Jiang Ziliu had long entertained the idea of leaving school, but he had never made up his mind or found the right opportunity.
After returning to the base, he submitted an application to withdraw from school.
But the principal rejected his application and changed it to an application for a leave of absence.
The principal of No. 9 Middle School had already learned of the situation and, at Li Qingcheng's suggestion, changed it to a leave of absence.
Originally, the principal had intended to talk Jiang Ziliu out of it.
After all, every student with a talent of B grade or higher was quite precious to No. 9 Middle School.
It was also Li Qingcheng's opinion that persuaded the principal to approve Jiang Ziliu's request, albeit as a leave of absence.
That showed the special standing Li Qingcheng held.
Jiang Ziliu returned home and told his parents what had happened. Neither could understand it, and they all but took a whip to him.
But Jiang Ziliu quietly revealed his Black Iron Grade presence for a fleeting instant.
His parents immediately realized that Jiang Ziliu's strength would put him first even in the special class.
And as far as they knew, all the students in the special class were currently below Black Iron!
That meant their son's strength practically broke the rules!
His parents had weathered storms before. They understood that, with only a B- grade talent, their son must have a great secret and a great fortuitous opportunity to possess such strength.
But that also meant great danger, and he would be more easily exposed among students.
After learning this and thinking it over for a night, his parents agreed to Jiang Ziliu's choice.
What they did not know, however, was that Jiang Ziliu intended to leave Base No. 12 and venture elsewhere.
If he continued growing in Base No. 12, he could easily bring danger down on his parents.
But before leaving, he at least had to restore one of his parents' slumbering beasts.
He had considered this before, but only now had it become possible to carry out.
His father, Jiang Yuan, had once been a Bronze Rank beast tamer with three beasts. But during one perilous experience, all three had been severely wounded and fallen into slumber, and only the husband and wife themselves had survived.
Jiang Ziliu's mother was in the same situation.
Among Jiang Yuan's beasts was one called the Lightning Thunder Eagle.
The Lightning Treasure Peach he had obtained had a fairly high chance of restoring the Lightning Thunder Eagle. But if he combined it with other medicinal ingredients in a special formula, Jiang Ziliu's Probability Judgment put the chance of recovery at 91.5%.
Now Jiang Ziliu lacked only one medicinal ingredient, but he could not afford it.
That final ingredient could not be found anywhere near Base No. 12. It came from a special type of terrain far away.
This time, he had originally planned to assume another identity and hunt beastmen, then earn enough money to buy the final medicinal ingredient.
But now, the money Chen Zheng and Hu Yifei had given him offered that hope.
As long as one of his father's beasts recovered, his parents would have the ability to protect themselves. He could find a way to restore their other beasts later.
Once his father Jiang Yuan's Lightning Thunder Eagle recovered, he could also head out on adventures without reservations.
The next day, Jiang Yuan checked the anonymous bank card. It contained two million!
That sum was just enough to buy the medicinal ingredient he needed.
Seeing such a large sum, he felt deeply grateful to the two men, whatever their thoughts might have been.
Judge deeds, not hearts!
Jiang Ziliu had already used a drop of blood to bind the spatial pearl Teacher Li Qingcheng had given him. It was a spatial object that recognized its owner through both genes and the soul's signature.
Human blood contained a distinctive soul signature.
Only after binding it did Jiang Ziliu place his important possessions inside. He also prepared large quantities of food, water, lighters, and other basic supplies for difficult situations.
After doing all this, he prepared to use the card to buy the final ingredient he needed.
Tang Trading Company was a beast-taming materials shop run by the Tang Family. It was also one of the more upscale shops in the entire base, stocking large quantities of scarce materials.
It did not occupy much space, measuring less than a hundred square meters.
But many things one might want could be bought there, thanks to the existence of spatial equipment.
Tang Trading Company's less valuable supplies were stored in an underground warehouse guarded by dedicated beasts.
The valuable beast-taming materials of B grade and above were held by the manager, deputy manager, and an overseer dispatched from above.
They were stored in specially crafted spatial storage cabinets that required the manager, deputy manager, and overseer to open together.
In fact, most trading companies throughout the base operated this way.
Tang Yunu had told him this. She had also explained how many private and powerful influential forces operated.
"What can I get for you?"
A beautiful sales assistant approached and asked. Shops like this generally preferred hiring beautiful women as sales assistants to make customers more willing to spend.
The security guards in the shop, however, were men.
"Do you sell Snow Thunder Treasure Ginseng here?" Jiang Ziliu asked.
Snow Thunder Treasure Ginseng was a kind of mutated ginseng.
Its growing conditions were also extremely unusual. It had to grow on snowy mountains, specifically ones where thunder sounded during snowfall.
With the natural environment now drastically changed, many natural phenomena that had never occurred before had appeared under the influence and activity of dark energy.
Mountains with both snow and lightning were one example.
Ginseng growing in such places could mature in just three years, and the older it was, the better.
It was precisely the precious medicine needed to complement the Lightning Treasure Peach and heal his father Jiang Yuan's Lightning Thunder Eagle.
Because Snow Thunder Treasure Ginseng grew in an extremely cold environment, it stored vast amounts of life force and nutrients. It also absorbed the pure, icy qualities of ice and snow, along with some of lightning's special power, giving it an excellent restorative effect on lightning-type beasts.
"Yes, we do! One-year-old Snow Thunder Treasure Ginseng costs one million, two-year-old ginseng costs one million five hundred thousand, and three-year-old ginseng costs two million..."
The beautiful sales assistant introduced the prices.
"Then give me a two-year-old one!"
Jiang Ziliu spoke. Unless he encountered trouble, he did not want to produce the business card Tang Yunu had given him.
Soon, a precious ginseng root with an icy jade hue and three lightning-like markings was placed before Jiang Ziliu.
Jiang Ziliu readily paid by card.
Then he left straightaway.
The trouble he had worried about never materialized.
After all, he was dressed like an ordinary commoner, so encountering some trouble would not have been particularly strange!
Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and Jiang Ziliu successfully obtained the final medicinal ingredient.
For the next two days, Jiang Ziliu kept himself locked in his room, hard at work. A medicinal smell constantly lingered.
Two days later, Jiang Ziliu emerged from his room in excitement.
He held a bottle containing a black, semigelatinous substance, with traces of lightning occasionally flickering over it.
The previous morning, he had told everyone in the family not to leave.
"Dad, hurry and summon your Lightning Thunder Eagle! This is the medicine I prepared for it. It can heal its injuries!"
Half believing and half doubting, Jiang Yuan summoned his Lightning Thunder Eagle. It was an enormous beast that nearly filled half the room.
But beneath its belly was a wound spanning half its body, and the entire wound was dark brown!
This was the lingering power of the exotic beast that had injured it, a special kind of power resembling a living toxin.
The Lightning Thunder Eagle was now completely unconscious and barely clinging to life.
Fortunately, the Beast-Taming Space could prevent its injuries from worsening, allowing it to survive until now in a half-dead, slumbering state.
Jiang Ziliu carefully spread the gel over its wound, then quickly stitched the entire wound shut with a needle and thread.
He wore insulating gloves throughout the process. Otherwise, the lightning power in the medicine would have injured him.
He had taken the same precautions while preparing the medicine.
But rather than injuring the Lightning Thunder Eagle, the medicine made it feel extremely comfortable even in its unconscious state.
Once he finished, Jiang Ziliu hurriedly said, "Dad, quickly summon it back and let it recover in the Beast-Taming Space."
Jiang Yuan dared not delay and immediately did as instructed.
He had sensed that when the medicine was applied to the Lightning Thunder Eagle, it had felt comfortable rather than distressed. That meant the medicine might really work.
His son truly possessed no ordinary skill in preparing medicines!
Over the following week, Jiang Ziliu used the final Lightning Treasure Peach to prepare an evolution potion for his Mutated Lightning Snake. He had it swallow the potion as well, beginning its evolution within the Beast-Taming Space.
A week later, Jiang Yuan was delighted to discover that the Lightning Thunder Eagle's injuries had actually healed by ninety percent!
At this point, no further treatment was needed. With the powerful vitality of a Bronze Rank beast, it could recover on its own.
Less than a day after Jiang Ziliu removed its stitches, the last of its injuries healed completely.
With that, one of his father Jiang Yuan's beasts had recovered, allowing him to receive life feedback once more and regain a measure of fighting strength for self-defense.
With things having reached this point, Jiang Ziliu could begin the next step of his plan.
It also marked the final preparations for his journey of adventure!