Casting the Bait

Chomper obeyed the white creature's command instinctively and immediately gulped the whole crab with one bite! His strong jaw chewed the hard exoskeleton easily with loud crunch noises. As he licked the rest of the residues from the plate and swallowed it in, he felt a simmering fiery pain filling him up!

The fish had a blank look in his eyes while his body was emitting hot vapor. A painful expression followed through as the poor snakefish trembled violently.

[Is it too much for him? I thought I had adjusted well.] "Quick, help him drink the coconut shake now! Or he might be cooked through!" Hana urged Kuro with worry when she saw something was not right with the little snakehead fish.

Although the meal was extremely delicious, it has a potent fire property to it; it was intentional. Hana had used three spiritual fire chilies for the crab dish to experiment with their effects on the poor snakehead. Fiery energy flowed through his body, saturating his fins, tail, and scales while scorching them at the same time. As his body threatened to combust, a cooling sensation arrived in a timely manner, giving him an immense reprieve. However, the fiery pain returned like a billowing wave again!

"Feed him again with the coconut shake!" Hana sweated worriedly.

As if having a mind of its own, the fiery energy bypassed the protected area covered by the yin-attributed energy and now moved within Chomper's body to concentrate on his teeth! Chomper could feel his teeth had been going through repeated tempering by the fiery energy before he finally felt a cooling sensation countering it again!

As such, both opposing energies collided again and again within Chomper's body which served as a check and balance to one another. Steadily, the cumulative of spiritual energy permanently resided within Chomper's body increased a few notches.

The distinction between a spiritual beast's strength was very loose in this forest. It was measured by the number of successes one survived heaven's tribulations. In addition, spiritual beasts within the same level could be further divided based on the cumulative amount of energy they have amassed prior to triggering the tribulation of the next level.

They were generally divided into the initial stage, early-stage, mid-stage and finally, the late-stage before one was eligible enough to invoke the heavenly tribulation.

Little Chomper was just an early-stage spirit beast who had just advanced by a small realm in his body tempering cultivation with the help of the low-tiered spiritual crystal bestowed to him. It was his previous reward for providing crucial information on the princess' whereabouts. After that, he was helpless to obtain any more from the clan as he was just a tiny subordinate without any notable achievement. Flattering the Young Masters had proved to no avail as he was suddenly placed under the Young Miss' fins. Her notorious reputation had nullified all of his hard work.

Observing Chomper's condition from the eyes of Kuro, Hana could see clearly what was going on with the little fish. She ruminated on the information she got from the series of experiments she had performed. She felt that she only needed a little bit more samples to finally identify the most probable rules to achieve breakthroughs for the adorable animals around her with her cooking method. She needed more test subjects!

She pushed her thoughts away and displayed a satisfied expression.

Once the last traces of pain finally subsided, Chomper slowly regained his awareness and found that he had jumped through two whole levels to reach the late stage of body tempering! His fins and scales were reinforced twice, while his teeth had been refined at least trice! He was now on par with the experts following him this morning!!!

Looking at the delighted but confused expression of little Chomper, the aunty revealed a most 'sincere' and dazzling smile, "How is it? Do you like the gift I gave you?"

Chomper quickly prostrated humbly with tears in his eyes. He was deeply moved with the Young Miss' mistress' benevolence! The sentences spoken by the Mistress showed that she was the reason for his sudden minor breakthroughs. It was even intentional. Such benevolence!

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" No words could describe his feelings. He was very emotional at the moment. Due to his mediocre aptitude besides the lack of resources, he had lingered within the initial level for thirty years. That was also the reason why he had not been able to enter the clan's main ground at the very beginning. He silently promised to himself that he will definitely return the favor one day. At the moment, he had resolutely firmed up his resolve to loyally serve the little princess with all he got so that she wouldn't suffer any grievances! After all, she was the Mistress' disciple!

"Rise. Stop prostrating with every little thing."

"This humble one complies, Your Grace."

Hana could see something changed in Chomper's gaze. How could she explain it? Gratitude laced with resolve? There was even anticipation within. Suddenly, Hana got a little headache on how to handle this little one. Her 'gift' was not too sincere in itself, hence she felt a little guilty despite the success. Chomper was in a seriously precarious situation just now. He would've died if she hadn't counter the excessive fiery energy provided by the crab dish with the coconut shake.

Hana cleared her throat and relayed her message to be translated by Shiro in real-time, "Is there anything else? If not, you may go back and send over my messages to the party involved. Oh, ask for three medicinal pellets from Ara, the ones she used for me. This one." Hana picked up the All Cure pellet to show to Chomper which one he should consume.

She ignored his shocked expression once her intention had been retold by Shiro and continued. "You eat them one by one, one day each when you go back. Take a rest for three days during the time you partake the medicinal pellet. Say to the girl, it's my order. Don't forget to send over someone to let me know about your detailed condition afterward. If some problems arises, contact me immediately. Don't wait after three days." The aunty recklessly threw out a series of instructions in the form of a prescription.

Hana smile 'benevolently' to cover the uneasiness. From Kuro's eyes, she was able to see some internal injuries within the snakehead's body. She was sure that Ara's medicine would do. After all, they succeeded in helping her condition before.

Chomper nodded with an expression full of gratitude. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and stopped for a good half minute. He spoke hesitatingly, "This... This humble one isn't sure whether to speak it.."

"Pray tell, little Chomper."

"Once little me return to the clan grounds, most probably half of the community will detect the sudden rise in my strength level. I will not be able to hide it from the ones stronger than me, especially the Circle of Elders helm by the Grand Elder. As you know, us spiritual beasts have a very hard time increasing our level although we had long lives. Some had lived for hundreds of years, unable to even go through the bottleneck of a minor stage. Only the very talented ones like Princess Aranyella had the constitution but not the intention, which had made her the ire of many. I am not sure what shall I do. Please instruct me." He lowered his head again while hoping for this magnanimous goddess to catch his meaning.

He couldn't help this benevolent being from exposing her unique ability once he returned, which may impact her both in a positive and a negative way. The sheer number of clansmen was enormous; tens of thousands. Hence there will always be some with bad intentions. He might indirectly jeopardize her wellbeing and safety, especially when he wasn't strong enough to help her keep the secret.

Hana could feel Chomper's veiled concern as she pondered for an extended period of time. She knew she was weak. Two fists could never contend with four hands and legs. At the moment, she only had two very strong pets by her side. But if they were continuously barraged with tens of thousands of experts, her two boys would fall too. She might be turned into a slave; being worked to death to elevate the cultivation of others. Hence, she needed to make sure someone from the clan sided with her group! Ara's presence wasn't strong enough as a powerhouse influence to sway the public's opinion to act as a deterrent.

[Mom, we can manipulate this condition to perfectly benefit us.] Kuro said meaningfully.

Hana pondered for a moment before nodding. [True! Let's wait and see whether the astute Grand Elder will catch the bait or not. I smell another ingenious method to get more resources while getting experimental subjects for animal testing at the same time.] Hana chuckled inwardly with Kuro at the side. Side by side, both exhibited an embodiment of a devil. Shiro was speechless at the side; he only laughed a little as he found it quite amusing.

"Thank you for your concern, little one. I know what I'm doing. Do make haste and meet up with the Grand Elder first before anything else to send my regards and messages before anything else." Hana smiled sweetly before bidding the worried-looking snakehead fish goodbye.

...