Chapter 0: Little Black’s Courage
After running wildly for a long distance, Little Black Dog crashed into a patch of lush green grass. Closing its eyes, its breathing gradually stabilized as if it had suddenly fallen asleep.
Not long after, it abruptly opened its eyes again.
“Thank you, Lord Jingle, for giving me another chance. Even if I can’t defeat the Master of Arc-Moon Mountain in the end, I will absolutely not implicate you.”
A determined look flashed in Little Black Dog’s eyes as it faced overwhelming power, refusing to yield even in death. “Courage is the hymn of life, the immortal spirit of the Wolf Tribe. Even though I’ve been schemed against and cornered by Qin Gou, I will strive to live on from death’s door, unyielding! Now, I can only go all out. And unlike Xu Bing, who was alone on Black Dust Island, almost all the spiritual beasts of Heaven’s Substitution Academy will be my aid!”
“AWOOOOO!!”
“That sound is… What’s wrong with Little Black now?”
“Don’t mention it. That silly child has always thought of itself as a wolf. It’s quite pitiful.”
…
“Sect Leader, I’ve bought what you asked for.”
Indoors, a female cultivator respectfully approached Mu Man’er.
Mu Man’er glared at her impatiently and said, “Didn’t I tell you? For the time being, only address me as ‘Fellow Daoist Li’ and never reveal my true identity.”
The female cultivator, clearly familiar with Mu Man’er, teased, “There’s no one else around, Sect Leader. Why are you being so cautious? Are you perhaps planning something momentous?”
“Clever girl, you guessed it! Now, where are the items? Hurry up and show me.”
Hearing this, the female cultivator took out several pieces of women’s undergarments from her Nas. The styles were incredibly revealing and alluring.
“Heavens, what are these? What’s the difference between wearing these and just pasting a few leaves on yourself? Did you buy them deliberately?” Mu Man’er’s eyes were filled with undisguised shock, her hands holding the undergarments trembling slightly.
The female cultivator forced a smile and said, “Sect Leader, you yourself specifically instructed me to collect the most favored undergarments by men from various shops. And each of these was guaranteed by the shopkeepers themselves. They are bestsellers.”
“This is too lewd, too flirtatious, utterly shameless and vulgar! What kind of girl would willingly wear such clothes? How brazen!” Mu Man’er’s eyes held a deep disdain mixed with a hidden excitement. “Alright, you can go now. I’ll try them on myself.”
“What? You’re the Sect Leader, you’re not really planning to wear these kinds of clothes, are you? This is improper conduct. Sect Leader, please don’t do anything rash!” The female cultivator was startled and quickly reached out to take them back.
“Don’t misunderstand!”
Mu Man’er immediately clutched the distinct undergarments protectively to her chest, wrinkling her small nose. “If this Sect Leader is to wear them, it will be with a critical intent!”
“Right. I totally believe you…” The female cultivator chuckled helplessly and shook her head.
Noon.
Qin Gou left the classroom. Not a single student had brought him much surprise all morning. Being naturally cautious, he faintly sensed that something was wrong.
During the previous playful interaction with Little Black Dog, a flash of inspiration struck Qin Gou. The Little Saint Monarch, although hiding within Heaven’s Substitution Academy, might not necessarily appear as a human!
She could very well have disguised herself as a spiritual beast, or even a blade of grass. If that were the case, he needed to be even more vigilant.
As for Little Black Dog, who had inadvertently given him this idea, Qin Gou felt quite grateful. He planned to give the little creature more good food and rub its belly well the next time they met.
After all, Little Black, who had been so frightened by him but hadn’t triggered the system prompt, must be a good dog with very little suspicion.
Indeed, Qin Gou’s intelligence indicated that the Little Saint Monarch here was a demonic path expert under an emotional remnant soul named ‘Beisi’. Ao Ai had already formed a master-servant contract with him and would never betray him. Of course, Ao Ai and Ao Banwei had also been busy these past few days, feigning cooperation with Beisi through special secret techniques, doing their best to stall Beisi’s actions for Qin Gou.
Wandering thoughtfully, Qin Gou arrived at the spiritual beast garden of Heaven’s Substitution Academy.
“Are you the new Teacher Qin?” the cultivator in charge of guarding the garden asked respectfully.
Qin Gou nodded and smiled, “It is I.” He then looked at the spiritual beasts in the garden.
There was only one type of spiritual beast in the garden: giant rabbits the size of calves with shiny silver fur, but they moved extremely fast.
“This is a Wind-Walking Rabbit? Why aren’t there any other spiritual beasts?” Qin Gou asked.
“Teacher Qin, you may not know, but Heaven’s Substitution Academy has only ever kept this one type of spiritual beast.” the guarding cultivator explained.
“Why is that?”
The guarding cultivator showed an embarrassed expression. “Uh, I’m not too sure about that. I just heard rumors that Sect Leader Mu of Heaven’s Substitution Sect loved braised rabbit heads made by her superior/master, which is why…”
“Cough, cough, so that’s how it is.” Qin Gou couldn’t help but touch his nose.
This was definitely not a rumor; it was indeed that rascal girl’s style.
“Teacher Qin, are you here to choose a spiritual beast?” the guarding cultivator said with some difficulty. “Normally, as a teacher of the academy, it would be reasonable for you to choose a spiritual beast. However, there are too few Wind-Walking Rabbits, and even the students haven’t been fully assigned. And recently, I don’t know what’s wrong. They say that comfort leads to lust, but after I finally managed to feed these little guys until they were plump and strong, they suddenly became very indifferent to reproduction. It’s really a headache.”
Hearing this, Qin Gou’s eyes flickered, and he sensitively thought, “Logically speaking, Wind-Walking Rabbits reproduce very quickly. Sect Leader Mu must have had this in mind when she chose to raise them. With them acting so abnormally now, could someone have tampered with them?”
“Impossible. I guard here daily and have never seen any suspicious individuals approach,” the guarding cultivator shook his head. “However, there is a solution. I’ve already asked someone to buy some potent medicine. Once it arrives, I’ll put it all in their daily food, and I guarantee these little guys will behave.”
“Potent medicine?”
“Indeed. Potent medicine specifically for spiritual beasts, with extremely strong effects! Once this is done, I believe within a month, Teacher Qin will be able to receive a spiritual beast to your liking.” The guarding cultivator smiled slightly, giving Qin Gou a knowing look.
Seeing this, Qin Gou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “So that’s how it is. There’s no need for such trouble. Why don’t I lend you a helping hand?”
“Teacher Qin, what brilliant plan do you have?”
Qin Gou smiled without speaking, and with a wave of his hand, he tossed out a Myriad Seed clone, which slowly landed in the spiritual beast garden.
The Myriad Seed burrowed into the soil and, in an instant, bloomed into a wonderfully vibrant flower… a Profound tier ‘Lover’s Smile’ with extremely strong aphrodisiac properties and long-lasting effects.
