After several days of physical and Spiritual Energy training, Egg Pancake’s current attribute panel was:

[

Power: 0.25

Body: 0.3

Agility: 0.26

Spiritual Energy: 0.31

Elemental Affinity (Earth): 0.4

]

Its physical qualities had shown significant growth, but the increase in its Spiritual Energy was barely perceptible...

Based on his observations over the past few days, Han Ning deduced that Egg Pancake’s development leaned more toward its Body than its Spiritual Energy, a stark contrast to Yin Yi.

It was a flesh-and-blood Soul Beast, after all. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Whether a Soul Beast leaned toward its Body or its Spiritual Energy could be determined, to a certain extent, by observing the natural increases in its stats.

Whichever attribute grew the fastest indicated the Soul Beast’s inclination.

There was another method: max out all its attributes and see which one ended up the highest.

’In that case, I’ll max out the three Body attributes first, then focus on Spiritual Energy.’

Having made his decision, Han Ning didn’t hesitate. He immediately exchanged for Attribute Points of various types and began allocating them to Egg Pancake.

As all three attributes—Power, Body, and Agility—were comprehensively enhanced, Egg Pancake, which had been lying beside Han Ning covered in specks of mud, was instantly enveloped in a hazy, earthy-yellow light.

Wisps of blood-red mist seeped out from its skin, merged with the surrounding earthy-yellow light, and then drilled back into its body.

"GURGLE!"

Enveloped by the Blood Qi and light, Egg Pancake let out a low groan of pain. Its body, once the size of two palms, began to grow at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Egg Pancake, hang in there. It’ll be over soon." Han Ning crouched down, murmuring soothingly as he watched Egg Pancake’s face contort from the sudden surge of power.

He didn’t know if Yin Yi simply had a higher pain threshold or if it was because it was a plant, but Han Ning remembered that it hadn’t seemed to be in this much pain when he’d added points to its Body attributes.

"GRK!"

Egg Pancake let out a grunt, its little face taut with effort, its two pairs of small claws gripping the ground tightly.

’I have to be strong. I won’t cry.’

At that moment, some of the other students’ Silver Lotus Woods were in the middle of breaking through, while most had gathered around a Silver Lotus Wood that had just achieved its Fourth Mutation.

Egg Pancake’s breakthrough went largely unnoticed.

Power: 0.25→1.36→2.47...

Body: 0.3→1.42→2.55...

Agility: 0.26→1.37→2.53...

The numbers on the panel ticked upward slowly.

Egg Pancake’s body was also growing, section by section.

centimeters... 25 centimeters... 35 centimeters... 50 centimeters...

The blood-red mist covering Egg Pancake only dissipated once it had grown to nearly a meter long.

[

Race: Swamp Guardian

Gender: Male

Talent: F

Level: Entry Level I (75/100)

Talent: None

Acquired Soul Techniques: Wandering Tongue Entanglement I (0/100), Mud Missile II (2/100)

Power: 5 (Maxed Out)

Body: 5.23

Agility: 5 (Maxed Out)

Spiritual Energy: 0.35

Elemental Affinity (Earth): 0.43

Remaining Energy: 6.32 (Current Soul Beast: 1 Energy point can be exchanged for 1 Body Attribute Point or 0.5 Spiritual Attribute Points)

]

[Life amplification is a holistic improvement. Other attributes must be enhanced to a certain degree to trigger a leap in Life. Additionally, please note that no more than 4 attribute points can be added to a single attribute for the current creature, otherwise there is a risk of its life information collapsing.]

Because the three core stats influenced one another, Han Ning had only spent 12 Attribute Points—meaning 12 Energy—to max out Egg Pancake’s stats. He had allocated 4 points each to Power, Body, and Agility, with the remaining increases being automatic side effects of their mutual influence.

Just like when he had added points for Yin Yi’s breakthrough, a similar notification popped up on the panel after he continuously added 12 Attribute Points to Egg Pancake.

This meant that Egg Pancake’s body had reached its limit. If it became too strong too quickly, there was a risk of its life information collapsing.

[Wandering Tongue Entanglement]: The Swamp Guardian’s long tongue is rich with the Earth Element. When hunting, it uses its tongue to entangle its prey’s body, secreting a thick mud to immobilize it.

After its successful breakthrough, Egg Pancake’s four claws became sharper, glinting with a frigid light. Its four legs were like small pillars, standing solidly on the ground.

The earthy-yellow patterns on its back deepened in color, and two small, rock-like bumps grew on the top of its head.

Its tail had grown nearly ten times thicker and longer, and from its rump to the tip of its tail, it was now covered in spiral stripes of rocky striations.

In this form, it bore at least a 50% resemblance to its deceased mother.

The other 50%, perhaps, was inherited from its father. It seemed its father and mother were not of the same race.

"Egg Pancake, how do you feel?" Han Ning patted Egg Pancake’s somewhat hard head and asked with a smile.

"Lingling~" Yin Yi floated down onto Egg Pancake’s back and climbed on as if riding a large horse.

"GURGLE!"

Egg Pancake forcefully waved its newly thickened claws, striking a brawny bodybuilder pose to show that it felt great!

Han Ning was eager to test Egg Pancake’s awakened Soul Technique. He led his two Soul Beasts over to the crowd.

A Silver Lotus Wood nearly 1.5 meters tall was surrounded by a dozen or so people.

Its emerald-green plant stem was covered in faint purple patterns, and a ring of purple thorns grew just below its flower.

"Ah Yang, congratulations! Your Silver Lotus Wood successfully reached its Fourth Mutation." Seeing the joyous look on the young man’s face, Han Ning offered his congratulations with a smile.

The owner of this Silver Lotus Wood was He Yang. He had originally been on the shorter, scrawnier side, his face dotted with acne. Having joined them on the West Gate mission to find the missing people, he was among the first to consume a Tree Spirit’s Crystal Stone, placing his strength in the top tier.

As his Soul Beast’s strength gradually increased, it nourished his body in return. He had actually grown a few centimeters taller, and the acne on his face had vanished completely.

The once-scrawny frame hidden beneath his T-shirt was now showing the faint outline of muscles.

You could say that raising a Soul Beast was the best cosmetic treatment a man could get.

"Thanks, Ah Ning. I think my Ziluo has been eating too many Demon Eye Frogs. Its Poison Attribute characteristics seem to be getting more and more obvious."

He Yang scratched his messy bird’s nest of a hairdo, glanced at Yin Yi next to Han Ning, and then carefully observed his own Silver Lotus Wood, feeling there was a huge difference.

Han Ning studied the Silver Lotus Wood, which was brimming with Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and cracked a small joke. "Not satisfied with it?"

"No, not at all! I’m just curious what it’ll evolve into." He Yang wrapped an arm around his Silver Lotus Wood, unable to hide the joy on his face.

"It’ll definitely be amazing!" Han Ning gave them a thumbs-up.

Then, he turned to Teacher Fang, who was watching from the side. "Teacher Fang, my Egg Pancake has also successfully broken through. I’m going to take it to test out its new Soul Techniques. There’s nothing else that needs doing here, right?"

Teacher Fang nodded. "Go ahead. I’ll have the others throw the rest of the mud out. Besides, He Yang’s Silver Lotus Wood just broke through and has a ton of energy to burn."

After letting Teacher Fang know, Han Ning took Yin Yi and Egg Pancake to the relatively empty rooftop.