Learning to Walk

A bottle of Low-level Growth Potion sold for thirty thousand on the market.

At the Beast Taming Academy, Academic Credits could be used to exchange for them—one credit for three bottles of Low-level Growth Potion. But no student would foolishly spend credits on such potions. It was better to save up five credits for a chance to explore the safe zone of a secret realm.

Zhou Lu only had fifteen Academic Credits on him now, all earned from his first-year cultural courses.

There was still a month until the first official combat exam. It was definitely too late for Huohuo to evolve, but since he intended to perform well in the exam and earn more credits, he needed to make full use of the credits in hand.

Naturally, he also had to make full use of his system.

Under the effects of the potion, Huohuo happily grew, shooting up by a noticeable amount in no time.

Although that bottle of Low-level Growth Potion had not allowed Huohuo to grow to the point of blooming, the visible results still left Zhou Lu very satisfied.

It was just a pity that he could not see Teacher Xiao Xi every day. Otherwise, he could keep farming potions off her.

The thought that he was actually plotting to loot his teacher's gold coins one day gave Zhou Lu a guilty sort of excitement.

He summoned Huohuo's Beast Taming Card. Aside from the addition of two skills, there were no obvious changes.

That was only natural. Beast Taming Cards had emerged through the support of modern technology to help Beast Tamers better observe the condition of their spirit pets, allowing them to understand their pets' status more clearly.

Furthermore, beyond the original name, attributes, rank, and skills, Beast Taming Cards also included an additional level.

This so-called level was a quantitative indicator used to project a spirit pet's degree of evolution. It was calculated through big data and the natural computational power of Seeking Dao Wood, so it did not update in real time. One had to visit the nearest Growth Calculation Device for a projection before it could be recorded.

Of course, this was a paid service—one and a half million per use.

You could also forgo the service and rely on your own experience and intuition to judge whether your spirit pet had met the requirements for evolution, then prepare materials to trigger its evolution.

If your judgment was wrong and your spirit pet had not yet reached the stage of evolution, then the evolution would fail, and your materials would be wasted.

Compared to the materials that might be wasted, this fee was not much at all. Besides, at the Beast Taming Academy, you could exchange credits for a Growth Projection—ten credits per use—and each academic year also came with one free Growth Projection, including the first-year academic year, when most students did not yet have spirit pets.

Zhou Lu had one free Growth Projection available, but he was in no hurry to use it. It would not be too late to do so once Huohuo showed signs of blooming.

Come to think of it, Academic Credits could also serve as currency for transactions on the academy forum, used to buy materials other students obtained from secret realms.

Zhou Lu quickly recalled the system's task.

The Ancient Books containing Dream Rain Flower's Special Evolution route seemed to have been obtained through the forum.

With that thought, Zhou Lu took out his phone and browsed the forum. Most posts were buying or selling materials, though some sought evolution routes for their own spirit pets.

After looking around, he found no information related to the Ancient Books. Zhou Lu closed the forum in disappointment and decided that from now on, he would check it once each morning, noon, and evening. He was determined to wait until he got his hands on those Ancient Books.

This year was New Calendar Year 996. Unless something unexpected happened, he would definitely be able to snag it before the year was out. Then not only would Huohuo's Special Evolution be settled, but the system task's reward of an Evolution Material of his choice worth five points was also extremely tempting.

Smack!

Just as Zhou Lu was planning for the future, that familiar sound rang out again.

Huohuo lay sprawled on the floor, its flowerpot shattered completely on the ground. Fortunately, Huohuo had tightly gripped all the soil with its roots. Otherwise, the place would have become a complete mess again.

While Zhou Lu had been lost in thought, Huohuo had impatiently practiced the two new skills it had just learned, attempting to walk.

Unfortunately, it was still not proficient enough at linking its skills together, and before long, it had fallen to the ground.

The aggrieved little grass hugged its new sprout with two leaves, afraid of Zhou Lu's rebuke. Its white roots squirmed uneasily, as though waiting for a storm of curses to descend.

Zhou Lu smiled helplessly. He had already been mentally prepared for this. Huohuo had absorbed the potion already, so even if the flowerpot had shattered, it was not much of a loss.

He walked over to Huohuo, placed another flowerpot beside it, and raised a hand to tap its new sprout. "It's fine. You only learned the skills today, so falling is normal. Get back up, and we'll keep practicing."

As he spoke, Zhou Lu pointed at the pot beside them. "Get in by yourself. You should know how, right?"

Zhou Lu's gentle voice soothed Huohuo. Following his intent, it cautiously used Vine Step to grow vines.

With the help of its Transport skill, it effortlessly lifted its entire body, then used Mad Growth to extend the vines.

Though it had not aimed properly at first, after some effort, Huohuo still managed to settle itself into the pot on its own.

Having returned to the flowerpot and regained its sense of security, Huohuo visibly let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, let's continue." Zhou Lu gently patted Huohuo.

Huohuo was somewhat uneasy, as though it had already developed a fear of walking.

Zhou Lu crouched down and looked at Huohuo, soothing it gently. "Don't be afraid. When I was learning to walk as a child, I fell far more times than you did. Walk again and let me see where the problem lies."

Encouraged by Zhou Lu, Huohuo finally gathered its courage and grew vines once more.

Just as Zhou Lu had seen before, Huohuo used the vines to lift itself and the flowerpot together, then had the rooted offshoots on the ground grow Vine Steps farther outward to walk.

Huohuo had not gone far before it began to stagger and was about to fall again, just like before.

This time, Zhou Lu was quick-eyed and quick-handed, catching Huohuo in one swift motion.

Huohuo withdrew all its vines and shook its leaves dejectedly.

It was already much smarter than ordinary Plant-type Spirit Beasts, but it was precisely because of that intelligence that it felt frustrated.

I can't even learn how to walk...

"I found the problem!"

Just as Huohuo was feeling down, Zhou Lu's gentle voice came again.

Huohuo straightened up and listened to its master's advice.

Zhou Lu crouched down and placed Huohuo back on the floor. "You don't need to lift yourself to the same height as me. That makes your center of gravity too concentrated at the top."

Huohuo swayed its leaves. But I want to walk with Master!

Feeling the emotion coming from Huohuo, Zhou Lu smiled. "Learn to walk first. Only by walking faster and more steadily can you help me better, right? Come, do as I say. Lower your center of gravity, and the Vine Steps don't need to be too long. As long as the frequency is high enough, you can walk quickly too."

Huohuo had been reluctant at first, but when it heard Zhou Lu say that he needed its help, it immediately perked up.

Following Zhou Lu's instructions, it grew vines again. This time, however, it did not lift itself high into the air, only raising the flowerpot until it left the ground.

"Don't make the Vine Steps too long. It's best if they don't extend past the edge of the flowerpot." Zhou Lu sat there, directing Huohuo.

Huohuo followed Zhou Lu's directions and slowly moved its body forward a short distance.

"That's right! Just like that!" Zhou Lu clapped. "Increase the frequency and move forward alternately."

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Using this method, Huohuo walked all the way from the living room to the doorway.

It was steady the entire way.

Carrying its flowerpot and moving close to the ground, it looked like a strangely shaped snail.

But even that was enough to surpass every Plant-type Spirit Beast of the same rank.