Is Your Fairy Even Serious?

"Before taming beasts, tame yourself."

"You can't even lift a three-ton Super Star Stone. What kind of Beast Tamer do you think you are?"

"So, young man, interested in practicing martial arts with me? I've got three ancient wuxia novels here..."

As promised, Zhou Lu arrived at the laboratory. Standing before the windowsill, he watched the little fairy in front of him, hands on her hips as she chattered away, then turned to look at the embarrassed Wu Xiaoqing beside him. "So this is the thing you mentioned?"

But that was not what concerned him most.

The instant this little fairy appeared before him, the system inside him issued a brand-new quest.

Optional Quest Three: Kill Knowledge Fairy Xiao Xi

Quest Description: Knowledge Fairy Xiao Xi is one of the guides who will point out Zhou Lu's Spirit Beast cultivation path. For unknown reasons, she takes exceptional care of Zhou Lu and is an indispensable figure on his road to growth. Killing her may perhaps prevent the birth of the Demon King.

Quest Reward: Advanced Spirit Beast Growth Potion ×5, Random Permanent Beast Tamer Skill Card (A-rank) ×1

This noisy little thing is actually going to be one of my guides in the future?

"Of course not!" Wu Xiaoqing nervously glanced at the little fairy circling Zhou Lu again and again. "You're at least a Beast Taming Academy student in name. Don't tell me you don't even know there's a Knowledge Fairy at the academy?"

Wu Xiaoqing wore a white research coat. Its loose fit could not conceal her proud figure, and coupled with her beautiful face, it was no wonder that even as a research fanatic, she was pursued by so many boys at the academy. There were even rumors that professors pursued her as well.

Strictly speaking, Knowledge Fairies were not a type of Spirit Beast. They were the fruits of Seeking Dao Wood, a True God Stage Spirit Beast.

Seeking Dao Wood was the spirit pet of the Heavenly King Yuan Gensheng and fed on knowledge.

Yuan Gensheng was also the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Spirit Beast Science." One of the Knowledge Fairies' duties was plagiarism checking—using the fairy network to determine the originality and importance of Spirit Beast research.

Of course, one could also trade newly acquired intelligence with Knowledge Fairies, obtaining Fairy Coins in exchange for a Spirit Beast's evolution route, skills it could learn, or other knowledge known by Seeking Dao Wood.

"So," Wu Xiaoqing sighed after explaining everything, "how exactly did you get into the academy in the first place?"

"Your dad isn't a professor. You wouldn't understand," Zhou Lu casually made up.

"...Teacher isn't that kind of person..." Wu Xiaoqing's pupils shrank as she said in shock.

Zhou Lu was speechless. "You actually believed that? I got in through proper exams, okay?"

"That's right," Teacher Xiao Xi said, nodding. "I can testify to that. Although he got twenty extra points, he did indeed get in through the exams."

Wu Xiaoqing looked at Zhou Lu in admiration. "What did you do to get twenty extra points?"

Before Zhou Lu could speak, Xiao Xi spoke first. "A paper in 'Spirit Beast Science,' though he was only the second author."

"So Xiao Lu is actually that impressive?" Wu Xiaoqing asked delightedly.

"Oh, right." Xiao Xi was examining Huohuo, whom Zhou Lu had brought along, when she suddenly remembered something. "I remember that paper. His father was the first author."

Wu Xiaoqing fell into a long silence.

Zhou Lu rubbed his nose. "I told you. Your dad isn't a professor, so you wouldn't understand."

At that moment, Xiao Xi, who was observing Huohuo, spoke again. "Old Zhou really didn't consider you at all, huh? He actually let you form a contract with a blade of grass? Honestly, this is the first time I've seen someone contract a Plant Spirit Beast as their initial spirit pet. I don't even know how you're supposed to pass your first combat assessment..."

Smack!

Before the little fairy could finish, two leaves slapped her head from both sides, knocking her unconscious on the spot.

Huohuo deftly extended her vines, wrapped up the little fairy's falling body, and actually planted her headfirst into the soil of the flowerpot beneath her.

The entire sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water, so fast that neither Zhou Lu nor Wu Xiaoqing had time to react.

"Tea—cher—Xiao—Xi!!!" Wu Xiaoqing was the first to recover. She clutched her face in horror.

Zhou Lu rubbed his brow. After much persuasion, he finally got Huohuo to loosen the vines around Xiao Xi and pull the little fairy back out.

Wu Xiaoqing hurriedly carried the dirt-covered Xiao Xi to the sink to wash her off.

Ding! Quest failed.

Just then, the system's voice sounded by Zhou Lu's ear.

You attempted to kill Knowledge Fairy Xiao Xi, but the quest ultimately failed.

However, your actions are worthy of praise.

You have received 1% of the quest reward. Please claim it.

The system has reset this quest. Keep up the good work.

Huh? There's a reward even if the quest fails?

And it resets after failing... Doesn't that mean I can exploit this to farm rewards over and over? As long as I never achieve the condition for completing the quest, wouldn't my expected gains be limitless?

Now I finally understand why villains in those stories kept letting the protagonist go. So they did it because the returns were higher?

If my fate hadn't been shielded, could the others who obtained this system also repeatedly let me go in pursuit of higher rewards?

One percent of the reward was no small amount. Though it had been reduced from five Advanced Growth Potions and one Beast Tamer Skill to three Low-level Growth Potions, in this era of soaring Spirit Beast cultivation costs, it was still equivalent to ninety thousand yuan.

For a moment, Zhou Lu was genuinely tempted.

He looked at Wu Xiaoqing, who was preparing something not far away. But the thought vanished as soon as it arose. The quest rewards were tempting, but he was no devil. He would not hurt someone who sincerely treated him well for such a reward.

But... Zhou Lu helplessly looked at Huohuo. "What are you doing?"

Huohuo swayed her leaves. It's a seed.

"Huh?" Zhou Lu was confused.

Huohuo's leaves drooped as she carefully replied, I wanted to try planting it. What if it sprouts?

Zhou Lu paused, then smiled. Though he did not quite understand what Huohuo meant, he could still sense her emotions through the Beast Taming Contract.

He raised a hand and rubbed Huohuo's fluffy young leaves. "No need to rush to prove yourself. No matter what anyone says, you're my initial spirit pet. And who says Plant Spirit Beasts are weak? Isn't Seeking Dao Wood a Plant Spirit Beast too?"

That said, Seeking Dao Wood was not Yuan Gensheng's initial spirit pet.

Plant Spirit Beasts could not undergo Metamorphosis Shedding Soil before the second rank. That was an unchangeable fact.

They might be somewhat weaker, but saying they had no combat power at all was far too absolute. Plant Spirit Beasts were merely inconvenient to move around, not incapable of fighting.

Entangling, poisoning, whipping... these were all Plant Spirit Beasts' specialties. Though their actual combat power was inferior to animal Spirit Beasts of the same grass type, they still possessed combat power in the end.

But those skills all needed to be learned.

Skills could be acquired either by having Huohuo learn from other Spirit Beasts, or by Huohuo comprehending them herself...

Thinking this, Zhou Lu's gaze fell on Xiao Xi, who had just been revived. He could also use Fairy Coins to exchange for ready-made Skill Cards from a Knowledge Fairy.

However, Skill Cards obtained through exchange were standardized, mass-produced universal skills. Their power was inferior to innate skills gained through learning or comprehension.

"Teacher Xiao Xi, Zhou Lu, he..." Wu Xiaoqing was extremely nervous. This was a Knowledge Fairy, someone the entire academy had to curry favor with.

Xiao Xi seemed not to have recovered from her dizziness yet. Swaying unsteadily, she flew back in front of Huohuo.

However, what Wu Xiaoqing feared did not happen. Xiao Xi appraised Huohuo, then said approvingly, "Very good! Young people ought to have spirit! Plant Spirit Beasts should be like this!"

They had nearly forgotten that Xiao Xi's main body, Seeking Dao Wood, was a standard Plant Spirit Beast.

"But don't pull this kind of sneak attack again next time. It's really scary." Xiao Xi rubbed her head, then turned to Zhou Lu. "I can roughly guess why your father had you contract a Dream Rain Flower. Dream Rain Flowers rarely enter the Metamorphosis Stage, but as long as they transform into Spirit Beasts, their Racial Skill can grant them limitless possibilities. The cultivation period is indeed a little long, but once it grows up, becoming a commander-level Beast Tamer is still quite possible."

Zhou Lu nodded repeatedly. He knew Xiao Xi was not wrong.

Huohuo might be weak, but her Racial Skill, Absorption, was exceptionally powerful. As long as Huohuo defeated an enemy, there was a certain chance she could obtain a skill or random attribute from it. Though the acquired skills and attributes would most likely be temporary, there was still a possibility of absorbing permanent skills and attributes. Huohuo's Transport skill was one such permanent skill she had absorbed.

That Transport skill had clearly been absorbed by Huohuo from the bees she had killed.

Transport: Flying Jade Bee Racial Skill. You can carry items with a mass up to one hundred times your body weight.

Bees carried objects by attaching them to their legs, while Huohuo probably stuffed them into her flowerpot. But no matter how one looked at it, this was an excellent support skill.

It was just that before Huohuo learned how to walk, this skill was fundamentally a burden. No matter how much Huohuo could carry, it all became Zhou Lu's burden.

"Teacher Xiao Xi." Since Xiao Xi seemed easy to talk to, Zhou Lu pushed his luck and asked, "Then do you know the Special Evolution route of the Dream Rain Flower?"

"Special Evolution?" Xiao Xi pointed at Huohuo and rolled her eyes. "Yours is only the second Dream Rain Flower I've seen transform into a Spirit Beast. With so few samples, I don't even know the exact route for ordinary evolution, much less Special Evolution. Besides, even if I did know, it might not suit your Dream Rain Flower."

Special Evolution was similar to a gene mutation that could be actively induced. Once a Spirit Beast underwent Special Evolution, even its species would change.

But Special Evolution was extremely rare. Sometimes it was inseparably linked to an individual Spirit Beast and might only suit that particular beast, while other Spirit Beasts of the same species could not use it at all.

Hearing this, Zhou Lu was somewhat disappointed. This meant that even Seeking Dao Wood did not know any intelligence regarding Huohuo's evolution. He could only search the academy forums for information on Ancient Books.

He had looked through the academy forums before coming here and had not seen any posts related to Ancient Books. It seemed he would need to keep a close eye on them from now on.

"Let's not talk about that for now." At that moment, Wu Xiaoqing walked over carrying a basin of mushrooms. "Help me stir-fry some mushrooms first, Xiao Lu."

New author, new book. Please keep reading! It's really important to me!