94: Do not cultivate demon-controlling creatures for free.

Back to Xie Ning.

After leaving the challenge area, he rode the Poison Flame White Wolf toward the dormitory. Along the way, the Poison Flame White Wolf kept whimpering in dissatisfaction.

"I hate Master the most; you didn't even let me fight!"

"A weakling Master is supposed to hide in the back, how could you join the battle..."

"It's all Master's fault, I'm unhappy now, awoo~"

The sounds of the wolf's howls carried a different meaning into Xie Ning's ears.

Listening to these accusations, and the occasional agreement from Little Mantis popping into his mind, Xie Ning could only smile bitterly.

"Alright, it was my fault this time. But the situation was special; it was a fight between humans. Even if he was a bully, I couldn't call you guys. If I had, that madman would have called his partners too, and that would have been dangerous." Xie Ning coaxed his two Demon Tamers Beasts while recalling the battle just now.

The fight with Zhao Long, although it took place at the academy, involved the opponent using lethal moves. He was simply no match for him.

Mu Tian was also a smart man; helping him was nothing more than building an alliance. If Xie Ning hadn't possessed some value, he might not have stepped in to help.

The Mu Family and the Zhao Family were already like this, so what about the Ruan Family? Who was that woman with the purple tassel? Could she be from the Ruan Family?

Recalling the entire battle process, Xie Ning suddenly realized that the only person truly willing and capable of helping him was Yan Ruyu.

The two Demon Tamers Beasts were quickly coaxed, but they repeatedly emphasized that Xie Ning should not take it upon himself to fight; they should be the ones to do it when combat was needed.

It got to the point where Xie Ning felt like he was three months pregnant, being told, "We'll handle the heavy and light work, you just lie down and rest."

He shook his head vigorously, tossing the strange images out of his mind.

Back at the dormitory, just as he entered the small courtyard, he saw Su Qin sitting on a chair counting money.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm counting money to see if it's enough to pay the protect—" Su Qin stopped halfway, turned around, and was overjoyed to see it was Xie Ning. "Big Brother Xie, you're back! Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. As for this money, keep it for yourself. That fat guy is just a weakling, no need to pay him any mind."

Afterward, Xie Ning recounted the general events... Late at night, a crescent moon hung in the sky, casting a faint, soft light over the earth like a layer of white frost. On the back mountain of Lingnan Academy, the moon revealed beastly shadows darting back and forth; those were nocturnal Yao Beasts out hunting.

These Yao Beasts were fierce, yet when they passed by a certain independent courtyard, they would lower their heads and even tremble with fear.

Inside this courtyard at the moment, there was nothing but a graceful woman and a dying Demon Tamers Beast.

The beautiful woman was dressed in casual clothes, her daytime makeup removed, and her long hair fell behind her like a waterfall. She raised her hand and gently stroked the Demon Tamers Beast in front of her, her movements very light.

The person was Yan Ruyu. At this moment, she didn't have a trace of her daytime coldness. Instead, she pursed her lips and looked tenderly at the Demon Tamers Beast before her. The beast was a three-to-four-meter-long Xingshui Lynx, lying listlessly on the ground with its breath barely perceptible.

"How has Little Shuili been lately? I haven't come to see you for a few days," Yan Ruyu asked with a smile.

"Roar..."

Yan Ruyu nodded. "It's good that you're okay. I got another earth cracking beast inner core today. I'll prepare it for you to eat in a bit, and your wounds will heal faster."

The Xingshui Lynx whimpered and turned its head to lick the back of Yan Ruyu's hand.

Just then, a 'ding' sounded from inside the house. Yan Ruyu quickly went inside and returned a few seconds later with some powder in her hand.

She first applied some of the earthy yellow powder to the wound on the Xingshui Lynx's abdomen, then fed the rest to it bit by bit.

Watching the Xingshui Lynx slowly recover after eating the earth cracking beast inner core powder, Yan Ruyu said softly, "The next time an Earth-Splitting Beast appears will be in the Houtu Secret Realm. It's coming soon... hang in there for a while longer."

"Roar..."

...The next day, Xie Ning arrived at the classroom. Except for Qin Tianyu, everyone else crowded around him.

Class Monitor gave a thumbs up and said, "Student Xie Ning, you're something else! On your first day of school, you beat up an Intermediate class and even dared to challenge an Advanced class. Impressive!"

"Haha~ I really didn't expect Fei Shanqiu to be such a fat weakling!" The student next to him couldn't help but laugh.

Some students were also gossiping: "By the way, Student Xie Ning, why did you have a challenge match with that fat guy? Was it to get revenge for Student Yi Rou?"

Yi Rou was the Girl in the class who had her protection fee collected.

Hearing this, Xie Ning smiled, returned Yi Rou's money pouch to her, and then replied, "No, it's just that when he was collecting protection fees yesterday, he came to my place, so I gave him a beating."

"You're really straightforward."

"What?"

"Nothing."

As the bell rang, Yan Ruyu walked into the classroom.

She first looked around, then glanced at Xie Ning, her cold voice ringing out: "Everyone knows about the challenge between Xie Ning and Fei Shanqiu yesterday. First of all, congratulations to Student Xie Ning on his victory."

As her voice fell, thunderous applause erupted.

"Additionally, during yesterday's challenge, Xie Ning exposed the academy's bad behavior of collecting protection fees and recovered losses for the new students. For this, he is specially awarded 100 credits."

"However, I must also remind all students to remain rational in everything. We cannot have another incident like yesterday's group brawl and stampede."

As soon as she finished speaking, the whole class burst into laughter, and Xie Ning also pursed his lips in a smile.

Time passed during serious study.

Soon, the morning session ended. With the ringing of the bell, the students in the class scattered in a flurry, much faster than usual.

It wasn't just their class; other classes were the same. In an instant, the entire teaching building seemed to riot, with people surging in one direction.

"This is..."

Xie Ning watched in a daze.

His deskmate Su Qin remembered something and shouted, "Ah! I remember now! Today is the day of the Nurturing Open Class!"

"What Nurturing Open Class?"

"The Nurturing Open Class is a public evolution class held by the Nurturing Academy at the beginning of every month. It's for students to practice. They will select some students' Demon Tamers Beasts from those who signed up to use as teaching Materials. The fees are waived, the Materials are free, and they perform free evolutions." Su Qin said fluently while quickly packing his things on the desk.

Hearing this, Xie Ning couldn't help but frown. "Isn't the risk huge? If the evolution fails, wouldn't that be a loss?"

"It can fail, but I heard there are mentors backing them up. If an evolution fails, the mentor will step in personally to help the Demon Tamers Beast evolve. So whether it's the student or the mentor performing the evolution, it's a good thing for students from less wealthy families." After Su Qin finished speaking, he gathered his things and hurriedly ran off with the crowd. "I'm going to go grab a seat first, Big Brother Xie, come over quickly!"

In less than five seconds, only Xie Ning and Yan Ruyu were left in the classroom.

It took Xie Ning a while to react before looking at Yan Ruyu. "Uh... why don't they come to me for evolution?"

"Evolving a Demon Tamers Beast costs a lot of money. Setting aside the expensive Materials, the fee for a Breeder alone is 100,000 for Excellent grade, 1 million for Transcendent Level, and as high as 10 million for Lord Rank. For every increase in rank, the price difference is tenfold, and some superior evolution plans cost astronomical amounts," Yan Ruyu replied.

After speaking, she added a few more words: "The students in this class aren't from wealthy backgrounds. The cost of a single evolution is enough to make their family's situation even worse. Even if you could waive their evolution fee, what about the Materials? Those Materials are also an astronomical figure for their families."

"This..."

"The evolution Materials for every Demon Tamers Beast aren't cheap. It's hard for you to bear the cost, and even if you could, you shouldn't." At this point, Yan Ruyu's expression became serious. She stared at Xie Ning and said word for word:

"You must always remember one thing: unless they are your closest relatives or friends, or in special circumstances, do not provide free nurturing for anyone!"

"Why?" Xie Ning frowned slightly, looking at Yan Ruyu.

The latter didn't answer him immediately. Instead, she walked to the window and looked down at the surging crowd below. After a long while, she said:

"What do you think is the fundamental basis for human survival in this world where Yao Beasts run rampant?"