**Chapter 22: Wangcai's Happy Dog Life**
"Quick, quick, quick! Pass it to me!" Xia Yao urged impatiently.
Jiangnan couldn't resist her, so he passed it to her.
On the way to send Jiangnan home, Xia Yao said seriously, "I mean it, Jiangnan! Consider joining our team!"
"Spirit warriors exploring Lingxu—only the team model guarantees safety!"
"Kick out that Luo Tianxiang and his crony Han Cheng!"
"Once your space-type ability grows, your combat power will be absolutely explosive, and your crowd control will be unmatched!"
"Xuexue will be happy if you come too!"
Jiangnan scratched his head: "I'd like to go, but I'm already a senior in high school. I can't just transfer schools, can I?"
Xia Yao said matter-of-factly, "Why not? I'll handle it for you!"
Jiangnan knew—Xia Yao was about to use her money power!
"But suddenly transferring in wouldn't be good for your reputation either. Songjiang Spirit Martial Academy is competitive here, and they value strength a lot!"
"If you really want to come, you'll have to fight your way in!"
Jiangnan was taken aback: "Fight my way in? How?"
"Your Jiangcheng No.1 High School has three exchange student spots every semester! The top three in the final exams get sent to our school for intensive training!"
"As long as you get top three in your finals, you're in!"
Jiangnan's eyes lit up. That was actually a viable method!
Except he'd never actually taken the final exams at his school before.
For the academic courses, as a top student, if he put in the effort, he might be able to go for first place.
It was just that his English was a bit weak...
But the killer was the Spirit Martial class final exam—it had a practical combat test!
Of course, it wasn't a battle between classmates.
It was entering Lingxu to hunt spirit beasts!
The problem was, in three years of high school, Jiangnan had never set foot in a Lingxu!
The nearest Lingxu to Jiangcheng was on Changbai Mountain!
The rules said only those above Black Iron Five Stars could enter...
He didn't even know what a spirit beast looked like.
"There's only one month left until finals! Xiaonan, you need to work hard!"
As she spoke, Xia Yao leaned close to Jiangnan's ear and gently blew: "If you get first in your grade, I'll give you a big reward!"
A unique fragrance of a young girl entered Jiangnan's nostrils.
He shuddered violently.
Jiangnan: "Mm... Watch the road when you're driving!"
Xia Yao: "..."
[From Xia Yao: Resentment +333!]
"I'll think about it..."
Xia Yao: "If not, just move in with us! Xiaoxue and I rented a villa outside! You're only Black Iron Seven... Seven... Hmm?"
"When did you advance to Black Iron Ten Stars?"
Her voice suddenly rose three pitches.
Jiangnan rubbed his nose: "Ah, no choice! I worked a little hard!"
"It's not that I don't want to slack off, but you won't have me either!"
Xia Yao gave Jiangnan a reproachful glance.
But she was still very shocked inside!
Last time they ate together, he was Black Iron Seven Stars!
And now, just a few days later, he was Black Iron Ten Stars?
Was his talent really E-grade?
"You guy, just how many secrets are you hiding?"
"Here, take this. See if you can break through to Bronze. It'll give you more of a chance in the finals!"
With that, under Jiangnan's stunned gaze,
she reached into her own chest and pulled out two spirit beads, stuffing them into Jiangnan's hand.
Feeling the still-warm spirit beads, Jiangnan swallowed hard.
"I've learned something new today. I've only seen this in cartoons!"
So this is the legendary...
Treasures hidden in the bosom?
Valleys within the chest?
Xia Yao's pretty face flushed: "What kind of weird cartoons are you watching all day?"
"These spirit beads are expensive, okay? I have to keep them safe!"
"Over two hundred thousand each, and the Spirit Martial Association has strict controls! Even if you wanted to buy or sell, you wouldn't find a way easily!"
Jiangnan nodded seriously: "Only you could hide spirit beads like this. No one else has the... assets..."
Xia Yao: "..."
Jiangnan even held them up and sniffed them right in front of her!
Mm...
They smelled nice!
"Ah!"
[From Xia Yao: Resentment +333!]
She already regretted giving Jiangnan the spirit beads...
Couldn't he at least wait until she wasn't looking!
Kicking Jiangnan out of the car, Xia Yao said fiercely, "If you don't get first place, just wait and see how I deal with you!"
Jiangnan, standing at the alley entrance, watched the blue ghost car speed away and shook his head with a smile.
The spirit beads in his hand emitted a faint red glow!
They were attribute spirit beads, and they had reached Bronze-grade quality!
Spirit beads came from spirit beasts. Attribute spirit beasts were powerful and hard to obtain!
So naturally, their value was high.
Spirit warriors who awakened one of the five elemental abilities could absorb spirit beads of the corresponding attribute for great effect!
For someone like Jiangnan with a special-type ability, it didn't matter whether the spirit beads had an attribute or not—the effect was the same!
Space-attribute spirit beads did exist, but they were extremely rare and hard for Jiangnan to get right now.
"Fire-attribute spirit beads... Xia Yao probably prepared them for Xuexue..."
"Bronze, huh? Let's give it a try."
Today, for once, Jiangnan didn't go to the night market. Instead, he went home to absorb the spirit beads.
After absorbing both, it was already past seven in the evening.
His cultivation was still Black Iron Ten Stars.
Jiangnan rubbed his head. It seemed the bottleneck wasn't so easy to break through.
Suddenly remembering something, Jiangnan grinned slyly.
He took a bundle of Spiritual Energy Leeks from the system item bar and fiddled with them for a while...
Then he went to the yard next door.
Crouching down, he called out, "Wangcai! Come!"
A Shiba Inu jumped out of the doghouse by the wall, wagging its tongue as it came over and nuzzled him affectionately.
"Woof woof U･ω･U!"
Jiangnan pulled a sausage from his pocket and handed it to the dog.
He patted its head.
Sighed with feeling: "Look how miserable you are. I've lived here for three years, and I've never seen you find a girlfriend!"
"You're a confirmed single dog!"
"Reproduction is a big deal! I really can't stand to watch, so I'll help you out!"
"Don't thank me, okay!"
Wangcai was happily munching on the sausage, its little tail wagging fast.
It didn't notice at all that the sausage it was eating had a leek tucked inside...
Uncle Wang next door called out, "Xiaonan, haven't you eaten yet? Come over and have a bite?"
Jiangnan coughed a couple of times and quickly said, "Ah... no need, no need!"
He ran off looking guilty, went back to his own yard, and climbed onto the wall to observe Wangcai's reaction.
Wangcai went back to its doghouse and lay down for a while. Soon, it excitedly wagged its tail!
"Woof! Awoo! (´͈ꄃ`͈)!"
And then it charged out of the doghouse at full speed, kicking up a cloud of dust in the alley!
It rushed into Aunt Zhou's yard, and a pair of bright, spirited eyes locked onto Guoguo, who was lying under the tree—
A snow-white Pekingese!
Their eyes met in the air.
Guoguo: "???"
Wangcai: "Woof woof awooo!!! (˶˚ᴥ˚˶)"
Guoguo: "Woof woof woof? ₍ᐢ⸝⸝›ﻌ‹⸝⸝ᐢ₎"
Zhou Yuqing, who was picking vegetables in the yard, stared at the two dogs in the yard for a full ten seconds...
Then her face turned red all the way to her ears!
Zhou Yuqing: "Mom! Our Guoguo... Guoguo and..."
Jiangnan went back to his room with a look of satisfaction.
"Wangcai! You've got to work hard!"
The Spiritual Energy Leek was really a great thing.