11: Chapter 11: Leaving the City, the Jungle Hunt Begins

On the outskirts of the school, Xia Youchu stood under a large tree, watching the chaotic ruins from a distance.

She sensed that Ling Tian was rapidly approaching.

Sure enough, after a short while, the ground near her feet bulged slightly, and a dusty head that had clearly grown a size larger popped out.

It was Ling Tian.

He still had a piece of unfinished steel plate in his mouth.

[Devoured Mithril Alloy (Damaged), gained evolution points +8.]

He swallowed it in a few bites, then looked up at Xia Youchu and sent a thought over:

"Done, let's go."

Xia Youchu looked at his "I did something big but I'm totally calm" expression, then at his noticeably larger Physique, and her eyes twitched slightly.

This guy really did undergo a mutation after swallowing her Nine-Winged Golden Cicada!

And wasn't this mutation speed a bit too fast?

"Yuan Energy actually can't penetrate your skin? What's going on with you, you stupid Gecko?"

"Who are you calling a stupid Gecko?" Ling Tian expressed his dissatisfaction.

After his Mental Energy improved, he could finally clearly convey his own thoughts.

Xia Youchu curled her lip upon hearing that. "Then can I just call you Little Stupid Gecko from now on?"

"Call me Daddy!"

"Get lost! Don't push your luck, or do you want me to throw you in front of the City Guard? Call me Mommy!"

"...Mommy."

Ling Tian was helpless. Was this the curse of Junior Wa? He still couldn't escape it even after Transmigration.

Xia Youchu bent over to pick Ling Tian up, only to find that the previous cloth pouch could no longer fit him.

Ling Tian cooperatively flicked his tail, expressing his refusal to go back into that small bag.

In the distance, the sharp whistles of the City Defense Army had already sounded; clearly, the news of the Yao Beast invasion had spread.

There was no time to delay.

Xia Youchu gritted her teeth and, disregarding everything else, directly lifted her coat, scooped up Ling Tian, tucked him into her bosom, and wrapped her coat around him.

"Don't move, and don't make a sound!"

She commanded in a low voice, a flush of red flashing across her face.

Ling Tian was suddenly surrounded by warmth and a faint, fresh fragrance, and he was momentarily stunned.

This feeling... was actually quite comfortable?

It was much better than that cold cloth bag.

He adjusted his posture, found a comfortable spot to lie down, and curled up his tail to avoid poking Xia Youchu.

Feeling the hard sensation in her arms, Xia Youchu immediately turned around, blended into the gradually stirring crowd, and quickly left the school area.

...

After leaving the city, they arrived at the edge of the relatively safe wilderness.

Xia Youchu found a secluded spot and let Ling Tian out.

She carefully observed Ling Tian.

He was nearly half a meter long, with skin as rough as rock, a jagged dorsal fin, sharp claws and teeth, and a pair of cold, ruthless vertical pupils.

This appearance no longer had anything to do with a Gecko; he looked more like some kind of ferocious lizard-type Yao Beast cub.

She tried once more to probe a trace of Yuan Energy into Ling Tian's body to check his specific condition.

Ling Tian's skin seemed to possess a certain property that could automatically absorb Yuan Energy.

So Xia Youchu directly conducted a manual inspection on him.

The Yuan Energy entered Ling Tian's body and completed a circuit.

But when it flowed near the energy core in his chest, that trace of Yuan Energy was devoured again, without even causing a ripple.

"Eh? What's going on?"

Xia Youchu was somewhat confused.

She could feel that Ling Tian's body was very strong and his blood energy was vigorous, far exceeding that of ordinary wild beasts, but she still couldn't feel any systematic supernatural energy fluctuations within him.

It was as if her Yuan Energy had been swallowed by some kind of invisible black hole.

"Was it digested? Or... rejected?"

She frowned, unable to figure it out.

She simply assumed this Gecko had a special Physique that couldn't accommodate or convert Yuan Energy.

After all, there were always some strange creatures in the world.

She didn't care too much; as long as he was alive and didn't affect her, it was fine.

"It seems you have some other skills besides being able to eat and grow."

Xia Youchu looked at Ling Tian. "But you aren't allowed to cause such big trouble again in the future, do you hear me?"

Ling Tian lifted his eyelids to glance at her and conveyed a thought:

"Hungry."

Xia Youchu: "..."

Fine, she'd spoken in vain.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to throw this thing away.

She took a piece of military compressed rations from her Storage Pouch and handed it over.

"Eat this for now. Next, we'll have to find food on our own."

Ling Tian sniffed the rations, which had no energy reaction, and pushed them away with his claws in disdain.

"Tastes bad."

Xia Youchu's face darkened, and she suddenly felt the rations in her own mouth were hard to swallow.

Damn it, this thing chewed on wall plaster with great relish, yet it said her rations tasted bad?

"If you won't eat, then starve!"

She said crossly, then took Ling Tian to the Pioneers Guild outpost not far outside the city.

Pioneers were existences that lived outside the cities in this era.

They specialized in entering the wilderness, Secret Realms, ruins, and other places to perform missions such as exploration, hunting, and resource collection.

High risk, high reward.

Many Beast Tamers and Ancient Martial Artists would choose to become Pioneers to temper themselves and obtain resources.

People were coming and going at the guild outpost, which was filled with various fierce auras.

Some had ferocious War Beasts following them, while others carried massive weapons and bore the scent of blood and fire.

A delicate young girl like Xia Youchu, bringing along a... well, a lizard cub that looked a bit fierce but wasn't very large, seemed somewhat out of place.

Many gazes fell upon them, filled with scrutiny, curiosity, or even malice.

Xia Youchu ignored these gazes and walked straight to the registration window.

"Registering as a Pioneer."

The staff member behind the window looked up at her lazily.

"Name?"

"Xia Youchu."

"Strength rank?"

"Three-star Yuan Practitioner."

"War Beast?"

The staff member glanced at Ling Tian by her feet. "Species? Rank?"

Xia Youchu paused for a moment.

Species? How should she put it?

She thought for a bit and made one up on the spot: "Mutated Stone Lizard, Mortal Grade... Peak, I suppose."

She really couldn't bring herself to lie and say Ling Tian was an extraordinary creature.

"A mortal beast?"

The staff member's expression turned strange as he shook his head, though he didn't say much else.

As a Beast Tamer, she couldn't even manage to get an extraordinary War Beast and could only contract a mortal beast to leave the city—this girl's family circumstances must be very difficult, right?

"Alright, here is your temporary identity token. You can check the point missions on that light screen yourself. Let me remind you, little girl, the wilderness isn't a playground. Be careful not to lose your life."

The staff member handed over a rough iron plate with a simple number on it.

Xia Youchu took the iron plate, said her thanks, and turned toward the mission light screen.

Ling Tian followed at her feet, looking up at the information scrolling on the light screen.

[Gathering Mission: Ghost Shadow Grass, ten stalks. Reward: 10 points, 50 Low Grade Yuan Stones.]

[Hunting Mission: Hunt Ironhide Boars for their tusks. Reward: 15 points, 80 Low Grade Yuan Stones.]

[Clearing Mission: Clear the Cave Spiders (Tier 1 Yao Beast) on the outskirts of Black Wind Valley. Points calculated by quantity...]

Points could be exchanged for various resources in the guild warehouse, including Cultivation Techniques, weapons, Medicinal Pills, and even the cubs or eggs of high-tier Yao Beasts.

Yuan Stones were the hard currency.

Xia Youchu's gaze mainly fell on those missions involving hunting Yao Beasts.

Hunting Yao Beasts would allow her to complete missions for points and Yuan Stones, and the flesh and blood of the Yao Beasts would be the first batch of resources for her to Cultivate the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art!

She selected a mission to [Clear the Cave Spiders on the outskirts of Black Wind Valley].

Cave Spiders were only Tier 1 Yao Beasts, with strengths generally at the Yuan Apprentice to Yuan Practitioner level; they were numerous and suitable for practice.

Moreover, because their numbers were so large, they were perfect for her to accumulate Demonic Yuan as she was just starting to practice the Demonic Technique.

"Let's go."

She glanced at Ling Tian by her feet.

"Our hunt has begun."

Ling Tian looked up, a bloodthirsty light flashing in his cold vertical pupils.

Hunting?

Sounds like there will be a lot of good things to eat.

He licked his sharp teeth and followed Xia Youchu's footsteps.

One person and one beast officially stepped into the perilous but opportunity-filled wilderness.