden table.
"It gets the job done, hehe."
Recovering from the shock of Senior Sister Bailing barging into his room, Reilo noticed the glass container she'd placed on his workbench. Inside was something like a soap bubble, floating in the middle of the container. Curious, he asked, "Senior Sister, what is that?"
As she wandered around Reilo's room, looking things over, Bailing said proudly, "Did you forget? When I left the academy for Demon Eagle Forest, I promised to bring you a research specimen as a gift. Here it is! An Elemental Bubble!"
She beamed. "Cute, isn't it?"
"Wow!"
Reilo stared at the Elemental Bubble in wonder. The bubble in the container was about the size of a head and transparent. Bailing must have sedated it; its breathing was steady as it continued to expand and contract.
After walking around Reilo's room, Bailing saw that it contained only the most basic experimental specimens. There wasn't much else to look at, so she stopped paying attention.
"Elemental creatures are rare in human lands, and low-level ones like this are even rarer. They've been on the verge of extinction for a thousand years. I was incredibly lucky to catch one this time, hehe!"
Inside the glass box, it looked just like a soap bubble. It seemed as if one poke would make it pop.
"This is my first time seeing an elemental creature. It's amazing!"
After marveling at it, Reilo suddenly asked, "By the way, what does it eat?"
"It's an elemental creature, so of course it absorbs natural energy directly! Just like how we absorb natural energy every day to strengthen our Energy Magnetic Field. You can think of it as a special kind of photosynthesis."
As she explained, Bailing gave up on the idea of studying the Elemental Bubble here, put off by Reilo's crude setup. "Your workbench is too basic. Come with me!"
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Bailing led Reilo out of the room and into Gubo's laboratory.
Gubo's Whitey Building had three floors. The first floor had the living room, kitchen, dining room, storage room, and so on. The second floor had Reilo and Bailing's bedrooms, a library, and a laboratory. The third floor had Gubo and Lianyi's bedroom, a specimen collection room, a specimen cultivation room, and more. There was also a small observatory and garden on the roof.
Standing outside the laboratory, Reilo hesitated. "This is Mentor's laboratory. It doesn't seem right to use it without his permission."
Bailing rolled her eyes and flicked him on the forehead in annoyance.
"Ow!" Reilo looked at her innocently.
"Why are you so afraid of him? I've been using it for years. Borrowing his lab won't hurt anything. Come in!"
Bailing pulled Reilo into the laboratory.
The lab was brightly lit from every direction, producing a shadowless effect. A huge stone workbench stood in the center, surrounded by rows upon rows of advanced research and observation equipment. Hundreds of glass test tubes glittered under the lights, some filled with mysterious liquids of every color. Several person-tall experimental devices stood in a corner of the workbench, connected by a tangle of tubes. Through the glass boxes, Reilo could make out some horrifying cellular structures, slowly writhing.
Bailing placed the glass box containing the Elemental Bubble on the workbench.
"Since the old man asked me to teach you a basic technique as soon as possible, I've already decided. You'll start with this Elemental Bubble!"
"The bubble?"
Reilo scratched his head. "But it looks like all it can do is blow bubbles. What's there to learn? Does it have some other ability?"
"You're so dense!"
Bailing pouted. "Blowing bubbles is exactly what we're after!"
Then she said proudly, "I've already worked it out for you. The Elemental Bubble's bubble-blowing ability is the Bubble Technique. Its attack power is almost negligible, but if we fill the bubbles with poison, wouldn't they become poison gas bombs? That would mean we'd easily advanced a basic zero-level technique and given it a higher-level application!"
Bailing's suggestion made Reilo's eyes light up. He suddenly understood and exclaimed, "Senior Sister, you're amazing!"
Poison again?
At the same time, Reilo thought of the requirements for completing the first stage of "Body Self-Control." They also involved making poison and antidotes, and he was still in the earliest stages of studying them.
Bailing looked pleased. "Of course!"
Then she opened the glass container.
Bailing had already knocked out the Elemental Bubble with a powerful anesthetic. Once its container was open, it floated slowly in the air. Bailing grabbed it as easily as a balloon and squeezed it like dough, shaping it into all sorts of forms as she played with it to her heart's content.
Reilo watched in trepidation, afraid that Senior Sister Bailing might squeeze too hard and burst the bubble!
"Relax. Don't think elemental life is so fragile. You'd be surprised how resilient it is."
Still amazed, Reilo tried poking the bubble with his finger. No matter how much he prodded it, the seemingly fragile bubble showed no sign of being damaged.
"Senior Sister, what would happen if we poked it with a needle?"
Bailing wasn't as cautious as Reilo. At his question, she giggled, took a needle straight from the workbench, and poked the bubble while Reilo cried out in alarm.
"Ah!"
The explosion Reilo had imagined never came.
The bubble merely released a little gas with a faint fishy smell. Then the tiny hole left by the needle closed up.
"Hehe, one of the traits of elemental life is a healing ability far beyond that of flesh-and-blood creatures, even among the lowest-level elemental creatures."
Bailing held up the needle and smiled with satisfaction.