Entering the Secret Realm

The C-Class Exploration Permit had been earned that morning.

After having a simple lunch at Wu Xiaoqing's place, Zhou Lu arrived at the Explorer Association that afternoon, ready to enter the secret realm.

Huohuo's actions had been far too obvious. Without lifting a finger, Wu Xiaoqing fished the mushrooms it had stolen from its flowerpot.

This time, however, Wu Xiaoqing did not take back all the mushrooms. She only removed the poisonous ones, then explained the effects of each type of mushroom to Zhou Lu one by one.

"Are these all junk results?" Zhou Lu could not help asking after hearing their effects.

"Some aren't quite that useless, but if I published them and that Ouyang guy found out, I'd definitely get laughed at." At the mention of that name, Wu Xiaoqing revealed a teeth-gritting expression.

Ouyang Xiao, her father's first student. After graduating, he had never contacted them again—not even attending Zhou Minghai's funeral.

Judging from Wu Xiaoqing's expression, Ouyang Xiao had probably left a deep shadow on her.

"Aren't you being a little too hasty?" Wu Xiaoqing watched Zhou Lu head out. "Even if you have enough Academic Credits, shouldn't you make a strategy guide first?"

"I've been working on one since long before the exam."

Seeing how determined Zhou Lu was, Wu Xiaoqing stopped trying to dissuade him.

"Be careful. Even in the safe zone, a C-Class Secret Realm still carries a certain degree of danger."

C0032, Linxi Secret Realm.

Zhou Lu stood before the glowing gate leading into the secret realm, unable to keep himself from feeling nervous.

Still, he quickly calmed himself down.

"Are you ready?" a tall man beside him asked in a gentle tone.

His name was Lu Rang. He was the safety teacher responsible for Zhou Lu's safety during this exploration—a Safety Officer.

Safety Officers were only responsible for protecting students' lives. They did not interfere with anything else and existed solely as the final layer of insurance.

Even with a Safety Officer's protection, the school forum was often filled with news of students losing their spirit pets during secret realm explorations, or even ending up missing arms and legs.

Entrusting one's safety entirely to a Safety Officer was an extremely irresponsible act toward both oneself and one's spirit pet.

"I'm ready."

Zhou Lu gathered his thoughts and nodded to Lu Rang.

"Then let's go." As Lu Rang spoke, he opened the Secret Realm Gate.

The safe zone of the Linxi Secret Realm had been marked out around a mountain named Xinbai Mountain.

The instant he entered the secret realm, the damp humidity unique to a rainforest rushed over him, carrying the fragrance of moist earth.

"Watch out for poison."

After saying that, Lu Rang vanished.

Though he could no longer see him, Zhou Lu was certain Lu Rang was nearby.

But unless Zhou Lu courted death and faced a life-threatening crisis, there was no use hoping Lu Rang would appear before he left the secret realm.

Zhou Lu focused himself.

Just as Lu Rang had warned, the most dangerous things in the Linxi Secret Realm were undoubtedly poisons.

Poisonous insects, poisonous frogs, and even the fuzz of toxic plants could all claim one's life.

"Huohuo, Stinky Mushroom." Zhou Lu immediately instructed Huohuo.

Huohuo, which had been excited to enter the secret realm, showed obvious reluctance upon hearing Zhou Lu's command.

Stinky Mushroom, a Tier 1 Spirit Beast. It was a byproduct of Wu Xiaoqing's research into the evolution of Poisonous Delicious Mushrooms, created through the Special Evolution of Poisonous Delicious Mushrooms.

(Special Evolution did not necessarily result in an increase in tier. It could also produce a species mutation at the same tier.)

Incidentally, both the Enlarged Delicious Mushroom and that unnamed Tier 2 poisonous mushroom had been evolved by Wu Xiaoqing from Poisonous Delicious Mushrooms.

Every time Zhou Lu saw that name, he wanted to complain. Why was it still called a Delicious Mushroom when it was poisonous? Were all you mushroom eaters tired of living?

Stinky Mushrooms were inedible.

Unlike Poisonous Delicious Mushrooms, Stinky Mushrooms had lost their toxicity after Special Evolution. The reason they were inedible was simply because they tasted awful—and stank terribly.

Yet that stench also brought an additional attribute: Stinky Mushroom juice had an extremely strong repelling effect on snakes and insects.

The moment Huohuo took out a Stinky Mushroom and tore through its skin, a wave of stench rushed straight at them.

The smell was exactly like putting a cockroach corpse into spoiled mung bean soup, stirring it with bone broth, then sealing it in a glass jar stuffed with vegetable leaves and banana peels before leaving it in a cool place for seven days.

The Stinky Mushroom's effect was remarkable. Zhou Lu felt as though every insect around him had fled at once.

After bracing himself against a tree trunk and recovering for a while, Zhou Lu finally regained his senses and managed to somewhat adapt to the Stinky Mushroom's odor.

Huohuo did not have olfactory organs, but through their contract, it seemed to have inherited part of Zhou Lu's senses. It looked miserable as well.

After taking the necessary precautions, Zhou Lu directed Huohuo onward to explore.

Detailed information on every safe zone could be found on the official websites of the academy and the Pioneer Army.

To ensure that students gained something from every exploration, the Pioneer Army even deliberately controlled the number of spirit beast populations within safe zones—killing more when they were too numerous and replenishing them when they were too few.

Jade Snails, highly popular providers of crafting materials, had seen their numbers outside the safe zones plummet. Yet their population within the safe zones remained at a fairly healthy scale.

This led many merchants to simply cooperate with students and purchase Jade Snail shells from them.

Of course, there were many, many similar opportunities. Information that truly made money would never reach the forums.

Huohuo truly loved this secret realm.

While Zhou Lu searched for the right direction, it excitedly greeted every plant around it.

—The big sisters here are so gentle and polite~!

—They're much easier to talk to than those wild grasses in the Grassland Secret Realm.

—Wow! Are you giving me your fruit?

*—Yes! Huohuo is super cute (*^▽^*)*

Huohuo happily plucked a fruit from a tree.

This action seemed to trigger a chain reaction, and the flowers, grasses, and trees nearby began giving Huohuo all sorts of gifts as well.

Before long, Huohuo's flowerpot was stuffed full of local specialties.

"Hmm?" Zhou Lu noticed something unusual about Huohuo. "Is the flowerpot too heavy?"

Huohuo, which was tying red strings between two trees, immediately pulled out a fruit from its flowerpot when it heard its master's voice. Master, eat fruit!

"Ah, thank you." Zhou Lu smiled and accepted the fruit Huohuo handed him.

When he saw the fruit's appearance, Zhou Lu froze slightly. "Where did you get this?"

Thunder Pattern Saffron Fruit.

Zhou Lu silently recited the fruit's name in his heart.

It was the fruit of the Tier 2 Spirit Beast, the Thunder Pattern Soursop Tree. More importantly, this fruit was one of the primary materials required for many Electric Attribute spirit beasts to evolve to Tier 2.

This spirit beast was extremely rare—something one could encounter only by chance, never by seeking.

Huohuo showed a puzzled expression.

Zhou Lu turned around.

The route they had taken had already changed.

In a C-Class Secret Realm, even trees could be spirit beasts.

Tier 2 Plant Spirit Beasts already possessed the ability to walk, so it was not uncommon for paths to change as trees moved.

That Thunder Pattern Soursop Tree that had given Huohuo the fruit had probably run off to who knew where long ago.

Zhou Lu shook his head and handed the fruit back to Huohuo. "Put it away. It's valuable."

Huohuo formed a question mark with its vines. Valuable?

Little Grass did not really understand the meaning of money.

"It can buy you lots of growth potions." Zhou Lu said with a smile.

Huohuo's eyes visibly lit up.

I have lots more!

Huohuo pulled more than a dozen Thunder Pattern Saffron Fruits from its flowerpot.

Zhou Lu was dumbfounded at the sight.

Did you strip that entire tree bare?

There would be another chapter. Extra chapters during the new-book period were rough, so please keep following along.