In the training ground, Shiyi was training well, but suddenly he felt a cold and hostile presence around him.
Shiyi: !!
He didn't even need to turn his head; with his advanced vision, he could clearly see the situation far away.
The sleeping Qingmian worm inexplicably turned into an ice lizard, and then inexplicably charged towards him.
Since it was a tangible illusion, there was no difference from a real entity, so even with advanced vision, Shiyi couldn't see anything.
"Ji!"
The ice lizard roared, "Let's decide this, Leader!"
"Ying?"
Is this the Qingmian worm? Shiyi was confused.
"Be gentle." Shi Yu said quietly.
Shiyi was puzzled, and then, an ice lizard twice his size charged over, sweeping its massive tail towards Shiyi!
Although the ice dragon in the sixth level of the ruins only knew Intimidation, Ice Claw, and Frost Breath, it still had some skills.
But this fake ice dragon, transformed from a Qingmian worm, probably only knew physical attacks.
However, even so, it made the Qingmian worm feel very powerful.
Advanced-level Illusory Reality, even at the beginner stage, felt completely different from using insect silk.
After transforming into the ice dragon illusion, the Qingmian worm felt its physical strength increase significantly, a feeling it never had when using insect silk.
However.
Bang!
Next, the inflated Qingmian worm only felt its massive tail hit a huge iron block, then its tail was grabbed, and its entire body was thrown several meters, crashing into the training ground wall.
At the spot, Shiyi sighed...
Qingmian worm: ..@_@|||||..
The massive impact made the Qingmian worm's tangible illusion disappear, and it was left stuck to the wall, then slowly slid down...
"Ji..."
The Beastmaster is cheating; I can't win at all.
"Ou—" Although Shiyi didn't know what happened, he still encouraged the Qingmian worm.
Actually, it's not bad!
Not bad, not bad, you've gotten a bit stronger. Maybe you can punch the country mice and cause a ruckus in the wild boar forest. You're no longer that weak worm!
"Completely hollow, reporting the Qingmian worm for sending a head..." Shi Yu.
Actually, he currently had no high expectations for the Qingmian worm. He didn't require strength; if it could 100% replicate the appearance of an ice dragon, that would be great.
Then, he would teach the Qingmian worm an Intimidation skill. With the dragon's appearance and aura, it would be perfect! It could even pass off as a dragon.
Then, he could also cosplay as an invincible Beastmaster.
"`(+﹏+)′Ji..." The Qingmian worm slowly got up, feeling a huge blow to its confidence.
To prevent the Qingmian worm from losing confidence, Shi Yu played a trick. He said, "Shiyi, transform into your smallest form and practice with the Qingmian worm."
Shiyi's smallest form was only about ten centimeters, smaller than the twenty-centimeter Qingmian worm, and his strength would also decrease significantly.
Facing the Qingmian worm with a master-level invisible silk, the outcome of the battle was truly worth exploring.
"Eh?"
Shiyi didn't understand the purpose of this command.
"Ou~!" However, in response to the Beastmaster's command, Shiyi naturally executed it perfectly.
A moment later, it transformed into a ten-centimeter form, standing small on the vast training ground.
Far away, after the Qingmian worm regained consciousness, it stared blankly at the smaller Shiyi, with a small body and a big question.
Next, the two pets started their second round of battle...
Surprisingly, what Shi Yu didn't expect was that the Qingmian worm actually had the upper hand.
With advanced vision, Shiyi could see through illusions, but he couldn't see the traces of the invisible silk.
Clearly, the spatial deception effect of the master-level spatial silk completely suppressed the advanced vision.
At the same time, in the reduced state, most of Shiyi's strength was sealed. Even with perfect hardening, it couldn't fully defend against the master-level spatial silk.
Although it could defend against most of the power, being cut still left marks on Shiyi's body, requiring high-speed healing to barely withstand it.
"Ji!!!"
Seeing the miniature leader cautiously dodging its pursuit, the Qingmian worm felt its life had reached its peak.
"Ou!!!"
At the same time, Shiyi's survival instinct was also triggered, determined to defeat the worm even in its smallest form.
"Seems like... this is quite effective?"
Watching the two evenly matched little creatures, Shi Yu fell into deep thought. Forget it, doesn't matter, I'm so sleepy, I'll go back to bed for a nap.
Just taught a lesson on Illusory Reality, and now he wanted to rest again.
"You continue, I'll go back to sleep."
"The training ground has enough food and recovery items. Shiyi, if the Qingmian worm gets hurt, help it heal."
"Ying!" "Ji!"
After giving the instructions, Shi Yu turned to go back to rest, while Yingying Bear and Jiji Worm seemed to have opened a new world.
Especially Shiyi, who usually felt invincible and lonely, but now, in its reduced form, it couldn't even perfectly suppress a worm, giving Shiyi a new way to train itself.
Using the reduced form to seal its strength and fight the enemy! Experience the joy of battle! Give itself pressure!
Who can please it, and then burst out with full power!
It hoped the worm's ice dragon transformation could quickly become as strong as the ice dragon in the ruins... that would be more interesting.
At the same time, the worm's confidence returned, and it planned to defeat the leader bit by bit, starting with the miniature version!
...
"Ah, sleep."
Shi Yu pulled the curtains, lay on the bed, and through the glass, he could directly see the training ground below.
Seeing Shiyi and the worm working hard, he felt proud of his teaching.
Just as Shi Yu was about to fall asleep, his phone rang again...
[Call Request: Lu Qingyi]
Shi Yu was slightly stunned and chose to answer.
Then, he quietly waited for the other side to speak.
"I was out before."
"Oh, oh."
Shi Yu felt that communicating with this person required reading comprehension.
Before, Shi Yu had reported the good news of passing the ruins and asked about plant-type pets.
However, Lu Qingyi only gave a brief reply and then went silent.
So, her meaning was that she was out and thus gave a simple reply?
Shi Yu understood, after all, in his previous life, when he went to explore deep in the mountains, even if there was a signal, he often delayed replying to messages.
"First, congratulations on cracking that small ruin."
"Faster than I expected. I heard that the trial ruin was quite difficult. It seems your 'Listening to the Sound of History' talent helped a lot."
Lu Qingyi was pleased; Shi Yu's talent was indeed good.
This was a trial-type ruin. Even with 10 million starting funds, she didn't think Shi Yu could pass it quickly, given that the Iron-Eater was still weak at the time.
So, she judged that Shi Yu mostly relied on his special talent to find clues and gain control of the ruin.
Shi Yu: "..."
Shi Yu felt a bit embarrassed.
He had only seriously observed the first level, and then relied on leveling up to reach the end...
"Um... it's okay, it's okay." Shi Yu said modestly.
"How about the rewards?" Lu Qingyi referred to the rewards from the ruin.
Shi Yu said, "The pets grew rapidly due to some special resources in the ruin and are now very strong."
"For example, the Iron-Eater is almost at level 10 and has learned a new rare skill."
He directly attributed the strength of Shiyi and the Qingmian worm to the ruin.
Successfully cracking the ruin and the pets gaining huge opportunities was quite reasonable.
Although, some resources for the worm were indeed from the ruin.
"Um... so it seems you have a higher chance of passing the professional assessment this year. I'm calling you about what comes next."
"I want to invite you to study archaeology at the Ancient Capital University after the professional assessment. It's the university I attended before."
"What do you think? Are you interested?"
Although Shi Yu had the 'Listening to the Sound of History' talent, it was too random. As a member of the Eleventh Bureau, he should also have some basic and advanced archaeological knowledge.
This would also help Shi Yu investigate the history of Ice Plain City and be beneficial for him to become her assistant in the future!
"Study???" Shi Yu was stunned, then looked puzzled.
Another senior sister?
"Do you dislike studying?"
"That's not it..." Just feeling a bit strange about going to university again, although the universities in this world were different from those in his previous life.
These were top-tier institutions for professional-level Beastmasters, and the college entrance exam was also the professional assessment.
"The admission day for Ancient Capital University is after the professional assessment, which is four months from now." Shi Yu asked.
"Um, but currently, the Beastmasters from regular universities have already graduated."
"So, the entire month of September is the open day for Ancient Capital University. If you're interested, you can go and take a look, meet some Beastmasters from big cities. Otherwise, if you have no preparation, I'm really worried you won't pass the professional assessment in Ancient City..."
"Go take a look, and then decide whether to take the professional assessment in a first-tier city or stay in Ice Plain City."
After all, the Beastmaster field in Pingcheng and Ice Plain City was too backward.
Although, with Shi Yu's talent, he could directly enter the university through connections, but Lu Qingyi still hoped that Shi Yu's own strength wouldn't be too weak. If he could pass the assessment through normal procedures and enter Ancient Capital University, that would be the best. Therefore, she recommended that Shi Yu take the assessment in a first-tier city.
"Okay... in September, right? I'll go take a look if I have time."
So, it's just 2 or 3 days?
"Um, about the plant-type pets you mentioned before... I'm still looking."
Lu Qingyi had a pet encyclopedia and was looking through it.
"It's not urgent..." Shi Yu said, "We can talk about it after the professional assessment."
The most convenient and useful feature of the ruin space was the spatial equipment. With this, Shi Yu could carry many things, like storing the Qingmian worm before it was contracted.
In the wild, if he encountered danger, he could hide in the ruin. If he didn't encounter an enemy skilled in spatial abilities, he would be invincible. Living inside was also safer than outside.
Also, he could carry several months' worth of food, so he wouldn't need to carry large bags. On the contrary, farming was just an additional value for the ruin, not an urgent project.
"Okay."
"Then I won't disturb you anymore." Lu Qingyi hung up, completing her notification.
At the same time, Shi Yu put down the phone, lay on the bed, and looked at the ceiling.
Ancient Capital... one of the nine first-tier cities in Donghuang, and the closest first-tier city to Ice Plain City. It had legendary Beastmasters and guardian-level creatures, making it a super metropolis. It also had many ancient ruins, making it an archaeological holy land...
Ruins? Archaeological holy land?
Forget it, it's not a big deal to take a look in a few days. He hadn't left Ice Plain City before, so it would be like a trip.