Feeding Rabbits

"Um, you're that black-robed stall owner from yesterday who was collecting rabbit fur, right? I'm sorry, I was actually following you on purpose."

Xiao Wu suddenly felt a bit guilty. The other party was already so heartbroken, yet she was still plotting to get his bamboo leaves.

Li Han smiled and said, "I thought you were going to wait until we reached the academy."

"Huh? You knew I was following you the whole time?" Xiao Wu asked in surprise.

"Your tailing skills yesterday weren't very sophisticated; I noticed you right from the start."

"Was I that bad at following you? You aren't mad at me, are you?" Xiao Wu looked at Li Han, fearing he might develop a sense of disgust toward her.

Li Han shook his head. "We're going to be classmates soon, so why would I be mad? Actually, we're quite fated to have run into each other like this ahead of time."

"Yeah, yeah, it's all fate! Actually, the reason I followed you is because that bamboo leaf you gave me yesterday was just too special. Was it condensed using soul power? Are you a Food-system Soul Master?"

Li Han shook his head. Soul Masters are divided into Power Attack, Agility Attack, Control, Defense, Support, and Food systems. Most Soul Masters choose one direction to develop in order to push their potential to the limit. But in Li Han's view, he didn't really need to. With the system, he only had one development path: to be all-rounded.

The so-called Food system refers to Martial Souls that can create food for Soul Masters to consume. These Martial Soul foods possess various abilities, and as long as they are eaten within a certain timeframe, they will have an effect. This can be simply understood as a shelf life.

Shelf lives vary in length, determined by the ability of the soul skill itself. Generally, very few can be stored long-term; most last a few hours, some a few days, and those with a shelf life of a year are extremely rare. Yet, Li Han's Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaves had an infinite shelf life, something that practically didn't exist among Food-system Soul Masters. Of course, he wasn't a Food-system Soul Master to begin with.

"Then how can you condense food like a bamboo leaf?" Seeing Li Han deny it, Xiao Wu asked in confusion.

Li Han didn't explain; instead, he directly summoned his Heavenly Thunder Bamboo. A cyan light flashed, and a twenty-centimeter Heavenly Thunder Bamboo appeared in the palm of his hand.

"This is my Martial Soul, Heavenly Thunder Bamboo. The bamboo leaf you mentioned is plucked from it. In that regard, it is a bit like a Food-system Soul Master. However, I can only produce one leaf per day for now; after plucking it, I have to wait twenty-four hours for the next one to grow." As Li Han spoke, he plucked a Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaf.

This wasn't exactly a secret, but he wouldn't easily tell others either. The reason he wanted to explain this to Xiao Wu was that he wanted to try feeding her the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaf. He wanted to see how much of an effect it would have on a transformed soul beast like her. Besides, looking at Xiao Wu, it was clear she was after his Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaves.

"This bamboo leaf is a change that occurred in my Martial Soul after I absorbed my first soul ring. It can be used to feed soul beasts, and it can also be eaten by Beast Martial Soul masters. Xiao Wu, this is a secret between us, so please don't tell anyone else." Li Han said solemnly, highlighting his trust in her.

Xiao Wu nodded repeatedly, giving her word. "Don't worry! I definitely won't tell anyone. But, could you give me more Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaves? Maybe it's because my Martial Soul is a Soft Bone Charm Rabbit, but these leaves are just too delicious for me."

I could even feel that the energy contained within the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaves held significant benefits for me.

"So..."

Xiao Wu pressed her palms together, swaying them up and down, and looked at Li Han with wide, pitiful eyes.

"Please, please!"

Who could resist that?

Li Han had already intended to do so, and since Xiao Wu had brought it up, he didn't bother making up an excuse.

"Fine! No problem! There is one Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaf every day, and since I have no use for them for the time being, you can just eat them all."

As he spoke, Li Han handed the freshly plucked Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaf to Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up instantly.

"Thank you! You really are a good person!"

Xiao Wu took the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaf and swallowed it in one bite.

That familiar tingling sensation washed over her again, and Xiao Wu had only one feeling right now.

That was—pure bliss!

Watching Xiao Wu's look of enjoyment, Li Han smiled slightly.

He began to look forward to what kind of changes would occur if Xiao Wu were to eat Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaves for a few years.

After finishing the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaf, Xiao Wu felt the aura of the soul beast within her body weaken just a little bit more.

She was overjoyed by this discovery.

Thinking that she could eat one every day from now on made her even happier.

At this moment, the gaze she directed at Li Han was filled with goodwill and reliance.

This was her long-term meal ticket, after all.

Because of the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo leaves, their relationship warmed up rapidly, and they soon became good friends.

One day later.

The two arrived at Nuoding Academy by carriage.

In the Dean's office.

"What? Mo Hen was eaten by a Datura Snake over four hundred years old?"

The Dean was quite shocked after hearing Li Han's account.

"Yes. After we obtained our soul rings, we were just about to leave the Soul Hunting Forest.

Unexpectedly, a Datura Snake suddenly appeared and bit Teacher Mo Hen.

Teacher Mo Hen was struck by a deadly poison, and in order to cover my escape, he was eaten by the Datura Snake.

Dean, I'm sorry; it's all because of me that Teacher Mo Hen ended up in the snake's belly."

Li Han squeezed out two tears at the right moment, putting on an appearance of being overcome with grief.

The Dean sighed upon hearing this.

"Child, this is not your fault. Protecting students is a teacher's duty.

It's just unexpected that your luck was so poor to be ambushed by a Datura Snake.

It is already excellent that you were able to return safely.

By the way, what kind of soul ring did you absorb?"

"It is a century-old Lone Bamboo soul ring."

As he spoke, Li Han released his martial soul and soul ring.

A deep yellow soul ring was wrapped around the lush Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, looking extremely dazzling.

"The color of this soul ring... I didn't expect your luck to be so good. It seems you must have hunted a Lone Bamboo of at least three hundred years to have a soul ring with such deep soul power.

You did very well; keep up the effort.

When you have time, go to the local branch of the Martial Soul Hall to get your soul master certification.

Soul masters can receive a subsidy of one Gold Soul Coin every month."

"Yes, Dean."

The Dean turned his gaze to Xiao Wu, who was standing to the side.

"And who is this?"

"Hello, Dean. I am a work-study student from Radish Village. My name is Xiao Wu, and this is my martial soul certificate!"

The Dean took the martial soul certificate, feeling a wave of surprise.

"Innate Full Soul Power? Martial soul Soft Bone Charm Rabbit? Such a promising talent, and she actually came to my Nuoding Academy?

Child, why didn't you accept the invitation from the Martial Soul Hall to go to a soul academy?"

Xiao Wu curled her lip and said, "I don't want to go. I want to follow Li Han!"

The Dean was taken aback, then glanced at Li Han and secretly gave him a thumbs-up.

Although he had lost a teacher, bringing back a promising talent with Innate Full Soul Power was a good thing.

"Fine! Then from now on, you are a first-year student at Nuoding Academy.

Li Han, you must take good care of your junior schoolmate Xiao Wu."

"Yes, Dean."