138: Surprised?

Inside Lingnan Academy, Xie Ning, who was busy nurturing a Demon Tamer's Beast in the nurturing room, suddenly heard a string of System notification sounds.

[Ding! Rift Blade War Mantis successfully killed Xuanming Bird, which is below its Rank, gaining 0 evolution value]

[Ding! Rift Blade War Mantis successfully killed a Black Iron Peak Demon Tamer, gaining 0 evolution value]

[Ding! Rift Blade War Mantis successfully killed... gaining 0 evolution value]

[Ding! Rift Blade War Mantis... gaining 0 evolution value]

[Ding! Rift Blade... gaining 0 evolution value]

[Ding! Rift Blade War Mantis successfully killed a Bronze Advanced Demon Tamer, gaining 11 evolution value]

A series of System notifications sounded, but only the last one brought 11 evolution value, causing Xie Ning to pause for a moment.

"What's wrong, Master? Is my concoction not good enough?" Mo Yu asked nervously.

"No, you did very well. Use this one. Also, add two leaves of Starlight Mint Flower to it," Xie Ning smiled and replied.

"Got it!" Mo Yu took the potion, turned around, picked two Starlight Mint Flower leaves, and dropped them in.

Xie Ning stopped paying attention to the notifications and busied himself with his own affairs.

In fact, ever since the Short-haired Man left, Little Mantis had noticed him hiding in the corner and had even followed him the whole way. Furthermore, those Thugs were clearly acquainted with him, as they were by his side.

That's why Xie Ning had asked Little Mantis to escort him. Now it seemed that decision was correct... Ordinary days passed quickly.

Ye Feiyu, who had said, "We'll fight again after the Secret Realm," did not come to bother him. Mu Tian also remained silent. Even the Three Women, including Lu Bingyun, had been assigned tasks by their instructors and hadn't been seen for several days.

Over these few days, Xie Ning spent his days fulfilling his promise regarding the earth cracking beast inner core, nurturing Demon Tamers Beasts for students and outsiders. During this process, Mo Yu's nurturing experience also Advanced by leaps and bounds.

Some students from the Nurturing Academy watched with great interest and were willing to pay extra points to help, hoping to learn more.

With the income of academic credits and free help, Xie Ning didn't object.

Moreover, with the help of several students, Xie Ning saved a lot of time during the day to concentrate on cultivating his spirit.

At night, Xie Ning continued to Cultivate with Yan Ruyu. While his combat skills improved slightly, under Yan Ruyu's guidance, the release speed of his Beast Taming Skill greatly decreased, reaching a point where it was almost instantaneous with a mere flick of his hand.

One day, Xie Ning was evolving a Demon Tamer's Beast in the nurturing room. Just as he refined the essence of the Beast Blood Ginseng in his hand, intending to use it as the main evolutionary medicine for a Demon Tamer's Beast, his phone chimed.

"Do you need to pause for a moment?" a student asked respectfully.

He was one of the students who came to work for pay these past few days. Practical opportunities were rare for him at the academy, so he cherished the busy time immensely.

Furthermore, during the few days of working with Xie Ning, they witnessed several, sometimes even over ten, Demon Tamers Beasts evolving daily. This was an invaluable treasure for them, not to mention the pointers Xie Ning gave Mo Yu, which also greatly benefited them.

Sometimes, if a classmate dared to ask questions, Xie Ning would answer a few sentences when free. Consequently, in just a few days, these students had completely turned into Xie Ning's die-hard fans.

"No."

Xie Ning's expression was focused. He dripped the essence of the Beast Blood Ginseng in his hand into the Dragon's Saliva, then added other prepared Materials. He took out his tools, chiseled an opening in the Fossil Tree Demon's body, dripped the Evolution Fluid inside, then left the Evolution Chamber, closed the door, and only then found time to reply:

"Volatile Materials in liquid or gaseous form evaporate quickly. Even the time it takes to reply to a message can cause loss, and even the slightest loss can affect the Demon Tamer's Beast's growth. It might not be noticeable in the Early Stage, but as the Rank increases, the problem becomes more and more obvious."

"I see, thank you, Teacher." The student responded respectfully, then took out paper and a pen to record it.

Xie Ning smiled, unconcerned. By now, he was somewhat accustomed to the title 'Teacher'.

They were students too, yet they insisted on calling me Teacher... This felt quite nice, actually.

Only when the light of evolution erupted and stabilized did Xie Ning finally pick up his phone.

After reading the message, Xie Ning told the group, "I have to leave for a bit. You all continue. If you don't understand anything, you can ask Mo Yu. If she can't solve it, send me a message."

"Yes, Master."

"Understood, Teacher."

"No problem, Teacher."

Then Xie Ning strode out of the nurturing room.

After he was completely gone, a male student who looked slightly older than Xie Ning pushed up his glasses and couldn't help but sigh, "I wonder when I'll be able to reach Teacher Xie's level."

"That's a long way off. For me, maybe ten years; for you, perhaps a hundred."

"Get lost."

After a few playful exchanges, another Girl sighed and asked Mo Yu:

“Little Yu, why do you think Teacher Xie is unwilling to participate in the Breeder Friendship Match?”

“Yeah, Teacher Xie's skill level is even higher than Instructor Ruan Qiong's. It's such a pity not to participate.”

“I heard the visitors this time are aggressive.”

Listening to their words, Mo Yu smiled and shook her head: “I don't know either. Master surely has his reasons. We shouldn't speculate about this. If other instructors overheard this, they might misunderstand Master.”

“That's true.”

“Right, let's stop talking nonsense. Don't cause trouble for Teacher Xie.”

“Then let's not talk about that. Hey, look at the Fossil Tree Demon!”

The few people looked over and saw that the previously greenish Fossil Tree Demon now had many red blood streaks on its body. The three vines, which had taken beast forms, were now covered in dense nodes, resembling scales covering their bodies, completely transformed.

“So powerful...”

...Xie Ning, who left the breeding room, also received a System notification, gaining 18 evolution points.

These past few days, helping many people evolve their Yao Beasts consumed over 500 evolution points just to unlock the evolution plans. Although some points were recouped after successful evolutions, his total evolution points, including these 18, only amounted to 901 evolution value.

His thoughts drifting, Xie Ning arrived at Yan Ruyu's office.

Director Bai and Yan Ruyu were both present.

He first greeted Director Bai, then walked over to Yan Ruyu:

“Master.”

Yan Ruyu nodded, handed Xie Ning a scroll of information paper, and said, “Your mission has been issued. It's E+ Rank.”

“Is E+ high or low?” Xie Ning asked, then opened the scroll and was instantly stunned, his expression very strange.

【Mission】: Within the southwestern mountains of a region, the villagers of Pingan Village jointly submitted a petition: 'Evil spirits are causing trouble, requesting eradication.' It is suspected to be caused by a dark-element Yao Beast. Please go investigate the situation and resolve the difficulties of the region. This is not the only mission; please depart quickly. Mission Difficulty: E+

Yan Ruyu answered at this moment: “E+ is between Bronze and Silver. It's difficult for ordinary Bronze Rank Demon Tamers, but it shouldn't be a problem for you.”

After speaking, she noticed Xie Ning's strange expression and couldn't help but ask, “Is there anything strange about this mission?”

“Yes, it is a bit strange.” Xie Ning smiled and added, “Master, do you remember that fat guy who collected protection fees? He sent a message yesterday saying that the Fierce Demon he was looking for ran near this Pingan Village.”

Yan Ruyu was also quite surprised after hearing this, then said, “Perhaps it's a coincidence, but if the target is his Yao Beast, the difficulty of this mission should not be high.”

“It’s not just him. A few days ago, I saved a little Girl named Lele. She is from Pingan Village, and her description differs from this mission.” Saying this, Xie Ning recounted the events of that day in detail.

Now even Director Bai became interested. With a smile, she commented, “Then this matter is even more worthy of investigation. Encountering such a troublesome mission that also offers a chance to upgrade the mission Rank on your first try—I don't know if you are lucky or unlucky.”

Yan Ruyu also added, “But this is not the only mission. Besides investigating clearly, you must also guard against other people who have accepted the mission.”

“Isn't it enough as long as the mission is completed?” Xie Ning asked.

“No,” Yan Ruyu shook her head, “If multiple teams participate in the same mission, usually only one team can complete it in the end. The failing teams will not only have their class resources deducted, but their own Yao Beast records will also be tarnished, which is very detrimental to future development.”

Director Bai continued to remind him: “So, when multiple teams receive the same mission, it's usually fine if they are from the same academy. However, if they are from different academies, fighting is inevitable. If Lingnan Academy and Lingbei Academy encounter each other, a bloody battle is unavoidable. Outside of the academy, life and death are not considered.”

“I see.”

After leaving the office, Xie Ning thought for a moment, sent messages to Su Qin and Qin Tianyu, and then rushed all the way to the Mission Association.

“Hello, I want to accept Mission C77—'Save Ghost Brother'.”

Saying this, Xie Ning handed over his identification card.

“Alright, please wait a m...” The Counter Staff took the card and was about to process it, but glanced at Xie Ning and couldn't help but ask, “Why is it you? Didn't you post this mission?”

Xie Ning was the first person to bring a little Girl to submit a mission, so it was inevitable that the Counter Staff would remember him.

“That's right, surprised? I suddenly want to complete my own mission.” Xie Ning replied with a smile.

Counter Staff: “...”

Under the Counter Staff's gaze of 'caring for the intellectually disabled,' Xie Ning left the Mission Association.