"It's catalyzing me, a more pure form of catalysis compared to the Spirit Particle Potion."
Master Fuli fell from the sky, sitting on the ground as he gazed at his fluffy paws that had returned to their former state. He was feeling an extremely direct insight from the dispersing mist in the sky, like clouds.
The mist, as Master Fuli had suspected, was indeed the Spiritual Particles erupting from underground.
To use a metaphor, Blue Star now resembles a sponge ball soaked with water, placed under the sun, with the heat from the sun causing the water inside to evaporate.
However.
Compared to the Spirit Particle Potion, the mist in the sky is a more pure and direct form of Spiritual Particles.
No matter how much the Spirit Particle Potion is concentrated or refined, ultimately, it's the use of the enrichment effect of plants to absorb the Spiritual Particles already present in Blue Star's soil, harvested and refined once a certain standard is met.
Humans are vying to invest in Spirit Particle research primarily because of its catalytic properties.
However, human utilization of Spirit Particles is currently limited to observing their presence in a laboratory setting.
Current technology cannot capture Spiritual Particles, nor directly extract them from the air. Thus, the Spirit Particle Potion and other related products humans use are essentially "second-hand goods."
Extracting Spiritual Particles from plants or organisms is like purchasing a second-hand product.
The product has been used, and when placed in the market, the value naturally decreases significantly.
The same applies to the concept of Spirit Particles; the catalytic effect of second-hand Spiritual Particles is actually discounted.
"The mist in the sky, that's fresh, straight-from-the-factory Spiritual Particles..."
"Ah Qing's thesis is secure; the only concern might be the tomatoes in the pot jumping up and delivering a phantom kick to the professor's face."
Realizing the value of the mist in the sky, Master Fuli's face took on a peculiar expression as he stood up from his cross-legged position, dusting off his rear.
"However..."
"Compared to Ah Qing getting top marks and hitting the professor, the thing I'm most curious about is whether an Eight-tailed Fox like me diving into the mist can transform into a Nine-tailed Fox?"
Master Fuli acted on his thought, tiptoeing and gazing around briefly before dashing towards a nearby sapling.
Master Fuli broke a twig from the tree and rubbed the originally firm, straight branch with his hands into soft plant fibers.
"Whoo—"
Master Fuli took a deep breath, and as the energy surged within him, eight snow-white tails emerged. His 1.5-meter tall form shrunk down, transforming into a gray-white-haired child appearing on the grassland.
"First like this, then like that..."
Master Fuli shook his tail, wrapping his own tail around his bare bottom, and then wrapped plant fibers around his waist to fix the covering tail securely.
Before departing.
Master Fuli poured a stream at the root of the tree, as a gesture of gratitude for resolving his urgent need.
"Let's go!"
Master Fuli set off in the chosen direction, chasing after the mist just like Kuafu pursuing the sun. As he caught sight of the mist rising, he quickly leapt from the ground, traversing hundreds of meters in an instant and diving into the mist clouds.
Diving into the mist clouds.
The densely clustered cloud of Spirit Particles, like iron filings encountering a magnet, streamed into Master Fuli's body.
Master Fuli spread his arms, allowing the Spirit Particles to surge into his body.
"Ooh—"
Master Fuli couldn't help but let out a soft moan, his eyes comfortable and squinting.
"This stuff....feels quite nice too."
"Like drinking icy cola on a scorching day or soaking in a warm hot spring on a frigid winter day, it's bliss all over, even feels as if the blood pressure drops a bit, hmm...."
Even though Master Fuli had already transformed into human form, he still couldn't help but letting out a fox-like "yip" laugh.
However.
Master Fuli's body hadn't changed at all, merely feeling slightly good without a major thrill.
Earlier, when he dived into the mist, his arm momentarily reverted from its beast-like state to a hand, because Master Fuli originally appeared humanoid, and under the strong catalysis of the Spiritual Particles, he momentarily couldn't resist this revelation.
......
Master Fuli hopped across the grassland until near noon when he regained his senses, his mouth twitching slightly as he briskly departed from the plain.
Due to Master Fuli's trampling, numerous pits appeared throughout the grassland.
Some pits were circular, others clearly showed the fox paw pad impression.
Master Fuli returned to his pickup truck, glancing with surprise at Tang Lian sitting in the driver's seat. He couldn't help but ask: "Do you drive...fast?"
"Stable."
Tang Lian nodded firmly, both hands gripping the pickup's steering wheel tightly.
"Alright, let's hurry back to Steel Park! Without realizing, it's almost ten-thirty."
Master Fuli flipped into the passenger seat, grabbed an unopened bottle of tea from the armrest, took a sip to moisten his throat, and exhaled a long breath.
Tang Lian drove towards the city, glancing sideways at Master Fuli sitting in the passenger seat, fiddling with his phone, browsing notes videos, and asked:
"Master Fuli..."
"Are you not introducing Ah Qing to the industry? I see you have such a tight schedule, running back and forth every day between two places."
Regarding today's itinerary, Master Fuli had informed Tang Lian, instructing him to arrange transportation between Potou City and Da Xing'an Ridge.
"Introducing Ah Qing...to the industry?"
Master Fuli paused upon hearing this, looking at Tang Lian inquiringly, "Is our industry a high-paying job?"
"Definitely," Tang Lian replied.
"Whether Ah Qing graduates and enters the research institute or returns to manage the tea gardens at home, it's still a high-paying job," Master Fuli teased.
"Uh....." Tang Lian paused, briefly choked, feeling a bit PUA'd by Master Fuli.
Master Fuli waved his hand, saying: "There's nothing wrong with the pest control expert group, just that Ah Qing may lack the awareness....."
"It's fine dealing with Spirit Beasts at home, everyone calms down after punches, debating right from wrong and harm. But your pest control group isn't the Tai Chi Diagram; there isn't a true distinction between black and white, it's all about the stance."
Master Fuli shook his head and said.
"Some might be pitiful, but that isn't a reason to harm others."
"Some might be loyal to their country, willing to invest their all for their country...So many more, people can create numerous logical reasons to harm others or cause harm to other nations."
"They're human; aren't we human too? So we shouldn't just listen to what people say, but watch what they do. What will you all do when necessary?"
Master Fuli asked Tang Lian.
Tang Lian let out a snort, showing a helpless smile as he shook his head and said, "What else can we do, strangle them, of course."
"Ah Qing is too considerate of others....." Master Fuli turned away, snuffed out the cigarette from the sheep named Daolang, snatched the matches it stowed in its pouch, and under Daolang sheep's watchful gaze, crushed the matches and tossed them out the window.
Daolang sheep's eyes widened, letting out a shrill, pitiful howl, its bleating cries echoing loudly.
Master Fuli raised his hand, tossing out the box of matches from the armrest out the window too, making the matter absolute, disdainfully saying:
"I dare to do this; Ah Qing wouldn't be capable...."
Listening to the surround sound of bleating cries, Tang Lian's cheeks displayed an expression of speechlessness: "It's too ruthless."
Master Fuli shrugged, saying nothing more.
The pest control expert group consists entirely of villainous members; their goodwill only shows to those of the same stance and consensus.
They do things without distinguishing right from wrong, only by stance.
Although personality can be cultivated postnatally, that indeed suppresses human nature a bit.
I can punch Spirit Beasts from two cities, and beat exploiter Miyel to a pulp.
Does Ah Qing still need to endure such hardship while my punches are for nothing?
"Xiaolan!"
After Master Fuli returned to Steel Park and got off the car, he heard Ah Qing shouting by his ear.
"Ah? What's up?"
Master Fuli exited his lordly state and responded with a soft fox cry to Ah Qing, sauntering back.
"Calling out loud, did you soil your pants or something?"