Chapter 210 - 174: Why Are You Everywhere?
’But before the King left, he said to try not to let the Prince evolve, to not get him involved...’
’If he doesn’t evolve, he won’t be involved?’ Jiuyou retorted.
The Shadow of Ancient Jing lowered its head and fell silent.
Jiuyou’s gaze shifted, looking toward the full moon in the distance.
’Disaster won’t show mercy just because you are weak. When all the pillars have crumbled, the ants who scraped by in their shadow will not be spared either.’
’The Prince chose to be a pillar, not an ant. In that case—I will respect the Prince’s decision.’
The Shadow of Ancient Jing nodded slightly. ’You are right, Clan Leader.’
Then, it took a few steps closer. ’There is one more thing. The humans wish to invite you to the Alliance Headquarters. The Divine Strategy Alliance has an important matter to discuss with you.’
Jiuyou frowned.
That organization called the Divine Strategy Alliance usually didn’t come to him with good news.
’Fine, I understand. I will set out tomorrow. For the two days I’m gone, I’ll entrust the management of the ancient tree to you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just consult Ambassador Hua Renshan.’
The Shadow of Ancient Jing nodded slightly, indicating its obedience.
...
...
In the early morning, dawn’s light streamed in from outside the tree hollow.
The girl groggily opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the boy’s flushed cheeks and slightly trembling eyelids.
’I feel kind of warm, and it looks like he’s sweating a lot too... Huh, wait? How can I tell so clearly?’
Shao Ya then realized she had wrapped her arms around Su Zhi at some point during the night and quickly let him go.
"Sorry, I must have been a restless sleeper last night, hehe..." The girl stuck out her tongue apologetically.
"Meow-wow-meow."
Xiaoyue also chimed in, chiding his master for being a restless sleeper and telling Su Zhi not to mind.
Su Zhi, blushing, stammered, "It’s okay..."
As if remembering something, Shao Ya reached out to lift his blanket, a curious look on her face.
Su Zhi’s body trembled. She had lifted it halfway before he quickly covered himself.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
"I heard guys pitch a little tent when they wake up in the morning. I wanted to see if it was true..."
"Get lost!!!"
After a bit of roughhousing, they had breakfast, explored the ancient tree a little more, and then the two of them and their two Pet Beasts left under Hua Renshan’s escort.
"Goodbye, Senior!" Su Zhi and Shao Ya waved farewell.
"Goodbye! I wish your Pet Beasts a smooth evolution~ Come visit again when you have time!" Hua Renshan also waved back.
As if remembering something, he took out his phone and opened a group chat named "Common Defense Alliance Working Team."
In the group chat, everyone was spamming the same message:
[Dark Alliance - Master Cui Que’s Dog]: Good morning everyone
[Flying Shadow Alliance - Ah Ba Ah Ba]: Vice Alliance Leader Gou is so clueless!
[Flying Shadow Alliance-Selena]: Vice Alliance Leader Gou is so clueless!
[Huichun Alliance - Qiuqiu Kills Me]: Vice Alliance Leader Gou is so clueless!
Hua Renshan looked at the 5,983 yuan transfer from yesterday, his mood soaring, and added a "+1".
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After leaving the ancient tree, the two humans and two Pet Beasts wandered through the Ancient Jing Forest. Xiaoyue walked at the very front, Yu Bao slightly behind, and Su Zhi and Shao Ya followed their two Pet Beasts.
Along the way, they would occasionally see passing Huajing Cats greeting Xiaoyue. Sometimes he would respond, sometimes he wouldn’t.
As they walked on, they encountered fewer and fewer Huajing Cats.
"So are we just strolling around aimlessly like this?" Su Zhi asked curiously.
"It’s not completely aimless. After taking the Seed of Evolution, Xiaoyue can sense Energy. He’s following his instincts toward a suitable location."
Shao Ya patiently explained, "It’s usually a place with few of his kind around! That makes it easier to form a connection with the forest and borrow its power to evolve."
"I see..." Su Zhi nodded.
As they were talking, Shao Ya suddenly stumbled.
Su Zhi was startled, but he was prepared this time and stepped forward to steady her by the shoulders.
"I’m fine, just a little sleep-deprived." Feeling his strong arms, the girl gave a tired but relieved smile.
"You’re doing it again. It was the same during the city league tournament."
Su Zhi grumbled under his breath.
"Your Beast Taming Talent consumes a lot of energy! You should try not to use it unless you have to."
Shao Ya smiled. "Okay, thanks for your concern, Su Baby~"
"I’m not—it’s just normal concern."
Su Zhi pouted, only realizing after a moment how strange his words sounded. ’Isn’t normal concern still concern...?’
Suddenly, Xiaoyue stopped in a clearing in the woods—it was the first time he had stopped walking since leaving the ancient tree.
Su Zhi asked curiously, "Could this be it...?"
"That’s right, Xiaoyue has found his ’spot’!" Shao Ya said, pleasantly surprised.
Xiaoyue sat on the ground, looked around, and then closed his eyes.
"SHHH—"
A green light erupted, enveloping Xiaoyue’s entire body until his original form was no longer visible. Then, the ball of light expanded, and expanded, its outline becoming spherical.
Finally, the green light faded.
A giant, walnut-like wooden ball sat silently in its place. The surface was etched with the distinctive texture of tree bark, and faint green light patterns could be seen flickering and flowing across it.
"Woof?"
Yu Bao was startled and hurried forward to knock on the big "walnut."
’Big Bro? Big Bro, say something!’
"Don’t panic. Xiaoyue is evolving. Once he’s finished, he’ll naturally come out," Su Zhi said, patting Yu Bao’s head.
Yu Bao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But then he suddenly felt a little regretful.
’What a shame. I’ll never again get to pet my small, tsundere big bro.’
’You’ve got issues...’ Su Zhi thought, stuffing his hands in his pockets and glancing at Yu Bao.
Xiaoyue’s evolution spot had been found. Now all they had to do was wait for him to complete his evolution and break out of the shell.
The green light patterns on the "walnut" shell flowed slowly and grew brighter—the moment all the patterns lit up would be when Xiaoyue’s evolution was complete.
The two of them pitched a tent nearby, planning to spend the next two days there.
·
That evening.
"...So why did you only bring one tent?"
"Two would take up too much space, they’re not easy to carry~ Is Su Baby not used to it?"
The girl blinked her azure eyes. "I can sleep outside the tent, you know."
"No need..." Su Zhi pursed his lips.
’This little vixen! She obviously brought only one tent on purpose!’
’Oh, whatever. We slept together in the tree hollow yesterday, and it wasn’t weird or anything...’ Su Zhi reasoned with himself, and the thought cheered him up considerably.
’Anyway, Shao Ya might be getting what she wants, but it’s not like I’m losing out.’
"Then, Su Baby, you stay here and don’t move. I’m going to go pick some wild fruit!"
"Go on, go on."
Su Zhi glanced at Xiaoyue’s Egg of Evolution again and was surprised to find that the light green patterns already covered more than half of it. At this rate, the evolution would be complete by tomorrow morning at the latest.
’In that case... sleeping with her for just one night isn’t a big deal. Besides, we have sleeping bags, right? It’s not like we’re sleeping under the same blanket.’
"I heard that the faster a Huajing Cat breaks out of its shell, the more potential it has. Xiaoyue’s speed shows he’s pretty strong. You’ve got some pressure on you now, Yu Bao!"
After Shao Ya left, Su Zhi gave Yu Bao a small smile.
Yu Bao immediately perked up. "Woof!"
"I know, I know, I won’t forget about you."
Su Zhi grabbed Yu Bao’s doggy head and started ruffling its fur.
The battle with the two Shadows of Ancient Jing last night was quite intense. Yu Bao gained 0.12 points in one go, which was equivalent to two or three days of normal training.
As Yu Bao requested, Su Zhi added 0.05 points to his Agility, which was currently at 2.15—just to round it up and make it look nice.
The rest, naturally, went to Intelligence—a Yu Bao tradition.
His Real-time Energy Value correspondingly rose to 3121!
The little guy squinted his eyes smugly. The feeling of getting stronger was just awesome.
Then he gave Su Zhi a disdainful look.
’You, my Beast Tamer, need to step it up for me too. Why is your Beast Taming Space still at Tier Two? Are you even trying?’
’Well, now. Biting the hand that feeds you, are we...’ Su Zhi gave Yu Bao an annoyed flick on the head while taking out the Divine Concealment Core and starting to meditate.
Even without Yu Bao’s reminder, he was going to grind hard. Otherwise, it would be a real joke to be out-competed by his own Pet Beast.
Since coming to the Ancient Jing Forest, his Meditation seemed to be going more smoothly. Su Zhi planned to take this opportunity to break through to Tier Three in one go.
’You little punk, Yu Bao! Watch me out-grind you!’
He hadn’t been meditating for long when a rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes ahead.
Su Zhi opened his eyes, puzzled, and a huge, dark blob came into view—
"Wooo~!"
"Whoa, crap!"
Su Zhi was pounced on squarely and knocked to the ground.
[Pet Beast: Black Fighting Emperor (Note: Wu Bao)
Attribute: Wood Element, Fighting Element
Race: Middle Elite Race
Real-time Energy Value: 2501]
"Wooo~" "Sss-ha."
Wu Bao waved a leg at Yu Bao, and Yu Bao wagged his tail in return.
Su Zhi dusted himself off and sat up. Seeing Wu Bao, who seemed to have grown a bit larger, he was both surprised and curious. "Wu Bao? What are you doing here?"
You have to understand, the Ancient Jing Forest was several hundred kilometers away from the Huai City Exotic Beast Activity Area. Normally, an Exotic Beast’s range wouldn’t be this large.
"Wooo."
Amidst the excitement, Wu Bao also scratched his head.
He didn’t know what was going on either. He had been traveling recently with no fixed destination... He was just following his instincts in a certain direction and, before he knew it, he had ended up here, unexpectedly running right into Su Zhi.
After hearing Wu Bao’s explanation, Su Zhi was also stunned for a moment.
’...A coincidence??’
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