Chapter 10: Testing, Soul Skill?!
Chapter 10: Testing, Soul Skill?!
“It’s very strange.”
On the morning of the third day.
Mother Wang looked at the Green Caterpillar that had grown twice its size, her mind full of question marks.
A twenty-centimeter Green Caterpillar was nothing special.
An adult’s palm could be twenty centimeters long.
This little guy still looked very tiny in the palm of her hand.
But…
Mother Wang felt something was very wrong, so she immediately searched online:
“Can a Green Caterpillar grow to twenty centimeters in three days?”
Soon, she saw many answers.
“A Green Caterpillar hatches at about ten centimeters long, with one centimeter representing one year of Soul Power Cultivation. Twenty centimeters means roughly ten years of Soul Power Cultivation.”
“Normally, it takes about a week to grow to twenty centimeters. The fastest growth is around five days. If it grows faster than that, you should be careful. Your Green Caterpillar might have a fatal Soul Pet disease.”
“Black Blood Cancer. Once a Soul Pet gets this disease, the Life Energy in its blood is quickly consumed, and its Soul Power Cultivation rises abnormally! In the short term, no symptoms show. When its whole body turns black, it’s a sign of the late stage. Then, it will explode and die…”
—Answered by Zhang Qishan, Chief Doctor of the Insect Soul Pet Department at Tianxin City Third People’s Hospital.
“…” Mother Wang.
She scrolled down, but there were few serious answers.
“I just asked if this child could grow to twenty centimeters in three days… and now they’re talking about fatal diseases…”
Mother Wang closed the webpage immediately.
“Unreliable…” Mother Wang said.
“Why ask online about such things?” Father Wang said. “Isn’t it good that this child grows fast? Why worry so much?”
Mother Wang picked up the Green Caterpillar and looked at it from left to right.
Green Caterpillar: “(￣^￣)”
“Nothing strange about it.” Mother Wang shook her head. “But this child’s body seems much stronger.”
“Isn’t that obvious? Its Soul Power Cultivation improved, so its body must have been strengthened.” Father Wang laughed. “Oh, I forgot. You didn’t finish high school. Your Martial Soul didn’t awaken, and you failed several subjects. You must have forgotten all that by now.”
Mother Wang immediately put down the Green Caterpillar, picked up a spatula, and walked over.
“Hey, wait, don’t hit me, don’t hit me… Honey, I’m sorry… I was the same, I was the same too!”
Wang Che shook his head, took the Green Caterpillar, and walked out.
“I’m going out to buy some things.” Wang Che said.
Although his mom and dad thought the Green Caterpillar’s growth was a bit fast, they only found it a little strange.
They didn’t say much.
They didn’t know much about Soul Pets.
For the past three days, Wang Che had been seriously training the Green Caterpillar.
Along with eating White Birch Milk Fir Leaf and practicing the Beast Origin Art, it basically gained three years of Soul Power Cultivation each day.
The speed was very fast.
Also, its physical fitness had greatly improved.
How strong exactly? Wang Che wasn’t sure since he hadn’t tested it.
He wondered if it could beat ordinary people like his dad and mom…
In this world, ordinary people generally had very strong physical fitness…
“Ten years. It should evolve now.”
Wang Che looked at the Green Caterpillar crawling by his pocket.
But Wang Che didn’t plan to let it evolve.
There were many reasons. Although the ten-year evolution form of Green Caterpillar was the Green Phantom Butterfly, its Racial Potential was around two hundred. Seriously, it couldn’t be considered a Rare Soul Pet.
Mainly, after evolution, its life form would change, but it wouldn’t become much stronger. Wang Che would need to replan its future path.
Also, the Green Phantom Butterfly wasn’t very good-looking.
It didn’t really match Wang Che’s aesthetic.
Of course, to respect the little guy’s opinion, Wang Che specifically showed it a picture of the Green Phantom Butterfly.
He asked if it wanted to evolve into that.
It refused.
Ever since it saw the majestic Giant Dragon Wang Che drew three days ago, it completely lost interest in evolving into a Green Phantom Butterfly.
“First, go to the Soul Pet supermarket to buy a Soul Stabilizing Stone. This thing can prevent a Soul Pet from evolving. It’s not expensive either. Then, go to the nearby Training Room to test this child’s physical strength.”
The Soul Stabilizing Stone wasn’t actually a stone but a special Soul tool.
It wasn’t very expensive. Besides preventing evolution, it could also stabilize a Soul Pet’s Soul Power.
It cost a few hundred each.
It wasn’t used in many situations.
Without this Soul Stabilizing Stone, the Green Caterpillar might evolve with just a little more Soul Power.
He quickly went to the nearby Soul Pet supermarket, bought a Soul Stabilizing Stone, and put it on the Green Caterpillar.
Then, Wang Che hurried to a nearby Soul Pet Training Room.
To get a clear understanding of a Soul Pet’s physical data, it was necessary to test it in a specialized Training Room.
Ten years of Soul Power Cultivation wasn’t that simple.
‘Greenwood Training Club’
Wang Che glanced at the Training Room’s name and walked in.
“Hello, are you here to train your Soul Pet?”
A pretty girl at the front desk immediately gave Wang Che a professional smile.
“No, I want to test my Soul Pet’s physical data.”
Wang Che said.
“Okay. What is your Soul Pet’s Soul Power Cultivation?”
The girl asked with a smile.
“Ten years.”
“Ten years.” The girl thought for a moment. “Are you a student? If you are, we offer a 30% discount with a student ID. For training tests, we only test a Soul Pet’s strength, speed, physique, and defense.”
“Discount?” Wang Che was surprised. “There’s a discount?”
“Yes, for a Soul Pet with ten years of cultivation, one test costs only two hundred yuan.”
“Alright, arrange it for me,” Wang Che said.
“Okay, please come this way.”
The girl stood in front of Wang Che, smiling as she spoke.
“Wait!”
At that moment, a rather burly, ordinary-looking teenager about ten meters away turned around, slightly frowning at the girl. “There’s a student discount. Why didn’t you mention that to me earlier?”
A Soul Pet was perched on the young man’s shoulder.
Kuka Beast.
Its appearance was somewhat like a golden snub-nosed monkey, but it had large ears, no tail, and looked very clever.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were a student,” the girl still said with a smile.
“Nonsense!” The burly teen glared. “I think you just couldn’t be bothered to ask. Is it because this guy is handsome that you wanted to talk more? You think I’m ugly and don’t even want to say a few extra words to me, right?”
“Sir, I don’t allow you to insult yourself like that,” the girl said seriously. “Please believe me, I genuinely didn’t realize you were a student earlier. Perhaps it’s because your demeanor and appearance are very mature.”
The burly teen’s face turned red. He pointed at the girl, momentarily unable to speak.
“Cut the crap, give me the discount now!” The burly teen took out a document impatiently.
The girl took the document, looked at it, coughed a few times, and immediately went to process the discount.
Wang Che smiled but did not say anything.
“You’re Wang Che?” The burly teen suddenly looked at Wang Che. “No wonder you looked familiar. I figured the only one at Tianxin No.1 Middle School who could surpass me in looks was you.”
“…” Wang Che.
The girl walking nearby stumbled upon hearing this, nearly falling.
Not only ordinary-looking but also so thick-skinned…
“You are?” Wang Che looked at him.
“Heh heh,” the burly teen chuckled. “I’m Yuan Xiaole from class seven. You don’t know me, but I know you. I heard the Soul Pet you hatched was a Green Caterpillar? It’s been spreading through all the class groups in our school these past couple days.”
“Hmm?” Wang Che looked at him.
A bright smile spread across Yuan Xiaole’s face. He walked over and patted Wang Che’s shoulder. “Bro, it’s alright. Stay strong.”
“I am quite strong,” Wang Che nodded.
“Here to train your Soul Pet today?” Yuan Xiaole laughed a few more times. “Actually, there’s no need. For a Soul Pet like a Green Caterpillar, it’s a waste of money to train it. Just feed it normally.”
“Thanks for your concern,” Wang Che said offhandedly. “I have things to do.”
After saying that, he paid no more attention to his schoolmate.
“Ah, what a shame,” Yuan Xiaole sighed, then turned to the girl. “By the way, after his discount, how much does he need to pay? I’m feeling happy today, I’ll cover it for him!”
The girl glanced at him. “Two hundred.”
“Two hundred?” Yuan Xiaole frowned slightly. “Your training packages here, even the most basic, cost at least around a thousand. How is it only two hundred? That’s such a big discount?”
“That handsome guy is here for a Soul Pet test,” the girl said.
“A test?” Yuan Xiaole shook his head. “What’s there to test about a Green Caterpillar? Forget it, just put it on my tab. Oh, and get me a test too.”
“You?” The girl looked at Yuan Xiaole doubtfully. “Sorry, we only conduct tests for Soul Pets here.”
“I’m talking about my Kuka Beast!”
“…”
——
The Greenwood Club had two floors and was quite large.
However, the maximum level of Soul Pets that could train here was limited to those with cultivation below Millennium Soul Power.
Any higher, and it wasn’t possible.
Basically, the main customer base consisted of people who had recently become Soul Pact Masters.
The process and data of Soul Pet tests could be made public or kept confidential.
It was entirely up to the individual.
Wang Che came to test this little one mainly to see how much change the Beast Origin Art had brought.
“Whoa, this juvenile Rock Steel Monster’s strength is incredible! It can punch with five hundred kilograms of force! If that punch lands, its owner would probably end up in the ICU, right?”
“That’s a Rare Soul Pet! Among the Rock Steel Monster’s Racial Potential, its highest attribute is strength. Having great power is normal. But to deliver such high force with only twenty years of cultivation, it must have been raised exceptionally well.”
“The Rock Steel Monster’s weakness is its speed. Look, its speed test is only 14 seconds for a hundred meters, much slower than an average person.”
“But its physique is strong! To make it lose combat ability quickly, you’d need a Psychic-Type Soul Pet. The rocky exterior on its body can block most Soul Power attacks.”
“…”
In the Training Room on the first floor, there was a large screen at the front.
It displayed footage of many Soul Pet tests.
Wang Che glanced at it a few times, then took his reservation number and went to queue in front of the test room.
Because the tests were for relatively simple physical data.
It wasn’t complicated, and the testing speed was fast.
Soul Pets themselves could have more detailed test data.
From strength, physique, speed, defense, etc., it could be broken down further.
Like Soul Power control, reaction speed, Soul Skill casting, etc.
But these tests were more troublesome and costly. For the Green Caterpillar right now, they weren’t necessary.
Soon, it was Wang Che’s turn.
He entered the Training Room.
“Come on down, little guy.”
Wang Che patted his chest.
“Sii wu~”
The Green Caterpillar made a drowsy snoring sound, as if it had just woken up.
Wang Che walked to the guardrail nearby, found some straps, and tied them onto the Green Caterpillar.
These straps were protective gear, meant to reduce the damage from a full-power strike to itself.
“Go on, try your strength.”
Wang Che stepped aside.
From the training over the past two days, Wang Che could roughly estimate.
But with equipment testing, it would be even clearer.
The strength test involved the Soul Pet delivering a full-power strike without using Soul Power.
The Green Caterpillar, about the size of Wang Che’s palm, first looked at Wang Che.
Then it walked over to the strength tester nearby.
This strength tester was somewhat like the power measurement device from Dragon Pearl.
But it was even larger.
In the middle, there was a target three meters in diameter.
If you attacked the target with full strength, the result would show up directly and clearly.
However, this only applied to Soul Pets.
If a human hit such a target, due to their body structure, their body often couldn’t handle the huge reaction force when striking with full power.
It would cause some harm to the body.
But the bodies of Soul Beasts were naturally stronger than humans, so they could withstand that reaction force.
“Sii wuu~!”
The Green Caterpillar first looked around curiously, then glanced at its tail.
It seemed to hesitate about which part to use for the attack.
It only had its head and tail.
“Use your tail.”
Wang Che said, “Jump up, spin your body, and try swinging your tail with all your strength.”
After speaking, Wang Che looked around and turned off the transmitter.
This made it a closed test.
The Green Caterpillar nodded to show it understood.
Right after, it jumped up with a whoosh, its tail bent at a forty-five-degree angle.
Whoosh~!
It swung toward the bullseye.
Compared to the target, the Green Caterpillar looked like a tiny dot.
Yet, when its tail hit the bullseye, the target shook slightly.
“Ding, one hundred and eighty kilograms.”
A bright red number appeared on the instrument panel behind.
“One hundred and eighty kilograms.”
Wang Che thought for a few seconds. Ordinary people in this world were quite strong; a full-power punch from them basically reached this number.
In other words, this twenty-centimeter-long Green Caterpillar with ten years of Soul Power Cultivation was equal to an adult’s full-strength strike in this world.
“It seems a bit weak…”
Wang Che suddenly said, “Test a few more times.”
He had turned off the transmitter, so outsiders couldn’t see the data inside.
Only the strength tester recorded the results.
Although there was no data reference for Green Caterpillars, Wang Che felt this number was lower than expected.
Of course, it was definitely stronger than other Green Caterpillars.
After all, it had practiced the Beast Origin Art.
“Wait, do it as I say.”
Wang Che continued, “Do you remember those stances? When you swing this time, use one of those stances, focus your Soul Power in your tail, but be careful not to use it all up. Keep some left.”
The Green Caterpillar nodded as if it understood a little.
It wriggled in place a few times.
Wang Che’s eyes flickered slightly.
The strength of the Beast Origin Art wasn’t just in absorbing spiritual energy from nature and strengthening the body.
As the most stable foundational body-refining technique, it also helped magical beasts steadily control the energy inside their bodies.
Of course, the Green Caterpillar had only practiced for three days.
Its control over Soul Power was still very rough and far from precise.
That’s why Wang Che told it not to use up all its Soul Power and to estimate how much to use.
This time, the Green Caterpillar first coiled on the ground like a spring.
Then, it leaped up abruptly!
It looked like a streak of green light.
In midair, it slightly adjusted its posture, its tail now at a ninety-degree angle.
Moreover, its tail glowed faintly.
It vaguely resembled a steel bar.
Whack!
Its tail slammed hard into the bullseye.
The strength tester shook slightly.
A number appeared.
“Three hundred and ninety kilograms.”
Seeing this number.
Wang Che was slightly shocked.
The improvement seemed quite large.
Could Soul Power enhancement be this powerful?
“No, wait, could it be that just now…”
Wang Che paused for a moment, vaguely thinking of something, “Was that a Soul Skill?”