B-rank Skill Card.
And it was self-selected.
No Beast Tamer could resist such a temptation.
From what Wu Xiaoqing had said, this Vermilion Bird Manure Soil was outside the safe zone. No wonder Wu Xiaoqing had disagreed with Zhou Lu's plan.
Safe zones were an official benefit. No matter the rank of the secret realm, if it was a safe zone, it had only been opened after the Pioneer Army had wiped out all the ferocious spirit beasts within.
With the protection of the safety instructors on top of that, it was already a relatively safe exploration environment for students.
But by the same token, areas that had been swept clean by the Pioneer Army naturally were unlikely to contain rare and precious materials.
The most valuable things left were spirit beasts like the Ghost Face Nightmare Butterfly.
If you wanted to find truly rare materials or more powerful spirit pets, you had to leave the protection of the safe zone.
Just like investing, safety and high returns could not coexist.
Wu Xiaoqing seemed to have seen through Zhou Lu's thoughts. Though she did not know why he was so determined to search for Vermilion Bird Manure Soil himself, she still respected his decision.
"If you really plan to go, I'll go with you. At the very least, I can protect you."
Her own teacher, Zhou Minghai, had recognized her potential.
If not for Zhou Minghai's support and training, she would probably have become a Beast Tamer training instructor in some remote little town by now.
"Thank you," Zhou Lu said sincerely.
With that, Zhou Lu prepared to take his leave.
Before coming here, he had already accepted a task from the academy—a task to catch birds in the Mountain River Secret Realm.
"I made plans with the Class Monitor and the others, so I'll be leaving first." Zhou Lu checked the time and spoke to Wu Xiaoqing.
As he spoke, Huohuo arched its body and scampered out of the laboratory.
Although it was very interested in the red soil inside the bottle, it had plucked so many mushrooms that its conscience was guilty.
After Zhou Lu and Huohuo left, Wu Xiaoqing looked at the mushroom patch Huohuo had ravaged yet again and gave a bitter smile. "This little fellow really is..."
Then, she returned her gaze to the still-unnamed red soil.
Huohuo's Evolution Material...
This time, Zhou Lu was heading to the Mountain River Secret Realm with Xu Wuhu and Li Yi.
If not for Li Yi, Zhou Lu might not have been able to snatch up the task of catching little mountain sparrows.
Xu Wuhu and Li Yi were not heading to the Mountain River Secret Realm for training. As new members of the School Team, they were going there for an arranged match.
"You two joined the School Team already?" Zhou Lu asked in surprise after hearing the purpose of their trip.
"The Class Monitor was specially recruited. I used connections," Li Yi said bluntly.
Well then. As expected of the son of a major tech company—he really could pull strings anywhere.
Zhou Lu was not surprised that Xu Wuhu had been specially recruited. The two of them had been the only two people to earn perfect scores in the first combat assessment, so naturally the School Team had taken a liking to them.
"So it turned out you two are the ones going to the match?"
"There are three other students too, all newcomers from the same batch," Xu Wuhu explained. "After all, the other side is sending newcomers as well."
In truth, Xin'an's School Team had its own considerations in accepting the challenge.
Both sides wanted to use this arranged match to observe the caliber of the other party's next generation of newcomers.
"Alright." Zhou Lu held Huohuo and took a sip of tea.
Li Yi asked curiously, "You aren't joining the School Team, Zhou Lu?"
Zhou Lu shook his head. "Not interested for now. I prefer the feeling of venturing and exploring alone in secret realms."
"What a pity," Xu Wuhu said. "I wasn't planning to join the School Team either, but my older brother still advised me to. Even if I intend to join the Pioneer Army in the future, I still need to participate in academy competitions and perform as outstandingly as possible."
"Why?" Li Yi asked curiously.
"That way, I'll draw more attention when I enlist after graduation." Xu Wuhu was not particularly willing; he was a practical person, but he had to listen to his older brother. "In this era, without traffic and popularity, you can't compete for resources. My brothers don't plan to provide me with any extra help."
Zhou Lu did not continue the topic.
Graduation was still two or three years away. By then, even he did not know how far he could grow. Perhaps he might even be exempted from mandatory official service.
"When we catch the little mountain sparrows, lend me Sticky Baby for a bit," Zhou Lu said to Li Yi.
Huohuo immediately waved excitedly at Sticky Baby.
Sticky Baby, sprawled atop Li Yi's head, shuddered and shrank by an entire size.
"Sure, sure." Li Yi burst into laughter.
Sticky Baby angrily stretched out its tentacles and plastered them over Li Yi's eyes.
"Don't be so clingy, Sticky Baby," Li Yi said with a laugh.
I don't think it's being clingy...
"Ah! My eyebrows! My eyelashes!" Before long, Li Yi let out a miserable scream. "Quick! Help me pull Sticky Baby off!"
"..."
A few minutes later, Li Yi, whose face had been shaved completely bare, sat back down gloomily.
He poked the listless Sticky Baby in his arms. "Is Sticky Baby sick?"
Huohuo stared at Li Yi in utter astonishment.
Wow~! What a shiny head!
Zhou Lu, who vaguely guessed the truth, felt a little guilty. "Then I won't borrow it after all. Just give me some Sticky Baby's Sticky Slime."
Huohuo raised its tender sprout, volunteering eagerly: I can go get it myself!
Zhou Lu shot Huohuo an irritated glare. If I let you go, you'll squeeze poor Sticky Baby dry again!
Huohuo shrank back aggrievedly.
When they arrived at the Explorer Association, there were especially many students heading to the Mountain River Secret Realm this time. The teachers therefore required students to form groups, or there simply would not be enough Safety Officers.
"Why are there so many people?" Zhou Lu said helplessly.
"They're all here to watch the excitement." Li Yi stood amid the crowd and pointed toward the distant Secret Realm Gate. "A lot of people saw the School Team's arranged match."
"That's a lot of Academic Credits." Zhou Lu clicked his tongue as he tucked away over a hundred Academic Credits.
Still, he truly needed to consider how to spend his Academic Credits. Perhaps he could use them to buy some materials.
"There aren't enough Safety Officers. We need groups of three." Xu Wuhu walked over and asked Zhou Lu, "Want to come with us?"
Zhou Lu asked where their match would take place. It was on the summit of a cliff he had selected for himself. "Sure. I'll catch little mountain sparrows along the cliff face there."
After confirming their group, the remaining process was the same as last time.
As the light of teleportation faded, the Mountain River Secret Realm, with mountains and rivers rising in succession, unfolded before Zhou Lu's eyes.
Bare stone cliffs rose from the earth like the backward quills of a hedgehog, stretching so far that the eye could not see their end.
"Those Linzhou people don't seem to have arrived yet." Xu Wuhu glanced around.
However, many students from Linzhou Beast Taming Academy had already arrived. It seemed they had also come to watch the match.
The two sides truly deserved their reputation as "hereditary enemies." The moment their students met, the atmosphere became drawn swords and bent bows.
Zhou Lu was instead in the mood to chat with the safety instructor assigned to them this time. "Do you really wait until the very last moment before stepping in to save us?"
"Yes. Injuries are unavoidable." The safety instructor cautioned Zhou Lu, "So when you act, you still need to consider your own safety. Don't wait until you're bedridden for life before regretting it."
"Can you really save us no matter when it happens?"
"I can!"
"No matter what kind of situation?"
"Don't question my professional standards!"
Zhou Lu nodded very seriously. "I understand, Teacher."
With that, Zhou Lu carried Huohuo to the edge of the cliff.
Looking down at the bottomless abyss below, Zhou Lu took a deep breath and said to Huohuo in his arms, "I'll be relying on you next."
What was he doing?
Seeing Zhou Lu's actions, the safety instructor was somewhat puzzled.
Then...
Zhou Lu put Huohuo down and leaped straight off the cliff.
His movement was decisive and fluid, leaving the safety instructor completely dumbfounded.
What the hell did you understand?!!
Tuesday is the life-or-death battle! Everyone, please make sure to keep following! I'm begging you!
Without follows, there are no recommendations. Mine is a slow-burn growth story competing against a bunch of fast-paced high-martial and demon-slaying novels. It's too hard, OTZ.
If I can successfully advance this time, I'll repay everyone with ten thousand words a day once it goes premium!
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