On the bus, Feng Yuan said with some confusion,
"You aren’t students currently enrolled at Maomu University, are you?"
"What? Is there a problem?"
"Isn’t that venom supposed to be for Elder Sun’s grandson to use? Isn’t there going to be a problem with you guys collecting it?"
Seeing Feng Yuan’s doubtful gaze, the woman said somewhat displeased,
"Are you implying that our skills are lacking? Come on, let’s talk this over properly."
Listening to the woman spouting professional terms from the field of Potion studies, Feng Yuan sighed and, under her proud gaze, responded to her previous statement with the same professional terminology. After going back and forth for quite some time, Ming Lei who was beside them couldn’t help but interrupt,
"Hold on, we’re at our stop."
Hearing Ming Lei’s words, the woman flipped her long hair and said,
"Looks like your knowledge of Potion studies isn’t bad. Which university did you graduate from?"
After getting off the bus and stretching lazily, Feng Yuan looked at the woman who was staring at him and said with some bewilderment,
"You haven’t answered my question yet."
"How do you expect me to answer that? I haven’t even been to university yet, how would I know which one I graduated from? And for now, I plan on attending Maomu Academy."
"Tsk! Another noble Beastmaster, huh? But at least you’re more capable than those other guys. I certainly don’t believe those Potion cripples will make it to the end."
"Just don’t throw away your Potion studies once you join Maomu Academy. It’s all about training your Spirit Beast’s combat capabilities; you wouldn’t even know if you got duped in evolution. Haven’t you seen the mess over the evolution path of the Silver Moon Spirit Fox recently? Not to mention various research institutes getting involved in the debate, even the Great Xia research institute has internal arguments going on."
Hearing the woman’s words, Feng Yuan said with some curiosity,
"So, which evolution path do you think is correct?"
"Of course, it’s the Star-Tailed Nine-Tailed Fox. Based on current widespread research, as long as the evolution path is correct, the chance of failure is very low. Even if evolution does fail, at worst they lose the ability to evolve again. More often than not, they just need a year or two of recovery and then they can attempt to evolve again. Even if the difficulty increases, it’s not like it leads to death."
"I really don’t know how those people at the research institute can believe such nonsense!"
Looking at the woman’s indignant manner, Feng Yuan said with a bit of amusement,
"Then why don’t you voice your support for Chen Xin?"
"Who says I haven’t? We’ve sent out all our research data, and I’ve written an article in strong support of her. Too bad the opposition always brings up a few isolated incidents to make their case. Anyway, I don’t believe the Silver Moon Spirit Fox is a special case."
"Hang on, you imply that you haven’t been to university yet? Could it be that you are currently..."
Ming Lei, who had been contemplating something, looked at Feng Yuan in surprise and said, with Feng Yuan nodding in confirmation,
"I’m currently a senior at No. 2 High School; not repeating a grade or anything! What’s with that look?!"
"Can a high school student join a special task force? That seems impossible, even for someone who’s an auxiliary member?"
Seeing the woman’s skeptical look, Feng Yuan said, dissatisfied,
"What’s wrong with high school students! High school is the age to save the world! You’re past the age of saving the world, aren’t you!"
"Tsk, seeing you , I kinda believe you’re a high school student."
"But how did you join the special task force? Even if you are already a Beastmaster, you can’t just join directly, right? Aren’t exams for that kind of thing for university graduates at the very least?"
Hearing the woman’s question, Feng Yuan deflated a bit and replied somewhat resentfully,
"Would you believe me if I said it was a punishment?"
"Punishment for joining the special task force? Is that supposed to be punishment or a reward..."
With a sigh, Feng Yuan briefly explained how he was punished. Upon hearing Feng Yuan’s explanation, the woman looked at him somewhat speechlessly and said,
"So it was you behind that terrorist attack that night? No wonder your punishment is such."
"But...in that case, wouldn’t it have been better for you to choose Great Xia’s Beast Taming Academy?"
Glancing at the woman, Feng Yuan said with some surprise,
"I thought you would be trying to recruit students for your own school. But it doesn’t make much difference to me; Maomu Academy seems fine, and at least for the short term, I’m too lazy to run off elsewhere to settle down."
The woman gave Feng Yuan a helpless look and said,
"Our school is only a university, after all. Although our Spirit Beast Department is much stronger than Maomu’s, our Beast Taming Department can’t compare at all since they are specialized in that field."
"As for Beastmasters...even though we can comfort ourselves with the fact that we are adept at potions, using Spirit Beasts to change our lives and so forth, everyone knows that when it comes to real strength, the Beast Taming Department is much stronger at the same rank. And this world...ultimately, individual strength cannot be ignored."
"Don’t talk so gloomily. Although our Spirit Beast Department may not be as strong as the Beast Taming Department in pure strength, when you add in potions and the like, we’re not necessarily worse off. Besides, aren’t those masters also very strong?"
Hearing Ming Lei’s comforting words, the woman smiled and said,
"It’s a pity there aren’t many masters, and though our Spirit Beast Department might be a bit weaker than the Beast Taming Department, we’re still stronger than the average person. I just hope he won’t be conned inadvertently, especially since that terrifying creature that night proved he’s already come a long way with Beast Taming."
Scratching his face with his index finger, Feng Yuan wasn’t quite sure how to explain. After all, even without Agunas, simply having Xiao Ji, who was the Incarnation of Power and Coming of the Future, meant he indirectly possessed Legendary Level strength. Glancing at Feng Yuan, the woman laughed heartily and said,
"I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet. My name is Qin Lan, yours?"
Seeing Qin Lan’s gesture, Feng Yuan stood still as a long-forgotten memory slowly emerged. Shaking his head, Feng Yuan sighed and said,
Qin Lan noticed Feng Yuan’s mood suddenly drop and said with curiosity,
"What’s wrong? Did something happen?"
Along the way, Feng Yuan and Qin Lan discussed knowledge about potions. Ming Lei could keep up at first, but towards the end, he struggled to follow their conversation. He sighed and said quietly,
"Nerds are truly terrifying creatures."
As if he heard Ming Lei’s muttering, Agunas turned his head to look at Ming Lei, his eyes revealing an indescribable expression.
"Is it you? What brings you to me?"
Just as they approached Poison Sole Mushroom Valley, Feng Yuan received a surge of psychic energy. Through this energy, he heard the Big Mushroom’s puzzled voice. Scratching his head, Feng Yuan awkwardly replied through psychic energy,
"Well, they were hoping to collect some of the Poison Mush’s venom, but since that incident just happened some time ago, so..."
"Venom? What do they want it for? Let them come over. You mean well, but be careful not to be used by others."
Glancing at Agunas, Feng Yuan smiled and said to the two people behind him,
"Let’s go in; it seems to have agreed."
Entering the valley, the Big Mushroom was already waiting at the entrance. Looking at Feng Yuan, the Big Mushroom spoke out,
"What exactly do you want to do with that venom?"
Understanding the Big Mushroom’s point, Qin Lan took out a small bottle from her backpack and held it in front of her, saying,
"An elder from the Elder Council has a grandson who is ill. The research institute discovered that your venom seems to help with treating that strange illness. You recognize this bottle, right? And here’s the license."
Seeing Feng Yuan’s confusion, Qin Lan passed the items in her hand while saying,
"Since Poison Mush’s venom is extremely potent, we need to have a special container and a permit each time we collect. It’s a way to exempt them from blame, considering that sometimes..."
Nodding, Feng Yuan said,
"I see, it’s good to be cautious."
"Strange illness, you say?"
The Big Mushroom fell silent for a moment and then suddenly spoke up, surprising all three of them.