Chapter 52

Before Song Yi could think too deeply about the major matter of humans being tamed by demon beasts, Li Wenwen dragged her off to the little shop to stock up.

She wished she could empty out her own storage bracelet and fill the whole thing with snacks.

Song Yi had no choice but to confirm again, “Aren’t we coming back in one day?”

At the rate Li Wenwen was buying, it would take her a month to finish everything.

Li Wenwen argued with complete conviction, “This is called a sense of ceremony. There can be more, but there can’t be less.”

However, Song Yi was a heartless child. With her there, Li Wenwen’s plan to clear out the little shop fell through. After picking a little of each kind of snack, Song Yi decisively decided they should withdraw. There were too many people in the shop today. She was practically getting squeezed out of shape.

After they left the little shop, Li Wenwen was still unwilling to give up. Teary-eyed, she hung herself on Song Yi, making it hard for her to take even a step. “Just buy a little more. If we buy too little, I won’t feel safe. Little Yi, you weren’t like this before. Sure enough, does love disappear after all?”

The veins at Song Yi’s temples throbbed. She could roughly experience a bit of the helplessness felt by the poor adults she had tricked before.

“If you wipe your snot and tears on my school uniform, I’ll eat up all your favorite snacks.”

Song Yi had never brought up a child before. She had not expected that after turning back into a child herself, she would still have to experience childcare.

“Wuwuwu, little Little Yi, you’ve changed. You never used to dislike me…” Li Wenwen was still making thunder without rain.

After wailing for a couple of lines and discovering that Song Yi remained unmoved, she patted her backside and got up.

It did not matter that she had failed. The energetic child prepared to go settle accounts with Lin Ze. It must have been that profiteer who had led Little Song Yi astray!

“Draw your sword. You’ve interfered with the bond between Little Yi and me. We can only duel.” Li Wenwen charged off aggressively to find Lin Ze.

But Li Wenwen had barely practiced sword techniques, and Lin Ze also had cultivation suppressing her. Without standing on ceremony, he knocked Li Wenwen’s sword aside.

To his surprise, the corner of the child’s mouth curled up triumphantly, and she immediately pounced toward Song Yi. “Little Yi, he bullied me!”

She had not forgotten that on that night in the Absolute-Spirit Pocket Realm, after she fell asleep, it turned into an event with only Little Yi and the profiteer. Damn it, they had formed a bond without her!

Li Wenwen did not know whether it was her imagination, but she felt that after that, Song Yi treated Lin Ze a little better again. Li Wenwen felt that her position had suffered a serious challenge. She could not let the profiteer surpass her!

Oh ho ho~ A villainous smile appeared on Li Wenwen’s face.

A battle for status was just this cruel.

Lin Ze: …

He tossed Li Wenwen a bottle of the drink she liked. “Brain-supplement drink. You need it most.”

Then he silently began calculating the goods he needed to stock after school today.

The spring outing was definitely the time when the students’ desire to spend was at its strongest. Li Wenwen was not an isolated case. The little shop had plenty of supplies, but it might not necessarily be able to digest all demand. As a day student, he could prepare even more goods. Besides, some people simply did not like bringing things with them and preferred to buy them after arriving.

All of these were business opportunities!

Lin Ze was not quite the same as Song Yi.

After Song Yi learned the importance of spirit coins, she would think of every possible way to make money, but she herself did not value money too heavily. She had always been someone who grasped the big things and let the small things go. Within the scope of his own abilities, Lin Ze’s principle was that the more money, the better. He would earn as much as he could.

They were going to the Mystic Wonder Secret Realm tomorrow, and everyone clearly had no heart for studying anymore. Basically, they were all discussing this matter.

“A pocket realm on the edge of the Human Realm? Won’t that be dangerous? This is the closest I’ve ever been to the edge of the Human Realm!” That was what the child said, but there was not the slightest hint of fear in their tone, only excitement.

The greatest danger these children usually saw was probably their parents’ or teachers’ lion roar. Although they had been told that dangers lurked everywhere outside the Human Realm, they still could not help imagining themselves punching bad people and kicking vicious beasts. That would absolutely make them the coolest elementary school students in all of East Continent—no, in all of the Human Realm!

Li Wenwen usually had plenty of drama, but in truth, she was just at the average level. Thanks to the rich culture and entertainment industry, there really were plenty of children with as much drama as her.

Someone had cut their school uniform into the shape of a cape, stood on top of a desk, and said in an aria-like tone, “Students, my legend is about to begin here. While I’m not famous yet, hurry up and win me over. Offer up your snacks.”

Without a doubt, a child seeking death like this was directly pinched by the ear and carried down by the homeroom teacher. The school uniform account would be settled later.

The teachers were all very clear that trying to make these children settle down and study today was impossible, so they taught no new content at all. Everything was review. This was precisely why the announcement about the spring outing had been delayed until the very end as much as possible.

The homeroom teacher simply spent the time emphasizing the points to note for the spring outing. “Everyone must pay attention to safety. If anything happens, find a teacher or staff member in time. While you’re having fun, don’t forget to pay attention to collecting material for your compositions.”

“You must follow discipline. Don’t casually harm the creatures there. Otherwise, if anyone gets their face scratched up, the teacher won’t be responsible.”

First-grade children were mischievous, but there was one good thing about them: their cultivation was not high. Quite a few of the rare demon beasts in the Mystic Wonder Secret Realm were not weaklings. One slap would be enough to suppress them.

It was good for children who were too unruly to suffer a little.

The children agreed to the homeroom teacher’s words especially loudly and decisively, in stark contrast to their attitude when homework was assigned.

However, the homeroom teacher knew very well that this kind of “enthusiasm” was heavily diluted. What truly made them so enthusiastic was not his words, but the spring outing. Most of the specific content had probably gone in one ear and out the other.

Even if he were to say now that they had to study hard, they would also agree with full enthusiasm, then throw it to the back of their minds.

Among these unreliable children, Song Yi, who listened to him explain the precautions steadily and cautiously, stood out in particular.

This was not an act. Song Yi paid special attention to things she did not understand, especially since the Mystic Wonder Secret Realm was a place with many “demon beasts.”

She approved of the peace treaty, but she remained wary of demon beasts. As for humans who let demon beasts ride on their heads and throw their weight around, she hated that they failed to live up to expectations.

The homeroom teacher felt somewhat gratified, only to see the child regretfully shaking her head. He could not help calling on Song Yi and asked, “Student Song Yi, do you have a question?”

Song Yi said, “I just think it’s a pity. Some demon beasts were almost eaten into extinction and became rare demon beasts.”

Yes, Song Yi already knew that some of the rare demon beasts in the Mystic Wonder Secret Realm were rare because their reproductive ability was too weak, while others had purely been eaten into this state by people.

This was something very difficult to imagine in the Old Era. Most cultivators did not care much for the desire of the mouth and stomach. When they hunted demon beasts, it was generally not for meat. But Song Yi had eaten plenty of meat in this world, so she accepted it quite well.

The yao race had agreed so easily to sign the peace treaty probably because they had discovered that the human race’s most terrifying weapon was not the sword, but that mouth.

The homeroom teacher nodded in gratification. This time, Song Yi did not disappoint him: humans and demon beasts sometimes existed in a mutual food-chain relationship, but as living beings of the cultivation world, they were sometimes actually bound together for good or ill. It was a good thing that Song Yi could have compassion and empathy.

Then, in the very next second, Song Yi’s words completely froze the smile on his face. She said, “If they hadn’t become rare demon beasts, then I could still taste them.”

What a pity. When demon beasts could still be hunted freely, she had not cherished it.

Song Yi’s words injected even more vitality into the class. A burst of laughter broke out in the classroom. “Song Yi, don’t stare at them and drool when the time comes. If you get slapped flat, we won’t be able to save you.”

“Teacher, Student Song Yi is really very criminal.”

Homeroom teacher: …

He was wrong. He should not have held any fantasies he should not have had about Song Yi, the ringleader of troublemaking.

Of course, the homeroom teacher did not intend to blindly criticize Song Yi either. “If Student Song Yi is interested in this, you can consider developing in the direction of beast-taming and demon beast breeding in the future. Once they aren’t so rare anymore, you’ll be able to achieve your goal.”

Then the homeroom teacher moved past this topic.

He had merely encouraged her offhandedly. This was not something that could be casually achieved.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day. A silver-bright halo appeared above the school. A stable passage leading straight to the pocket realm had been established.

The ordinary entrance to the Mystic Wonder Secret Realm was on the edge of the Human Realm. If it were only one person, they would inevitably have to go first to a city nearby, then enter through the ordinary entrance.

But with this many students, directly establishing a special passage was more convenient. Besides, it was also true that the edge of the Human Realm was somewhat chaotic. Going straight to the pocket realm could avoid many dangers.

Tiny clouds drifted down from the silver-bright halo.

Of course, these were not real clouds. Touching them felt like grabbing a puff of air. This was only the manifested form of the passage restriction. Cloud City also had Cloud City’s romance.

Classes were treated as units. Classes touched by the drifting clouds seemed to be drawn in by the passage and vanished in an instant.

This special passage was very stable. They did not even feel much. They could only see the tiny cloud expand, and after the cloud waves rolled, they slowly scattered and disappeared into the air. They were already inside the Mystic Wonder Secret Realm.

Each class’s landing site was random. This made it convenient for everyone to visit and tour, preventing everyone from crowding together in one place.

Inside the pocket realm, hills rose and fell, and emerald green stretched as far as the eye could see.

Different demon beasts had their own living zones. Each zone had staff on duty to answer visitors’ questions.

Of course, visitors could also directly view the content on the light screens set up in the area to learn information about the demon beasts in that area, or information about their companion spiritual plants.

Because no obstructions were set up between the different zones, demon beasts might also “drop by” one another’s homes.

However, most demon beasts had relatively strong territorial awareness. Unless they had a good relationship, or unless there were some sort of accident, they relatively rarely ran onto another beast’s territory.

Class One’s luck was rather good. This area belonged to the white tigers’ activity zone, and fluffy creatures with beautiful forms had always been the most popular.

Li Wenwen and the others had already spotted a few big cats lying on the ground in lazy postures. They immediately charged out excitedly, then were yanked back by the homeroom teacher.

“I haven’t even said a word yet. What are you running for?” The homeroom teacher glared.

Everyone looked eagerly at him, badly wanting to start free activities already.

The teacher could not hold back his laughter. “Everyone may move about freely now, but pay attention to safety, stay in contact, and don’t run too far.”

The students inwardly complained that the teacher was being deliberately mysterious, but freedom mattered more, so they scattered in all directions, running wild.

Li Wenwen was the first to charge toward a beautiful white tiger, wanting to hug it. A white paw kicked her over. Li Wenwen rolled on the ground, but the soft grass mat did not hurt at all.

She thought the white tiger was teasing her, while the other party was purely working. Its paw pushed over a light screen:

Handshake, ten spirit coins;

Touching or hugging for one minute, one hundred spirit coins;

Tiger-style massage for one minute, five hundred spirit coins;

Pure feeding, along with prices for all kinds of feedable food…

Li Wenwen and the others were dumbstruck. They had not expected this to be a demon beast thoroughly corrupted by money.

The white tiger looked down on them from the corner of its eye: These ignorant country bumpkins.

A clever white tiger refused freeloading.

Who said they could not spend spirit coins? They could order takeout and receive deliveries too, or they could have staff help them.

Li Wenwen paid very readily. She ordered the massage package.

The child was pushed over by the white tiger, and the white paws shoved her around as she rolled back and forth on the grass. Its technique was practiced. High-level demon beasts could easily hurt people if they failed to control their strength properly, but its strength clearly made Li Wenwen feel extremely comfortable.

Of course, not all demon beasts loved money as openly as this white tiger.

Different demon beasts had rather different personalities. Some were not close to humans at all, some regarded humans as nothing, and some allowed freeloading casually.

However, based on Song Yi’s observations, everyone always seemed especially generous toward these demon beasts. Even when there was no clear pricing like with this white tiger, people would still actively find staff to buy food and feed the fluffy creatures. Aside from tourists from Cloud Elementary, there were also other visitors.

Yes. Compared with Li Wenwen, who was running wild, Song Yi did not join in this lively scene. She was a rigorous and serious observer, shouldering the future of the cultivation world.

Quite a few nearby demon beasts noticed that impossible-to-ignore gaze. Some ignored her, while others regarded her as a little child pervert and slowly stuck their backsides out toward Song Yi.

Song Yi did not have time to notice this mockery, because she had noticed something more important!

After calculating an account in her heart, the old ancestor, who had never felt that earning money was too hard, still could not help feeling sour: earning money like flowing water without having to do anything at all. This money was far too easy to earn!

Looking at these fellows’ relaxed postures, it was obvious that they were the masters of this territory, while the visitors and staff were merely servants who served them.

Song Yi thought that she absolutely could not let these fellows get their way so easily.

She dragged Lin Ze, who was immersed in the joy of selling goods, over and explained her discovery to him in this and that way.

“Compared to them, the speed at which you earn money is way too slow.”

Lin Ze was not surprised by this phenomenon at all. This was simply the Mystic Wonder Secret Realm’s operating model. “Little Yi, you can’t go stop everyone from spending money on these demon beasts, okay? Otherwise, you’ll get beaten.”

Song Yi nodded reservedly. “Of course I won’t do that kind of thing. I just think they’re only this arrogant because they have no competitors. Now, they do.”

“Huh? Don’t tell me you raised a rare demon beast?” Lin Ze was utterly confused. If Song Yi had raised one, there was no way he would not know, right?

To his surprise, Song Yi looked at him with an expression of hating iron for not becoming steel. “Don’t be too rigid. I don’t have a demon beast, but I do have an old ancestor.”

If Song Yi remembered correctly, in this world, many people had praised her for being cute. She did not think being praised as cute was something worth taking pride in, but there was no doubt that on this point, she felt she had already surpassed these demon beasts.

Furthermore, an old ancestor manifesting in the world was much rarer than those demon beasts, wasn’t it?

“I can accept feeding too. Touches and hugs will all be charged.”

It was time to earn money while lying down.

The human race’s money should flow toward the human race itself, not toward demon beasts. How could they be allowed to feel that earning money from humans was this easy?

“Pfft.” Lin Ze nearly choked on his own saliva.

He knew that Song Yi sometimes had flights of fancy, but he had not expected her to truly dare to “sell cuteness,” and the kind that charged real fees.

“I think this idea might not really work.” Lin Ze tactfully offered a suggestion.

Although he was also very envious of these demon beasts who could reap without sowing, he could not turn into a demon beast himself.

Song Yi looked at him in shock. “Don’t tell me you think I can’t compare to demon beasts?”

“That’s not what I mean…” Lin Ze met Song Yi’s eyes and had no choice but to compromise. “Then shall we try?”

Half an hour later, a desolate wind blew past.

No one showed the slightest interest in Song Yi and Lin Ze’s side. A white tiger passed by without a sound, its gaze full of disdain.

“Why don’t we leave?” Lin Ze carefully glanced at the child.

Song Yi: …

“Then shall we wait a little longer?” He knew her temper was a little stubborn.

Song Yi’s face was expressionless. “No. Help me up. My legs went numb from crouching.”

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