Jiang Canghai handed the two Essence Stones to them.
This was the agreed-upon reward for the mission.
"Thank you, Director Jiang."
The two accepted the Essence Stones.
"Essence Stones increase your maximum spiritual energy capacity proportionally. The higher your own capacity, the greater their effect."
"So, if you're not in a hurry, you can wait until you reach First Tier, five stars, before using them. You'll get better results that way," Jiang Canghai reminded them.
Zhou Fan nodded, committing Jiang Canghai's advice to memory.
"By the way, what was the Beast King you encountered in there like? Was it difficult to fight?" Jiang Canghai asked.
Since Zhou Fan and Lin Qianqian had successfully eliminated the Beast King, it probably wasn't that powerful.
Still, he was curious about how the two had performed inside.
Zhou Fan thought for a moment and answered honestly. "The Beast King was pretty strong. It had just finished hatching when we found it."
"It was already Second Tier, one star. We were almost no match for it."
"Luckily, we worked together and won in the end."
"Second Tier, one star?" Jiang Canghai and Wang Daochuan were both surprised.
"To think you actually defeated a Second Tier, one-star Beast King. You really are impressive." Jiang Canghai nodded, his eyes full of admiration.
Two First Tier, four-star espers had actually defeated a Second Tier, one-star Beast King.
They truly were geniuses!
"Principal, if there's nothing else, can we head back?" Lin Qianqian asked from beside them.
There was no joy on her face.
Only calm.
"All right. Canghai, we'll be off, then."
"Okay."
As soon as Wang Daochuan and Jiang Canghai finished saying goodbye, Lin Qianqian turned and headed down the mountain.
Wang Daochuan and Zhou Fan followed behind her.
They returned to the foot of the mountain.
The three drove back to Skysea City.
"All right, thanks for your hard work today. Go home and get some rest," Wang Daochuan said.
"Thank you, Principal."
Lin Qianqian left on her own.
"Principal, I'll head home too." Zhou Fan was about to leave as well.
But Wang Daochuan stopped him and asked, "Zhou Fan, what exactly happened in the secret realm today? I get the feeling Qianqian hasn't been in a very good mood since she came out."
"Did something in there shake her confidence?"
Naturally, he had noticed Lin Qianqian's poor mood after she left the secret realm.
"I don't think so? We did run into some difficulties in the secret realm, but the Beast King was Second Tier, one star. It's only natural that we struggled, right?"
"She doesn't seem upset to me," Zhou Fan said.
"I see. Maybe I'm overthinking it, then."
"All right, go home and get some rest."
"Okay."
Lin Qianqian returned home.
She changed out of her shoes at the door and pulled off her little white socks, revealing her soft, fair feet. Then she slipped on her slippers, went back to her room, and lay down on the bed.
She stared at the ceiling.
Everything that had happened in the secret realm that day replayed in her mind.
Zhou Fan's battle with Shukaku was still vivid in her memory.
Most unbelievable of all was how Zhou Fan had actually subdued that Beast King in the end.
"When did that guy get so strong?"
Lin Qianqian felt a flicker of pressure.
Yes, she felt pressured!
She had always believed she was stronger than Zhou Fan.
Although Zhou Fan's performance had been outstanding.
She was confident that, with the talent and potential of her S-Rank superpower, Zhou Fan could never catch up.
Yet today, in the secret realm, Zhou Fan had made her feel pressured for the first time.
For the first time, she felt that she actually couldn't measure up to Zhou Fan...
[Ding! Detected that the host feels pressured by the comparison target!] [Additional gift received: The Straggler's Pursuit-cultivation speed +50% until the first comparison is completed!]
At the sound of the system's voice.
Lin Qianqian's eyes lit up.
The system even gave extra rewards??
A fifty-percent increase in cultivation speed!
With her S-Rank superpower, her cultivation speed was already in a league of its own.
Only Zhou Fan could match her.
Now her cultivation speed had increased by another fifty percent.
Even Zhou Fan couldn't keep up with her!
"Looks like this system knows what it's doing. When it notices Zhou Fan catching up to me, it gives me an extra reward to speed up my cultivation."
Previously, because Zhou Fan hadn't caught up to her, the system hadn't given her any rewards.
Now that Zhou Fan had caught up, the system was finally stepping in!
With a fifty-percent boost to her cultivation speed, why would she fear Zhou Fan catching up?
Lin Qianqian instantly felt refreshed in both body and mind.
"Zhou Fan, I have a system on my side."
"How can you compete with me?"
She would surely stand above Zhou Fan!
No matter how hard Zhou Fan worked, he could only remain beneath her!
She would make sure Zhou Fan saw the gap between them!
Especially after what had happened in the secret realm today.
She had only asked how Zhou Fan had subdued Shukaku out of curiosity.
And what happened?
It would have been one thing if that guy had simply refused to tell her.
But he had actually said she didn't have what it took??
An insult!
An outright insult!
She swore she would make Zhou Fan regret it!
"Achoo!"
Zhou Fan sneezed.
"Which pretty girl is thinking about me behind my back? If you miss me, come find me. What good does thinking about me do?" He rubbed his nose and muttered to himself.
[Resentment from Lin Qianqian +1000!] [Anger from Lin Qianqian +1000!]
*???*
Wait!
Why was Campus Belle Lin still angry?
Zhou Fan was dumbfounded.
He had no idea what he had done to offend Lin Qianqian.
He clearly hadn't done anything.
He hadn't left her to die in the secret realm, either.
So why was Lin Qianqian so angry?
She had even started resenting him!
Apparently, that sneeze hadn't meant some pretty girl was thinking about him.
It meant Lin Qianqian was cursing him behind his back!
"This makes no sense. Looks like I'd better keep my distance from her from now on," Zhou Fan muttered.
Of course.
Although someone had been cursing him behind his back.
Lin Qianqian had still supplied plenty of Emotion Points.
From the moment they left the secret realm until now.
The Emotion Points generated by Lin Qianqian had reached five thousand!
That was an astonishing amount!
It also showed just how angry she was.
"A woman's heart is impossible to fathom," Zhou Fan sighed.
In any case, he couldn't figure out why Lin Qianqian was so angry.
He had gained quite a lot from completing today's mission for the Esper Bureau.
Aside from the Essence Stone.
His greatest gain was Shukaku!
A Second Tier, one-star summoned beast!
And that was only his current strength.
Shukaku could keep growing, and he certainly wouldn't be weak in the future!
But that wasn't what concerned Zhou Fan right now.
"Since One-Tail exists in this world, could Two-Tails and Three-Tails exist too?"
Before meeting Shukaku, he had never considered that question.
Only after seeing Shukaku had he realized this world wasn't as simple as he had imagined.
Perhaps.
In the future, he could encounter Two-Tails, Three-Tails... even Nine-Tails!
The thought left Zhou Fan a little excited.
"Looks like this world is pretty interesting. The future definitely won't be boring."
In high spirits, he enjoyed a relaxing shower and went to bed.
Before you continue