《This Summoner Is Too Abnormal》 Chapter 1 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu had a disability. He was born to be a cripple. At this time, he was limping on the campus of Western Capital University, where new students were coming and going. All of these new students were accompanied by strange species. Horned tigers, winged slimes, walking treants, beast-eared girls, and beast-tailed men were common here. About two hundred years ago, the world welcomed an unprecedented change. Parts of the technological power had failed, the size of the planet had changed, and new continental plates had appeared. The spatial rifts that connected various unknown worlds and the descent of many magical beasts had greatly threatened the survival of mankind. In particular, many magical beasts had mighty strength and unbelievable supernatural means. Even under the protection of the mutated world rules, firearms, weapons, and other old technological forces were unable to cause effective damage to the magical beasts. For a time, humans fell into a state of helplessness. Fortunately, a group of awakened superpowered people stood up at that time. These people were called Summoners. A Summoner could establish a contract with a magical beast and use its power to fight. Their appearance became the only hope and answer for mankind in the face of the world¡¯s change. Therefore, after more than ten years of fighting, the crisis of human survival was finally solved. To this day, there were still large and small problems caused by magical beasts both inside and outside the federation¡¯s territory. However, the living environment of humans was already in a very peaceful state. After getting used to it, it was actually not much different from before the great change. In such a large environment, the research and cultivation of Summoners became popular. Western Capital University, the Summoner University of the Western Capital. As its name suggested, this was an Academy that specialized in training Summoners. Currently, Li Pu was a first-year student here. ¡°All the best, just a little bit more.¡± As he walked, he secretly cheered himself on. Today was the last day of the freshmen¡¯s admission, if he still couldn¡¯t summon his own magical beast, then he would face the dilemma of being rejected. One had to know that as of this morning, 99% of the freshmen had already successfully summoned their own magical beasts. He was the last person in this admission test who had not completed the summoning. Li Pu felt that If he was rejected here, he would lose the chance to become a Summoner. This would mean that he would have to choose a normal high school that wasn¡¯t for Summoners. However¡­that would be great. The situation he was hoping for would happen. This way, he wouldn¡¯t have to face the dozens of blind dates arranged by his grandfather. ¡°You¡¯re already 18 years old. It¡¯s time for you to reproduce.¡± These were his grandfather¡¯s exact words, and they were outrageous. Li Pu was obviously unwilling to accept such an arrangement. However, his grandfather was his only family member, and it wasn¡¯t easy for him to raise Li Pu. Li Pu also did not want to go against his grandfather¡¯s wishes. After all, this was also a manifestation of love. The above was all bullshit. The actual reason was that he couldn¡¯t defeat that old man, so his protest was invalid. Therefore, Li Pu changed his mind and chose the long-standing but remote Summoner University of the Western Capital. He wanted to stay out of the limelight for now. If it wasn¡¯t for his grandfather¡¯s threat, he wouldn¡¯t even want to choose a Summoner-type Academy. However, the current situation made Li Pu feel like he was blessed by the heavens. Being expelled from a Summoner-type Academy would definitely be a great disadvantage for him during the blind date. No, it would be an advantage. He had roughly read the information of those blind dates, and they should not be able to accept a non-Summoner. If the news of him being expelled spread, the other side might even forfeit. It was a pity that his grandfather¡¯s acquaintances were his eyes and ears in this school. If not, Li Pu would have already planned to run away. He would not have to go through all the necessary procedures. As he walked, he came to a pavilion surrounded by greens. Not only were the paths filled with flowers and trees, but there were also creeper vines growing on the walls of the building. There was a plaque hanging on the gate, and two words were written on it in simple and elegant ink. Wind Listener. According to their different styles, summoned magical beasts were divided into seven categories. The Balance type. The type that pursued harmony and balance. The Berserk type. The type that was known for being bloodthirsty. The Intelligence type. The type that could comprehend mysteries. The Resolute type. The type that could provide persistent protection. The Breaking type. The type that was known for being indomitable. The Wind Chaser type. The type that kept running. Last but not least, the Wind Listener type. The type that emphasized peace and tranquility. In these seven categories, prospective new students had the priority to choose the department building they were interested in to take the admission test. However, in reality, interest was not the decisive factor in the success of the summoning. The freshmen¡¯s conditions, their compatibility with the summoned beast, and even their luck would greatly affect the result of the summoning. For new students, each library would only give one summoning opportunity. Li Pu had already tried the first six. To no avail. Therefore, this Wind Listener Pavilion was his last hope of being expelled. There weren¡¯t many people in the hall at the moment, because the semester hadn¡¯t really started yet, so most of them were new students. Since they had already successfully summoned their beasts, their purpose here was different from Li Pu¡¯s. They were here to borrow the facilities in the hall to train their summoned beasts. However, before Li Pu could enter the pavilion, he heard a loud shout from inside. ¡°Everyone, be careful! My Tuan Tuan has lost control!¡± ¡°F*ck! Quickly dodge!¡± ¡°Whose summoned beast is this?!¡± ¡°Is there anyone who can stop it?¡± ¡°This is bad, it¡¯s going to roll out!¡± Li Pu, who was standing at the entrance of the pavilion, saw something that looked like a truck tire rolling toward him. Boom boom boom boom boom! The summoned beast was definitely not light in weight, seeing that it crushed the concrete ground in its path and caused cracks to appear. Such a commotion was rather terrifying for the new students who had never seen much of the world. Instantly, many people looked at Li Pu. The reason was that he was standing right in the path of the rolling turtle. ¡°Classmate! Quickly run!¡± The owner of the rolling turtle, who noticed this situation, was very anxious and shouted loudly to remind him. One had to know that this was a D-grade summoned beast. It was definitely not something that ordinary people could stop. However, what the male student did not expect was that the other party did not seem to be an ordinary person. ¡°¡­¡± Li Pu looked at the turtle shell with a calm expression. ¡°This is bad, I can¡¯t bear to see it!¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s been scared silly. Why isn¡¯t he running away?¡± Some of the freshmen couldn¡¯t help but cover their eyes when they saw this scene. However, just as the turtle shell was about to hit Li Pu, he suddenly raised his left foot. Thud! Before anyone could react, his foot stepped on the turtle shell. The huge force stopped the violent momentum of rolling, causing the out-of-control rolling turtle to suddenly stop. Clang clang clang! As the shell of the heavy turtle fell off, the surroundings fell into silence. Li Pu looked at the turtle shell on the ground and walked into the building as if nothing had happened. He muttered to himself. ¡°What do you mean by run? I¡¯m a cripple.¡± ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 2 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu was really disabled. He was really a cripple. It was just that other cripples had one functioning leg and the other disabled. On the other hand, one of Li Pu¡¯s legs was normal, while the other was super strong. Although his left and right legs didn¡¯t look any different, his left leg was, in fact, extraordinarily strong. He was born with it, and he didn¡¯t know why. This was also the reason why he would walk with a limp. The extreme imbalance between his legs led to this effect. The commotion caused by the rolling turtle earlier was not small and had already attracted the attention of a few freshmen nearby. When their gazes landed on Li Pu, they started discussing. ¡°Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Did he just kick over that summoned beast?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little ridiculous? Could he be a second-year senior?¡± ¡°No, I think I¡¯ve heard of him before. A super handsome crippled freshman.¡± ¡°Oh? What do you mean?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the top scorer of our batch.¡± ¡°So powerful!¡± ¡°And he also got first place in the physical test.¡± ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t he a cripple?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, but it seems like he hasn¡¯t successfully summoned a beast yet.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be, today is already the deadline¡­¡± Li Pu¡¯s hearing was extremely good as well, although he heard them, he didn¡¯t mind. Instead, he walked into the pavilion and started to look around. The interior of the Wind Listener Pavilion was very large, but the most eye-catching thing was the exhibition area in the center of the venue, which was more than 200 square meters. There was no protection set up in the exhibition area, and there was only one thing inside. It was a huge snail shell that almost filled the entire area. The empty shell of the snail was divided into black and white. If one looked at it from the side, one would find that it vaguely resembled a Taiji pattern. Li Pu had heard of it before he came. It was the highlight of the West Capital University¡¯s Wind Listener Pavilion. It was the remains of an A-grade Wind Listener magical beast, the Taiji snail. He walked around the huge Taiji snail and towards the summoning platform in the corner of the pavilion. The octagonal summoning platform was about a meter high, and there was a rocking chair at the start of the stairs. A bald old man with a palm-leaf fan was sitting on it, swaying back and forth while reading the newspaper. The summoning platform wasn¡¯t a very important facility. Moreover, West Capital University was an academy where students and staff had lots of freedom. Therefore, both the student and the teacher-in-charge were not as formal with one another. ¡°Hello teacher, I would like to use the summoning platform.¡± Li Pu walked forward and handed the temporary student card to the bald old man. ¡°Mm¡­¡± The bald old man pulled down his presbyopic glasses and looked at his id, muttering, ¡°Li Pu¡­Li Pu, the meaning of your name is simple and unadorned, what a good name.¡± Then, he picked up the small device on the side of the rocking chair and swiped the card. Ding ding! After two crisp sounds, the machine¡¯s screen lit up in green. It showed 1/1. This represented the number of times Li Pu could attempt to summon in the Wind Listener Pavilion. ¡°Wait a moment.¡± After confirming that there was no mistake, the bald old man freed one hand and drew a circle in the air. Buzzzzzz! With a slight vibration, a round space passage the size of a watermelon opened. The bald old man reached his hand into the space and began to search. From Li Pu¡¯s perspective, it looked like half of his arm had been swallowed by space. However, he knew that this was a storage space that only a true Summoner had. Not only could one¡¯s summoned beast live in it, but it could also store some items. Whoosh¡­ A few seconds later, the bald old man retracted his hand and the storage space closed. He was holding a shiny blue talisman in his hand, which was emitting a mysterious light. As mentioned before, the summoning platform wasn¡¯t a very important facility. This was because its main function came from the summoning talisman. There were many ways to obtain a summoned beast, such as hatching, taming, and so on. However, for newcomers, the safest, most efficient, and most in line with a Summoner was the talisman summoning. As for the one that the bald old man took out, it was the lowest level of the summoning talismans, the beginner blue talisman. This Kind of blue talisman had a very high success rate of summoning, far higher than ordinary blue talismans. The reason why it was called the beginner blue talisman was that it was only suitable for beginners who had the potential to become a Summoner but had not awakened to become one. If it was used by an awakened Summoner, it would be ineffective. ¡°Thank you, teacher.¡± Li Pu took the blue talisman and nodded, then he went up the stairs. He walked onto the summoning platform and looked at the eight trigrams on the ground. He was already familiar with the entire process. One only needed to write any symbol or spell on the blue talisman and then tear it apart to complete the summoning ritual. As for whether he could find a suitable summoned beast in an unknown world, it would depend on fate. ¡°Hurry up.¡± Li Pu just wanted to do his routine and quickly end this mess. So he stretched out his finger and scribbled a very simple symbol on the blue talisman that did not have any special meaning. [ ܳ ] Then, he grabbed the two ends of the blue talisman with his left and right hands and tore the paper apart. Rip¡­! With the blue talisman torn into half, a faint green light burst out from the crack, and it gradually bloomed. ¡°D*mn, this is bad¡­¡± Li Pu was stunned when he saw this. He had never encountered such a situation in the previous six talismans. However, having witnessed the success of many new students¡¯ summoning, he knew that he was going to suffer this time. ¡°Oh! Quickly look! Someone has successfully summoned a beast!¡± ¡°There¡¯s still someone summoning at this time? How strange.¡± ¡°It¡¯s coming, what kind of summoned beast will it be?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really curious what grade it is.¡± The commotion on the summoning platform attracted the attention of many new students. As for the bald old man who was the closest to the stage, he carried out his duty and picked up the device again. He scanned the green light on the stage. Ding! After the crisp sound, a line of information appeared on the machine¡¯s screen. [ 6, F ] 6 points of combat strength, F-grade. ¡°This is a very normal result.¡± In response, the bald old man merely curled his lips. F-grade was the lowest class of all. However, this was a very normal phenomenon. After all, there was a price to pay for the high success rate of beginner blue talismans. In every batch of new students, at least half of them would be able to summon a grade F beast. As for the 6 points of combat strength¡­ this beast was just a step away from being a weakling. The combat strength represented the overall quality of the summoned beast in all aspects. It could roughly evaluate its strength within a certain range. To make a simple comparison, the average combat strength of an ordinary adult was about 12 points. This meant that the beast that Li Pu had summoned could only beat half a normal person. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go. Another F-grade. There¡¯s nothing to see.¡± ¡°Sigh, the drop rate of F-grade is really high.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s make use of this opportunity to practice. The day after tomorrow, we¡¯ll be competing for the class selection.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the competition for the slots for the popular teachers and courses is particularly intense¡­¡± When the freshmen who had come to watch the show saw the display on the bald old man¡¯s device, they quickly dispersed. Li Pu didn¡¯t pay much attention to what was happening below the stage because all his attention was on the summoning ritual. At this moment, the green light completely solidified and circled in the air for a few rounds. Finally, it slowly landed on the summoning platform and condensed into a human-shaped light. The figure was about a head shorter than Li Pu. Its shape looked a little like the little green person on the traffic light that represented ¡°Go¡±. As time passed, the thing inside the light seemed to become more and more solid. At a certain moment, the light suddenly dissipated, revealing the appearance of the summoned beast. ¡°Grass?¡± Li Pu tilted his head and frowned. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 3 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Grass. Li Pu wasn¡¯t cursing nor talking gibberish. After all, the beast standing in front of him right now was genuine grass. To be more precise, it was a straw doll. Its entire body was made of green grass. It had a pair of black eyes, a black mouth, and no nose or ears. There were also two conspicuous cowlicks on its head. In short, it looked silly and did not seem to be very smart. [ Grass! ] With a loud and clear call, the straw doll flew over and hugged Li Pu. This action made him feel a warm current in his heart. It reminded him of his childhood when he would hug his grandfather like this. This summoned beast was like a grandson. [Ding!] [Summoning successful. ] A prompt that only he could hear sounded in his ear. After the world had changed, every Summoner had their own system panel. ¡°Congratulations. From today onwards, you are an official member of the Summoner Army.¡± The bald old man smiled when he saw Li Pu walking down the stage with the straw doll. ¡°Thank you, teacher.¡± Li Pu bowed. [ Grass! ] The straw doll also thanked him, although it didn¡¯t feel right. [ Please name the summoned beast. ] At this moment, the second prompt sounded. A name was very important. Li Pu cupped his chin in his hand and looked like he was in deep thought. The bald old man knew that he was probably at the naming stage, so he didn¡¯t disturb Li Pu. After a while, Li Pu had an answer, ¡°The lush grass on the plains withers and thrives once every year.¡± When the bald old man heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but smile and clap his hands as he praised, ¡°Good poem.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯ll call you Scarecrow,¡± Li Pu said. The bald old man¡¯s smile froze, and his actions froze. ¡°What¡­what a terrible name.¡± Scarecrow raised its hands and cheered, [ Grass! ] ¡­ After walking out of Wind Listener Pavilion with the straw doll, Li Pu found a random place to sit down. He opened the unfamiliar interface with his mind. [Scarecrow: Level 1, Wind Listener] [Strength: 6, F] [Attribute: 10 Wood] [Ability ¨C Gratitude: provides an added bonus to the summoner¡¯s feedback] [LV1 fist of grass (F): The straw doll swung its fist with force, slightly more powerful than usual] [Inscription tool: none] ¡°¡­¡± After looking at the panel, Li Pu was silent for a while. This straw doll of his seemed to be a little special. It was especially weak. [Ability ¨C Gratitude] was an inherent ability of Scarecrow. Every summoned beast had its own inherent ability. Inherent abilities could not be upgraded, and the difficulty of obtaining them was much higher than skills. Most of them were closely related to the summoned beast¡¯s race. Due to certain reasons, the Federation restricted normal people, especially minors, from coming into contact with too much Summoner-related knowledge. However, because his grandfather was a Summoner, he had been influenced since he was a child and more or less knew some common knowledge. After a Summoner established a relationship with their summoned beast, their physical fitness would be enhanced to a certain extent. This was also why the physical strength of Summoners was far beyond that of ordinary people. However, the strength of this increase was based on the strength of the summoned beast. Although [Ability ¨C Gratitude] seemed to have a great effect, Li Pu didn¡¯t feel any change in himself. This meant that even with [Ability ¨C Gratitude], the grass puppet could only provide very little feedback to him. As a summoned beast, straw dolls were famous for being weak. Therefore, a straw doll¡¯s inherent ability was equivalent to none. At that moment, Li Pu was in a terrible mood. This was because the current situation seemed to be the worst. His plan to be expelled was ruined. Not only that, but he had also summoned such a weak beast. To put it bluntly, it was a huge loss. He wanted to be expelled, become useless, and not have to go on blind dates. However, he ended up not dropping out of school, became a waste, and even had to go on blind dates. It was obvious that the latter was more unpleasant, and no one would be happy about it. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s look at the others first.¡± Li Pu shook his head helplessly. In fact, the straw doll wasn¡¯t all that he had to verify. There was another piece of information waiting for him to confirm. That was the Summoner¡¯s talent that was awakened on the spot after becoming a Summoner. Every awakened Summoner would obtain a unique talent. There were many types of Summoner talents, and they could strengthen the summoned beast in various ways. Therefore, the strength of a summoned beast often depended on the talent of the summoner. Thus, he started searching the panel again. After a while, Li Pu finally found the relevant location. ¡°This¡­¡± However, when a bunch of information flowed into his mind, he hesitated. His Summoner talent seemed interesting! [Friend of Magical Beasts: you can grant skills related to magical beasts to your summoned beast] Based on the feedback from the information, Li Pu quickly grasped all the details of this talent. The specifics could be summarized as follows: 1. By using items related to magical beasts and crystal coins, he can give his summoned beast a skill. 2. The skill granted can ignore the attributes, type, and race requirements of the summoned beast. 3. The bestowment methods are divided into three types: learning, integration, and sacrifice. 4. Only one bestowment opportunity is given to the same type of magical beast. He analyzed them one by one and started with the first. Li Pu didn¡¯t know what items were related to magical beasts. However, he recognized the crystal coin. It was a type of crystal that was purified and created through special means. It contained special energy and was the currency used for transactions between Summoners. As for the second one, although it could ignore attribute, type, and race requirements, if the skill¡¯s compatibility with the summoned beast was too low, it could not be used. For example, he could teach Scarecrow a wing-type skill, but since it didn¡¯t have wings, the skill was equivalent to 0. As for the third in the list, [learn] allowed the straw doll to learn a new skill on the spot. [Integration] was the fusion of the new skill and the straw doll¡¯s original skill to form a new skill. This function probably had to consider the compatibility between the new and old skills. As for the final [Sacrifice], it was to directly feed the new skill to the straw doll itself, making it stronger quickly. Li Pu didn¡¯t quite understand the fourth condition. How did the concept of [The same kind of magical beast] be divided? It seemed that he would only be able to figure it out when he actually did it. In any case, no matter how he interpreted the [Only one bestowment opportunity is given], he would not suffer a loss. This was because there was a limit to the number of skills a summoned beast could have. He wasn¡¯t worried about the number of skills he could obtain being too few. He was only worried about Scarecrow not having enough skills to use. ¡°I seem to be a little strong now ¡­¡± After digesting the information, Li Pu couldn¡¯t help but sigh. With this Summoner¡¯s talent, it felt like even a useless summoned beast like Scarecrow could become a powerful existence. If Scarecrow became stronger, then wouldn¡¯t he also become stronger? After thinking for a while, his expression changed. ¡°As expected, people should be more open-minded.¡± Li Pu tapped his temple with his finger. A brand new plan was born. As long as he became strong enough to defeat his grandfather, he would not have to go on blind dates anymore. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 4 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu had once doubted whether his grandfather was his biological grandfather. The reason was that this old man was very ruthless. Li Pu had been undergoing high-intensity hellish physical training since he was a child. In the beginning, it was just ordinary lifting of iron and the horse stance. Later, it quickly evolved into weight-bearing mountain climbing, long-distance swimming, and so on. In short, his training was getting worse and worse day by day. When he was 12 years old, he would often be thrown into the mountains and deep forests to fight all kinds of wild beasts alone. At first, even though Li Pu had complained a lot, his grandfather would not be soft-hearted and would even beat him up. Hence, after Li Pu complained a few times, he gave up. It wasn¡¯t that he was afraid of being beaten up, but that the old man had more terrifying means than beating him up. Such as deducting his allowance. It was simply heart-wrenching. In any case, his grandfather had told him that there was only one rule in their family: Only the strongest one had the right to speak. Hence, Li Pu was determined to become stronger. When he became stronger and faced his grandfather again, he would use his fist to smash his grandfather¡¯s nose. Then, he would say, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯ve grown up.¡± His grandfather would definitely be moved to tears. Just imagining that scene made him happy. However, before that, he still had to strengthen himself. He would have to do so in secret. He couldn¡¯t let the villain, oh no, he couldn¡¯t let Grandpa find out and be on guard. ¡°This is the last one.¡± Li Pu touched the metal box in his hand. He was in a good mood now that he had a new plan. All the new students who had officially entered the school would receive a gift box from the school, which contained some starting resources. When he had obtained it from Teacher Baldy earlier, the other party had already roughly explained the use of the gift box. Li Pu opened the box and saw two items. One was a transparent crystal the size of a fist, shaped like a diamond. This was the crystal coin. Picking it up, he could check the relevant numbers through the interface. [1000] In other words, it was a full 1000 crystal coins. ¡°Western Capital University is quite generous¡­¡± Li Pu studied the crystal for a while, then put it away in his storage space unskillfully. 1000 crystal coins was not a small amount. He had heard that in private transactions, this was equivalent to about 10000 Federation dollars. His family¡¯s financial situation was considered relatively good. When he was in high school, his monthly pocket money was less than 200 Federation dollars. If he remembered correctly, there were about 1000 new students this year. In other words, just this small gift box alone had cost the school nearly 10 million Federation dollars. As expected of a Summoner Academy, it was indeed generous. As for the other item, it was a ball that emitted orange light. [Random Skill Light Orb: it contains an F-grade to C-grade skill.] The Skill Light Orb contained a skill that could be learned by a summoned beast. As for the skill and level, no one knew what they were. This item was also quite valuable. Although the probability was very small, it could still give a C-grade skill. He heard that 99% of the new students obtained F-grade skills. Li Pu thought for a moment and had an idea. He wondered if he could use this Skill Light Orb on himself. This was because he had half the summoned beast bloodline, which was also known as the bloodline of a foreign race. It was because of this bloodline that the blind date had come. If it was just a normal human girl, Li Pu wouldn¡¯t be so against attending blind dates. However, the dozens of blind dates arranged by her grandfather were either mixed-blood humans or someone of a foreign race. The foreign race was a general term for other intelligent species besides humans. The world¡¯s mutation two hundred years ago had also led to the arrival of foreign races to the blue planet. Some of them descended through the Spatial Rift like magical beasts, while some appeared as summoned beasts. However, most of the foreign races lived outside the Federation and had their own territories. The biggest difference between them and magical beasts was that they could communicate with humans in a friendly manner, and they could also become Summoners. In fact, Li Pu didn¡¯t think he had any problems getting along with them. However, he really couldn¡¯t talk about marriage. Beast ears and beast tails were actually not that bad. They originally had a very strong human bloodline, and now it was a common thing for humans to marry those with beast ears and beast tails. The point was that someone with beast ears and tail was not qualified to be on his grandfather¡¯s blind date list. To be qualified, at the very least, one had to be a slime lady with slime blood, whom Li Pu had seen on the list before. Who would want to marry a wife who could change into any shape at any time? Another example was the mechanical lady. She was challenging all the physiological knowledge he had learned in his twelve years of compulsory education. There were even hermaphrodite aliens who made him question who would be the bride and groom in the end. However, this was all a little off-topic. What Li Pu wanted to know was if he could use the Skill Light Orb on himself since he was half a summoned beast. In any case, with his Summoner talent [Friend of Magical Beasts], Scarecrow was destined to not lack skills. He might as well use this skill orb to strengthen himself. Li Pu put his thoughts into action immediately. He exerted some force and crushed the ball of light. Buzzzzzz! With a slight shake, the ball of light turned into a large amount of powder-like orange light. The orange light was floating around him in a flocculent-like manner. With a slight thought, the orange light condensed into various shapes in front of him. As he was the one who had crushed the light orb, Li Pu could sense that it was completely under his control. ¡°What an intriguing experience.¡± After playing for a while, he felt that it was very interesting. However, as he willed it, the orange light began to revolve around him again. Moreover, it was spinning faster and faster. Every time it spun, a small amount of light powder would touch his skin. A faint warm current began to spread from the part of his skin that came into contact with the powder. The light powder scattered to more and more places, and the warm current was also gradually increasing in strength. By the time the light powder was fully injected into his body, Li Pu¡¯s body had already turned from warm to scorching. ¡°Phew¡­¡± He let out a deep breath, and even his breath carried a faint white mist. However, he didn¡¯t feel any discomfort. Instead, he felt an indescribable pleasure. The warm current continued to flow in his body. Soon, Li Pu was covered in sweat. However, at a certain moment, the heat flow suddenly disappeared without a trace. ¡°Has it ended?¡± Li Pu¡¯s eyes lit up. He opened the panel that only he could see. This time, he was much more skilled than before. ¡°It¡¯s a C-grade!¡± With just a glance, he realized that his luck was off the charts. However, after he finished looking at it, he fell silent. This¡­ What kind of f*cking skill was that? ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 5 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio The probability of an F-grade was 99%, and the rest of the grades, C, D, and E only added up to 1%. Not only did Li Pu manage to get this 1%, but he also got the highest-level C among the remaining grades. He had to admit that his luck was a little off the charts. However, when he looked at the interface again, he couldn¡¯t help but complain. ¡°Just by looking at its name, I can tell that it¡¯s not very proper.¡± [Lvl 1 Fatherly Love (C): After activation, attacks will be converted into healing.] Based on the information, the general meaning was that as long as this skill was activated, any attack from him would have a healing effect. ¡°Although the method is a little strange, this is exactly what a proper stay-at-home dad will do¡­¡± To be honest, this was a skill that Li Pu had never thought of. The key was that the treatment method was quite special. This skill was ineffective against him, which meant that in the future, his main target for these attacks, no, healing, would be Scarecrow. Just thinking about the scene made him feel weird. If he punched and kicked a dying straw doll, people who didn¡¯t know about the skill would probably think that he was abusing his summoned beast. Moreover, his grandfather often beat him up, and now, he would have to beat up Scarecrow. He had a feeling that he was about to live a life that he hated. ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s a C-grade skill after all. It¡¯s still worth it.¡± Li Pu, who had just become a Summoner, didn¡¯t really understand the concept of skill grades, but logically speaking, a C-grade skill should be one of the better ones. In fact, having a healing method might give him some advantages in some situations. Although the summoned beasts would not really die after the contract was established, the summoners still had to use a resurrection talisman to summon their beasts back. As the strength of the summoned beast increased, the corresponding resurrection talisman would also become more and more expensive. With a healing skill, the chances of using a resurrection talisman would be greatly reduced. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I test the effect first?¡± Obtaining a summoner skill was a new experience for Li Pu. Naturally, he wanted to find a target to practice on. Didn¡¯t people in ancient times use scarecrows as targets? It was just right. However, when he looked up, he realized that the straw doll that was beside him had already left. At this moment, it was standing in front of a beverage vending machine, looking deeply attracted. It pitifully leaned against the glass window of the vending machine, staring at the dazzling variety of drinks. ¡°Could it be that because you¡¯re made of grass, you¡¯re interested in drinks?¡± Li Pu touched his chin and muttered to himself. [Grass!] Then, he saw the straw doll take a step back and tilt its head as if it was thinking. Then, it looked around and picked up a stone on the ground. ¡°Wait,¡± Li Pu was shocked and quickly stood up to stop it. If the vending machine was destroyed, he, as a Summoner, would have to pay for the damages. [Grass?] The straw doll that was stopped was a little puzzled. It pointed to its black mouth that was opened into a vertical oval and then pointed to the drinks in the vending machine. [Scarecrow: I want to drink.] A telepathic thought was sent into Li Pu¡¯s mind. ¡°I understand, I understand.¡± He shook his head helplessly. He reached into his pocket and found a few coins. Scarecrow had just been summoned and was like a piece of white paper in many aspects. Hence, Li Pu decided to use this opportunity to educate him. ¡°In any case, you can¡¯t do this. Without my permission, you¡¯re not allowed to cause any destruction.¡± ¡°Also, if you want to drink something, you have to pay.¡± ¡°This is the rule, do you understand?¡± ¡°This is money.¡± As he spoke, he picked up a coin and waved it. [Grass!] The straw doll didn¡¯t really understand, but it still nodded its head. Then, it pointed at the vending machine again and urged Li Pu. [Scarecrow: Summoner, hurry up.] ¡°Alright, pick whatever you want to drink.¡± After Li Pu inserted the coin, he guided the straw doll to do it by itself. [Grass?] Scarecrow looked up and down, left and right, at the machine window, before finally choosing Coke. Roll roll roll ¡­ As it pressed the button, a bottle of Coke fell out of the exit. ¡°Drink up, drink up.¡± Li Pu helped it twist the bottle cap open under its gaze. [Grass!] Scarecrow took the drink happily, raised its head, and gulped it down in a few mouthfuls. [Grass~] [Scarecrow: It¡¯s good, I want more~] ¡°Drink as much as you want. It¡¯s my treat today.¡± Li Pu asked the straw doll to throw the empty can into the trash can and took out all the coins. This time, he didn¡¯t need to guide it anymore. The experienced straw doll chose another drink and twisted the cap open. [Gulp gulp¡­] However, its stomach was like a bottomless pit. Even after drinking a few more bottles, it was still not satisfied. In comparison, these drinks didn¡¯t taste as good as the original Coke. [Burp¡­Grass!!] It hiccuped and looked at Li Pu with puppy eyes. ¡°I¡¯m out of money.¡± Li Pu, who didn¡¯t expect the other party to be such a big drinker, spread his hands helplessly. This guy wouldn¡¯t drink until he became poor in the future, right? Moreover, was it really okay to drink so much fat soft drinks at once? [Grass!] The straw doll put its hands together and begged. Even though he could sense Scarecrow¡¯s desire, he didn¡¯t have any more coins. However, Li Pu immediately thought of an idea. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Sometimes, some people would accidentally roll a coin under the vending machine. So, he bent down. Thud¡­ The vending machine that weighed a few hundred kilograms was lifted to the side. With the bloodline of a summoned beast and years of demonic training, even if he didn¡¯t become a Summoner, his physical strength was already beyond ordinary people. ¡°Hurry up, see if there¡¯s any money.¡± He sounded relaxed, but Li Pu couldn¡¯t hold on for long. What he didn¡¯t see was that Scarecrow¡¯s eyes were practically glowing. It was not because the summoner was strong, but because there was really stock under the vending machine. [Grass! Grass! Grass!] [Scarecrow: so much money!] It quickly lay down and swept the bottom of the machine clean. Its movements were so swift that it didn¡¯t look like grass. Bang! Bang! Li Pu put down the machine after Scarecrow was done. Looking at the small pile of coins in its hand, he felt very gratified. ¡°You¡¯re already a mature grass. You should learn how to earn your own money in the future.¡± [Grass!] [Scarecrow: I want to continue drinking~] However, the straw doll did not seem to be listening to him. ¡°¡­¡± Li Pu felt a little helpless. However, what happened next made him even more speechless. This straw doll didn¡¯t seem to be as stupid as it looked. He had only said it casually just now, but it had actually remembered his words in its heart. After spending all the coins again, it started to think about the stone bench by the roadside. However, the bottom of the stone bench was very tight, so it was impossible for a coin to be left behind. Moreover, with the straw doll¡¯s current strength, it was impossible for it to lift it. So, Scarecrow wanted to go through the trash can again. Of course, Li Pu immediately stopped him and took the chance to educate him. Seeing that it was getting late and the straw doll was begging him, he quickly found a place to exchange some coins. Then, he bought a pile of Coke and left in a hurry with the straw doll. Unlike the new students who had completed their summoning earlier, Li Pu still had to go to the Academic Affairs Office to complete some admission procedures before he could move into the academy dormitory officially. If he walked a few steps faster now, he might be able to make it in time. ¡­ ¡­. Chapter 6 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Perhaps it was because Western Capital University was very efficient, or perhaps Li Pu was the only freshman who had yet to complete the procedures, it took less time than he had expected. Including the journey, it only took an hour for him to complete the entire process. Although he had just become a Summoner and his storage space was still very small, it was enough to carry his luggage. So, he came to the dormitory that he was assigned to empty-handed. It had to be said that being the last place had its own benefits. The original four-person dormitory had become a single room when it was his turn. He was happy to have peace and quiet since he wouldn¡¯t have any roommates for the time being. After some simple unpacking, Li Pu went out for dinner. Upon returning, he took a bath and went to bed early. As for Scarecrow, it was lying in front of the desk, staring at the pile of Coke. This summoned beast was probably worried that the bottles of coke would be gone after drinking them, so it didn¡¯t want to touch any. After a long day of running around, Li Pu could finally relax. Now, he was lying on his bed comfortably and thinking about his plan for the next day. He had two places he wanted to go to tomorrow. One was the library because he needed to read some information. Although he had come into contact with some Summoner-related knowledge through his grandfather, it was not that formal and detailed. Li Pu heard that the library of the University had a rich collection of information. He wanted to go there and do some research so that he could understand more about Scarecrow. As for the other place he had to go, it was Wind Listener Pavilion. The reason for going to the Pavilion was to find other freshmen to practice with. After all, actual combat was very important. There were only a few days left before the official start of school. He felt that it was necessary to quickly increase his tacit understanding of Scarecrow, especially in terms of combat. With these thoughts in mind, Li Pu gradually fell asleep. The night passed uneventfully. ¡­ The next morning, Li Pu arrived at the library just in time for its opening. As his storage space was still rather small, and he was worried that he would disturb others, he left Scarecrow outside after telling it not to cause trouble. He entered the library and found a computer that was connected to the internet. Soon enough, he found a field guide to the summoned beasts. The Field Guide To the Summoned Beast could be said to be one of the greatest projects of the past hundred years. All the summoners in the Federation could participate. Participants would contribute all the relevant information they know and enter it into the field guide after multiple reviews. Li Pu entered the characteristics of Scarecrow and quickly found a set of information. He opened the page and confirmed that it was the information he wanted. This was because the summoned beast in the picture was almost exactly the same as his straw doll. At least, he couldn¡¯t see much difference. So he began to read it line by line. [Straw doll, a very weak summoned beast. Its initial grade would always be an F.] Just the first sentence of the introduction was enough to make him feel a little stifled. [Most straw doll¡¯s attributes are between 9 wood and 1 water to 7wood and 3 water ] Attributes could determine the restraints in battle, and at times, it was also related to the threshold of learning some skills. However, with [Friend of Magical Beasts], Li Pu didn¡¯t have to worry about Scarecrow¡¯s stats. On the other hand, he himself would have to face this problem in the future. [Fatherly Love] was obviously a skill with no attribute threshold, because the random skill light orb was given according to the user¡¯s condition. From the information in the guide, it seemed that even if it was the same summoned beast, there would still be some differences between each individual. As for his straw doll, it was 10 wood without water. Li Pu didn¡¯t know if that was good or bad. [Straw Doll¡¯s food: water ] Well, this species was rather easy to take care of. They could live just by drinking water, unlike other summoned beasts that needed special food or feed. As long as the dormitory¡¯s tap worked, Scarecrow could drink as much as it wanted. However, he was afraid that Scarecrow¡¯s taste would be spoiled, and it would only drink Coke in the future. He didn¡¯t know if the Scarecrow would turn into a malt sugar man if it was to continue consuming Coke for a long time. [Straw Doll¡¯s self-growing method: absorb the essence of the sun and moon] [Straw Doll¡¯s self-nurturing method: provide suitable water or light-type materials] Upon reading this, Li Pu felt that he didn¡¯t have to worry much about Scarecrow. This meant that as long as Scarecrow was left outdoors 24 hours a day, it would be able to grow on its own. As for the self-nurturing method, it was more logical. Grass all liked water and light. Moreover, he had [Friend of Magical Beasts], a skill that allowed him to use new skills to cultivate Scarecrow in the form of sacrifice. He just didn¡¯t know the extent of the effect of this skill. He had to try it out to know. [Straw Doll¡¯s type, mostly Wind Listener or Berserk] Li Pu had a better understanding of common knowledge such as the types of summoned beasts. The types of summoned beasts were generally divided according to their method of obtaining skill power. There were many names for skill power, energy, mana, divine power, and so on. Although the names were not unified, they all expressed the same meaning. It was the power that a summoned beast needed to consume when using a skill. All summoned beasts had a basic skill recovery speed, but this basic recovery speed was generally very slow. According to the characteristics of each type, most of them would have relatively special recovery methods. The Balance Type had no special recovery methods, but its basic recovery speed was the fastest among the seven types. The Berserk Type could use its own blood and energy to recover its skills and was considered a major consumer of the resurrection talismans. The Intelligence Type had no special recovery methods. Its basic recovery speed was slightly faster, but the capacity of its skill power was usually more abundant than other types, and its method was the most functional among the seven types. Resolute Type could speed up its recovery of skill power when attacked or injured. This type of summoned beast often took the role of the vanguard in a team. For Breaking Type, its recovery of skill power sped up when its attack hits a target. Its offensive power was the strongest among the seven elements. Wind Chaser Type could speed up its recovery of skill power based on its speed. The faster it moved, the faster it recovered its skills. This type of summoned beast was mostly very agile. Meanwhile, for the Wind Listener Type, the more static it was, the faster it recovered its skills. Its fighting style was also more inclined to staying still. However, not every skill required skill power. For example, Li Pu¡¯s [Fatherly Love] was a passive skill that did not consume any skill power. He only needed to choose whether to activate or deactivate it. Li Pu didn¡¯t care too much about the rest of the information. He only read through it briefly and kept some information in mind. It was not until he reached the last section that he finally slowed down his reading. [Due to the simple reincarnation conditions of the straw doll, the methods are messy and there are too many.] [No detailed information is recorded.] [Currently known straw doll reincarnation limit: 2 ranks] [Remark: in theory, all summoned beasts have a possibility of 9 ranks of reincarnation. Please don¡¯t be discouraged, Summoner who has a straw doll.] Reincarnation, also known as evolution, was a necessary path for summoned beasts to become stronger. After reaching the current maximum level, for example, the maximum level of Rank 0 was level 30, Rank 1 was level 40, and so on, with the help of some nurturing materials and special conditions, reincarnation could be completed. Every time the summoned beast reincarnated, it would be reset back to Level 1, but they would gain a higher basic combat power than before. His level and the limit of his abilities would also be increased. It was even possible to change its grade, attribute, form, and race. He had heard that some naturally powerful summoned beasts are born at Rank 1 or even Rank 2. Li Pu just wanted to see if the summoned beast field guide would give him a better evolution plan for Scarecrow. Now, however, he was dismissed by a simple sentence of ¡°No detailed information is recorded.¡± Moreover, the known highest limit of reincarnation was only at Rank 2. As expected, this information made him feel as depressed as the introduction at the beginning. After thinking about it, he could only accept reality. From a common point of view, no one would focus on cultivating a straw doll. As the summoned beast became stronger, the summoner would also receive a part of the physical and spiritual feedback enhancement. A normal Summoner would need to have a rank 1 summoned beast before they would have enough mental strength to contract a second summoned beast. After owning a rank 2 summoned beast, one could then contract with a third summoned beast, and so on. Therefore, if it was someone else who had a straw doll, the most rational solution was to quickly train it to rank 1 at a cheap price, then contract with a second new summoned beast and focus the training on it. However, Li Pu didn¡¯t have such plans. It was said that some magical beasts had very strange skills, and could make themselves complete reincarnation under suitable conditions. He believed that as long as he could find a similar and suitable skill, it was not impossible for Scarecrow to break through the race limit. Moreover, Scarecrow would definitely not be weak in his hands. He was confident that he could train the straw doll into an interesting, no, a powerful summoned beast. Imagine, if a 10-wood straw doll suddenly conjured a big fireball in battle, how interesting would the scene be? ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 7 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio This trip to the library could be said to have gained something, but it could also be said he had gained nothing. Of course, he gained a deeper understanding of the relevant information about his straw doll. As for the lack of results, it was because he had not found the answer he wanted. Next, it was time to go to Wind Listener Pavilion. [Grass!] As soon as he walked out of the library, Li Pu was welcomed by Scarecrow. To be more precise, this guy was here to claim credit. Even from far away, it raised the coin it had picked up high. [Scarecrow: Summoner! Quickly look at the money!] The coin was covered in mud. He didn¡¯t know which flowerbed or tree it had been dug out from. ¡°¡­¡± After thinking about it, Li Pu decided not to stop this. As he had just finished looking up the relevant information, this guy needed to do as many outdoor activities as possible in order to absorb the essence of the sun and moon. However, just in case, he repeatedly told it that it could only pick up ownerless coins. It was not allowed to rob or destroy the facilities. Also, it shouldn¡¯t throw the finished Coke bottle around. After repeated confirmations and having the straw doll repeat the three rules several times, Li Pu brought it to Wind Listener Pavilion. The library wasn¡¯t far from Wind Listener Pavilion. It would take about 20 minutes for him to walk there slowly, or rather, limping. As soon as he entered, Li Pu realized that there were more people in the pavilion than yesterday. Many summoned beasts were either sparring with each other under the command of their Summoners, or they were training with the equipment in the pavilion. He had also noticed that some summoned beasts seemed rather out of place here. For example, the blue hedgehog that was running around the stadium, the long snake that had wings and was flying back and forth in the air, and the dog-eared woman with a tongue out and pointed ears. Judging from its appearance, it didn¡¯t seem like the style of Wind Listener Type. Based on what he had seen before, the freshmen would basically only stay in the venue where their summoned beasts were. After all, every pavilion had suitable training equipment specifically for a respective type of summoned beast. Although Li Pu didn¡¯t know why this happened, he didn¡¯t care. He only had one purpose for coming here. That was to let Scarecrow experience a battle. Li Pu strolled around the arena and watched the ongoing battles. It was probably because the level of everyone¡¯s summoned beasts was very low, so their strength seemed average to him. In addition, everyone was a newbie and was not very familiar with the command of summoned beasts, so these battles were not really worth watching. It was even a little boring, like chickens pecking at each other. However, if these summoned beasts were newbies, then Scarecrow was the true newbie. This newbie of his might not be good at other things, but it could still learn from experience. After all, the straw doll race had already lost at the starting line from the beginning. According to Li Pu¡¯s observation, the summoned beasts in the ring basically had skills between two to three, and some of the more powerful ones even had four. Since he had taken the skill light orb, Scarecrow only had a useless [Fist of Grass]. He had tested it yesterday, and it could not even break a glass window. On the contrary, Li Pu felt that if he was to fight with these summoned beasts in the ring by himself, he would have a higher chance of winning. [Roar!] At this moment, he heard a cry of pain from the nearest ring. A large lizard with red scales was hit by the opponent, and one of its scales flew off. Clang clang clang! The scale made a metallic sound when it fell to the ground. It was obvious that it was really hard. Coincidentally, the scale landed right in front of Li Pu. A second later, the scale began to turn into blue light particles that drifted away like dust. Even though summoned beasts were similar to magical beasts in many ways, they were fundamentally different. After establishing a contract with the summoner, the summoned beast¡¯s physique would change. They could be resurrected by the resurrection talisman, but they would not leave behind a physical body after death. Instead, they would disappear in the form of blue light. Similarly, items that were dropped from summoned beasts would disappear as well. In fact, it was very difficult to change their physical body under normal circumstances. This was also the reason why the research on the transformation of summoned beasts¡¯ bodies had been difficult to make progress. Their physical body would transform into blue light before any research could take place, making the transformation project difficult to begin. Even if it was forcefully modified, it would return to its original appearance after a resurrection talisman was used in the face of death. Other than a few individuals who were naturally adapted to the transformation, if a summoned beast wanted to change its physical body, it could only reincarnate and evolve or master a special transformation-type skill. In general, it was impossible to pick up a physical item from a summoned beast. As for the magical beasts that had not established a contract, it was a completely different story. Their remains were valuable because they would not turn into blue light. They were used for scientific research, and for the creation of inscription equipment. Some of the nurturing materials also came from magical beasts. This was why Li Pu¡¯s [Friend of Magical Beasts] only worked on magical beasts and not summoned beasts. However, the problem now was that they were on the campus of Western Capital University. It was impossible for a magical beast to appear. Therefore, Li Pu couldn¡¯t find an opportunity to use [Friend of Magical Beasts] for the time being. ¡°No, wait.¡± Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Magical beast-related items didn¡¯t seem to require the target magical beast to be dead or alive, right? Thinking of this, Li Pu turned his gaze to the huge empty snail shell in the center of the stadium. Wasn¡¯t this a genuine magical beast-related item? ¡°I didn¡¯t think of this before. Maybe I can give it a try.¡± Thus, he quickly brought Scarecrow and arrived at the side of the snail shell. The remains of this A-grade Wind Listener beast, the Taiji snail, were said to be the spoils of war from the academy¡¯s teachers. Now that it was placed here for people to visit at will, it served more as a symbolic meaning. As early as the moment it was brought back, the relevant Scientific Research Department of the University had carried out a very detailed analysis. The parts that could be used or had greater research value had already been dismantled. The empty shell left here was basically only for exhibition purposes. Knock, knock. Li Pu used the back of his hand to hit the empty shell and found that it was incredibly hard. As he had a lot of experience in fighting shell-like beasts, his hands were very sensitive when it came to the hardness of a beast¡¯s shell. None of the wild beasts could compare to this one in terms of hardness, and the difference was quite large. ¡°As expected of an A-Class magical beast.¡± He sighed as he circled the snail shell and examined it. After walking around, he found that the empty shell was actually not very complete. He could see that there were many holes dug out by special molding tools. The edge of the gap was quite old, which seemed to have been left behind during the analysis and research. [Grass?] Scarecrow followed Li Pu and touched the shell. However, it didn¡¯t understand Li Pu¡¯s actions and got tired of touching it after a while. It looked at its Summoner in confusion. ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try.¡± Li Pu put his hand on the shell after he finished his observation. Many new students would be more or less curious about the remains of the snail of Taiji when they first came to Wind Listener Pavilion. Therefore, his actions did not attract anyone¡¯s attention. With a thought, he activated the [Friend of Magical Beasts]. ¡°It¡¯s here, it¡¯s indeed a related item!¡± Li Pu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°But¡­¡± However, he soon hesitated. It was just that the skills contained in it seemed to be far from being compatible with his straw doll. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 8 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio [Level 1- Snail¡¯s Upanishad (A) ] [Active effect: activates a greatly increased shell impact. During this time, the shell will become hard, the movement will become slow, and there will be a knockback effect.] [Attribute: 3 Earth and above ] [Type: Wind Listener / Resolute / Balanced] [Race: Shell type] The most powerful part was that this skill was of the same grade as the snail of Taiji, A-grade. However, Li Pu didn¡¯t have a deep understanding of the concept of skill ranks yet, so he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. It could only be said that the vast majority of Summoners with a carapace magical beast would be overjoyed if they obtained a skill of this grade. ¡°Scarecrow doesn¡¯t have a shell. This is difficult.¡± His main focus was on compatibility. This skill completely relied on a shell to produce an effect. Without the shell, there would not be any effect. Li Pu was dumbfounded when he saw the fee. Scarecrow required 10000 crystal coins to learn this skill. There seemed to be a set of standards for the cost of crystal coins for [Friends of Magical Beasts]. He couldn¡¯t figure out the exact answer for the time being, but he knew that it had something to do with the related items and many aspects of the summoned beast. However, the problem now was that his entire fortune was only a thousand crystal coins. Did he really have to rob nine new students? Of course, he could not do such a thing. ¡°Eh?¡± However, when he looked at the options at the back, he raised his eyebrows. Fusing with [Snail¡¯s Upanishad] would only cost 1000 crystal coins. Sacrificing [Snail¡¯s Upanishad] was even cheaper, only 500 crystal coins. Moreover, the results of the fusion could be seen in a preview. Currently, Scarecrow only had one skill, [Fist of Grass], so it had no choice. There was no preview effect for sacrifice because this function was actually similar to the normal use of nurturing materials. Under normal circumstances, using nurturing materials on summoned beasts would not produce immediate results. This was because the summoned beast needed to go through a digestion process before it could transform the materials into something that truly belonged to it. Different types and races of summoned beasts had different ways of digesting them. In fact, it was like a cultivation process, and the help of a Summoner in this process would be of great help. ¡°The answer is obvious.¡± Li Pu already had an answer in his heart. The results of the fusion skill preview showed that it could be used by a straw doll. What¡¯s more, it would cost 1000 crystal coins, which he happened to have. Even though its grade had dropped, it was still stronger than [Fist of Grass]. After all, it was completely acceptable for an A class skill to become a C Class skill after fusing with an F class skill. Hence, he took out the crystal from his storage space and held it in his hand. He opened his other hand and pressed it on the snail shell. [Grass?] Scarecrow was even more confused by its summoner¡¯s actions. However, the next second, it felt a magical power enter its body. [Oh oh oh grass! ] [Scarecrow: Summoner, I seem to be getting stronger!] The wonderful feeling made the straw doll raise its arms and let out a cry of surprise. The arrival of the new skill had also caused its physical fitness to receive a small increase. ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡± When Li Pu put his hand down from the shell, the 1000 crystal coins had been used up. He opened the interface and saw that Scarecrow¡¯s combat power had increased from 6 to 10. As for the snail shell, it was still there. It was just that the overall thickness had become slightly thinner and no one would notice anything. ¡°This is a big step.¡± He was very happy as he carefully examined Scarecrow¡¯s new skill. He had just become a Summoner the day before, and he had already obtained two C-grade skills in a row. Moreover, it seemed that with this Summoner¡¯s talent, it was impossible for Scarecrow not to become stronger. [Grass!] [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, I request to fight!] Scarecrow, who also learned that it had obtained a new skill, immediately became arrogant. It turned its gaze to the ring area and began to surge with fighting spirit. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try.¡± Li Pu had the same thought because he also wanted to see the power of this new skill. Although it was only an increase of 10 combat power, as long as the opponent was chosen well, Scarecrow had a chance of winning. However, after walking around, he realized that all the arenas seemed to be full. Even if they weren¡¯t picky, Scarecrow didn¡¯t have a place to showcase its ability. Hence, the man and his straw doll paced back and forth for more than 10 minutes before they finally found an opportunity. The opportunity came from a nearby ring where he heard someone asking with a rather arrogant tone, ¡°Next, is there anyone else?¡± Li Pu looked up. What a coincidence. Wasn¡¯t this the summoner who he had met yesterday? At this moment, a lazy big turtle with a rock-like Shell was lying beside him, expressionlessly chewing on some vegetables and other things. In the face of this student¡¯s question, no one in the audience dared to accept the challenge. In fact, wherever his gaze swept across, people would unnaturally avoid his gaze. It seemed that this opponent¡¯s performance in the ring was not bad, one could tell that he had won more than one round. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Li Pu walked closer and raised his hand. He felt that he still had some chance with this summoned beast¡¯s strength. Moreover, he had also looked up the illustrations of this summoned beast in the library. Its scientific name was mountain rock turtle, and there were many evolutionary paths. The strongest one was Rock Dragon Turtle, but that was only after rank 7 or rank 8. The advantages and disadvantages of this magical beast were obvious. Its advantage was its strong defense, but its weakness was its clumsy movements. In addition, there was some attribute restraint between the two beasts, so he felt that Scarecrow should be able to deal with it. Li Pu¡¯s gesture immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding students. ¡°It¡¯s him¡­¡± ¡°First place in the written test!¡± ¡°First place in the physical examination!¡± ¡°Last place in summoning!¡± Li Pu was speechless. It seemed that there was someone in this group who didn¡¯t know how to talk. However, when everyone¡¯s eyes fell on his straw doll, there was another round of discussion. ¡°Is his summoned beast really a straw doll?¡± ¡°I was also shocked when I heard about it last night.¡± ¡°There are so many students with an F-grade beast, and he just had to summon one of the weakest beasts, the straw doll. Sigh¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s said that the drop rate of a Scarecrow is actually pretty low. Is this considered a kind of high-quality disguised¡­¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t care much about these discussions. He led Scarecrow up the ring. He sighed as he looked at the rock turtle. How irresponsible would a Summoner have to be to give such a casual and perfunctory name like Rolling Turtle? ¡­ ¡­ [Rolling Turtle]: Level 1, Wind Listener [Strength]: 21, D [Attributes]: 7 earth, 3 water [Ability]: self-healing ability increased when Rollie turtle is still. [Level 1 Large Roller (D)]: It crashed into the ground like a Rolling Turtle shell. [Level 1 Small Splash (E)]: Spits out a splash as an attack. [Inscription tool: none] Chapter 9 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu¡¯s gaze turned to the other party again, and only now did he truly size him up. The teenager in front of him was neither tall nor short, and his body was thin. He was quite handsome, though there was still a big gap between him and Li Pu. The summoner of Rolling Turtle was called Wu Guinan. To be honest, Wu Guinan was a little nervous when he saw Li Pu walking up the stage. ¡°Uh, are you going or your summoned beast?¡± Obviously, he still remembered yesterday¡¯s experience. This cripple, who could kick Rolling Turtle with one foot, was definitely not someone to be trifled with. He felt that even if he and Rolling Turtle were to join forces, they might not be Li Pu¡¯s match. He had even thought about it. If the other party requested to fight, he would immediately admit defeat. Although summoned beasts were an important part of actual combat, the Summoners themselves were also very important. In most cases, it was more effective to attack the Summoner directly than the summoned beast. However, they were still freshmen and had not learned Summoner¡¯s skills yet, so the arena was a default battle of summoned beast VS summoned beast. ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± Fortunately, Li Pu shook his head, which made Wu Guinan feel relieved. Li Pu had originally intended to let Scarecrow practice. If he went up himself, that would defeat the purpose. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get ready to enter the ring.¡± Wu Guinan heaved a sigh of relief and immediately regained his energy. At present, the freshmen¡¯s combat experience was still lacking and they were also not used to telepathy transmission. Hence, sometimes, they were unable to smoothly make the best command at the first moment. Therefore, before entering the ring, they would first give their summoned beast a core strategy based on the opponent in the match. Especially for Wu Guinan¡¯s Rolling Turtle, its communication problem was more obvious. ¡°Rolling Turtle. Remember to listen to my instructions later.¡± No one knew if the Rolling Turtle understood what he said, but it raised its head and growled at Wu Guinan. [Roll!] ¡°Also, this straw doll looks more flexible than you.¡± [Roll!] ¡°When you start [Large Roller], don¡¯t rush into it.¡± [Roll roll?] ¡°Go around the field a few times to increase your speed, then attack.¡± ¡°But remember to hold back, don¡¯t kill it.¡± [Roll!] After explaining and gesturing, Wu Guinan couldn¡¯t help but wipe the sweat from his forehead although he felt that the other party had understood him, ¡°Your summoned beast doesn¡¯t seem to have a good temper,¡± Li Pu crossed his arms as he watched the entire process. ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t you going to say a few words to your summoned beast?¡± Wu Guinan looked at Li Pu and then at the straw doll who was in a daze. ¡°There¡¯s such a procedure?¡± Li Pu was stunned. He thought for a moment before walking to Scarecrow and giving its shoulder a pat with a kind expression. ¡°Good luck.¡± [Grass!] The straw doll raised its hands happily to indicate that it understood. Wu Guinan was speechless. Was Li Pu even explaining the tactics to his summoned beast? Why did it feel like he was trying to persuade it to go wild? Also, his summoned beast¡¯s temper seemed to be even worse than his! In reality, Li Pu didn¡¯t have much to say because he seemed to be quite talented in this area. Yesterday, when he had just successfully summoned Scarecrow, he found that his telepathy transmission with the straw doll was very smooth, and it was not a problem for him to convey orders outside the ring. Moreover, he had specifically looked up information about the restraining attributes of summoned beasts in the library. There was a natural restraint between the straw doll and the mountain rock tortoise. The attributes here did not refer to the physical composition of the summoned beast. The existence of the attributes on the summoned beast interface was actually more similar to the energy magnetic field and force field of the summoned beast itself. If there was a restraining relationship between the magnetic fields, then the weaker side would be weakened to a certain extent. As such, whether or not there was a restraint between attributes was an important factor in determining the outcome of the battle. Furthermore, the attribute restraint did not have to be singular. It could also be multi-directional. For example, the fire and metal attributes were the ones that restrained the wood attribute. For example, the wood attribute¡¯s main restraint was earth and wind. 10 wood against 10 soil, the weaker party¡¯s combat power was reduced by about 20%. 10 wood against 10 wind, the weaker party¡¯s combat power was reduced by about 30%. Scarecrow was 10 wood, while Rolling Turtle was 7 earth and 3 water. 7 wood countered 7 earth, weakening it by about 15%. Although Li Pu didn¡¯t know the exact attributes of Rolling Turtle, he felt that Scarecrow could still fight it. The summoners from both sides walked down the ring and came to the side. There was a very simple control panel. Wu Guinan pressed a few buttons with ease and familiarity, and then the entire edge of the ring began to emit light. Buzzzzzz! With a ring, a blue barrier of light formed above the square stage. After a few seconds, the stabilized light screen turned transparent and colorless. Li Pu curiously reached out his hand and tapped on it with his knuckles. Knock, knock. From the sound and touch, it should be very solid. However, it didn¡¯t block out the sound, and Wu Guinan had already started to cheer him on through the light curtain. ¡°Rolling Turtle! Good luck!¡± [Roll!] Everyone was speechless. The communication between the summoner and his summoned beast made everyone present feel slightly uncomfortable. Li Pu was the only one who didn¡¯t care because at that moment, he was giving orders through telepathy. ¡°Beat it.¡± [Grass~] Scarecrow received the order and immediately cheered. Its action of rushing toward Rolling turtle was equivalent to announcing the start of the battle. The audience¡¯s attention below the ring was immediately drawn over. The straw doll that received the order immediately rushed towards Rolling Turtle. ¡°Wow, this Scarecrow is more agile than it looks.¡± ¡°That rock turtle might be in trouble.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The straw doll should have some attribute restraints against the mountain rock tortoise.¡± The audience was a little surprised by its decisive action. [Grass!] However, the result of the grass fist was somewhat unexpected. The straw doll punched and kicked Rolling Turtle, but the damage was minimal. The first reason was that the turtle shell was indeed very strong for the summoned beast at this stage, and the second reason was that the foundation of Scarecrow was really poor. Under the combination of these two factors, even if it had the attribute restraint, it would not be able to cause any effective damage. [Roll?] Obviously, Rolling Turtle was also shocked by its own motionless body. After all, it could feel that when the soft grass fist hit its body, there was an irresistible feeling of being restrained. It was even a little scared, so it shrank back into its turtle shell in advance. In the end¡­This was it? [Roll!] So, it stretched out from its shell again and raised its heavy front claws, in an attempt to hit the straw doll. Thud! In the end, he missed. It only stirred up a cloud of dust and shook the surface of the ring. [Grass!] This time, Scarecrow didn¡¯t need to wait for Li Pu¡¯s orders and dodged far away. In fact, it was even faster and more agile than the attack just now. Putting aside whether the straw doll¡¯s fighting instinct was good or not, at least this guy¡¯s desire to survive was very strong. ¡°Rolling turtle, use Large Roller!¡± At this moment, Wu Guinan finally remembered to give instructions to his summoned beast. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 10 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio [Roll!] The turtle let out an excited roar, then immediately shrank back into its shell and started rolling. Moreover, it remembered its summoner¡¯s instructions and did not immediately crash into the straw doll after rolling. Instead, it circled around the huge ring to accumulate momentum and accelerate. Rumbling¡­ The irregular turtle shell, coupled with its own weight, caused a lot of movement on the ground of the ring. ¡°It¡¯s this move again,¡± ¡°He used to rely on this to roll around to win.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other way. This guy has thick skin and is not afraid of being beaten up. Moreover, the other summoned beasts can¡¯t stop him when he rolls. ¡± ¡°And this guy still has a backup plan.¡± ¡°Shh! If we say it out loud, then this match will be unfair.¡± Seeing this scene, the freshmen in the audience all remembered how Wu Guinan had won the previous games. In fact, Wu Guinan was not stupid. The orders he shouted were mostly used to confuse the opponent. In fact, he had already secretly sent out the second level of command through telepathy. That was to immediately launch a [Small Splash] attack on the straw doll after hitting it. A set of small moves should be enough to defeat the opponent. Wu Guinan thought, ¡°Hmph, how can a mere straw doll be a match for Rolling Turtle?¡± He felt a little proud when he peeked at Li Pu. If it was just a 1v1 between summoned beasts, he had a 100% chance of winning. In the future, when Rolling Turtle grew up, he would no longer need to be afraid of Li Pu. After all, the growth speed and upper limit of a summoned beast were higher than that of a Summoner. Naturally, Li Pu had no way of knowing what the other party was planning and thinking. Just by looking at Rolling Turtle rolling around, he felt that it was troublesome enough for Scarecrow. Due to the advantage of the round structure of the turtle shell and the buffs from the skill, Rolling Turtle¡¯s rolling speed was even faster than Scarecrow. In other words, it was too difficult for his straw doll to capture the opponent and attack. After thinking for a few seconds, Li Pu gave Scarecrow an order. [Grass!] Scarecrow hurriedly responded. It had long since stopped staring at the big turtle as it made the straw doll feel light-headed. It followed Li Pu¡¯s instructions and quickly ran to the corner of the ring. The right angle behind him, which was formed by the light screen barrier, acted as its support. Such an action immediately caused a discussion among the audience. ¡°Oh no, why did it go to a dead corner by itself?¡± ¡°Too stupid. Wouldn¡¯t it be hit for sure?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. Perhaps it¡¯s worried about being attacked from the back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. At the very least, it¡¯ll be easier for it to make targeted defensive moves.¡± Everyone had their own opinions, and their opinions were not quite unified. However, in the midst of the discussion, Rolling Turtle rolled faster and faster. ¡°Rolling Turtle! Now is the time!¡± Wu Guinan had a rough idea of the limit of the [Large Roller], and it was almost there. [Roll roll roll!] After receiving the order, Rolling Turtle let out a series of muffled cries and finally stopped circling around. Instead, it went straight to the straw doll. However, before Wu Guinan, Li Pu had already given a new order. The reason why he had the straw doll hide in the corner was not for defense. On the contrary, it was to attack. Only by using the geographical advantage of the corner and coordinating with the opponent¡¯s actions could he ensure that Scarecrow¡¯s next attack wouldn¡¯t miss. At this moment, Scarecrow was carrying out the order, and the rhythm of its entire body had completely slowed down. [Grassss~~] Even its cries slowed down as it slowly swung its fist. Every move seemed to be in slow-motion. This scene made the audience laugh. ¡°Pfft, hahahahaha, what kind of comical move is this!¡± ¡°I feel like this punch will be even softer than the previous one¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re done for. How can it be a match for the mountain rock tortoise?¡± ¡°Oh no, they are going to crash!¡± As someone exclaimed, the straw doll¡¯s fist was about to collide with the rolling Turtle. This side was weak and slow like a snail, while the other side was aggressive and seemed unstoppable. One weak and one strong. One slow and one fast. One was still and the other was moving. The contrast between the two sides could be said to be extremely clear. ¡°I going to win!¡± Wu Guinan thought. Seeing this, he couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists. At the same time, he was a little worried. With such a fierce crash, he didn¡¯t know if the straw doll would instantly die. If that were the case, would he have to compensate the other party with a resurrection talisman? [Graaasssss~] [Roll!] However, the development of the battle was beyond Wu Guinan¡¯s expectations, as well as everyone¡¯s. BOOM! After a loud collision, the huge Rolling Turtle was sent flying backward! Whoosh! Bam! Rolling Turtle, who was knocked into the light screen barrier, was shocked by the recoil. ¡°This is impossible!¡± For a moment, everyone was stunned. Why did the situation suddenly turn around like this?! What did that straw doll do? This was Scarecrow¡¯s new skill. [LV1 Snail Grass (C): Launches an attack with a large amount of power. During this time, the movement will be greatly slowed and has a knockback effect.] Due to the A+F fusion, it had dropped from A-grade to C-grade. The original ¡®shell collision¡¯ had become ¡®attack¡¯, and the ¡®shell hardening¡¯ feature had been removed. The main focus was that his movements had ¡°slowed down¡± to ¡°greatly slowed down.¡± If there were no special circumstances, this skill would not hit the target at all. However, Li Pu wasn¡¯t worried. He would think of ways to strengthen Scarecrow in the future. At the very least, the power of this skill could be seen with the naked eye. Even such a huge Rolling Turtle could be sent flying. If it wasn¡¯t for the barrier, it might have been sent flying a few more meters. It seemed that he had gained a lot from his first time using [Friend of Magical Beasts]. After more than ten seconds, Rolling Turtle was still lying on the ground, unable to move, which meant that it was no longer able to fight. It was only then that it remembered that its summoner had given another order. Hence, it opened its mouth and activated [Small Splash]. However, Rolling Turtle had already been knocked out and had no mind or strength to control the skill. It could only let a clear stream of water flow out of his mouth. Splash¡­ ¡°F*ck, amazing! That straw doll¡¯s attack made the mountain rock turtle vomit!¡± Someone exclaimed on the spot and was instantly acknowledged by the crowd. Only then did they realize that this straw doll was not as simple as it looked. It was ruthless! This seemed to be the only time in the arena today that a summoned beast had made its opponent vomit! Upon hearing this, Rolling Turtle was unhappy. [Roll!] This special cry made its rebuttal sound like it was angry from embarrassment. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, I won!] The straw doll raised its hands in joy. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 11 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°¡­..Huh?¡± It was not until then that Wu Guinan slowly realized that he had lost. By the way, what the hell was that just now? An F-class straw doll defeated a D-class Rolling Turtle with a single punch? It was simply ridiculous! He opened his mouth wide in disbelief, but in the end, he still cried. ¡°You¡¯ve won,¡± The truth was right in front of him, and he admitted it readily. ¡°You aren¡¯t that bad too, don¡¯t be discouraged.¡± Li Pu patted his shoulder. At this time, Wu Guinan was no longer in the mood to be polite. He quickly removed the light screen barrier with the control panel. Then, he hurriedly went up the stage to check on the condition of Rolling Turtle. Fortunately, its injuries were mild. Out of good intentions, Li Pu had originally planned to go up and help with the treatment. However, his treatment method was too special, and since the two sides were not familiar with each other, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings. Besides, it was better for him to keep a low profile. Therefore, after making sure that Rolling Turtle was fine, he left Wind Listener Pavilion. ¡­ The moment he returned to his dormitory, Li Pu saw someone waiting at the door. The other party was looking at him with a polite smile. He looked slightly less youthful and didn¡¯t seem to be a freshman. The senior¡¯s face was pale and he didn¡¯t look very healthy, however, he was dressed quite neatly. What caught Li Pu¡¯s eyes was his hands, which were covered with band-aids. ¡°Li Pu, right?¡± The man looked at him carefully and let out a long breath, ¡°I finally found you. I couldn¡¯t get through to your phone.¡± Li Pu then remembered that his phone was broken. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s broken and I haven¡¯t had time to fix it.¡± ¡°Please come in and talk.¡± He took out the key and opened the door. He could roughly guess the identity of the other party. This senior was most likely a student cadre or something of the sort. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m the head of the freshmen dormitory on this floor.¡± ¡°Second-year student, Chang Shoushang.¡± The other party reported his identity and as expected, he was exactly who Li Pu thought he was. ¡°Hello, Senior Chang.¡± Li Pu greeted and looked at the other¡¯s hands. It seemed that this senior was frequently injured. ¡°I¡¯m here to inform you to gather at the South Gate at 6:00 tomorrow morning. You are to participate in the new students¡¯ class selection meeting.¡± Chang Shoushang stated his intention matter-of-factly. Li Pu was stunned when he heard that. He really didn¡¯t know anything about this. And why did they have to gather outside the school gate early in the morning to choose a course? It sounded like they were going on an outing. When he was in school, he only had to click his mouse a few times to choose his classes. ¡°It seems like you really don¡¯t understand the situation.¡± Seeing the change in Li Pu¡¯s expression, Chang Shoushang revealed an understanding smile. It was the dormitory head¡¯s responsibility to inform the students about the course selection. Previously, he had already made a group announcement on this floor, but he didn¡¯t expect that there would be a new student who just moved in last night. In addition, he couldn¡¯t contact Li Pu on his phone, which caused him to be a little late with the update. ¡°The course selection method of Western Capital University is a little different from other schools.¡± ¡°The order of class selection is determined by the ranking of the field racing.¡± ¡°The race here isn¡¯t just about running fast.¡± ¡°Anyway, you¡¯ll know tomorrow.¡± Chang Shoushang paused for a moment. ¡°As for the courses you need to choose, there¡¯s only one this semester.¡± ¡°That is, Summoner Skill.¡± ¡°Different teachers teach different skills.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve personally organized some relevant information. I believe it will be helpful to you.¡± He drew a circle in the air beside him. Buzzzzzz! With that, the storage space opened and Chang Shoushang reached his hand in. ¡°Ouch ouch ouch!¡± The next second, the senior cried out in pain. Then, he took out a small information booklet and passed it to Li Pu. Li Pu took the book, but what he was more concerned about was the bite mark on the senior¡¯s hand. It was oozing blue blood. In this harmonious world, all blood was blue, so this wasn¡¯t a strange phenomenon. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve embarrassed myself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my summoned beast [Biting Flower].¡± ¡°She¡¯s a little sensitive and concerned about her territory.¡± Chang Shoushang skillfully took out a band-aid from his pocket and applied it. It seemed that this was how he had gotten his hands injured. ¡°I still have to remind you about the course selection.¡± ¡°According to the different Summoner skills taught, the degree of popularity of each teacher is different.¡± ¡°However, every teacher¡¯s energy is limited, so there are limited slots for each course.¡± ¡°If you want to choose the teacher and class you like, you will need to work hard and get good results.¡± ¡°The reason why the school set up such a course selection method is to let you adapt to the identity of a Summoner faster.¡± ¡°Secondly, it¡¯s also an initial test. It¡¯ll be easier for the teachers to understand everyone¡¯s situation.¡± ¡°There will be a senior who will explain the details to you at the gathering point tomorrow.¡± With that, Chang Shoushang looked at Li Pu. ¡°If you don¡¯t have any more questions, I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± Li Pu raised his hand. He had a question. ¡°Senior, if a cripple is participating in the race, would it be unfair?¡± ¡°Of course, it would be unfair.¡± Chang Shoushang gave him a meaningful look before continuing, ¡°It would be unfair to the other students.¡± Li Pu was speechless. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Chang Shoushang had seen the information about the freshmen, he would have been fooled. The so-called cripple Li Pu was referring to¡­ First place in the 100-meter race? First in the high jump and long jump? First place in all three categories? He had never expected that the new student who got first place in the physical examination would also be the first in terms of the thickness of his skin. ¡°I am leaving,¡± This time, Chang Shoushang didn¡¯t give the other party any room to speak and simply waved his hand and left. ¡°Take care, senior.¡± Li Pu stood up to send his guest off. After Senior Chang left, the dormitory became quiet again. At this time, Scarecrow was still wandering outside and had not returned. According to it, the moon was calling it and it needed to go out to absorb the essence. However, Li Pu felt that this guy just wanted to buy Coke. Thus, he sat down and opened the booklet that Chang Shoushang had given him. Li Pu did have a certain level of understanding of Summoner skills. This term referred to some auxiliary means that the summoner could use by consuming mana. Not only could it be used for self-protection, but it could also be used to help the summoned beast in battle. However, it wasn¡¯t that the more types of things one knew, the better it was. If too many different Summoner skills were used in a short period of time, it would lead to the loss of extra mana, and he might faint on the spot because he could not bear it. Therefore, in actual combat, it was generally recommended to use two to three Summoner skills together. Li Pu flipped open the first page of the booklet given by the senior. There was an introduction and explanation written on it. 1. [Flash] The summoner consumes mana to teleport a distance. It was often very effective in battle and was the number one skill among Summoners. [Mentor: xxxxx] [Popularity: 10 stars (full stars: 10 stars)] [Recommendation: 10 stars] [Available Slots: 100 ] 2. [Ignite] The summoner consumes mana, causing the target to receive continuous fire-type damage. A continuous attack. The fire attribute special effect can effectively reduce the target¡¯s recovery. [Mentor: xxxxx] [Popularity: 7 stars] [Recommendation: 9 stars] [Available Slots: 50] 3. [Lightning Strike] The summoner uses mana to cast a lightning-type attack in a small area. A technique that can be used to attack and defend. The lightning attribute special effect can temporarily paralyze the target. [Mentor: xxxxx] [Popularity: 9 stars] [Recommendation: 9 stars] [Available Slots: 80] As he flipped through the pages, there were also [Weaken], [Heal], [Blur], [Barrier], [Encourage], and so on. If Li Pu remembered correctly, there were about 1000 new students this year. The total number of slots for these courses was 1100. In other words, even if he was in the last place tomorrow, he might still have some choice. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 12 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio The next morning, Li Pu followed the new students and brought Scarecrow to the school¡¯s South Gate. At this moment, about a thousand freshmen had all arrived at the assembly point. Under the coordination of a few seniors, the crowd stood in a rather neat formation. Although Western Capital University had the words ¡°Western Capital¡± in it, it was still quite a distance away from Western Capital City due to its nature as a Summoner¡¯s school. It couldn¡¯t even be considered a suburb. Outside the South Gate was a forested mountain with no end in sight. Moreover, it was early in the morning, so there was a fog filling up the empty spaces between trees, making it hard for one to see anything. In front of the freshmen, there was a forest passage that was more than 50 meters wide. The trees on both sides were embedded with unknown glowing crystals, which were very eye-catching. In particular, the light of this crystal could effectively penetrate the fog and become a tool to guide the way. At this moment, a red-robed senior with a ponytail walked to the front of the crowd. On her shoulder squatted a summoned beast that looked like a Porcupine, but unlike a Porcupine, its spikes were pointed forward and its body was golden. The ponytail senior was expressionless, but her posture faintly revealed some heroic spirit. Coupled with her beautiful appearance and figure, she attracted the attention of most of the freshmen, regardless of whether they were male or female. For a time, the freshmen were discussing in low voices. ¡°What a beautiful senior¡­¡± ¡°Ah! Senior seemed to have glanced at me just now!¡± ¡°What a bunch of worthless people, you should have taken a closer look at her summoned beast!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s a C+-grade gold needle mouse. Its potential is much higher than our summoned beasts.¡± ¡°I heard that this type of summoned beast can immediately rise to B-grade after going through the first transition.¡± In addition to the senior¡¯s appearance, some people also paid attention to her summoned beast. Li Pu didn¡¯t mind either. He was a little sleepy because he had woken up too early. At this moment, the senior calmly spoke. ¡°My fellow juniors, Welcome to Western Capital University.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just cut to the chase.¡± ¡°I will explain the rules of class selection now.¡± It turned out that the course selection competition was not as simple as a race of speed. Although the race track seemed like it would go on all the way to the end, in fact, there were many forks in the road that needed to be made. Choosing different branches would result in different obstacles. It could be a wild magical beast, it could be a special set trap, it could be a detour to get people back to their original point, and it could even be that they would encounter their seniors. Of course, there would be people secretly protecting the freshmen. However, once the protection was triggered, it would be equivalent to being eliminated. The earlier they were eliminated, the lower their class selection order would be. Waiting at the finishing line were the teachers whose classes were up for selection. Each teacher had a limited number of available spots in their class. The earlier one arrived, the higher the chance of getting the teacher and course they liked. ¡°I heard that there are only two teachers teaching [Flash], so the total available slot is 200.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking for much, just the top 200 will do.¡± ¡°I want to learn [Healing].¡± ¡°[Golden Slash ] is more impressive.¡± After listening to the senior¡¯s introduction, all the new students were eager to participate in the competition. With the official start of the match, more than half of the freshmen instantly rushed out and disappeared into the forest. Li Pu wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He limped along with the rest of the group. He was already very familiar with this kind of forest environment, so he was much calmer than the others. Moreover, the competition didn¡¯t sound like it was that easy. Those impatient students might have unintentionally helped the rest by rushing to the front and exploring the way early. [Grass~] Scarecrow was obviously in a good mood after coming to such an environment. It followed Li Pu and jumped around. Scarecrow¡¯s unique cry attracted the attention of many people in the surroundings. ¡°It¡¯s him. He¡¯s the one who took first place for both physical and written examination in our school.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pity that his summoned beast is a straw doll¡­¡± ¡°It seems like he won¡¯t be able to get first place this time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good too. We¡¯ll have one less competitor in the course selection.¡± The story of the straw doll¡¯s victory over the Rolling Turtle yesterday had obviously not spread yet, and the whispers of the people around were all expressing that they were not optimistic about the summoned beast. They admitted that having the title of the top scorer in the written and physical examination was admirable, however, they had to also admit that they had already stepped into the world of summoned beasts. Summoned beasts were the number one combat power. A straw doll was obviously not worth mentioning. Li Pu didn¡¯t care about these opinions. His Scarecrow was going to become the king of fireballs, which was not something ordinary Summoners could understand. ¡°Hey, which course are you planning to choose?¡± At this moment, someone took the initiative to approach Li Pu. Li Pu turned his head and saw Wu Guinan, who he had fought in the ring yesterday. Rolling Turtle was following behind him. [Roll!] [Rolling Turtle: Morning, Scarecrow!] [Grass?] Scarecrow: Morning. Do you have money?] [Roll?] [Rolling Turtle: I¡¯m greeting you, and yet you¡¯re robbing me?] Before the two summoners started talking, the summoned beasts of both sides greeted each other. ¡°Actually, I have a question that I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you.¡± Wu Guinan suddenly came closer. He seemed to be a natural socializer. ¡°?¡± Li Pu was confused. ¡°Your leg¡­¡± ¡°I was born with it,¡± Li Pu said. Wu Guinan replied, ¡°No, I want to ask if your legs can get bonus points for the college entrance examination?¡± Li Pu was speechless. ¡°It should be [Flash], it¡¯s the most practical.¡± Li Pu ignored the conversation and jumped back to the original question. ¡°Indeed, everyone wants to choose [Flash].¡± Wu Guinan nodded, looked around, and then lowered his voice, ¡°I¡¯ve heard some news. I¡¯ll share it with you.¡± ¡°In our batch, there are two teachers who are teaching [Flash].¡± ¡°A male and a female. If you have the chance, you must choose that female teacher.¡± ¡°Because she¡¯s the Dean of the wisdom faculty. She¡¯s very powerful.¡± ¡°The other one is just an ordinary Wind Chaser teacher. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s bad, but he¡¯s definitely inferior in comparison.¡± The strength of a teacher could, to a great extent, affect the effectiveness of their teaching. ¡°It seems that you have done some research in advance.¡± Li Pu looked over and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Of course, you should know that I¡¯m also¡­¡± Wu Guinan stopped mid-sentence and returned back to the topic, ¡°In short, we will have a new teacher in our batch. I don¡¯t know what skills he will teach, but it¡¯s best to avoid him.¡± ¡°I heard that the guy came here because he couldn¡¯t survive in the Imperial Capital. I guess he¡¯s not that good.¡± Li Pu could tell that Wu Guinan had some status, but he only nodded and didn¡¯t ask further. As the two of them conversed, they followed the group into the forest path. However, they didn¡¯t manage to go far before he realized that something was wrong. There were dozens of new students standing in front of them. They were from the first batch of students who had rushed out. All of them had a look of worry on their faces as they stopped in their tracks. ¡°Don¡¯t come over, there are demonic beasts here!¡± Seeing that the rear troops were approaching, someone on the other end shouted a warning. However, it seemed that their warning came a little too late. Whoosh whoosh whoosh¡­! The dense sound of friction rose up under everyone¡¯s feet. ¡°Oh no, this is bad!¡± Wu Guinan¡¯s expression changed when he saw this. He pulled Li Pu and wanted to speed up. However, as soon as he raised his foot, a few green vines quickly wrapped around it. Then, he was tripped by the inertia. ¡°It¡¯s a magical beast!¡± While exclaiming, Wu Guinan looked at Li Pu and was stunned. This was because the guy beside him was standing there, perfectly fine, holding two pieces of broken green vine in his hand. What the f*ck was that? Tearing a magical beast apart with his bare hands? ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 13 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu held the two broken green vines in his hands, slightly lost in thought. In fact, these vines were not very tough to him. If he exerted force, he could break it easily. What he really cared about was that he had found a related item again. [LV1 Twisted Bind (F)] 1/100 [Active effect: creates vines to bind the target.] [Attribute Requirement: 5 wood and above] [Type Requirement: None] [Race Requirement: None] However, the required quantity of the vines seemed to be a little demanding. Perhaps it was because these vines were much weaker than the Taiji Snail, so a large amount was needed to gather them into something that could be consumed. He looked at the cost again and found it to be quite cheap. Learning, fusion, and sacrifice cost 500/1000/500 crystal coins, respectively. In terms of learning, the price of an A-Class and an F-Class related item was as different as heaven and earth. The price of fusion and sacrifice were the same. Unfortunately, Li Pu had no crystal coins left on him at the moment. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t Scarecrow¡¯s reinforcement skill here now?¡± Li Pu imagined the effect of the skill. Using [Bind] to control the target before using [Snail Grass] would greatly increase the hit rate. However, the actual effect would still depend on the actual practice. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t have the currency, I should gather the materials first.¡± He looked up and saw that there were at least a hundred or so students who had been entangled by the vines. It shouldn¡¯t be difficult to gather 100 pieces. ¡°Li Pu, help me!¡± At this moment, Wu Guinan, who was next to him, called for help. He and Rolling Turtle were entangled by the vines and could not break free. [Grass!] Scarecrow was also completely fine. It held a bottle of coke and looked around like a tourist. Perhaps it was because the straw doll¡¯s 10 wood attribute had a strong affinity with wood, so it was not attacked. Li Pu extended a helping hand and easily got the summoner and his summoned beast out of trouble. ¡°Thanks.¡± Wu Guinan patted the dirt off his body, looking a little embarrassed. He couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw Li Pu put the broken vines into his storage space. ¡°So you also know this type of magical beast?¡± ¡°No? I don¡¯t.¡± Li Pu was slightly stunned. ¡°Did you collect the item out of curiosity?¡± Wu Guinan recognized this kind of magical beast, so he introduced it to Li Pu. ¡°This is Twining Vine, a snake-like rootless magical beast that usually likes to be buried underground.¡± ¡°When a prey enters their territory, they will suddenly attack.¡± ¡°After killing the prey, they will slowly digest it. Therefore, there is still a certain degree of danger.¡± ¡°However, this type of magical beast is very weak and doesn¡¯t have much intelligence.¡± ¡°One good thing about this magical beast is that the texture of its vine core is not bad. It¡¯s fresh, tender, juicy, and a little sweet. It¡¯s the food that many herbivorous summoned beasts like.¡± [Grass!] ¡°But I advise you not to try it. After all, it¡¯s a magical beast. If we humans eat it, we¡¯ll get stomach problems.¡± However, before Wu Guinan could finish his words, Li Pu, who didn¡¯t care much, had already come to the side of a female student who was entangled. ¡°Fellow student¡­¡± Before the female classmate could say anything, she saw Li Pu bend down. Rip¡­! The stubborn vines were torn apart by him. The female student who had just been rescued blushed on the spot. However, before she could say anything, Li Pu had already left. Looking at that handsome face and those strong arms¡­ Even the way he limped was, was, was, uh¡­Quite special. ¡°I¡¯ll help you too!¡± The female student chased after him, wanting to help the next student who was entangled. ¡°No, I¡¯ll do it.¡± However, Li Pu immediately stopped her. He thought, ¡°You¡¯re a beautiful girl with thin arms, legs, and waist, and you want to snatch the materials from me?¡± ¡°This is my straw doll¡¯s reserved skill, how can I give it to someone else?¡± Rip¡­! Therefore, he quickly tore the vine and held it tightly in his hand, then waved his arm. ¡°You guys go first, I don¡¯t need any help here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the rear!¡± As soon as he said that, the students who were entangled around him looked touched. ¡°Thank you so much, classmate!¡± ¡°You¡¯re too selfless!¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a kind person, you¡¯ll have a peaceful life!¡± For a moment, everyone thanked him. In fact, there were not many entangled vines buried here. In addition to their limited abilities, they could only trap about a hundred people at most. Most of the troops that had not been hit had already passed through this area and were on their way. Those who stayed behind were basically the unlucky ones who were entangled. If no one came to rescue them, they would definitely need to spend some time to break free, and would probably be ranked at the bottom. In the blink of an eye, Li Pu had rescued more than ten students. These students all expressed their gratitude and wanted to stay behind to help the others who were trapped, but they were all chased away by him without exception. ¡°Li Pu, that should be enough.¡± However, just as Li Pu was about to continue his rescue, Wu Guinan approached. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, this is a competition.¡± In order not to arouse the distaste of the students around him, he deliberately lowered his voice. ¡°The people you¡¯re saving now are all your competitors later.¡± However, Li Pu shook his head when he heard that. ¡°We¡¯re classmates, don¡¯t say such things.¡± He also lowered his voice and responded with a righteous tone. ¡°Ah, this¡­¡± Upon hearing this, Wu Guinan suddenly felt a slight electric current running through his skin. Li Pu was such a selfless person. In comparison, he felt so small and¡­ Shameful. He felt so ashamed. After a long while, Li Pu finally managed to rescue all the trapped students by himself. In the process, he made a new discovery. There were also some withered and rotten old vines nearby, which could not be identified as related items. Additionally, there were also fresh vines that were too thin and were not considered related items. It seemed like [Friends of Magical Beasts] had a certain quality requirement for the items. From this, one could tell how powerful the A-Class Taiji snail was. Even though it had been a corpse for so long, it was still able to provide him with skill. Looking at the 140 broken vines in his storage space, Li Pu was satisfied. This amount had far exceeded the requirement of 100 portions. After settling this matter, he could leave in peace. He believed that with his speed, it would not be a problem for him to catch up with the main group. ¡°Li Pu, help me!¡± However, just as he was about to set off, he heard a repeated call for help. Looking back, Wu Guinan, this unlucky kid, was actually entangled by the remaining vines. ¡°Student, please conduct yourself with dignity. This is a competition.¡± Li Pu turned around and left after saying that. Wu Guinan was baffled. That was not what he had said just now! Didn¡¯t Li Pu agree that classmates are to help each other? ¡­ ¡­ [Twining Vine] Wind Listener, 5 wood 5 earth, F [Bind (F): create vines to bind the target.] [Description: a weak magical beast that can be found anywhere in the forest.] Chapter 14 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Rolling Turtle, who wasn¡¯t tied up, should be able to bite through the vines, hence Li Pu didn¡¯t think that Wu Guinan would remain stuck throughout the trial. He had wasted a lot of time here, and if he didn¡¯t catch up, he might end up in second last. Therefore, he picked up his pace with Scarecrow. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at a fork in the road. ¡°I think they¡¯ve mentioned it before that the obstacles will be different according to the path one chooses.¡± Li Pu stood at the fork in the road with his chin in his hand. The advantage of walking behind the main group was that he could observe where everyone was going. He was quite experienced in looking out for footprints in a dense forest. At this time, the fork in front of them was divided into four paths. Two of the paths had footprints that were messy and numerous, while another one had fewer footprints. As for the one on the edge, it had almost no footprints. This was because the guiding light crystals were only installed on the three paths. The last path did not have any. In other words, this path might not be considered a part of the competition venue. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a chance for a shortcut?¡± Li Pu had an idea. Since they were in the same forest, even if it was not the recommended road, the last path should not be too dangerous. He had a good sense of direction and a certain level of field experience. Taking a shortcut in an empty direction might be a good choice. He didn¡¯t listen carefully when the senior explained the rules, but she didn¡¯t say that they had to follow the light crystals, right? In fact, the other party really didn¡¯t mention it. Moreover, it seemed like she did not mention it on purpose. Originally, one of the goals of this competition was to let everyone adapt to the world of Summoners. It was different from writing answers on the test paper. In reality, there was no standard answer that was 100% correct most of the time. Some rules were meant to be broken. Actually, it wasn¡¯t like no one had noticed this among the freshmen. However, many had the mentality of following the crowd. In addition, they had to be bold to put their thoughts into practice. Therefore, the new students, who had no relevant experience, would not dare to try it. Only a few people tried it secretly. Without a doubt, Li Pu was one of those who had the guts. Therefore, he didn¡¯t think for too long and chose the fourth path. However, he had only taken a few steps when a big tree next to him suddenly made a sound. [Cough cough¡­] That tree was very close to them, especially close to Scarecrow. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Grass! A magical beast ambushed us!] Scarecrow, who was surprised by the sudden sound, instantly raised its leg and kicked the big tree. Thump! Then, Li Pu saw a figure holding his stomach and falling to the ground. Plop! ¡°¡­¡± This time, he could see the figure clearly. It wasn¡¯t a magical beast that had made that sound, but a human. Not just any human, but someone he knew. The head of their dormitory, Senior Chang Shoushang. ¡°Senior, are you alright?¡± It could be seen that Chang Shoushang was in a lot of pain. After all, receiving a full-strength kick from Scarecrow to the stomach wasn¡¯t that pleasant. [Grass! Grass!] [Scarecrow: I accidentally injured you! Sorry, sorry!] ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­I¡¯m used to it.¡± Senior Chang¡¯s face was a little pale as he stood up and waved his hand. However, he realized that a bottle of Coke had already been stuffed into his hand. For the current Scarecrow, this might be the highest level of apology it could give. Of course, it was the smallest bottle. ¡°¡­¡± For a moment, Chang Shoushang didn¡¯t know what to say. At present, most of the senior students had yet to return to school, so there was a slight shortage of manpower to organize the course selection competition. Chang Shoushang had also been recruited by his Senior Sister, otherwise, who would be willing to squat in this terrible forest so early in the morning? The task he had been assigned was to remind or warn all the students who had chosen the fourth path. Those who dared to choose this path could be considered freshmen with relatively active minds at this stage. However, whether this was good or bad could not be immediately known. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s another purpose of this competition that isn¡¯t stated clearly.¡± ¡°That is to encourage everyone to open up their minds and jump out of the routine that they developed in school.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why taking shortcuts is allowed.¡± ¡°But I have to remind you that you will not have any guiding from the light crystals if you go any further.¡± ¡°If you get lost, then you will most likely face elimination.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide if you¡¯re willing to take the risk.¡± Chang Shoushang said a few more words of reminder to Li Pu as a form of care. As for the new students earlier, he had only reminded them to pay attention to their safety as there would not be any light crystals along the path. In any case, the fog would dissipate when the sun was high in the sky, so even if they got lost, they would not lose their way. ¡°Thank you for your reminder, senior.¡± Li Pu could sense the other¡¯s good intentions. He gave a nod of thanks and continued forward. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Can you give me back my coke if you don¡¯t drink it?] On the other hand, Scarecrow turned back after taking a few steps, but unfortunately, Chang Shoushang couldn¡¯t understand its words. ¡°Why don¡¯t I follow them and take a look?¡± After watching the man and the straw doll leave, he thought for a moment. Looking at the time, there should be no new students who had yet to reach the fork. In other words, his mission had been completed. He followed Li Pu because this kid was living in the dormitory under his jurisdiction. Although there wouldn¡¯t be any great danger in this forest, they could still take care of each other. Of course, Chang Shoushang knew that if he made a move, Li Pu would be eliminated. Therefore, unless it was an extreme situation, he would not take any action. As for this natural fog, it was not a problem for him. ¡°Ouch!¡± With a painful cry, Chang Shoushang took out a fist-sized light crystal from his storage space. With this light crystal, he could easily follow Li Pu¡¯s footprints and follow him from a distance. ¡­ Ten minutes later. ¡°¡­¡± Li Pu stood in the fog and was speechless. Looking around, he could see less than ten meters away. The crystalline light from the other forks that had been in sight could no longer penetrate this place. That¡¯s right, he was lost. It was all the straw doll¡¯s fault. Originally, he had planned to use the light crystal at the next fork as a reference and walk through the forest. However, halfway there, Scarecrow suddenly said that it smelled something fragrant, and then it pulled him along and ran in a different direction. In fact, if Li Pu had refused, even the straw doll wouldn¡¯t have been able to move him. The key was that his five senses had always been good, and he also smelled a faint fragrance. The straw doll¡¯s actions made him certain that he was not hallucinating. Usually, Li Pu would definitely place the competition as his priority. However, the closer he got, the more he put this matter to the back of his mind temporarily. The reason was that as the fragrance gradually became more real, he realized that he seemed to have smelled a similar fragrance before. If he remembered correctly, the smell was very similar to his grandfather¡¯s treasured tea leaves. To be more precise, it was a type of magical beast tea leaves. Could it be that there was another high-grade skill beckoning to him? ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 15 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu had followed the scent all the way here. However, the reason why he was completely lost was that something strange had happened. That fragrance had inexplicably disappeared completely. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, I¡¯m over here!] However, unlike him, the straw doll did not seem to have lost the scent. ¡°It seems that 10 wood attributes are indeed unique?¡± That was the only explanation Li Pu could think of. However, he was still skeptical at the moment, because Scarecrow didn¡¯t seem very reliable. Under its guidance, Li Pu continued to move forward for about 10 minutes. ¡°It seems that I have misunderstood.¡± He felt that he should apologize for looking down on Scarecrow. This was because the fragrance that had disappeared earlier had reappeared, even though it was very weak. ¡°Wait,¡± However, at that moment, he stopped. [Grass?] [Scarecrow: It¡¯s just in front, Summoner.] The straw doll was puzzled by his action. ¡°Let¡¯s change our way of advancing.¡± After looking up for a while, Li Pu pointed at the dense branches above. This was because he suddenly remembered that if the other party was a plant-type magical beast, it was very likely that it would be alerted if he approached so rashly. The disappearance of the fragrance just now was most likely because the other party had noticed them and was running away. After all, unlike a straw doll, many plant-type magical beasts were rooted in the soil. One of the functions of these roots was similar to a human¡¯s ears. Their footsteps were transmitted through the vibrations of the soil, so they were easier to detect. That was why Li Pu wanted to change his method and climb trees instead. After saying this, he deftly climbed up a big tree beside him. In the past, when he was thrown into an old forest by his grandfather, this kind of operation was a common occurrence. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, wait for me!] Instead, it was Scarecrow that looked up, not knowing what to do. In the end, with Li Pu¡¯s help, it managed to climb up the tree trunk clumsily. After coming up, the journey became much more convenient for Scarecrow than purely climbing the tree. After all, it only needed to walk carefully on the branches or jump. Due to its lightweight, Scarecrow had an advantage over Li Pu. Some of the branches that Li Pu didn¡¯t dare to try, this straw doll could easily step on them. And so, just like that, the man and the straw doll began to move between the trees. In fact, this speed was even faster than when they were on the ground. On the ground, Li Pu was more careful. After walking on the tree for a while, Li Pu felt that the fragrance was getting stronger. The target they were looking for was probably nearby. [Grass!] Sure enough, Scarecrow reminded him in a low voice and pointed somewhere. That place wasn¡¯t far from them, and the fog had already thinned a little, so it was within their visual range. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± When Li Pu looked over, he was stunned. He actually didn¡¯t understand what the other party was. He took a second look and finally understood. It was indeed a plant-type magical beast, and it should be a tree man. The reason why he said ¡®should¡¯ was because other than its feet rooted in the soil, its head was also stuck in the soil. It looked like an arch wood that was buried at both ends. If it wasn¡¯t for its exposed arms, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy to detect. ¡°Go down and take a look.¡± After confirming the target, Li Pu gave the order. Although he had just become a Summoner for less than two days, he still had basic safety awareness. With the resurrection talisman, Scarecrow wouldn¡¯t really die, so it was naturally the first one to take the lead. Meanwhile, if he was to die, he would really be dead. [Grass! ] [Scarecrow: Summoner, don¡¯t worry.] It patted its chest and made a promise. With that, Scarecrow jumped from the tree trunk and landed on the side of the tree man. Whoosh! Scarecrow¡¯s feet stepped on the soil, causing the tree man¡¯s body to tremble. It seemed to be a very timid beast. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Fragrant one, time to get up.¡± Scarecrow stretched out its straw hand and knocked on the arched wood. [Wuwu!] After being hit by Scarecrow, the other party really pulled its head out of the mud. This action allowed Li Pu to finally see the other party¡¯s appearance. What he could be sure of was that this was a Treant magical beast. However, it was very short, and even the height of its branches was a little shorter than Scarecrow. Its branches and leaves were not lush at all. There were only about twenty to thirty leaves in total, and they were very sparse, visible to the naked eye. The more eye-catching feature was the shape of the branch growing on its head, which looks a little like a crown. ¡°It¡¯s really tea leaves¡­¡± However, Li Pu¡¯s attention was mostly on the leaves. The magical beast tea leaves that his grandfather had kept in his collection were precisely these leaves. Unlike ordinary tea leaves, which required many processes, magical beast tea leaves would try to maintain their freshness in order to ensure that the special fragrance inside would not be lost. Therefore, he was able to identify it after a comparison. His grandfather¡¯s tea leaves were slightly drier than this guy¡¯s leaves, but the leaves were much bigger. Li Pu was of course not interested in tea at his age. All he wanted was the skill of the other party. This beast didn¡¯t look like a powerful magical beast, so it should be easy for him to get the related items. ¡°Pick one of its leaves and give it to me.¡± Therefore, he sent a message to the grass puppet through telepathy. [Grass!] After Scarecrow received the order, it quickly plucked a leaf from the other party. [Sob sob sob!] The Tea Treant let out a cry of surprise, and its eyes suddenly became watery as if it was about to cry. Its root-like legs were pulled out of the soil, trying to escape from the scene. However, due to the limitations of its rooted legs, its movements were very slow, as if it was taking small steps. The frequency was not low, but the speed was very slow. Li Pu, who had already jumped down from the tree, couldn¡¯t bear to see this. This was because, judging from its appearance and the feeling it gave him, the Tea Treant seemed to be a child. Not all magical beasts were ferocious. Some magical beasts were neutral or even friendly, and they might not necessarily be hostile to humans. If they were more intelligent, they could even be judged as a foreign race. ¡°It¡¯s fine, at most I¡¯ll only pick a few leaves.¡± So he told himself this. However, when he took the leaf from Scarecrow, his expression changed. At the same time, Chang Shoushang, who was following them, finally arrived. Without any footprints that he could trace, he almost lost them. ¡°Is this kid really crippled? Why is he so difficult to catch up with?¡± After he stood still, he was a little breathless. However, when he looked over at Li Pu, Chang Shoushang almost couldn¡¯t breathe. F*ck! Wasn¡¯t that the tea leaf magical beast that the principal had raised? His eyes happened to fall on a dense tree, and he choked. F*ck! Wasn¡¯t that the principal himself? ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 16 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu only knew that his grandfather had spies at the University, but he didn¡¯t know who they were. He would never have expected that the other party was the highest person in charge of this Academy, the current principal. No one would have expected that the white-haired old principal, who usually had a slightly Sage-like temperament, would be holding a thermos cup and squatting on a tree trunk in a very casual manner. ¡°Principal Cha, didn¡¯t you say you were going to inspect the new students¡¯ course selection¡­¡± On the same tree trunk, there was a woman squatting behind the principal. She was the principal¡¯s assistant. ¡°I¡¯m on it.¡± The principal took a sip of tea, his expression not looking too good. ¡°You are but¡­¡± The assistant looked at the principal¡¯s back and then at Li Pu. The problem was that there were almost 1000 new students, but he only ¡®inspected¡¯ one from the beginning to the end. What did he mean? He didn¡¯t even care about his grandson, Wu Guinan, who seemed to be in last place now. However, it was a bit of a coincidence. If they didn¡¯t follow Li Pu in secret, they wouldn¡¯t have found out about this situation. Yang Sheng was the current principal of Western Capital University. As he liked to drink tea, Cha, very much, everyone usually called him Principal Cha. This hobby was not a secret, and everyone in the school knew about it. This also explained why he had left a tea leaf magical beast in this deep forest. C-grade magical beast, little Zen tree. They had no combat power, but they could control plant-type magical beasts to a certain extent by emitting a specific fragrance. The leaves of this magical beast would have a very mellow taste after being soaked in hot water, so they were often raised by tea lovers and used as a source of tea. The term ¡®raised¡¯ here was simply the act of ¡®raising¡¯, not referring to the contract of summoning. Another reason why the little Zen tree was often raised was that it was not picky about its growing environment, and it had a gentle and non-threatening personality. It could even be placed at home or in the office, as long as it was provided with water, nutrients, and light, it could be well-raised. However, there was one condition that must be paid attention to in terms of raising it, which was that it had to be completely placed in the wild environment during its infancy. Only when it grew in the wild during its infancy and interacted with many other plant-type magical beasts would the leaves of the little Zen tree be more fragrant in the future. This was a natural habit of magical beasts, and no other way could replace it. The forest to the South of the school was the safest of the four surrounding environments. Due to some special reason, the magical beasts here were weak and gentle, and would not pose any threat to the little Zen tree. In addition, it was very close to the school, so Principal Cha had chosen to leave the little Zen tree there and head over to check on it regularly. In fact, the little Zen tree¡¯s range of activity could be considered to be in the deeper parts of the forest. Normally, the new students¡¯ class selection competition would not intersect with its domain. However, there was a freshman who had to run out of the normal track with a 10-wood summoned beast that was very sensitive to plants. More importantly¡­This fellow was actually someone whom he had been entrusted to take care of! [Sob sob sob!] Just then, the straw doll plucked the first leaf from the little Zen tree. ¡°Principal, it took your tea leaf!¡± The assistant exclaimed in a low voice. However, to her surprise, Principal Cha, who usually loved tea as much as his life, did not take any action to stop it. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just treat it as me repaying the favor from his grandfather.¡± Principal Cha¡¯s tone and wording sounded like he was scolding someone. At this time, he could only hold the thermos cup and drink big mouthfuls of tea to calm his emotions. Although C-grade beasts were not too important at his level, this little Zen tree was different. Principal Cha had spent a lot of effort and pulled a few strings to get this little tree. However, he really did owe Li Pu¡¯s Grandpa a favor. It was the kind of favor that a little Zen tree couldn¡¯t repay. ¡­ Below, Li Pu was reading the information on the leaf that Scarecrow had handed over. [LV1 Zen Incense (B+) ] 1/100 [Active effect: emits a special fragrance] [Attribute requirement: wood/water] [Type requirement: Wind Listener] [Race requirement: Zen-type species] To be honest, he didn¡¯t really understand this skill. The skill description basically didn¡¯t explain the specific effects. He had never heard of a Zen species. However, since it was a [B+] class skill, it should not be a weak skill. Only¡­ ¡°Count it. Does it have 100 leaves on its head?¡± Li Pu asked Scarecrow. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, you¡¯re clearly making things difficult for me!] [Scarecrow: I can only count to 20, no more!] Even without listening to the staw doll¡¯s bargaining, Li Pu knew that it was impossible for the little Zen tree to have 100 leaves. By visual inspection, there were at most 20 to 30 pieces. ¡°Why don¡¯t I try the branch?¡± Li Pu held his chin as he looked at the trembling little Zen tree. [Sob sob sob!] The little Zen tree trembled even more violently when it heard that. In fact, its intelligence was not low, and it could barely understand some human language. Li Pu didn¡¯t think too much about it. He walked up to one of the leafless branches and gently broke it off by the length of a little finger. [Sob sob sob!] This made the little Zen tree cry out again. It didn¡¯t hurt, the little tree was just shocked. Another characteristic of it was that it was very timid. ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡± Li Pu was very disappointed by the results of breaking the branch. Just like the single leaf, this branch could only be counted as one portion. It was still far from 100 portions. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I have to break it into 100 pieces?¡± [Whoosh!] Li Pu¡¯s mumbling scared the little Zen tree out of its wits. One had to know that it was the most coddled plant-type magical beast in this forest, and even the Tiger boss doted on it. However, this Summoner in front of it actually wanted to split it into 100 pieces! Therefore, the little Zen tree decided that it could not wait any longer. It bent down clumsily and slowly pulled out a long green vine-like whip from its root-like feet. ¡°Um, this is¡­¡± Principal Cha, who saw this from above, was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect this, he didn¡¯t expect that he had actually misjudged. It turned out that this little beast was not an ordinary little Zen tree, but a King among the little Zen trees! The King of Zen tree! Although it was also an unremarkable C-grade in its infancy, when the King of Zen tree reached adulthood, it would grow into a higher grade than a normal little Zen tree, a B+ grade. Its value was far more precious than an ordinary little Zen tree. Furthermore, the biggest difference between the King of Zen tree and the little tree was not the difference in their aptitudes. Instead, it was because they had a chance of producing a companion inscription weapon! It was obvious that the vine whip that the little King of Zen tree had pulled out was its Companion Inscription Weapon. [Whoosh!] At the same time, the little King of Zen tree raised its Vine Whip. Li Pu could see that the other party¡¯s gaze had changed. He thought, ¡°This guy, is it trying to fight?¡± Out of caution, he immediately took a few steps back. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, it said it surrenders and is willing to offer its treasure!] ¡°¡­¡± However, Scarecrow¡¯s timely translation made Li Pu fall silent. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 17 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio When the little Zen tree handed the vine whip to Li Pu, he did not react in time. Inscription tools are referred to as the inscriptions and tools that could be used by summoned beasts. There were two ways to obtain it. One was naturally occurring, and the other was man-made. Naturally occurring items included otherworld treasures and those produced by magical beasts, which occupied a large proportion of the ways of obtaining them. Man-made products were made by using specific techniques to process the dropped items of certain magical beasts or materials from other worlds. In general, the effects were not as good as those produced naturally. Different inscription tools naturally had different effects. The use of an inscription tool that was compatible with one¡¯s body could provide a great boost to the summoned beast. In fact, when Li Pu had just become a Summoner, he didn¡¯t even dare to think about it. As far as he knew, only the seniors from the second and third years would be able to equip their summoned beasts with inscription tools. Moreover, they were the man-made type. After all, naturally produced inscription weapons were rare. Hence, when the magical beast offered its companion tool to him with both hands, Li Pu was stunned and confused. ¡°Principal, are we really going to let him take the inscription tool?¡± In the shadow of the tree crown above, the female assistant looked at Principal Cha. Although Summoners were unable to use inscription tools, once the binding was completed, the tool could only be used by the summoner¡¯s summoned beast. Most people would not untie the ropes unless they paid a high price. ¡°If it wants to give him, then so be it.¡± To Principal Cha, an inscription tool was nothing. However, he had heard that even if the magical beasts were of the same race, the effects of the companion inscription tools produced could be completely different. There was no fixed effect on this thing, and he didn¡¯t know what effect Li Pu had gotten. He couldn¡¯t tell just from the appearance. Looking at the principal¡¯s unmoved back, the female assistant was secretly a little surprised. She wondered what kind of background this crippled freshman had that the principal would take care of him to this extent. However, Li Pu, who was below, had a strange expression when he looked at the inscription tool. ¡°What is this thing¡­¡± Looking at the message, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little puzzled. [Wisdom Root (B+)] [Additional effect: when attacking a target, the target¡¯s body will enter a state of ¡°enlightenment¡±.] [Attribute requirement: 10 wood/10 water] [Type Requirement: None] [Race Requirement: None] There were no type or race requirements for this inscription tool, but an attribute of 10 wood or 10 water. Scarecrow did meet that requirement. The key question was, what was ¡°enlightenment¡¯? It sounded like it had a positive effect. Was it really a good idea to put the enemy in this state? From the [Zen Incense] to the [Wisdom Root], Li Pu felt that he was getting more and more confused by the treant. However, unlike the skill that he had not picked up, this inscription tool was in his hands. Therefore, he didn¡¯t mind directly trying out the effects of [Wisdom Root]. As for the test subject, it was right in front of him. [Whoosh!] The little King of Zen Tree would never have thought that even though it had already surrendered its treasure, the other party still wanted to attack it. Furthermore, it was an actual attack. ¡°Take it.¡± After the binding was completed, Li Pu handed the [Wisdom Root] to Scarecrow. No matter how he looked at it, ¡°enlightenment¡± was a positive effect, so he felt that it was totally possible to try it out with the Little king Zen tree. [Grass!] [Grass!] The straw doll seemed a little excited after receiving the order. It raised the whip in its hand and whipped the little king Zen tree. Smack! [Sob sob sob!] The little king Zen tree¡¯s body was quite weak, and it immediately trembled from the whipping. [Oh?] However, it was soon confused, and then its eyes lit up. Something about it seemed to have changed! Although this was its companion inscription tool, the little king Zen tree had never used it before. Therefore, he didn¡¯t know what the actual effect was, and how effective it could be. [Grass!] Smack! [Sob sob sob!] Yet another whip came, but the little king Zen tree endured the pain and did not dodge. As a magical beast that had been specially raised, it had actually been fed with very sufficient nutrients. However, just like summoned beasts, the nutrients were stored in the body and needed to go through a certain period of time or even certain conditions before they could be digested. The so-called ¡± enlightenment¡± state of the target¡¯s body was to promote the digestion of nutrients, which was equivalent to some of the specific conditions mentioned above. Of course, Li Pu couldn¡¯t notice this from the appearance. Scarecrow stopped after two lashes. [Whoosh!] As a result, the little king Zen tree immediately shook its body in dissatisfaction. It could already feel the slight changes in its body. If it could be whipped a few hundred times a day, it might be able to pass through its childhood and enter adulthood much earlier. [Grass?!] The straw doll was frightened by the other party¡¯s attitude, but it could only convey the meaning honestly. [Scarecrow: Summoner, it said it still wants more!] ¡°Is it supposed to be so ferocious?¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t expect the other party to have such a request. Although he did not understand the effect of the [Wisdom Root] whip, from the current state of the little king Zen tree, it was indeed very positive. Otherwise, it would not have chased after him and let the straw doll whip it. ¡°Then¡­give it three more whips.¡± He looked at the two cracks on the trunk of the little king Zen tree. After a second of silence, he continued to command the straw doll. [Grass~] The straw doll happily expressed that it had received the order, then raised the vine and began to whip again. Smack! X3 [Sob sob sob!] x3 Although the little king Zen tree¡¯s body was in pain, it was happy on the inside. After all, as a weak magical beast, who wouldn¡¯t want to become stronger quickly? However, the female assistant in the tree couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°Principal, are we really not going to do anything?¡± ¡°If this goes on, the little Zen tree that you¡¯ve spent so much money and effort on will be whipped to death!¡± She really couldn¡¯t understand why Principal Cha, who loved tea so much, would choose to stand by and do nothing. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no hurry. We can continue to observe.¡± However, principal Cha could see that there was a reason for this. ¡°Principal, I really don¡¯t understand this time.¡± The female assistant couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°Have you ever heard that some inscription tools can actually give the target a positive effect?¡± ¡°So principal, you¡¯re saying that the Scarecrow isn¡¯t abusing the little Zen tree, but helping it?¡± ¡°You can understand it that way.¡± After the conversation between the two, the female assistant finally understood. (But¡­) Her gaze returned to the little king Zen tree. However, the bark on the little fellow¡¯s body had been torn in several places. Could it really hold on like this? Just as the female assistant had this thought, she saw Li Pu Roll up his sleeves. Then, he walked over and punched the face of the little king Zen tree. ¡°Uh, principal, how do you explain this?¡± She looked at Principal Cha in disbelief. Principal Cha was speechless. He had to admit that even he was confused. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 18 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Li Pu¡¯s punch caused the bark of the little king Zen tree to cave in. [Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~] However, it let out a pleasant cry. This Summoner seemed to be a little different! When it was whipped by the straw doll, it felt pain but it grew. Meanwhile, when it was hammered by Li Pu, it felt pain but it also felt happiness. That punch was clearly very painful, but his body felt surprisingly comfortable! Even the few whip wounds on his body had slightly improved. It didn¡¯t understand what was happening, but it could only say that it was too magical! [Whoosh!] The second punch that it thought would follow did not land. The Zen tree tugged at the straw doll anxiously. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, it told you to use more strength! Don¡¯t take pity on it!] Scarecrow now was like a translator of the Botanic world. ¡°It¡¯s indeed effective.¡± Li Pu wasn¡¯t in a hurry to continue. He looked at his fist. He had activated [Fatherly Love] in that punch just now. He could tell that the treant¡¯s mental state seemed to have changed after it was beaten up. When he took a closer look at the few whip marks on the broken tree bark, the wound had already shrunk a little. On the other hand, he felt that his body was slightly different from before. Was this the state of a summoned beast when it used a skill? It seemed that he couldn¡¯t fight infinitely in his stay-at-home dad state. However, it was still okay. Li Pu didn¡¯t feel tired. He decided to take advantage of this time to heal the treant. Crack crack¡­ Hence, he cracked all ten of his knuckles and walked up to it, looking down at it from above. ¡°Tell it to call me Dad.¡± That was what he said. [Grass grass grass!] [Whoosh¡­Pfft!] The little king Zen tree had just opened its mouth when it was punched so hard that it almost vomited out its sap. It hurts! However, it felt so good! There was a warm current running around its body! The wound was itchy, and it felt so comfortable! The female assistant was dumbfounded when she saw Li Pu punching and kicking the little king Zen tree. ¡°Principal, do we really not need to do anything?¡± ¡°And this little Zen tree, why isn¡¯t it running away?¡± She looked more and more nervous. ¡°Not only did it not run, it even took the initiative to meet his fist.¡± However, Principal Cha¡¯s observation skills were more subtle. ¡°Look, the wound on its bark has already started to heal.¡± ¡°This guy¡¯s fist might not be as fierce as it looks.¡± ¡°On the contrary, it seems to have a healing effect on the Zen tree.¡± ¡°It seems like this is his Summoner talent. Interesting.¡± His explanation made the female assistant¡¯s mouth open slightly. ¡°Ah?¡± After a long while, she finally came back to her senses. This summoner¡¯s talent was to beat the other party for a healing effect? This is ridiculous, okay? ¡°What a pity.¡± Principal Cha felt a little sorry for this judgment. A healing-type Summoner was indeed an indispensable existence in a team. However, from Li Pu¡¯s current performance, this ability couldn¡¯t be used in battle. The reason was simple. It was not efficient enough. The wounds caused by Scarecrow¡¯s five whips had barely recovered after he had hit the little king Zen tree more than ten times. (Originally, this kid¡¯s grandfather had hoped that he could become a powerful combat Summoner.) (But now, with this straw doll, he can only become an excellent logistics Summoner at most.) In fact, Principal Cha himself felt that it was fine. Although the logistics personnel was not very eye-catching, they also played a vital role in the summoner system. [Grass!] Smack smack! [Sob sob sob!] After Li Pu finished beating up the treant, Scarecrow had already started the second round of whipping. The current situation was a little troublesome. He naturally did not forget that he was still participating in the course selection competition. However, he could not resist the little king Zen tree¡¯s pleading and could only continue. After all, through its explanation and careful consideration, Li Pu could understand the use of the [Wisdom Root]. He had to admit that this was a very good inscription tool. He would feel bad if he did not repay this ugly, cowardly, weak, useless, and kind little Treant. ¡°Forget it, we have more than enough spots.¡± ¡°Even if I¡¯m in last place, I should still have some options.¡± After some thought, he consoled himself. As for the [Fatherly Love] skill¡­ Looking at his fist, Li Pu had a new discovery after his practice. It was as if the more strength he used, the more pain he inflicted on the other party, and the better the healing effect. It was a weird skill, but it was quite fun to use. Just like that, they took turns beating the little king Zen tree. And the little Zen tree itself was willing to accept such abuse. [Whoosh!!!] Just as the fifth round of beating ended, the little king Zen tree suddenly let out a loud cry. [Grass!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, it said it¡¯s going to level up!] It turned out that the little king Zen tree had been on the verge of successfully digesting the nutrients and Scarecrow¡¯s whip had undoubtedly become its last helping hand. Bang! Bang! With a cry, a fine powder visible to the naked eye shot out from the surface of its body, and then the powder swept in all directions at an extremely fast speed. When the powder touched his body, Li Pu only smelled the strong fragrance and had no other reaction. On the contrary, the straw doll suddenly became unusually excited. [Grass grass grass grass grass!!!] [Scarecrow: Summoner, I¡¯m so excited now! I really wanted to fight!] It raised its hands, and a red light flickered in the depths of its two black eyes. At this moment, the difference between a magical beast and a summoned beast was revealed. If magical beasts were to be attacked by this powder, they would immediately become extremely violent and aggressive. However, when Scarecrow was in this state, Li Pu could use his mental perception to suppress it and minimize the effect. By minimizing the effect, he meant that it found a big tree and began to randomly hammer it. At the very least, it did not attack the little king Zen tree blindly, which was still acceptable. ¡°He actually beat up the little Zen tree until it leveled up.¡± The female assistant didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. However, she still felt that the main reason for its level advancement was that she came to feed the little Zen tree with nutrition every day. Otherwise, without any nutrients to digest, no matter how much it was beaten up, it would not be able to convert the nutrients into its own energy. ¡°This year¡¯s new students might be in trouble.¡± As for Principal Cha, he was staring at the fragrance powder that was spreading out rapidly. If it was only a little Zen tree, he would not be too worried. However, now, it was confirmed that this was the royal family of the little Zen trees, the King of Zen trees. Then the power of the fragrance powder needed to be re-evaluated. It was likely that all the plant-type magical beasts within the competition area would go berserk under the influence of the fragrance powder. Li Pu¡¯s actions had undoubtedly increased the difficulty for everyone. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 19 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Um ¡­¡± He was speechless as he looked at the violent straw doll and the little Treant that had its head lowered as if it was exhausted and sleeping. However, after thinking about it, it was more important to go back and participate in the course selection first. Looking at little Treant¡¯s current state, it was probably not suitable to continue being abused. In any case, the straw doll could track it down. At most, he would come back to ¡°thank¡± it when he was free in a few days. The thick fog was now even thinner than before, so he pulled Scarecrow back the way they came. After he and Scarecrow had left, a sneaky figure appeared in front of the Zen tree. At this moment, it was indeed in a deep sleep, so it did not notice. This person was Chang Shoushang. ¡°That¡¯s strange. I heard that the principal loves tea as much as his life.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he care about Li Pu¡¯s actions at all?¡± He looked up and around, but Principal Cha and the female assistant were no longer in the trees. ¡°Since the principal doesn¡¯t mind, should I¡­¡± Looking at the little king Zen tree again, Chang Shoushang had an idea. The reason why he could recognize this little Treant was that his senior had deliberately told the helpers about it after the competition had started. At that time, she had even shown them the photo and told them that this was a magical beast that the principal had raised and that they should not harbor any ill intentions. However, after what happened just now, Chang Shoushang felt that his senior was making a mountain out of a molehill. It was possible that Principal Cha didn¡¯t even care about the mere C-grade magical beast. Otherwise, how could he be unmoved by Li Pu and the straw doll¡¯s repeated abuse? The principal might not be interested in C-grade magical beasts, but Chang Shoushang was. His summoned beast, ¡®Biting Flower¡¯, was currently only at E+ grade, barely reaching a D-grade. This C-grade plant-type beast¡¯s material could become a great supplement for Biting Flower. Of course, he couldn¡¯t just kill it. After all, this was the principal¡¯s magical beast. However, he should be able to pick a leaf, right? When the time came, he would give it to the people of the living type to be processed, and it would definitely become suitable fertilizer for Bitting Flower. ¡°One piece, I¡¯ll take one piece.¡± Thus, Chang Shoushang told himself this as he reached out to the crown of the little king Zen tree. Thump! However, in the next second, he was ambushed from behind. His vision went black and he fell to the ground, completely unconscious. The female assistant, who had landed behind him at some point in time, looked at the guy lying on the ground with a blank expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the students these days? They¡¯re really bold.¡± As she spoke, she rubbed her wrists. She didn¡¯t hold back a little just now, so the back of this guy¡¯s head would probably hurt for a few days. ¡­ At the final destination of the course selection competition. This was a small grassy hill with no trees. On the top of the hill, there was a circle of single-person tents. Each tent had a representative instructor. The new students only needed to come to the hillside and enter the tent to choose the right instructor to complete their course selection. When the number of instructors reached the upper limit, the tent would be removed, which meant that it would no longer accept students. Ms. Bai was standing in front of her tent with her hands behind her back. She was already over 50 years old but from her appearance, she looked no more than 40 because she had taken good care of herself. According to the type of summoned beast, the school¡¯s instructors were also divided into seven types of directors. One had to know that not every Head of Department would come and teach the new summoners skills. For example, in Li Pu¡¯s cohort, only two directors participated in the course selection. Ms. Bai was one of them. She was also the person in charge of the course selection competition. Moreover, the [Flash] that she taught had always been the most popular choice over the years. However, she was a little disappointed this year. According to the past, there would be at least seven or eight new students at the finishing point by now. However, there was not a single person. Ms. Bai had already thought about it. When she saw the new students later, she would say a classic line with confidence, ¡°You¡¯re the worst batch of students I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± [Ding, ding, ding¡­] Just then, her phone suddenly rang. ¡°Hello,¡± She said. Ms. Bai turned on the speaker when she saw the caller ID. [Bad news, Ms. Bai!] An anxious female student¡¯s voice could be heard from inside. The student started explaining the situation rapidly. [All the plant-type monsters in the forest have suddenly gone berserk!] [So far, the cause has not been identified!] [However, all the new students have been attacked, causing the progress of the competition to be greatly reduced!] [And we¡¯re almost out of manpower to rescue them!] [Ms. Bai, please send support!] ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± As soon as Ms. Bai answered, the other side hung up the phone immediately. It was obvious that the situation was really urgent. ¡°Magical beasts are going on a rampage?¡± After hesitating for a second, she couldn¡¯t help but frown. Although the magical beasts in the southern Forest were very weak, and even if they went berserk, they would not easily pose a threat to the lives of new students. However, she was afraid that something unexpected would happen. After all, in terms of numbers, the magical beasts far exceeded the freshmen. At this thought, Ms. Bai also knew that this matter couldn¡¯t be delayed. If any of the new students were to encounter any serious danger, she would not be able to answer to the principal. She had to quickly send support to solve this unexpected situation for the students, which was not supposed to be part of the competition. For this kind of mission, the most suitable candidate was a teacher who was good at speed or group attack. Unfortunately, she was not one of them. According to her plan, there were seven or eight teachers who were very suitable candidates. The scope of the competition was very wide, and there were many new students. Even if they considered the situation where the new students had gathered together safely and the teachers were capable of holding against the magical beasts, they had to send at least five or six teachers to be safe. So, Ms. Bai quickened her pace and came to her tent. In fact, there was an unspoken rule in the construction of these tents. Based on a rough estimation of their popularity, they would be stationed clockwise. In other words, her next tent would be the Wind Chaser teacher who also taught [Flash]. The summoned beasts of the Wind Chaser class were all very good at speed, so this teacher was undoubtedly a very suitable candidate for rescue. As for the tent on the other side, it was¡­ ¡°Ms. Bai, it¡¯s tiring to hang out outside. Do you want to come in and sit down?¡± A carefree voice came from behind the curtain of the tent. ¡°Forget it,¡± She said. Ms. Bai shook her head. Logically speaking, this new teacher should also be very suitable for the rescue. Moreover, she had heard that the other party was a very powerful combat Summoner. However, this guy¡¯s attitude was too obvious, and she was afraid that she would not be at ease if she entrusted the matter to him. In less than two minutes, Ms. Bai gathered all the teachers who were suitable for the rescue. After a series of instructions, although everyone had doubts, they were very efficient. No one asked a single question and they all set off. ¡°Eh?¡± However, just as the teachers were leaving the hill, one of them let out a soft gasp. He saw a new student limping toward the top of the hill. ¡°It seems like the situation this time isn¡¯t that serious. Didn¡¯t a new student already arrive?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the top student of this cohort?¡± ¡°Stop looking, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. So what if he¡¯s first? he¡¯ll definitely choose Ms. Bai. We won¡¯t get a chance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so envious of Ms. Bai. She¡¯s going to get such a good student.¡± However, what these teachers didn¡¯t know was that what they saw wasn¡¯t just the top scorer, but also the culprit of the chaos. ¡­ ¡­ Chapter 20 - Failing The Course Chapter 20 Failing The Course Selection Li Pu himself, of course, didn¡¯t know what kind of trouble he had caused. Moreover, strictly speaking, it was caused by the tiny Treant, so what did it have to do with him? He only knew that it had not been easy for him to get to where he was. Along the way, he encountered several waves of violent plant-type magical beasts. Fortunately, he had run fast enough. In fact, Li Pu wasn¡¯t that afraid of fighting them head-on. After all, they were all weak magical beasts. However, he and his summoned beast lost out to them in terms of number, hence they chose not to fight against them. ¡°Wait, something¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°Did I forget something?¡± When he looked around, he realized that it was empty. Scarecrow couldn¡¯t run as fast as him, and he had no idea where and when it started lagging behind. ¡°Forget it, it can¡¯t keep up.¡± He thought for a while and felt that Scarecrow shouldn¡¯t encounter any big problems while making its way back to him. That beast of his had an attribute of 10 wood and had a very good affinity with plant-type magical beasts. He felt that the probability of it joining the berserk army was higher than the probability of being attacked by them. Thus, Li Pu continued to climb up the hill and finally reached the top. However, he didn¡¯t see any new students on the top of the hill. Only a few teachers were standing in front of their tents and chatting. Some of them were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn¡¯t even notice his arrival. ¡°Could it be that I came too late and the show ended?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but worry about the situation. After all, he had been delayed by the tiny Treant for too long, so it was only natural for him to be in last place. After looking around all the tents, Li Pu finally chose one with the words ¡°Flash¡± on it. However, when he lifted the curtain, there was no one inside. ¡°It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over. There¡¯s really no chance.¡± Upon seeing that no other teachers were around, Li Pu felt that he was really in last place. However, after some thought, he decided to open the other [Flash] tent. ¡°Huh?¡± As the curtain was lifted, he saw a mature and beautiful young woman. ¡°Come in,¡± The other party¡¯s words dispelled Li Pu¡¯s hesitation. There seemed to be a chance? He limped in. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re the champion of this competition.¡± Ms. Bai¡¯s words made Li Pu realize that the situation wasn¡¯t what he had expected. The others haven¡¯t arrived yet? Why are they so easy to win against? He had never expected that he would still be able to get a first place after such a long delay. At the same time, Ms. Bai had the same question in her mind. According to previous years, it was normal for the first-place freshman to arrive at this time. However, didn¡¯t they just say that the plant-type magical beasts were going on a rampage? Did he not encounter any magical beasts? After carefully sizing up the young man, Ms. Bai found that his clothes were dirty and worn out. It was obvious that he had experienced a lot of hardships and did not seem to have a smooth journey. Both sides had their own thoughts. After a long silence, Li Pu finally thought of an opening speech. ¡°Hello teacher, I would like to learn [Flash].¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s not be impatient. Fill up this test first.¡± Ms. Bai took out a test paper from the drawer. As a responsible teacher, she had her own way of doing things. Compared to the ranking of the competition, she was more concerned about whether the freshman was suitable for the course she was teaching. It was true that [Flash] was a very powerful skill, but in fact, it was not suitable for all Summoners. In particular, the first Summoner skill that the freshmen chose to learn might have a significant impact on their lifelong combat style. Therefore, she hoped that Li Pu would finish the paper so that she could get some reference from the test results. Of course, if Li Pu insisted on choosing her course, Ms. Bai had no right to refuse. This was the school¡¯s rule to respect the students¡¯ own choices. ¡°Okay, teacher.¡± Li Pu took the paper and pen and started to answer seriously. [Question 1: There is a magical beast chasing after you, and there is a 10-meter wide canyon in front of you. Under the circumstances that you can only jump 7 meters, and [Flash] can only reach 1 meter, what would be your decision?] After reading the first question, Li Pu raised his eyebrows. This was simply a free-point question. It felt like anyone would know to choose D or E. ¡°I hope you will follow your heart and choose the first option you thought of.¡± ¡°Also, this question is just a simple test of your compatibility with the [Flash] I will be teaching you.¡± ¡°The final score will not affect your right to choose your course.¡± However, at this moment, Ms. Bai gave him a warning. Compatibility, following one¡¯s heart, does not affect the course selection. These keywords changed Li Pu¡¯s mind. Without a pause, he ticked F. [It¡¯s impossible for me to fall into such a desperate situation.] There was nothing much to say. Yours truly was just that confident. In fact, there was no accurate answer to this question or these options. The more reasonable ones were D and E. However, D¡¯s method of using the environment to find an opportunity to escape was a decision that was full of uncertainty and the unknown. E, on the other hand, had a certain risk. Using [Flash] three times in a row under a very short period of time might exhaust one¡¯s energy and cause the summoner to faint during the process. These two options were the only two options in this question that would give points. To be honest, other than D and E, there were a few people who might choose A. However, Ms. Bai had never seen a new student who chose F. Hence, when she saw Li Pu pick the first question, she frowned slightly. Five minutes later, Li Pu had finished checking all 20 questions. || ¡­ However, Ms. Bai, who had been watching him make his choice, was completely silent. Now, she felt that what she needed to consider was not whether this freshman was suitable to learn [Flash]. Instead¡­was this guy really suitable to be a Summoner? o points. This was Li Pu¡¯s final test score. First of all, she had to admit that the test paper that she had come up with was not perfect, and it was not without loopholes. However, getting 0 points was too ridiculous. This was the first time she had encountered a student who could get o points. Li Pu had an ¡®I knew it¡¯ expression on his face when he saw his results. In fact, he had already noticed it when he was halfway through the question. This teacher¡¯s style was clearly not suitable for him. There were a total of 20 questions, 17 of which flashed backward, while the remaining three flashed left and right. In other words, [Flash] was only a skill for escaping. However, what Li Pu wanted to learn was to flash forward. He would flash into the other party¡¯s arms and give them an uppercut. ¡°Um¡­Why don¡¯t you reconsider your decision?¡± ¡°I will. Thank you, teacher.¡± Ms. Bai gave Li Pu a way out and he took it instantly. ¡­ ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I would have such a bad start.¡± Li Pu couldn¡¯t help but sigh when he walked out of Ms. Bai¡¯s tent. However, he remembered Wu Guinan had said that this female teacher seemed to be the Head of some Department. Logically speaking, the tents on both sides of the Head of Department¡¯s should be of similar strength and status, or just second to her, right? He had already checked the tent on the right, which had the same words [Flash], and there was no one there. ¡°In that case¡­¡¯ II Li Pu turned his gaze to the tent on the left. Putting aside whether the teacher inside was good or not, just looking at this skill, it was quite to his liking. ¡­ Chapter 21 - Why Is He in First Place Again? Chapter 21 Why Is He in First Place Again? Almost at the same time, a few exhausted freshmen climbed up the hill. The clothes of the two men and two women were in an even more sorry state than Li Pu¡¯s. It was obvious that they had suffered a lot when facing the plant magical beasts that went berserk. That being said, they were still able to make it here on time given the circumstances, which showed that they were among the best in this batch of freshmen. If one were to exclude some exceptions, these four people would be the leaders of this batch of freshmen in terms of combat strength for at least one to two semesters. The boy in the lead was called Fulde. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and was half Rue. The Rue region was the second largest region in the Federation, second only to the Hua region. Fulde¡¯s father was from the Hua region, so his surname was Fu, while his mother was from the Rue region and had the word ¡°Elde¡± in her name, so she gave him the name ¡°Fulde¡±. Also, this guy was a son of a rich man. He was one of the few new students who had not used the blue beginner talisman. Instead, he used the designated summoning talisman that his family had bought with a huge sum of money. The so-called designated summoning talisman didn¡¯t mean that one could specify and summon a certain beast. Instead, the summoning talisman would filter through some related terms and summon the summoned beast that fitted the related terms. Fulde¡¯s summoned beast was a C-grade Fire Katydid. It was an insect-type summoned beast that had nine fire attributes and one earth attribute, making it almost entirely made up of fire. The Fire Katydid¡¯s physique allowed Fulde to be like a fish in water in this competition, killing all the plant-type magical beasts. ¡°Although it¡¯s hard, at least we¡¯re the first to reach the finish line. It¡¯s worth it,¡± As he stood on the hill and looked at the circle of tents, Fulde was very pleased. The other three nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. To be honest, I noticed several small groups along the way, and they were quite strong.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a good thing our skill level is higher.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Elde¡¯s Fire Katydid. Without it, we probably wouldn¡¯t have arrived so quickly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re flattering me. Your summoned beast was also very important. If it wasn¡¯t for its continuous healing of the other summoned beasts, even my Fire Katydid wouldn¡¯t have been able to last that long.¡± All in all, this was a friendly team, and no one tried to take all the credit. However, no matter how friendly they were, they had to face a problem at this time: Who should be given first place in the competition? Although being in the top four meant that one could choose any course one wanted, being the first place had a special meaning and was an honor. Getting first place would be a source of pride, at least for some time. Perhaps even the teachers and seniors would give one special attention. ¡°I think the first place should go to Fulde. After all, his summoned beast contributed the most this time, and he also contributed the most in the battle,¡± The other male student expressed his opinion. ¡°No, no, no, I don¡¯t think so. Healing, illumination, and combat support are all equally important factors for our current results. We wouldn¡¯t have succeeded without any of them,¡± Fulde himself shook his head. ¡°I think so too. Without your summoned beast to light up the way, we might have taken a detour.¡± ¡°Healing is the key to fighting.¡± ¡°The support that gives the enemies negative buffs is also an indispensable part of the battle.¡± At this moment, the four of them stood where they were and acted courteously to each other. To be honest, boys and girls of this age would more or less want to pursue glory. But at the same time, they were embarrassed. Each of them wanted to get first place, but all were too embarrassed to say it. As such, they could only praise others infinitely but not themselves. ¡°Stop arguing. Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s say the four of us are tied for first place,¡± In the end, it was still Fulde who proposed a compromise and ended the dispute. The other three could only nod in agreement. Although being tied for first place wasn¡¯t as glorious as being the only first place, it was still fair. ¡°Wait¡­ look over there,¡± However, just as they finally came to a conclusion, one of the girls on the team was stunned. Just now, she had inadvertently caught a glimpse of a limping figure coming out of the tent. X4 Silence. All four of them suddenly fell silent. ¡°Eh, how can it be him?¡± After a few seconds, someone finally broke the silence. There probably wasn¡¯t a single freshman who didn¡¯t remember Li Pu. ¡°Cripple¡±, ¡°first¡±, and ¡°last¡±. These were all easy-to-remember labels. ¡°This is too much. To think he even got first place in the course selection competition?!¡± ¡°And it looks like he¡¯s moving alone?¡± The four of them observed and found that the other party¡¯s condition was much better than theirs. His clothes were much tidier, unlike their tattered clothes. Moreover, his back was straight, and he didn¡¯t seem to be tired at all. This situation made the four of them suspicious. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Could it be that he didn¡¯t run into any berserk magical beasts because he took a detour?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot? Didn¡¯t the teacher we met just now say that all the plant-type magical beasts in the entire forest have gone berserk?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, even if he took a detour, he would still encounter berserk magical beasts. There¡¯s no way he would be fine.¡± ¡°The point is that there¡¯s only one path in the final stretch of the race. I didn¡¯t see him overtake us..¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that he really took a detour?¡± 11 ¡°If he took a detour, wouldn¡¯t he have to run a longer distance? But he¡¯s a cripple¡­¡¯ ¡°Stop arguing. Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s say the four of us are tied for second place,¡± In the end, it was again Fulde who ended the discussion with a helpless tone. A tie for second place was a lot more awkward than a tie for first place. It would even be embarrassing to say it out loud. ¡°By the way, has he finished choosing his classes?¡± At this moment, one of the girls among the four asked. ¡°Sure enough, everyone thinks the same. He chose Flash. If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll also choose the same teacher,¡± Fulde stated his decision. Flash was the course he wanted to choose. If he could be in the same class as Li Pu, that would be even better. This was because he yearned to find an opportunity to experience the other party¡¯s strength. ¡°Hey, you guys, look. He didn¡¯t seem to have chosen Flash,¡± However, just as Fulde was thinking about it, the girl spoke up again to remind everyone. Everyone looked at Li Pu again and saw him walk into the tent next door. ¡°Umm¡­¡± x4 This time, the four of them were speechless. Was he sure he saw the words on the tent? Wasn¡¯t it too outrageous to choose a Summoner skill like this? A cripple chose to learn Sprint??? Chapter 22 - The Right Course, the Right Teacher Chapter 22 The Right Course, the Right Teacher ¡°I can¡¯t believe that I, the King of Cards of the Imperial Capital¡¯s Qixing Street, have been reduced to being a teacher in such a remote mountain,¡± Li Fan put his legs on the small table and muttered to himself with a little grief and indignation. Even though the tent was already filled with smoke, he still lit a cigarette with practiced ease. As a new teacher at Western Capital University, Li Fan only had one class this semester. That was the Summoner skill, Sprint. [Sprint]: By consuming Mana, the Summoner gains a large increase in speed for a short time. Among Summoners, this was not a very popular skill. After all, compared to Flash, it had a longer duration but was far less flexible. After all, Flash allowed one to directly move through the terrain and obstacles, while Sprint could normally not do this. Moreover, the specific bonus that Sprint brought depended on the strength of the Summoner. If the Summoner¡¯s strength was average, the effect would not be any much better. There were only two teachers in the Sprint course that was open to freshmen this year. A total of 53 slots were open for the course. The other teacher took up 50 spots, and the remaining three spots belonged to Li Fan. This was Li Fan¡¯s request because he simply didn¡¯t want to teach students at all. To put it bluntly, he didn¡¯t want to be a teacher, and he didn¡¯t know how to be one either. He had come to work at Western Capital University only because of a bet on the card table. Due to the fact that he had long expressed this attitude, plus the fact that the teaching results of the new teacher were still unknown, the school allowed Li Fan¡¯s application for the limited quota. ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time to set up a tent in the wilderness. No students would choose me,¡± He believed that with his reputation as a new teacher and the unpopular Sprint skill, no student would choose him today. If he had no students, there was naturally no need to attend classes. While he could be happy and relaxed, he was also fulfilling the bet. Look, it¡¯s not that he was not willing to teach, it¡¯s just that no students chose him. However, what Li Fan absolutely did not expect was that just as the course selection officially began, a new student walked into his tent. ¡°Hello, teacher. I want to learn Sprint,¡± Doing this the second time, Li Pu was much more familiar with the procedures and said immediately upon entering. ¡°¡­¡± With the cigarette in his mouth, Li Fan¡¯s expression froze. It can¡¯t be, right? He just vowed that no student would choose him and now he was going to be slapped in the face? ¡°Come over and sit,¡± With some diffidence, he asked Li Pu to sit. After all, he couldn¡¯t reject a student straight out. He had to think of a way to persuade the other party to leave. However, Li Pu¡¯s few steps stunned Li Fan again. This kid was a cripple? Could it be that he wanted to learn Sprint because he wanted to make up for his shortcomings? It had to be said that this made him feel some sympathy, but even if it was out of good intentions, he still had to say something to persuade the boy to leave. ¡°I can roughly understand your intentions. To be honest, this place isn¡¯t suitable for you. I hope you¡¯ll reconsider. Although Sprint can temporarily increase one¡¯s speed greatly, its effect is greatly reduced on people who can¡¯t really walk.¡± Li Fan¡¯s explanation was true. Li Pu, who had thought that he would be welcomed by another test paper, disagreed with what the teacher said. Who can¡¯t really walk? He felt that this Summoner¡¯s skill was just what he wanted. If it could greatly increase his speed, then wouldn¡¯t he become even faster? It would simply be wonderful. Moreover, since this teacher was willing to give advice based on the personal situation of the freshmen, he should be a good and responsible teacher. Li Pu couldn¡¯t help but have a better impression of him. However, after thinking about it, he was now in the process of course selection. To put it bluntly, it was the new students who chose the classes and teachers, not the teachers who chose them. ¡°Teacher, I would like to ask you a question,¡± Hence, Li Pu decided to take the initiative, If you¡¯re being chased by a magical beast, and before you¡­¡± ¡°No need for ¡°if¡¯s¡±. No magical beasts can ever catch up to me,¡± Unexpectedly, Li Fan simply waved his hand and interrupt the question without thinking. Of course, confidence was one of the reasons for his attitude. But on the other hand, he was also deliberately trying to give the student a feeling that he was not easy to get along with. ¡°Please don¡¯t choose me, please don¡¯t choose me, please don¡¯t choose me¡­¡± On the surface, he had a straight face, but in reality, he was praying in his heart. However, Li Fan¡¯s plan failed. Li Pu¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard Li Fan¡¯s answer. They were in sync. It seemed that this teacher was the same as him. He decided. He would choose Sprint. ¡°Teacher, please take care of me this semester,¡± Thinking of this, he simply reached out his hand to Li Fan. ¡°???¡± The sudden situation left Li Fan dumbfounded. Why was it completely the opposite of what he had imagined?! Did this kid not hear what he said just now? ¡°No, I just said¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you in advance, in class¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anymore, teacher. I have decided,¡± This time, it was Li Pu¡¯s turn to interrupt Li Fan, and it was twice in a row. Li Fan could see the determination in his eyes. ¡°¡­ Very well,¡± In the end, he could only give a response with a dark face. Although he was lazy to teach, since the student had already said so much, there was no room to persuade the other party to leave. He just wanted to play cards in peace. Why was it that he really became a teacher? Li Fan, who was already slumping in his seat, looked even more dispirited. According to the procedure, Li Pu, who had completed his course selection, could go back. But before he could leave, he received a notice from the other teachers. Due to the magical beasts going on a rampage in the forest, all the new students had to gather on the hill and be escorted back by the teachers. Since Li Pu didn¡¯t have anywhere to go, he decided to stay in Li Fan¡¯s tent. After waiting for more than an hour, the fog in the forest had almost dissipated. The new students arrived one after another and began to choose their classes. It was also around this time that Li Pu sensed that the Scarecrow had finally arrived on the hill. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Due to its body¡¯s quality, its current speed was far from Li Pu¡¯s. Moreover, 10 wood attributes didn¡¯t really mean that it was the forest¡¯s favorite, especially since berserk plant magical beasts were violent and simply couldn¡¯t be bothered to reason with one. Therefore, although the Scarecrow encountered fewer obstacles than others along the way, it still did. Fortunately, it was quite clever and avoided the danger of being killed several times. Under the guidance of telepathy, the Scarecrow quickly found the tent where Li Pu was in. However, what surprised Li Pu and made Li Fan¡¯s face turn black again was that the Scarecrow had brought someone with it. It was Wu Guinan, who had barely caught up with the last batch of students to arrive after a hard pursuit. [Cao!] The Scarecrows expressed, ¡°Summoner, do you not want me anymore?!¡± As soon as the Scarecrow walked in, it started to feign crying. However, the Cola that was squeezed out of its eye sockets only showed that it was actually quite fine. ¡°So you¡¯re here!¡± Wu Guinan was delighted to see Li Pu. ¡°Good Morning, teacher,¡± As for Li Fan, he only greeted him respectfully. It¡¯s just¡­ Did Li Pu choose this new teacher? Although he didn¡¯t know Li Fan¡¯s appearance, Wu Guinan knew that the new teacher taught Sprint. The other teacher who taught Sprint was someone he had met before. Therefore, it was easy to determine the identity of the other party through elimination. ¡°You want to learn Sprint too?¡± Li Pu asked in place of Li Fan, who had deliberately remained silent. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Wu Guinan nodded, which made Li Fan¡¯s expression even uglier. In fact, as the last few in the competition to arrive, Wu Guinan did not have many choices. Therefore, he might as well attend the class with Li Pu, who he was more familiar with. It would make him feel more at ease. At this point, the course selection competition was finally over. Chapter 23 - Principal Chas Request Chapter 23 Principal Cha¡¯s Request The next day, in the principal¡¯s office. Li Fan casually sat across from Principal Cha while drinking a cup of high-quality tea. Principal Cha looked at the young teacher who was in his early 30s, and his expression was quite distressed. It could be seen that the other party didn¡¯t know how to appreciate tea at all, and was purely drinking it like water. Li Fan was once a top graduate of the Imperial Capital Summoner¡¯s University. Even before he graduated, he already had the combat strength of an ordinary teacher at Imperial University. He was once thought to have the potential to reach the level of a principal in the future. In the end, he heard that Li Fan was so engrossed in playing cards that he neglected his cultivation. Cube Cards were a very popular entertainment method among Summoners. In fact, there was a secret behind the cards that was related to the other world. To be honest, Principal Cha himself was also a fan of playing cards, but he believed that everything should have a limit. It was absolutely not advisable to slack off on one¡¯s improvement like Li Fan. However, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. As such, even though Li Fan was immersed in cards, he still had a very good standard as a Summoner. Therefore, when his old friend from the Imperial Capital asked him for help, Principal Cha immediately agreed to let Li Fan teach at his university. He just didn¡¯t expect that this guy would be so lazy. ¡°Mr. Principal, why did you ask me to come here today?¡± On the other side, Li Fan finished his tea in a few gulps and went straight to the point. To be honest, he wanted to light a cigarette, but he gave up out of politeness. ¡°Xiao Li, I called you here because I have a task for you,¡± Hearing the other party¡¯s question, Principal Cha came back to his senses and said with a meaningful expression. ¡­ ¡°This time, Li Fan did not dare to answer. He had come to teach at Western Capital University only because he had lost a game of cards. He just wanted to quietly pass the days as promised, then gather a good set of cards again and go back to the Imperial Capital. Although he didn¡¯t know Principal Cha¡¯s style of doing things, judging from his expression, he seemed as if he wanted to give him a very important mission. ¡°This mission is a personal request from me,¡± Seeing that the other party didn¡¯t reply, Principal Cha continued, ¡°I want you to pay more attention to Li Pu.¡± After all, he had limited energy. He couldn¡¯t keep an eye on Li Pu all the time. Entrusting this mission could also be considered as letting another take charge of the matter on his behalf. ¡°Li Pu? That strange little cripple?¡± When Li Fan heard this, he raised his eyebrows. It was only yesterday that he heard that the kid was the champion of this year¡¯s competition. The boy was clearly a cripple, yet he was still able to come in first. It was just ridiculous. It was possible that the other party had chosen Sprint with him as the teacher with a premeditated plan. He couldn¡¯t guarantee other Summoner skills, but Li Fan was sure that in the entire Western Capital University and even the Hua region, there might not be a teacher who could use Sprint better than him. He had even modified his version of Sprint, so it was definitely not just the ordinary Sprint. ¡°Oh? You also think that there¡¯s something off about him?¡± Principal Cha saw Li Fan¡¯s reaction and immediately agreed. When the boy had been facing the little Zen tree, he had thought that Li Pu was a logistics Summoner. Previously, when the boy had used his bare hands to tear the entangled vines, he had also thought the Li Pu was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. But later on, this judgment was shaken. This was because he saw that Li Pu could not only move freely between the violent plant magical beasts, but when he met magical beasts that were alone, he would go forward and beat the beast up. In contrast, Li Pu¡¯s summoned beast, the Scarecrow, followed behind its Summoner the entire time and did not make any contribution. Never mind how a cripple could be so agile, just the fact that he could single-handedly defeat and crush a berserk magical beast was enough to make people gasp in admiration. With his years of experience, Principal Cha was certain that none of the summoned beasts in this batch of new students was his match. Take note that he was comparing Li Pu, a Summoner, to the summoned beasts, instead of comparing summoned beasts to other summoned beasts. In other words, he felt that Li Pu¡¯s combat strength was at least comparable to a level 1 B-grade summoned beast. Now that he was allowed to learn Sprint, Principal Cha could already imagine that the boy¡¯s combat strength would continue to improve. The skills that other Summoners used to escape would probably be used by this kid as a weapon to beat his enemies. Of course, he didn¡¯t tell Li Fan these things in detail. The only request he made was for Li Fan to keep an eye on Li Pu and report to him if there were any special situations. ¡°I understand,¡± Hearing this, Li Fan nodded. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that I just need to take care of that cripple in the future? It seems || that he is an important junior of yours. I will take care of him. Don¡¯t worry.¡¯ To be honest, this mission was quite simple and easy, which made him feel relieved. ¡°Umm¡­¡± However, after hearing this, Principal Cha paused for a moment before saying, ¡°As for the other child, please take care of him too. That¡¯s my grandson.¡± ¡­ On the campus, Li Pu was talking to Wu Guinan table. at a stone ¡°After choosing our courses, we still have to choose majors?¡± Li Pu was speechless after hearing the introduction. Since he came to Western Capital University, he hadn¡¯t learned anything. Rather, he had gone through a speed race first, and now they had to duel. ¡°Yes, after the duel to choose your major, only then will school officially start,¡± Wu Guinan nodded and took out a bundle of water spinach from his storage space and handed it to the Rolling Turtle which was lying at his feet. [Gun!] The Rolling Turtle stretched its neck happily and held the water spinach in its mouth to enjoy it slowly. ¡°If I knew it would be so troublesome, I would have chosen another school¡­¡± Li Pu mumbled in a low voice, but it didn¡¯t escape Wu Guinan¡¯s ears. ¡°It¡¯s fine. There are still two weeks before the major selection process officially starts. You can rest well during this time. At the same time, you can cultivate a tacit understanding with your summoned beast,¡± Speaking of tacit understanding, Wu Guinan looked around and didn¡¯t find the Scarecrow at all. This Summoner-summoned beast duo was ridiculous. He hadn¡¯t seen the summoned beast by Li Pu¡¯s side for even a second today. Was it really okay to let it roam around freely like this? ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right,¡± Li Pu¡¯s attitude toward Wu Guinan was very gentle. There was no other reason than that his good classmate had lent him 1000 crystal coins, which allowed him to bestow the Bind skill that he got yesterday to the Scarecrow. On top of that, he even had 500 points left, allowing him to further consider what other skills to teach the Scarecrow. He remembered that apart from the Wind Listener Pavilion, among the remaining six types of pavilions, the Breaking Pavilion and Berserk Pavilion also had the remains of magical beasts. Now that he understood how to use the [Friend of Magical Beasts] function, it was time to go and take a look. Besides, he had almost finished his conversation with Wu Guinan, and he could set off at any time. Li Pu decided to ask the Scarecrow to come back first. Chapter 24 - Learning Bind Chapter 24 Learning Bind ¡°Let¡¯s end our conversation here today,¡± Li Pu stood up and searched his pockets. Under Wu Guinan¡¯s confused gaze, he finally took out a coin and let go. ¡°Tinkle¡­¡± The coin fell to the ground and made crisp tinkling sounds. Wu Guinan couldn¡¯t understand what he was doing. However, Li Pu didn¡¯t explain. He just stood there quietly and waited. After about 30 seconds, a green figure came from afar along with the voice. [Cao~~~!] The Scarecrow seemed to be screaming, ¡°Money, money!¡± Its eyes glowed as it pounced over. While it laded and rolled, it quickly caught the coin in its hand. ¡°¡­ Is this some kind of new summoning spell?¡± Wu Guinan was dumbfounded. He had heard of magical beasts that loved crystal coins, but he had never heard of one that loved federal coins. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen something more bizarre,¡± Li Pu shrugged and took out a large bottle of Coke from his storage space and handed it to the straw doll. [Cao, cao, cao~!] The Scarecrow expressed its thanks to its Summoner and it immediately took the Coke to gulp it down since it was hungry and thirsty. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to the Wind Listener Pavilion to train my Rolling Turtle,¡± Wu Guinan stood up and prepared to leave. There were still about two weeks before the duel for the major selection. If everything went well, he felt that his Rolling Turtle could be upgraded to level 2 or even level 3. Li Pu refused Wu Guinan¡¯s invitation to go along with him and watched the latter leave since he had no intention of going to the Wind Listener Pavilion. The first thing he had to do now was to upgrade the Scarecrow. So, he found a remote corner and poured out all the broken vines. [Cao!] Although it was at the scene, seeing so many broken vines piled up, the Scarecrow couldn¡¯t help but cry out and gasp at its Summoner¡¯s cruelty. Li Pu simply ignored it. He then took out and held the 500 remaining crystal coins in his hand, while pressing his other hand on the pile of vines. His mind moved, and he activated [Friend of Magical Beasts]. Following this, a flash of white light appeared briefly. After the white light dissipated, the crystal coins and most of the broken vines in his hands had all disappeared. ¡°I¡¯ll give the rest to the turtle,¡± Li Pu mumbled to himself as he looked at the small portion of broken vines left. He only needed 100 pieces of the broken vine for the Scarecrow to learn Bind, but he had collected 140 pieces just in case. It turned out that he had made the right decision in doing so. In the process just now, he noticed through the feedback that some of the broken vines didn¡¯t have enough vitality, so they couldn¡¯t be used by [Friend of Magical Beasts]. [Cao] The Scarecrow was very excited after obtaining the skill. It waved its hands and a few vines grew from the ground, wrapping around a big tree at the side. ¡°Whoosh¡­¡± As the vines tightened, the tree began to shake slightly. Li Pu watched on. He wondered if it was because of the Scarecrow¡¯s 10 wood attributes, but he felt that its Bind was much more flexible than the vines. It also seemed to be stronger. At this strength, probably even the Rolling Turtle could be tied up by the vines while it was rolling. However, the vines did not last for long. They quickly withered and turned into blue light before disappearing. However, this new experience still made the Scarecrow very satisfied. [Cao!] It expressed its gratitude for its Summoner¡¯s greatness. It had just been complaining about Li Pu¡¯s cruelty, but after receiving the benefits, it immediately changed its mind. ¡°You¡¯re a fence-sitter,¡± Li Pu shook his head helplessly and opened the Scarecrow¡¯s panel. [Scarecrow: Level 1, Wind Listener] [Strength: 10¡ú12, F] [Attribute: 10 Wood] [Ability: Gratitude] [Skills: Level 1 Snail Grass (C), level 1 Bind (F)] [Inscription Tool: Wisdom Root (B+)] Due to the new skill Bind, the Scarecrow¡¯s combat power had increased from 10 to 12. Li Pu was very satisfied with this. Compared to the 6 points of combat power the Scarecrow had when he first summoned it, it had doubled. In other words, the Scarecrow was now on par with an adult. If it leveled up later, it would probably become stronger very soon. Under the buffs of the Scarecrow¡¯s Gratitude, Li Pu could already feel his body getting stronger. Although the improvement was still weak, compared to before, it was at least so obvious that it could be detected now. ¡°Alright, between the Breaking Pavilion and the Berserk Pavilion, which one should I go to first?¡± Holding his chin, Li Pu decided to set off. [Cao! Cao, cao, cao!] However, the Scarecrow objected upon hearing this. It wanted to visit its little brother, the little Zen tree. It wondered what happened to the latter after it fell asleep yesterday. To be honest, there was another reason. It had had a good time yesterday and wanted to relive it. ¡°What you¡¯ve said seems to make sense,¡± Li Pu thought about it and felt that the Scarecrow¡¯s suggestion was not bad. Now, he only had less than 500 crystal coins left, and he had to use them wisely. He felt that whether it was the Breaking Pavilion or the Berserk Pavilion, the magical beast remains placed there were definitely similar to the Taiji Snail such that they were not of low grades. Based on his current experience, 500 crystal coins were not enough to acquire the skills from the related items. It would be better to find a weak magical beast to collect the related items and use them to get skills for the Scarecrow. After all, the duel for major selection was about to begin. It would be easier to get good results by raising the Scarecrow¡¯s level. The forest in the south of the school was undoubtedly the best place to go. He could deal with the magical beasts there by himself. With that, Li Pu and the Scarecrow boarded the school bus and quickly arrived at the school¡¯s South Gate. However, before he could step out of the school gate, he was stopped. ¡°Student, where are you going?¡± There were guards at every gate of the University. Moreover, because magical beasts were lurking everywhere, even the guards were Summoners, which was not a job that anyone could take on. ¡°Uh, to go out for a walk?¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t expect this. Yesterday was a group activity for all new students, so they were not stopped when they left the school gates. The security guard, [1 || If this were an ordinary University in an ordinary place, the guard would have believed it. However, what was outside? It was an area where one could encounter magical beasts in two steps. A new student might not even be able to make it back if he casually just walked around. Unsurprisingly, Li Pu was not allowed to go out. Helplessly, he could only make a call for help. As his phone had not been repaired yet, he borrowed the guard¡¯s phone. However, when he called Chang Shoushang¡¯s number, no one picked up. That was because the guy was still in the infirmary and had not woken up yet. Other than Chang Shoushang, Li Pu could only think of Li Fan. The teacher had left his number yesterday. The phone rang for a full 30 seconds before Li Fan finally picked up. When he heard the other party¡¯s voice, he knew that the teacher had just been sleeping. Li Pu explained the situation and then passed the phone to the guard. Perhaps because Li Fan was too impatient, he settled the problem with the guard in a few words. After hanging up the phone, the guard looked at Li Pu in a different light. This little cripple was the top student of this batch? To be honest, he didn¡¯t really believe it. However, Teacher Li had already made it clear that if anything were to happen to the boy, he would not be held responsible. With the guard¡¯s approval, Li Pu was finally able to leave. Chapter 25 - Discovering a Horde of Magical Beasts Chapter 25 Discovering a Horde of Magical Beasts Unlike yesterday¡¯s situation, it was close to noon now, and there was no fog at the edge of the forest. Moreover, the berserk nature of the plant-type magic beasts had long since receded. Yesterday, the rampage had only lasted for slightly more than an hour, and the forest was now peaceful and quiet. This would undoubtedly make Li Pu¡¯s next move more convenient. ¡°But How can I find the tiny Treant in this vast forest?¡± The only problem was that he didn¡¯t know how to start. The only way he could think of was to go deep and wander around. [Cao!] The Scarecrow patted its chest, telling Li Pu not to worry. With it around, it could smell the scent of its little brother from far away. Other than the Rolling Turtle, the little Zen tree had also become its little brother. This made Li Pu suspect that his summoned beast wasn¡¯t any ordinary grass-type summoned beast, but a very social one. Thus, the man and the Scarecrow walked into the forest. Since they were aimless, they might as well take their chances and go deeper. Although the fog had obstructed their view yesterday, Li Pu felt that he must have met the little Zen tree in the depths. [Deng~ Deng~ Deng~] After walking for a while, they heard a strange sound in front of them. Soon, the figure of the other party appeared in the dense forest. It was shaped like a large spring that was as tall as an ordinary person. It was grayish-green in color and hopping as it moved through the forest. Li Pu had encountered this type of magical beast yesterday, so he recognized it. It looked like a spring, but it wasn¡¯t. It was a snake. Its scientific name was the Bouncing Snake, non-toxic, and had a mixture of metal and wood attributes. Its main method of attack was by relying on its elasticity to collide with the target. One shouldn¡¯t be fooled by its leisurely appearance. Once it started fighting, its speed and strength were quite impressive. [Cao?] The Scarecrow immediately looked at Li Pu and requested to fight. It had just obtained a new skill and wanted to practice it. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Let¡¯s go,¡± Li Pu shook his head, showing no interest. Yesterday¡¯s experience made him realize a fact. That was: Unless he encountered a group of magical beasts like the entangled vines, fighting a single magical beast would not have much significance to him. This was because he would usually have to collect one hundred portions of materials from these weak fellows before they could be considered as a related item. If he were to rely on these solitary magical beasts to obtain materials, God knows when he would be able to get a full set. The Bouncing Snake was a relatively mild and neutral magical beast. It did not have high intelligence and did not have any sense of territory. When it wasn¡¯t in a berserk state, it would only be interested in fruits or fruit-type magical beasts, and wouldn¡¯t attack people. Therefore, the two parties passed by each other without any conflict. Li Pu and the Scarecrow continued their exploration. They finally stopped when they reached the center of South Forest. To be honest, Li Pu had a general direction for this operation. The time spent on the journey now was almost the same as the time spent on finding the little Zen tree yesterday. The difference was that he had definitely taken a detour yesterday, but he didn¡¯t today. In other words, their current location was definitely deeper into the forest than yesterday. Along the way, the magical beasts they encountered became increasingly stronger. There were even some aggressive magical beasts that chased after them, but Li Pu managed to avoid them. The Scarecrow¡¯s Perception of its 10 wood attributes had already given him a reminder that the aura of the magical beasts further on was even stronger. Li Pu had a rough idea of his abilities. If he continued to go deeper, he might not be so calm and safe anymore. The purpose of this trip was only to find the little Treant, not to seek death. Therefore, they adjusted their direction and changed to moving horizontally. As long as the little Treant¡¯s range of activity was near this depth in the forest, they should have a high chance of finding it. They headed east and after about an hour, the Scarecrow caught a whiff of the little Zen tree¡¯s fragrance. [Cao~] It raised its hands in celebration and pointed in a direction for Li Pu. They continued to head east. ¡°We finally found it,¡± Li Pu couldn¡¯t help but heave a sigh of relief. In this one hour, they had moved quite a distance. His physical fitness was relatively strong, so basically, his walking speed was the Scarecrow¡¯s upper limit. However, the Scarecrow was a summoned beast after all. As such, its physical strength was surprisingly good, and it was also not something that ordinary humans could catch up with. It didn¡¯t rest much along the way. When it was tired, it would drink a bottle of Coke and immediately feel much more energetic. Among the four magical beast zones surrounding the school, the southern zone was the one with the weakest magical beasts, with most of them being around levels 1 to 3. The weakest monsters in the other zones were at least level 5, and it was said that some small zones even had monsters at level 20 and above or even close to Rank 1. Li Pu was not afraid of accidentally entering the eastern zone if he went all the way east either. After the competition ended yesterday, he had specially looked at the map outside the school. Between each magical beast zone, there would be an obvious natural terrain that divided them. The border between the southern and western zones was a large river, while the border between the southern and eastern zones was a long mountain wall. As long as he didn¡¯t climb over the mountain wall, he wouldn¡¯t enter the dangerous eastern zone by mistake. Now, even though the Scarecrow had smelled the little Zen tree¡¯s fragrance, they were still a distance away from finding it. As they continued to move forward, Li Pu started to smell the fragrance as well. After tracking for another five minutes, they finally saw the little Treant. Just like the last time, it had its head buried in the soil while it shivered. After the Scarecrow¡¯s explanation yesterday, Li Pu found out that this was the unique hiding posture of the little Zen tree. To put it bluntly, this guy was no different from an ostrich. It was obvious that their approach had alarmed it again. [Cao!] The Scarecrow rushed up immediately and patted the other party¡¯s trunk, indicating for the fragrant little fellow to get up. [Su?] Hearing the familiar voice, the little Zen tree immediately pulled its head out of the soil. It didn¡¯t know that they were the ones who were coming, but it was now full of joy. [SU!] The two big brothers who liked to beat others up were here again! Originally, it had been wondering when these two would come and beat it up again. It didn¡¯t expect the surprise to come so quickly. If it was beaten every day, it would become stronger very quickly! With that, the Scarecrow and the little Treant began to communicate, but Li Pu didn¡¯t participate, because his attention was completely drawn to another place. It turned out that there was a wide valley where the little Zen tree was staying today. From the entrance of the valley, one could see a pile of things moving in the distance. A horde of magical beasts! Well then, hadn¡¯t the chance presented itself? Li Pu laughed when he saw this. Could it be that the little Treant could bring others good fortune such that he could get whatever he wanted? Chapter 26 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio The magical beasts in the valley were mushroom-type magical beasts that he had never seen before. Strictly speaking, mushrooms were not plants, but they were not much different from plants either. They were all chubby, and their average height was less than one meter with red mushroom caps dotted with round yellow spots, as well as snow-white bodies. Their facial features all grew on their bodies, and they only had hands but no legs. They moved forward by hopping. There were many types of mushroom-type magical beasts. With Li Pu¡¯s current knowledge, he was unable to identify them. ¡°Ask the little Treant if it knows about the situation in this valley,¡± Fortunately, he could ask the natives. [Cao!] [Cao, cao, cao!] [Su!] [Su, su, su, su] One side was dancing while the other side was shaking its head. The two communicated for a while. However, the response Li Pu received from the Scarecrow was not the answer he expected. The little Zen tree was well aware of the situation in the valley, but it requested that the two of them beat it up before it was willing to speak. ¡°Good fellow, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so clever. To think you even know how to ask for benefits first,¡± As Li Pu spoke, he rolled up his sleeves. This was the reason why they had been looking for the little Zen tree anyway. After all, he felt that they had hit it too lightly yesterday, not enough to compensate for the value of the Wisdom Root. ¡°Whip it hard.¡± [Cao!] Under Li Pu¡¯s command, the Scarecrow pulled out the whip. ¡°Pa, pa!¡± [Sob! Su, su!] With that, the man and the Scarecrow began to beat up the little Treant. An hour later, Li Pu sat under a tree, drenched in sweat. ¡°This is seriously physical work,¡± He had to admit that he was quite tired doing this. [Glug, glug, cao¡­] The Scarecrow responded from the side. It was in an even worse state. It was so exhausted that it lay sprawled on the ground. A large bottle of Coke was inserted vertically into its mouth, and the level of the liquid bubbled as it dropped. [Su, su, su!] On the other hand, the little Zen tree was the most energetic one present. To be honest, Li Pu had asked the Scarecrow to hold back a little this time. This was because he was afraid that the little fellow¡¯s Fragrance Powder would level up again from the beating. It would not be good if the nearby magical beasts went berserk again. But now, it seemed that he had been overthinking it. [Su?] Seeing Li Pu and the Scarecrow¡¯s exhausted looks, the little Zen tree sucked on its finger. [Su!] In the next second, it had a flash of inspiration. With that, it shook toward the man and the Scarecrow and produced a small amount of golden powder that landed on the two before disappearing into their bodies. ¡°Hmm?¡± This situation made Li Pu raise his eyebrows. Although it was not to the extent that his fatigue was completely swept away, at least 70% to 80% of the fatigue he felt just now had been removed. [Cao!] The Scarecrow felt the same. It already had the strength to sit up and gulp down more Coke. It turned out that the little Zen tree was not completely useless. Although the golden powder had no healing effects, it could relieve fatigue to a large extent. It was clear that it wasn¡¯t the kind of battle-type summoned beast that could fight head-on, but a support-type that could help from the side. The little Zen tree was already satisfied with being beaten up to this extent today. It wasn¡¯t that it didn¡¯t want to continue being beaten, but the nutrients it had eaten yesterday had been completely digested and transformed into its strength. Even if it continued being beaten, there was nothing more for it to digest. [Su, su, su! Su, su, su!] While the two of them were resting, the little Zen tree introduced the valley behind them. Through the Scarecrow¡¯s translation, Li Pu got his answer. According to the little Zen tree, this Valley was called Mushroom Valley. It was a very casual name, and it sounded more like the little Zen tree had come up with it. In short, various kinds of mushrooms were everywhere in the valley, as well as many mushroom-type magical beasts. The Red-headed Mushroom was the most abundant species in Mushroom Valley. They were usually relatively mild-mannered and were considered neutral magical beasts before they were provoked. However, once any of their companions were attacked, they would attack as a group. They were very united. There were other kinds of mushrooms in the depths of the valley, but their range of activity was relatively far from the entrance of the valley, so they could not be seen here. ¡°So they¡¯ll launch a group attack? That will be hard,¡± Li Pu fell into deep thought after hearing the explanation. First of all, no matter what skill these Red-headed Mushrooms could provide, he wanted it. After all, in this forest, the only magical beasts that were enough in number to collect the relevant items were the Red-headed Mushrooms other than the Entangled Vines. Whether it was learning, fusion, or sacrifice, they were all beneficial to the Scarecrow, so he couldn¡¯t miss them. However, he was not sure about the individual combat power of these Red-headed Mushrooms. Moreover, even if he were to estimate their combat strength based on their weakest, it was still impossible for him to withstand such a large number of them coming all at once. [Su, su, su!] However, the little Zen tree seemed to have understood Li Pu¡¯s difficulties. It raised its branches. [Cao!] The Scarecrow relayed the message and told its Summoner that the little Zen tree says it has a way! ¡°Oh?¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t expect the Scarecrow¡¯s little brother to be so useful. With this, the little Zen tree made another introduction. In its mouth, these Red-headed Mushrooms were very stupid. In the words of a Summoner, these magical beasts had almost no intelligence. The little Zen tree could use the fragrance to lure them out one by one for Li Pu to defeat. ¡°This plan is not bad, but it¡¯s a little late now,¡± Li Pu still felt that the plan was a little inappropriate. The Sun had set completely after they had finished beating the little Zen tree. Now, there was only the afterglow of the Sun left, and even the figures of the Red-headed Mushrooms were a little blurry. [Su!] However, the little Zen tree indicated that this was not a problem at all. It walked to the entrance of the valley with small steps. Then, it shook its body again, and a large amount of silver powder floated into the valley. The fragrance powder landed on various parts of the valley and stained them, including the bodies of some Red-headed Mushrooms. The powder provided good lighting, so the whole valley was lit up in an instant. ¡°Little Treant, you¡¯re not as useless as you look,¡± Li Pu walked to the entrance of the valley and couldn¡¯t help praising. [Su!] Although the little Zen tree did not fully understand human language, it could vaguely understand that it was being praised, so it immediately stuck out its chest. ¡°Well, what are you waiting for? Let¡¯s start,¡± Since all the conditions were met, Li Pu clapped his hands. [Cao!] After discussing the plan, the Scarecrow followed Li Pu to the big rock at the exit of the valley and hid. [Su!] Meanwhile, the little Zen tree carefully lifted its branch arm and gently swung it toward the valley. Whoosh~ Invisible fragrant powder drifted into the valley and landed before the nose of the Red-headed Mushroom at the outermost area of the valley. [Gugu! Gugu!] The Red-headed Mushroom¡¯s expression brightened, and it bounced out following the scent. ¡­ [Red-headed Mushroom] [Berserk-type, 6 water 4 earth, F] [Mushroom Head Hammer (F): Advance violently, throwing a head punch.] [Introduction: The most common ordinary mushroom-type magical beast.] Chapter 27 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio [Gugu! Gugu!] Just as the Red-headed Mushroom was attracted and jumped, leaving the valley, a few vines that grew out of the ground immediately wrapped around it several times. [Gugu!] The Red-headed Mushroom immediately let out a cry of fear. Unfortunately, it was too far away from its tribe and no one else had noticed that it had been attacked. [Cao!] The Scarecrow cried excitedly to tell its Summoner that it had succeeded! This was the first time the Scarecrow used Bind on a living target. It seemed that its 10 wood attribute indeed made it quite talented in this area, and it managed to bind Red-headed Mushroom in one try. ¡°Very good,¡± Li Pu complimented the Scarecrow casually and went to the Red-headed Mushroom in a flash. When it came to fighting, he was still better than the Scarecrow. [Gugu!] However, when the enemy appeared, the Red-headed Mushroom¡¯s originally gentle and even slightly cute facial features suddenly became fierce. The contrast stunned Li Pu. At the same time, the Red-headed Mushroom aimed its head at him and launched an attack. ¡°Pa!¡± The impact of the skill directly tore the Scarecrow¡¯s vines apart. The unexpected twist of events caught them off guard. Li Pu¡¯s reaction was already considered fast, but even he only had time to cross his arms in front of his body. Bang! The huge impact sent him flying. [Gugu!] The successful attack made the Red-headed Mushroom wave its small fists and cheer. ¡°Ouch ¡­¡± As for Li Pu, he was in so much pain that he was grimacing. Fortunately, he was now a Summoner, and his physique was strengthened by the Scarecrow. If it was the previous him, he felt that the bones in his hands would at least be broken. It seemed that he had underestimated these magical beasts. He could not let his guard down at any time. [Su, su, su!] The little Zen tree expressed its concern over the cripple. [Cao!] The Scarecrow was furious. To think this damned mushroom dared to hurt its sugar daddy, no, Summoner! Its Summoner was a good Summoner who bought Coke for it every day. In a moment of desperation, it rushed up to the Red-headed Mushroom and attacked it. [Cao!] The Scarecrow intended to let the Red-headed Mushroom take its fist, but the result was that its two grass fists merely spun in circles as they the hit Red-headed Mushroom, like a primary school student fighting. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to teach it some martial arts some other day,¡± Li Pu stood up and was speechless at the scene. [Gugu!] [Cao!] With another headbutt from the Red-headed Mushroom, the Scarecrow was sent flying as well. Pachi! The Scarecrow crashed into a big tree and then slid down limply. [Cao!] The Scarecrow was angered by the arrogant short mushroom. In the next second, it raised its hands and roared as it stood up. ¡°The Scarecrow is quite tough,¡± Li Pu nodded his head as he watched from the side. However, the attacks of the Scarecrow alone would probably not be able to deal with the Red-headed Mushroom in a short time. Therefore, he still used telepathy to tell the Scarecrow to retreat and not get in the way, while he once again went up to fight the enemy. [Gugu!] Li Pu dodged to the side and avoided the headbutt from the Red-headed Mushroom again. He had only been hit just now because he had been careless. If he was prepared, he could react in time to such attacks. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, before he could swing his fist, he realized that the Red-headed Mushroom seemed to be a little dispirited. ¡°I see,¡± The next second, he came to a realization. There was a high chance that the Red-headed Mushroom was a Berserk-type magical beast. After using its Head Hammer twice in a row, its mana could not keep up. Therefore, the third strike was released by consuming its life force. As this magical beast¡¯s intelligence was very low, he estimated that he only needed to make it cast its skills and thus consume its life force a few more times before being able to deal with it without much effort. Li Pu immediately changed his strategy. He went from taking the initiative to attack to circling the Red-headed Mushroom while slowing down his pace. This way, it would be easier for the Red-headed Mushroom to aim at him and release its Head Hammer. As expected, the Red-headed Mushroom continued to use its head to ram into Li Pu, but Li Pu dodged it every time. After a few rounds, it was close to the end of its life. [Gugu!] As Li Pu¡¯s fist landed on its head, the Red-headed Mushroom finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and fell to the ground. Pachi! As it fell to the ground, its entire body shattered into several large mushroom pieces. ¡°Done,¡± Li Pu heaved a long sigh of relief. This had been really tiring. [Cao!] The Scarecrow cried as if to say, ¡°All hail the Summoner!¡± [Su!] The little Zen tree also expressed that the little cripple was the best! The two who had basically been watching the show the entire time cheered at this time. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the harvest first,¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t respond to them. Instead, he bent down to check the large mushroom pieces on the ground. [Level 1 Mushroom Head Hammer (F)] 1/100 [Active Effect: Violently charge forward and deliver a headbutt.] [Attribute Requirement: None] [Type Requirement: None] [Race Requirement: Must have a head.] ¡°¡­¡± Looking at the race requirement, Li Pu felt that it was quite reasonable. Although he couldn¡¯t think of any magical beasts that didn¡¯t have a head, it was true that headless ones couldn¡¯t use the Head Hammer. This skill seemed ordinary. After all, Li Pu had personally experienced its power. Therefore, he would not even consider giving it to the Scarecrow. At the moment, the Scarecrow that was only at Rank 0 could only master 5 skills at most. Learning such a trash skill would only take up space. As for the fusion, Li Pu felt that he could take a look at its effects. It wasn¡¯t that he really wanted to fuse the skills, but since this function had a preview effect, it would be a waste not to read it. [Snail Hammer (E): Activate a charging headbutt with increased power. During this period, the movement will be greatly slowed and has a knockback effect.] ¡°It¡¯s too useless,¡± Li Pu was speechless when he saw the first option. Not only had the skill dropped from C-grade to E-grade, but the ¡°substantial increase¡± in ¡°substantial increase in power¡± had also been removed. It seemed that fusing skills did not necessarily strengthen them. Then, he looked at the skill¡¯s fusion with Bind. [Binding Charge (F): charge forward and create vines to bind the target.] ¡°This is even funnier,¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t understand what the difference was between using Bind on the spot and using the same skill after charging after a certain distance. Wasn¡¯t the latter just unnecessary? As expected, this skill could only be used as fertilizer for sacrifices. Either way, in terms of cost, the money he had left in his pocket could only be used for sacrifice anyway, which was exactly 500 crystal coins. The price to learn a skill was not only related to the skill¡¯s grade but also the number of skills the Scarecrow had. In the afternoon, Bind, which was also F-grade, had cost him 500 crystal coins. Now, Mushroom Head Hammer would cost him 1000 crystal coins. On the other hand, the cost of the fusion seemed to be related to the target. For example, the Mushroom Head Hammer¡¯s fusion with Snail Grass was much more expensive than the fusion with Bind. Either way, he couldn¡¯t afford either option. The only good news was that the mushroom pieces on the ground were not just one in a hundred of the portions required for the related item. The two largest pieces were considered one portion each. In other words, he only needed to kill about 50 Red-headed Mushrooms to get the skill. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s continue,¡± Li Pu looked at the number of Red-headed Mushrooms in the valley. There was more than enough. Chapter 28 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Relying on the strategy with the little Zen tree luring the enemy, the Scarecrow binding and thus controlling the targets from the side, and Li Pu as the main force, the three fought for nearly three hours just like that. To be more precise, Li Pu fought for nearly three hours. After all, the little Zen tree and the Scarecrow only used their skills intermittently, so their mana consumption was not that great. Li Pu rested a few times during the process. Even with the golden powder from the little Zen tree, he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. After all, he was not made of steel. But no matter what the process was, he had finally completed his goal. ¡°Hu¡­ let me take a look,¡± As the Red-headed Mushroom in front of him fell and shattered, Li Pu let out a long breath. Now, there were large and small mushroom fragments scattered outside the valley entrance. Those that met the relevant specifications had been piled up into a small hill in one place. Before this last Red-headed Mushroom, he had already collected 99 effective fragments out of the hundred he needed. Thus, Li Pu knew that this one would definitely make up the numbers. ¡°Although it¡¯s very stingy, it¡¯s enough,¡± After picking and choosing, he carried the only effective large mushroom fragment and walked towards the pile of fragments. ¡°Come, come over here,¡± At the same time, he waved his hand to signal the Scarecrow to come closer. His Summoner¡¯s talent required his summoned beast to be closer to him when using. If the Scarecrow was too far away, it would not be effective. [Cao!] With the experience of learning Bind, the Scarecrow knew that its Summoner was probably going to use that magical method again. This time, what kind of strange skills would it obtain? It jogged over with curiosity and excitement. Li Pu, on the other hand, had one hand on the pile of mushroom-related items and the other hand filled with crystal coins he had just taken out. After a burst of light, both items disappeared. At the same time, the Scarecrow suddenly felt a mysterious power appear in its body out of thin air. The power enveloped it in an instant, causing every inch of its body to feel warm and comfortable. Other than feeling comfortable, it also gave it violent strength. [Ohohoh cao!] The Scarecrow¡¯s two black eyes burst out with light. It felt different from before! [Su, su, su!] The little Zen tree also became excited when it saw the Scarecrow¡¯s appearance. Although it called the Scarecrow its ¡°big brother¡±, its level was actually much higher than the latter. According to its past experience, this was probably a sign that the other party was about to level up. Li Pu, who had finished his operation, quickly opened the Scarecrow¡¯s interface. [Scarecrow: Level 1¡ú4, Wind Listener] [Strength: 12¡ú22, F] [Attribute: 10 Wood] [Ability: Gratitude] [Skills: Level 1 Snail Grass, level 1 Bind] [Inscription Tool: Wisdom Root] ¡°As expected, the sacrifice doesn¡¯t need to be digested at all!¡± Li Pu was overjoyed to see the Scarecrow¡¯s combat strength increase immediately, and it was even a leap in level. The current situation showed that the Scarecrow could totally skip the process of absorption, digestion, and growth with him around. As long as he used ¡°skill sacrifice¡±, what had to be done in three steps could be achieved in one step! In this case, the speed at which he could train his summoned beast would be many times faster than others! ¡°This is great,¡± Moreover, due to the increase in the Scarecrow¡¯s combat power, he felt that his physical fitness had also improved a little. If he had this kind of strength just now, he might have been able to crush a Red-headed Mushroom with a few punches. [Cao, cao! Cao, cao, cao!] The Scarecrow stated its need for rest. Even though it did not need to digest the power, this one-step cultivation method had a small side effect. The Scarecrow was obviously not used to the sudden increase in its combat strength, and its whole body suddenly became fatigued. Similar to the upgrade of the little Zen tree yesterday, it needed a way to resist the contrasting feelings. Therefore, it dragged its exhausted body and quickly dug a hole in the soil. Following this, it lay down and asked Li Pu and the little Zen tree to cover it in soil, leaving only its head outside. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Li Pu couldn¡¯t understand the Scarecrow¡¯s way of resting. Perhaps it had something to do with it being a grass-type magical beast. The only thing he could do was to take out a bottle of Coke and put it next to the Scarecrow¡¯s mouth. [Glug glug, cao! Burp!] The Scarecrow indicated that there was no need for worry and that it was fine. It took a few gulps of Coke and burped. Its expression seemed to be enjoying it. ¡°How long do you have to lie like this?¡± Li Pu looked at the Scarecrow and reached into his pocket. He wanted to take out his phone to check the time, but he remembered that he didn¡¯t have a phone. He estimated that it was at least nine O ¡®clock at night. ¡°I can only wait then,¡± He couldn¡¯t do anything about it, so he went to a big tree and sat down. Anyway, he was very tired too, so it was good to rest for a while. When the little Zen tree saw him like this, it sprinkled some more golden powder on him before running to stand guard between the Scarecrow and Li Pu. The golden powder could only recover the body¡¯s fatigue but was useless for mental fatigue. After farming Red-headed Mushrooms for so long, Li Pu felt sleepy the moment he sat down. Taking into account the presence of the Scarecrow and the little Zen tree, he closed his eyes in peace and decided to have a little nap. However, his previous experience in surviving in the wild made him still maintain a minimum level of vigilance. Even with his eyes closed, he did not fall into a deep sleep. As long as there was the slightest movement nearby, he would wake up immediately. God knows how long he slept like this, but a subtle, strange cry suddenly entered his ears. [Hiss¡­ Hiss¡­] [Cao!] [Su, su, su!] [Beep, beep, cao!] What followed was the urgent cries of the Scarecrow and the little Treant. The Scarecrow even imitated the sound of an alarm. God knows where it had learned that from. ¡°!¡± In just an instant, Li Pu woke up. ¡°What the hell is this!¡± The moment he opened his eyes, he almost broke out in a cold sweat. Thanks to the glowing silver powder scattered by the little Zen tree, he could see his surroundings clearly. Just 20 meters away from him was a giant lizard as big as a rhinoceros, staring at him while flicking its tongue. The huge body of the magical beast made Li Pu come to his senses immediately. It was a magical beast and not an ordinary one at that. Other than the difference in size, the biggest difference between this magical beast and an ordinary lizard was that it had eight legs, and on its back were many small hard mushrooms. If someone with Trypophobia saw this beast, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to stand it. [Su, su, su! Su, su, su, su, su!] The little Zen tree was calling out urgently, trying to say something. [Cao!] The Scarecrow that was buried in the ground quickly translated the message to Li Pu. This huge lizard was the king at the top of the food chain in the valley, and it fed on all the mushroom-type magical beasts in the valley. Usually, it would only hunt for food in the valley and rarely left. ¡°So it¡¯s targeting me now?¡± He looked at the posture of the Mushroom-eating Lizard, and it was obvious that it was coming for him. Could it be that his body was stained with too much of the Red-headed Mushroom¡¯s smell that it mistook him for a mushroom? Li Pu¡¯s expression turned serious at this thought. It was obvious that this magical beast was not on the same level as the Red-headed Mushroom. Chapter 29 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio [Su, su,su!] After the introduction, the little Zen tree released a cloud of pink powder toward Li Pu. Following this, it stuck its head into the ground. ¡°¡­¡± Li Pu looked at this scene and found them simply bizarre. The Scarecrow only left its head outside, while the little Treant only stuffed its head into the soil. These two guys were really compatible. However, when the red powder landed on Li Pu, he suddenly felt a force well up from his lower abdomen. ¡°W-what is this¡­?¡± The strange position from where the force welled up was a little uncomfortable, but the force quickly spread throughout his body. A brand new, or perhaps better described as stronger, sense of power filled his limbs. Li Pu thus understood that the little Zen tree had boosted his combat power. ¡°Can I defeat the lizard in this state?¡± He looked at the Mushroom-eating Lizard and thought in puzzlement. Judging from the other party¡¯s build and aura, Li Pu was quite uncertain. But at least he knew what he had to do next, which was to lead the other party away. Otherwise, if the little Treant was accidentally affected, it might die. As for the Scarecrow, it didn¡¯t need much worrying about. After all, even if it died, it could be resurrected. It was just that he didn¡¯t have the money to buy a resurrection talisman at the moment, so the Scarecrow better stayed fine. [Guchi, guchi!] At that moment, the Mushroom-eating Lizard roared at Li Pu. Whoosh! As it roared, a mushroom the size of a fist shot out from its back and headed straight for Li Pu¡¯s face. The mushroom was much faster than the Red-head Mushroom¡¯s Head Hammer. If it was before, he would not have been able to react in time, but thanks to the improvement brought about by the Scarecrow¡¯s level upgrade and the little Treant¡¯s pink powder buff, he simply lowered his head slightly and avoided it. The shooting mushroom brushed past the back of his head, making Li Pu feel a chill. Crack! A cracking sound came from behind him, and he turned around. The tree that was shot by the mushroom had its tough bark cracked open, and the mushroom¡¯s head was embedded in it. ¡°That¡¯s quite a powerful attack,¡± Li Pu was quite fearful when he saw this. If he had really been hit on the head just now, he wondered if his scalp was tough enough. ¡°You guys stay here and don¡¯t move,¡± Li Pu ran into the valley after saying that. Even though he was a cripple and his steps were uneven, his left leg was strong. With a stomp, his whole body seemed to be flying as he dashed forward with speed. [Cao!] The Scarecrow expressed its worry and reminded its Summoner to not die. Its request sounded quite inauspicious. [Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!] As the little Zen tree¡¯s head was buried in the soil, even its cries were muffled. [Guchi, guchi!] The Mushroom-eating Lizard¡¯s target was indeed Li Pu. After seeing him escape, it didn¡¯t even look at the Scarecrow or the little Zen tree. It immediately followed into the valley. Most importantly, perhaps because it had many legs, it was not slow. Even with the pink powder buff from the little Zen tree, Li Pu could not outrun it. They were running at the same speed and there was no way to shake it off. The little Treant¡¯s introduction about the valley had been very detailed, and he still remembered it. The entrance and exit of the valley¡¯s main road were connected to the outside world, and the mushrooms inside would not actively attack outsiders. If he brought the Mushroom-eating Lizard in, it might be attracted by some delicious mushrooms. At that time, he would be able to wait for the opportunity to act. [Gugu! Gugu!] However, no matter how stupid the mushroom-type magical beasts in the valley were, they still had basic survival instincts. When they saw their natural enemy appear, they all started to flee. In an instant, the entire valley was in chaos. Wherever Li Pu went with the Mushroom-eating Lizard, the mushrooms would run for their lives. The speed of the chase was very fast, and those legless mushrooms that could only jump could naturally not compare to them. However, even though they had already entered the mushroom group, the Mushroom-eating Lizard seemed to only have eyes for Li Pu. It didn¡¯t even care about the mushrooms that passed by it. ¡°I miscalculated,¡± Li Pu felt helpless when he noticed this. ¡°Wait,¡± However, just as he was moving through the mushroom group, he suddenly had an idea. [Guchi, guchi!] Whoosh! At this moment, another mushroom was shot from behind. As Li Pu was always alert, he turned and dodged the attack. [Gugu!] Pachi! Instead, a Red-headed Mushroom in front of him exploded on the spot. ¡°I just thought of it, but it¡¯s here right now,¡± When Li Pu passed by, he bent down to pick up the mushroom that the Mushroom-eating Lizard had shot out. His two experiences with the Twining Vines and the Red-headed Mushrooms made him fall into a misunderstanding. He didn¡¯t actually have to kill the magical beasts to obtain the related items. The very first Taji Snail was a good example. ¡°As expected!¡± Looking at the mushroom in his hand, Li Pu smiled because the relevant information had already appeared in his mind. [Level 1 Mushroom Poison Antibody (D)] 5/100 [Passive Effect: Immune to all mushroom-type toxins] [Attribute Requirement: None] [Type Requirement: Wind Chaser / Balance] [Race Requirement: Mushroom-related Species] First of all, no matter what skill it was, a D-grade skill was very pleasing. On top of that, this mushroom alone was worth 5 portions out of a hundred. In other words, he only needed to pick 20 mushrooms before he could get a relevant item. However, the next second, something unexpected happened. The small mushroom in Li Pu¡¯s hand quickly withered into a dried black mushroom. The information from the item also disappeared. ¡°It withers so quickly after leaving the lizard¡¯s body?¡± He was speechless. Did this mean he had to get mushrooms from the Mushroom-eating Lizard¡¯s back while it was still alive? This was obviously not realistic. [Guchi, guchi!] While he was thinking, another mushroom was shot over. This time, Li Pu was a little distracted, so he didn¡¯t manage to dodge in time. His forearm was accidentally grazed, and it immediately swelled. ¡°Let¡¯s think about how to escape first,¡± He grimaced in pain and put aside all distracting thoughts, focusing all his attention on escaping, ¡°This is bad.¡± However, not long after, a bad situation appeared. The main road of the valley was indeed linked to the outside world, but the other side roads were not. When he passed a fork in the road just now, Li Pu didn¡¯t know which was the main road and which was the side road. Now it seemed that he had obviously chosen a side road because the mountain wall in front of him told him that there was no way out. This dead end in the valley was empty. There was not even a tree except for some hay on the ground. This was originally the gathering place of the mushroom-type magical beasts, but they had long since disappeared after being alarmed by the Mushroom-eating Lizard. [Guchi! Hiss¡­] It was obvious that the Mushroom-eating Lizard had noticed Li Pu¡¯s predicament. It slowed down its pace and approached while flicking its tongue. ¡°You forced me to do this,¡± Li Pu looked at the enemy who was charging at him and knew that he had no other choice. He was going to lift the seal. ¡­ [Mushroom-eating Lizard] [Wind Chaser, 7 earth and 3 wood, D] [Mushroom-eating Cannon (D): Launch hard mushrooms] [Mushroom Poison Antibody (D): Immune to all mushroom-type toxins] [Description: Feeds on mushrooms, and at the same time, produces mushrooms.] Chapter 30 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio [Guchi, guchi?] The Mushroom-eating Lizard immediately stopped in its tracks when it saw the other party¡¯s movement. It had to admit that this was the fastest prey it had ever encountered. The speed at which the creature was running was so fast that it didn¡¯t even seem like a mushroom. However, it knew that its sense of smell would not lie to it. This fellow had a very strong smell of Red-headed Mushrooms, so it should be a powerful Red-headed Mushroom that had mutated. The mutated mushrooms were usually exceptionally delicious. This was also the reason why it was so persistent. At that moment, Li Pu lowered his head and bent down. This action made the Mushroom-eating Lizard tense up and take two steps back. It knew that the most powerful attack of these Red-headed Mushrooms was to hit it with their heads. However, the attack that it had expected did not happen. It only saw the other party reach his hand to his left foot and did some kind of action. [Guchi, guchi¡­!] Gradually losing its patience, the Mushroom-eating Lizard bared it two rows of sharp teeth. At the same time, it saw the other party get up again and shake his left foot. A chain-like object that it couldn¡¯t see clearly was flying straight at it. [Guchi, guchi!] The Mushroom-eating Lizard wanted to dodge, but it realized that its body couldn¡¯t keep up with its reaction. Fortunately, the other party didn¡¯t seem to be aiming, and the thing brushed past the tip of its nose before falling to the ground. Bang! [Guchi?!] After the loud noise, the Mushroom-eating Lizard suddenly lost its balance. In its panic, it hurriedly retreated, then subconsciously looked at the ground. With one look, it was so frightened that it quivered. That unknown object had smashed out a considerable pothole on the ground! [Guchi, guchi?] Mushroom-eating Lizard was puzzled. Could it be another type of mushroom that was good at long-range attacks? ¡°Now I feel relaxed,¡± As for Li Pu, he was stretching his left ankle, looking very comfortable. In fact, what he had thrown just now was nothing special. The so-called ¡°seal¡± was just an ordinary weight-bearing belt. However, the padding inside the belt was heavy. The filler was something he called ¡°super-heavy iron sand¡±. Li Pu only knew that the density of the padding was extremely high, but he didn¡¯t know what material it was. This was because his grandfather had specially prepared it for him and had only mentioned that it was the product of a magical beast, but didn¡¯t go into more detail. As for the reason why he had weights on his left foot, the reason was simple. That was to add some restrictions to his left leg so that his movements could be more coordinated and balanced. Without the weight restriction, Li Pu¡¯s imbalance between his legs would worsen, causing him to be even more crippled than before. But at the same time¡­ He was also stronger. Bang! While the Mushroom-eating Lizard was still dazed, he stomped his left foot, and the soil on the ground suddenly splashed. With just one step, Li Pu crossed a distance of five to six meters and arrived in front of the other party. He was currently in his strongest state so far, so the effect of the jump surprised him a little as well. However, Li Pu immediately reacted and felt quite proud. As long as he was fast enough, did he even need Flash? [Guchi?!] As for the Mushroom-eating Lizard, all it saw was the other party rushing towards it at an extremely fast speed. However, the mushroom prey seemed to be looking down on him a little too much. The Mushroom-eating Lizard raised its front paw, intending to smash this little thing into a pulp. It had eaten a lot of mushroom paste anyway. It knew that they tasted the same. Bang! However, before it could swing its sharp claws, it suddenly felt a numbing sensation in its lower jaw. With the help of the pothole created by the belt, Li Pu occupied a lower ground. Standing in the pothole, his kick was just enough to hit the magical beast¡¯s chin. One had to know that when one¡¯s body suffered a heavy blow, one might not feel pain at first. However, this was only temporary. In less than a second, an intense pain burst out from the lower jaw of the Mushroom-eating Lizard. The pain instantly spread through its head and extended to its body. [Guwooo!] At this moment, its animalistic instinct finally made the Mushroom-eating Lizard feel fear. Never mind what kind of mushroom it was facing, it wasn¡¯t something it could eat! ¡°Where are you running to?¡± However, just as it turned around, it saw a terrifying figure blocking its way. Why was its ¡°prey¡± so fast? Was it a Lightning Mushroom? The Mushroom-eating Lizard¡¯s eyes widened. However, it knew very well that if it surrendered now, it would most likely be finished. [Guchi, guchi!] So, it used all its strength to let out a huge roar. The shaking sound waves spread throughout the valley, making all the mushroom-type magical beasts tremble in fear. However, what responded to this roar was a whip kick. Pa! Boom! The huge and heavy body of the Mushroom-eating Lizard was directly sent flying. It crashed into the stone wall of the valley and fainted on the spot! Li Pu understood the nature of beasts very well. In this situation, the louder they roared, the more afraid they were. What he really had to guard against was the kind of beasts that did not make a sound in desperate situations. That was because it meant that they were planning to launch a final counterattack. At this point, he knew that things were not over yet. He had to completely deal with the Mushroom-eating Lizard now, or else it would cause a lot of trouble when it woke up. Hence, he limped over to the unconscious lizard and what he did next was simple. He only needed to stomp hard. ¡­ Five minutes later, the dying Mushroom-eating Lizard finally breathed its last. ¡°Great, now I¡¯m really crippled,¡± Li Pu sat on the ground, his head covered in sweat. This thing had tougher skin than he had imagined, and although his left leg was strong, it couldn¡¯t withstand such repeated torture. His left leg was already swollen, and the swell probably wouldn¡¯t go down for a few days. ¡°It seems that to maintain the strength of my left leg, I¡¯ll have to get some skills to improve the sturdiness of my body when I have the opportunity in the future,¡± As he panted, he thought to himself. However, that was a matter to consider in the future. The problem in front of him now was: What should he do with this Mushroom-eating Lizard? It had been verified just now that the mushrooms on its back could not be removed, or they would wither and lose their effectiveness in a short time. However, to ensure that he could continue his activities in Mushroom Valley in the future, he had to get rid of this troublesome fellow. Thus, he could not let the tiger return to the mountain either. Losing a potential D-grade skill for nothing still caused him to feel quite pained. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, as time passed, Li Pu noticed something. Although the Mushroom-eating Lizard had died, the mushrooms on its back had not withered. Could it be that it had little to do with the lizard¡¯s survival? As long as the mushrooms didn¡¯t leave the lizard¡¯s back, they could continue to be kept fresh? With this question in mind, he plucked a mushroom. As expected, it withered after a few seconds. However, the mushrooms on the back of the Mushroom-eating Lizard were still fresh. ¡°This is easy, then,¡± Li Pu snapped his fingers. He only needed to bring this thing back and get the skill when he had crystal coins. Good plan, wonderful. Chapter 31 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Late at night, a group of sneaky figures was approaching the school¡¯s South Gate. One of them had golden hair, which was quite eye-catching at night. There were other halves in the batch of freshmen, but there was only one with pure blonde hair, and that was Fulde. However, he was not the leader of this operation. On the contrary, he was at the end of the small group of about ten people. The one leading the way was an ordinary-looking boy. ¡°Chang Jiantao, are you sure the news is correct?¡± A girl in the group asked him in a low voice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my brother is a second-year student in the school. He¡¯s the one who told me the news,¡± The leading boy turned around. Although it was too dark to see his expression, his tone was very certain. Their purpose in heading to the South Forest this time was a small carrion-type magical beast called the Luminous Spider. Although it was only at the F-grade, due to its luminous nature, it had a value that ordinary F-grade magical beasts didn¡¯t have. This kind of magical beast only appeared at night and was most active when it was close to midnight when they hunted for food. At other times, even if they were right under someone¡¯s nose, they might not be discovered because their concealment abilities were very strong. The goal of this small group was to capture some Luminous Spiders. It didn¡¯t matter whether the spider was captured dead or alive, though, of course, it would be better if the target was captured alive. Capturing the Luminous Spider was naturally not for the sake of selling it. If it was really for the money, there was no way that Fulde would¡¯ve participated. The reason for capturing the magical beast was for a course after school started, called ¡°Material Collection¡±. It was said that this was the course with the highest failure rate this semester. Students often failed the course and take it again because they couldn¡¯t complete the material collection task for the final exam. The actions of Chang Jiantao and the others tonight were simply a plan for the future. This was because the course allowed a high degree of freedom. As long as one was capable enough, even if one collected materials of sufficient value before the course even started, one¡¯s results would be recognized. The so-called ¡°sufficient value¡± would usually take into account many factors. For example, in the area of magical beast materials, the strength of the magical beast, the function of the materials, whether the materials were rare, whether they could be collected independently, and so on would all affect the final score. If they could reach the standard in advance, it would be equivalent to getting a medallion that allowed them to not sit for the exam, and they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it for the entire semester. The Luminous Spider was one of the approved materials in this course. Only one living Lumisou Spider or three complete corpses of the magical beast were needed to reach the standards. Of course, the average new student would not know about this in advance. However, Chang Jiantao¡¯s older brother was a second-year student here who had failed this course last year due to being accidentally injured. Logically speaking, the operation tonight should have been led by his brother, a senior. Yet, Chang Jiantao couldn¡¯t find his brother since yesterday. The other party¡¯s phone was turned off no matter how many times he tried to call. In the end, they could only choose to organize the operation themselves. ¡°But I heard that new students are not allowed to go out as they please.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, there must be a senior leading the team, or a note from the teacher.¡± At this time, other people on the team expressed their uneasiness. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already asked around. That¡¯s why I told you to prepare in advance,¡± Chang Jiantao said as he lifted his foot. Before they left the dormitory, each of them had tied sponges to their soles. ¡°Is the guard at the South Gate really as amazing as you said?¡± Although everyone did as they were told, some people were still skeptical. ¡°Wrong, he¡¯s not the one who¡¯s powerful,¡± Chang Jiantao wagged his finger, his expression solemn, ¡°What¡¯s more powerful is his summoned beast, the Earth-hearing Beast. I heard that the movements of magical beasts within a five-mile radius can¡¯t escape the ears of the Earth-hearing Beast. At Western Capital University, one can¡¯t be a guard without some abilities. Rather, his strength and status are higher than that of an ordinary teacher.¡± Even though he heard all this from his brother, Chang Jiantao knew that the information was all true. ¡°Since that Earth-hearing Beast is so powerful, will our preparations be of any use?¡± At this time, someone questioned again. ¡°What do you know? Of course, it¡¯s useless,¡± However, just as Chang Jiantao was about to reply with confidence, a guard seemed to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere and interrupted him. ¡°¡­¡± xN The crowd fell silent. It was so quiet that it was as if the night was supposed to be quiet. Some of them wanted to escape, but they found that they couldn¡¯t move at all. ¡°A bunch of little rascals, you¡¯re quite bold,¡± The guard¡¯s face darkened, and he turned to leave with his hands behind his back, ¡°Since you don¡¯t feel like sleeping at this hour, then don¡¯t sleep. All of you, come to my guardhouse,¡± It was obvious that none of the freshmen were willing to listen to his instructions, but they were horrified to find that their feet were uncontrollably following him. Five minutes later, in front of the South Gate guard room, the dozen or so freshmen who tried to leave the school without permission stood in a row. ¡°I see that you¡¯ve all put sponges under your feet. It seems like you¡¯re prepared. However, aren¡¯t you underestimating my Earth-hearing Beast?¡± The guard stood in front of them, his expression calm yet cold. An old Shar-Pei dog was lying behind him. The dog wasn¡¯t actually old. It just looked like that. Other than being slightly larger, it looked no different from an ordinary Shar-Pei. The only difference was that its ears were large and long, and half of them were drooped on the ground. This was the Earth-hearing Beast that Chang Jiantao had mentioned before. ¡°You should reflect on your actions. You¡¯ll be punished to stand here until dawn,¡± After scanning the crowd, the guard turned around and prepared to enter the house. The leader, Chang Jiantao, lowered his head, showing a look of regret and pain. He had been punished to reflect on his actions since he was a child, so he had a lot of experience. He knew that at this time, the more sincere and remorseful he seemed, the lighter the punishment. As for Fulde, who was standing next to him, he wanted to kill this guy with his gaze. If he was given a demerit or something like that as punishment, then wouldn¡¯t his academic career be tainted? ¡°I won¡¯t tell you about the dangers of leaving school without permission. Someone will naturally tell you about it tomorrow,¡± Looking at the new students in front of him, the guard thought of another person. It was the crippled teenager who had been allowed to leave the school at noon today. It¡¯s been half a day, so why hasn¡¯t the boy returned yet? That new teacher called Li Fan should at least have sent his summoned beast to protect the boy in secret, right? ¡°Eh? What¡¯s the dots of light over there?¡± At this moment, a girl¡¯s voice interrupted the guard¡¯s thoughts. For a moment, everyone looked in the direction she was pointing. Outside the South Gate, a bunch of small white lights, like pentagrams, were slowly approaching. ¡°Hmm?!¡± Chang Jiantao looked at the strange light and couldn¡¯t help but be stunned, ¡°Why are there so many Luminous Spiders?¡± ¡°Wait, there seems to be someone else!¡± Chapter 32 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio As the leader of this operation, Chang Jiantao had done his homework and conducted a thorough investigation of the Luminous Spider in advance. Luminous Spider, F-grade spider-type magical beast. It didn¡¯t eat anything alive and only ate various corpses or fruits that had left the trees. The magical beast was very small, about the size of a glass bead. Coupled with their natural forest protection colors, they were very good at hiding. Only in the middle of the night would these magical beasts come out to hunt for food while emitting a pentagram-shaped light when they were eating. Therefore, it was very obvious that it was a group of Luminous Spiders in their sight. However, the Luminous Spider¡¯s light was very weak. It could not illuminate its surroundings, only itself. Due to the lack of light, the situation on the other end was blurry and unclear. They could only see two figures slowly walking toward them. ¡°But why are these Luminous Spiders following those two figures?¡± Chang Jiantao expressed his confusion. This question also troubled the other students. The only ones who didn¡¯t have any reaction to this were the guard and the Earth-hearing Beast. The Earth-hearing Beast could hear things that happened from a long distance away, so it had long known about this situation. However, the occurrence was not rare, so it did not take the initiative to tell its Summoner. ¡°¡­¡± The guard was silent. To be honest, such an occurrence did happen from time to time. The Luminous Spiders did not like to eat anything that was alive and only ate corpses. As such, when they found the corpses of magical beasts, they would greedily attach to the corpse to enjoy their feast. Therefore, whenever the glow of the Luminous Spider appeared outside the South Gate, it meant that someone had returned with prey. Furthermore, it was a huge prey, so huge that it couldn¡¯t be stored in the storage space. But the problem was that today, other than a new student, no one else went out from the South Gate. ¡°Could it be that a teacher went out from another gate, then went around to enter through the South Gate?¡± The guard thought that this was the only reasonable explanation. Otherwise, it must be some senior student. However, when the figures gradually approached and revealed their true appearances, he was stunned. It was a cripple and a Scarecrow who were currently dragging a huge lizard-like magical beast. ¡°H-how could it be him?!¡± Fulde was the first to exclaim. At the same time, everyone was also shocked by this scene. It just so happened that some of them recognized the magical beast. ¡°F*ck! This is a D-grade magical beast, the Mushroom-eating Lizard!¡± ¡°D grade? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that it¡¯s a few grades higher than our summoned beasts?¡± ¡°It¡¯s so big, what level would it be at?!¡± ¡°This magical beast isn¡¯t moving. Is it dead?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible, right? He killed it by himself?¡± They were simply dumbfounded. In fact, even the guard couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. His eyesight was naturally better than the students, and he could tell at a glance that the mushroom-eating lizard should be around level four. However, was it even reasonable that a freshman could single-handedly kill a level four D-grade magical beast before the official start of the school term? The guard felt that he had not encountered such a situation for at least ten years. Even if he had encountered one before, it couldn¡¯t compare to what he was seeing now. One should know that that was a D-grade magical beast, and it was not easy to find one in the South Forest. That guy and his summoned beast didn¡¯t look like they had experienced a life-and-death battle. The fellow didn¡¯t even have any injuries on him, just a crippled leg. However, the key was that this guy was a cripple, to begin with. When the guard thought of this, his eyebrows twitched. That¡¯s right, the boy was even a cripple. Then, he looked at the summoned beast. It looked like a weak Scarcrow. If he and his summoned beast had truly killed the Mushroom-eating Lizard, wouldn¡¯t that be too outrageous? After the new students marveled, they were at a loss for words. They were trying to sneak out by climbing over the wall, but this guy had already returned with a magical beast¡¯s corpse?! Everyone just watched quietly as Li Pu approached. His calm appearance made people forget to go up and help. Only Chang Jiantao¡¯s focus was different. His eyes were fixed on the Luminous Spiders. ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night. What are you guys doing standing here? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re waiting for me and welcoming me, right?¡± Li Pu walked through the school gate and let go of the lizard¡¯s front paw as if he had been relieved of a heavy burden. ¡°Where did this old dog come from? How can it be so ugly? Your ears are on the ground. Isn¡¯t that dirty?¡± The next second, his gaze fell on the Earth-hearing Beast. [Roar¡­] Such a rude statement made the Earth-hearing Beast bare its teeth and growl. ¡°Do you want to eat this?¡± However, Li Pu simply took out a small part of the lizard¡¯s tail from his storage space. The way he dragged the beast earlier was wrong, and the tail of the Mushroom-eating Lizard was slightly broken. [Woof woof!] The Earth-hearing Beast¡¯s eyes lit up as it stood up and wagged its tail. Its favorite food was lizard tails. The guard, ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Student, did you hunt this Mushroom-eating Lizard?¡± The guard asked Li Pu as he sized up the huge corpse. ¡°Of course not, I picked it up,¡± Li Pu denied it immediately. He had decided to keep a low profile and not be too flamboyant. ¡°Did you or did you not? Don¡¯t deny while nodding!¡± The guard was completely dumbfounded. ¡°I really didn¡¯t,¡± Li Pu continued to nod. [Cao!] The Scarecrow nodded as if to say that it could testify. ¡°¡­ Forget it,¡± The guard was too lazy to pursue the matter since it had nothing to do with his duty. There was no need for him to investigate the truth. ¡°I need to check the condition of the magical beast, and you need to register,¡± He only cared about following the rules and passed a simple form to Li Pu. ¡°Alright,¡± Li Pu took the form and said, ¡°If it¡¯s still breathing, please help me finish it off.¡± ¡°¡­¡± When the freshmen heard this, they all hurriedly took a few steps back. So the big lizard wasn¡¯t completely dead? Also, the other party was clearly a guard. Why did this fellow treat him like a fishmonger in the market? Of course, Li Pu¡¯s words were just a precaution. The appearance of the Luminous Spider was the best proof that the lizard was dead. Besides, even if the Mushroom-eating Lizard was still alive, it would have been dead by now after they had dragged it all the way. The inspection required some equipment, so the guard had to take the Mushroom-eating Lizard away, for now. He lifted it and carried it on his shoulder, doing it much easier than Li Pu and the Scarecrow combined. As for Li Pu, he was told to wait for a while. He didn¡¯t expect that as soon as the guard uncle left, the students who were originally standing in a line immediately surrounded him. Initially, everyone was curious about Li Pu¡¯s experience, but Chang Jiantao¡¯s words changed the atmosphere, ¡°Fellow student, your name is Li Pu, right? Can you sell one of those Luminous Spiders to me? ¡± Chapter 33 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio The ultimate goal of Chang Jiantao and the rest was the Luminous Spider. Since Li Pu had brought back a large number of such spiders by chance, and they were all alive, why did they even still need to go out to capture the spiders? Wouldn¡¯t it be much easier to buy them than to search for them in the deep mountains? In any case, they only needed to turn in one Luminous Spider that was alive to pass the final exam of the ¡°Material Collection¡± course. He had heard from his brother that some seniors who couldn¡¯t complete the assessment at the end of the term but did not want to fail would buy the required materials to pass the assessment at the end. Chang Jiantao felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. He decided to first buy a living Luminous Spider to keep. If he really couldn¡¯t pass the final exam himself, he would just hand it over. In any case, a magical beast like the Luminous Spider posed little threat and was easy to raise, so it was better to be prepared. Therefore, his suggestion was approved by the many students around him. ¡°That¡¯s right, Li Pu. Why don¡¯t you sell me one too?¡± ¡°Me too, please count me in.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re classmates, the price is negotiable.¡± They surrounded Li Pu even more tightly. Of course, some students still insisted on their principles and did not approve of this method. They silently retreated to the back. This included Fulde. ¡°How can he be so strong? We can¡¯t even get out of the school gate, but he¡¯s already able to kill a level 4 D-grade magical beast!¡± Fulde thought to himself. Instinctively, he didn¡¯t believe that the other party had randomly picked up the big lizard. Now, he seriously suspected that this guy was a rich second-generation like him. Rather, the other party¡¯s family might even be more affluent. That Scarecrow seemed to be a weak F-grade beast, but it might actually be some rare species like the king of grass-type magical beasts. There was also an easy explanation as to why many people had seen Li Pu summon the Scarecrow in the Wind Listener Pavilion. After all, everyone only saw him summoning a Scarecrow on the summoning platform, but no one saw if he had torn the blue beginner talisman. Looking at the figure that was surrounded by people, Fulde felt that he had found his short-term goal. In the following days, he had to work hard to catch up to Li Pu. As long as he surpassed the other party, he would be able to become the first in the grade! At the thought of this, Fulde clenched his fists. Two weeks later, he would have his first chance to challenge another to a duel. Before that, he had to work hard, work harder, and work the hardest! At this moment, Li Pu didn¡¯t know that his low-profile self was being targeted by his classmate. He was already having a hard time dealing with the few people around him. ¡°Li Pu, did you kill that lizard?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also very curious. Is your Scarecrow actually very powerful?¡± ¡°Please sell me the Luminous Spider. I¡¯ll owe you a favor.¡± ¡°Tsk, what¡¯s the use of your favor with your meager abilities?¡± ¡°Li Pu, sell it to me and I¡¯ll arrange for the girls in our dormitory to have a social gathering with the boys in your dormitory. ¡°Do you think others don¡¯t know how to hold a social gathering? Li Pu, our dormitory is open to social gatherings too!¡± ¡°¡­ But you live in the boys¡¯ dormitory.¡± ¡°Who knows! The sissies in our dormitory are no inferior to girls!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to their nonsense. Li Pu, just name your price.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Name your price.¡± Among these students, some were curious, some wanted to get close to him, and some were jabbing at each other. However, business was business, after all. Soon, the price for the Luminous Spiders was settled. Li Pu was quite emotional about this outcome. As expected, others were right. It was easy to earn money from students. He never thought that the Luminous Spiders he had brought back by accident could be sold for 100 crystal coins each here. Now, seven of the spiders had already been sold, which amounted to 700 crystal coins. It seemed that he would soon be able to pay back Wu Guinan¡¯s money. How comfortable. ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no problem with it,¡± Just as they had finished their discussion, the guard came back with the Mushroom-eating Lizard¡¯s corpse. ¡°I¡¯ve already helped you pack up the Luminous Spiders,¡± He was carrying a paper box in his other hand. The paper box was filled with glass jars, and each jar contained a Luminous Spider. They were magical beasts that needed to be raised alone. ¡°Thank you, uncle,¡± Li Pu took the box and nodded in thanks. Since he was a new student, the guard gave him a brief introduction. There was a special trading station in the school that was responsible for helping teachers and students deal with the spoils of war brought back from the outside. Things like living or dead magical beasts could be sold to the trading station for crystal coins. One could ask the trading station to process, dissect, or sell one¡¯s spoils of war on one¡¯s behalf. ¡°What do you think? Do you need me to ask it to drag this big lizard over?¡± Considering Li Pu¡¯s previous struggle, the guard pointed at the Earth-hearing Beast beside him. At this moment, the Earth-hearing Beast was happily gnawing on the small lizard tail that Li Pu had given it. Although it looked like an old dog, as a level two summoned beast, it could easily transport a big lizard. ¡°That would be great,¡± Of course, Li Pu was happy to relax. The Scarecrow was still not as physically strong as he was, so he was the one who had put in more effort in dragging the Mushroom-eating Lizard over. To be honest, it was quite difficult. If the dog could do it for him, that was naturally the best. ¡°However, please wait a moment,¡± With that, he placed the box down in front of everyone and began to trade with them. The guard did not mind the situation. After all, this was outside the scope of his duty. According to what they had agreed on, Li Pu gave out seven Luminous Spiders and received 700 crystal coins. He didn¡¯t want to keep the remaining 30, so he decided to deal with them together with the Mushroom-eating Lizard at the trading station. He heard that someone would be on duty 24 hours a day at their next destination, so after he settled the business he had here, Li Pu asked the Earth-hearing Beast to lead the way. The Earth-hearing Beast, who had not finished eating the lizard¡¯s tail, was a little reluctant to leave. However, due to its good impression of Li Pu, it still buried the tail in a hurry, planning to enjoy it slowly when it returned later. Looking at Li Pu¡¯s back, the people who were still being punished to stand there couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Do you guys think he¡¯s considered to have passed the final exam of the Material Collection course?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a given. Even without that giant lizard, just those living Luminous Spiders would be enough.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so strong. If anyone dares to say that Li Pu isn¡¯t the top student of this year, I¡¯ll be the first to express my dissatisfaction.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. The difference between us is too great.¡± ¡°By the way, are we really going to be punished to stand until dawn?¡± Under their gazes, the Earth-hearing Beast and Li Pu disappeared from their sight. 20 minutes later, Li Pu arrived at his destination. It was already past two in the morning, but the lights in the building were still on. [Woof woof!] After putting down the big Mushroom-eating Lizard and pointing at the entrance door with its claw, the Earth-hearing Beast was about to leave. ¡°Old dog, many thanks,¡± Li Pu thanked him and watched him leave. However, after the Earth-hearing Beast left, he did not immediately enter the gates. Instead, he turned his eyes to the mushrooms on the back of the Mushroom-eating Lizard. Chapter 34 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Before he went in to sell the lizard, Li Pu still had to sort out the mushrooms. To be honest, if he sold the remaining Luminous Spiders to other students, he would definitely get more crystal coins. However, considering the limited time he had left, he could only sell it to the school as soon as possible. On the way over, he had been paying attention to the freshness of the mushrooms on the back of the Mushroom-eating Lizard. A portion of them had already withered away with the death of the Mushroom-eating Lizard due to the lack of life force. If this dragged on, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gather all the relevant items. ¡°You stay here and watch. I¡¯ll go in first,¡± Thinking of this, Li Pu ordered the Scarecrow to stay behind. [Cao!] The Scarecrow nodded and sat down with its back against the Mushroom-eating Lizard. As for Li Pu, he walked through the door with the box containing the Luminous Spider. ¡°Laboratory Building No. 3¡± was the name of the building written on a board hung outside. Most of the laboratory buildings in the school belonged to the lifestyle department. The main research of the lifestyle department was the use of summoned beasts in all aspects of life. For example, building buildings, exploring geology, predicting the weather, and even the food industry. The research on crafts also belonged to the lifestyle department, which included the processing of breeding materials, as well as the creation of inscription weapons and Summoner¡¯s weapons. The place that the guard had introduced to him was the place where the school purchased magical beasts, the trading station. Due to the nocturnal habits of some magical beasts, sometimes the teachers and students in the school had to hunt in the middle of the night. Therefore, in consideration of this, the trading station was open 24 hours a day, providing service at any time. However, in a period like this where classes had not started, let alone in the early morning, close to no one would come even during the day. The first floor of Laboratory Building No. 3 was the front of the trading station. At this time, in the brightly lit Hall, only a girl with tired eyes was on duty at the front desk. Being on duty today, she was one of those who were more responsible. If it were someone else, they would have long gone to sleep. ¡°Yawn¡­! Hmm?¡± While the girl on duty was yawning when she suddenly saw someone walking in. It was a handsome boy with a box in his hand. He was limping as if he had been injured. ¡°Hi¡­¡± The girl on duty looked at him with an inquiring expression. In fact, she was already used to this kind of situation. The teachers and students who came to the trading station were all here to deal with their spoils of war, so it wasn¡¯t strange for them to have various injuries. ¡°Hello, I would like to sell these,¡± Li Pu placed the box on the desk. ¡°Alright, please show me your student card,¡± The girl on duty turned on her computer program and habitually showed a professional smile. There were many uses for a student card in the school, including registration at the trading station and so on. ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve gotten our student cards yet,¡± However, this request made Li Pu¡¯s expression turn awkward. He had heard of the student card before. It would only be distributed on the first day of school. ¡°You don¡¯t have a student card?¡± Such an answer stunned the girl on duty. At first, she had thought that he was a hard-working senior student who had come to school to sell materials for money before school had even started. In the end¡­ He was a new student? ¡°Wait, something doesn¡¯t seem right,¡± She thought. In the next second, she came to her senses. It wasn¡¯t easy for new students to get out of school, especially before school started. Could it be that this boy had caught a magical beast in the school? Western Capital University was located in the wilderness, so it was impossible for it to be watertight. Sometimes, some agile magical beasts that were good at hiding would still sneak in. For example, rats, cockroaches, and other critters. ¡°Eww¡­¡± At the thought of this, the girl on duty subconsciously took a few steps back. Cockroaches and rats were a huge no. ¡°?¡± Li Pu was a little confused, but he still opened the box. ¡°Hmm?¡± When she saw the Luminous Spiders in the glass jars, the girl on duty was stunned. It wasn¡¯t rats or cockroaches as she had imagined, but Luminous Spiders that were hard to find even in the South Forest! And they were still alive?! There were about 30 jars here! She looked at the Luminous Spider in disbelief, then at Li Pu. ¡°Wait a moment,¡± Fortunately, she quickly remembered her duty and rushed into the inner room. Her job was only to receive the customers. Someone else was in charge of the acquisition. ¡°Hmm?¡± Not long after, Li Pu saw a bald old man in a white lab coat walk out. The key was that he knew this teacher. It was the teacher who had given him the blue beginner¡¯s talisman at the Wind Listener Pavilion the other day. At this moment, the bald teacher had a sleepy look on his face. It was obvious that he had just been woken up. Due to his seniority and age, this teacher with the surname Tu was called Elder Tu. As the person in charge of the trading station, he didn¡¯t need to stay on duty. It just so happened that there was a shortage of manpower these days, and there was not much work at all, so he just came here to spend the night. He didn¡¯t expect to be woken up not long after he fell asleep today. At this moment, Elder Tu still hadn¡¯t recognized Li Pu. He walked straight to the box full of Luminous Spiders. ¡°Good lord, did you ransack a spider hole?¡± Seeing so many Luminous Spiders, he raised his eyebrows. ¡°Elder Tu¡­¡± The girl on duty who was behind him stepped forward and whispered. What? A new student? When he raised his head and looked at Li Pu, Elder Tu finally remembered, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± As the last new student to successfully summon a magical beast, he still had some impression of Li Pu. ¡°Greetings, teacher,¡± Li Pu, who was also surprised to see him, nodded in greeting. ¡°Where did you get so many Luminous Spiders from?¡± Elder Tu¡¯s question was actually the same as the girl on duty. For the new students, not to mention the number of spiders here, just finding traces of the Luminous Spiders was not easy. ¡°I picked them up,¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t lie. He and the Scarecrow had been dragging the Mushroom-eating Lizard back to school and hadn¡¯t noticed when these Luminous Spiders got latched onto the lizard¡¯s back on the way. ¡°Picked them up?¡± When Elder Tu heard this answer, he was stunned for a moment. Then, he thought for a while and realized that this seemed to be the most reasonable answer. Unless one was extremely lucky, how could a freshman get so many Luminous Spiders? ¡°Alright. I heard that you¡¯re selling them, right? The school offers 80 crystal coins per spider,¡± He guessed that Li Pu probably did not know the rules, so he added, ¡°No bargaining,¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Li Pu was overjoyed when he heard the price. The student who first proposed to buy the Luminous Spiders didn¡¯t lie to him. The price offered by the school was indeed 80 Yuan each. In other words, the price offered by the students exceeded the school¡¯s purchase price. Those students were quite generous. Since it was 80 Yuan per spider, his carton of more than 30 jars could thus be sold for more than 2000 Yuan. To Li Pu, it was exactly what he needed. He could learn new skills again. Chapter 35 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio After selling a total of 29 Luminous Spiders, Li Pu walked out of Laboratory Building No. 3 with 2320 crystal coins in hand. ¡°Elder Tu, do we really not need to ask about the specific situation?¡± The girl on duty looked at the limping back and had some doubts. She suspected that even the school¡¯s laboratory might not have that many Luminous Spiders. Moreover, was ¡°picked them up¡± even a reasonable explanation? She felt that if the boy said that he had pried open the school¡¯s laboratory, it would¡¯ve been more convincing. ¡°There¡¯s no need to investigate further,¡± In response, Elder Tu only chuckled and waved his hand. One of the reasons why the Luminous Spiders were consumable materials for scientific research was that they were not a threat and had no attack power. Even a newbie could easily capture them if one could find them. He knew countless methods to find the Luminous Spiders, so he was not the least bit curious. ¡°What you said does make sense,¡± After hearing Elder Tu¡¯s explanation, the girl on duty wanted to nod in agreement. However, the next second, he froze. ¡°E-E-El-Elder Tu! He¡¯s back!¡± She pointed to the door, her eyes wide open. ¡°Back? Is there an error in the number?¡± At this moment, Elder Tu was still checking the list with his back turned. As Li Pu didn¡¯t have a student card yet, they could only temporarily save his records on paper. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a number problem!¡± The girl on duty couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. The freshman who had just left had returned, and he wasn¡¯t alone this time. Instead, he was dragging a lizard that was as large as a rhinoceros! As a non-combat Summoner, such a scene was very shocking to her. Especially how the boys limping steps formed a sharp contrast with the heavy body of the magical beast. As for the Scarecrow beside the Summoner, she chose to ignore it. Scarecrow: Cao. ¡°What¡¯s with that expression?¡± At this moment, Elder Tu finally noticed that something was wrong with his subordinate. He turned around and saw Li Pu. ¡°This¡­¡± Although he didn¡¯t lose his composure like the girl on duty, he was still stunned. ¡°Uh, I picked this up too,¡± Li Pu dragged the big lizard to the front desk and scratched his face. Even this was picked up? Was the boy treating him as a blind man? Elder Tu was getting displeased at this point. However, being experienced, he naturally understood that this was an excuse that indicated the other party was unwilling to explain, so he did not ask further. The corpse of the giant lizard caught his attention, instead. A D-grade magical beast, Mushroom-eating Lizard. Judging from its body shape, the shape of its claws, and the color of its skin, it was at level four. However¡­ Where did all the mushrooms on its back go? Those mushrooms didn¡¯t actually have much value. Strictly speaking, they were just parasites living on the Mushroom-eating Lizard¡¯s skin. Now, only dense black holes were left on its back, which looked quite cruel. He wondered who had removed the mushrooms. In reality, Li Pu was the one who removed the mushrooms. All of them were converted into related items and thus into a skill before being given to the Scarecrow. Mushroom Poison Antibody was a D-grade passive skill, and it wasn¡¯t too strong nor too weak. Being immune to mushroom-type toxins was indeed powerful. It would give the Scarecrow a unique advantage when it faced mushroom-type magical beasts in the future. However, its weakness was that it was too targeted. Other than against mushrooms, it was useless at other times. Thus, it was understandable that it was only a D-class skill. If it was someone else who had the opportunity to obtain this skill, they might not even think it was rare. However, Li Pu was different. He really liked the Mushroom Poison Antibody. Such a passive immunity skill was something that could only be encountered by luck. The most important thing was that he could use the Friend of Magical Beasts function to fuse and strengthen the skill in the future. Who said that it could only make one immune to mushrooms? Who knew, it might even make one become waterproof, anti-theft, and fireproof in the future. Of course, Li Pu had paid a huge price to let the Scarecrow learn this skill. A total of 2000 crystal coins. But this was something that couldn¡¯t be helped. After all, the freshness of those mushrooms was timed, and time waited for no one. Now, he could only hope that the price of eating the Mushroom-eating Lizard would be higher. ¡°Oh, let me appraise it first,¡± Elder Tu held his chin, walked out of the reception, and came to the front of the Mushroom-eating Lizard. The situation was different from before, the Luminous Spiders just now were still alive. If he were to purchase corpses, he would definitely have to check their condition first. ¡°From the outside, it¡¯s still very complete. I should be able to offer you something close to the highest purchase price, but we still have to check the internal situation,¡± With that, Elder Tu reached out and pressed on the body of the beast, and closed his eyes. As the person in charge of the trading station, checking the situation of a magical beast¡¯s internal organs through its belly was just a piece of cake. He didn¡¯t need to slit through the surface of the body, which would ensure that the magical beast was in good condition to the greatest extent. ¡°Uh, a comminuted fracture of the jaw?¡± In the next second, Elder Tu¡¯s movements slightly paused. He could already imagine the scene of the Mushroom-eating Lizard¡¯s jaw being hit hard. ¡°Good Lord, most of the internal organs have turned into tofu pudding,¡± He did not expect the magical beast¡¯s insides to be a mess while its outer appearance was so intact. From a normal point of view, such a battle result must be attributed to the summoned beasts. Elder Tu suspected that Li Pu¡¯s Scarecrow had obtained some powerful skill through the random skill light balls given by the school. ¡°Your Scarecrow should have reached level 4, right?¡± Thus, his gaze fell on the straw doll. Unlike the Mushroom-eating Lizard, the level of the Scarecrow could not be determined by the naked eye and experience. This was because a Scarecrow was simply a walking pile of grass. There was simply no observation value in it. In addition, having been in charge of the trading station for so many years, Elder Tu had purchased quite a few Mushroom-eating Lizards, but in contrast, he lacked experience in dealing with Scarecrows. After all, no one had ever come here to sell a Scarecrow. They had no value. To be able to tell the Scarecrow¡¯s true level at a glance, he was already very experienced. ¡°Your eyes are very accurate. It is indeed at level four,¡± As Li Pu admitted it, he couldn¡¯t help but be secretly amazed by the other party¡¯s eyesight. However, he didn¡¯t know that Elder Tu was even more shocked. Having speculations was one thing, but having them proved was another. ¡°How did this kid train his summoned beast? Didn¡¯t he just summon the Scarecrow the day before yesterday? Could it be that he is a genius in nurturing magical beasts? Or is this Scarecrow a monster?¡± Elder Tu didn¡¯t know the answer. At this moment, he could only conclude with one phrase: It was simply ridiculous. He had been working at Western Capital University for so many years, but he had never heard of any new student who could train his first summoned beast to level four in just a few days. If it was just a fortuitous encounter, it would be more acceptable. But if the boy had nurtured his summoned beast personally, then¡­ To be honest, Elder Tu didn¡¯t dare to think about it because he simply couldn¡¯t imagine it. Chapter 36 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio In the end, after careful inspection and appraisal, the Mushroom-eating Lizard was sold for a price of 600 crystal coins. After deducting the 2000 crystal coins that he had used to learn Mushroom Poison Antibody, Li Pu still had over 1600 crystal coins left. To Li Pu¡¯s surprise, such a huge Mushroom-eating Lizard was not even worth as much as the Luminous Spiders. For this, Elder Tu had especially answered his doubts. There were two main reasons why the Luminous Spiders were more expensive than the Mushroom-eating Lizard. The first point was that the Luminous Spiders, due to their ability to emit light, had played a relatively important role in some research projects. In other words, they had a very good value in experimental research. This was a characteristic that most F-grade magical beasts did not have, and could thus only be sold for 2 to 30 crystal coins. The second point was equally important, and that was that the batch of Luminous Spiders was alive. This was the biggest difference between the Luminous Spiders and the Mushroom-eating Lizard. If it had been a living and healthy Mushroom-eating Lizard, the school would¡¯ve been able to offer a price of 5000 crystal coins. After all, it was a D-grade magical beast. If it had been a Mushroom-eating Lizard cub, it could¡¯ve even been sold for at least 30000 Yuan. This was because the level growth of wild magical beasts was far inferior to that of summoned beasts. For example, a magical beast like the Mushroom-eating Lizard that could grow to level 4 had basically lived for six to seven years and was about to enter maturity. The reason why cubs were so expensive was, of course, because it was related to one of the ways summoned beasts were obtained, taming. Taming was a non-summoning method where one tamed a magical beast in real life and turned it into one¡¯s summoned beast through a contract. Under this method, the success rate of contracting cubs was higher, and they had more potential. In short, it was already a good deal for Li Pu to get 600 crystal coins from the Mushroom-eating Lizard. This was because the corpse of a Mushroom-eating Lizard of this level would only be worth 800 crystal coins at most. However, the experience this night gave Li Pu new ideas. Selling magical beasts might be a very profitable business. This was especially true for magical beasts like the Luminous Spider, which was easy to acquire in large quantities and had an alluring average price. If he could catch a few dozen every night, he felt that he would not have to worry about crystal coins at all. However, the reality was cruel. Perhaps Elder Tu had sensed his thoughts, but he simply poured cold water on his thoughts. The reason why Li Pu was able to catch so many Luminous Spiders tonight was purely due to luck. If it had been the corpses of ordinary magical beasts, he would not have been able to attract so many Luminous Spiders. As one of the rare D-grade magical beasts in South Forest, the Luminous Spiders would definitely be attracted to the Mushroom-eating Lizard¡¯s meat. If he wanted to replicate the same scene again, he would have to prepare the corpse of a large magical beast that was at least E-grade and no smaller than the Mushroom-eating Lizard. To Li Pu, this was no doubt a very difficult task. Fortunately, the Mushroom-eating Lizard was a lone wolf magical beast and didn¡¯t have any special techniques. Otherwise, regardless of whether he could encounter a magical beast like it again, even if he did, he might not be able to defeat it. ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, do you want to take a look at our products?¡± After explaining everything, Elder Tu extended an invitation to Li Pu. It didn¡¯t matter how the other party had sneaked out of the school or how he had dealt with the Mushroom-eating Lizard. In terms of results alone, he quite admired this freshman. The boy was clearly a cripple, yet he was able to do things that normal freshmen couldn¡¯t. In any case, the product area was supposed to be opened at the same time as the start of the school term, so it didn¡¯t matter if they let in a guest a little earlier. Since the place was called a trading station, other than buying things, they also sold things. ¡°Oh?¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t think of this and was immediately interested. ¡°In that case, Xiao Liu, you can show him around. If there¡¯s anything he likes, there¡¯s no harm in selling it to him. Give him a 10% discount on my name. As for me, I¡¯m going to sleep. After all, time waits for no man. I¡¯m getting old,¡± After giving instructions to the girl on duty, Elder Tu slowly walked back to the inner room. ¡°Alright, Elder Tu. Then, this student, please follow me,¡± The girl called Xiao Liu gestured for Li Pu to go ahead. At the same time, there was a hint of envy on her face. Of course, as a staff member of the station, she could also enjoy a 10% discount when buying things. However, since the boy¡¯s purchases could be recorded under Elder Tu¡¯s name for a discount, it meant that this student had received Elder Tu¡¯s favor. She had been working at the trading station for four to five years, and this was a rare situation. ¡°Most of the products we sell here are products of the university¡¯s R&D Department. You can think of them as the specialties of Western Capital University. Another small portion of the products is the things that the school purchases from outside regularly. You can take them as Summoner¡¯s commodities that are common in the outside world. Of course, the school is doing this so that you don¡¯t have to leave the school. We don¡¯t earn any profit by setting a different price,¡± As she led the way, Xiao Liu introduced the products to Li Pu. Due to the protection of special powers, magical beasts and summoned beasts were hardly affected by traditional technology. Traditional technology referred to the technology before the world changed. Only new technological products that combined the theories of magical beasts and summoned beasts could be effective in a battle with them. The more common products were things like inscription tools, Summoner¡¯s equipment, summoning beasts¡¯ skills, nurturing materials, and so on. Xiao Liu¡¯s introduction made Li Pu excited. The thing he was most concerned about was the summoning beasts¡¯ skills. Of course, thanks to the Summoner¡¯s talent Friend of Magical Beasts, in theory, the Scarecrow did not have to worry about the inability to obtain good skills. The real reason Li Pu was interested in summoned beasts¡¯ skill was for himself. He seriously needed a way to strengthen himself. The incident with the Mushroom-eating Lizard proved that only by becoming stronger could he collect related items more easily. So, under the guidance of Xiao Liu, the boy and his Scarecrow passed the hall to the elevator hall and took the elevator to their destination. To Li Pu¡¯s surprise, the elevator was not going up but down. ¡°Originally, our merchandise area was set up upstairs,¡± Seeing Li Pu¡¯s surprise, Xiao Liu smiled and explained, ¡°School hasn¡¯t started yet, so the shopping area upstairs hasn¡¯t been cleaned up yet. Therefore, we haven¡¯t moved the goods up yet. We can only go to the warehouse to take a look now. That being said, this might be better since you can see the products more directly. Of course, Elder Tu said that you¡¯re not just touring. Including the new student¡¯s greeting gift, you should have at least 3000 crystal coins on you now. If you¡¯re really interested in something, just buy it.¡± [Ding!] As she finished speaking, the elevator reached the bottom floor. Li Pu¡¯s eyes lit up at the dazzling display of goods. Chapter 37 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Different from the store, which would be restocked at any time, the warehouse was used for storage, to begin with. Hence, when rows and rows of filled shelves appeared in front of him, it was a strong visual impact on Li Pu. ¡°Alright, please feel free to take a look,¡± Under Xiao Liu¡¯s instructions, Li Pu walked to the nearest shelf. ¡°These are inscription tools¡­¡± He looked at the palm-sized hard shells. ¡°No, more accurately, these are the inscriptions in the inscription tools,¡± Xiao Liu corrected him. Inscription tools were inscriptions and tools that could be integrated into the summoned beast¡¯s body. The former would come into effect directly, while the latter could be taken out from the beast¡¯s body and used at any time. Compared to tools with physical bodies, inscriptions were more functional. The inscriptions in front of him were of different shapes. Some were round, some were square, some were triangular, and so on. The patterns on them were also different. Li Pu randomly picked up a purple diamond-shaped inscription, and an information panel immediately popped up. [Western Capital No. 15 (F): Slight increase in strength] These purple inscriptions occupied more than half of the shelf. From the name, it could be seen that they were mass-produced inscriptions made by the University. It had been 200 years since the world had changed, and mankind couldn¡¯t possibly have made no progress in new technology. As early as about a hundred years ago, they had completely mastered the technology of inscription mass production. However, limited by the source of materials, high-quality inscriptions were still relatively difficult to make. The powerful inscriptions of a Summoner were still mainly obtained through magical beasts. ¡°Western Capital No. 15 is considered a popular product among first-year students. The price is 100 crystal coins, so a 10% discount would be 90 crystal coins,¡± Seeing Li Pu pick up the inscription, Xiao Liu introduced it. For many summoned beasts, an increase in strength was a very good buff. Sometimes, a small difference in power could cause a different result. However, Li Pu wasn¡¯t interested in Western Capital No. 15. He put it down after a glance. Unless it was a summoned beast with special abilities, each summoned beast could only carry two inscription tools at a time under normal circumstances. Moreover, when a summoned beast removed its inscriptions, it would be repelled by the inscriptions for a short time. Therefore, it was unrealistic to change inscriptions to create different effects in battle. Compared to inscriptions that purely enhanced one¡¯s physical fitness, he was more inclined to functionality. As he continued walking, Li Pu picked up another inscription that was produced in batches. The inscription was round, and its translucent sky-blue color gave people the feeling of the sea. [Western Capital No. 7 (E): Block a fire-type attack below E grade.] The information on the interface made Li Pu¡¯s eyes light up. The fire attribute as written here was different from the magnetic field of a summoned beast. It was the genuine fire attacks. The Scarecrow was obviously afraid of fire attacks, so Western Capital No. 7 was quite suitable for it. ¡°No. 7 is a consumable item, but it¡¯s more expensive than No. 15. It costs two hundred crystal coins,¡± Xiao Liu¡¯s introduction was timely. Such a price made Li Pu give up immediately, for now. He didn¡¯t have the capital to buy anything yet, so he could only look around. He spent about ten minutes looking through the entire shelf of inscriptions. In addition to the mass-produced inscriptions, there were also some wild inscriptions, which were dropped by magical beasts. All in all, the various functions allowed Li Pu to gain quite some knowledge. However, based on the Scarecrow¡¯s situation, he still valued Western Capital No. 7 the most. It was a pity that although he had half the bloodline of a summoned beast, he was not a real summoned beast. He had tried it just now, but the inscription was useless to him. He couldn¡¯t merge it into his body at all. However, he felt that he could try merging tools instead, whether the tool was for Summoners or summoned beasts. Unfortunately, after looking at all the tools, Li Pu was a little disappointed. This was because they were all cold weapons such as swords, whips, and sticks, which were too ordinary. There were relatively fewer gun and cannon tools because unless it was a special mechanical summoned beast, ordinary summoned beasts could not use gun and cannon tools. As for the cane or scissor weapons that he was looking for, there were none. As such, Li Pu paid more attention to the nurturing materials. After discovering the effects of Sacrifice, he no longer had to consider using nurturing materials for the Scarecrow. However, a small portion of the nurturing materials came from the remains of magical beasts. So what he was concerned about was this point as well. Unfortunately, the nurturing materials in this warehouse were all ordinary goods. Even the remains of magical beasts available here did not come from any powerful magical beasts. Judging from his current experience, only the remains of powerful magic beasts could preserve a satisfactory amount of life force even after a long time. He didn¡¯t find any related items on the shelves. The only remaining products he had not looked at were the skill orbs. These were different from the random skill orbs given by the school. These orbs all contained specific skills. And there were not many of them, only a dozen in total. Li Pu picked up the first ball of light expectantly, but his expression immediately turned ugly. Never mind the skill contained in it, the most important thing was the words [cannot be learned] as shown in the feedback message. These words simply cut off any chances he had of learning skills. ¡°Are you more interested in skills?¡± Seeing that Li Pu¡¯s expression was different, Xiao Liu reminded him from the side, ¡°Skill orbs are quite expensive because most people like to keep the orbs they obtain in their hands and wait for an opportunity to trade them. Unless they lack money, they rarely sell them.¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t pay attention to the other¡¯s words. He quickly picked up the second ball of light. [Cannot be learned] [Cannot be learned] [Cannot be learned] The same words made him feel a little helpless. After ten rounds of investigation, he concluded: As long as these skills had attribute, type, or race requirements, he would not be able to learn them. Li Pu¡¯s eyes finally lit up when he touched the last skill orb. [Level 1 ¨C Imitate (A)] [Active Effect: Copy a companion¡¯s passive skill.] [Attribute Requirement: None] [Type Requirement: Balanced] [Race Requirement: None] ¡°This is a good skill!¡± He had to admit that this skill was great. As expected, an A-grade skill was extraordinary. The most important thing was that the prompt of [Cannot be learned] did not pop up again! In other words, he could possess this skill. The ¡°companions¡± here should refer to the different summoned beasts under the same Summoner. In other words, a Summoner had to have at least two summoned beasts for Imitate to work for the beasts. However, if Li Pu learned it, it would allow him to copy the Scarecrow¡¯s passive abilities. As for what passive abilities the Scarecrow had, wasn¡¯t it all up to him? ¡°Of course it¡¯s a good skill. It¡¯s currently the most expensive item in our trading station. We just took it into the warehouse yesterday. It¡¯s a consignment sale, so there¡¯s no discount. The price is 500000 crystal coins.¡± However, the price that Xiao Liu told him made Li Pu¡¯s hands tremble. Chapter 38 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio The next day, at the school¡¯s South Gate, a group of thirty to forty new students was gathered. ¡°Uncle, why can¡¯t you let us out?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t entered the South Forest a few days ago.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. I even killed a few magical beasts that day!¡± ¡°We promise we won¡¯t wander off. Please let us out!¡± After the course selection competition, the major selection duel was coming. Therefore, many new students wanted to leave the school to gain experience. Due to the South Forest having weaker magical beasts and their experience in exploring the place, the South Forest became their first and only choice. However, from early morning until now, more than one group of students had wanted to go out from the South Gate, only to have all been stopped by the guard, ¡°In the first semester for new students, you don¡¯t have the freedom to enter and exit the school,¡± At this time, the guard crossed his arms and put on a non-negotiable posture. Similar situations happened every year, and he was already used to it. Therefore, no matter how the students before him defended themselves or begged, he could not let them out. No new student was allowed to leave the school unless they were accompanied by a senior student or had the permission of a teacher. Faced with this situation, some of the new students began to whisper. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not beg this rigid uncle anymore.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll let us pass.¡± ¡°If I had known this would happen, I would have just climbed over the wall.¡± ¡°My roommate just went to do that. Maybe he¡¯s already outside.¡± The suggestion of climbing over the wall made everyone¡¯s eyes light up. [Woof woof!] However, just as many people were eager to try, they suddenly heard a dog barking behind them. Everyone turned around and was stunned. An old dog with long ears that drooped to the ground was walking slowly toward them, and behind the old dog was a row of seven to eight students. They walked with their heads lowered, clearly embarrassed due to their tattered clothes and the obvious bite marks. ¡°To think you even dared to climb such a high wall. Aren¡¯t the lot of you afraid of falling to your deaths?¡± Seeing this group of people, the guard at the gate seemed to be in a bad mood. The school¡¯s walls had the effect of blocking and defending against magical beasts to a certain extent, so it was not easy to climb over. This was especially so for new students who had just become Summoners. Their physical fitness was not necessarily stronger than that of an ordinary person. They were the epitome of having great ambitions but poor abilities. Even the Earth-hearing Beast, which was not very good at fighting, could easily capture these little guys who struggled to climb over the wall. [Woof woof!] The students who were caught would undoubtedly be punished to stand. The Earth-hearing Beast barked at the guard, then dug out an unknown sharp tailbone from the soil at the foot of the guard station¡¯s wall and began to gnaw on it. This sudden turn of events made all the new students dispel the thoughts that had just risen in their minds. This big dog didn¡¯t seem to be easy to deal with. It seemed that the method of climbing over the wall was not an option anymore. ¡°Morning, uncle.¡± [Cao!] At this moment, a limping figure with a Scarecrow crossed the crowd. It was Li Pu, who had just woken up and was ready to go to war again. Yesterday¡¯s experience at the trading station ignited his fighting spirit, and his goal was very clear. That was to make money. 500,000 crystal coins seemed to be an unattainable astronomical figure, but if he didn¡¯t work hard, it would always be out of reach. The earlier he acted, the earlier he might be able to gather enough money. What he was most afraid of right now was that the item would be bought by someone else before he had enough money. ¡°Morning, are you going out again today? Hehehe, you¡¯re really diligent,¡± Unlike the other new students, the guard was very friendly to Li Pu. ¡°Yes, do I still need to make a call?¡± Li Pu nodded. ¡°No need. Go on then,¡± The guard waved his hand and let him go. ¡°Thank you,¡± Li Pu was happy to be saved from all the trouble. [Woof woof!] The Earth-hearing Beast saw Li Pu approaching and quickly stood up while wagging its tail. ¡°I¡¯m off, old dog. Let¡¯s see if I can bring you more goods today,¡± He reached out his hand and rubbed the dog¡¯s head. This scene scared the few students who were being punished to stand. Wasn¡¯t he a little too bold? Could this beast¡¯s dog head be touched so casually? Moreover, the name ¡°old dog¡± was too hurtful, no?! [Woof woof!] Unexpectedly, the Earth-hearing Beast enjoyed Li Pu¡¯s pats and squinted its eyes. ¡°¡­¡± The guard was quite speechless at the performance of his summoned beast. However, Li Pu had given the Earth-hearing Beast its favorite lizard tail last night. Moreover, it was a D-grade lizard tail, which was a great supplement for the beast. The logic of ¡°whoever feeds one is one¡¯s parent¡± was vividly reflected in the dog. ¡°Wait, uncle!¡± However, at this moment, someone among the new students who were being punished to stand suddenly reacted, ¡°He¡¯s clearly a freshman too. Why is he able to leave?¡± The boy knew Li Pu. Rather, they couldn¡¯t possibly not know the person who had obtained various ¡°firsts¡± among the batch of freshmen. However, even if he came in first, he shouldn¡¯t have special privileges for no reason! ¡°Him?¡± Looking at Li Pu¡¯s figure that was already far away, the guard couldn¡¯t help but scoff at the boy¡¯s words, ¡°If you can go to the South Forest alone and bring back the corpse of a level 4 D-grade magical beast, I¡¯ll allow you to come and go as you please in the future.¡± Everyone was shocked by his words. What the hell? A level 4 D-grade magical beast? Did this mean that Li Pu had done it before? Wasn¡¯t that too ridiculous? ¡­ ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± In the depths of South Forest, Jules, the principal¡¯s assistant, was standing in front of a large rock with a puzzled look on her face. Although the rock looked ordinary, it was actually an intelligent feeding machine. Although the little Zen tree needed to be placed in the wild during its infancy, it needed enough nutrients to grow well. So this feeding machine was specially placed here for it by the principal. From its appearance, it looked like an ordinary stone. However, as soon as it detected the approach of the little Zen tree, it would automatically open up to provide the beast with rich food. In the beginning, they had spent some effort to secretly guide the little Zen tree to learn this eating pattern. Since then, whenever it was hungry, it would come over to eat and absorb nutrients. This feeding machine had a complete set of functions. When the ingredients inside were below a certain level, it would send a reminder to the remote end to replenish them. The task of replenishing the ingredients was done by Jules. ¡°I only filled it up once yesterday morning. How did it end up empty again?¡± At this moment, Jules was puzzled, ¡°Can a tiny Treant digest so many ingredients so quickly? This shouldn¡¯t be the case with the little Zen tree¡¯s usual appetite. Could it be that there¡¯s another magical beast that¡¯s taking advantage of the loophole to eat?¡± The suspicion in her heart made her decide to wait and see. Chapter 39 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Jules was a very patient person. She hid in the dense canopy and squatted for more than an hour. It was only when the sun was high in the sky that she saw a figure approaching from afar. It was the little Zen tree. At this time, its body was full of wounds, but if one looked closely, one would find that the wounds had basically healed, leaving only scars on the bark. In contrast to its sorry state, its small steps were full of energy as if it had just had a good time. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that there were a few more new leaves on the crown of the tree. It should have leveled up again. ¡°So it¡¯s the little Zen tree,¡± Jules, who had thought that she would encounter the magical beast that was secretly eating the food, could not help but be a little disappointed. Buzz¡­ Upon detecting the little Zen tree¡¯s aura, the big stone that was a feeding machine opened automatically, revealing the rich food that had just been replenished. Although it was called ¡°food¡±, it was actually just a large tank filled with concentrated nutrient solution. However, to the Treant magical beasts, this was the most delicious food. Following this, Jules witnessed the little Zen tree gobbling up the food. After finishing almost all of the concentrated nutrient solution, the little Zen tree¡¯s body became round, and it became a fat Treant. ¡°Isn¡¯t it afraid of dying from overeating?¡± When Jules saw this, she couldn¡¯t help but think. No wonder the feeding machine was emptied so quickly. Was this guy possessed by a hungry ghost? To think it finished all the nutrient solution in one meal. The little Zen tree didn¡¯t take root and rest as Jules had expected. Instead, it found a leaf the size of a watermelon and scraped the rest of the nutrient solution from the tank onto the leaf. Then, it carefully carried the big leaf like it was carrying a bowl of soup and quickly left. Coupled with its small steps, it looked like an obedient wife. ¡°This is strange,¡± Seeing this, Jules decided to follow the little Zen tree. With that, she followed the little Zen tree. After walking for about 15 minutes, she finally saw two figures. At this moment, there was a crippled boy who was moving by the stream. Next to him was a Scarecrow with a bundle of rattan whips on its shoulder, looking quite arrogant. ¡°¡­ No way,¡± When she saw the boy and the Scarecrow, Jules finally understood. After thinking about it, she felt a headache. Could it be that ever since the competition, the boy and his Scarecrow had been coming to beat up the little Zen tree every day? The reason why she felt a headache was that if they continued at this rate, she would have to come here every day to replenish the nutrient solution. Thinking about the fact that she may have to spend more than an hour on the way back and forth every day, Jules¡¯s face turned bitter. At this time, the boy, the Scarecrow, and the tree met by the stream, but they didn¡¯t notice Jules. [Su, su!] The little Zen tree wanted the Scarecrow to try the nutrient solution. It raised the large leaf that was holding the concentrated nutrient solution. To think a royalty of the little Zen tree was trying to please a Scarecrow. If she hadn¡¯t seen it with her own eyes, Jules wouldn¡¯t have been able to imagine it. [Cao?] The Scarecrow looked at the pool of jade-green crystal-like liquid on the leaf and couldn¡¯t help but feel curious. So it took the big leaf and took a small sip. [Cao!] In the next second, it spat it out. The taste of this thing was 11000 times worse than that of Coke. [Su, su?] The little Zen tree sucked on its finger, looking aggrieved and puzzled. Why didn¡¯t the Scarecrow like the nutrient solution? It was clearly delicious. [Su, su!] The little Zen tree immediately looked towards Li Pu, asking the crippled boy if he wanted to try it too. ¡°Can I eat this?¡± Li Pu surprisingly understood what it meant. To be honest, the color of the liquid was quite attractive. He thought of the fact that he had half of his bloodline was that of a summoned beast. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to try the solution, right? So, he reached out his finger to take a dip before putting it into his mouth. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything special about it,¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t find anything unusual after he tasted it. The taste of this thing was no different from the dew he had drunk before. [Hahaha cao!] However, the Scarecrow pointed at Li Pu and suddenly laughed. It roared with laughter as it laughed at its Summoner¡¯s green tongue. ¡°Umm¡­¡± Li Pu looked at the stream and saw that it was true. It seemed like he couldn¡¯t just eat the food of magical beasts as he pleased. Fortunately, only his tongue had turned green, and there were no other side effects. However, to his surprise, the swelling on his left foot seemed to have subsided a little. It seemed that the unknown liquid had some effect. [Cao!] While Li Pu was looking at his reflection, the Scarecrow fed the little Zen tree a mouthful of Coke, but the latter spat it out directly. It seemed that even though they were both plants, their tastes were very different. The rest of the time was spent beating up the little Zen tree. This little Treant had given him a lot of help yesterday, and if he wanted to carry out more activities smoothly in the South Forest in the future, he needed the help of this native. So, Li Pu decided to treat it well and beat it up with more force. With that, the boy and the Scarecrow took turns beating the little Zen tree from a fat Treant to a small Treant before they finally stopped. [Su, su, su!] The little Zen tree expressed its thanks. Being satisfied, it danced as it sprinkled gold powder on the boy and the Scarecrow. ¡°Hu¡­¡± Li Pu let out a long breath and found a random place to sit down, ¡°Tell it that I still want to go to Mushroom Valley.¡± [Cao!] [Su!] The translating Scarecrow communicated with the local tree guide for a while, then conveyed the message to Li Pu. [Cao!] The Scarecrow told its Summoner that the little Zen tree said that his request was ¡°no problem¡±. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t come out this time just to earn money. Or rather, it wasn¡¯t to earn money immediately. To do a good job, one must have a good tool. If he wanted to do whatever he wanted in the South Forest, he couldn¡¯t do it alone. The Scarecrow¡¯s combat strength had to be further improved. Only with enough strength could they collect materials in the South Forest more steadily and effectively, moving towards his target of 500000. Mushroom Valley was currently the only place that Li Pu knew had magical beasts that lived in groups. Yesterday, when the Mushroom-eating Lizard was chasing him, he had paid attention to the surroundings in the valley. Other than the Red-headed Mushrooms, there were also some other mushroom-type magical beasts. If there were enough of these other mushrooms, he should be able to continue to get more related items. Then, with the remaining crystal coins he had, he might be able to strengthen the Scarecrow again. ¡°It¡¯s already so late. Aren¡¯t they planning to return to school?¡± Jules frowned as she watched the boy and his Scarecrow walk in the opposite direction of the school. She still had a lot of work to do today. She couldn¡¯t keep wasting time like this, right? ¡°Right, there¡¯s still Li Fan,¡± Fortunately, she immediately thought of someone. If she remembered correctly, she had the new teacher¡¯s number in her phone. Chapter 40 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Mushroom Valley was once again illuminated by the little Zen tree. As Li Pu walked through the valley, he realized that the mushroom-type magical beasts were avoiding him. [Su, su, su!] The little Zen tree expressed that since the cripple had killed the big lizard yesterday, he was now the king of Mushroom Valley! [Cao!] The Scarecrow relayed the message to its Summoner. ¡°Um, can this be any more casual? But come to think of it, is there such a thing?¡± Li Pu was a little surprised. In fact, it was because he had just killed the Mushroom-eating Lizard yesterday and its smell was still on him that these mushrooms were very afraid of him now. However, this was great. It would make today¡¯s operation smoother. When he was chased by the Mushroom-eating Lizard last time, he didn¡¯t go very deep into the valley, and only found three types of mushroom-type magical beasts. In addition to the Red-headed Mushrooms, there was also a kind of short blue mushroom and a slender white mushroom. Compared to the many Red-headed Mushrooms, the numbers of the other two types were much less. According to his previous experience, he shouldn¡¯t be able to gather enough to turn into a related item. That being said, at least it would be good to understand the situation. ¡°Go on then,¡± Thus, he waved his hand and motioned for the Scarecrow to fight. [Cao!] Finally, it¡¯s its turn! After receiving the order, the Scarecrow raised its arms and looked like it was eager to fight. Now that it was level four, its strength had improved a lot, making it more than enough to deal with a mushroom-type magical beast in a one-on-one fight. As the little Zen tree had explained, the mushrooms in the valley would not attack people on their own initiative. In addition to the affinity brought about by 10 wood attributes, the Scarecrow was almost in the face of a Blue-headed Mushroom, but the latter still did not have any reaction. The Scarecrow would, of course, not let go of such a good opportunity. [Piu~] Thus, it threw a super slow Snail Grass fist. [Gugu~] The Blue-headed Mushroom was still licking the fertile soil of the valley, unaware of the danger. Bang! The result was predictable. The Scarecrow sent the mushroom flying with a punch. Pachi! In the process of soaring through the air, the Blue-headed Mushroom died and shattered into mushroom fragments. [Su, su!] The little Zen tree marveled at the Scarecrow¡¯s might. ¡°¡­¡± Li Pu was speechless, ¡°If you do this, how am I supposed to collect them?¡± Looking at the mushroom pieces that bloomed and fell like fireworks, he didn¡¯t even know where they would fall. [Cao~] The Scarecrow scratched its head in embarrassment. Then, it took out a bottle of Coke from its body, sat down, and started drinking. Looking at how carefree it was, it seemed more like the Scarecrow was here for an outing and not to take care of magical beasts. ¡°¡­ What are you doing now?¡± Li Pu thought that this fellow was trying to slack off. [Cao!] The Scarecrow expressed that it was tired and was taking a rest. It turned out that Snail Grass consumed a lot of Mana. With the Scarecrow¡¯s current capacity, the skill could only be used once at a time. The remaining Mana it had left was still a little short of casting the skill a second time, so it had to recover as soon as the battle ended. As a summoned beast of the Wind Listener type, the fastest way to recover energy was to stay put. Since it couldn¡¯t walk, why not sit down and enjoy a bottle of Coke? ¡°Looks like you¡¯re still not strong enough,¡± Li Pu shook his head and couldn¡¯t blame the Scarecrow. However, the situation just now made him realize that even if they attacked the mushrooms now, they wouldn¡¯t be attacked by a group of them. The fact that the Scarecrow was still alive was the best proof. It seemed like his identity as the ¡°king¡± of the Mushroom Valley had worked. [Cao!] The Scarecrow was recovered! After resting for a while, it jumped up. ¡°This time, try attacking this one. Don¡¯t use the slow-motion fist anymore,¡± Li Pu decided to change the Scarecrow¡¯s opponent and pointed at a long and thin mushroom. The slender mushroom was the only mushroom-type magical beast that he had seen that had legs. It was about 170cm tall, a lot taller than the other mushrooms. However, despite its height, its body shape was very deformed. It had a slender body, hands, and feet. Other than its head and mushroom cap, the rest of its body was less than five centimeters in diameter, making it look extremely frail. If the Scarecrow couldn¡¯t even defeat such a mushroom, it could just crash into a pile of grass and kill itself. [Cao!] The Scarecrow, who had been ordered to not use Snail Grass, was not discouraged. It still had other skills. As such, it pointed at the thin mushroom with its grass hand, and a few vines immediately shot out from the ground before wrapping around the target. [Gugu?] However, the mushroom was simply too thin, and with a casual wriggle, it managed to escape from the vines. [Cao, cao, cao!] The Scarecrow called for its Summoner, expressing that the enemy was too strong! ¡°¡­ Please be serious,¡± Li Pu didn¡¯t know what to say. [Cao!] The Scarecrow was a little embarrassed and could only rush up to fight with the other party. In the end, it only took two or three punches for the thin mushroom to be destroyed and split into several pieces. ¡°This is more like it,¡± Li Pu walked forward and picked up the longest mushroom stem. The relevant information immediately appeared in his mind. [Level 1 ¨C See You Tomorrow (F)] 1/100 [Passive Effect: After dying under certain conditions, you have a chance to revive the next day.] [Attribute Requirement: None] [Type Requirement: None] [Race Requirement: None] ¡°What kind of skill is this?¡± Resurrection skills should be very powerful, but Li Pu felt that something was off. Come to think of it, these fine mushrooms looked a little like¡­ Enoki mushrooms? ¡°There are too few of them, and we can¡¯t collect enough to gather into a related item,¡± Even if he wanted the skill, the number of thin mushrooms here was not enough. He wondered if the guard¡¯s old dog liked to eat this. After all, it looked like the lizard¡¯s tail since it was also in a strip-like shape. Anyway, he would put it in his storage space first. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± After putting it away, he waved at the Scarecrow and tree. Mushroom Valley was huge, and there were many places to explore. Who knew, there might be suitable mushrooms in the depths. They spent the next hour on the road, walking around. Occasionally, he would encounter other species of mushrooms, but he could only give up because there were too few of them. At most, he would let the Scarecrow fight and kill one of them, taking the opportunity to understand their information. [Su, su!] The little Treant stopped when they reached the middle of the valley. It had been sprinkling light powder along the way, and now it was running out of stock. ¡°We can only stop here today?¡± Li Pu felt a little regretful about this. He raised his head and looked at the moon¡¯s position. It was about nine or ten O¡¯clock in the evening. [Su, su, su!] [Cao!] However, the little Treant told him another piece of news. That was, if they continued to walk forward for a while, the valley would have natural light. Moonlight Lake was a lake in the valley that would naturally light up at night. Usually, many mushroom-type magical beasts would be gathered there. It suggested that they should explore the place for the time being. ¡°Oh?¡± Li Pu¡¯s interest was piqued when he heard that.