"That's outrageous! Completely outrageous! Even young people should respect their elders!"
Xiao Xi stood on the table, glaring furiously at Huohuo, whose leaves drooped limply.
She was angry. Xiao Xi was truly angry. She had suffered losses at the hands of this grass three times in a row.
Even a clay Buddha had three parts anger, let alone her.
"Sorry, Teacher Xiao Xi." Although Zhou Lu happily pocketed another three Low-level Growth Potions, thinking back on what had happened still made him feel genuinely apologetic.
Hearing Zhou Lu apologize, Xiao Xi's anger mostly faded. She folded her arms and plopped down on the table, looking at Zhou Lu in confusion. "You, how come you live in the teachers' dormitory?"
Before Zhou Lu could answer, realization immediately dawned on her face. With an apologetic expression, she said, "Ah, sorry. I shouldn't have asked something like that."
Zhou Lu did not actually mind. In the end, he did not feel much attachment to the previous owner's father. What he felt more was the sense of responsibility imposed by morality—the feeling that, as a son, he should appear saddened and should get to the bottom of his father's cause of death.
"Speaking of which, Teacher Xiao Xi, why did you suddenly move here? I remember the room next door had always been empty."
"The previous room was unlivable." At the mention of this, Xiao Xi's anger flared again. "The professor next door is from the Breeding Institute. It was one thing when he did research in the laboratory, but now he was doing it in his residence too. He was even one of those people obsessed with being all-natural. Just remembering that smell makes me want to vomit."
Zhou Lu did not know how to comment on a seed hating the smell of fertilizer, so he could only keep nodding in agreement with Xiao Xi.
"I'm still a little baby, you know. I need a stable environment and plenty of sleep to nurture my new life, so I moved here." At this point, Xiao Xi shot Zhou Lu a glare. "Who knew the neighbors would be you two bringers of death?"
"Nurture new life?"
"Of course. I'm a seed." Xiao Xi proudly lifted her chin. "Knowledge Fairies with ambition all hope to sprout. Maybe one day, I'll become a new Seeking Dao Wood."
"What would happen to you if you sprouted?" Zhou Lu asked curiously.
It was already miraculous enough for a Seeking Dao Wood seed to transform into the form of a fairy. What would happen after it sprouted? Would it evolve directly into a spirit beast, or return to being an ordinary plant and undergo another transformation into something extraordinary?
Xiao Xi blinked, and her professional vigilance immediately kicked in. She rubbed her fingers together at Zhou Lu and said, "That question falls under knowledge about Seeking Dao Wood. You'll have to pay extra."
"Forget it. I'm not that interested." Zhou Lu decisively replied.
"Tch, stingy." As Xiao Xi spoke, she looked at Huohuo, who had already crawled out of Zhou Lu's arms and onto the floor to move about freely. "Come to think of it, your spirit pet really is a genius. It only learned those two skills during the day, yet it's already using them at a proficient level?"
Zhou Lu smiled. "It's quite motivated."
"That's a good thing. But with only those two skills, passing the combat exam will still be very difficult." As she spoke, a pile of Skill Cards appeared in Xiao Xi's hands. She grinned at Zhou Lu. "Don't you still have three Fairy Coins? You can exchange them with me for new skills. How about combat skills? I have plenty that would suit it."
"I want to train combat skills myself."
Zhou Lu refused. Still, Xiao Xi was right. It was indeed time for Huohuo to learn a new skill.
If he could not get Huohuo to learn an attacking skill before the exam, then auxiliary skills could still help it perform well in the exam.
But the attribute bonuses of generic skills were always a massive drawback.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Lu asked, "What auxiliary skills can plant-type spirit beasts learn that don't rely on attribute bonuses?"
Xiao Xi was still easy to talk to. Although work hours had already ended, upon hearing Zhou Lu's question, she still began dutifully offering him advice. "If you don't want attribute bonuses... would control-type skills work?"
Zhou Lu's eyes lit up. "That would be even better!"
Xiao Xi nodded, raised a hand, picked a card from the pile before her, then tapped to enlarge it and pushed it toward Zhou Lu. "Entangling Vines, a C-rank generic skill. It grows a large number of vines from the main body or offshoots to bind the target and slow their movements. Its prerequisite skills happen to be Vine Step and Mad Growth."
The moment Zhou Lu saw the skill, his eyes brightened. He said sincerely, "This really is exactly what I need. Thank you!"
Entangling Vines paired with Headbutt was also an excellent combination. It could not have suited Huohuo better.
No wonder Knowledge Fairies were so important in the modern spirit beast-taming system.
Without Xiao Xi's earlier advice, if Zhou Lu had chosen on his own, he might have picked other skills that looked more powerful instead of selecting the foundational skills Vine Step and Mad Growth.
Had that happened, Huohuo would not have learned to walk on its own while still at the first rank, nor would it have been able to learn Entangling Vines.
"One Fairy Coin, thank you for your patronage!" Xiao Xi took out her little cash box and shook it at Zhou Lu.
Zhou Lu smiled helplessly and scanned Xiao Xi's body with his phone. The image of a Fairy Coin appeared above the little cash box, and it even made a light clinking sound as it fell inside.
Hearing the commotion from Xiao Xi's side, Huohuo crawled back into Zhou Lu's arms with a trace of curiosity. It extended a fresh sprout and examined Xiao Xi curiously.
Where had that strange clinking sound come from?
Zhou Lu handed Huohuo the Skill Card for Entangling Vines that he had just purchased, letting it hold and absorb it. "By the way, do you know any Headbutt-type skills?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to train combat skills yourself?" Xiao Xi asked in confusion, but she summoned six Skill Cards. "I have six different Headbutt-type skills here."
"I don't know how to train them." Zhou Lu coughed twice and said.
Xiao Xi rolled her eyes. "Two Fairy Coins, thank you~!"
"Why is that more expensive than a Skill Card?"
"Because skills trained yourself are stronger than the generic skills from Skill Cards."
"Isn't there anything that doesn't cost money..."
Xiao Xi wagged a finger. "Nope. All the services here are paid. If you weren't a student, you'd even have to pay to talk to me."
"Huh? That's a thing?"
"Because every word I say has value." Xiao Xi put her hands on her hips and declared proudly.
"So..." As she spoke, Xiao Xi held out her hand to Zhou Lu, looking as though she were saying, "Pay me." "Are you buying? Two Fairy Coins—it's already a great bargain."
"Forget it. I'll look for another way." Zhou Lu said, wondering whether the forums had any relevant materials for sale.
"Tch, stingy." Xiao Xi said once again.
Huohuo seemed to understand Xiao Xi's words and realized she was teasing its owner, so it extended its vines once more.
This time, Xiao Xi had learned her lesson. With a whoosh, she flew to the door, opened it, and flew outside. "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
As she spoke, she made a face at Zhou Lu and left behind one final remark:
"You students, honestly. Do you buy textbooks just for exams? What a waste."
With that, she shut Zhou Lu's door.
Before you continue