"Want to attend Asher's class?", Iris crossed her arms, with a light smile on her face, and asked back.
Everyone nodded repeatedly, the meaning expressed was as clear as it could possibly be.
'Teacher, why don't you just tell us, whether it's even possible?'
"Ha!", Iris laughed once: "Not to mention the assessment that Asher mentioned before... Anyway, I think the chances of you all passing are extremely slim."
While speaking, Iris glanced at Connor, mainly at the Fox-Fox on Connor's shoulder.
Connor touched his nose.
Came up with the evolution route of Little Moon Fox?
He also felt, possibility of his classmates completing this research... basically impossible.
Moreover, only the evolution route developed by Professor Asher made him feel assured. Otherwise, who knows what kind of accident might occur.
Connor thought of a lot in his heart, but Connor didn't say anything out loud.
No way around it. He at least had this bit of self-awareness.
If he really said this, his aggro value would max out.
'Better not say anything. This is already pretty good.'
"But…", Iris didn't know what Connor was thinking. She crossed her arms, her index finger lightly tapping on her cheek now and then.
Under the expectant gazes of the many students, Iris finally slowly spoke.
"All of you together, as long as you can research two new evolution routes for the Fox-Fox, I'll find a way to ask Asher to give you one lecture."
As she spoke, Iris even winked at them, "This would cost your teacher a big favor to achieve."
"You have to at least come up with something worthy, only then am I willing to help you, right?"
The people below: "..."
Though, however, it's true that Professor Asher provided ideas for the evolution routes of foxes with different attributes.
But those who could really accomplish it...
"Teacher Iris! Have mercy on the kids. They're so weak! The kids really can't do it."
"Exactly, exactly!"
"Teacher Iris, love the children one more time."
Voices rose one after another.
Iris remained unmoved. This was her bottom line. There's absolutely no way she would back down. You can't do a losing deal like this.
Listening to the crowd still calling out, Iris's calm voice sounded, "Class is about to begin, quiet down quickly."
Uselessly, the students still looked at Iris with pleading eyes.
Iris remained unmoved.
'Just this?'
Iris accurately conveyed what she wanted to say with her eyes.
It's not that she didn't fall for this trick. But because Iris had already seen better ones.
Want to move Iris? These students were still lacking.
"Hurry up," Iris's calm voice rang through the entire classroom, "If you still don't behave, I'll directly treat this requirement as your final exam topic for the year."
Everyone: "..."
Swish!
Instantly, in the blink of an eye, the whole classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Only then did Iris nod in satisfaction.
"Very…"
'Good! Class begins!', Iris hadn't even finished speaking.
When the Fox-Fox standing on Connor's shoulder suddenly emitted a dazzling light.
The students: "!!!"
Iris: "..."
Connor looked even more terrified.
Not evolving earlier or later. Just happened to evolve at this exact moment... Thinking of what Professor Iris just said, Connor felt like he was about to suffocate.
He had even already thought up his future epitaph.
If he really accidentally got beaten to death here today because of the principle of collective punishment, Connor wouldn't even have a place to appeal.
All kinds of wild, messy thoughts flashed through Connor's head.
None of this affected the Fox-Fox's evolution in the slightest.
The white light enveloped the Fox-Fox's tiny body.
The Fox-Fox had already jumped from Connor's shoulder onto the table.
Connor, and Charlie who was sitting next to him, as well as the classmates in front and behind, all stared at that ball of white light, even their breathing involuntarily relaxed a bit.
They didn't dare to breathe. Afraid that a single careless move would disrupt the Fox-Fox's evolution.
Everyone's eyes were fixed without blinking on the evolving Fox-Fox.
Finally, as the light faded, the result of the blind box was about to be revealed.
A little fellow, scaled up by more than double in size but still considered small and cute, its whole body's fur gleaming with a color like the starry sky.
With a pair of big watery deep purple eyes, it howled at Connor.
Everyone: "!!!"
'Kawaii!'
'Super cute!'
The evolved Little Moon Fox's fur wasn't simply black.
More like an ultimate deep blue and purple, and as it turned its body, it also gave off a sense of shimmering radiance. Made everyone want to reach out and pet it well.
A pair of deep purple pupils really looked like stars in the night sky. Its fur also had faint patterns.
Whether it looked good or not aside for now. Anyway, it looked very… expensive.
Yes, this color scheme, this aura, what came to mind first was expensive. Extremely expensive.
While everyone was still staring intently at the successfully evolved Little Moon Fox, Iris's devil-like voice came from the podium.
"All right."
"I know everyone must be feeling excited now."
Everyone nodded repeatedly. They really were quite excited.
"But don't get excited yet."
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
Wait? Everyone finally came to their senses and looked toward Iris smiling on the podium, an ominous feeling loomed over their hearts.
"The successful evolution of Little Moon Fox proves that the knowledge points passed on by Asher earlier were not wrong."
"So…", Iris smiled, her breath like orchids, "Next, isn't it your turn?"
Hearing Iris's words, the students below almost made a "ah" expression.
A more precise description would be, the newbie, suddenly heard the boss say, it's your turn to fight Sukuna.
Newbie: Ah? Really?
Students: Really?
This isn't about whether Professor Asher's theoretical knowledge is correct... It's about how they still don't have this ability.
Leveling up must go one level at a time. Fighting monsters also needs to go step by step. Suddenly asking them, who are lv.9, to solve a lv.99 problem, can normal humans even do such a thing?
But then looking again at Iris's expression standing on the podium...
'Damn it!'
Didn't look like she was joking at all, instead looked serious as could be.
Seeing this, everyone's expression turned even uglier.
Who would've thought, the always smiling, seemingly mild-tempered, and very pretty teacher, was actually such a devil?
Iris crossed her arms: 'Devil? Really?'
Iris raised her brows. She didn't feel that way at all.
'Isn't this a great thing? Everyone has a bright future. And I also helped Asher secure a bright future appointment. This is a great deal.'
"Actually, it's not impossible…", In this stiff atmosphere, someone whispered.
The others all turned to look at the speaker in unison.
So fast, they almost struck sparks from the air due to friction.
Who? Who dares boast here? Don't you know how much gold content and difficulty there is in this.
Then... Amber met all their gazes one by one with a blank expression.
Everyone: "..."
Silence. Their silence dried under the sun.
Oh! So it was the real genius of their year.
Not the same kind as Connor, but definitely one of the most eye-catching.
After all, it's one thing to be a genius. But she also is a luck goddess?
No need to elaborate on the luck goddess part. Just seeing that Amber was picked by Asher proves it.
A 2 in 5000 chance and she got it. Who wouldn't say "awesome" after seeing that?
What's more awesome was, Amber didn't care at all about being picked. By contrast, Amber was more eager to have an academic discussion with Asher.
Unfortunately, due to various reasons, that idea didn't come true.
But this didn't mean Amber gave up. Amber was the one who delved deeply into researching the various attribute evolution routes of the Fox-Fox, and tried to figure out the evolution path of Little Moon Fox from them.
So at this moment, after hearing Amber's words... not only did everyone not feel it was a problem, but they also felt it was somewhat justified.
Genius, this is what genius looks like.
There was still some gap between geniuses and them.
Iris also noticed the emotional shift among the crowd.
Looking at Amber and the other students, Iris smiled but didn't continue fanning the flames.
When to stop appropriately, she still understood this.
No need to add fuel to the fire at this moment.
"All right."
"What the exam topic will be can still be considered. Let's start class first."
"Otherwise, your regular grades will all be zero."
Just a few words from Iris and she completely had the students in her grasp.
Say no more, say no more. Study well, make progress every day. Sooner or later, they too could become someone like Professor Asher. No problem at all.
———
After who knows how many, many, many… attempts, Asher carefully added the final ingredient into the container, Allgrass Crystal.
Also the most expensive and rare main ingredient among all the resources Asher had acquired.
Unlike ordinary energy crystals.
As long as you defeat a pet beast, you can find an energy crystal matching its attribute from its body, this was already common knowledge.
But above these energy crystals, there exists an even rarer and harder-to-find type. Matching different attributes.
It requires hundreds of beasts of the same attribute to fight each other to the death.
In such an environment a special energy crystal would be born. Formed from the energy of many beasts of the same attribute.
And what Asher acquired was the mildest among them, suitable for making potions and liquids, Allgrass Crystal.
The price of this one crystal was enough to offset the cost of all the auxiliary materials wasted in Asher's previous thousands of attempts, and then some.
If he really wasted such a crystal... Asher would definitely be heartbroken to death.
His money is money too. Making this little bit of money is really not easy.
Having come this far, success is the only option, failure is not allowed.
As if sensing Asher's do-or-die resolve. The cooperation between a few pet beasts became increasingly seamless.
Whether it was Little Raven, Cat-Worm, Little White Snake, or Little Jellyfish, their actions and detailed operations were precise enough to serve as templates.
They didn't dare make even the slightest error. Afraid the last step of failure would fall on them.
With such highly focused cooperation... Silently, as if nothing happened, the nutrient solution was finally successfully prepared.
"Great!", Looking at the final fusion in the container, the nutrient solution whose color matched perfectly with the one in the inherited memory, Asher couldn't help but do an air punch in excitement.
Don't ask, ask and it's excitement.
Asher punched the air fiercely a few times, finally letting out a long turbid breath from his chest.
"This really isn't something a human can do," Asher said with an emotional expression.
Isn't that right? Not exaggerated at all, what he said. One month, a full month had passed. Only then did Asher, for the first time, achieve a true success in configuration.
Countless failures before.
Even more miserable, Asher discovered something. This process of configuring nutrient solution wasn't only training the pet beasts, but also training himself.
Each configuration of the nutrient solution slowly, invisibly consumed Asher's spirit, increasing his fatigue.
Once or twice might not feel like much, three or five times, ten or twenty times, Asher also noticed the problem.
Ask and it's just normal. Anyway, as long as he rests well, whether it's the consumed spirit or physical fatigue, it all can recover to the original state.
No harm to Asher's body or mind.
Moreover, after many attempts, Asher also discovered, this not only didn't harm his body, it even had benefits.
After mental consumption recovered, it would slowly grow a bit.
Really only a tiny bit, even describable as a threadlike level.
But spiritual power, this thing, is inherently extremely difficult to increase.
Since ancient times until now, humans had only one method to grow spiritual power, and that was meditation.
Recover spirit through meditation, enhance spirit through meditation, unlock contract slots through meditation.
Other methods? None.
Then it came to Asher and... Asher had briefly thought whether it was related to the so-called bloodline connection between him and World Tree Lily.
But Asher only thought about it a bit. No need to dig deep. This way is good.
Calmed down, Asher looked again at the nutrient solution in the container.
In the tender green liquid, light flickered like the Milky Way. Touching the soul. Captivating.
Just a glance felt incredibly beautiful.
Even more rare, leaning in to smell, surprisingly no longer had the previous kind of semi-failure product... okay, failed product's weird and strange smell.
Sweet, with a hint of fresh grass aroma after being crushed.
Asher nodded in great satisfaction. Though even if the taste wasn't good, as long as it had effect, was useful, it had to be drunk.
But if the taste could be better, suffer a little less pain, then it's always a good thing.
Asher also didn't want to make things hard on himself in this aspect.
Asher smiled and looked toward World Tree Lily, "It's just like this, right?"
Only Asher and World Tree Lily had inherited memory.
Being satisfied with his own made nutrient solution was one thing, asking someone with more experience, no, a tree, would be more stable and reliable.
World Tree Lily's branches shook.
["Mm… color's fine, probably counts as medium grade, still some distance from truly perfect top-grade."]
["Usable."]
["Quickly drink, my child."]
Asher: "…"
'Alright then. Medium grade is medium grade.'
Asher wasn't angry at World Tree Lily's evaluation.
Because no need, he had some sense of his own skill level. Just average. Just so-so.
It took Asher a whole month just to make one nutrient solution successfully.
Fortunately, it wasn't a waste of time, everything was worth it.
Just look at Little Raven, Cat-Worm, Little White Snake, and Little Jellyfish rapidly leveling up, the proficiency of skill use said it all.
"Then… I'll divide it up, everyone try some?", Asher shifted his gaze from World Tree Lily to his pet beasts.
"Chirp!"
'No objection.'
Little Raven folded its wings, the whole bird looked relaxed… free of worldly desires, even the golden-red big eyes had lost their luster.
From inside to out, it was telling Asher, 'Tired! The bird's really tired.'
How come it felt more exhausting than actual hard training for a whole month? The bird couldn't figure it out.
Asher pursed his lips and chuckled softly, not daring to let Little Raven hear.
Ahem, tired, that's for sure. Spirit-consuming wasn't just him, even the little guys cooperating were the same.
Just that maybe they weren't aware. After all, unlike Asher, Pet beasts weren't that focused on the use of spiritual power.
Strength & Skills, those were what pet beasts valued more.
Train spiritual power? Is that necessary?
Compared with other pet beasts, Little Raven was slightly more experienced, mainly because Asher had pressed Little Raven's head to meditate together with him before.
"One for each… everyone have one bottle, then rest well today," While speaking, Asher moved quickly and skillfully divided the nutrient solution into different containers.
Placed them in front of the little guys.
Little Raven: Stare—
Cat-Worm: Stare—
Little White Snake: Stare—
The little ones all thought, 'This stuff looks nice, but is it really drinkable?'
A bit suspicious.
Only Little Jellyfish—
'Suspicious? What's there to be suspicious about? Absolutely no need for doubt.'
'Deep feelings, bottoms up!'
Said drink and drank, directly downed it clean. Then Little Jellyfish's body froze for a moment.
The other three pet beasts stared at it without blinking, immediately noticing Little Jellyfish's abnormal stiffness.
'This… this this what's going on?'
Little Jellyfish stretched out one tentacle.
'👍🏻Awesome!'
Asher: "…"
Ahem!
"I also drank, you all drink too," Asher glanced at the three little ones, then opened his mouth and slowly sipped.
How to say… Asher couldn't quite describe the feeling when the nutrient solution entered his mouth.
Taste-wise, not bad and not good, no strange flavors like sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty. But to say it's delicious… can't say that. Even had a cool sensation, like mint. After drinking, most of the chest felt chilled.
He touched his chest, 'Luckily, heart still beating.'
Seeing Asher drank without showing strange expressions, the little ones finally lowered their heads and started drinking.
Asher: "…"
'Rebels! All rebels!'
But what could Asher do?
He raised them. Raised them this big, couldn't throw them away, right? Life still had to go on. Just go with it.
Asher looked at the remaining nutrient solution, then at World Tree Lily and Angel.
"You two want some too?", Thinking for a moment, Asher felt there shouldn't be any problem.
Helpful for growth. Whether World Tree Lily or Angel, what they needed most now was time. Time to grow up.
Plug into the formula, quickly get the result. All of them can drink. Everyone in this room is underage.
World Tree Lily and Angel: "..."
If you really must put it that way, can't say Asher is wrong.
Seeing Asher insist they drink, World Tree Lily and Angel had no objections.
Just that…
"Child, are you drunk?"
Today's Angel spoke like a mom-dad combo, in a caring tone… okay, mechanical voice couldn't really show any emotion.
Anyway, judging by the term of address, today's Angel was treating itself as Asher's guardian.
Hearing Angel's words, Asher: "?"
'What kind of joke is this? This stuff can make you drunk?'
"I'm not."
"You quickly take a sip too," Saying so, Asher didn't wait and tried to pour the nutrient solution into Angel's mouth.
'All of you drink it.'
Asher had only one thought in his mind.
["This…"]
On the side, World Tree Lily looked so nervous the tree leaves were sweating.
'Wait? Isn't something off?'
'Drunk! This kid is definitely drunk.'
Panicking, World Tree Lily subconsciously used the same form of address as Angel to call Asher.
World Tree Lily didn't realize any issue.
Any issue? None. Wasn't Asher just its child.
Although it had started over, the blood bond between them couldn't be shaken off easily.
Thinking of this… World Tree Lily couldn't help but shake its branches.
Beside it, Angel: "…"
"You."
"Stop."
Angel stared with one big eye, sharply locking onto World Tree Lily.
The message was clear.
Up to you. Handle Asher.
World Tree Lily broke into another cold sweat.
Ahem!
Although however, with its current small body size, it really couldn't do anything.
Isn't that just too hard on it.
Angel: Stare—
Asher was still shouting non-stop on the side.
"Come come come!"
"Everyone drink together!"
"If not enough I'll make more!"
Asher still hadn't realized anything was wrong.
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