"The crystal needs exactly 10 minutes," Ren repeated. "Plus it must be sealed with bronze rank aquatic plant root extract and..."
As Ren explained the method's details, Lin felt something she hadn't experienced in years: true hope for her beast's future.
"Why a thousand days?" she asked when Ren finished his explanation. "The traditional methods..."
"Traditional methods are incomplete," Ren interrupted gently. "As you saw today, there's much that those who wrote those books don't properly understand. The problem is they have to experiment blindly..."
Lin observed her crane's markings, thinking of all the times she had wished she could push her beast beyond its current limitations. The feather patterns shifted beneath her skin, as if sensing her renewed hope.
"The intermediate maturation isn't like ranking up, that's why it requires 10 times more energy... There's a final maturation later, but let's finish this one first."
"A thousand days," she murmured. "Without missing a single one."
"You'll need a bronze rank 1 speed rune at the end," Ren added. "But I'm sure that's not too costly for you and worth the investment."
"And you really believe it will work?" The question came out more vulnerable than Lin intended.
Ren smiled while his mushrooms pulsed with confidence. "As sure as I was about Taro's Living Tunnel."
Lin stood, her decision made. "Then I'll start tomorrow at dawn."
"Does this mean I get a day off from training?" Ren asked hopefully.
Lin's laughter echoed across the training field. "Nice try. Now, back to that kick series you were doing wrong."
As they resumed training, Lin couldn't help but smile. For the first time in years, her crane's future seemed bright.
And all thanks to the student with the academy's supposed "weakest beast."
Yang's training class was normally a spectacle of concentration and effort.
"Cass! That's the third time you've tripped on the same exercise!" Yang shook his head while his behemoth resonated with frustration. "And Feng! Since when does your cobra attack in the wrong direction?"
The students barely listened. Their eyes constantly followed Ren, who tried to concentrate on his exercises while ignoring the stares. Even Jin's group couldn't maintain their usual disdainful distance, stealing glances when they thought no one was looking.
It wasn't a pleasant sensation. The constant attention made him uncomfortable, as if each movement was being analyzed and judged.
But then he remembered Wei's face crumbling before the living crystal, Jin and Klein's expressions as they watched their influence dissolve...
A small smile formed on his lips. His mushrooms pulsed with satisfaction.
"Han! Your web just tangled with your own feet!" Yang rubbed his temples. "Is anyone paying attention today?"
Lin, for her part, practically glowed with joy while enthusiastically correcting postures.
"Excellent form, Ren," she commented in passing, winking. "At least someone maintains their concentration."
In Mei's class, the situation didn't improve.
"...and that's how economic cycles affect crystal prices," Mei drew graphs on the board, her voice increasingly irritated. "Is anyone even listening?"
A paper ball flew through the air, intended to catch Ren's attention. Mei's vine intercepted it with a sharp movement.
"Enough!" she slammed her desk. "Mr. Patinder's alternative evolution situation will not be on the exam! But my graphs will be!"
Ren sank slightly in his seat, though the memory of Wei on his knees before the living crystal remained an excellent consolation.
By the time Song's optional class came around, the professor found himself in a completely empty classroom.
He peeked into the hallway just in time to see his usual students surrounding Ren, who had been heading to the caves but ended up trapped in the courtyard, bombarding him with questions about alternative evolutions.
"I suppose there's no crystal class today," Song murmured.
Ren finally managed to escape the crowd thanks to Lin, who appeared providentially announcing it was time for his special training.
"Not so fun being the center of attention, huh?" Lin smiled as they walked away.
"No," Ren admitted, his mushrooms pulsing softly. "But remembering Wei's face when he saw the living crystal... that makes it worth it."
Lin laughed. "Wait until you see his face tomorrow when he hands over the rune."
Ren's mushrooms pulsed with renewed anticipation. Perhaps a few more days of being the center of attention wouldn't be so bad after all.
Ren had barely opened the door to the room when he found Liu on his knees, holding a bronze shine crystal in his outstretched hands like an offering.
"I'm so sorry!" Liu exclaimed nervously. "I should have believed you from the start! Please accept this humble crystal as an apology and teach me the right path for my beast!"
Ren couldn't contain his laughter. Of course, now everyone wanted his help with cultivation.
"Get up," Ren put a hand on Liu's shoulder. "You'll need that crystal for your own cultivation. Although..." he smiled mischievously, "you could bring fruit water for all four of us."
"Of course!" Liu jumped up and practically flew to the door.
Min burst into laughter as soon as Liu disappeared. "Did you see his face? Like he was before an ancestral master!"
"Don't mock him Min, you looked very similar a few days ago..."
"About today..." Taro scratched his head, looking a bit guilty. "I think I ran my mouth too much. Everyone's talking about your evolution knowledge and..."
"It's fine," Ren waved his hand while his mushrooms pulsed calmly. "It was just a matter of time."
"You should charge," Min suggested while lounging lazily. "You saw how everyone is. You could make a fortune selling your methods."
"No," Ren pulled a new notebook from his trunk. "I'm going to do something better."
"Better than making money?" Min arched an eyebrow.
"I'm going to write books," Ren smiled while his mushrooms pulsed with determination. "Books of cultivation techniques for everyone. So no one else has to settle for incomplete evolutions just because current records are wrong."
Taro and Min exchanged looks.
"Wei is going to have a fit," Min smiled.
"The entire academy is going to have a fit," Taro added.
"Doesn't matter," Ren began writing, his mushrooms pulsing with steady rhythm. "It's time someone corrected hundreds of years of incomplete information."
Liu returned with the fruit water, finding his roommates laughing while Ren wrote the first page of what would become a revolution in beast cultivation knowledge.