Chapter Eighteen: The Question and Answer Session

In the end, Katherine still couldn’t finish all the chimera wings, not because Ling Mo stopped her, but simply because she couldn’t eat any more. After all, the meat of a level-four magical beast contained far too much energy for a novice martial artist like her. She was already full after half, and forced herself to finish three-quarters before she could only lie on the ground, hugging her swollen belly, happily gasping for breath.

By now, the rain had eased, and the campfire under the stone slab glowed warmer and brighter. She struggled to turn onto her side and watched Ling Mo sitting upright, slowly savoring the remaining wing. A mix of emotions surged in Katherine’s heart. She burped, and said lazily, “When I become stronger in the future, I’m going to open a chimera farm. Then I’ll eat as many wings as I want and toss away the rest.”

Ling Mo tossed the bone in his hand at her, saying, “Stop dreaming. Turning wild magical beasts into domesticated animals takes at least a dozen, even dozens of generations of selective breeding and taming. If it were so easy, do you think you’d be the one to do it?”

Katherine shot him a dissatisfied glare, her tone aggrieved. “Master, do you know how cruel it is to shatter a girl’s dreams? Can’t you let me fantasize for a bit? Master, I was just imagining how I’d decorate my chimera farm—I even pictured myself sleeping in a pink princess room. With that thought, even this damned icy rain doesn’t feel so cold.”

Hearing this, Ling Mo’s nose stung a little. He said nothing more, just stoked the fire to make it burn brighter, then pulled over a few broad-leafed branches. With deft hands, he quickly wove them into a simple shelter overhead. The nagging rain was completely blocked out, running down the sides of the leaves and falling with a gentle patter. The rhythmic sound of rain on the shelter became the softest lullaby, coaxing Katherine into relaxation.

She let out a huge yawn, feeling her soaked clothes gradually drying by the fire, warmth seeping in. Katherine mustered her strength and propped herself up, saying to Ling Mo, “Master, didn’t you say we’re going to a prime hunting ground? Now that you’ve put up this shelter, you’re making me want to sleep.”

“It’s fine, sleep,” Ling Mo replied, settling down against a tree. “You’ve already overachieved today. The Death Cypress isn’t something you should be able to handle at this stage. Given that it’s your first day in the world of martial arts, I’m giving you special treatment. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we’ll head deeper into the Magical Beast Rainforest.”

Katherine cheered, pulled a thick sleeping bag from her spatial pouch, and courteously offered it to Ling Mo, showing respect to her teacher. When Ling Mo refused, she eagerly climbed inside, leaving only her head out. Pulling the Magic-Eyed Sprite in front of her face, Katherine began:

“Dear viewers, lovely audience, thank you for accompanying me on this cultivation journey so far. If you haven’t ascended yet, please send a message—I’d love to know how many living souls are still in the stream!”

“Cultivation gang fears nothing!”

“I’ve already reached the Nascent Soul stage!”

“Today’s stream was truly amazing—worth every moment of my cultivation!”

“A Deity Transformation stage expert is here!”

“……”

Her left eye’s view was instantly filled with countless messages from the cultivation fans, packed so densely they overlapped. Katherine smiled and gave a low sigh.

“Your exhausted host has gone through a life-changing day—transitioned from a high mage to a proud martial artist, and so far it seems to be working. Meanwhile, your unlucky host nearly died three times today, but made it through. Well, truthfully, I survived out of sheer dumb luck. In keeping with our stream’s fine tradition of ‘if you’re not courting death, go all in,’ tomorrow I’ll head into one of the continent’s Eight Great Dead Zones, to the deeper, unexplored reaches of this beautiful Magical Beast Rainforest, unveiling its mysteries for all my friends. Now, as always, we end with a Q&A! If your question is meaningful, you’ll win an autographed chimera wing bone personally tasted by me! Let the questions begin!”

“Your prizes are just as wild as ever! But damn, I really want that bone!”

“Is the stream ending already? I’m not ready to go!”

“Yeah, yeah, you can sleep—just leave the Magic-Eyed Sprite on so we can watch you sleep!”

“No wonder you’re so popular in the wild adventure section—it’s your optimism. I really can’t help but admire you!”

“Host, host, I have a question! When the Savage Bear looked up, why did you almost fall? Did you get attacked on the tree?”

“Host, what does raw mutton taste like?”

“Is chimera roast wing really that delicious? You looked like you were about to ascend to heaven!”

“What time will you start streaming tomorrow?”

“Number one Katherine, look here! Is the chimera really a poison-type beast? I just contacted my mentor, and he was furious in the middle of the night, saying that’s impossible!”

“Host, can I clip the Death Cypress fight and post it on PushNet? I’ll credit you, I promise!”

“Host, I…”

A flood of questions scrolled past. Katherine quickly picked two and answered, “Let me answer the first one: when I was in the tree, the bear’s roar was mixed with an attack I can’t quite describe. It must have been some kind of mental assault, because I was stunned for over three seconds! As for the exact mechanism, I’ll ask my master.”

Ling Mo’s voice came at just the right moment: “That’s the Savage Bear’s innate skill: Primal Roar. It concentrates all its accumulated violent energy into a single release to intimidate prey.”

Katherine was confused. “Primal Roar? I thought the Savage Bear’s innate skill was Savage Strike—the one where it slams the ground and creates that earth-yellow shockwave?”

“You people,” Ling Mo shook his head, “have lost too much knowledge about magical beasts. Even the name ‘Savage Bear’ comes from Elvish. After translation and adaptation, it became ‘Savage Bear,’ but the original meaning is ‘Roaring Giant Bear.’ Would the elves give it that name if it didn’t have at least one or two roaring skills?”

Katherine nodded hesitantly, shrugged, and addressed the chat: “See, that’s what my master says.”

“Bro Muscle is so knowledgeable—he even knows Elvish?!”

“Weren’t elves last seen over two hundred years ago?”

“Two hundred sixty-four years. I’m a graduate student in Ancient Races Languages. I just checked the Braimo Lexicon, and ‘Savage Bear’ really does mean that! What an obscure term! I bow to Bro Muscle!”

“Bro Muscle? Who do you think you’re addressing?! Call him Teacher Ling!”

“Compared to Teacher Ling, those magical beast experts should be ashamed!”

“That’s a bit much, isn’t it? Those scholars can only study dead beasts—they don’t have Teacher Ling’s experience. It’s normal to have some gaps.”

“No excuses—they simply can’t compare! Teacher Ling is number one!”

“Teacher Ling is number one~!”

“……”

Seeing the chat get heated, Katherine quickly coughed to calm everyone. “Settle down, everyone. If you keep arguing, I’ll start banning people. Next question—oh, this one’s deep. If the chimera really is a poison-type, why would it convert its toxins into ice and fire magic? Isn’t that redundant? Well, that’s a question I had too. Let’s ask my master right now.”

This time, Ling Mo seemed genuinely exasperated. He tapped Katherine’s head. “Do you really need to ask about something so basic? If you had even a little knowledge of magical beasts, you’d know that in nature, with very few exceptions, larger animals are almost never poisonous!”

Katherine was dumbfounded. “Huh? That does seem to be the case—but why?”

“Because toxins act too slowly on large creatures! Take the common poison-type magical beast, the Komodo Giant Lizard. It usually injects venom, then tracks its prey for several days before succeeding. In that time, lions and leopards could have hunted a dozen times! Plus, venom must be synthesized in the body—accumulating it takes weeks. And you need to store it safely, which means evolving special organs isolated from the internal circulation, just to avoid poisoning yourself. It’s cumbersome and inefficient. That’s why larger species almost always abandon poisonous attacks. Think about it: if the chimera spews acid, how far can it reach? How does that compare to an explosion of ice and fire in terms of effectiveness?”

“All right, all right, Master, I get it! Please stop knocking my head…” Katherine, clutching her head, dodged Ling Mo’s hand. “I understand, I understand! So, large poison-types are basically trash, weaker than other beasts at the same level, right?”

Ling Mo lost his patience and instantly appeared beside her, rapping her head much harder this time. He scolded, “Where’s your brain? Think about it—a creature that insists on keeping its venom despite all those drawbacks and still survives nature’s harsh selection must have venom that’s unimaginably potent! It’s exactly the opposite of what you said! Among magical beasts of the same rank, the large poison-types are absolutely top tier. If you face them with your current mindset, you’ll end up as nothing more than their droppings!”

Katherine rolled on the ground, clutching her head, but couldn’t escape Ling Mo’s relentless tapping. Tearfully, she turned to the Magic-Eyed Sprite and said, “That’s all for tonight’s Q&A. Goodnight, everyone! If you want to hear Teacher Ling’s lectures again or see the unseen wonders of the Magical Beast Rainforest, make sure to follow the stream. See you all tomorrow at noon!”

With that, and amid a barrage of “Good night,” “Host, you’re really pushing your luck,” and “Let’s sleep together, Miss,” she turned off the Magic-Eyed Sprite.