"Kid, are you hiding something from me?" The drunkard strode up to Lu Fei and said fiercely, but even with his attempt at a fierce expression, he still looked rather adorable.
Lu Fei sighed deeply, looking innocent.
"No, I just somehow comprehended it on my own." Lu Fei frowned, looking earnestly at the drunkard, "You are so knowledgeable, I wanted to ask you about it!"
The drunkard also frowned, his mind racing. He truly couldn't figure out how it was done. After a long silence, his expression gradually relaxed. If he couldn't figure it out, so be it. Perhaps his knowledge was indeed limited?
A moment later, the drunkard suddenly asked.
"What level is your Sword Guard at?"
Lu Fei replied truthfully, "Level 25."
"What's its combat power?"
"230."
The drunkard exclaimed in surprise.
"230?!?!"
Lu Fei was bewildered, "Is that too low?"
Another period of silence followed. The drunkard was completely stunned, his mind a chaotic mess. His eyes were vacant, and he recalled many things. When he was still a novice beast tamer, he had also possessed a Sword Guard, and he faintly remembered how much effort he had poured into nurturing it.
He had traveled with his Sword Guard, watching it slowly grow and become stronger. When that Sword Guard reached level 20 and learned [Lightning Slash] through special training, he had been overjoyed for a long, long time.
However, he also clearly remembered that his Sword Guard's combat power had definitely not been this high back then!
For contract beasts between levels 20 and 30, a combat power of 250 was the limit. Yet, this Sword Guard, with only an A-rank rarity, had reached 230? What kind of astonishing beast tamer could nurture such a contract beast?
The drunkard sized up Lu Fei, his gaze lost and profound.
But he didn't continue to inquire. Despite his intense curiosity, he maintained his composure. He wouldn't force others; everyone had their secrets, and he was no exception. Just like when Lu Fei asked for his name, he had brushed it off casually, and the other party hadn't pressed further. It was the same principle.
After a long silence, the drunkard said, "You must be tired from this month's trials, right?"
Lu Fei was slightly taken aback. That tone of speech? It didn't seem like something the drunkard would say!
As expected, the drunkard continued, "Go back and rest for two days. After two days, we'll arrange new training." He paused and chuckled, "This time, the training won't involve contract beasts that just take a beating!"
Lu Fei's heart sank, his expression turning grim.
Although the "high-intensity" battles of this past month had been arduous, the excitement of making a little progress each day had prevented him from feeling the strain. But now that things had eased up, he felt physically and mentally exhausted.
On the way back, the scenery of the grasslands was breathtaking, and the splendor of the sunset was truly admirable.
But seeing too much of it eventually led to a certain weariness.
Gao Peng yawned, feeling drowsy.
Another two days passed. The drunkard led Lu Fei to a familiar place. Lying on the ground were various stinking, rotting carcasses of contract beasts. Some of the beast corpses had their white bones exposed, clearly having been gnawed on by other contract beasts.
This was the very spot where Lu Fei and the drunkard had slain a large group of berserk contract beasts when they first entered the Forget-Worry Grassland.
Lu Fei swallowed, a sense of impending doom washing over him. "Handsome, why are you bringing me here?"
The drunkard smiled mysteriously.
"For the next week, you will train in this forest."
"Here?" Lu Fei asked in surprise, "Train what?"
The drunkard chuckled, "It's very simple. You just need to kill five berserk contract beasts in this forest!"
"What!" Lu Fei exclaimed.
"Are you kidding me? I almost died here last time!"
"No, absolutely not!" Lu Fei flatly refused.
The drunkard shrugged, "Then you can go back to the academy. I have nothing more to teach you."
Lu Fei instantly backed down, his spirited demeanor vanishing.
"Handsome, but the contract beasts here... they have no humanity. They'll really eat me!"
The drunkard ignored him, saying calmly, "This forest is so vast, let alone a few hundred berserk contract beasts, even tens of thousands can fit. Can't you pick out a few weaker ones to bully? Besides, situations like that night don't happen often. You were just unlucky to encounter two elite berserk contract beasts."
Lu Fei's eyes lit up, holding onto a sliver of hope, "So that means there are no more contract beasts like [Giant Forest Boa] or [Drill Horn Rhino] in this forest?"
"Of course there are!" the drunkard replied.
Lu Fei dejectedly lowered his head. That meant it was still easy to lose his life if he wasn't careful... But it seemed the drunkard was determined to send him here.
However, given the drunkard's character, he would probably secretly arrange for the [Twin Saber Mantis] to protect them.
Thinking this, Lu Fei's despair was somewhat alleviated.
"Alright, I'll go in then..."
The drunkard nodded with satisfaction, then handed him two pictures.
"Also, there's another task. If you complete it, I'll give you something good."
Lu Fei glanced at the drunkard, a look of skepticism on his face. With his destitute appearance, would he really have something to give away?
Lu Fei took the pictures and looked. They depicted two plants.
"These are the Clear Heart Grass and the Dongting Flower, respectively. I don't know where they grow, so you can look for them along the way."
Lu Fei nodded and agreed.
He then summoned his Ironhead Baby and cautiously walked into the depths of the forest.
Lu Fei walked in the forest for about half an hour. Perhaps it was due to the daytime, but he didn't encounter any berserk contract beasts. He continued forward.
The chirping of birds and insects in the surrounding woods had quietly disappeared at some point.
Only the hollow wind scraped by.
The deep, silent depths of the forest seemed to harbor unknown terrors.
Faintly visible, the forest trees were dense, blocking most of the light from above.
A faint stench emanated from the low wind, like rotten fish on a July day.
Chirp.
With every step on the ground, several fallen leaves were crushed.
Lu Fei frowned, feeling the surrounding environment was somewhat strange. When something is out of the ordinary, there's usually a reason.
"Ironhead Baby, stay alert!"
Lu Fei gave a few instructions, only to see the Ironhead Baby more alert than himself, holding its broken sword and carefully observing its surroundings.
Suddenly, the Ironhead Baby seemed to discover something and let out a loud cry in a certain direction.
"Guard!"
"Crunch, crunch~~" The bushes rustled for a long time, and from them sprang a grayish-white [Fluff Rabbit]. The [Fluff Rabbit] pushed off with its hind legs, darting madly.
Seeing it was just a [Fluff Rabbit], Lu Fei and the Ironhead Baby simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. This was a contract beast with almost no combat power, purely for ornamental purposes.
However, at that very moment, a dark silhouette lunged from the bushes behind the [Fluff Rabbit].
Like a venomous snake striking.