Vishdair's hands kept moving as she explained, "I don't know how to describe it, anyway, that guy is very strong, the strongest person I have seen so far."

A rare look of lingering fear appeared on her face: "If I have to say, this guy gave me the feeling... just like when I first saw the so-called 'calamity.'"

This somewhat familiar word made Lin Guang think for a moment, and then he remembered.

Calamities in the Terra World are a unique kind of disaster. Although they appear as natural disasters like storms, meteor showers, or earthquakes, their internal source is actually from a super-energy creation called Source Stone, and all man-made creations are powerless before it.

Upon reflection, Vishdair's description is indeed very apt.

Spirit Masters above Six-Star possess abilities that can permanently change the landscape, often referred to as walking calamities.

And Hua Bo, as the strongest Daoist School Leader in Fenghai Province, although not a Six-Star Spirit Master, having strength comparable to a 'calamity' fits the speculation.

The two chatted while eating for a while, when Lin Guang suddenly saw Leng Shengnan across the table stand up, approaching with a male and female teammate, holding a cup of apple cider vinegar.

Although Lin Guang didn't watch the competition, he recognized the school team members. The boy is named Lv Yijun, and the girl is Qin Ruosi, both possessing Blue Talent and Green Excellent-level Spirit Beasts, recently busy with their Spirit Beasts' evolution.

After toasting with Lin Guang using vinegar instead of wine, Leng Shengnan suddenly asked without shocking words: "Lin Guang, have you thought about joining us for the next school team, to get some early exposure?"

Join together?

But isn't he a year below Leng Shengnan?

"Don't be so surprised." As if Lin Guang's face showed too much surprise, Leng Shengnan smiled and said, "Able to defeat a Level 17 Molten Dragon Lizard, you already have the strength to join us for the next school team next year. Even if you can't play immediately, with your growth rate, a substitute position is definitely secure."

"Plus, after this victory, the school will definitely allocate more resources to you. I can't even imagine what kind of strength you will have a year later."

"...That's not what I meant, but I remember you five have already formed a team? Although two didn't come today, the next year's school team list is basically set, right."

Lin Guang shook his head, glancing at the two teammates behind her. The high school league consists of three main members and two substitutes, and if he joins, it will inevitably push out someone out of the five.

"Those two friends, scheduled as substitutes next year, would probably understand."

"In fact, even if you kick me out, I'd acknowledge it."

Lv Yijun waved his hand, looking a bit embarrassed, "I am aware of my own strength, completely can't keep up with the captain. Rather than going up there and losing face, it's better to make way for someone stronger, enhance the school's reputation, not to mention that I will also get compensation... I guess they would think the same."

The Experimental School has a history of bringing in external reinforcements from out of town, and students replaced from the roster receive considerable compensation—even if there is dissatisfaction, ultimately, this world respects the strong.

Strength is the truth.

"I'll think about it," Lin Guang finally replied.

Leng Shengnan didn't say anything further, nodded, and after finishing the cup of apple cider vinegar in her hand, she left.

The celebration ended on a joyful note. Considering Lin Guang's injuries, there was no follow-up party, and forcing the main contributor to join would be meaningless.

However, before leaving, Wang Dawei pulled Lin Guang to the corner, asking if he had any plans to go out tomorrow. Lin Guang thought for a moment, then shook his head and asked what he had in mind. Wang Dawei, however, mysteriously said nothing, just telling Lin Guang to look forward to it.

Back home, Lin Guang fell asleep immediately.

No one knows how long it took before Lin Guang slowly opened his eyes, exhaustion from his spiritual power made his brain feel heavy. He turned his head to look, the red sun outside the window was slowly sinking into the horizon, the orange-red glow spreading across the sky, dyeing the clouds in splendid hues. A star flickered on the evening glow, like a diamond on silk, making mankind feel so insignificant before this magnificent scene.

A faint sense of loneliness filled his heart.

However, this feeling disappeared completely when Lin Guang opened the door and saw Vishdair sitting on the living room sofa, eating chips, drinking cola, and watching a silent comedy.

"Did you wake up all silly?"

Noticing Lin Guang's inexplicable smile at the corner of his mouth, Vishdair asked strangely.

"Maybe."

Lin Guang casually replied, sitting down next to Vishdair. This time, there was no more smell of shower gel, just the fragrant scent of the chips.

The television was playing Chaplin's silent comedy, using the discs from home. Lin Guang had already seen it, so he didn't focus on the TV. Instead, he took out the small box he got from Hua Bo, which contained a green badge or rather a brooch, in the form of simple birch tree lines.

Lin Guang was stunned; this was clearly the Birch Badge from the "Earth Daoist School."

The so-called Daoist School Badge is a form of recognition and expectation from the Daoist School Leader. Those granted the qualification to establish a Daoist School can collaborate with officially recognized Miracle Master Studios of Great Xia to produce the Spiritual Artifact Badges with various ability effects.

The number of badges a Daoist School Leader may distribute each year is positively correlated with the leader's strength level and the scale of the Daoist School.

Based on various interests, the distribution of the badges is mainly to excellent students who inherit its mystical techniques, unless a particularly promising junior is considered for outside distribution.

As the strongest Daoist School Leader in Zhen Sheng City, and arguably the entire Fenghai Province, Daoist Hua Bo distributes no more than a handful of badges each year.

Lin Guang remembered that someone on the forum was willing to purchase a Birch Badge for tens of millions of Daxia Coins, but was ridiculed by everyone.

Those who obtained badges from Daoist Hua Bo, unless they fell midway, without exception became Four-Star or even Five-Star Spirit Masters, hardly tempted by such trivial sums of money.

This made Lin Guang wonder how many personal favors Principal Liang Xing pulled to get Daoist Hua Bo to hand out this item, or was it just Hua Bo's excuse, actually thinking highly of Lin Guang yet fearing he'd become complacent?

Shaking his head, Lin Guang stopped thinking about it.

He held the Birch Badge in his left hand, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.

A few minutes later, Lin Guang opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flickering in them.

If Dr. Kaiwen's Meditation Pod's enhancement factor is set to 2, the school's Meditation Room is 1.5, then this Birch Badge astonishingly reached 1.3.

Though the enhancement doesn't seem high, Spirit Masters don't live peaceful lives. The wilderness and secret realms are where they belong, so they can't afford to rely on Meditation Rooms.

Moreover, there are differences among badges. Lin Guang recalled seeing on the Spirit Master forum that, for instance, Hall Leader Han's "Swift Hawk Daoist School" issued Frostwind Badges that only provide an effect similar to a One-Star Wind Attribute Spirit Pattern [With the Wind], while Hall Leader Gu Lin's "Thunder Daoist School" issued Qilin Badges that activate the Spirit Master's body through electricity, enhancing their physical qualities for a period.

The effects of these badges can be replaced by Spirit Patterns and Spiritual Artifacts, but a Spiritual Artifact that can directly enhance a Spirit Master's foundation and meditation efficiency is truly priceless.

No wonder there's no information online about the Birch Badge; if the news leaked out, it might attract unwanted attention from malicious people.

Keeping this favor in his heart, Lin Guang calmed his excitement, put away the badge, and then, with a thought, the transparent crystal that only he could see appeared in his left hand.

Confident that his strength was sufficient to win the exchange competition, Lin Guang hadn't drawn from it before. Over the past two weeks, he had accumulated nine Star Shards, plus two from defeating the Molten Dragon Lizard, enough to draw for talents twice.

Undoubtedly, Lin Guang's target was "Nurturer's" level one talent, since the "Warrior's" talents all relate to combat power, while the exchange competition was already over, and there's no urgent need to increase combat power in the short term.

As for the desired talent... Given he already possesses the [Celestial Doctor] talent, Lin Guang had no specific wishes. The system's talents are never useless, they all have significant roles; it's just a matter of adaptability.

Guided by Lin Guang's intention, five Star Shards orbiting the crystal were cast into the light representing "Nurturer," unlocking its secret trove.

[You have obtained the level one talent - Gourmet God.]

[Do you wish to lock this talent?]

Ah, what's going on?

Lin Guang was stunned for a full three seconds before coming to his senses.

Today, luck seems to be on my side.

This talent happened to be one of the most selected talents in Lin Guang's past life's game.

Just as the name suggests, this is a talent related to "eating." It grants various peculiar effects to Spirit Beasts and Spirit Masters who consume dishes made by oneself.

In reality, cooking skills would surely be applicable to other matters — for instance, fire control techniques could provide insights to Fire Spirit Beasts, or sophisticated knife skills for preparing ingredients could amplify slashing-type skills.

[Lock!]

With Lin Guang's confirmation, the root representing "Nurturer" grew robustly, extending downward.

As when the Celestial Doctor talent was obtained, after locking a level one talent, a level two talent can be chosen for activation.

As for which one to choose, Lin Guang naturally had it planned.

[You have activated the level two talent - Gastric Marrow True Essence - Samadhi True Flame]

At the moment the talent was activated, Lin Guang suddenly felt a swelling in his brain as countless pieces of information were crammed into it.

——Food is fundamental for man, and fire is the origin of human cooking.

In the flowing images, people with different appearances, heights, and even from different eras engaged in cooking.

Their cooking methods were diverse, and the ingredients varied greatly, from the common and readily available to those unimaginable to ordinary people, akin to fairy tales.

The one common element was the flame they used in cooking.

This flame was not an external fire but emanated from within themselves.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.