There had been quite a commotion in Pingcheng District, so Shi Yu kept as low a profile as possible.
Develop steadily, and don't get reckless!
A couple of days ago, Shi Yu had planned to teach Chongchong Worm Silk until it reached Perfect Level proficiency, then start selling the silk for money. After all, Green Silkworms didn't live long; Chongchong might kick the bucket any day.
But now he had changed his mind. He would improve Eleven's combat power first. After all, his own life was short too; he might kick the bucket any day.
As long as he had enough money for the time being, that was fine. How tragic would it be to die before spending it? Strength mattered most!
After recovering from the weakness caused by teaching Super Vision, Shi Yu used the Skill Index on Eleven again without another word.
This time, the skill he taught was Super Vision again.
The second round of teaching successfully raised Eleven's proficiency in the ability to Proficient Level.
In the process, Eleven's mental strength also improved a little.
Improving a skill's proficiency also helped a pet beast grow. Which aspect grew depended on the skill's attributes.
At the moment, the benefits of Eleven's improved mental strength included being able to maintain Super Vision longer and seeing opponents move more slowly. Eleven could also stay up later at night.
That night, Shi Yu propped his chin in his hand under the moonlight, watching Eleven train diligently as boredom set in. Suddenly, he called out, "Eleven, how do you keep going for so long?"
Whenever he saw the little Iron-Eating Beast training so hard, Shi Yu also wanted to meditate diligently, upgrade his Beast Taming Space, and improve his own beast-taming abilities.
Yet he simply didn't have Eleven's powers of concentration and couldn't keep it up. Every few hours of meditation, he wanted to go do something else.
Well, it was just like doing homework in his previous life. Instead, he preferred active work like running all over the world and exploring ruins.
But preference aside, Shi Yu was forcing himself to behave for now. He had gotten carried away even in the relatively safe environment on Earth. In this world where danger lurked everywhere, he wasn't safe even in the city, much less out in the wild.
"Rumble-"
Hearing Shi Yu's question, Eleven stopped, leaned against a tree with a hungry belly, and then passed out from exhaustion.
Shi Yu helplessly covered his forehead. He really couldn't praise Eleven, but this was perfectly normal.
Almost every training session ended with Eleven exhausting himself until he passed out.
Now that he also had the mentally taxing Super Vision to train, he was undoubtedly even more prone to passing out.
"Sigh." Shi Yu went to the kitchen and fetched some spare bamboo shoots. Then he pried open Eleven's mouth as he lay on the ground and stuffed them in.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Eleven ate while still fast asleep. He was truly gifted.
After eating, he rolled over with a happy look on his face and struggled to his feet, ready to continue training.
"Stop right there!"
Shi Yu pushed Eleven toward the bathroom.
Next, Shi Yu exerted the strength of nine oxen and two tigers to clean Eleven up, then forcibly returned him to the Beast Taming Space to rest.
He himself flopped onto the bed and fell fast asleep. Damn it, this was enough to work a beast tamer to death.
The next day, the sun rose as usual.
On the third day, the sun rose as usual.
On the fourth day... there was still peace in the world.
Just like that, a week had passed since the strange occurrence brought about by his chat with the stone statue, and Shi Yu had stayed close to home.
Besides Super Vision, Shi Yu had also taught Eleven High-Speed Healing once and Hardening once during that time.
Now Eleven had the unbeatable combination of Proficient Level High-Speed Healing and Super Vision, plus Expert Level Hardening...
Shi Yu really wanted to see how many levels above himself Eleven, who was still only at Awakening Level Five, could defeat at full power.
But considering how hard it was to find an opponent, he gave up on the idea for now.
Better to keep developing. With that thought, Shi Yu left home to buy supplements nearby.
Since he was a regular customer, the young physician at the pharmacy was used to him by now. Without Shi Yu even needing to ask, he went straight to the counter and fetched the supplements.
"Friend, take it easy."
"You're buying these so often that even I'm scared."
"I think I'm being pretty restrained," Shi Yu said, accepting the supplements.
At least he hadn't courted death by trying to teach a high-level skill.
He was afraid the supplements at this pharmacy wouldn't be enough to nurse him back to health.
"Mm... I suppose you're right."
The young physician nodded, an odd expression on his face. "I heard the day before yesterday that a student hauled several boxes of supplements home from the pharmacy in the south of the city."
"That guy was way crazier than you."
Shi Yu had just put his supplements away when his hand suddenly trembled.
Damn, several boxes???
That ruthless? Don't tell me that student was Chen Kai.
"Students are getting way too competitive these days." Shi Yu sighed. "By the way, why did the association lock the area down a while back?"
"Have they figured out what caused that huge bang in the sky?"
The young physician smiled. "You've asked the right person. Let me tell you, although the details haven't been made public yet, there's a very good chance our Ping City is about to take off."
Shi Yu said, "Huh?? Tell me more?"
After coming to buy medicine so many times, Shi Yu had also learned that the young physician was a beast tamer at the trainee level.
So the man paid quite a bit of attention to such matters.
"Word is, a Secret Realm might have appeared," the young physician said.
Shi Yu said, "A Secret Realm?? What's that??"
The young physician said, "You can think of it as another dimension, separate from the space we're in now."
"For example, your Beast Taming Space and mine are actually a kind of independent dimension too."
"Here, let me put it this way. A Secret Realm actually starts out as a Beast Taming Space."
"Go on, go on," Shi Yu urged.
A whole week had passed, and there was finally a rumor? The wait had been torture.
From the sound of it, this didn't seem to be a crisis. Otherwise, the physician wouldn't be so excited.
Shi Yu had been so worried these past few days that he'd thought he'd released some monster, like Melba, the monster that shattered the sky.
"How should I put it? There's a theory that when we beast tamers die, our Beast Taming Spaces collapse along with us."
"But when some powerful beast tamers die, their Beast Taming Spaces may remain intact, forming an independent Secret Realm Space through the beast tamers' will. You could also call it a small world."
"At that point, the Secret Realm Space no longer has the effect of restraining supernatural creatures. It's a completely independent space that any life-form can enter. Depending on how much the beast tamer developed it during their lifetime, its environment can still be suitable for certain pet beasts to grow, though the effect is weaker than when it was a Beast Taming Space."
"But even weakened, it's still a treasure land rich in energy and suitable for spirit plants and pet beasts to grow."
"A powerful beast tamer's Beast Taming Space?" Shi Yu asked. "An ancient beast tamer?"
"Mm, it must be from ancient times. By our current ranking system, that beast tamer would have been at least Legendary Level."
Trainee, professional, master, legendary.
Legendary ranked above master.
"If it really is a Secret Realm Space, there are bound to be lots of rare resources or pet beasts inside. Even if there's nothing in it, it's still a treasure land that can produce valuable resources over the long term. Now that one has appeared in Ping City, we'll definitely benefit the most. If it's developed properly, our economy might take off soon."
"What if the pet beasts inside are powerful and vicious?" Shi Yu asked.
After all that, there could still be monsters inside.
The young physician said, "Uh, there's been no news of that so far, but we definitely don't need to worry about it. Even if there are, the big shots can handle them properly."
Shi Yu left.
He went on his way feeling reassured.
From what he'd learned from the young physician, the stone statue cracking apart didn't seem to be a bad thing.
But how the heck had chatting with an ancient stone statue summoned a Secret Realm??
What the heck did that have to do with the truth of history?
Or was there information about the true history of the ice plains inside the Secret Realm?
Either way, though, it was none of his business anymore.
"Sorry, big brother statue. I promised to restore the truth of history, but from the looks of things, I can't even get close to that Secret Realm."
"Sorry, sorry. I even caused you to crack apart."
A week had passed. Back home, Shi Yu watched Eleven and the Green Silkworm training in the courtyard and felt very safe.
There was no way he was exploring a Secret Realm. The thing sounded dangerous.
But... since he'd promised, Shi Yu couldn't go back on his word. Once he had the strength, if there was still a chance, he'd see about it then.
He smiled up at the sky. The weather was clear, a good day to keep a low profile and develop.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Open up, the community has come to bring you warmth."
Suddenly, someone knocked on the gate, and Shi Yu's smile grew even wider. There really was kindness in the world. They knew he was an orphan and had even come to bring him warmth.
"Looks like no one's home. Prepare to blast it open."
Shi Yu, Eleven, and the Green Silkworm: ???