Chapter 342: A Wu

When he looked up and saw the ethereal Sect Master.

For a moment, Su Daqiang felt a pang of regret for the name he had so casually chosen for himself.

’If I’d known, I never would have watched that blasted TV show!’

"Sect—Sect Master, you’re back?"

The Sect Master was known for appearing and disappearing without a trace and was often away from the Sect, so everyone was used to it.

The players all had their own things to do and didn’t pry too much into the Sect Master’s affairs.

Seeing her so suddenly was still quite exciting.

"Mm," Song Jiulai replied with a deliberately profound nod. "What are you up to?"

"I..."

Su Daqiang had been overjoyed to see Song Jiulai, but then something seemed to occur to him.

He scratched his head hesitantly. "Sect Master, I think something’s been a little off with me lately. Ever since my skin returned to normal, I keep hearing... hearing the voices of spiritual beasts."

"What?!" the system exclaimed, utterly shocked. "I knew the kid was acting crazy lately, but to think he was hiding something like this from me!"

Hearing that even the system didn’t know about this, Song Jiulai’s expression shifted, and she raised an eyebrow slightly. "You can hear spiritual beasts talking?"

"Yes. I wasn’t sure before." Su Daqiang had likely been too uncertain to tell anyone.

But now that he saw the Sect Master, he felt a sense of relief and confessed, "At first, I thought I was having auditory hallucinations. But then I realized I could actually hear the thoughts of some spiritual beasts, and that Stealing Spirit Mouse..."

Song Jiulai asked, "You can communicate with spiritual beasts?"

Su Daqiang shook his head. "Not really. It’s just a one-way street. I can understand them, but they don’t react to me."

Low-level spiritual beasts and demon beasts didn’t have much intelligence to begin with.

It was one thing for Su Daqiang to understand them, but the spiritual beasts certainly couldn’t respond to him as if in a normal conversation.

Song Jiulai hadn’t expected Su Daqiang’s strange skin condition to lead to such a fortunate turn of events. A little surprised, she asked him, "Have you experienced any physical discomfort?"

Su Daqiang shook his head again. "Nope. Fit as a fiddle, and my appetite’s never been better."

...

’It seems there are no negative side effects, then.’

Song Jiulai suddenly let out a soft laugh. "It seems this is your lucky break. With a gift like this, you’d be better off pursuing the path of Beast Taming."

Su Daqiang’s eyes lit up.

He had indeed been thinking the same thing.

He could understand what spiritual beasts were saying; a talent like that couldn’t be wasted.

Song Jiulai told Su Daqiang to go discuss raising spiritual beasts with Fan Guzhou, but to keep the fact that he could understand them a secret for now.

They would need to confirm it after raising more spiritual beasts.

The Sect was already trying to figure out how to develop its spiritual beast husbandry. With Han Daozi able to provide a method to protect the Sect, they could consider expanding their territory further.

Only after Su Daqiang had left did Song Jiulai express her surprise to the system. "He can actually understand what spiritual beasts are saying! Even you can’t do that!"

System: "..."

The system was heartbroken. "He was hiding something like this from me! No wonder I said he’s been so jumpy lately. And with our revolutionary friendship, couldn’t he have just discussed it with me? Did he have to wait until he saw you to finally talk?"

"He probably wasn’t sure himself, especially since even you couldn’t hear anything. It’s just that now, seeing me, he has someone to talk to about it."

Song Jiulai recalled the time of Su Daqiang’s accident; even the system had been unable to determine what had bitten him.

All it knew was that the change had occurred after he ate something he shouldn’t have and then got bitten.

The players had searched the area afterward but found nothing.

Among the new players, Su Daqiang had been the most reckless, daring to eat anything. After he faced the consequences, the other players didn’t dare to act so carelessly anymore.

But who would have thought that once the "Blue Elf" was cured, he’d have such a lucky break?

Being able to understand spiritual beasts was an ability that, in Song Jiulai’s memory, very few people on the Yunzhou Continent possessed.

High-level Spirit Beasts, having gained sapience, could interact and communicate with people to some extent, but Su Daqiang could directly understand the words of spiritual beasts.

She already realized how overpowered this ability was. Not pursuing the Beast Taming Style would be a complete waste of his talent.

"As expected, every player has their own unique opportunities," Song Jiulai said with a hint of envy. "If I knew how he did it, I’d go get bitten myself."

’Being able to understand spiritual beasts... how cool is that?’

"It’s not that cool," the system said, having apparently consulted Su Daqiang. "He says the Stealing Spirit Mice curse the players every day while stealing Spirit Grass. They’re a bunch of truly ungrateful rats. He’s planning to have Chen Miaomiao put laxatives in the Spirit Grass next time."

Song Jiulai: "..."

「Outside Wang’an County.」

Song Jiulai first went to check on A Wu.

She hadn’t seen A Wu in a while.

Although A Wu had plenty of people to keep him company in the Sect, he was, after all, the Longevity Sect’s senior disciple, an Elder in his own right, and the only legacy left behind by the previous Sect Master.

Song Jiulai had a responsibility to look after him.

A Wu was in the schoolhouse attending class. His cultivation was only average, but now, with a group of players and friends to accompany him, he was living a life of blissful content.

Suddenly, he saw someone outside the schoolhouse waving at him. "A Wu."

A Wu was curious. Nowadays, when the players saw him, they all called him Senior Disciple. Even mortals like Little Ya and the others had followed their lead. Very few people called him A Wu anymore.

A Wu walked over, a bit curious. "Are you a new disciple...?"

Song Jiulai had changed her appearance to that of an ordinary face. She looked at him with a warm smile. "It’s me. I’m the Sect Master."

A Wu’s eyes instantly widened.

He immediately grew excited. "Sect Master, you... where have you been all this time!"

He was still a child, after all, and he especially saw Song Jiulai as family. Not having seen her for so long, his voice carried a hint of a child’s whine for attention.

"I had to go out to cultivate. I went to the Demon Cave Valley." Song Jiulai didn’t tell him the whole truth. After all, a place like the Dragon Frost Swamp was still a world away for someone like A Wu.

’A child doesn’t need to think about so much. Happy cultivation is enough.’

"I just got back and came to see you. But actually, I already know everything that’s been going on with you."

With so many players around, she learned about everything concerning A Wu through the system.

That’s why Song Jiulai was so at ease.

"Okay. Then, Sect Master, please be careful out there." A Wu wasn’t lonely; he had so many people with him every day.

Song Jiulai then said, "I have a Cultivation Technique for you. Take it and cultivate."

The Cultivation Techniques within the Sect could not be given to outsiders, and it turned out that "outsiders" even included A Wu.

There was nothing Song Jiulai could do about it.

Besides, A Wu was just an ordinary Cultivator. He couldn’t cultivate as recklessly as the players, so many Cultivation Techniques had to be carefully selected for him.

Previously, when Palm Thunder was available for purchase, Song Jiulai had considered the overbearing nature of the Thunder Element and had no intention of letting A Wu cultivate it.

What Song Jiulai gave him was a copy she had made of ’Lotus Birth Kill’.

With her current energy, she could only copy a Cultivation Technique like this one. The core techniques of the Sect were completely beyond her ability to replicate.

"This is a Speed Type Technique. For now, just cultivate this. The technique leans toward the Wood and Water Elements. When I get my hands on better Wood and Water Element attack techniques in the future, I’ll bring them back for you."

A Wu nodded. "I know."

The players all had different Cultivation Techniques to practice. Although A Wu was envious, he vaguely understood that he was different, so he wasn’t impatient.

Besides, his cultivation wasn’t progressing well. By now, some players had even reached Foundation Establishment.

He himself was still at the Qi Refining Middle Stage. This was what really got A Wu down.