Teacher Wang Guixiang didn't know either.
She paused for a moment, then thought of a plausible reason to explain:
"Zheng Dong's parents are also beast masters, and this mutated treasure-seeking mouse is very special. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left it to Zheng Dong.
Moreover, they must have trained this treasure-seeking mouse, and coupled with Zheng Dong's own diligence, that's how this treasure-seeking mouse became so extraordinary!
However, no matter how extraordinary it is, it's still a treasure-seeking mouse. Using its skills continuously and unleashing such fierce attacks must have consumed a lot of its energy!"
Principal Liu nodded and didn't ask further. He directly said:
"Teacher Wang, please tell Zheng Dong that if he can secure first place in the school this year, the school will provide him with resources to help the treasure-seeking mouse evolve into a gold-devouring rat."
Principal Liu had taken notice of Zheng Dong's beast-taming talent.
Zheng Dong could directly participate in combat, and his coordination with the treasure-seeking mouse was perfect, resulting in a geometric increase in their power. It was far more than a simple case of one plus one exceeding two. There was a chance he could win an award in the Rongcheng Newcomer King Competition.
If that happened, their school's educational funding would increase, and he might even get a promotion.
Thinking of this, Principal Liu became even more eager to see Zheng Dong's future performance.
Teacher Wang Guixiang was immediately delighted and nodded quickly.
However, some teachers were unhappy. Teacher Deng Feng, with his stern face, said:
"Principal Liu, this doesn't comply with the rules. It's unfair to the other students. Our class's Ke Jun also has strong beast-taming talent, and his contracted Earth Bear is very powerful in combat!"
"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. If Ke Jun can win first place, the school can also provide him with resources to help his Earth Bear evolve into an Earth Burst Bear!" Principal Liu said dismissively.
Teacher Deng Feng's eyes lit up. He turned to prepare to guide Ke Jun meticulously, determined to win against Zheng Dong and secure first place in the school this year.
At this moment, Zheng Dong had already caught a young Flame Porcupine and was swaggering back with Xiao Zi.
This battle had taken a significant toll on both him and Xiao Zi.
He didn't rush to find the Purple Cloud Finch to complete the next mission.
Instead, he planned to cultivate the intermediate skill Shadow Arrow to the beginner level first.
However, when cultivating in the wild, he needed to find a safe place that could shelter him from the rain.
He led the young Flame Porcupine with a rope to a mission completion point and handed it over to the safety officer there, thus completing his first mission.
Afterward, he found a large banyan tree and took shelter under its canopy to cultivate.
Cultivating Shadow Arrow was easier than cultivating Tripwire.
With the help of the Skill Domain talent, Xiao Zi reached the beginner level in just two hours.
Xiao Zi opened its mouth and attempted to use Shadow Arrow. Black light surged from its mouth, converging into a sharp arrow.
Since it was just the beginner level, Xiao Zi could only release Shadow Arrow from its mouth.
As its proficiency in Shadow Arrow increased to the mastery level, it would be able to release Shadow Arrow from any part of its body.
With a bang, the arrow, like a black shadow, shot into the rock face not far away, causing several long cracks to appear on the rock.
The power was quite good!
Zheng Dong felt it was comparable to a handgun, but silent and undetectable, making it difficult to guard against. He was also eager to master Shadow Arrow.
Next, Zheng Dong also imprinted the skill Shadow Arrow.
This brought his total mastered skills to nine. He couldn't imprint any more high-level or intermediate-level skills for now, but he could still imprint three low-level skills.
It was already five or six in the afternoon.
By this time, the Purple Cloud Finches should have returned to their nests.
Zheng Dong decided to complete his second mission.
Opening his electronic map, he located the Purple Cloud Finches' usual activity range and headed there with Xiao Zi.
This was a maple forest, and the chirping of Purple Cloud Finches could be heard from time to time.
Zheng Dong looked up and scanned his surroundings but couldn't see any Purple Cloud Finches.
Could his eyesight be failing?
Zheng Dong frowned.
Xiao Zi also couldn't see any Purple Cloud Finches.
Purple Cloud Finches were small and timid. Upon seeing someone approach, they would quickly hide.
Even if he could hear their calls, it was difficult to find them.
Zheng Dong felt it was necessary for Xiao Zi to learn a skill that enhanced the five senses, such as super vision, olfactory perception, or sonic locking.
However, Zheng Dong wasn't in a hurry.
Everything was ready. As long as he found the Purple Cloud Finches, he was confident he could take them down.
Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi used the Shadow Concealment skill and hid in the shade of the trees, waiting for an opportunity.
Not long after, he saw fist-sized Purple Cloud Finches hopping on the branches.
"Chirp chirp..."
As one Purple Cloud Finch appeared, several more soon showed themselves.
At this moment, under Zheng Dong's signal, Xiao Zi used Shadow Arrow.
The black arrow shot out silently, like a beam of black light, instantly piercing through the body of a Purple Cloud Finch.
Before the other Purple Cloud Finches could react, the second and third arrows were fired in succession.
In a blink of an eye, Zheng Dong had completed the mission of hunting three Purple Cloud Finches.
He then picked up the bodies of the Purple Cloud Finches and went to a mission completion point to hand them over to the safety officer there.
The safety officer was a middle-aged man with a full beard, a senior beast master, responsible for the safety of all students in his area and for confirming mission completions.
Seeing the three Purple Cloud Finch carcasses Zheng Dong handed over, he was somewhat surprised and looked Zheng Dong up and down.
At this hour, everyone else was finding a place to rest, yet this kid was out completing missions? Could there be something fishy going on!
"Kid, no one helped you kill these three Purple Cloud Finches, right?" the middle-aged man asked tentatively.
"No, my Xiao Zi shot them down with Shadow Arrow!" Zheng Dong replied.
Xiao Zi, standing beside him, also chirped proudly.
Seeing that the middle-aged man still looked unconvinced, Zheng Dong had Xiao Zi use Shadow Arrow again, aiming at a green wild fruit on a nearby tree and shooting it down.
Immediately, the middle-aged man's face broke into a friendly smile, and he praised:
"Heh heh, you're not bad, kid! Among all the students in your school, you're the first to complete a mission. Your teacher will probably be overjoyed later."
As the middle-aged man confirmed the mission completion, all students received a message.
[Congratulations to student Zheng Dong for being the first to complete a mission during this trial!]
"Holy cow, as expected of my Brother Dong!" Ning Wei exclaimed happily upon seeing the message.
Bei Wen yawned upon seeing the message, "Alright, I'll definitely work hard tomorrow!"
Yang Xue, however, looked incredulous.
"No way!"
Her mission was to catch a Silver-ringed Water Python, and she had tried several times during the day without success.
Meanwhile, Luo Hao also looked disbelieving.
He had worked all day and only completed one mission, and he had no idea how to complete the second.
He had originally planned to rest, but now he decided to give it a try and see if he could complete his second mission tonight.
Many others had the same thought as Luo Hao.
The earlier a mission was completed, the higher the score obtained. This score would be recorded in their graduation files and could affect whether they could enter a good beast-taming university in the future.
...
Inside the trial center, Teacher Wang Guixiang and the others also received the news.
They weren't constantly monitoring Zheng Dong, but they did keep an eye on other students. They had initially thought Zheng Dong would rest after completing the mission of capturing the young Flame Porcupine, never expecting him to continue completing missions.
"This kid is truly surprising!" Principal Liu praised.
Teacher Deng Feng frowned, unwilling to believe it.
This was because over ninety percent of the students hadn't even completed their first mission yet and were still in the exploration and trial phase.
Even Ke Jun, whom he favored, had only completed his first mission.
Therefore, he hesitated for a moment and said:
"Principal Liu, could this Zheng Dong be cheating! It's very difficult for his treasure-seeking mouse to hunt three Purple Cloud Finches!"
Teacher Wang Guixiang immediately became displeased.
"Teacher Deng, I know my student. Zheng Dong would never cheat!"
"Alright! Let's watch the video recorded by the electronic bracelet, and we'll know," Principal Liu said.
Immediately, the video of Zheng Dong hunting three Purple Cloud Finches was retrieved and displayed on the big screen.
Seeing the black arrows easily pierce through the bodies of the Purple Cloud Finches, Teacher Deng Feng was embarrassed, feeling as if his face had been slapped. He fell silent.
Principal Liu, however, was very pleased.
"This skill is good. Its lethality is greater than the Sharp Metal Arrow that treasure-seeking mice usually awaken with!"
Teacher Wang Guixiang nodded. Taking advantage of Principal Liu's good mood, she decided to ask for some rewards for Zheng Dong.
"Principal Liu, as far as I know, students who achieve first place in trials at other schools receive rewards. Shouldn't our school also have some?"
"Well, according to our school's usual practice, there isn't. However, Zheng Dong being the first to complete a trial mission on the first day warrants some reward, and it also sets an example for other students."
Principal Liu thought for a moment and continued:
"The reward shouldn't be too high. How about rewarding him with a ten-year-old Enlightenment Flower to help him cultivate!"
A ten-year-old Enlightenment Flower was worth over a hundred thousand. It was quite generous for the school to provide it. Teacher Wang Guixiang quickly thanked Principal Liu on behalf of Zheng Dong.
Meanwhile, Zheng Dong, before it got completely dark, found a cave with Xiao Zi. The cave wasn't very large, only about five meters deep and two meters high, but it wasn't damp, making it suitable for resting.
Moreover, it was within the safe zone, making it relatively secure.
Zheng Dong planned to activate his Skill Domain talent and continue having Xiao Zi cultivate Shadow Arrow.
After a simple meal, Zheng Dong assisted Xiao Zi in its cultivation. They cultivated until the next morning, about 12 hours, and Xiao Zi's mastery of Shadow Arrow finally reached the proficient level.
After finishing cultivation, Zheng Dong prepared to collect resources.
Xiao Zi immediately became excited.
"Treasure hunting, treasure hunting, treasure hunting..."
Unfortunately, the light rain outside had turned into heavy rain, and the weather wasn't very friendly.
Zheng Dong didn't mind.
Compared to other students who had to brave the rain to find ways to complete their missions, he was much more relaxed now.
Xiao Zi sniffed vigorously and ran in a certain direction.
Zheng Dong followed. Not long after, he saw Xiao Zi discover a Wind Leaf Grass in the grass on a hillside. It chirped triumphantly, as if waiting for Zheng Dong to praise it.
Wind Leaf Grass can speed up the cultivation of wind-element skills and is worth about thirty thousand.
This was a good start.
"Xiao Zi, you did a great job. I'll give you an extra meal later!" Zheng Dong praised.
Xiao Zi immediately became more diligent in searching for surrounding resources.
The middle-aged man, who was patrolling nearby, happened to witness this scene.
"Holy cow, why didn't I see the Wind Leaf Grass?" the middle-aged man exclaimed with regret.
He had just walked past that patch of grass and hadn't noticed the Wind Leaf Grass at all.
Wind Leaf Grass was only about a finger's length and looked very much like weeds, making it easy to overlook.
The middle-aged man and other safety officers had to constantly monitor the safety of students in their responsible areas and the growth of various extraordinary creatures, so it was normal for them to not notice the Wind Leaf Grass.
Next, Zheng Dong and Xiao Zi continued to search and found several more valuable resources. Unknowingly, they arrived at the territory of the Gloom Spider.
These were thumb-sized black spiders with a mid-tier extraordinary racial level. Individually, they posed little threat, but they were gregarious creatures, with a single colony often numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Zheng Dong hadn't realized the danger yet.
Xiao Zi was excitedly searching for the special metal it had sensed.
Under two large trees not far from the Gloom Spider territory, Luo Hao, who heard Xiao Zi's calls, quickly jumped down from the rope hammock suspended between the two tree trunks.
His second mission was to collect enough Gloom Spider silk.
Unfortunately, after working all night, his Ice Kai Giant was exhausted, and he hadn't collected much Gloom Spider silk.
Moreover, he himself had been bitten by a Gloom Spider, resulting in over a dozen swollen red areas all over his body and symptoms of fever, making him very uncomfortable.
He had to stop and temporarily set up a shelter from the rain to rest.
Seeing Zheng Dong mistakenly wander into the Gloom Spider territory, he had no intention of warning Zheng Dong. Instead, he laughed with schadenfreude.
"Heh heh, you'll have your hands full soon!"