16: bargain

Inside the room, Lin Yan frantically scratched his hair, as if trying to tear his scalp apart.

His eyes were filled with fanaticism, and he muttered, “What exactly is going on with this genome? Why is it like it's dead, completely useless?”

Curator Lin Xian sat leisurely on a chair nearby, a faint smile on his face, seemingly unconcerned about the situation.

He said in a relaxed tone, “Go ask someone else, it’s not like you’ll lose a limb.” This was clearly teasing Lin Yan, telling him not to be so nervous.

However, Lin Yan was not affected by Curator Lin Xian’s words; he continued to frantically scratch his hair, trying to find an answer amidst his chaotic thoughts.

Finally, he couldn’t help but roar at Curator Lin Xian, “Go away! Don’t disturb my thinking!”

Curator Lin Xian shrugged, indicating his helplessness. He knew Lin Yan was currently in an extremely agitated state and needed some time to calm down.

So, he decided not to bother Lin Yan anymore, but to sit quietly by and wait.

After a while, Lin Yan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

He realized that frantic scratching wouldn't solve the problem; he had to re-examine the entire situation and look for new ideas.

He carefully recalled the previous experimental steps and data, trying to find where the problem might have occurred.

After some deep thought, Lin Yan finally had some clues.

“What, you thought of something?”

“Not yet, but I have some clues. I’ll research it first; if it really doesn’t work, then we’ll talk.”

...In the afternoon, Li Wen also arrived at the training hall on time, full of energy.

However, the activities were not in the indoor hall, but directly on the outdoor training ground.

According to the afternoon’s schedule, the training experience and sparring were essentially one integrated process: after training, one would spar with the hall’s students.

The moment Li Wen entered the training ground, his vision was dominated by a colossal giant tree.

【Life Ancient Tree Emperor】 (dormant)

【attribute: Holy Wood】

【Species: ???】

【Energy Value: ???】

...“What exactly is this?” Li Wen wondered to himself.

If the panel hadn't appeared, he would have truly believed it was the World Tree supporting the world.

It stood like an office building on the training ground, so tall that Li Wen couldn't see its top.

But strangely, it was not visible in the city.

What made Li Wen truly realize its terrifying nature was that the Tree Emperor also had its own ecosystem.

【Golden Armor Beetle】

【attribute: Metal / Insect】

【Species: Elite Advanced】

【Energy Value: 18000】

【growth level: Commander Mid-tier】

Description: An insect clad in shimmering golden armor, its carapace is as hard as iron and can reflect enemy attacks. Its body contains metal-attribute energy, capable of releasing sharp metal barbs for ranged attacks... 【Netherworld Butterfly】

【attribute: Dark / Insect】

【Species: Elite Primary】

【Energy Value: 15000】

【growth level: Commander Primary】

Description: A butterfly with semi-transparent wings, capable of freely traversing in darkness and almost undetectable. Its wings carry faint dark-attribute energy, capable of silently siphoning the enemy’s life force.

【Species Skill】:

【Skill ①: Insect Silk】 (+)

...【Skill ②: Shadow Dust】

Phosphor powder formed by dark-attribute energy, which can silently attach to enemies and absorb their life force.

After several hours, seeing the familiar plus sign again immediately piqued Li Wen's interest.

Without even thinking, this Skill must be Qingyan’s teaching Skill.

【Teachable Skill】:

【Insect Silk】:

【Teachable Target】: Qingyan

【Condition】: None

【Cost】: 1 Knowledge Point

“?”

With no other material requirements, Li Wen looked at his remaining 5 Knowledge Points, and a bold idea emerged in his mind.

“First time, all in!”

“Second time, all in!”

“All in is a form of wisdom.”

All points added!

Perhaps because it was an unranked Skill, or because it was a species Skill, teaching it had no time requirements at all; it was completed in an instant.

Qingyan, who was still on Li Wen's shoulder thinking about what to eat for dinner, suddenly had many memories that didn’t belong to it flood into its mind.

“Ying~”

In those memories, it continuously spun silk.

Accumulating energy in its mouth, spitting out silk, constantly repeating this process.

And in reality, it felt as if it had truly experienced all of this, and the entire insect went limp.

“Ying~”

“So tired!”

Feeling like it was already a dead insect, goodbye Li Wen, I want to sleep first.

Noticing the meaning Qingyan expressed, Li Wen felt a little panicked.

“No! Hold on, I’ll buy you even better Spirit Leaves tonight.”

“Ying?”

“Really? =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇)”

Although completely drained of all stamina and mental energy by the Skill teaching, Qingyan still stubbornly opened its eyes and asked in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

Seeing its weakened state, Li Wen felt a sense of relief. He understood that this situation meant Qingyan was not in serious danger.

It was just extremely fatigued from overusing its abilities, but at least for now, there was no life-threatening danger.

Thus, Li Wen quickly put Qingyan into the Beast Taming Space, allowing it to recover on its own.

After all, unlike Bud, who possessed powerful self-healing talent, Qingyan needed more time to recover.

“This incident really sounded an alarm for me!” Li Wen secretly sighed.

Qingyan’s sudden weakness made him realize that everything carries risks, and trying to achieve success overnight often brings unexpected consequences.

Power never arises without reason, and Skill teaching is not as simple as directly granting a Skill.

It merely compresses a long period of training into an instant, which is why such an exhausting state occurs.

He waved his small hand, and the invisible panel appeared.

【Contracted Pet: Qingyan】

【attribute: Insect】

【trait: Gluttony】

【Species: Agile Primary】

【growth level: Uninitiated】

【Energy Value: 86】

【Skill ①: Insect Silk】 (Mastery + 1)

Allows the user to control and generate a substance similar to natural spider silk. This substance is not only exceptionally tough, almost comparable to steel in tensile strength, but also extremely light.

“You worked hard, Qingyan.”

“Your efforts were not in vain!”

An Energy Value of 86 is within the normal range for a novice pet at this stage, and spiritual power is actually the degree of control over Energy Value.

In the rapidly growing infancy stage, power expands especially quickly, so it is rare for energy control ability to be higher than 50.

Special cases like Bud are uncommon.

Just as he was marveling at Bud’s uniqueness, Bud seemed to have run into trouble.

“Bud! Bud!”

“Stinky Li Wen, the Tree Emperor is talking!”