Back in the Cultivation Room, Chen Beiwu couldn't help gasping for breath.
The thrill of escaping death was something else!
If the Spirit Lake Formation hadn't concealed his presence, he probably wouldn't have escaped the Azure Thunder Tiger's notice, much less used the power of the Ten Directions Chaos Gate to travel through space and get away.
After calming himself, Chen Beiwu looked at Iron Egg.
It was standing in front of him with its tail between its legs, its body trembling uncontrollably.
Chen Beiwu reached out and patted its head, soothing it. "Don't worry. It's all right now."
Iron Egg had caused a bit of trouble this time, but there was no doubting its loyalty.
When faced with a Second-Realm Lesser Demon, ordinary Variant Beasts would have been scared out of their wits. Iron Egg's willingness to stand in front of him showed that it had one excellent quality: loyalty!
Iron Egg whimpered, fear still flickering in its eyes.
It hadn't expected that hunting snakes would lead it into the Azure Thunder Tiger's territory.
"Woof." Iron Egg let out a low growl to explain.
Chen Beiwu's expression shifted. "You mean you didn't go to the wrong place?"
"Woof!"
"The Jade-Scale Snakes are on the Spirit Lake's Central Island, and there are a lot of them?"
"Woof!" Iron Egg nodded.
"That makes things difficult." Chen Beiwu furrowed his brow.
Every herb had a measure of poison.
To prevent Pill Toxin from accumulating in their bodies, destabilizing their foundations and making it difficult to pass the Three Foundation Establishment Trials, cultivators in the Immortal Alliance with any ambition wouldn't take too many pills during Qi Refining. At most, they would take one or two pills when breaking through a realm barrier, then slowly purge the Pill Toxin from their bodies.
That was also why Chen Beiwu had cut off just one slice of the Black Gold Ginseng instead of eating the whole thing.
But cultivators from poor families had no such concerns. If they had pills, they gulped them down, focused on breaking through realms, even though they often ended up stuck at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, with no hope of Foundation Establishment.
Chen Beiwu was so keen on the Jade-Scale Snake Gallbladder because it was one of the few rare beast materials that could be used during Qi Refining without damaging a cultivator's foundation, and it could strengthen the body and consolidate the foundations.
Spiritual materials like the Jade-Scale Snake Gallbladder, which could nourish the spirit and temper the body without leaving behind any consequences, were usually only enjoyed by the geniuses of Cultivation Lineages.
But no matter how good a treasure was, you needed to be alive to enjoy it. The Azure Thunder Tiger was no easy Demon Beast to deal with.
Unless Chen Beiwu could advance to Foundation Establishment, he absolutely wouldn't go near the Spirit Lake again, much less hunt snakes on its Central Island.
What a pity Grandfather passed away so early. Otherwise, that Spirit Lake would have been an excellent cultivation blessed land. Chen Beiwu thought with regret.
He couldn't beat the Azure Thunder Tiger, but out in the world, strength wasn't everything; your background mattered too.
If his grandfather were still alive, killing an Azure Thunder Tiger and claiming that Spirit Lake for himself shouldn't have been a problem.
Putting aside his wishful thinking, Chen Beiwu shook his head and looked at Iron Egg. "Other than the Spirit Lake, are there any Jade-Scale Snakes elsewhere?"
"Woof."
Iron Egg blinked, indicating that it could search, but the scent of a single snake was too faint, especially if it was hiding.
If it searched for them one by one, it might pick the wrong snake.
"Fine. Go get some rest."
He glanced at the faint sunlight spilling in through the window. There was still an hour before class.
Chen Beiwu waved for Iron Egg to leave, then began his morning cultivation before heading to school.
This morning's Beast Taming class was taught by their Homeroom Teacher, Wang Kui. It happened to be their long-awaited practical sparring class.
"Chen Beiwu, Xu Ziqing!"
As Wang Kui spoke, the boys in class instantly focused their attention on the Combat Platform.
Before, when Chen Beiwu hadn't yet broken through to Late Qi Refining, Xu Ziqing, who was at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, had always pinned him down in practical classes.
Now that he had broken through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, he would surely give it his all to shake off the title of perennial runner-up.
And to hold on to the top spot in the grade, Xu Ziqing might even use the Fallen Dragon Xu Family's Clan Secret Art.
They wouldn't miss this rare chance to watch!
After all, with most of their classmates still at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, Chen Beiwu and Xu Ziqing, both at the Seventh Layer, were practically experts. Watching them fight would surely teach them a lot about actual combat.
Noticing the eager gazes around him, Chen Beiwu thought, What a hassle.
After fighting in another world, he couldn't muster any interest in these children's-play spell arts practice.
Xu Ziqing stood among a group of girls, her gaze fixed on Chen Beiwu.
She lightly touched the tips of her toes, her sleeves billowing behind her in the breeze as she landed gracefully on the Combat Platform, facing Chen Beiwu from afar.
"Come on, Beiwu! Take down the top-ranked student, and you'll be number one!"
A cheer suddenly rang out from the crowd.
Xu Ziqing's eyes shifted as her peripheral vision immediately locked onto Xu Lingling, who was standing below the platform with a perfectly straight face.
Seeing this, Xu Lingling pretended not to notice and let her gaze wander to either side.
"Quiet."
After speaking, Wang Kui strode to the center of the Combat Arena and looked at Chen Beiwu and Xu Ziqing. "Choose a side. Since this is a spell arts spar, whoever triggers their Protective Talisman loses."
Chen Beiwu and Xu Ziqing nodded.
"Begin!"
As soon as their Homeroom Teacher spoke, Xu Ziqing sprang into action.
Her fingers flew as she formed a spell seal, and a scorching Flame Pillar burst from beneath Chen Beiwu's feet. The wave of heat kicked up by its rush made some of the students watching at the front unconsciously step back.
Too slow!
Chen Beiwu activated Wind Manipulation. Without looking at the Flame Pillar exploding behind him, he closed in on Xu Ziqing at lightning speed, then formed the spell seal for the Water Mist Technique.
In an instant, a hazy mist shrouded the Combat Platform, and Xu Ziqing's vision turned completely white.
"That move again. Can't you try something different?" Xu Ziqing's right index finger swept downward through the air. Three ferocious Fire Pythons immediately tore through the surrounding mist, shielding her from every direction.
"An old trick still works if it gets the job done." Chen Beiwu's deep, resonant voice rang out from every direction in the mist.
The next second, Chen Beiwu's figure silently appeared behind Xu Ziqing.
Her eyes narrowed. As if she had eyes in the back of her head, she immediately changed the spell seal formed by her right hand.
"Blazing Flame Pull!"
The three ferocious Fire Pythons suddenly converged, transforming into thirty-six pale orange Flame Threads that sealed off Chen Beiwu's escape routes.
"Rumble!"
As the violent boom rang out, Xu Ziqing slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
The explosion had looked powerful, but its destructive force was actually quite ordinary.
Since this was a practical spar, not a fight to the death, she had deliberately controlled how much power her spell art unleashed, enough to trigger the Protective Talisman Chen Beiwu was carrying and win the match.
However, the next second, to Xu Ziqing's surprise, a pale golden Defensive Barrier quietly appeared. It was the Protective Talisman activating automatically to protect its wearer.
When she turned around, a Thin Blade made from a tightly compressed stream of water was hovering quietly two inches from her neck, stopped by the Defensive Barrier.
At the same time, in the center of the Combat Platform, two figures standing one in front of the other suddenly vanished into flowing water.
"The winner has been decided!" their Homeroom Teacher, Wang Kui, declared.
The students watching nearby exchanged bewildered looks and let out cries of disbelief.
"Didn't Beiwu only break through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining a few days ago? How has he already mastered the First-Tier Superior-Grade Variant Art, Water-Gathering Technique?"
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