45: Chapter 45 The Shameless Yu Xiaogang

Lin Yue immediately rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and said coldly: "Give it a rest, Yu Xiaogang. We wouldn't dare trouble you, the 'Great Master'. Last time, your theory on spirit ring limits was slapped down so hard by a book from a hundred years ago that your face swelled up. How dare you still come out and claim to be the number one person in theory?"

Yu Xiaogang's face turned bright red instantly, and he stiffened his neck, saying: "That book is nothing but basic records! True control over details, the compatibility between Spirit and Spirit Beast attributes—only I can judge that accurately! Tang San has Innate Full Spirit Power with his Blue Silver Grass; ordinary Spirit Beasts are simply not worthy of him. Only I can help him find the most perfect first spirit ring!"

As he spoke, he stared fixedly at Tang San, his eyes full of pleading.

He knew all too well that this was his only chance to get close to Tang San and regain his trust.

If he could help Tang San choose a suitable spirit ring during this Spirit hunt, perhaps he could change Tang San's opinion of him. Even if Tang San wouldn't take him as a master, he could still rely on Tang San to gain a firm footing in the academy.

Lin Yue wanted to retort again, but Tang San gently tugged her arm and shook his head slightly.

Tang San looked up at Yu Xiaogang, his tone calm and unreadable: "If you want to go, then go. But just follow along; there is no need to do anything extra."

He had his own calculations: although Yu Xiaogang was a fame-seeking fraud, he had been immersed in Spirit theory for decades. Perhaps he really did have some unique insights into the Spirit Beasts compatible with the Blue Silver Grass Spirit. Listening wouldn't hurt, and if what he said was wrong, he could just ignore it. With the Dean and the two teachers present, Yu Xiaogang wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

Seeing that Tang San had spoken, the Dean couldn't say much else. He frowned and said coldly to Yu Xiaogang: "You can come if you want, but behave yourself on the road and don't cause us any trouble. If anything happens, I will hold you responsible."

Yu Xiaogang's face instantly lit up with joy, and he nodded repeatedly: "Rest assured! I will definitely behave! I will certainly help the children choose the most suitable Spirit Beast!"

Just like that, the original group of six was forcibly joined by Yu Xiaogang. Two carriages set off from Nuoding City in a grand procession, heading towards the Spirit hunting forest raised by the Empire.

On the way, Yu Xiaogang was certainly not idle. He kept crowding Tang San, chattering endlessly about the Spirit Beast types compatible with the Blue Silver Grass Spirit, mentioning Datura Snake, Ghost Vine, and so on, speaking with great confidence, attempting to re-establish his authority.

But as soon as he spoke, Lin Yue would slowly take out the "Complete Knowledge of Spirit Masters" and "Encyclopedia of Spirit Beasts (I)", turn to the corresponding page, and read out the more detailed and rigorous content from the book, while retorting: "Is that it? The book is much clearer than you. Even the toxicity grading of the Datura Snake and the methods to avoid the Parasite of the Ghost Vine are written out completely. Do we still need you to tell us this?"

Yu Xiaogang was flushed red from the retort, but he didn't dare to confront Lin Yue directly, so he could only shut his mouth in frustration. However, less than two minutes later, he couldn't help but lean in to nag Tang San again.

Most of the time, Tang San just listened quietly, neither nodding nor refuting. Occasionally, he would ask about a detail or two, but inwardly he was silently comparing it with the content in the books, noting down what was useful and ignoring what was useless.

Xiao Wu sat quietly between the two, occasionally handing Tang San a snack or passing a water bottle to Lin Yue, softly chiming in to retort against Yu Xiaogang, fully maximizing her favorability.

The System's notification sound rang incessantly in her mind. Tang San's strategy progress had already risen to 12%, and Lin Yue's had even risen to 18%, making her so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.

After a leisurely journey of only half a day, they arrived at the entrance of the Spirit hunting forest raised by the Empire.

The entrance here was built with high stone walls, and a row of Empire soldiers clad in armor and holding spears stood at the gate, guarding it strictly.

They bought a map, which clearly indicated the regional divisions of the Spirit hunting forest, the basic types of Spirit Beasts, and their age markings. Even the danger levels were marked clearly, making it easy to understand at a glance.

Not to mention century-level Spirit Beasts, even millennium-level Spirit Beasts were firmly confined to specific areas and could not possibly run out to harm people at will.

The Dean presented the passage document issued by the Empire Academy. After the soldiers verified it, they immediately let them pass respectfully.

Yu Xiaogang froze at the sight before him. He had originally thought that once they entered the perilous Spirit hunting forest, he could rely on his own "experience" to lead them away from danger and put on a good performance, making Tang San look at him with new eyes.

But who could have thought that the place they came to was actually the Spirit hunting forest raised by the Empire? Forget danger, they couldn't even see a Spirit Beast running around!

Perhaps it had been too long, and he had forgotten that the threat coefficient of a raised Spirit hunting forest was very low.

Lin Yue looked at his dazed expression and couldn't help but sneer: "What? Great Master, disappointed? No chance to show off your wilderness survival experience?"

Yu Xiaogang's face turned green and then white, unable to say a word for a long time.

The Dean clapped his hands with a smile and said to the three children: "Alright, let's go to the century-level Spirit Beast area first. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass is of the Life type, so it's best to go with the support system. You can look for plant-type Spirit Beasts that lean towards the Life type. Xiao Wu's Soft Bones Rabbit is close-quarters power attack combined with agility attack, so look for speed and strength-type beast Spirits. Lin Yue, you just watch for now. If we find a suitable target for your second spirit ring, we'll note it down, and you can come to hunt it directly after you reach Rank 20. Listen carefully: stay by our side the whole time and don't run around, understand?"

"Understood!" the three children replied in unison.

Xiao Wu secretly moved closer to Tang San, and her little hand quietly grabbed the corner of Tang San's clothes, saying softly: "Brother Tang San, I'm a little scared. Can I follow you?"

Tang San looked at her big, watery eyes and couldn't bear to refuse, so he nodded gently.

Xiao Wu's heart bloomed with joy instantly, and the System notification sound rang right on time: 【Ding! SSS-Rank target Tang San strategy progress +3%, current progress 15%! Please continue to work hard, Host, unlock more strategy targets, and gain more devoted followers!】

The group walked towards the century-level Spirit Beast area. In the massive procession, with three Spirit Masters guarding the front, back, left, and right, let alone Spirit Beast attacks, there wasn't even a bug that dared to get close.

Compared to the dangerous scene in the original plot where Yu Xiaogang took Tang San into the Spirit hunting forest alone and was almost killed by a Datura Snake, this was worlds apart.

Yu Xiaogang followed at the very back of the group, watching the Dean walking beside Tang San, surrounded by the two children, and then looking at Tang San who ignored him. He felt sour and anxious, but had no way to do anything.

The group walked along the path towards the century-level Spirit Beast area. The Dean and the two teachers formed a triangular formation to protect the three children, their gazes scanning the surroundings vigilantly. From time to time, they would stop to point out the Spirit Beasts passing by, explaining their categories, attributes, and compatibility to the three children.

Tang San listened extremely carefully, nodding from time to time, silently memorizing this knowledge in his heart.

He could clearly perceive that his Blue Silver Grass Spirit carried an extremely rich Life aura, and the golden patterns on the grass leaves carried the Origin aura of a plant-type emperor. It was naturally inclined towards Life nourishment, and at the very least, it was what plants needed: water or soil.

Looking along the way, either the attributes were incompatible, or the age was too high. He had just entered the Spirit Master Realm and could not absorb them at all.

After walking forward for about a quarter of an hour, Yu Xiaogang, who was walking at the back, suddenly had his eyes light up. He rushed quickly to the side of a crevice in the rocks, pointed at the lonely, half-foot-tall, blue-green bamboo growing in the crevice, and shouted to stop everyone: "Wait a moment! Tang San, come here quickly! There is a Spirit Beast here that is compatible with you!"

Everyone stopped upon hearing the sound and turned to look.

They saw a thin, slender bamboo growing in the rock crevice, with only a single, lonely bamboo stalk and a few sparse bamboo leaves. The Soul Power fluctuation emitted from its body was minimal. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that it was just a decade-level plant-type Spirit Beast.

"This is a Lone Bamboo, the most common low-level plant-type Spirit Beast!"

Yu Xiaogang's face was full of pride. Just like when he explained the Datura Snake to Tang San in his previous Life, he began to introduce it eloquently: "This kind of plant-type Spirit Beast naturally comes with Binding and paralyzing poison attributes, and the bamboo stalk is incredibly tough. It can perfectly fit your Blue Silver Grass Spirit. The only disadvantage is that the age is a bit low, only ten years. If we really can't find a more suitable century-level Spirit Beast, choosing it is definitely the safest option!"

...

ps: Answering a question, how should I put it, just assume Qian Chongguang is dead, (*´◐∀◐`*), I am writing this as an ensemble piece. Also, Transmigrationers are not necessarily all overpowered; the bad ones are truly bad, the outrageous ones are truly outrageous, and some might even be characters from cross-over worlds.