Shadowy vines darted about the private training room. Formless and intangible, their presence was only revealed by the shadows they cast on the floor under the lights.
But one had to rember that the Night Demon Cat had cast its Nightfall Skill. Within its Domain, the room was plunged into darkness.
No one could dispel the darkness overhead unless they used a Daybreak Skill of an equivalent Skill Level, or an equally powerful Skill like Sun Ergence. Otherwise, the Shadowy Vine Snake’s vines reigned supre.
Gu Ming had Cyan Treasure cast Rootless Wood, its seed tearing through space. He then used Plant Life Light Wave to catalyze its growth, pitting it against the Shadow Tree Vine in a test of strength.
Theoretically, since the vines had beco shadows, Rootless Wood should have had a hard ti landing a hit.
And that proved to be true. Rootless Wood rely thrashed about in the darkness, failing to strike a single vine.
The Shadowy Vine Snake’s vines, however, slithered onto Rootless Wood and coiled around it tightly. Then, channeling Dark Power, they attempted to crush it to pieces.
As luck would have it, Rootless Wood had quite a few hidden abilities.
It was rooted in the void itself, possessing no true physical roots. Absorbing spatial energy was rely its most basic function, and the void contained all manner of things.
Thus, the mont the Shadow Tree Vine’s Dark Power manifested, Rootless Wood began to absorb it, siphoning the vine’s energy away and slowly forcing it to reveal its true form.
Keep in mind, Cyan Treasure’s Rootless Wood was only at the Two-star Level. A Low-star Pet Beast absorbing a High-star Pet Beast’s energy... The Shadow Tree Vine sensed that the situation was dire.
’This is just too weird!’
It imdiately withdrew its summoned vines.
Now that it had no source to absorb, Rootless Wood reverted to its normal form.
A glint appeared in Gu Ming’s eyes. He could see that Rootless Wood was showing signs of an Attribute change.
But his opponent had provided too small a window of opportunity, reacting and retreating in just two or three seconds.
Even when Rootless Wood gave chase to attack, it couldn’t catch its foe.
In other words, as long as Yuan Ge didn’t initiate an attack, he was invincible.
This ant the initiative now lay with his opponent.
Nevertheless, Gu Ming could tell from this sparring match that Rootless Wood’s potential far exceeded that of the snake.
Yuan Ge, for his part, was also stunned.
He had thought that the combination of his Shadow Tree Vine and Night Demon Cat would be enough to make him nearly invincible against others of the Sa-star Level.
But against Gu Ming, an incoming college freshman, he had not only failed to achieve a crushing victory but had actually been countered.
Fortunately, Gu Ming’s advantage wasn’t decisive. His Rootless Wood was completely unable to catch the shadow-form vines, limiting its effectiveness.
That, at least, kept him from being completely crushed.
Just then, Yuan Ge scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily.
"As expected of Teacher Gu Ming! The root your Pet Beast grows from a Grass Seed is truly sothing else.
"If you develop it further, my Pet Beast will surely be no match for yours in the future."
Gu Ming waved a hand dismissively and praised his opponent’s Shadowy Vine Snake for its impressive growth.
After exchanging a round of polite flattery, they began the normal Cultivation Ti, repeatedly using their Cultivating Techniques to grind their Skill Levels.
In the first hour, Gu Ming offered guidance ten tis. Afterward, he reduced the frequency, checking in only about every two hours to see if Yuan Ge’s Pet Beast had gone astray and needed any pointers.
Seeing that the system wasn’t flagging any issues and everything was normal, Gu Ming went through the motions of giving guidance a few tis. The advice seed helpful, but in reality, it served more as a placebo.
Yuan Ge, however, thought otherwise. He felt that Gu Ming’s words were reasonable, and even when he repeated certain points, Yuan Ge felt there was a deeper aning. ’I must not have fully understood it yet.’
He secretly took notes, planning to mull them over back in his dorm that night.
At that mont, Yuan Ge put on a wide smile and handed over a stack of cash, along with a bag of materials sealed inside—precious Grass and Earth Elent Cultivation Resources.
"This is the fee for today’s lesson. Please, take it—"
Gu Ming didn’t refuse, nodding and accepting it.
The system had, after all, clearly indicated that this was his paynt in Spirit Stones.
He certainly had no reason to refuse; he had co precisely for those Spirit Stone resources.
"In that case, I’ll accept it."
Gu Ming took the paynt and walked out of the training room, his rental ti now over.
Gu Ming still had so ti to kill. He could either go to his part-ti job or wander around the campus.
This was the Zhou Capital Cyan Wood Beastmaster Academy, a near-top-tier academy and a dream destination for countless Grass Elent Pet Beasts.
Gu Ming glanced at Lu You. She had recently started looking for a second Pet Beast to contract.
’We can’t just go pick one out at those expensive Pet Beast Stores.’
Gu Ming had asked several colleagues and superiors at his company where the best place was to look for a second Pet Beast to contract.
The staff at his company had all worked in the area for many years and knew Zhou Capital inside and out, so Gu Ming had definitely co to the right people for advice.
When it ca to saving money and getting the best bang for your buck, they were all experts.
When the nation’s Champion Scholar humbly asked for their advice...
People who rarely got a chance to show off their expertise eagerly gave Gu Ming a detailed breakdown of several pet-finding thods known only to locals.
Gu Ming organized their suggestions, and after filtering out the expensive options, he settled on one particularly cost-effective thod.
The large superstores that openly sold Pet Beast eggs and hatchlings were not the best option.
Or rather, they weren’t the most cost-effective choice.
For students, especially those in university, the best thod was to look for adoption opportunities within the various academies, seeking out newborn hatchlings.
Generally, these were the offspring of Pet Beasts that had been paired up by fellow students.
At this stage, they hadn’t yet entered the market, existing in a sort of Schrodinger’s state.
So owners loved their Pet Beasts so much that they considered any offspring to be their own children as well.
Selling a high-potential hatchling to a Pet Beast Store could fetch a high price, but there was no guarantee it would be treated well or end up in a good ho.
This was where potential adopters ca in. By showing their sincerity, they could arrange to "adopt" instead of "buy." They might offer a small adoption fee or show proof of their living situation to convince the owner they would provide a good ho.
So adoptions even required regular check-ins; the original owner might visit in person or request a video call every so often to see how the young Pet Beast was faring in its new ho.
The higher the hatchling’s potential Star Level, and the more the student-owner cared for their Pet Beast, the more demanding the requirents.
As long as one could et the owner’s demands, saving money was a near certainty. You might even find soone willing to give the hatchling away for free.
This approach not only made it easier to find a New Pet Beast hatchling but also significantly reduced the financial pressure.
So, he discussed this with Lu You as they ambled through the academy grounds.
"’Adopting instead of buying’ is common among university students," Gu Ming explained. "The only real hurdle is your personal network. Without connections, you’ll never hear about any newborns."
As he said this, Gu Ming glanced back at Yuan Ge, who had followed them out.
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