Chapter 41: The Art of

"Xiao Hua, don't be anxious. Once Blood Xue Chiluo grows a bit larger, I'll have it take care of your spirit field too," Su Jin said.

Su Jin thought: After all, whether it's one sheep or a flock, they all need to be herded!

"No need for that." Before Su Hua could speak, Su Jian spoke first.

Su Jin and Su Hua both turned to look at him.

Su Jian immediately rolled his eyes. "Blood Xue Chiluo can already take care of the entire spirit field in the backyard with just one offspring. I watched it all day; it didn't let a single bug escape."

Su Jin was stunned.

She hadn't expected Blood Xue Chiluo to be so powerful.

Su Hua nearly screamed upon hearing this. Does that mean I can get high scores on my academy tasks from now on?

In her first year, she scored forty-three points on her academy task, ranking average in her class; in her second year, she scored sixty-nine points, ranking above average.

The biggest killers of the spirit plants she had cultivated these past two years were insects.

If Blood Xue Chiluo could handle the insects for her, wow! She was about to explode with potential!

"Xiao Luo Luo, you're already this powerful?" Su Jin squatted down and stroked Blood Xue Chiluo's small leaves.

Blood Xue Chiluo rubbed its tiny leaves against her palm.

"Zuzu, am I powerful?" Blood Xue Chiluo transmitted a thought to Su Jin.

"Powerful," Su Jin replied via thought transmission.

"Zuzu, Blood Xue Chiluo can also clear the tiny spirit energy channels beneath your home. Many of the tiny spirit energy channels under this spirit field are blocked. If Blood Xue Chiluo clears them for you, the spirit energy in this field will become even more dense, and the spirit plants will grow better," Blood Xue Chiluo suggested.

"How are you so capable?" Su Jin said in a praising tone. "Zuzu won't be able to live without you in the future."

Su Jin spoke using the same tone her mother used to coax her into doing chores.

Upon hearing this, Blood Xue Chiluo immediately became as excited as if it had been injected with chicken blood. "Zuzu, just wait; in a few days, Blood Xue Chiluo will have cleared all the blocked micro-spirit vein channels."

"Alright, it's all up to you. Go for it, Blood Xue Chiluo." Su Jin continued to encourage Blood Xue Chiluo via thought transmission. Su Jin had mastered the art of "pushing one's child" without any teacher.

"Zuzu, just watch me." Blood Xue Chiluo happily spun around in place, then drove its small white roots into the soil layer and zipped underground in a flash.

"Uh? Why did it leave so quickly?" Eldest Brother Su Jian asked, puzzled.

"Blood Xue Chiluo is a hardworking good child. It told me it went to work," Su Jin said.

Su Jian: "..."

Is this a companion witch spirit, or is it the child you, little sister, raised?

"Aunt, why does your tone sound so familiar? It reminds me of when Auntie was at home, sitting and enjoying herself, while you and Aunt Su Shen worked hard at home." Su Hua spoke another blunt truth.

Su Jian quickly signaled his daughter with his eyes, hoping she would understand his intent.

Su Jin looked at her eldest brother, then at Su Hua, and sighed helplessly. "Sigh, I can only say these words to my eldest niece; saying them to my eldest brother would be useless."

"Ah?" Su Hua didn't understand.

"Hmm?" Su Jian was equally puzzled.

"My mother is a lazy daughter; how could I not know that? Every time my grandmother comes, she scolds her.

But who asked her to give birth to me and Su Shen? Once I have a daughter in the future, it'll be fine. I can throw any chore at my daughter.

You too; you can have a daughter in the future. Eldest brother can't; he can't give birth. But sister-in-law can enjoy herself."

Su Jin said this with a completely serious expression.

Su Hua: Why do I feel like my aunt is leading me astray?

Su Jian: "..."

"Aunt, what does Blood Xue Chiluo usually eat?" Su Hua asked again. "Do we need to feed it some of its favorite foods?"

"I'll ask later what Blood Xue Chiluo likes to eat. It was just born not long ago, so I don't know what it eats. Anyway, I do know it eats insects," Su Jin said. Moreover, when Blood Xue Chiluo ran over just now, Su Jin keenly noticed that not only had it grown fatter, but its third leaf bud had also started to sprout.

The little red ginseng she raised had recently grown a fifth leaf.

Yet Blood Xue Chiluo had only just grown its third leaf bud; this was clearly a sign of slowed growth and development.

Su Jin originally thought Blood Xue Chiluo's slow growth was because it absorbed little spirit energy inside Little Wu Tian; now she thought perhaps it was because it hadn't eaten any insect meat!

Only by eating meat can Blood Xue Chiluo grow.

"Aunt, did you get a spell today? Which spell did you choose?" Su Hua asked curiously.

"Xiao Hua, when you broke through to the second layer of Qi Refining, which spell did you choose?" Su Jin asked curiously.

"I chose Wood Thorn Technique and Mist Barrier Technique," Su Hua said.

"I understand Wood Thorn Technique; that's a combat spell. But Mist Barrier Technique, why did you choose Mist Barrier Technique?" Su Jin was confused. "Isn't this spell one that confuses and traps opponents? Are you planning to confuse your opponents and then ambush them with Wood Thorn Technique?"

Upon hearing this, Su Hua rolled her eyes at her little aunt, speechless. "Learning Mist Barrier Technique was a result of my deep consideration. Mist Barrier Technique can confuse and trap your enemies, but it can also hide yourself. When facing a powerful enemy and you truly cannot run, the best way to escape is to hide yourself; if the enemy cannot find me, then I am safe."

Su Jin's eyes widened.

"Then why didn't you cultivate Earth Escape or Wood Escape? If you master these two escape spells well, even powerful enemies won't be able to catch you."

"Aunt, think about it, think carefully. With just this amount of magic power of ours, how many meters can Earth Escape or Wood Escape support you to travel? Where can you run with such a short distance? If you truly use these two escape techniques, your enemies will really laugh."

"They'll get a weak, magic-powerless 'enemy' for free without taking any damage."

Upon hearing this, Su Jin immediately felt that what Su Hua said was correct.

Her previous consideration had a flaw.

The flaw was that no matter how good a spell is, without magic power as support, it is useless.

"Then, little aunt, what spell did you choose?" Su Hua asked again.

"I chose Entanglement Technique and Extract Wood Essence," Su Jin said.

"Entanglement Technique is good; as long as you carry a few vine seeds in your pocket, this spell isn't hard to activate. However, to give it combat power, you still need to practice more. Extract Wood Essence is also a good spell.

You can sign up for the Wood Essence Extraction Team outside the city.

The big trees outside Xiancheng are specially planted by Xiancheng. Every forest can have its wood essence extracted regularly.

The forest rangers set up by Xiancheng are responsible for guarding these forests."

"You join the Wood Essence Extraction Team; for every day of extraction, you must pay one-third of the Wood Essence you harvest as Xiancheng tax." Su Jian explained to her with great patience. "Your eldest brother used to do this job, working at it for nearly ten years."

"Ah? We still have to pay tax?" Su Jin was surprised.