23: High

Another day passed.

Xiao Hei had completely changed now, transforming from a Frail little coal ball into a sleek, robust "Black Panther" cub.

Its favorite thing to do every day was to lie in Bai Ye's arms, enjoying the nourishment of Grass-type energy that made it feel incredibly comfortable.

Now Bai Ye enjoyed treatment similar to Xiao Lan's.

However, the quality of his Photosynthesis had already improved from Blue to Purple.

[Photosynthesis (Purple)]: Cultivation speed increases tenfold. During the period of strongest sunlight (12:00 PM to 2:00 PM), strength increases sevenfold.

He gained the ability to store and convert solar energy. He can actively absorb and store energy equivalent to half a day of intense sun exposure, no longer relying entirely on real-time illumination.

He can maintain his Peak state in lightless environments such as night, deep sea, or underground by consuming stored energy.

He also needed to find a way to improve the quality of Xiao Lan's Talent.

Even though Xiao Lan's Photosynthesis quality had reached Green, improving his Photosynthesis from Blue to Purple required nearly a hundred instances of effort.

If he wanted to raise the quality from Purple even higher, the subsequent attempts would likely be despair-inducing.

“Sigh, it looks like Bai Ye is completely out of luck.”

“Yeah, tomorrow is the last day, and his Phantom Cat hasn't shown a shadow of a Skill.”

Wang Lei looked in Bai Ye's direction and shook his head.

“You can't say that. Bai Ye was specially recruited by the Association, so his Beast Taming Talent is definitely top-notch. It's just that his training method... is too strange.”

Sun Fei pushed up his glasses.

“What good is strong Talent? The Phantom Cat he chose has a terrible foundation, Innately Frail. If it were me, I wouldn't have any good ideas either.”

Li Na sighed, a hint of regret in her eyes.

In their view, Bai Ye's Beast Taming Talent was completely wasted on training.

Training a Xiao Hei cat with no potential was just a waste of time.

Even Li Wei and the Elder of the Phantom Meow Clan had come to observe several times over the past few days.

Seeing Bai Ye's "free-range" training method, they merely shook their heads and said nothing more.

Perhaps they no longer held high hopes for Bai Ye.

They didn't know that Xiao Hei's Talent, "Metamorphosis," was greedily absorbing pure Grass-type energy.

As long as the energy accumulated to a certain level, it could temporarily possess the Grass Attribute and naturally comprehend Grass-type attack Skills.

This was Bai Ye's true training method.

A faint green light flashed across the gem located in the center of Xiao Hei's forehead.

Bai Ye ignored the gossip of the others and continued to bask leisurely in the sun with Xiao Hei.

The energy generated by the fierce sun had already accumulated fully inside his body.

Suddenly, the clear sky darkened without warning. Xiao Hei whimpered faintly in Bai Ye's arms and snuggled closer into his embrace.

Large swaths of black clouds gathered from all directions, shrouding the entire Xuxia Forest in gloom.

The air became exceptionally hot and stuffy, making it hard to breathe due to the oppressive atmosphere.

“What's going on? The base weather forecast didn't predict rain today?”

“Something feels wrong.”

Everyone on the training Ground stopped what they were doing, frowning as they looked up at the suddenly changing sky.

Even within the Secret Realm, the base established here by the Association would predict the Secret Realm's climate.

Since they had beast pets specialized in sensing weather, major problems usually didn't occur.

But there was one exception... Li Wei's expression immediately became extremely solemn, and he roared.

“This is bad! It's a sudden climate change in the Secret Realm!”

“Everyone, immediately take the Phantom Cat cubs and return to the Village! Hurry!”

Although the climate of the Secret Realm is usually stable, unpredictable emergencies occasionally occur.

The predecessors summarized that every sudden climate change often heralds danger.

As soon as Li Wei finished speaking.

Rumble!

The Ground suddenly began to tremble violently, as if thousands of troops and horses were stampeding towards them.

It wasn't “as if.”

“What is that?!”

Chen Yang pointed at the distant forest, his voice shaking.

They saw dust billowing at the edge of the forest, and countless golden light spots were rushing towards their location at an extremely fast speed.

When those light spots drew near, everyone saw their true appearance clearly.

They were a swarm of large beetles, covered in golden carapaces, with huge horns growing atop their heads!

[Name]: Great Horned Golden Scarab

[Attribute]: Insect/Ground

[Rank]: Mortal Advanced ~ Transcendent Limit

[Description]: A type of irritable Demonic Beast with extremely strong territorial awareness. They become highly aggressive during their mating season.

“It's the Great Horned Golden Scarabs! Why would they suddenly rush out of their territory?”

Li Wei's face turned ashen white.

“It's the climate! The change in weather caused them to enter their mating season early!”

The increasingly humid air rushing into his nostrils made him instantly realize the key.

The Great Horned Golden Scarabs in mating frenzy were among the most troublesome creatures in the entire Xuxia Forest.

They would attack every living thing that appeared before their eyes!

“Prepare for battle, protect the cubs!”

Li Wei made a quick decision and shouted the order.

Right behind them was the Phantom Cat Village, and they needed to buy some time for the Phantom Cats who lacked combat power to evacuate.

Furthermore... the Great Horned Golden Scarabs were not only surging from the front; they were everywhere, making even evacuation difficult now.

Behind him, Blazing Meow and Wave Shadow Meow roared and entered combat readiness.

The other five people also summoned their main battle beast pets.

Chen Yang's Transcendent Limit Blazing Flame Lion and Transcendence High-rank Supersonic Hound.

Zhao Qian's Transcendent Limit Wind Speed Falcon, and Wang Lei's Transcendence High-rank Rock Armor Tortoise.

And Sun Fei and Li Na's two Demonic Beasts, which were also Transcendence High-rank.

Chen Yang, who was usually the easygoing guy, turned out to be the strongest among them.

The remaining people, being Second-Tier Beast Tamers, naturally had second beast pets, but they hadn't been Cultivated to Transcendence High-rank yet.

So they sent them to the rear to protect the Phantom Cat cubs.

Five Transcendence High-rank and three Transcendent Limit—this lineup was undeniably powerful in a Secret Realm that could only accommodate Second-Tier Beast Tamers.

But they were facing hundreds of Great Horned Golden Scarabs that had fallen into a berserk state.

“Bai Ye, quickly take all the Phantom Cat cubs and hide behind us!”

Chen Yang shouted at Bai Ye, who was still sitting on the Ground.

“Ghost Orchid won't be of much use; just protect yourself and the Phantom Cat cubs.”

In their opinion, Bai Ye and his Transcendent Elementary Ghost Orchid were no different from cannon fodder in a battle of this scale.

Bai Ye didn't argue. Xiao Lan truly couldn't participate in the battle, especially since the sun was now obscured by dark clouds.

Holding Xiao Hei, he quickly retreated to the very back of the team.

Boom!

The berserk Insect Tide violently collided with their defensive line within minutes.

“Blazing Flame Lion, Flame Burst Barrage.”

“Rock Armor Tortoise, use Earth Wall to block them.”

Li Wei and the five others commanded their beast pets, frantically unleashing Skills toward the Insect Tide.

Fire, water currents, and wind blades—various attribute energies raged across the battlefield, colliding with the golden Insect Tide and erupting in deafening roars.

The number of Great Horned Golden Scarabs was overwhelming, and in their current state, they fought fearlessly.

When one fell, another immediately replaced it.

Their golden carapaces had astonishing defensive power. If they were both Transcendence High-rank and their attributes didn't clash, it was difficult to inflict effective damage.

Their massive horns carried the force of ten thousand tons, causing the beast pets on the defensive line to steadily retreat.

The battle entered a white-hot intensity right from the start.

“There are too many of them. My Rock Armor Tortoise can barely hold on.”

“My beast pet is injured too!”

In just one minute, casualties appeared on the front line.

Several beast pets were tossed back by the berserk Great Horned Golden Scarabs, their bodies covered in blood.

“Who has healing Skills!”

Li Wei shouted anxiously.

Most of their beast pets were attack-oriented; while some possessed healing Skills, the effect was negligible.

Watching the defensive line about to be breached.

Bai Ye couldn't stand idly by. an orchid suddenly appeared on his shoulder.

“Xiao Lan, Fragrant Pollen.”

Streams of light blue pollen drifted accurately toward the injured beast pets.

The pollen landed on the wounds, transforming into pure Life Energy and merging into their bodies.

Wounds deep enough to show bone actually began to heal at a visible speed.

The beast pets that were originally dispirited became vigorous and powerful once more.

Ghost Orchid's Aromatic Pollen effect wouldn't naturally be this good; Bai Ye had infused his own pollen into it to achieve such excellent results.

The pollen didn't just drift towards their allies; a large portion also floated towards the Great Horned Golden Scarabs.

In fact, Bai Ye gave the scarabs an even larger dose of pollen.

The Aromatic Pollen, having reached the Pinnacle of Perfection, further enhanced its effect of soothing emotions.

Most of the Great Horned Golden Scarabs that came into contact with the pollen developed hazy eyes, sinking into extreme comfort.

They lay on the Ground trembling comfortably, their desire to fight completely vanishing.

“WTF! Pollen! Is this really a healing Skill? Or is it something weird?”

“Isn't the Ghost Orchid supposed to be ornamental? This healing effect is fiercer than that of an Extraordinary Level beast pet specializing in healing!”

Everyone looked at the revived vigor of their beast pets and stared at Bai Ye in the rear with disbelief.

Not only does it have a healing effect, but it can also control others?

Why had they never heard of the Ghost Orchid having this kind of Skill before?

With the addition of Bai Ye, this super healer plus strong controller, the entire battle situation was instantly stabilized.

“Well done, Bai Ye!”

Li Wei, Chen Yang, and the others all cast grateful glances toward him.

Now they finally understood why Bai Ye was specially recruited by the Association.

Just this masterful healing ability alone was enough to make him a treasure sought after by any team.