Training Plan

The wall that Huohuo had pushed over was quickly repaired.

Zhou Lu had to admire the lifestyle of the Beast Tamer era. What would have taken at least a day of work was completed in half an hour with the help of the Mud Monster.

However, before the workers left, they reminded Zhou Lu not to let Huohuo use its Vine Step roots to drill into the gaps again. Although the Mud Monster's mud possessed excellent building properties, due to attribute counteraction, Huohuo, being a plant-type, had a strong destructive effect on this mud.

As for the cement coating on the outside, that would require a special procurement.

"Damn it! My wages!"

Ultimately, none of these expenses fell upon Zhou Lu. Xiao Xi bore them all.

She glared irritably at Huohuo, who was looking dejected because the "collection" it had rolled up had been snatched back by Xiao Xi. "I shouldn't have been so kind."

Despite her grumbling, Xiao Xi still came to Zhou Lu's room every day for the next few days.

In her words, training a spirit pet wasn't just about skills and evolution; it was also about training its personality.

"I'm really worried about what outrageous things this guy might do when he grows up," Xiao Xi said, not forgetting to point and gesture at Huohuo. "As a senior plant-type, I won't just stand by and do nothing."

Although her words sounded righteous, it was simply because Huohuo knocked on her door every morning. If she didn't open it, it would extend its vines through the door crack to grab her.

Just like that, Xiao Xi became a voluntary instructor for Huohuo's skill training.

"Pay up! These are all chargeable services! You have to pay!" While instructing Huohuo, Xiao Xi would often complain to Zhou Lu, but she didn't actually charge him.

With Xiao Xi's help in training, Zhou Lu finally had time to formulate his next plan.

He didn't intend to use the C-Class skill rewarded by the system, as Huohuo had just learned too many skills.

Although this little grass was very diligent, it wasn't a robot after all. Skills, once learned, couldn't be mastered instantly like swiping a card. They required training and even actual combat to reach a level of flexible application.

According to Xiao Xi's estimation, Huohuo should be able to master the most basic Headbutt skill, which had no attribute bonus, before the exam. Combined with Entangling Vines, which it had already mastered through the daily process of binding Xiao Xi, passing the exam should be no problem.

Therefore, the training plan before the exam would be to continue consolidating these two skills.

Upon passing the exam, the academy would issue corresponding Academic Credits based on the exam results.

Passing one exam would yield 30 Academic Credits, which was essentially the standard distribution based on visiting a Secret Realm once a month, leading up to the next exam six months later.

The maximum score was 100 Academic Credits, with the standard being to visit three Secret Realms per month and conduct a growth analysis. Besides the 30 points for each of the three exams, there were an additional 10 points for performance during the exam.

Zhou Lu's goal was to pass at least two exams, earning at least 60 Academic Credits.

And he had already basically finalized his plan after passing the exams.

First, he would obtain a C-Class Exploration Permit, which would grant him the right to explore C-Class Secret Realms.

After obtaining the Exploration Permit, he would immediately set off for the Linxi Secret Realm to find a suitable shell from a Jade Snail for Huohuo.

The metal flower pot on Huohuo had already become warped and deformed from its days of colliding with Blackwater Stone.

In fact, with modern Beast Tamer technology, there were materials harder than the Jade Snail shell. Many spirit pets' combat equipment was made from the hardest Kunlun Alloy Steel.

But the price of that... Well, even if Zhou Lu emptied his entire fortune, he couldn't afford even 1 gram of Kunlun Alloy Steel.

The barrier named money formed a despairing obstacle before Zhou Lu, even more insurmountable than Blackwater Stone.

After finding equipment for Huohuo, it would be time for the training of Body Feed.

Zhou Lu never dared to forget that he had an enemy in his future who could traverse the river of time to kill him.

With Body Feed and Absorption, Huohuo could quickly stack attributes.

Although in the face of powerful skills, pure attributes might not seem as striking.

Attributes, however, were the foundation of all strength and weakness.

A first-tier small spirit beast, without the help of skills, could not defeat a large ordinary wild beast, which was the true power of attributes.

And as a plant-type spirit beast, Huohuo's innate attributes were even inferior to those of insects and mice. Without Absorption to gain permanent attribute bonuses, it would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage in many battles.

The training of Body Feed required the Beast Tamer and their spirit pet to be in an extremely dangerous environment simultaneously. The Beast Tamer would place all hope on the spirit pet, and the spirit pet would have a strong desire to help the Beast Tamer escape the predicament, only then could a sliver of the skill's trace be grasped.

There was no shortcut to training Beast Tamer skills.

If it was extremely dangerous, then not even the slightest protective measure could be taken.

This was why Xiao Xi said that only a madman would actively practice this skill.

The Body Feed skill card in its hand was unexpectedly awakened when the Beast Tamer was in dire straits; no one actively practiced it.

"You're really planning to practice Body Feed..." As soon as Xiao Xi saw Zhou Lu writing down the Secret Realm number C0021 on the paper, she immediately guessed his intentions.

C0021 Mountainous Secret Realm, with its numerous cliffs, was a favorite among Beast Tamers with extreme hobbies.

"The probability of Absorption isn't that low; as long as there's enough time, Huohuo can still absorb enough attributes." Although Xiao Xi had sold the training method for Body Feed to Zhou Lu, she still tried to dissuade him, "You don't need to risk practicing this Body Feed."

"I don't have that much time," Zhou Lu said, glancing at the system, and gave a wry smile.

As he spoke, he checked the time, picked up Huohuo, who was lying on the ground reading, and said, "The examiner information has been released. I need to go to a tactical meeting..."

Huh? Reading?

Zhou Lu curiously glanced at the book Huohuo was reading.

The Art of Binding and Rope Language.

"Do I have this book?" Zhou Lu turned to look at Xiao Xi.

Xiao Xi nervously turned her head away. "I borrowed it from the library. Dream Rain Flower doesn't have spontaneous vocal organs, so I'm just teaching it to speak using vine knots~!"

"Are you sure? But more than half of this book is about..." Zhou Lu flipped through it, then looked at it thoughtfully.

"Hey! What are you looking at!" Xiao Xi glared.

"Ah, sorry, just critiquing," Zhou Lu coughed twice, closed the book, and continued, "More than half of it is about how to tie knots more sexily. Are you sure this is a proper book?"

"What can I do if those scholars insisted on combining the two topics!" Xiao Xi put her hands on her hips, speaking righteously. "Besides, Huohuo is learning very well! Huohuo, show your master a demonstration."

Huohuo: (^▽^)

Fine, it actually seems a little useful.

"Then I'll be going. Please watch the place for me," Zhou Lu said to Xiao Xi, seeing that Huohuo enjoyed making expressions with vines.

"Got it, got it," Xiao Xi waved her hand, then realized, "Wait, how did I end up watching your place?"

However, Zhou Lu had already opened the door and left by the time she said that.

Actually, the time Zhou Lu had agreed to meet Xu Wuhu was seven o'clock, but it was already half-past ten when Zhou Lu left the house.

"Sorry, I'm late," Zhou Lu placed two cups of milk tea in front of Xu Wuhu and Li Yi. "Something came up, I'll treat you to lunch."

[Ding! Mission failed.]

[Your intentional delay prevented Xu Wuhu and others from discussing battle plans in a timely manner.]

[Unfortunately, the time you delayed was not enough to completely alter the exam results. You can try delaying for longer.]

[You have received 10% of the mission reward. Please check your inventory.]

[The system has reset this mission. Please try again.]

Looking at the [Body Feed] one-time skill card the system rewarded him with, Zhou Lu narrowed his eyes.

Yes, being late was intentional.

Seeking collection! Seeking follow-up reads!