Chu Yun immediately explained the precise preparation method for the recipe to Old Red Spear, then solemnly reminded him to keep it strictly confidential.
Old Red Spear thumped his chest and promised. He felt a little anticipation, but not much.
He had long been certain of Chu Yun's potential, but Chu Yun was still only a thirteen-year-old boy. He had already tried many ways to deal with the Jade Sea Kelp. The salt-field owners on Shu Family Island were all at their wits' end over this strange illness. And now Chu Yun had casually offered a recipe that could cure it completely?
Unrealistic.
Still, Old Red Spear decided to give it a try. Chu Yun's serious expression made him feel there might be a chance after all.
After giving those instructions, Chu Yun turned to Old Monkey Qiao.
"Grandpa Qiao, from now on, collect the Copper Bell Fruits from your coconut trees. I'll have a great use for them someday."
"Copper Bell Fruits?" Old Monkey Qiao couldn't help staring in surprise.
Every Copper Bell Coconut Tree bore three Milk Coconut Fruits and fifteen Copper Bell Fruits each harvest. Only the Milk Coconut Fruits had commercial value. The Copper Bell Fruits were given to children as toys, and even then, they might not want them.
They were toys everyone had grown tired of.
Old Monkey Qiao often fantasized about how wonderful it would be if the Copper Bell Fruits could be turned into Milk Coconut Fruits!
Yet now Chu Yun had asked to collect those useless Copper Bell Fruits. What did he plan to do with them?
"As for what I need them for, Grandpa Qiao, don't ask. The time isn't right yet, so forgive me for keeping it secret." Chu Yun promptly cut off Old Monkey Qiao's questions.
"All right. Collecting Copper Bell Fruits isn't much trouble. This old man promises." Old Monkey Qiao smiled. Of the Three Elders, he doted on Chu Yun the most.
To them, Chu Yun's behavior was no better than fooling around. But Old Monkey Qiao was willing to fool around with him.
Chu Yun smiled and said no more.
Copper Bell Fruits were firm on the outside and as large as an infant's head. When shaken, they made a sound like a copper bell. Most unusual of all, the fruits could answer one another.
Shake one fruit, and it rang. Even the Copper Bell Fruits nearby would ring in response, though they hadn't moved. They really were quite amusing toys.
These toys passed from hand to hand among the children of the All-Star Archipelago. Near the coconut groves, they could be found everywhere, ripe for the taking.
But in Chu Yun's memories, in just three years, these toys would become strictly controlled military supplies, forbidden from being sold outside the islands.
That was because a remarkable person had a stroke of genius and used these Copper Bell Fruits to create a formidable troop—the Copper Bell Elite Soldiers!
Chu Yun also remembered exactly how to make such elite soldiers. But the process involved many crucial details, and the time wasn't right yet. He had told Old Monkey Qiao to start preparing in advance. When the time came, it would make things easier.
The sun blazed overhead, and the sky was so blue it dazzled. Scorching arrows of sunlight pierced the forest. Branches and leaves curled in on themselves, and even the sand and stones seemed to pant for breath.
The afternoon sun was unbearable. It felt as if people had been shoved into an oven to roast, and few people on Shu Family Island ventured outdoors.
Even in such weather, Chu Yun gritted his teeth and took the Heavenly Fox into the island's forest to train hard.
"Getting into Heavenly Song Academy is a certainty now. But I absolutely can't slack off. Shu Da and Shu Er are just small fry; there are countless true geniuses and exceptional talents in this world. Compared to them, my foundation is still weak. I have to use my foresight to widen my lead."
Chu Yun felt the weight of the road ahead. Reborn with the memories of his previous life, he had a tremendous advantage. But that advantage was only latent. Unless he turned those memories into real strength, then no matter how many years' worth of memories he had, they would amount to nothing.
Shu Family Island was only one small step. Heavenly Song Academy was where he would begin, where he would build a solid foundation. And beyond that lay a vast world, with geniuses shining like stars and formidable enemies waiting one by one.
A Spirit Beast Master's cultivation was like rowing upstream: if you didn't advance, you fell behind.
If he didn't fight for supremacy, how could he prove himself at the peak of the ultimate path?
Chu Yun was only thirteen. He lived in a remote corner of Shu Family Island, yet his heart already embraced the world, and his ambitions were growing ever greater.
That was a good thing.
There wasn't a man alive without ambition.
Men were born to vie for supremacy, to ride across the world with pounding hooves, raise their fists, and look in every direction, challenging all comers!
For a man, an empire-building legacy held an irresistible allure. Women might never understand that the yearning for fame and achievement was a valorous passion carved into every man's bones.
Compared to the valorous passion surging through Chu Yun, what was a little scorching sun?
The Heavenly Fox sensed its master's fighting spirit and, in turn, grew bold and eager for battle.
One man and one fox entered the forest and began their hard training.
"Eek—!" A shrill cry rang out without warning, nearly piercing their eardrums.
Chu Yun took a step back and looked up, focusing his gaze. On a tall, dense branch, a gray Claw Monkey was baring its teeth and claws at him, letting out a threatening roar.
Chu Yun and the Heavenly Fox had invaded its territory. Its roar was thick with warning.
Chu Yun smiled. At a glance, he could tell it was a thirteen-year-old Claw Monkey, just right for an opponent.
Wild Demon Beasts had their own rules for survival.
Generally speaking, unless they were a pack species, each Demon Beast occupied a certain area and made it its territory.
If a weak enemy invaded, they attacked at once without a word.
If an equally strong enemy invaded, they made threatening gestures to warn it, doing their best to avoid a fight.
If a powerful enemy invaded and its rank suppressed theirs, they knew they were outmatched and fled.
Demon Beasts weren't stupid. They knew when to retreat, when to threaten, and when to ambush. That was why hunting wild Demon Beasts came with considerable risks and demanded plenty of know-how.
For ordinary novice Spirit Beast Masters, this would be a grueling trial, full of difficulties. But Chu Yun's memories of his previous life let him skip the beginner stage and become an experienced Spirit Beast Master from the start. From the slightest clues, he could identify the kind of Demon Beast that occupied a territory, and even estimate its cultivation.
This let him avoid the strong and target the weak, finding the perfect opponent for his training.
The Claw Monkey before him was one of the results of his careful planning.
"Minor Pill Fire, shoot!" he ordered at once.
The Heavenly Fox had already been poised to attack. At his command, it opened its mouth and spat out an orange-yellow fireball.
The Claw Monkey dodged. The fireball struck the tree behind it, immediately causing a small explosion. Flames began to spread across the trunk.
"Chain Pill Fire, fire again." Chu Yun's face was expressionless, his focus icy.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three Minor Pill Fires sliced through the air one after another, forming a triangle as they closed in on the Claw Monkey.
The Claw Monkey panicked. It flailed in midair, dodged two of the fireballs, then took a hit from the third.
"Now! Use Great Pill Fire!" Chu Yun's eyes lit up. His wealth of battle experience let him give the wisest command at precisely the right moment.
The Heavenly Fox took half a breath to gather its strength before spitting out a Pill Fire. The Minor Pill Fires were only fist-sized, but this one was as large as an infant's head.
It was Great Pill Fire, five times as powerful as Minor Pill Fire!
Boom.
A faint explosion sounded as the Great Pill Fire struck the Claw Monkey dead on. The Claw Monkey let out a piteous cry and was killed on the spot. Blazing flames consumed it, gradually burning it to ash.
Five breaths later, only a Demon Crystal remained on the ground.
A Demon Crystal looked like a slightly translucent crystal. After a Demon Beast died, it was formed by condensing the essence left behind—the essence of its body, soul, and spiritual light.
Every Demon Beast condensed into a Demon Crystal after death. The more essence a Demon Beast had left when it died, the larger the crystal.
In his previous life, when an Azure Sea Dragon died in the Star Sea Dragon Palace, the Demon Crystal it left behind was as large as a millstone. It had been so heavy that Chu Yun had barely been able to lift it.
Now, after killing the Claw Monkey, the Demon Crystal Chu Yun obtained was only the size of a soybean.
Though small, the Demon Crystal was just what Chu Yun had expected. How large could a Demon Beast with thirteen years of cultivation leave behind? But to the Heavenly Fox, with only ten years of cultivation, it was an exceptionally precious treasure.
He tossed the Demon Crystal to the Heavenly Fox. It gave a cheerful cry, scrunched its cute little nose, and leaned close to the crystal to inhale.
A stream of vital essence, visible to the naked eye, entered the Heavenly Fox's body. The Demon Crystal grew fainter and fainter, then vanished from the world in the blink of an eye.
After absorbing the Demon Crystal, the Heavenly Fox's cultivation immediately leapt from ten years to twelve. It had even gotten lucky and gained a Dao technique the Claw Monkey had comprehended on its own during its life.
Bloodlust Art.
Bloodlust Dao Technique was a Dao technique that Claw Monkeys and similar Demon Beasts could usually comprehend. Chu Yun wasn't surprised. He nodded, then ordered the Heavenly Fox to abandon it.
Even humans, who were hailed as the spirit of all living things, rarely mastered every field. Their energy was limited. If they spread themselves too thin and tried to swallow more than they could chew, they often accomplished nothing.
As the saying went, greed for more would leave you unable to digest what you had. Besides, a Demon Beast's spiritual light was extremely limited, nowhere near a human's. The number of Dao techniques it could learn was limited, too.
Even though the Heavenly Fox had abundant spiritual light and remarkable comprehension, it was still a Demon Beast. Chu Yun estimated that, at the Lesser Demon level, it could cultivate no more than nine Dao techniques.
That was already a lot.
Ordinary Demon Beasts reached their limit after cultivating just four or five Dao techniques at the Lesser Demon level.
The Heavenly Fox could learn twice as many. That was the gift of peerless talent!
Choosing Dao techniques was therefore an important part of raising a Demon Beast. The combination of Dao techniques could also lead a Demon Beast down different paths.
A Demon Beast with many offensive Dao techniques leaned toward offense. One with many defensive Dao techniques leaned toward defense. And one with many support Dao techniques leaned toward support.
Choosing the right Dao techniques and balancing them against one another tested not only how well a Spirit Beast Master understood their Demon Beast, but also their ability to adapt to the situation.
As for what kind of Demon Beast he would raise the Heavenly Fox to become, Chu Yun had already decided long ago.