Repotting

After paying the fine with Xu Wuhu, Zhou Lu headed home with Huohuo. Passing by the flower shop downstairs, he also bought many flowerpots.

Now that Huohuo had just learned to walk using [Vine Step] + [Mad Growth], it was inevitable that flowerpots would break during training, so some reserves were needed.

Huohuo extended its vines and happily helped Zhou Lu hold the flowerpots.

Repot! Repot! Repot!

Huohuo swayed the flowerpots in its hands.

Looking at Huohuo's happy appearance in his arms, Zhou Lu smiled and then continued to think about teaming up with Xu Wuhu.

Xu Wuhu's strength was second to none among his peers. Even though he wasn't the "Silver Gorilla" he would become in the future, he was already enough to establish himself among his peers. As long as he could latch onto Xu Wuhu, passing the first combat exam would be absolutely no problem.

Zhou Lu naturally wouldn't give up such a powerful teammate, especially since Xu Wuhu was also his future comrade.

What he hesitated about was how he should perform in this exam.

Even if they passed the exam as a team, the academy would give different scores based on performance, and the credits you received would also be different.

The amount of credits directly determined the resources you could exchange at various academy institutions.

This era was not the wild west era where Beast Tamers slew the last immortal and established the modern beast taming system. Apart from the newly discovered secret realms, all known resources had already been divided up by various factions.

Although there were still news reports of Beast Tamers getting lucky finds, it was basically similar to winning the lottery. Everyone claimed to have experienced it, but in reality, you rarely saw it.

Against this backdrop, it was almost impossible to quietly develop into an invincible force and then emerge. If you didn't show your value, why would others pour resources into you?

Especially the Beast Taming Academy, as one of the few places where effort could bridge the gap, it valued students' worth even more.

The better your performance, the more credits you would get. The more credits you had, the more resources you could exchange from the academy, forming a positive cycle.

For normal people, this was a very good upward channel, but for Zhou Lu, it was full of unknown risks. Did the powerful being who sent the so-called World-Saving System from the future to his era only create this one system?

Since he created the system, why didn't he possess his past self? Was that something difficult to do?

And if he also received information about the future like himself, would an overly dazzling performance of his own lead to an early encounter with this enemy?

Why the hell was he thinking so much?

Since he had chosen this path, he couldn't hesitate. Without the system, he could force the opponent into a corner in the future. Could he not do it now with the system?

If he was worried about the opponent discovering him early, then he should get stronger faster!

As long as his growth speed was fast enough, any enemy would only be a temporary obstacle.

Zhou Lu took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his mindset. Even with such a major change as transmigration, it was still a difficult task to quickly shift his mindset from being a lazy bum to striving hard. It was like transplanting a plant; it always needed time to adapt.

The laziness that had just arisen in his heart was the best proof.

Zhou Lu's dormitory was not far from the academy's teaching area.

This was actually not student housing, but residences allocated to faculty members by the academy. What he was currently living in was actually the place where his father, Zhou Minghai, lived before his death.

Before obtaining the system, the only advantage of this place in Zhou Lu's eyes was being able to lie on the balcony and watch beautiful young ladies.

And in the eyes of the current Zhou Lu, the advantage of the faculty dormitory was evident.

Because the vast majority of Xin'an Beast Taming Academy's faculty members had their own research tasks, they sometimes conducted follow-up experiments in their residences. Even though the academy strictly prohibited it, it was still rampant.

Considering the danger of the research projects in the hands of these professors, to prevent major safety accidents, the building in front of him adopted the highest safety standards. Coupled with the not-small living area, he could conduct short training sessions at home before Huohuo evolved.

Actually, the academy had dedicated facilities for training Spirit Beasts, but that was a public area. He didn't like training under the gaze of others. Whether it was mockery or praise, it always felt like undressing for others to appreciate.

Speaking of which, it seemed a new neighbor had moved in next door.

Zhou Lu glanced at the neighbor's door when he opened his own. The door was closed, but a melodious song could be faintly heard from inside. Perhaps it was a professor from the cultivation department, researching the effect of music on plants.

Huohuo clearly liked this music and tapped along to the rhythm with two flowerpots.

Hmm, it seemed that music did have an effect on plants.

He quickly retracted his gaze, opened the door, and walked into the room.

His father's photo hung in the most conspicuous place at the entrance.

Zhou Lu glanced at it and quickly looked away. The official investigation report had already been concluded regarding his father's death, so even if he had doubts now, it was considered an accident.

He wasn't at the scene at the time, so he wouldn't jump to conclusions. But judging by Sister Xiaoqing's reaction, there was definitely something fishy going on.

He could pretend not to see it before, as his original life plan would never reach the level of investigating the truth. But now...

Damn it, his thoughts were wandering again.

Zhou Lu steadied his mind, suppressed his doubts, and focused on getting stronger quickly with the insurance compensation.

"Alright, let's repot," he said to Huohuo, looking down.

Hearing that they could repot, Huohuo was very happy and instinctively clapped its hands, clearly forgetting that it was holding two flowerpots in its "hands."

Bang!

With a forceful clap, the flowerpots collided and shattered, scattering fragments all over the floor.

Zhou Lu and Huohuo simultaneously glanced at the ground, then at each other.

Huohuo clearly knew it had done something wrong, and its leaf-like hairs stood on end in fright.

So, little grass could also get startled?

Zhou Lu inwardly complained but feigned anger, his face cold as he told Huohuo, "The cost of these two flowerpots will be deducted from your nutrient soil."

Sigh...

Huohuo drooped its leaves in disappointment, the entire plant wilting – quite literally wilting.

"Alright, let's repot you."

Huohuo straightened up abruptly, its leaves clapping excitedly. It didn't want to stay in that wretched beaker for another second.

This guy...

Zhou Lu smiled helplessly.

Repotting was actually very simple, and since Huohuo was a Spirit Beast, there was no need to worry about its survival after the transplant. If it felt uncomfortable, it would lash out with its vines to signal him.

He gently lifted Huohuo, along with the soil at its base, out of the beaker and placed it into the prepared flowerpot.

The previous beaker had been too small, constricting Huohuo's root system.

Now, in a larger space, Huohuo immediately stretched out its roots in relief.

Its jade-like, snow-white roots wriggled happily.

It had to be said, Huohuo's roots were truly beautiful.

Even up close, they looked like works of art carved from the finest white jade.

The roots were arranged in a regular, elegant pattern, making one want to hold them and admire them.

Snap! Huohuo quickly covered its roots with two leaves, shaking its apical bud towards Zhou Lu a little shyly and coyly.

This guy was just showing off its legs earlier, and now it was getting shy just because I looked at it a few more times.

Zhou Lu withdrew his gaze and grabbed a handful of nutrient soil from a nearby bag, filling the remaining space in the flowerpot.

After finishing, Zhou Lu took out a bottle of low-grade growth potion.

This was a reward from the system. He wondered if it was any different from the low-grade growth potions exchanged for credits in the academic store.

He had also prepared another spare flowerpot nearby, already filled with soil. If Huohuo showed any signs of discomfort, he would repot it immediately.

"Tell me immediately if you feel anything uncomfortable," Zhou Lu instructed Huohuo.

Huohuo seriously nodded its "head."

Zhou Lu opened the potion and poured it into the flowerpot.