165: Strengthen the foundation and cultivate the source

After carefully placing the yin sen wood in its proper spot, Li Wen tiptoed out of the laboratory and then woke up Teacher Lu.

When he saw Teacher Lu, a fawning smile appeared on his face as he softly said, "This... my dear Teacher Lu, I have something I'd like to trouble you with for a moment..."

However, his words were cut off mid-sentence by Teacher Lu, who interrupted him without ceremony.

Teacher Lu glared at Li Wen with her vertical pupils and said irritably, "Cut the act! Don't give me that look; you're definitely up to no good."

She then continued, "Spit it out quickly if you have something to say, don't dilly-dally, or everything is off the table!"

Li Wen saw that his little scheme had been immediately seen through by Teacher Lu and couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, but he could only honestly state his intention.

"Actually, I just wanted to ask you for a favor, to go to Pingdu Mountain and help me look after my experimental materials, if that's okay?"

Unexpectedly, Teacher Lu rejected him immediately without even thinking, "No! My primary task is to protect your safety, and I absolutely cannot leave your side so casually."

Upon hearing this, Li Wen couldn't help but think to himself, "I haven't seen you help at all; all you do all day is mess things up!"

However, he didn't dare to say it so bluntly, so he quickly organized another set of words in his mind to respond.

Li Wen smiled and said sincerely to Teacher Lu, "Teacher Lu, you are a dignified Overlord-level expert. If we only encounter another Overlord-level individual, with your strength, you might still be able to barely protect me."

"But if we unfortunately encounter a Saint Rank-level enemy, or face several Overlord-level opponents at the same time, then wouldn't we be helpless?"

Teacher Lu listened to this, an incredulous expression appearing on her face, and she asked back with a puzzled look, "What? Are you saying you want to provoke a Saint Rank-level individual?"

Seeing that Teacher Lu seemed to have an urge to report him to the principal, Li Wen quickly waved his hand and explained, "Oh, Teacher Lu, you've misunderstood; I absolutely didn't mean that!"

"My idea is actually very simple: instead of having you constantly protecting me like this, it would be better to focus your energy on helping me improve my own combat power."

"That way, once my strength is sufficient, I'll naturally be able to protect myself! And like that, Teacher Lu, you'll also be completely freed and won't have to work so hard to guard me anymore!"

Teacher Lu couldn't help but feel a hint of doubt. She vaguely felt that she had been led astray, but upon careful thought, she also felt that what the other party said made some sense.

Despite this, she still said, "Hmm... it's not entirely impossible, but you have to promise me that during the time I'm gone, you absolutely must not actively court death again!"

Upon hearing this, Li Wen's expression instantly became extremely serious. He quickly raised his right hand and solemnly said, "I swear! I guarantee with my character that from now until you return, I will not actively court death again. If I break this oath, then I will never break through to the Saint Rank in this life!"

Teacher Lu, seeing this, quickly waved her hand and said with a smile, "It's not that serious, there's no need to make such a heavy oath. All right, then I'll trust you for now."

She secretly thought, "If Principal Qin's key focus can't break through to the Saint Rank, wouldn't I be finished?"

After speaking, she turned to leave, looking back as she walked and saying, "Then I'll be going now, back to my original post."

However, just as Teacher Lu took her first step to leave, Li Wen immediately showed his true colors.

He stood in place, muttering to himself, "Can't break through to the Saint Rank? Of course! I'm going to break through to the Crown Rank; I'm not a pet beast."

"Besides, I never actively courted death. Those so-called dangerous actions were merely to obtain more valuable resources."

"It's impossible not to be greedy. If I'm not a little greedy, what kind of Beastmaster would I be?"

"After all, my pet beasts also need to grow and become stronger, so how can it work without getting more good things?"

After Li Wen successfully fooled Teacher Lu, he then entered the methodical stage of improvement.

For freshmen, this was the most leisurely time of their university life.

After all, besides completing compulsory courses, the school didn't impose too many mandatory requirements on students.

Lin Yan felt that he could no longer teach Li Wen.

Even the courses that should have been arranged were not arranged due to various reasons.

Thus, he could only wait until later, when Li Wen was lacking in certain knowledge points, to select a few practical courses from the many available for him to study and further his education.

However, just as everyone was anxiously awaiting the results of the Parasitic Vine experiment, something unexpected happened.

Bud Baby actually took the lead and brought Li Wen a huge surprise!

Through its continuous efforts and exploration, Bud Baby had successfully achieved a temporary balance between Life Energy and death qi, thereby generating a portion of relatively stable "source" qi.

Unfortunately, although these hard-won "source" qi did exist, they did not seem to have a very direct and significant strengthening effect on personal combat power.

Fortunately, War Emperor was there to guide it. Under his suggestion, Bud Baby boldly attempted to directly absorb the "source" qi.

The effect was immediate! Especially now that Bud Baby's own growth rate had gradually slowed down, this method of directly absorbing "source" qi made it truly feel a clear improvement in strength.

Li Wen looked at the increase in Energy Value and could confirm that at this speed, it would take less than two weeks to break through the Commander-level limit.

It seems that after the granulation tissue ritual is completed, Bud Baby's evolution can be prepared in advance. With its comprehension, understanding a nascent domain would be a piece of cake.