Secret Realm Selection and Exam Teammates (Seeking Collection! Seeking Follow-up Reads!)

Zhou Lu didn't rush Huohuo to practice Headbutt, as success was uncertain, and the exam was fast approaching.

He planned for Huohuo to train Entangling Vines to a proficient level, at least ensuring it could perform well in the exam and earn more Academic Credits.

Looking at the message Wu Xiaoqing sent back, Zhou Lu picked up Huohuo, who was peeking out the window looking for bees, and walked out the door.

As he left, he glanced at the neighbor's place. The music had stopped; he wondered if Teacher Xiao Xi had gone to work at the research building.

Even academy students needed to go through the Explorer Association to enter a Secret Realm.

This was an official association established to manage Secret Realm exploration, primarily responsible for issuing exploration permits of corresponding levels.

After the Pioneer Army had roughly explored a Secret Realm, most of its areas, except for a small portion, would be designated as public exploration zones for Beast Tamers to explore independently and find desired resources or Spirit Beasts.

During this process, the Pioneer Army would rate the danger level of the opened areas. The danger rating of the most perilous region in the Secret Realm would determine the level of exploration permit allowed for entry.

Although the authorities had established safe zones in various Secret Realms for students' exploration and scientific research, a corresponding level of exploration permit was still required for entry.

Everyone was treated equally when it came to entering Secret Realms. The only advantage students had was that a teacher responsible for safety would accompany them throughout the exploration after paying Academic Credits.

Zhou Lu was heading to a D-Class Secret Realm. This level of Secret Realm posed virtually no threat. The only Spirit Beasts found there were mostly docile Tier 1 Spirit Beasts that wouldn't attack humans.

After the authorities canceled D-Class Exploration Permits a few years ago, D-Class Secret Realms were gradually developing into tourist destinations. However, it was still in the testing phase, and only Beast Tamers could enjoy this travel benefit.

Since D-Class Exploration Permits had been canceled, Zhou Lu only needed his student ID to enter the Secret Realm.

Following Wu Xiaoqing's suggestion, he chose Secret Realm D0153, commonly known as the Grassland Secret Realm.

Secret Realm designations consisted of a letter followed by a string of numbers. The numbers indicated the order in which the Secret Realm was discovered, while the letter represented its danger level. Secret Realms that were not fully explored and could not be rated were generally prefixed with 'S'.

The Secret Realm Zhou Lu intended to visit to find the Jade Snail, C0032, was the thirty-second Secret Realm discovered by humans, rated C-Class for danger, and required a C-Class Exploration Permit for entry.

It wasn't far from the dormitory to the Explorer Association within the academy, but Huohuo wanted to get down and walk a few times along the way, forcing him to stop.

Watching Huohuo crawl along happily, Zhou Lu felt quite pleased. Compared to how it looked just learning to walk yesterday, it was moving quite proficiently now, though its speed could barely keep up with his pace.

Later tonight, he would water Huohuo with a bottle of Low-level Growth Potion. This should help its branches and leaves grow stronger, allowing it to withstand higher-intensity Vine Steps.

In fact, Zhou Lu could have stored Huohuo within a Beast Taming Card. However, Beast Tamers who were just starting to train their Spirit Pets generally didn't do this. They needed to spend a long time interacting with their Spirit Pets to cultivate their bond.

Bonds were a mysterious thing, yet they could sometimes truly influence a Spirit Pet's evolution.

"Huh? Zhou Lu!"

As Zhou Lu arrived at the entrance of the Explorer Association, he unexpectedly heard a familiar voice.

Yes, it was the sound of a fine.

Zhou Lu looked in the direction of the voice and immediately spotted Xu Wuhu in the crowd. The stout Class Monitor was particularly conspicuous among the people.

With the first combat exam for the second year just a month away, the Explorer Association was packed with students preparing to head to Secret Realms. He heard that the queues at the training hall were even more exaggerated, with some people simply living in the venue.

With so many people, Zhou Lu had to admire Xu Wuhu for being able to spot him in the crowd.

Since they were teammates, there was no reason to hide. Zhou Lu took a queue number, squeezed through the crowd, and went over to Xu Wuhu's side.

It was then that Zhou Lu noticed another boy standing beside Xu Wuhu. He looked quiet and refined, wearing half-rimmed glasses. His appearance was ordinary, not even as eye-catching as the Spirit Pet on his shoulder.

Zhou Lu's gaze briefly lingered on the man's Spirit Pet.

It looked like a ball of pink jelly, its body encased in a layer of transparent liquid.

Sticky Baby.

The name of the Spirit Pet immediately flashed in Zhou Lu's mind.

As one of the most successfully industrialized Spirit Beasts, the mucus produced by Sticky Babies was one of the most important products in this world, appearing in almost every industry.

The mucus of Sticky Babies could be used for various purposes by adjusting its water content, ranging from the strongest adhesives to liquids that aided in application.

As for how Zhou Lu knew this, it all started with a news report about a certain guy who bought the wrong product for entertainment and ended up in the hospital in an awkward position.

Zhou Lu's thoughts quickly returned to reality as the system's prompt sounded.

[Optional Quest 5: Kill Li Yi]

[Quest Introduction: Li Yi, the future president of Xin'an Biotechnology Company, provided Zhou Lu with a large amount of Spirit Beast technology after they met, becoming one of his helpers on his growth path. Killing him might hinder Zhou Lu's rapid rise.]

[Quest Reward: Random Permanent Spirit Pet Skill Card (B-Class) *2, Random One-time Beast Tamer Skill Card *1]

Another one of his helpers.

No, where did all these benefactors come from?

Zhou Lu silently grumbled as he saw the system quest.

"We're all classmates, so I don't need to introduce you, right?" Xu Wuhu said with a hearty laugh as he saw them sizing each other up. "I didn't expect you to come over. I was planning to contact you."

"Contact me?" Zhou Lu asked, confused.

"For training," Xu Wuhu replied. "The exam is a team battle. While I could help you pass it on my own, you'd only get a passing grade. You only get two chances to pass the exam and earn credits each year, and it would be a shame to miss out. We should strive for more."

It was probably only Xu Wuhu in Combat Class 3 who dared to say he could help them pass the exam by himself.

However, looking closely at himself and Li Yi, if nothing unexpected happened, they would indeed need Xu Wuhu's help to pass this exam.

His Huohuo was a Plant-type Spirit Beast that couldn't leave the soil until it reached Tier 2, and Li Yi's Sticky Baby wasn't much better than Huohuo.

Sticky Babies were also notoriously slow-moving among Spirit Beasts.

Wild-type Sticky Babies are textbook ambush predators. They often stick fallen leaves and soil to their bodies for camouflage, then spit out sticky mucus to catch passing insects, so they don't need much speed at all.

The spirit pets of his two teammates were both the type that needed their masters to carry them to move quickly. From Xu Wuhu's perspective, Zhou Lu felt the pressure to clear the dungeon had increased dramatically.

Snap!

Just as Zhou Lu was analyzing the team's situation, the sound of Huohuo flapping its leaves interrupted his thoughts.

Huohuo tilted its head up, earnestly unfurling its leaves to announce its presence to Zhou Lu.

Master has been staring at that pink furball since just now. That's absolutely not allowed!

I'm very cute too!