Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 321 - 309: Shadow Tree Vine

Gu Ming arrived at Cyan Wood Beastmaster Academy.

The academy was a local private institution, considered a first-tier university.

However, it was a far cry from Wenquxing University, where Gu Ming was a student.

As a newcomer, the moment Gu Ming stepped through the school gates, he saw a giant cyan wood tree standing in the center of the campus.

The giant, several-hundred-meter-tall tree was rooted in the middle of Island Square. Its dark brown trunk was covered in spiraling, bowl-sized aerial roots, which coiled upward like a natural staircase.

Amber-colored Spiritual Liquid seeped from the crevices in its bark, transforming into faint golden motes of light that rustled down whenever the wind blew.

Its lush canopy, like a colossal open umbrella, enveloped the surrounding silver-gray academic buildings in its shade.

The rustling of leaves filled the sky, accompanied by the sounds of whistles and combat from a distant training field.

Outside the school, Gu Ming hadn’t heard such a loud cacophony. It seemed the academy had its own Concealment Space Combination Array, hiding the giant tree and everything else within it.

Gu Ming saw many Pet Beasts moving about on the giant tree—some were birds, others were bizarrely shaped creatures.

He was too far away to see them clearly.

Just then, Yuan Ge, who was guiding him, began to explain:

"Cyan Wood Beastmaster Academy is a paradise mostly for Grass, Earth, and Water Element Beastmasters."

A Beastmaster like him, who cultivated the Night Demon Cat System, was an anomaly here.

However, because his Pet Beast system was quite strong, he ranked highly at Cyan Wood Beastmaster Academy.

He received a scholarship every semester, which alleviated some of the pressure of his debts. It meant he didn’t have to work himself to the bone every day just to pay them off, leaving him with no time for self-improvement.

And so, today, he had invited Gu Ming to teach his two Pet Beasts Relay Cultivation.

This was also the topic he planned to write his graduation thesis on.

Hearing this, Gu Ming nodded slightly, affirming his idea.

The three of them went directly to one of the university’s High-Level training rooms. Yuan Ge paid to rent a room in a Four-star Dao Field for their training.

After Gu Ming entered, the Night Demon Cat jumped to the ground and gave a long, luxurious stretch.

Yuan Ge also released his other Pet Beast from his Beast Taming Space, and it landed on the floor.

It was as slender as a vine, with scales so dark green they were nearly black. It had shadowy, serpentine eyes and was almost two meters long.

Gu Ming recognized it on sight. It was a Shadowy Vine Snake, a Three-star Level Snake Pet with the potential to reach a maximum of Five-star.

Compared to the Night Demon Cat, the Shadowy Vine Snake’s potential was significantly lower, but in terms of immediate combat strength, it was likely stronger.

The Shadowy Vine Snake was a Dual Attribute Pet Beast of the Dark and Grass Elements, and it was naturally averse to light.

While it wouldn’t die upon exposure, its abilities were greatly diminished when fighting under the sun or on a battlefield illuminated by Light Skills.

At that moment, Gu Ming turned his gaze to Yuan Ge’s other Pet Beast, the Night Demon Cat.

As it happened, his Night Demon Cat possessed the skill Nightfall, which could transform the battlefield’s environment into a true, dark night.

With this, the Shadowy Vine Snake’s supposed weakness to light was effectively negated.

’Looking at the combination of Yuan Ge’s two Pet Beasts, he’s clearly a smart guy. He’s put every bit of his resources to good use.’

"Do you have a third Pet Beast?" Gu Ming asked.

Yuan Ge immediately looked embarrassed about his finances, waving his hand with a wry smile.

"I can’t afford a third Pet Beast. Raising these two to Three-star is already my limit."

Gu Ming’s expression was a little strange. ’And here I am, planning to raise three Pet Beasts,’ he thought.

Seeing Yuan Ge’s predicament, Gu Ming could foresee the financial pressure he himself would face trying to raise three Pet Beasts at once.

’Right now, raising two is no problem, since the university provides free resources to cultivate two Pet Beasts.’

’If I contract a third, the school will even provide half a year’s worth of cultivation resources, so it won’t be an issue in the short term.’

’As long as I can secure first place in my year, I can keep those school resources coming.’

However, all these officially announced resources were limited to what was considered normal cultivation.

Any extra expenses for more lavish nurturing would have to be covered by the Beastmaster themself.

"My Shadowy Vine Snake’s core Cultivation Techniques are the *Tree Snake Technique* and the *Shadow Heart Technique*. It’s also learned a Combat Technique called *Shadow Tree Vine*.

"I now want the Night Demon Cat to also learn *Shadow Tree Vine*. The Night Demon Cat would handle the Dark Element Cultivation Technique pathways, while the Shadowy Vine Snake handles the Grass Element pathways..."

Yuan Ge rambled on, laying out all the cultivation steps for his *Shadow Tree Vine* Combat Technique and the core principles for its execution.

In truth, before inviting Gu Ming, he had already mulled it over and mapped out the general steps for the Relay Cultivation.

To put it bluntly, he had invited Gu Ming this time to act as a supervisor, an expert to oversee the process.

On one hand, he wanted a safeguard for his cultivation, to see if any steps needed major changes.

On the other hand, if there were no major issues, he planned to begin the cultivation right then and there, in front of Gu Ming.

He was calculating in his head: ’If I can get some pointers from Gu Ming, I might be able to master the Entry Level quickly.’

After all, his *Shadow Tree Vine* Combat Technique had already reached the Great Success Realm; he was just one step away from Perfect Proficiency.

But he was stuck on that final step toward Daoist Skill Perfection. His Shadowy Vine Snake just couldn’t grasp the key to it.

That’s why he had sought an alternative path, hoping to involve the Night Demon Cat to share the burden with the Shadowy Vine Snake.

According to his own analysis, the Shadowy Vine Snake’s Tree Vine Techniques were already quite complete.

When it unleashed its Grass Element vines, they would spread out in a massive rustling wave, absorbing the Dark Energy from Nightfall. The vines themselves would then assume a shadow form—shedding their physical plant bodies to become incorporeal and intangible, like shadows that could slip through any crack.

This made dealing with many types of Arrays as easy as reaching into a pocket to grab something.

It could even hold its own against geniuses who specialized in Arrays, infiltrating their formations in a few moves to entangle the Pet Beast that created it and destroy the core.

But when it came to Dark Element abilities, its understanding was far inferior to the Night Demon Cat’s.

He wanted to rely on the Night Demon Cat’s comprehension of the Dark Element to lower the Combat Technique’s threshold, allowing their combined combat power to approach the Perfection level.

Of course, this was all still just his theory.

Whether it would work or not depended on what Gu Ming had to say.

Gu Ming fell silent, pondering for a long time.

His Divine Sense roamed through the bodies of both Pet Beasts.

At the same time, he was silently reviewing the cultivation guidance prompts that were scrolling through his system interface.

Of course, the one guiding Yuan Ge wasn’t Gu Ming, but Lu You, who stood beside him.

This was the very reason Gu Ming had insisted on bringing Lu You along.

Without Lu You present, in the system’s eyes, a half-baked, fifty-year-old Old Deng like him was in no way qualified to guide a third-year university Beastmaster.

"Lu You, what do you think?"

Lu You shook her head. She was still reading the *Shadow Tree Vine* Combat Technique scroll that Yuan Ge had taken out and couldn’t answer yet.

In the system’s eyes, however, the Outer Disciple before him had already thought through the steps for Relay Cultivation and presented the *Shadow Tree Vine* Combat Technique as a show of loyalty.

The severely socially awkward classmate was speed-reading, relying on her powerful Talent for Cultivation Techniques.

The other party had already prepared the training plan in advance; he had merely invited someone for pointers.

The system content Gu Ming was currently reading was precisely that detailed, step-by-step training plan written by Yuan Ge.