Chapter 81: Becoming Li Chenfeng’s disciple
*Ding! You triggered a hidden quest.
Quest: The Target is found to possess one of the seven ultimate skills of mankind imparted by Celestials, the Divine Palm. Attain the skill from the target and master it.
Reward: Overlord Council.
"Divine Palm? Celestials? Overlord Council?" As Lin Fang blinked in sudden surprise at Li Chenfeng’s offer and the system’s quest, which took him to his encounter with Spirit King, Alpha, back in the Spirit Valley, where it said something about the Overlord Council too, the latter continued. "Look, Lin Fang, I know that we still haven’t been able to solve the crisis of Nemesis’ spirit yet, but I can assure you that I can guide you to a better path and protect you from any harm."
Li Chengfeng’s tone was quite sincere unlike his usual drunken playfulness but Lin Fang, who had a quest to complete, while he wasn’t moved much by his words, simply go ahead and knelt in response. Cupping his fists, he bowed to look at the ground, "Disciple Li greets the Master."
Li Chengfeng blinked once. Twice. And then a rare smile escaped his mouth as he nodded. "Good. Now, as your master, according to the tradition of our family, I will have to impart three gifts. One, the Mana Suppresent you were given earlier, you can keep it for yourself from now onwards. It will be your first present. This Monster egg will be your second present. Take it."
Lin Fang didn’t comment on the Amulet. He simply took the egg from Li Chengfeng, and as soon as he grabbed it, a familiar chime rang in his head before he even used Spirit Collection Function.
*Ding!
[Nemesis’ Will is interested in swallowing the spirit.]
[Do you wish to sacrifice the spirit to Nemesis’ Will or collect it with the spirit collection and store it in the system’s database for a lower grade. Note: Sacrificing the spirit will convert it into 30,000 common-grade spirits, and storing it in the system database will unlock it in the Summoner’s shop, but the quality of eggs drops to Epic grade.]
It was a similar pair of notifications he received when he got a mimic egg, just a day ago. However, this time, the offer was 30,000 common grade spirits in conversion. That means it is typically stronger than a legendary grade. Perhaps a pseudo Mythical grade? The thought came to his head.
Regardless, this time, Lin Fang wasn’t interested in sacrificing the spirit to the system.
Three reasons: 1, giving it away to Nemesis’ Will would net him 30k spirits, making it much closer to completing the quest. 2, Blood Flame Tailed Fox’s origins are a well-known one. It will be a headache to deal with suspicions. And 3, He has already maxed out with the summons for the moment.
This time, Lin Fang wasn’t in any dilemma at all. Making his decision in his mind, Lin Fang thanked his master for the present.
Li Chengfeng, however, wasn’t done yet. Letting out a smile, he continued. "Now, for the final gift..." The ring on his index finger once again glowed before a pair of boots materialized in his hands. It looked like a typical sports wear with spikes on the bottom, nothing special at all. However, when he grabbed them, mana surged from his body and sucked into the shoes, almost thirty percent of his MP was consumed in the matter of three seconds.
*Ding!
[You discovered Elemental Mana Boots]
[Checking ownership. Based on oral promise, the Boots belonged to the host.]
[Forming a bond]
*Ding!
[Elemental Mana Boots are now connected to the user’s body.]
Elemental Mana Boots
Description: Footwear that increases the wearer’s agility, using their mana. Depending on the wearer’s element, it displays a unique ability.
Base effect: Movement Speed increased by 100%.
Fire element: Skill: Consume the entire mana reserves stored in the boots to conjure a fireball that needs to be launched at the target with a kick.
Water Element: Skill: None
Wind Element: Skill: The boots will convert mana stored in them into wind elemental energy, letting the user float and fly at low altitudes.
Earth Element: Skill: Consume the entire mana reserves stored in the boots to soften the mud around the user up to 10 10-meter range, turning it into quicksand to trap the enemies. Note: The user isn’t immune to it.
Lightning Element: Skill: Consume the entire mana reserves stored in the boots to increase the movement speed further for the next 60 seconds up to 500%.
Light Element: Skill: None
Dark Element: Skill: Consume the entire mana reserves stored in the boots to let its wearer merge with his shadow and turn invisible. Note: Only works during the daytime and when the shadow is visible under sunlight. The shadow will not disappear. The invisibility wears off if the wearer touches a living thing.
"Master, this is..."
As Lin Fang couldn’t avert his gaze from them, surprised by their abilities, Li Chengfeng proudly smiled as he introduced, "These are prototype elemental boots gifted to me by the Dark Warriors Guild, but they don’t suit me. And don’t worry about the size. They adjust to the wearer’s size.
Lin Fang couldn’t help but feel touched by this gift, more than that egg with overlord-tier potential. When he thought about it, he realized that Li Chengfeng had always been kind to him and Lin Fang had only benefited from him so far.
At that revelation, he couldn’t help but kneel once again, this time in genuineness, not formality like before. "Master, I will forever remember this kindness."
Li Chengfeng nodded with a smile. "Now, the gifting ceremony is over, let’s get to training. We have ten weeks before the final trials. Let’s get to most of it."
Lin Fang gave a firm nod.
During the next four days, not much happened in Lin Fang’s life. While Li Xue and Zhi Yan were busy hiring, Lin Fang trained.
In the morning, he would visit Adam to train in the Krav Maga fighting style.
Then, at noon, he would stay with Li Xue and Zhi Yan to assure them he cares, and after sunset, for three hours, he would train under Li Chengfeng.
For dinner, he returns home to Li Xue and sleeps there for the night. The four days went on this way. Due to the lack of time and energy after hours of training, he couldn’t explore Beast World or the Training grounds.
As for Nebula, she continues to live at the store residence with the other four monster companions. Despite the fact that she was only a level-1, her strength, exceeding the rest, forced them to acknowledge her superiority and made her the leader, the second in command, the commander being Lin Fang himself.
In the meantime, Lin Fang also gave up the gift presented to him by his master. The Blood Flame Tailed Fox’s egg was sacrificed to Nemesis’ will, raising his hidden quest progress to 72%.
On the fifth day, Lin Fang, Nebula, and the other two bid farewell to Li Xue before finally returning to their residence at Evergreen Apartments. As for other monsters, they return to the pet inventory.
As they stepped through the familiar entrance, Zhi Yan stretched her arms above her head and smiled in relief. "Home, sweet home."
That evening, the sound of the door unlocking startled them. Hao Bin and Yu Xiaofei walked in, dragging small bags behind them. Apparently, they had been holed up in a cheap motel for the past three days. The reunion was loud, casual, and filled with laughter as they all caught up.
Three more days later, at the store, the quiet street of Huaxi suddenly came alive. Workers hauled large wooden crates off delivery trucks, carrying them inside Fang Fang Pets. The sound of crates scraping against the pavement drew attention from nearby shop owners and curious passersby.
Whispers spread quickly:
"Are they opening a new store?"
"Looks like pets... is this another taming shop?"
"Hmm, bold to open around here."
"Hey, isn’t that cursed place? I thought it was shut down by the authorities."
"I heard that a vampire lives in the penthouse."
"I wonder which fool wants to commit suicide by opening their business here..."
Not far down the same street, in a sleek, well-polished building, stood Immortal Pet World—the pride of Huaxi’s pet business scene. Its glowing signage attracted foot traffic all day, a testament to its reputation.
Inside, a man in a suit leaned over the counter, speaking to the manager.
"There’s talk about the new place across the block. They’ve been unloading stock since morning."
The manager frowned. "What’s their background?"
"From what I heard," the man replied in a rather serious tone unlike the passersby on the street, "the owner is in his mid-twenties. Used to be a C-class Monster Tamer, decent looks but not much else. However..." He lowered his voice, "he’s backed by an A-class Monster Trainer."
The manager’s brows shot up. "A-class? In Huaxi?" He tapped the desk thoughtfully. "Then the boy must have serious wealth, or connections strong enough to rope in someone like her."
His lips curved into a cold smile. "But wealth or not, we can’t allow competition to rise in front of us."
He turned to his assistant. "Find out when they plan to open. And... put in an order to move piles of stock out from the warehouse. Let’s flood the market before they even cut the ribbon."
The assistant nodded hurriedly and left.
Alone in the office, the manager leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as his grin widened. "Let’s give the newcomers a warm welcome."
And just like that, six more weeks passed in the blink of an eye.