Divine Beast Creator-Chapter 1982 - 1983: Trial

While Feng Yuan and the other students were chatting idly in their respective camps, the teachers at the academy were busy. This field training was naturally more than just letting Feng Yuan and the others spend a quiet week in the backwoods.

One crucial aspect of wilderness exploration is understanding one’s strength, so the academy did not require all students to participate in the challenges set for the next day.

The first day was merely a simple test. Although the distribution of Spirit Beasts in the backwoods was intentionally disordered by the academy, it was also a test of the students’ ability to choose a campsite.

If they randomly chose a location, they might end up having to learn wilderness survival lessons all over again upon their return. According to the academy’s original plan, camps for students beyond the first-year newcomers should not be stationed in the safe zone.

The academy agreed with ensuring one’s safety to a certain extent but also didn’t want students to be overly cautious. Thus, although the teachers didn’t announce that setting up camp outside the safe zone could earn academic credits, the senior students had guessed this possibility.

As for the second day, while Feng Yuan and the others were unaware, the seniors had already guessed that the academy might open part of the dangerous trial areas for advanced challenges. Whether to participate was up to the students themselves; the academy placed the academic credits there, unconcerned if the students couldn’t resist the temptation.

Of course, for those who saw nothing but credits and stepped into traps, the consequence might be being taken back by their teachers for a stern talking-to.

After all, to gain benefits, one must at least assess whether they have the necessary strength. If they don’t have that strength and rush in recklessly, who else but the teacher would criticize them?

Being too reckless is also something the academy opposes.

"Is there something?"

Veronia, sitting on the A Mu tree crown and watching the moon, looked questioningly at Tamur, who drifted over, and the latter gently swayed and said,

"Yes." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Have you sensed that special power, the true power that belongs to Kastantos?"

Veronia instinctively wanted to mock Tamur, asking if that wasn’t something they created themselves. But she immediately stopped herself, surprised, looking at Tamur with a hint of tremor in her voice,

"You... really sensed the presence of Kastantos?"

"The feeling is very vague, but I’m sure it’s different from the Kastantos I created."

Gently swaying, Tamur said calmly. For them, the existence of the Old Era wasn’t something they wanted to be close to, but compared to modern strangers, they had a natural affinity for remnants of the Mythical Era.

The reason they came to Veronia to talk about this was entirely because, to Veronia, perhaps only fellow remnants of the same era would gain her recognition.

After thinking for a moment, Veronia said,

"There’s no need to tell Feng Yuan about this. If it truly is Kastantos, if... there are survivors, why haven’t they approached you..."

"So many things recently, maybe it’s better to put it aside for now..."

Veronia said with a hint of reluctance. They knew that finding the source of the Kastantos power that Tamur sensed was challenging on their own.

Even though they are a top-tier Divine Beast, so far they haven’t sensed the Kastantos power that Tamur mentioned.

After a moment of silence, Tamur said,

"I understand."

With that, Tamur drifted away from the A Mu tree crown, and Veronia occasionally sighed, gazing at the pale full moon hanging high in the sky.

The next day, when Qi Chen woke up, he looked at Ah Mu, a bit puzzled, feeling as if something was bothering him. However, no matter how much Qi Chen asked, Ah Mu didn’t give an answer.

Though a bit worried about Ah Mu’s situation, since they were unwilling to speak, Qi Chen couldn’t do much. Feng Yuan, fiddling with breakfast, teased,

"Qi Chen, I think Ah Mu might be looking for a girlfriend~ Though it’s a bit early for him, shouldn’t you find him a suitable mate?"

"What nonsense are you talking..."

Speechlessly glancing at Feng Yuan, Qi Chen didn’t know how to respond. Although Ah Mu seemed odd, it wasn’t about mating, as Spirit Beasts don’t have strong mating desires. Only when their strength is difficult to improve might they consider reproduction.

And Ah Mu is still in the phase of rapid strength growth, making such a need impossible.

Veronia, however, knew what was going on. Though they had deliberately lowered their voice when speaking with Tamur last night, since they were sitting atop the A Mu tree crown, even if Ah Mu was asleep, he might have overheard.

The reason for no reaction at the time was probably to avoid awkwardness. Now, Ah Mu’s conflicted appearance might be due to uncertainty about whether to inform Qi Chen.

Although Veronia and Tamur hadn’t deliberately avoided him then, it was still a whispered conversation between them.

Therefore, Ah Mu was also unsure whether to speak up. Naturally, Veronia was indifferent to this; if they truly didn’t want others to know, they and Tamur would have isolated the space.

Landing on the A Mu tree crown, Veronia whispered something, and Ah Mu’s conflicted expression faded away. Witnessing this, Feng Yuan looked at Veronia in confusion and muttered,

"Strange, what’s Veronia doing now, so mysterious."

Seeing this situation, Feng Yuan easily guessed the oddity with Ah Mu was related to Veronia, but what exactly did they do?

"Today, besides living in the backwoods, the academy also opened a trial ground. Should we have a look? If we pass, there will be rewards in academic credits and performance points."

Dou Yanlan glanced at the message on her phone and loudly asked everyone. She wasn’t particularly interested in credits, as Feng Yuan often dragged her and Qi Chen to perform Special Duty Team tasks, which were more rewarding compared to the academy’s internal welfare tasks.

Not that they had achieved credit freedom, but to a certain extent, their need for credits wasn’t particularly high. Moreover, the main expenditure of credits—exchanging for Spiritual Medicine and Materials—wasn’t something they needed, resulting in both Dou Yanlan and Qi Chen accumulating a lot of credits.

What intrigued Dou Yanlan was the performance points. Although not clearly stated in the notification, she suspected it might be related to additional rewards for this field training.

Upon hearing this, Feng Yuan quickly took out his phone. He had little interest in credits or performance points, but the trial was different. His previous lax attitude was due to Xiao Ji’s unique combat power. Unlike the Fluffy Fire Wolfhound, Xiao Ji inherently reached the peak strength of each stage without training.

As for Energy Control Power, Xiao Ji’s previous brute-force attack methods rendered it unnecessary. In his view, training or not made little difference in Xiao Ji’s strength.

But now, with the Fluffy Fire Wolfhound, Feng Yuan couldn’t be lazy any longer. The Fluffy Fire Wolfhound is just an ordinary Spirit Beast, requiring consistent training at every stage for optimal growth.

Moreover, Feng Yuan and the others had essentially circled the backwoods yesterday. Although there were many unexplored areas, they understood the general environment.

Previously, Feng Yuan considered leaving the backwoods to explore elsewhere if the academy didn’t organize classes or similar activities today.

But upon learning of the trial, Feng Yuan immediately became interested. He wasn’t sure about the use of performance points, but their existence suggested the trial held significance.

If it were just a regular assessment, the academy wouldn’t specifically create performance points. The presence and disclosure of these points likely indicated that not everyone could easily pass the trial, which didn’t surprise Feng Yuan.

From previous understanding and from what Yang Hongzhi and others had shared, it was clear that strong students had different speeds and types of resources compared to ordinary ones within the academy. Having strength allowed students to compete for substantial resources in assessments and evaluations.

Of course, bullying classmates was absolutely forbidden. The academy advocated for healthy competition, not the law of the jungle.