The Fire Flower's Competitive Spirit

The three chatted for a while.

It turned out Xu Wuhu and Li Yi were there specifically to scout the terrain. Apparently, the location chosen for the second-year students' first combat practical exam was the grasslands.

Judging by the number of students around, quite a few people had heard the same rumors.

"I originally planned to find a suitable training spot before contacting you," Xu Wuhu explained.

"I'm here to practice skills," Zhou Lu also stated his purpose, holding up the pot he carried. "I need a lot of moving living things for training."

"Moving living things... are you planning to practice the skill Entangling Vines?" Xu Wuhu, true to his academic reputation, guessed Zhou Lu's intended skill just from his training method. "You actually learned that."

Zhou Lu didn't hide anything and nodded, confirming Xu Wuhu's guess.

Xu Wuhu gave Zhou Lu a deep look.

To learn Entangling Vines, one needed to master at least Vine Step and Mad Growth.

This meant Zhou Lu's Dream Rain Flower had learned at least three general or innate skills. Just by the number of skills, he was definitely among the top of his peers.

After all, even his own Silver Armor Rat had only mastered two skills.

If his Spirit Beast wasn't a plant, Zhou Lu would likely be an even more powerful existence than himself.

Thinking this, Xu Wuhu couldn't contain his joy. He raised his hand and patted Zhou Lu's shoulder. "If we can really master it before the exam, we won't just pass, we might even get a good score."

As they were speaking, Xu Wuhu and Li Yi were called.

"We're going in first. I'll call you later," Xu Wuhu gestured to Zhou Lu. "I'll keep an eye out for places with lots of Spirit Beasts for you."

Zhou Lu's number was much later. Long after Xu Wuhu and Li Yi had entered the Secret Realm, his number was finally called.

Even though it was a relatively safe D-class Secret Realm, the Academic Credits required didn't decrease.

After deducting five Academic Credits, Zhou Lu walked through a gate of light that looked like a mirror.

Before entering, the teacher in charge of the gate handed Zhou Lu a wristband. "There are no accompanying safety officers in the D-class Secret Realm safe zone, but there are still teachers specifically responsible for safety. If you encounter danger, don't hesitate to break the wristband, and they will come."

Zhou Lu nodded. "Understood."

In fact, in a D-class Secret Realm, the dangers Beast Tamers were more likely to encounter were the terrain or their own Spirit Beasts.

Speaking of which, since he paid five Academic Credits, he should at least earn those five back from the Secret Realm, right?

As he passed through the gate of light, Zhou Lu thought inexplicably.

The academy officially had a shop for exchanging materials and young beasts for Academic Credits, but the purchase prices were lower than market value. It was only chosen when one was in a hurry to sell. The vast majority of students still chose to trade on the forum.

Some older students would help outside merchants purchase Spirit Beast materials on the academy forum at much higher prices and then pay with their own Academic Credits.

Essentially, it was exchanging Academic Credits for money.

Although the material prices in D-class Secret Realms weren't very high, as long as the quantity was sufficient, it was no problem to exchange them for a few Academic Credits.

Stepping out of the gate of light, the scene instantly opened up, and a vast grassland spread out before Zhou Lu's eyes.

At that very moment, a system mission popped up again.

[Optional Mission Six: Training Interference]

[Mission Introduction: The first combat practical exam is the starting point of Zhou Lu's rise. He gained a large number of Academic Credits through his outstanding performance in the exam, earning the appreciation of Xu Yilong and laying the foundation for his entry into the Pioneer Army. And all of this began with training in the grassland Secret Realm...]

[Mission Reward: Beast Tamer Skill Card (Nourish)]

A Beast Tamer skill?!

Zhou Lu wasn't surprised that the system would present a mission that could interfere with his exam, but this Beast Tamer skill, especially one named specifically, made Zhou Lu very interested.

Beast Tamer skills were often closely related to the cultivation of Spirit Pets. They had a chance to awaken only when the intimacy between the Beast Tamer and the Spirit Pet reached a certain level, making them very rare skills.

[Nourish]: Beast Tamer skill, limited to once a day. Upon activation, for three minutes, you gain a 30% attribute bonus to all attributes of a designated Spirit Pet.

To be honest, Zhou Lu was very tempted by this skill. But... there's no way I'd really give up the exam for this skill...

Zhou Lu gently placed Huohuo down from his arms and took out his phone to check the message from Xu Wuhu.

This was Huohuo's first time in the grasslands, and it had never seen such a vast place. It instinctively extended a vine and wrapped it around Zhou Lu's ankle, much like a child who had just learned to walk and was afraid to let go.

However, Huohuo quickly adapted to the environment. Seeing that Zhou Lu was still looking for direction, it started chatting with the surrounding wild grass on its own.

"Hey! I can walk, did you know that?" "You ask me what's at my roots? That's the flowerpot! That's my home!" "What are you saying! What are you saying! How am I pathetic! No matter how small the flowerpot is, it's a place that belongs only to me! Unlike you guys, any seed can come and steal your nutrients!"

Zhou Lu sensed Huohuo's emotions and looked down, finding Huohuo glaring at the surrounding weeds and muttering.

Strange... why would Huohuo have such a grumpy mood?

Zhou Lu scratched his head in confusion and quietly picked up Huohuo from the ground.

But Huohuo was still indignant, extending its vines to continue arguing with the wild grass. It wasn't until Zhou Lu carried it a considerable distance away that it angrily retracted its vines.

Xu Wuhu and Li Yi had chosen a spot not far from the gate of light, and it was easy to find, right by a river.

"Is the safe zone really this big?" Zhou Lu complained as he arrived.

"I was startled when I first came in too," Xu Wuhu said with a smile. This wasn't his first time entering this Secret Realm.

As the top student in the class, Xu Wuhu had received full marks in all five major courses during his freshman year. With a total of twenty-five Academic Credits, he had more options than Zhou Lu.

There was no doubt about it, Xu Wuhu had even gotten full marks in physical combat. He had truly battled an Iron-Eating Beast for five minutes.

He mentioned that this wasn't even their family's best achievement. His older brother, Xu Yilong, could wrestle an Iron-Eating Beast for six minutes without relying on his Spirit Beast.

While the group was talking, their respective Spirit Beasts were lounging lazily in the sun on the ground.

The moment Huohua landed, its first sight was the lazy Sticky Baby.

Upon remembering that its master had been staring at this Sticky Baby with a dazed expression, Huohua, feeling threatened by a loss of favor, immediately arched its body and ran to the Sticky Baby's side, observing its "enemy" closely.

Zhou Lu was indeed looking at the Sticky Baby, not out of affection, but out of confusion. "Isn't the Sticky Baby a Spirit Beast that excels in combat? Why did you choose it as your initial Spirit Beast?"

The Sticky Baby was excellent in all aspects, but it was clearly not suited for the Combat Department. It seemed more fitting for the breeding department.

Well, choosing the Dream Rain Flower as his initial Spirit Beast, he didn't really have the right to ask that question.

Li Yi, with his gentle personality, answered Zhou Lu's question with a smile. "Because my family has the complete evolution line for the Sticky Baby, and we have the readily available materials to evolve it to the Mature Stage. There's no need for me to make things more difficult for myself."

Alright, although he was gentle, those words were like a sharp, hurtful blade in any other context.

Possessing the complete evolution line and corresponding materials for a Spirit Beast basically meant one was a disciple of a Beast Tamer family, and a top-tier one at that. Most Beast Tamer families only had information on the evolution line up to the Mature Stage.

"However, the Sticky Baby is indeed a bit weak during its Metamorphosis Stage," Li Yi said, a wry smile appearing on his face. "If it weren't for the class monitor's help, I wouldn't have known how to pass the initial exam."

At this moment, after careful observation, Huohua finally found the Sticky Baby's weakness.

With its flowerpot on its back, it quickly circled the Sticky Baby again and again.

Heh heh! I'm faster than you!

Huohua's actions greatly annoyed the Sticky Baby, which was moving forward slowly.

But the Sticky Baby couldn't keep up with Huohua's speed and could only watch helplessly as Huohua circled, emitting hissing warning sounds at most.

Huohua stopped upon hearing the warning.

This is my master's teammate's Spirit Beast.

I can't cause trouble for my master.

With that thought, Huohua extended its vines, wrapped them around the Sticky Baby, and conveyed a message: Where are you going? I'll help you.

The Sticky Baby nudged towards its master's direction, indicating it wanted to go to its master.

The grass is too dirty, I don't want to stay here for even a minute.

Seeing the other's intention, Huohua immediately flapped its leaves, indicating it understood.

It lifted the Sticky Baby with its vines, aimed in Li Yi's direction, and threw it.

Please collect! Please follow!