Is This Grass Legitimate?

As school let out at noon, hundreds and thousands of students streamed out of Xin'an Beast Taming Academy's gates, flooding into the surrounding restaurants.

Their faces still held the immaturity of high schoolers, the vibrant energy of youth practically overflowing.

Zhou Lu, cradling a potted plant, leaned over his dorm balcony, watching the young girls passing by.

He had to admit, young people nowadays were really bold with their fashion.

These freshmen were lucky; a new Spirit Beast secret realm had just been discovered, meaning they had more options for choosing their Spirit Beasts, not necessarily bound by the constraints of Spirit Beast cultivation companies and their exorbitant cultivation formulas and evolution materials.

Of course, a brand-new Spirit Beast also meant its evolution was unknown, which would greatly increase a Beast Tamer's burden.

But none of that had anything to do with Zhou Lu.

He was just there to admire legs.

As a transmigator, Zhou Lu wasn't surprised by his predecessor's orphan status. The only regret was probably that his professor father had sold off all his assets to fund his research, ultimately dying in his lab. It should have been a wealthy family, but nothing was left for him.

Fortunately, the Beast Taming Academy was quite decent, and his father's students took good care of him. Otherwise, with his predecessor's taciturn personality, he might have starved to death alone in his room one day without anyone noticing.

Thinking of this, Zhou Lu shifted his gaze back to the school gate not far away. This was one of the few ways he could alleviate his own melancholy after transmigrating into this completely unfamiliar world.

After all, whether in his past life or this one, at least the chests were still chests, and the legs were still legs.

Since things had come to this, he might as well look at some stockings.

The potted plant in his arms seemed to sense the fluctuation in its owner's emotions. Its emerald green leaves swayed gently, and the tender buds at the top of its branches lifted like a head, turning towards Zhou Lu.

Zhou Lu felt the movement of the plant in his arms and looked down.

The plant, which resembled a roadside weed, twitched its stem. Then, the soil beneath it stirred, and a snow-white root emerged from the earth.

After doing this, the little plant patted its leaves as if inviting Zhou Lu to look at its legs.

Fine, even though he had accepted the fact of transmigration, he still couldn't accept a plant acting cute and showing off its legs to him.

The little plant was very confused by its owner's reaction.

Didn't its owner like looking at legs so much? Why wasn't he looking at its own?

So, with great effort, it finally extended another thick root out of the soil.

Then, it proudly raised its head and looked at Zhou Lu: "Mine are whiter than theirs!"

"No... uh... I mean, you don't need to, Huohuo." Although Zhou Lu didn't know what the little plant named Huohuo was trying to express, he felt like he understood its meaning. "While I like looking at legs, it's usually girls'... at least human legs. My preferences aren't that strange yet."

Huohuo swayed, confused by Zhou Lu's words, but it could sense the refusal in its owner's tone. It drooped its leaves a little, feeling dejected.

As a Spirit Beast world, it was understandable for a plant to be this sentient.

But the protagonists of Beast Taming novels usually started with Spirit Beasts like pandas, tigers, or lions, or at the very least, cats and dogs. How did he end up with a mere plant?

Let me think about who the last protagonist was who used a plant as a weapon... Well, that just makes me feel even worse.

Damn it, I don't know what my dad was thinking, insisting I contract a plant. It just took up my only Spirit Beast slot for nothing.

Plant-type Spirit Beasts generally cannot leave the soil for long before evolving to the second stage and completing metamorphosis. Although many Beast Taming technological products now attempt to solve this problem, they are still no match for other types of Spirit Beasts.

In fact, he could have been more ruthless and just pulled Huohuo out. Most plant-type Spirit Beasts lack mobility before evolving to the second stage, and are even weaker than humans. But looking at the lively little green creature in his arms, Zhou Lu couldn't bring himself to do it.

Oh well, I don't have talent as a Beast Tamer anyway, and I'm not aiming to be the strongest. Keeping it is fine.

In this world where all existing resources have been claimed, even a transmigator without a cheat might not be able to carve out a path in such a mature system with solidified progression routes.

As Zhou Lu pondered this, his phone suddenly rang. Glancing at the contact name, he hesitated for a moment before answering, "Hello, Sister Xiaoqing."

"Do you have time now? Come to my lab for a casual meal?" A pleasant female voice came from the other end of the line.

Wu Xiaoqing, one of his original father's students and one of the few graduate students in the lab at the time.

After his predecessor's father died, she took good care of him.

It's just... Sister Xiaoqing, are you sure you can cook?

Zhou Lu recalled a terrifying experience from not long ago.

However, just as Zhou Lu was about to politely refuse, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Detected a suitable candidate, initiating detection program.]

Zhou Lu initially thought he was hallucinating, but he quickly realized:

Could this be... my transmigration benefit?

[Ding! Initiating attachment program.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the World-Saving System.]

Here it comes! It's here! My golden finger has arrived!

[Ten years from now, the strongest, most evil, and most terrifying Demon God Zhou Lu will destroy the entire world. Everyone's consciousness will fall into eternal slumber under his Endless Rose, and their bodies will be enslaved by him for eternity.]

[The Spirit Beasts he cultivates will become world-destroying demon gods, and all living beings in the world will wail beneath its vines.]

[To prevent this tragedy, the host must use all means to stop the Demon God's growth and awakening.]

[The system will guide the host through missions.]

[Current optional mission one: Kill Wu Xiaoqing.]

[Mission Brief: Wu Xiaoqing, a postgraduate student at the Xin'an Beast Taming Academy's Breeding Research Institute, is one of the guides on Zhou Lu's path to becoming a Beast Tamer. She has repeatedly saved Zhou Lu's life at the most critical moments and is a major adversary on the host's mission path. If the opportunity arises, the host may eliminate this obstacle.]

[Mission Reward: Spirit Beast Random Permanent Skill Card (A-Rank) *1]

[Current Optional Mission Two: Obtain information related to the special evolution of the Endless Rose ahead of time]

"..."

Zhou Lu... Wait, isn't that me?

What's with this system? How did I become the Demon God who will destroy the world?

"Hello? Xiao Lu, are you listening?" Wu Xiaoqing's voice on the other end of the phone sounded slightly anxious.

"Ah, I'm listening, I'm listening," Zhou Lu snapped back to attention and said into his phone, "No problem, I'll definitely be there on time."

"That's good then," Wu Xiaoqing sighed in relief. "Oh, right, when you come over, help me bring some salt."

"...Should I bring you some chili peppers too?"

"No need for that. The senior next door majors in Solanaceae-type Spirit Beasts, so they definitely have plants from the Capsicum genus over there. You might even be able to pick chilies from a chili plant that has already awakened into a Spirit Beast."