Zhou Lu had practically fled Wu Xiaoqing's laboratory with Huohuo in his arms under the strange stares of the other two.
Huohuo seemed not to know what it had done wrong. Even as Zhou Lu carried it away in a panic, it did not forget to politely wave goodbye to Wu Xiaoqing in the laboratory—even though Wu Xiaoqing had confiscated all its things.
The moment he stepped out of the teaching building, Zhou Lu felt his whole body relax.
Bright sunlight streamed through the gaps between the tall buildings and tree shade, falling across him.
A breeze blew past, making the Dream Rain Flowers planted along both sides of the road sway gently.
Dream Rain Flowers were not actually rare in this world, but vanishingly few had completed their transformation into Spirit Beasts. Huohuo was the only one Zhou Lu knew of.
As one of the most widespread plants in this world, Dream Rain Flowers had an exceptionally long history—so long that even their competitors and natural enemies had already gone extinct.
For that reason, Dream Rain Flowers had become one of the plants most commonly chosen for landscaping in this world, though almost no one would choose one as their Spirit Pet.
Under the spring sunshine, the Dream Rain Flowers had bloomed with beautiful white blossoms.
Zhou Lu weighed Huohuo in his arms. Its original flowerpot had shattered in the laboratory, so he had asked Wu Xiaoqing for a large beaker to serve as a temporary flowerpot and Huohuo's little home.
After changing pots, Huohuo was still somewhat unaccustomed to it. Especially since the container Zhou Lu had given it was transparent, making Huohuo shy and uneasy.
The little thing that had just been showing Zhou Lu its legs had now turned bashful instead.
Through the transparent glass beaker, Zhou Lu could see Huohuo's flustered white roots in the soil.
Zhou Lu smiled helplessly and took off his coat, wrapping it around the beaker. Only then did Huohuo feel much better and become lively again, its leaves spreading wide as they swayed freely in the spring breeze.
Watching Huohuo become energetic again, he could not help wondering when this little fellow would be able to bloom beautiful flowers like its companions.
Little Huohuo clearly still found its two newly learned skills intensely novel. It stretched out its roots and stems, repeatedly using Vine Step and Mad Growth.
In the time it took Zhou Lu to blink, several white flowers had appeared on little Huohuo.
Hm?
Looking closely, he saw that the little thing had used the Vine Step it extended to pluck several flowers from the Dream Rain Flowers by the roadside. Then it canceled Mad Growth and placed those flowers atop its own head.
After finishing all that, Huohuo happily clapped its leaves and showed off to Zhou Lu. I bloomed!
Cold sweat immediately seeped across Zhou Lu's forehead.
The Beast Taming Academy's rules stated that students were not allowed to casually damage or harm the plants and animals on campus, because they might very well be research materials for the school's researchers. Wu Xiaoqing was fine because she always had a legitimate reason. He did not.
He had to slip away quickly. If the volunteer patrol caught him, he would be fined Academic Credits!
"This student, damaging the lawn violates school regulations."
Just as Zhou Lu was about to leave, a voice came from behind him.
With a helpless sigh, he turned to look at the newcomer, only to see a familiar face.
The man was tall and powerfully built. Though his appearance was ordinary, his muscular physique was enough to leave a deep impression. A small silver creature resembling a squirrel lay on the man's shoulder, creating the peculiar sight of a burly man paired with something adorable.
"Class Monitor?" Zhou Lu said instinctively.
The newcomer was Xu Wuhu, the Class Monitor of Class Three in Zhou Lu's Combat Department. Rumor had it that he was the son of a high-ranking officer from some branch of the Pioneer Army. He had an excellent reputation among the students, and calling him helpful was absolutely not empty praise.
Optional Mission Four: Kill Silver Gorilla Xu Wuhu Mission Description: Silver Gorilla Xu Wuhu, one of Demon King Zhou Lu's chief accomplices, had helped Zhou Lu escape dangerous situations many times. Due to his powerful defense and outrageous close-combat strength, he was later known as the "Silver Gorilla." If you wish to kill him, be sure to strike while he has not yet grown. Mission Reward: Random Permanent Spirit Beast Skill Card (A-rank) x1, Random One-time Beast Tamer Skill Card x1
The suddenly appearing mission prompt made Zhou Lu's expression freeze.
Yet in Xu Wuhu's eyes, his expression seemed to carry an entirely different meaning.
Xu Wuhu clearly frowned. "Zhou Lu, the first Beast Taming Exam is about to begin. Everyone is working hard to prepare, so how do you still have the leisure to break school rules here? This is the most important exam in university. I know your father's death hit you hard, but you can't bury your own life along with him just because of grief."
His words were harsh, but they were not wrong in the slightest.
As the main institution through which the authorities trained Beast Tamers, the Beast Taming Academy received vast amounts of preferential resources and subsidies. Free Growth Projections, safe zones in secret realms, and Knowledge Fairies were all things difficult to obtain outside the school.
If you were not a student at the Beast Taming Academy, then you would have to face the cruel reality:
When you wanted to know your Spirit Pet's growth progress, you would need to pay an average of one million per Growth Projection;
When you wanted to enter a secret realm to explore and search for materials, you would have to face a perilous secret realm without powerful experts guarding it;
When you wanted to know your Spirit Pet's evolution path, you would have to spend an astronomical amount of money to purchase evolution information from the corresponding Spirit Beast breeding company. Of course, you could also buy pirated copies—if you could find them—but breeding companies kept records on every customer. If they could not find your name in their customer information, you would face a mountain of lawsuits—unless you had sufficient proof that you had developed the evolution path independently, or had purchased it from a Knowledge Fairy.
School was one of the rare places in life where hard work could erase the gap between social classes—for many people, it was even their only chance.
That had been true in his previous life, and it was true in this one as well.
At the Beast Taming Academy, if your family was truly poor and you lacked both the funds and channels to obtain a Spirit Beast, you could even apply to the academy for a free Spirit Pet. The free Spirit Pets were not particularly strong, but their evolution paths were simple. As long as you worked hard enough at the academy, even the Evolution Materials could be free.
Of course, this did not come without a price. Students who received free Spirit Beasts had to serve an additional two years in official institutions after graduation—the Beast Taming Academy's graduates already had to serve one year in official institutions after graduating.
That was why Beast Taming Academy students truly competed like mad. Most of the students walking around campus were first-year freshmen who had not yet contracted a Spirit Pet. Students with Spirit Pets spent nearly every day training their pets, searching for Evolution Materials, and preparing for the next stage of combat examinations. They simply had no reason to appear on campus.
Xu Wuhu's words had been somewhat harsh, but they were indeed correct. The school's free resources would not be wasted on people with no future. From second year through fourth year, there were six combat examinations in total. Failing any one of them would result in a recommendation to withdraw from school. Those who refused could have certain benefits reduced, but would not be forcibly expelled. Failing three times meant direct expulsion.
"The exam requires teams of three. I assume you haven't found a team either?" Xu Wuhu glanced at Zhou Lu, his tone softening. "Then team up with me."
Zhou Lu raised his head and looked at Xu Wuhu in surprise.
Students with outstanding exam results received additional Academic Credits as rewards. At the academy, Academic Credits were essentially hard currency second only to Fairy Coins. They could be used to trade for materials, exchange for Growth Projection attempts, and call for protection from safety instructors when exploring secret realms. They were an extremely important resource for every student.
His Spirit Pet was a Plant-type Spirit Beast that had not yet undergone soil-shedding evolution. In the eyes of the world, it was practically the same as dead weight. With a teammate like that, no matter what they did, their results could not possibly be good. Zhou Lu had never expected Xu Wuhu to invite him onto his team.
"Class Monitor..." Zhou Lu glanced at Huohuo in his arms, which was curiously studying Xu Wuhu, and hesitated to speak.
Xu Wuhu revealed a hearty smile. "My strength may not be much, but I can still bring two classmates through the exam. But you can't slack off either. Train your Spirit Pet harder and strive to complete its soil-shedding evolution as soon as possible. If you have any problems, come ask me. Just message me privately in the class group. I'm online anytime."
"Thank you." What else could Zhou Lu say?
Class Monitor! I'll always respect you!
"All right, now let's discuss business." Xu Wuhu took out a handheld scanning device. "According to school regulations, pay the fine for damaging the landscaping."
Class Monitor... I suddenly don't respect you that much anymore.
Huohuo's leaves stretched open, as though it understood something.
Its Vine Step skillfully plucked another two flowers from the roadside.
Splat.
One was stuck onto the head of Xu Wuhu's Spirit Pet.
The other was stuck onto Xu Wuhu's head.
"..."
The scene fell silent.
Huohuo! What are you doing?! What exactly did you understand?
New author, new book—please keep reading! This is really important to me!
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