A Guide to Incubating Eggs in the Stars

by Usui Takumii

not mine, asia novel. Beware edited mtl and bl.

5. 41 to 50

Chapter 041

Since that's the case, Lou Hao is one of us. For my own people, I never hold back.

Bai Xiaoyu: "You don't need to pay for the previous expenses. By the way, I have something else for you."

Lou Hao: "I haven't even started working yet. It doesn't seem right to use such expensive potions without repaying you."

The price Bai Xiaoyu mentioned earlier was not high at all. If it were the Huang family, the price for such top-notch potions would likely be double.

Bai Xiaoyu picked up a box of potions from beside him and placed it on the ground, then opened it.

Lou Hao's eyes twitched; inside was a box full of potions. In terms of potions, he could barely be considered well-informed. Just by taking a glance, he could tell from their clear, transparent colors that these were all top-notch potions.

Bai Xiaoyu waved at him. "I've seen your physical condition before; you were severely injured and need proper care. These are cultivation potions and repair potions. Use them for now."

Lou Hao was stunned. "Are you saying you're giving me this entire box of top-notch potions?"

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. "If you run out, come get more yourself."

Lou Hao looked at Bai Xiaoyu, then at the box containing at least a hundred bottles of top-notch potions, feeling completely overwhelmed by Bai Xiaoyu's wealth.

These were top-notch potions! Even in the Imperial Star headquarters of the Huang family, it would be hard to find so many of the same type of top-notch potions all at once.

Seeing Lou Hao staring at the box of potions in amazement, Bai Xiaoyu didn't say much. He just said, "I've been too busy lately. The herbs sent by the two legions haven't been processed yet. I'll finish making the potions they need and then talk to you. Help yourself."

With that, Bai Xiaoyu patted Big Black Egg and began refining potions.

He worked quickly, processing a hundred portions of herbs at a time.

Big Black Egg stood guard beside Bai Xiaoyu, slightly blocking Lou Hao's view.

Watching Bai Xiaoyu refine potions with such fluid movements, Lou Hao was utterly shocked. He had some doubts before, but seeing Bai Xiaoyu refine potions with his own eyes...

Who would have thought that the notorious underachiever who scored unprecedentedly low at the Imperial Military Academy and had both F grades in mental strength and physique would now be a master in potion-making and cultivation?

People often say that fortunes change every thirty years.

But this has only been three months!

Back then, he was the top student, while Bai Xiaoyu was at the bottom.

Now...

He never imagined he would be saved by Bai Xiaoyu one day.

After finishing the potions, Bai Xiaoyu said to Lou Hao, who was still in disbelief, "Xiaolou, come help pack these potions."

Lou Hao shuddered. "You call me Xiaolou? I'm two months older than you."

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at him. "Now I'm the boss. Besides, Xiaolou sounds nice."

Fine, Lou Hao resigned himself and started packing the boxes. Touching the potions still warm from refinement, he couldn't help but feel attached.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Stop touching them. Pack them first. You can touch them as much as you want later."

Lou Hao: "How is that possible? These are all top-notch potions. Everyone in the galaxy treasures them."

Not only did Lou Hao touch them, but he also couldn't resist rubbing his face against them.

Bai Xiaoyu watched with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. "This is a repair potion, double S grade. It's for the Sixteenth Legion. Remember, don't mix them up. After I finish the potions for the Sixteenth Legion, there are still the Twenty-ninth Legion's potions. Mark the types and quantities clearly and pack them properly. Today, you can try it out. This will be your job in the future. I'll give you the contact information of the people responsible for this aspect in both legions. You'll handle the handovers with them."

Lou Hao finally realized something was off.

Wasn't he supposed to manage and expand the potion shop? Why was he now packing boxes and handling handovers with the Sixteenth and Twenty-ninth Legions?

Lou Hao suddenly paused. "Wait, you said the Sixteenth and Twenty-ninth Legions?"

Weren't those the two legions he had always wanted to join? Not just him, but all his classmates dreamed of joining them.

How did these two coveted legions become associated with Bai Xiaoyu?

Even the siblings of Bai Xiaoyu in the Imperial Star had no connections there, and Bai Qi had faced repeated rejections. Now, Bai Xiaoyu had somehow befriended both legions.

Lou Hao looked at Bai Xiaoyu as if he were some kind of monster.

Until Big Black Egg shook, he snapped out of it.

Looking at the subtle positioning, it was just enough to block his view and remain in a defensive stance.

Lou Hao analyzed it and found that Bai Xiaoyu was within Big Black Egg's protective range. If he attacked Bai Xiaoyu, Big Black Egg would be perfectly positioned to block his best attack route.

Rubbing his still sore nose, Lou Hao wondered what kind of egg this was. It was terrifying.

After finishing the batch of potions, Bai Xiaoyu turned to Big Black Egg. "Big Black, Xiao Budian is looking for me. I don't have time now. If you don't go back, he'll guess you're here. Be good, Big Black. Go back and absorb some nutrient solution. I'll come pick you up later, okay?"

Big Black Egg wobbled, bouncing a few times, and pointed towards Lou Hao with its body.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the egg. "Don't worry, Xiaolou's physique is worse than mine was back then. I can knock him down with one punch now."

Lou Hao: "..."

Who are you looking down on?

Even if his physique wasn't great, his combat experience remained. He didn't think he would lose to Bai Xiaoyu, who hadn't learned any combat skills.

Big Black Egg seemed to size up Lou Hao, then reluctantly left after Bai Xiaoyu's persuasion.

Lou Hao: "..."

Was he just being looked down upon by an egg?

After the big black egg left, Bai Xiaoyu turned to Lou Hao and said, "Since Big Black is gone now, take off your shirt."

Lou Hao was startled and took a few steps back. "What do you want to do?"

So he couldn't help himself after all and was finally going to make a move on him?

Bai Xiaoyu was speechless. "What are you thinking? Zhang Yi said there are two wounds on your back. I remember your beast form has wings, right? Were they cut off?"

Lou Hao's face darkened as he thought of Huang Ming's chubby, jiggling face. He gritted his teeth and replied, "Yes, I can't transform into my beast form anymore."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Let me see."

This time, Lou Hao didn't hesitate; he took off his shirt and turned around, presenting his back to Bai Xiaoyu.

Bai Xiaoyu saw two strange scars on his back, below the shoulder blades and on either side of the spine.

He had assumed the wings were cut off, but they weren't. The wounds looked like they had been forcibly dug out, with the joints connected to the spine broken.

Even without wings, a beastman could still transform into their beast form. Lou Hao had been drained of a large amount of essence blood and had also overdosed on the Berserk Beast Potion, which prematurely exhausted his body's potential and vitality, leading to his current state.

Bai Xiaoyu frowned. "Looks like we need to help you recover soon. Otherwise, your current body won't be able to handle the workload ahead."

Lou Hao: "?"

His back felt oddly prickly. So far, even when helping pack potions for two legions, he had managed perfectly well.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at the time. "Now that everyone is bringing in herbs, come with me."

Then Bai Xiaoyu introduced Lou Hao to the parents of Xiao Shiqi and Xiaoba, handing over the responsibility of receiving the herbs.

He transferred some credits to Lou Hao, making him responsible for paying the parents and purchasing the herbs.

He also instructed Lou Hao to contact the previous parents regularly to send nutrient solutions to the other children besides Xiao Shiqi and Xiaoba.

And...

Lou Hao's face fell. "Wait, wait, all these tasks are mine?"

Bai Xiaoyu nodded emphatically. "Exactly."

Lou Hao: "There's no one else?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "There's me, but as the store manager, I need to refine potions and incubate eggs. I really don't have the time. You'll have to work hard and bear more responsibilities from now on."

Lou Hao: "..."

He had initially thought Bai Xiaoyu was distributing top-grade nutrient solutions across the entire galaxy, assuming it must be a sizable operation. But now he realized that this massive Pharmacy Department had only two people. Before he joined, wasn't Bai Xiaoyu running things alone?!

He had underestimated the situation!

Bai Xiaoyu patted his shoulder. "Think about the Huang family. Even if our potion company currently has only two people, as long as you work hard enough, surpassing the Huang family will be no problem."

A huge pie dropped on his head, and Lou Hao nearly broke down. "Why do I have to work so hard?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "You said you would handle everything in the Pharmacy Department. Keep up the good work."

Lou Hao wanted to run away with the flying machine that very night.

Bai Xiaoyu then led him to the nutrient solution refining machine, explaining while placing the herbs inside.

"This is the nutrient solution refining machine. It can produce up to two thousand bottles at once, but it has a cooldown period. It can be used every eight hours."

He only learned about the cooldown later. The system's products were somewhat unreliable.

Lou Hao looked at the machine with unbridled amazement. "Which company made this? It's simply perfect."

Not only did it produce S-grade top-quality potions, but it also reduced the number of herbs needed from over a hundred to just a dozen! This was unheard of.

The Huang family's nutrient solution refining machine was ten times larger. Each batch required a group of pharmacists working tirelessly for five to six hours.

Now, for the first time, he saw a machine where Bai Xiaoyu could produce two thousand bottles within half an hour!

Lou Hao touched the silver-white metal machine, marveling, "Amazing. If only it could operate without limits. By the way, which company makes this?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "It's ours. There's only one, so forget it."

It was a prize from the system; otherwise, there wouldn't be any.

Lou Hao: "One machine is far from enough. The output doesn't even match the quantity of nutrient solutions the Huang family provides on a single planet."

Listening to Lou Hao, Bai Xiaoyu gained a deeper understanding of the scale of the Huang family's operations.

With hundreds of thousands of planets across the galaxy, D36, where Bai Xiaoyu was located, was a small planet compared to Imperial Star, which was a hundred times larger. Moreover, it was a rebuilt planet with sparse population. Yet, even such a planet was divided into over a hundred districts, each with at least one nursery.

Imperial Star, with its dense population, had even more districts, and each district had at least ten nurseries.

The Huang family's potions occupied 15% of all nurseries' affiliated pharmacies across all planets, and their territory was constantly expanding.

To overthrow the Huang family, they needed to increase their potion production significantly.

Lou Hao stared at the nutrient solution refining machine, almost mesmerized.

After staring for several minutes, he suddenly turned around, looking at Bai Xiaoyu with intense eyes, seemingly harboring some ulterior motives.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Xiaolou, what's up?"

Lou Hao: "I have a roommate whose family specializes in developing advanced machinery, weapons, and mechs."

Bai Xiaoyu understood immediately: "You want to trick him over here? That's not very nice, is it?"

Lou Hao chuckled a few times: "He's a research maniac. If I just send him a few photos of this thing, he'll rush over here, scrambling and panting, without even bothering to pull up his pants."

Bai Xiaoyu searched his memory and recalled the person always fiddling with various small parts around Lou Hao, regardless of the occasion. The smile on his face grew wider. "Indeed."

Lou Hao said, "This is called fishing like Jiang Taigong."

However, Bai Xiaoyu, remembering that this was a product of the system, couldn't help but warn: "This thing isn't easy to study. Even if he figures it out, he might not be able to replicate it."

Lou Hao replied confidently: "I believe in that guy's abilities. Even if he can't make an exact copy, at least a low-end version should be doable."

With that, he immediately used the military-grade optical brain provided by the Sixteenth Legion to take photos of the device in operation.

Meanwhile, at the top-tier instrument research base on Imperial Star.

A young man had been busy all day and took a quick shower before getting into bed.

He glanced at his optical brain; that guy had been missing for almost two months, and the Huang family claimed he was on a special mission.

Recently, he had a nagging feeling that something was off. This time, after finishing his work, he planned to go back and ask his older brother to help investigate.

He really didn't want to leave the base to waste precious time on that guy, as the little parts here were a hundred times cuter than that snake!

Suddenly, his optical brain received a message. His gaze fell on the sender.

Ah, if that guy hasn't died, then everything's fine. Time to sleep; there's still early morning research tomorrow.

At that moment, as if sensing his actions, another message arrived just as his eyes were about to move away from the optical brain. This time, it was an exceptionally clear photo.

The young man's eyes narrowed, and he immediately sprang out of bed.

He quickly dialed the other person's optical brain: "Give me the address!"

Then, grabbing a jacket, he rushed to his mech and headed towards D36 Star.

At the same time, the Huang family received the news. Their high-grade nutrient solution equipment was almost complete, just one step away, when the researcher ran off...

It was meant to counter the supreme-grade potions made by the master alchemist on Bai Xiaoyu's side, since even though their level was higher, the quantity was limited.

Now, the Huang family was grinding their teeth in frustration and hurriedly sought other researchers. Unfortunately, the others were far less skilled and couldn't even begin to tackle the problem.

They had no choice but to desperately continue contacting the original researcher, but to no avail.

The Huang family was nearly driven mad.

On this side, after handing everything over to Lou Hao, Bai Xiaoyu felt much more relaxed.

Of course, for the sake of the other's health, he had helped prepare several medicinal baths for him over the past few days. Now, Lou Hao could finally carry a box of potions without gasping for breath.

He spent more time focusing on refining potions and taking care of the eggs in the nursery.

This morning, good news came from the Sixteenth Legion, saying they had found the Bone Flower.

While waiting for the Bone Flower to arrive, Bai Xiaoyu prepared various auxiliary herbs.

He checked all the eggs and found that the difference in size between the undamaged and damaged eggs had grown even larger.

A few days ago, he had no solution, but now he finally had a way to change things.

However, he had only seen the Bone Flower in the old ancestors' notes and had never refined it before.

He needed to see how much of the Bone Flower was delivered. If the amount was small, he would have to be extremely careful during refinement.

After all, there were too many damaged eggs. If he failed, and there wasn't enough to repair them, it would be troublesome.

Just as he was preparing to refine other potions, the robot received a delivery.

Bai Xiaoyu opened the box sent by the robot, revealing a round, plump human skull inside, complete with facial features, especially the eye-shaped holes, which looked exactly like a skull except for the blood-red flower growing from the top.

He reached out, touching the forehead-like area with his fingertips, feeling its icy coldness. He gently tapped it with his knuckles, producing a crisp sound.

The Bone Flower was indeed as described: not only in appearance but also in texture and surface composition, it was extremely similar to bone.

There appeared to be only one.

But time was running out. When checking the damaged eggs earlier, he noticed that the most severely damaged egg was losing vitality, and its development was gradually stopping.

This was clearly a sign that it was turning into a silent egg.

The transformation period for a silent egg was three days, and this egg had started transforming last night.

The longer it took, the greater the impact on the egg.

Therefore, Bai Xiaoyu decided to start refining the Bone Flower right away.

He opened the alchemy furnace, placing the herbs in order, and carefully removed impurities with fine threads of mental power. Once all the auxiliary herbs coalesced into a translucent mass, he knew it was time.

He placed the skull-sized Bone Flower into the furnace, enveloping the small red flower with mental power and intensifying the heat to burn the bone-like petals. He also used mental power to gauge the required temperature until the Bone Flower turned white and seemed about to break. Then, he guided the liquid closer, allowing it to slowly integrate with the dried Bone Flower.

Soon, the Bone Flower softened and began to melt, dripping drop by drop.

Bai Xiaoyu's eyes showed a hint of relief; so far, this step was perfect.

Next, he carefully refined the small red flower wrapped in mental power into a liquid and stored it separately.

By then, the Bone Flower had become a semi-liquid paste.

Bai Xiaoyu pinched a bit out; it felt smooth, soft, and warm, not sticky, almost like touching human skin.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the two masses, one white and one red, vastly different in size yet appearing incredibly harmonious, and knew it was done.

After packing them up, he had the robot carry the alchemy cauldron and followed him to the cultivation room.

As soon as he went down, he saw Lou Hao standing guard at the door, looking exhausted. The moment he arrived, Lou Hao stared at him intently.

Bai Xiaoyu was surprised: "Are you guarding the door like a door god?"

Lou Hao: "Boss, I've been waiting for you. Start the broadcast quickly; I'm getting anxious."

Bai Xiaoyu glanced around and indeed, it was time for the live stream. He didn't know why Lou Hao, who had been busy running around for the past two days, suddenly came to watch his broadcast, but he didn't ask further and started the broadcast as usual.

As soon as the broadcast began, the two old professors waiting in his live stream immediately started speaking eagerly.

"Streamer, have you thought it through? Your junior brothers and sisters..."

"Yes, how many can you take? Even a few would be fine..."

Before Bai Xiaoyu could answer, he saw Lou Hao jumping up and down with extreme excitement, gesturing wildly at him.

Lou Hao: "Boss, please! Accept them all, every single one of them! Both the pharmaceutical and cultivation majors are talents fought over across the entire galaxy. Others have to fight for them, but now they're offering themselves. Can we just accept them with tears of joy?"

I'm about to be swamped with work!

Bai Xiaoyu's lips curved upward. Was it really that exciting? Once they arrive, won't you still have to arrange everything?

Chapter 042

Bai Xiaoyu was examining the eggs while contemplating the matter.

But Lou Hao was pacing anxiously beside him, and even the viewers in the live stream were amused by the professors' relentless promotion.

It was ironic that these talents, which others would fight over, were being actively promoted by the professors to the streamer, yet they couldn't find any takers.

The scene became quite awkward, and some viewers couldn't help but speak up on their behalf.

"Streamer, after all, these are rare talents. Why don't you pick a few of the best?"

Various factions were frustrated; they had extended olive branches to these soon-to-be graduates, only to be rejected.

Now, all attention was on Bai Xiaoyu, waiting for him to make his selection.

What a mess.

They needed him to finish quickly so they could start competing again.

After using his mental power to examine the eggs, Bai Xiaoyu finally made his decision.

Now that Lou Hao had already taken action, the timing seemed right.

As the two old professors lavishly praised the students' talents and merits, Bai Xiaoyu spoke up, "Let them come. But once here, they must follow our arrangements."

The professors responded in unison, "Sure, how many do you want? Do you need me to send you their profiles?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'll take them all."

The live stream fell silent for a moment before becoming lively again.

"Wow, Streamer, you're taking them all!"

"The first time someone has taken all the top students from both ace departments of the Imperial Military Academy. Some people are going to be furious."

Indeed, various factions began grumbling.

Clearly, Bai Xiaoyu's move caught them off guard.

At the same time, Bai Qi looked at the candidates he favored with an unfriendly gaze.

Huang's Pharmacy had long been eyeing this batch of students, as they desperately needed more alchemists for expansion. Similarly, cultivators were sought after by every faction.

Now, they were all going to intern with Bai Xiaoyu.

However, it might be for the best since the conditions on the edge of the galaxy where Bai Xiaoyu was located were too poor to retain anyone.

Once the internship ended, they would surely leave. And what they learned from Bai Xiaoyu would benefit others.

So when Huang's faction planned to poach some students, Bai Qi intervened.

Besides, Bai Xiaoyu's cultivation facility was inexplicably well-guarded, making it impossible for outsiders to approach.

Using this batch of students to investigate further would be beneficial.

Many shared this view and allowed the students to intern on Planet D36.

Bai Xiaoyu added the two professors to his contact list, and they promptly sent over the compiled list.

The students under the two professors were all elites among elites, numbering about thirty each.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at the list and then handed it to Lou Hao, who was still reveling in the joy of having someone to share the workload.

Lou Hao received the message from Bai Xiaoyu on his optical brain.

He opened it and his expression changed.

Looking at Bai Xiaoyu, he asked, "What does this mean?"

Bai Xiaoyu smiled at him, "I've agreed to your request. I've done my part; the rest is up to you."

Lou Hao stared at the smiling Bai Xiaoyu for a while before realizing what was happening.

By the time he did, Bai Xiaoyu had already resumed his work. The professors also sent messages, and Lou Hao reluctantly engaged in conversation with them.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaoyu held the severely damaged egg with a missing piece of its shell and carefully examined it with his mental power before placing it into the alchemy furnace.

The viewers in the live stream, who had been discussing the topic of Bai Xiaoyu's junior brothers and sisters interning, now turned their attention back to the egg.

"Whoa, Streamer, are you going to boil the egg?"

"This egg is so badly damaged and hasn't grown at all. Wouldn't boiling it be dangerous?"

There were other questions left unasked: Was this egg now a dud?

After all, it was covered in fine cracks and had a missing piece about two fingers wide. Such an egg was unlikely to hatch, essentially a dud.

Bai Xiaoyu took out the alchemy furnace again, exciting those waiting to see his unique hatching method. This included the cultivators and alchemists present.

But seeing the clearly hopeless egg, they felt a bit disappointed.

Was he just giving it a shot since he knew it wouldn't work anyway?

Someone asked, "Is this egg already a dud?"

The viewers were shocked but not entirely surprised.

"Since it's already a dud, Streamer, you should report it as soon as possible. There's a process to follow, and the regulatory department needs to verify it."

The Huang family had taken away this batch of eggs and now finally had the chance to criticize Bai Xiaoyu.

"Don't do it yet. It's too early to report now. Clearly, the next batch of damaged eggs he received will also turn into dud eggs. If we report every time a dud egg appears, how exhausting would it be for the staff who come to verify?"

The audience in the live stream was not convinced.

"You're saying this with the title of a Cultivator. When the Cultivation Association put the eggs on the system, why didn't you take them?"

"I didn't have time."

"There are plenty of problematic eggs at the Cultivation Association now. Why don't you take them? Don't just talk; take action."

Bai Xiaoyu looked up at the cultivator. "Who said this is a dud egg? Poor eyesight is a big no-no for cultivators. I suggest you change careers."

The cultivator snorted coldly. "Once all these dud eggs hatch, I bet the one changing careers will be you."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Then you might wait forever for me to change careers."

The live stream filled with laughter.

"Awesome host, 666."

"Host, weren't you going to boil the egg? Let us deal with this guy; get cooking."

The audience, having entertained Ding Lan before, now had plenty of experience.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced down at the alchemy furnace, where the temperature was slowly adjusting. It was indeed about right.

He pressed his hand against the egg, feeling the slight protrusions from its cracked surface. Fine threads of mental energy extended, sensing the increasingly sluggish movements inside, almost like stagnant water. Fortunately, the White Bone Flower arrived just in time.

He placed the herbs used to refine the White Bone Flower into the furnace, immersing the egg's surface in the same medicinal liquid.

This would help the eggshell and the White Bone Flower resonate and merge better.

Seeing that the eggshell had fully absorbed the medicinal liquid, Bai Xiaoyu poured the white paste-like fluid into the alchemy furnace, guiding it bit by bit towards the damaged parts of the egg using his mental energy.

After pouring out the White Bone Flower paste, the original bottle was completely clean, without any residue.

The White Bone Flower paste was a single entity, neither spilling nor dripping, following Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy as it settled onto the egg.

Bai Xiaoyu was quite busy. His mental energy threads surged to over a hundred, nearing the limit of what his body could handle. A few threads guided the medicinal liquid, while the rest rapidly polished and pierced between the eggshell and the liquid, eliminating all gaps and bubbles.

Not only that, but they also stitched together the eggshell and the paste.

Under the guidance of the mental energy threads, the medicinal liquid gradually covered the egg, seeping into all the damaged cracks. At the missing part of the shell, the mental energy carefully laid out the paste to match the original curvature of the shell.

As time passed, beads of sweat formed on Bai Xiaoyu's forehead. After all, each spot required thousands of polishings and stitches by the mental energy threads.

By the time Bai Xiaoyu felt the egg was fully repaired with the White Bone Flower paste, more than half an hour had passed.

At this point, he still had a bit of mental energy left, which he deliberately saved for another step.

He opened the alchemy furnace lid, and everyone in the live stream saw a perfectly intact egg.

Everyone in the live stream was stunned.

"What's going on? Is it fixed?"

"I remember that no one has ever successfully repaired an egg before. Even if they did, it didn't make a difference because the shell needs to grow. No one has succeeded."

"Just follow the host. As someone who has been proven wrong repeatedly, I feel the host might bring us a miracle."

This time, Bai Xiaoyu poured in the remaining red flower paste, leaving no residue in the bottle.

He closed the alchemy furnace lid again and released over a hundred mental energy threads, guiding the red liquid onto the egg.

Initially, a single thread of red liquid touched the egg, then rooted itself, forming a blood-red vein-like stripe. Under the guidance of mental energy, it branched out, weaving through the eggshell surface, gradually enveloping the entire egg. Soon, countless vein-like stripes began intersecting, forming a closed circulatory circuit on the egg.

Now, the egg's surface was covered with blood-red stripes, resembling the veins on a human body, pulsating and alternating between light and dark.

The egg appeared to be surrounded by capillaries, embedded in the shell like human veins, but it looked ten times uglier.

Not only was it ugly, but it was also eerie, making the eggshell look alive.

Indeed, it was alive.

Even after being refined, the White Bone Flower remained whole, combining with the originally living eggshell in a new form, still alive.

Bai Xiaoyu was very satisfied, despite his mental energy being depleted, causing his vision to darken. He didn't care.

He succeeded. The veins on the eggshell could quickly transport nutrients into the egg, giving the future hatchling a good chance to surpass even the healthy eggs sent by the legion.

Moreover, the eggshell regained its original function, enhanced with the powerful bone-regeneration effect of the White Bone Flower. Even if it broke again, the egg could heal itself.

More importantly, the future hatchling, absorbing the effects of the White Bone Flower, would have a much stronger self-healing ability compared to other hatchlings.

Opening the alchemy furnace again, the audience waiting in the live stream rushed over to see.

Instead of the previously pristine egg, they saw a red-and-white egg covered in veins.

The audience collectively took several steps back, their faces filled with horror.

Bai Xiaoyu carefully picked up the egg, gently caressing it, showing great affection.

The viewers were stunned. The host's hands were beautiful, but touching that bloody egg was truly horrifying.

Bai Xiaoyu found their reactions amusing. "What are you afraid of? Come and feel this pulsation. And look at this color—the vibrant red of life."

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

Bai Xiaoyu stopped teasing them and turned to place Dandan back into the original incubation compartment, adding new nutrient fluid. The blood vessels on the egg's surface gradually began to flow, starting slowly before accelerating.

The new incubation equipment came with a built-in life detection system, and soon translucent data appeared on the screen.

One particular reading caught everyone's attention.

Egg Vitality: 81%

They remembered it had dropped below thirty percent earlier, hadn't it?

More astonishingly, the vitality inside the egg continued to rise—82%, 83%...

At this rate, it would likely recover to full vitality soon!

Everyone was stunned, as if they were sleepwalking.

The previous incubator took this opportunity to slip away quietly while everyone was still in shock.

No matter how much benefit the Huang family offered in the future, he wouldn't come here again.

When the egg's vitality dropped to 30%, it was a sure sign of a dud. Seeing victory within reach, only to be overturned by the other side—it could give one a heart attack after a few times!

His fans were also troublesome; better to stay away from Bai Xiaoyu, that monster, to preserve his life.

More importantly, facing Bai Xiaoyu now gave him an overwhelming sense of defeat, like a mountain pressing down on him. After this incident, he had no fighting spirit left.

Everyone was still staring at the blood egg in a daze when Bai Xiaoyu glanced at the time and said, "Time's up. See you all tomorrow."

He immediately went offline.

The interrupted viewers quickly snapped out of it and started wailing and howling.

That streamer was being unreasonable again!

The news spread rapidly and soon trended again. Following Bai Xiaoyu's success in restoring the perfect ratio of dark matter in a new egg, he had now solved the problem of a cracked eggshell.

Many experts began studying the case overnight.

Numerous interstellar media outlets had already quietly removed the label of "waste" from Bai Xiaoyu's name.

They bestowed upon him a new title: a once-in-a-thousand-years genius incubator!

In the Imperial Military Academy, the classes taught by the two old professors in the pharmaceutical and incubation departments packed their bags and rushed to Planet D36, fearing they might be too late if Bai Xiaoyu changed his mind.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaoyu looked at the three people in front of him, their mouths agape in shock, and couldn't help but chuckle.

He clapped his hands to get their attention. "How long do you plan to stand there in a daze?"

Lou Hao let out a cry and rushed towards him, only to be knocked away again by the large black egg.

He stood up, rubbing his waist, and looked at Bai Xiaoyu with intense enthusiasm.

"Boss, are you even human?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Absolutely genuine."

Lou Hao: "Then how did you do it?"

Zhang Yi and Lu Qing crowded closer, waiting for his answer.

Just as Bai Xiaoyu was about to speak, a loud crash echoed outside.

He stepped out, with the large black egg following him, and the other three trailing behind.

Outside, they saw his newly built roller coaster smashed by a spacecraft, which had crashed through it, smoking heavily.

It was a nearly falling-apart personal spacecraft, relatively small, with severe wear and tear, almost unrecognizable in its original color.

As Bai Xiaoyu was considering whether to start a fire, the cockpit of the spacecraft opened. A young man with soot on his face crawled out, coughing and looking around.

Seeing something, he suddenly sprang up like a spring. Then, wearing only his underwear, he ran over frantically.

He shouted, "Lou Hao, where's the instrument!"

Almost instantly, the large black egg moved forward to block Bai Xiaoyu's view. As the young man charged over recklessly, the large black egg suddenly moved.

The young man flew forward and collided with Lou Hao at lightning speed, both of them screaming as they rolled into a heap. They rolled several times before stopping.

After finally stopping, Lou Hao glared fiercely at the large black egg, then pushed the person off him, rubbing his aching head. "Tao Limeng, get off me. How many times have I told you, no matter how urgent it is, take the time to put on some pants!"

Tao Limeng held onto Lou Hao's hand tightly, his eyes burning with intensity. "Where's the instrument? I've been rushing non-stop in my spacecraft, and now it's totaled. I almost lost my life. After all that trouble, don't tell me you're lying."

Lou Hao tried to pull his hand free but couldn't. His current physique was indeed weak.

He scoffed, "Instrument, instrument, instrument. Tao Limeng, you're hopeless. Put your pants on first, and then I'll tell you. Hurry up, or you'll end up getting beaten for no reason. With you running around half-naked, not just that big black egg, even I want to hit you."

Once everything was settled, Bai Xiaoyu brought the large black egg over and sized up this infamous mech repair specialist from the Imperial Military Academy, known for his obsession with various instruments.

"Tao Limeng, right? You destroyed my amusement park's roller coaster and the nearby house. That's eight million credits, please pay up."

Tao Limeng saw Bai Xiaoyu and exclaimed, "You're Bai Xiaoyu? It was you who kidnapped Lou Hao?"

Bai Xiaoyu's lips twitched. "I didn't kidnap him; I saved him. He sold himself willingly."

Tao Limeng looked skeptical, then turned to Lou Hao. "I spent all my credit points on instruments and parts. Can you lend me some to pay him back?"

Lou Hao: "The credit points I have now aren't mine. This time, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

Tao Limeng: "What do you mean?"

Lou Hao: "He's my boss now, and the credit points belong to him. Since you always borrow but never return, there are no credit points this time, even if there were, I wouldn't lend them. Just sell yourself then."

Tao Limeng: "Then I'll ask my brother for some."

Lou Hao: "The owner of the instrument is him."

Tao Limeng turned to look at Bai Xiaoyu, his eyes filled with adoration, "Can I sell myself for eight million? If eight million is too little, eighty million is fine too."

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

Big Black Egg: "..."

Just like that Lou Hao, he wants to sell himself to Bai Bai!

From now on, when fighting, we'll fight together.

So Bai Xiaoyu took another person with him to the nutrient solution refining instrument. As soon as they arrived, Tao Limeng let out a cry and rushed over, throwing himself at the instrument and rubbing against it fiercely, holding it tightly.

Lou Hao couldn't stand it, feeling embarrassed by such a friend. He tried to pry Tao Limeng off, but despite using all his strength, he couldn't budge him.

Once Tao Limeng had his fill, he pulled out a small toolbox from somewhere, holding an odd tool, practically drooling over the instrument.

He turned to Bai Xiaoyu with an extremely sincere look, "Can I take this machine apart for research?"

Bai Xiaoyu replied with equal sincerity, "You can take it apart, but if you can't put it back together, I'll dismantle you too."

Tao Limeng shrank back slightly, but soon his attention was drawn back to the instrument, his eyes glowing green again.

Bai Xiaoyu ignored him and left with Big Black Egg.

Suddenly, his optical brain beeped, and he found that the district had approved a plot of land for him, not far from their cultivation facility, to be used as housing for the high-achieving students of the Imperial Military Academy. Additionally, the remaining area could be planned freely. There were two options: accept or decline.

Without hesitation, he chose to accept.

Next, Bai Xiaoyu handed the task to Lou Hao, asking him to hire people to build the housing.

The district chief, seeing Bai Xiaoyu's acceptance, started humming a tune. Their Ninth District was the most backward, but last month, the tax Bai Xiaoyu paid made it the highest-taxed district on the planet.

Now, with so many talents being introduced, these were the top students from the Imperial Military Academy's elite programs. They were thrilled when Bai Xiaoyu came alone; now, a whole group was coming.

He was a treasure.

Wondering what else Bai Xiaoyu might need, he decided to approve more resources for him.

Over the next two days, Bai Xiaoyu continued his live stream.

Everyone marveled at how the blood egg absorbed the nutrient solution voraciously.

The internal activity of the blood egg had reached one hundred percent, fully activated by the White Bone Flower. As Bai Xiaoyu had expected, it absorbed the nutrient solution like a fully revved engine, humming and growing stronger. The previously static blood egg began to absorb the solution quickly after repair. Now, the egg was gradually swelling, its veins appearing even redder.

Due to the blood egg, the number of viewers for the live stream reached new heights.

Even Bai Qing and Feng Shuang'er were watching.

However, when their eyes fell on the smallest egg, they noticed the data.

Bai Qing remained expressionless, while Feng Shuang'er looked disappointed.

Thinking about how close the egg came to failing, Bai Qing comforted Feng Shuang'er, "Xiaoyu has managed to restore the damaged egg; he will find a way for this one too."

Feng Shuang'er nodded, "That's true."

In the live stream chat, parents asked questions and expressed concern for the eggs. All the eggs, except for the batch of damaged ones, had parents inquiring about them.

Of course, except for Little Dot.

Bai Xiaoyu saw the blank parent column for Little Dot. When Little Dot was brought over, it was done hastily and privately, without going through the platform, which resulted in the parent column not being automatically generated by the system.

Now, the parents would need to actively verify it, and the system would record it once confirmed.

Recalling what the doctor said, Bai Xiaoyu sighed.

He would find a chance to verify it himself.

Since Little Dot had been abandoned by the other side, leaving the parent column empty would only highlight the issue.

As his older brother, who was now an adult, he should have the right. He would check later.

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu becoming increasingly outstanding, they each had their own thoughts.

Bai Xiaoyu didn't care what they were thinking. After finishing the live stream, he immediately checked the process for verifying the parent column.

Indeed, he had the right, though it was still behind the parents.

Bai Xiaoyu reviewed the procedure and submitted the verification without delay.

He didn't want Little Dot's parent column to remain empty, given that it had both parents.

Now, he just needed to wait for the system's approval.

He went out to touch Little Dot, whose appetite had only slightly increased.

He gently tapped the egg with his finger, "Little Dot, eat more and grow bigger."

Pausing, he pointed at the nearby Big Black Egg, gulping down nutrients, and said, "When your appetite matches Big Black's, I'll be completely relieved."

Hearing Bai Xiaoyu praise him, Dahede hopped proudly.

Xiaobudian, on the other hand, went into a sulk for a while.

After recovering, the two eggs resumed their bickering.

Bai Xiaoyu was used to this. At that moment, he received a package from the 29th Army.

He opened it and found a white bone flower with a hand attached, and in the palm of its slender finger bones, a blood-red flower bloomed brilliantly.

Thinking about the eggs with damaged shells, Bai Xiaoyu realized he needed to use this bone flower on the more severely damaged ones, while the others would have to wait a bit longer.

To his surprise, the next day he received another package containing a set of ribs, half a foot bone, a spine bone, and three small red flowers placed respectively inside one rib, on the big toe, and at the center of the spine bone.

With these bone flowers, the eggs with severe damage could be taken care of, while the rest would have to continue waiting. But they weren't as urgent as these few.

With the most severely damaged eggs addressed, Bai Xiaoyu's expression relaxed.

It seemed that soon there would be a few more eggs filled with tiny motor engines among the blood eggs in the incubation facility.

Chapter 043

Bai Xiaoyu had the robots move the White Bone Flowers up to the Pharmacy Building. Up there, besides the nutrient solution refining device, there was also an alchemy furnace.

Usually, after adding medicinal herbs to the refining device, he would also take the opportunity to refine potions nearby.

There was no other way; currently, there was only one refining device, and it was just for nutrient solutions. All other potions needed to be made manually.

The potion demand of the two legions went without saying; now he could only refine them according to his own speed.

In any case, whatever he managed to refine would count.

He went up and entered, seeing Tao Limeng lying down under the refining device, clanking away at something.

Bai Xiaoyu had the robots set down the White Bone Flowers and turned to watch the person below for a moment.

The person clanked around for a bit before suddenly stopping.

Seeming to sense something amiss, he poked his head out and came face to face with Bai Xiaoyu.

Tao Limeng immediately hid the tool in his hand behind his back and grinned sheepishly at Bai Xiaoyu. "Ah, Boss, why did you come suddenly? You didn't even tell me so I could prepare."

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the tool behind his back and paused. "Prepare for what?"

Tao Limeng: "Naturally, to welcome you, Boss."

Over the past few days, Tao Limeng had spent most of his time studying the potion refining device.

Although the system seemed a bit unreliable, the products it produced were indeed as advanced as it claimed, surpassing current technology.

Perhaps due to the significant gap between the knowledge Tao Limeng had learned and the technology of this device, his research efforts had been particularly challenging, and he still hadn't found a breakthrough.

The more difficult it was, the more he wanted to study it, even controlling himself from wanting to disassemble the device to see its structure.

This behavior had been caught by Lou Hao several times, and Bai Xiaoyu had caught him too, making it a common sight now.

However, Tao Limeng knew his limits and only tinkered with surface parts.

Bai Xiaoyu opened the alchemy furnace lid, intending to refine these White Bone Flowers.

Feeling a bit guilty, Tao Limeng stood up and peeked over, only to see a pile of bones next to Bai Xiaoyu, each part of a human body, now disassembled into pieces.

Tao Limeng suddenly remembered what Bai Xiaoyu had said last time, and instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

Not only that, but he also felt a vague pain in his leg bones, ribs, and spine.

He moved away from the pile of bones and stammered to Bai Xiaoyu, "Boss, believe me, I really didn't want to dismantle this precious refining device. Okay, I admit that when I delved deeper into my research, I secretly dismantled a few external parts, but I put them back afterward, so it doesn't affect your use. Can we please remove these bones?"

Bai Xiaoyu looked up and noticed Tao Limeng's nervous gaze on the White Bone Flowers, and chuckled.

"No, these are medicinal herbs, and I need them now."

Tao Limeng was stunned. "These are medicinal herbs? Anyone who doesn't know better would think this is a tomb raiding site."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Who robs tombs along with the tomb owner? What kind of grudge is that?"

Tao Limeng walked over and marveled at the White Bone Flowers. "Are these really not bones you took from someone else?"

Bai Xiaoyu looked at him. "Do you want to try?"

Tao Limeng quickly changed the subject. "I've studied the components of this refining device, and many of them are things not yet discovered in the current galaxy. More importantly, its structure is simply perfect, far surpassing current technology. This isn't something that can be manufactured now; if developed naturally, it would take at least a century to create such a potion refining device."

Tao Limeng was extremely curious about where Bai Xiaoyu got this device, but he didn't ask.

If Bai Xiaoyu got angry and threw him out or worse, killed him to cover it up, he wouldn't be able to finish his research, and he would die with regret.

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. "Keep studying."

He began refining the White Bone Flowers. Tao Limeng had seen him refine potions before and soon became engrossed in studying the potion refining device again.

So when Lou Hao came in, he saw both of them busy, completely ignoring him.

Well, years of dealing with Tao Limeng had become routine, and now there was Bai Xiaoyu too.

He opened his optical brain and started handling matters related to the StarNet Pharmacy.

When Bai Xiaoyu finished refining the last White Bone Flower, Lou Hao told him, "Boss, the future students' accommodations have been built. As per your requirements, they include classrooms, mental strength training rooms, and alchemy rooms. The alchemy room has fifty furnaces. Should we go check it out now?"

Bai Xiaoyu shook his head. "I'm busy now, no time to go. By the way, when will those students arrive?"

Lou Hao: "They'll arrive tomorrow night. They're traveling at normal speed, unlike that madman Tao Limeng, so it takes them more than a day longer."

Bai Xiaoyu continued refining another batch of nutrient solution herbs, while Lou Hao uploaded them to the StarNet Pharmacy and arranged for the robots to pack and deliver them.

Lou Hao looked at the quantities listed—only a thousand or two each time—and compared them to the Huang family's output, feeling the stark difference.

He turned to Tao Limeng and kicked him. "Speed up your research."

Bai Xiaoyu ignored them and went to the incubation facility, selecting three severely damaged eggs to repair their shells.

During the process, he took breaks of one to two hours to recover his mental strength. By evening, he had finished repairing them.

Now, the incubation facility had five blood eggs.

The other damaged eggs weren't urgent; he would wait for the next batch of White Bone Flowers.

After checking all the eggs, he focused on the one with seven yolks. Initially, this egg was the largest among all, but due to low absorption, its size had not changed much and had even been surpassed by the others.

It's important to know that as other eggs develop, their demand for nutrient solution gradually increases.

Even Xiaodidian, which has the lowest absorption rate among all the eggs, is still increasing its absorption little by little.

Not only has this egg's absorption rate not increased, but today it even decreased slightly.

Bai Xiaoyu frowned. He had been at a loss about this seven-yolk egg from the start, checking it daily without much progress.

In recent days, most of his attention was on the damaged and silent eggs with countdowns, leaving him unable to focus here.

This time, Bai Xiaoyu concentrated all his attention on this egg, from the shell to the liquid inside.

He carefully probed everything with his mental threads.

So far, there were no issues.

Finally, Bai Xiaoyu focused on the seven yolks sitting side by side, touching each other.

Mental power inherently carries some aggressiveness, and even with deliberate control, it's impossible to completely eliminate this nature.

Even a tiny bit can be fatal to these newly formed eggs whose development is incomplete.

Currently, he couldn't find any problems, yet he needed to probe the yolk somehow.

How could he successfully explore the yolk inside without harming the egg?

Bai Xiaoyu pondered overnight, trying to recall the books he had read and the various medicinal pills he had repaired.

Finally, in a corner of his memory, he remembered an incident from when he was around five or six years old. Someone had gone berserk, and their powerful mental awareness was uncontrollably attacking others.

In the end, they sought help from his father. How did it get resolved?

It was called... Erosion Spirit Grass.

The medicine made from this grass, when applied to the head, forms a thin film.

This film would consume and dissipate any mental power passing through it.

If the person was unconscious, their mental power would spontaneously probe out, weakening before it could harm others. The mental power passing through the film would be in a state of disintegration, losing its ability to attack.

The drawback was obvious: the mental power passing through the film would dissipate, causing severe pain. This pain would quickly bring the person back to their senses.

Undeniably, this suited his current situation perfectly.

He just needed to send out a thin thread of mental power, pass it through the film, and probe the yolk before the mental power dissipated.

Without delay, he immediately sent out the information about Erosion Spirit Grass.

More and more people were bringing him medicines now, apart from the two legions; they might also help find it.

By the second day, after handling matters at the nursery, he had to take Dahan and Xiaodidian out for a walk.

There was no way around it; he had been too busy lately to look after them.

These two had temporarily stopped fighting and joined forces to stick close to him, wanting him to take them out to play.

Thus, by late afternoon, Bai Xiaoyu finally took the two eggs out for a stroll.

He walked towards the edge of the forest near his nursery, with Dahan bouncing along beside him.

Bai Xiaoyu had to touch Dahan occasionally because he was holding Xiaodidian. If he ignored Dahan, the big egg would roll on the ground.

Xiaodidian was the most excited since this was his first outing.

Looking at Dahan leading the way and then at Xiaodidian in his arms, feeling the joy of both eggs, Bai Xiaoyu's gaze softened.

For some reason, Bai Xiaoyu opened his optical brain. The application for guardianship over Xiaodidian was stuck.

It was stuck at the final step, not approved yet.

Normally, guardian applications don't take this long.

Approval or rejection usually comes quickly. What did being stuck mean?

Neither rejecting nor approving, just stuck in this phase, neither moving forward nor backward.

What Bai Xiaoyu didn't know was that his adoptive parents had seen the application.

They were the ones who caused it to be stuck.

Bai Xiaoyu clicked to expedite the approval and then exited the optical brain. Now he could only wait for the result.

At that moment, the mental power left in Xiaodidian suddenly sensed something, and Bai Xiaoyu stopped.

Dahan also stopped, hopping over to him and rubbing against him, as if asking what was wrong.

Bai Xiaoyu patted Dahan and looked down at Xiaodidian in his arms. "My mental power seems to sense a very tiny fluctuation of mental power from Xiaodidian."

He had long noticed that Xiaodidian was unusually intelligent. The appearance of mental power fluctuations, even if just a tiny bit, indicated that Xiaodidian's mental power was strong.

Previously, Xiao Yi's mental power was almost 2S, but it didn't appear this early. Perhaps the injuries Xiao Yi suffered affected his mental power.

Dahan wobbled, indifferent to the matter of Xiaodidian. Still, he obediently listened to Bai Xiaoyu.

Bai Xiaoyu felt the intermittent mental fluctuations inside Xiaodidian and gently tapped its shell. "Xiaodidian, you're amazing."

Xiaodidian became even more excited, while Dahan rolled over.

At that moment, Bai Xiaoyu's optical brain received a call request.

Bai Xiaoyu answered, "What's up?"

On the other end, Lou Hao said, "The junior brothers and sisters have arrived. I'm currently arranging their accommodations."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Then you arrange it. I'm busy playing with the eggs; I don't have time."

Lou Hao looked at the two eggs beside him, his mouth twitching slightly, especially when he saw the large black egg. It made his whole body ache.

No one knew what species this egg was, but its shell was as hard as iron, making collisions extremely painful.

Being too busy to play with eggs was indeed a good excuse.

Lou Hao: "But these juniors all specifically asked to see you."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Tomorrow then; it's late now."

Lou Hao glanced at the arrogant juniors and replied, "Alright. You're right; we should humble them a bit."

Bai Xiaoyu: "?"

He really was just busy.

Moreover, there was no obligation for him to greet them upon their arrival.

Thus, the students from Imperial Star were left waiting for a night.

Bai Xiaoyu used his mental power to exhaust the little one and played with the big black egg before heading back.

Upon returning, he received good news: the 29th Army had found the Erosion Spirit Grass first. However, the person who found it was too far away, so it couldn't be delivered until the next morning.

As long as they found it, that was fine.

The next day, shortly after Bai Xiaoyu got up, he took the little one and the big black egg to the breeding center for food when he heard noise outside.

Stepping out, he saw many students in the uniforms of the Imperial Military Academy's Pharmacy and Breeding Departments gathered at the entrance of the breeding center.

Bai Xiaoyu walked out, crossed his arms, and asked, "What's all the noise about?"

The people outside finally noticed Bai Xiaoyu and exclaimed in surprise. Then, sixty pairs of eyes all focused on him.

Soon, representatives from the Pharmacy and Breeding Departments appeared, a man and a woman.

"We came here for an internship, but you didn't show up yesterday, nor did you make any arrangements. So we had to come find you. We want to learn your alchemy techniques, and if possible, can we meet the master behind you?"

"We also want to learn how to remove dark matter from inside the eggs. When can we start learning?"

Bai Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow, "Why the rush? I remember saying before that you might not be able to learn it."

This statement caused the faces of the talented students to show signs of discontent.

They were truly unconvinced. With Bai Xiaoyu's aptitude, he could master any subject with just a few points on exams. How could they, with their outstanding grades, fail to grasp it?

At this moment, Lou Hao came down with a stack of contracts. "Morning."

Bai Xiaoyu nodded towards the crowd, "Xiaolou, perfect timing. Go ahead and get these guys to sign the contracts."

Seeing Lou Hao approach, the crowd quieted down.

After all, Lou Hao's reputation in the Imperial Military Academy was the opposite of Bai Xiaoyu's. As the chief of both the Command and Mecha Systems, he had been top since admission, and they all knew him well.

Some were even his fans, eager to get his autograph.

Lou Hao distributed the contracts to everyone.

Opening them, they were speechless. The several-page contract contained only a few sentences.

During the internship, they must unconditionally obey Bai Xiaoyu's orders. Upon completion, they must serve Bai Xiaoyu for three years. Other terms would be added later as needed.

Wasn't this a tyrannical clause?

Upon finalizing the contracts, they noticed the term "tyrannical clause" on the cover.

Everyone: "..."

In space, tyrannical clauses could be issued, but they couldn't be forced. Typically, it was a case of willing participants.

The problem was that this tyrannical clause had blank pages—three of them!

Truly unprecedented!

Lou Hao: "Consider whether you want to sign or not. It's entirely up to you, no coercion."

Seeing them glaring at him with the contracts, Bai Xiaoyu turned and headed back into the breeding center.

He was busy and hadn't thought much about the contract. He casually mentioned it to Lou Hao, who was shocked but then laughed heartily and agreed.

The crowd followed, and seeing Bai Xiaoyu not stopping them, Lou Hao let them be.

Interns in space had protections, and contracts couldn't have overly unreasonable demands. So even facing a tyrannical clause, they weren't afraid.

Back in the breeding room, Bai Xiaoyu placed the seven-yolk egg into the alchemy furnace. Just then, he received the Erosion Spirit Grass sent by the 29th Army.

All the interns gathered around him.

It was clear this was a multi-yolk egg, which were notoriously difficult to hatch in space. The more yolks, the harder the hatching.

The breeding department had seen many cases, most ending in failure. Successful ones were usually double-yolk eggs.

Before coming, their old professor had mentioned that this egg had at least five yolks. If Bai Xiaoyu could successfully hatch it and remove the dark matter, his breeding skills would be unparalleled in the entire galaxy, ensuring no one could surpass him in the future.

They carefully exchanged ideas and discussed with the Department of Pharmacy.

In the end, they sent representatives to negotiate with Bai Xiaoyu.

"This egg is a polyvitellinic egg with five or more yolks, which typically cannot develop properly and eventually becomes infertile. Now, if you can successfully nurture this egg, enhance its assimilation, and ensure its proper growth, we will agree to this *tyrannical clause*. Should you fail, the clause is nullified, and you must teach us whatever we wish to learn, without any conditions. What do you say to that?"

The large black egg stood in front of Bai Xiaoyu, swaying as if ready to strike at any moment. The many interns were frightened by the aggressive appearance of the large black egg and took a few steps back. What kind of egg was this, to be so fierce?

Bai Xiaoyu patted the large black egg, calming it down before glancing at the interns. They were certainly dreaming.

He turned back to look at the other eggs and replied, "Fine, under the witness of the live stream viewers, no one can renege on their word."

Many newcomers felt Bai Xiaoyu was getting too confident; this time, the interns were likely to win for sure.

Bai Xiaoyu started placing medicinal herbs into the small alchemy room to refine them. The Erosion Spirit Grass and other auxiliary herbs were refined into small medicinal pellets. Feeling it was about right, he guided the small pellets onto the egg, evenly coating it.

Soon, the medicinal liquid formed a thin, transparent layer.

Bai Xiaoyu knew it had worked.

The students from the Department of Pharmacy watched his smooth movements with envious eyes. Seeing the rhythm firsthand was even more impressive.

This trip had indeed been worthwhile.

Bai Xiaoyu extended several threads of mental power, forcefully piercing through the thin film. After being devoured, the mental power threads were about to disintegrate. He endured the intense pain and, just as the threads were about to break, entered the egg, cautiously probing into the yolk.

Perhaps because his mental power was unusual, he managed to persist longer.

Quickly, he probed the first yolk, finding nothing inside.

From the beginning of the egg's development, tiny consciousnesses slowly form within the yolks, very weak and undetectable until the hatchling takes shape.

After such a long incubation period, the yolk remained empty.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power threads circled the yolk once more before completely disintegrating.

He confirmed there were no growing consciousnesses.

Then he extended another thread of mental power.

Nothing.

Six threads of mental power were devoured and disintegrated, yielding no results from six yolks.

Bai Xiaoyu touched his forehead; the pain from having his mental power devoured was excruciating. There was still one yolk left unexplored.

Taking a deep breath, Bai Xiaoyu extended the seventh thread of mental power, probing into the last yolk.

And then he froze.

A consciousness was present, but not just one.

This consciousness had seven distinct yet indistinguishable waves, all originating from the same source.

Each wave was extremely weak, almost disappearing.

The mental power thread persisted for two rounds before finally disintegrating.

Bai Xiaoyu opened his eyes, realizing the seven consciousnesses had merged into one, residing in the same yolk.

Or perhaps the other yolks were empty, while the last yolk contained seven consciousnesses, forming a single entity, inseparable.

Since new consciousnesses must rely on the yolk to survive and cannot leave it—similar to a soul leaving the body—and would dissipate upon separation,

it was clearly the latter.

Bai Xiaoyu rubbed his forehead, feeling the pain from losing seven threads of mental power intensify.

The symptoms of this Huluwa egg were indeed quite bothersome.

Chapter 044

Though it was a headache, they finally understood what was going on inside the egg.

Knowing the symptoms made it easier to find a solution rather than being in the dark.

Let him think carefully about how to resolve this situation.

Bai Xiaoyu fell into deep thought as the two old professors entered the live stream. They had just finished a meeting with the school, causing their late arrival.

Entering the live stream in good spirits, they saw Bai Xiaoyu and the students surrounding him, their eyes filled with satisfaction.

They had connections with President Luo and had seen some data from there, which gave them great hope for Bai Xiaoyu.

The future of the interstellar world might change because of Bai Xiaoyu.

The two professors were initially smiling, but soon noticed something was amiss in the atmosphere of the live stream. After seeing the comments and hearing others discuss the matter, they immediately exploded.

"What's wrong with you? This is the attitude you have towards your internship?"

"Didn't we tell you what to do before you left? Have you all forgotten? Whatever your senior tells you to do, you must do it without question."

Their voices startled Bai Xiaoyu and the students.

Looking up, they saw the two old men—one jumping with anger, the other with a red face from fury.

The students' expressions changed.

"Professors..."

"Shut up! Don't call me that. You're really trying to kill us."

"Immediately cancel the bet, apologize, and then follow your senior's instructions diligently."

The sixty or so students hesitated for a moment but stood firm, their faces full of defiance.

The professors were exasperated, "You... you..."

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at the talented junior brothers and sisters around him, all in the prime of their youth, brimming with confidence and arrogance.

"Professors, don't worry. We'll proceed as agreed, and I'll make them see reason."

With these words, the students from the pharmaceutical and cultivation majors faced off against Bai Xiaoyu, a sense of tension building between them.

The old professors scolded them harshly, then finally said to Bai Xiaoyu, "We've discussed with the school and decided to appoint you as an honorary professor at the Imperial Military Academy. During the internship, you will be their mentor. From now on, as long as they are students of the Imperial Military Academy, they must follow your academic arrangements."

Bai Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow; this would make his next steps much smoother.

The professors glared at the students, frustrated, "What are you waiting for? Call him mentor."

Reluctantly, the students called him mentor in a scattered manner.

Bai Xiaoyu acknowledged it with a nod, making the talented students even more resentful.

The professors continued, "If anyone disobeys, you can send them back anytime."

Bai Xiaoyu nodded, "That's exactly my plan. If they don't meet my requirements or complete the assigned tasks, they will be sent back."

The students scoffed, thinking they could never fail to meet Bai Xiaoyu's standards or complete any task.

Being sent back was out of the question; internships at the Imperial Military Academy were highly sought after, and being sent back would ruin their reputation.

Tao Limeng, holding a hammer, appeared beside Lou Hao, "Quite lively here, huh?"

Lou Hao winced, almost crying out, and turned to glare at Tao Limeng, "What are you doing? Did you come down just to hit my shoulder?"

Tao Limeng: "Your reaction is too strong. With your physique, even if you were injured, it shouldn't be this bad."

Lou Hao: "It used to be fine, but my physique has been damaged. If you hit me harder, I might need to be carried away."

Tao Limeng paused, "You didn't mention it was this serious. Was it done by the Huang family?"

Lou Hao's eyes darkened, "Speaking of which, why did you help the Huang family develop the pharmaceutical synthesizer?"

Tao Limeng: "Didn't you send me a long message two months ago, begging me to help you?"

Lou Hao's expression grew darker, "Two months ago, I was ambushed, and my neural interface was taken away."

Tao Limeng: "I see. When I couldn't reach you, the Huang family told me you were on a secret mission. Anyway, it wasn't completed, and the core part wasn't done. Your photos arrived just in time."

Lou Hao: "If I knew you were working for the Huang family, I would have told you sooner."

Tao Limeng: "Well, it worked out, didn't it?"

He then turned to Bai Xiaoyu, "Are you really going to follow him?"

Lou Hao nodded, and Tao Limeng excitedly waved his hammer, "Good. Before I fully understand that pharmaceutical synthesizer, I'll follow him too."

Lou Hao: "After that?"

Tao Limeng: "Science is endless, what do you think?"

At the same moment, Bai Qi received the news.

His eyes darkened; Lou Hao had hidden himself with Bai Xiaoyu, no wonder their people couldn't find him.

Huang Ming showed off his beautiful silver wings, "Cousin Bai Qi, he's just a useless person, why bother? He has no evidence; even if he speaks up, it won't affect us much. Look at my wings, aren't they beautiful?"

Bai Qi looked at him. For the sake of this useless Adou, he had chosen to sacrifice Lou Hao, and now he suddenly felt it was too much.

He had given the other party a choice, but unfortunately, they refused. Since Lou Hao did not want to join his ranks and could not be of use to him, he had to be destroyed.

Now, not only did the other party escape, but they also took Tao Limeng, whom he had favored.

Bai Qi looked at the intelligence sent by his subordinates; Tao Limeng was now appearing beside Bai Xiaoyu.

However, he wasn't in a hurry. The other party probably went to see Lou Hao. There was nothing at Bai Xiaoyu's place that could keep this guy, so he would likely leave in a few days.

At this moment, Bai Xiaoyu had already turned off the live stream and looked at all the students.

His gaze swept over everyone as he said, "I now know about the problem with the many-yellow eggs. I will find a way to solve it. During this time, I will assign tasks to you. Currently, the eggs have barely grown, so the deadline will be when we detect a significant increase in their size. During this period, I cannot be the only one working hard while you waste your studies. Now, I will distribute the most basic assignments. When the assessment comes, if you don't want to be sent back, you'd better study hard."

When the students received the materials, they couldn't help exclaiming.

"What's going on? I'm a pharmaceutical major, why am I getting materials for cultivation?"

"On the contrary, I'm a cultivation major but received materials for pharmaceuticals. Are you giving us the wrong materials and then assessing us?"

The big black egg next to Bai Xiaoyu was about to jump again, but Bai Xiaoyu held it down. He turned to the interns with various expressions and said, "The materials are correct. It's simple: those in the pharmaceutical major must learn cultivation knowledge, and those in cultivation must do the opposite."

"Are you kidding? Why should I learn unrelated subjects? Are you deliberately making things difficult for us out of personal grudges?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "You're thinking too much. I'm very busy and won't do anything unnecessary. Anyway, there will be an assessment. If you pass, you can continue interning here. If you fail, pack up and leave."

The students grumbled but were eventually driven away by Bai Xiaoyu.

Zhang Yi and Lu Qing, who were nearby, were just as excited as the students.

"Master Bai, do we also get these materials?"

Bai Xiaoyu nodded, "When you study and train, if you're interested, you can join us."

Zhang Yi and Lu Qing immediately cheered. They had seen Bai Xiaoyu refining medicine before. At first, they thought another master was responsible, but it turned out to be Bai Xiaoyu.

Now, receiving the materials—though they were about pharmaceuticals—they were extremely excited and eager to start learning.

The students looked at the two with exaggerated expressions, thinking they were exaggerating or acting for show.

After the students left the cultivation center, Bai Xiaoyu continued pondering the situation with the gourd baby eggs.

Meanwhile, the students returned to their quarters and began discussing the materials they received.

Should they study or not?

Most interns were unwilling, some indifferent, and only a few started reading the materials carefully.

The leaders of the two majors were Pan Ren Zitao from the pharmaceutical major and Zhou Miaomiao from the cultivation major.

Ren Zitao, somewhat carefree, quickly made a decision after thinking it through, "Study."

This statement surprised everyone. Given Ren Zitao's usual personality, he didn't seem like someone who would bow down easily.

Zhou Miaomiao, after some thought, also spoke, "I agree with Ren Zitao. We must study, otherwise, how will you score zero on the assessment?"

Everyone shuddered. For a group of top students, scoring zero would be unbearable.

Ren Zitao: "If we don't study, what if he sends us all back? From our previous encounters, I believe he means what he says. Don't forget why we came here. If we get sent back, we lose everything."

Thus, the interns grudgingly studied subjects outside their expertise while cursing Bai Xiaoyu.

On the other side, Bai Xiaoyu held Xiao Budian and leaned against the big black egg. He searched his memory and soon found a herb deep within—Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass.

He sat up abruptly, took out his tools, and drew the Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass, transmitting its characteristics and growth environment.

This herb was extremely rare, and it was unknown how long it would take to find it.

While thinking about the Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass, Bai Xiaoyu also thought about the interns.

Those interns, he hoped they wouldn't disappoint him.

Those who didn't meet his requirements would face no mercy.

Time quietly passed over the next two days as Bai Xiaoyu refined medicines and checked on the eggs.

Finally, news of the Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass arrived.

It was discovered by Xiao Shiwu's mother, who brought it directly to the cultivation center.

Bai Xiaoyu went out to greet them. As soon as he stepped out, a fluffy little bird, slightly taller than his knee, stumbled towards him with its unfeathered wings flapping.

His eyes lit up. Wasn't this Xiao Shiwu?

Goodness, in just half a month, it had grown quite a bit.

Xiao Jindiao rushed to Bai Xiaoyu's feet, jumping and flapping its wings, trying to fly onto Bai Xiaoyu.

The big black egg and Xiao Budian instantly became alert. The big black egg nudged Bai Xiaoyu, trying to push the fluffy Xiao Jindiao aside.

Unfortunately, Xiao Jindiao was too excited to see Bai Xiaoyu again and wasn't afraid of Big Black anymore.

Hmph, Big Black always hogged Bai Papa. In the past, he was happy to hatch earlier than Big Black, but now he couldn't see Bai Papa every day.

So today, he had to snuggle in Bai Papa's arms until he got enough.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the big black egg and stroked Xiao Budian with his fingertips before squatting down.

The chubby Xiao Jindiao dove into his embrace, pushing Xiao Budian's nursery box aside.

Bai Xiaoyu almost immediately sensed the excitement of Little One, even his mental power tendrils emerged.

The Big Black Egg was the same; the entire egg couldn't help but want to burrow into his arms.

Finally, Little Fifteen's mother came over and chuckled at Bai Xiaoyu's slightly disheveled appearance.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at her, "Stop laughing. We're about to fight. When do you plan to take your little golden eagle away?"

"Master Bai, the little one misses you. I originally planned to come alone, but later decided to bring him personally. When he found out, he wanted to come along too, fearing that I would leave without him, always following me and tripping me up every time."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaoyu nodded at the little golden eagle, "Little Fifteen is so good. I miss you guys too."

Little Fifteen's parent watched their interaction, her smile growing wider. Soon, she seemed to remember something and took out a box.

"Master Bai, while flying with the little one for fun, we accidentally discovered this plant. Its appearance is very unique, and after seeing the picture you posted, I immediately recognized it. It was collected from mid-air on a cliff. Take a look—this is the herb you need, right?"

Bai Xiaoyu took the box, opened it, and was pleasantly surprised.

It was indeed the Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass.

At first glance, there was only one palm-sized circular leaf with six outer petals. Upon closer inspection, the palm-sized circular leaf was red, with a pattern formed by bright and dark shades of red.

Not only that, embedded on this large leaf were six smaller round leaves of different colors, each bearing a Tai Chi symbol.

These small leaves had six different colors: clear yellow, green, blue, cyan, purple. They were all the same size and shape, appearing as if they were part of the large circular leaf, but in fact, they were only embedded on its surface, with half of each leaf exposed.

This Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass has the effect of strengthening the mind and spirit. Moreover, if someone's soul leaves their body, one can extract a leaf and separate it into yin and yang halves. The yang half can be placed on the forehead, while the yin half can carry the soul.

The soul can exit through the yin half, and when the two halves are recombined, the soul in the yin half can control the body without returning to it.

This is exactly what the gourd baby egg needs.

Now he couldn't extract the weak consciousness within, and the other yolks couldn't develop without a consciousness.

With the Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass, he could connect the consciousness to the yolks without extracting it.

Bai Xiaoyu put away the Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass and thanked Little Fifteen's mother. He offered her payment, which she refused. Then Bai Xiaoyu gave her some of Little Fifteen's growth solution, plus some nourishing and purifying potions.

Bai Xiaoyu played with Little Fifteen in the amusement park for a while. This little guy was full of energy, and it would take hours to exhaust him.

Thinking of the gourd baby egg, he poked Little Fifteen, "Little Fifteen, I have something important to do now. I'll play with you next time."

Although the little golden eagle was reluctant, he still nodded.

Since the beginning, he had gotten used to Bai Papa being busy. Playing with him for a while already made him very happy.

Next, he could continue playing with his mother.

Worried that Little Fifteen might get bored, Bai Xiaoyu turned to the Big Black Egg, "Big Black, why don't you stay here and play with Little Fifteen?"

The Big Black Egg reluctantly agreed, but Little Fifteen looked at the pitch-black Big Black Egg, finding it somewhat intimidating.

Bai Papa, please come back and take the black leader away; he can't handle it here.

Bai Xiaoyu returned to the cultivation room, settled Little One, adjusted his mental state, and placed the gourd baby egg into the alchemy furnace.

The Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass didn't require any additional herbs; he just needed to refine it into a liquid and guide it into the egg.

He removed the six leaves of the Yin-Yang Grass, including the largest red one, making seven leaves of different colors.

Each leaf had yin and yang poles, with different colors: bright and dark red, bright and dark orange... bright and dark purple.

He separated the yin and yang poles of each leaf and began refining the liquid.

The largest red leaf was refined first, quickly forming two streams of liquid.

Using mental power threads, Bai Xiaoyu guided the liquid into the egg and onto the surface of the yolk containing the complete consciousness.

Upon contact with the yolk, the liquid instantly formed half of the Tai Chi symbol in bright red on the yolk, then guided the other half over. The yolk presented a red Tai Chi symbol identical to the original leaf.

Next, Bai Xiaoyu processed the orange leaf similarly, guiding the bright orange yang half to one of the yolks without a consciousness, forming half of a bright orange Tai Chi symbol.

Then, Bai Xiaoyu quickly completed the process for the remaining five leaves, guiding the yang half of each leaf to the other yolks without consciousness, forming half of a bright yellow/green/blue/cyan/purple Tai Chi symbol.

The remaining six yin halves were simpler; after refining them into liquid, he guided each one to the yolk containing the complete consciousness, which already had a bright and dark red Tai Chi symbol.

These liquids automatically arranged themselves, forming six half yin Tai Chi symbols of the original leaf colors.

Using mental power threads, Bai Xiaoyu carefully observed the yolk's surface. The Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass had a strong attraction to souls or mental consciousness. If not for his strong mental power, he would have lost control and taken a leaf with his mind.

After careful examination, consciousnesses soon entered.

Bai Xiaoyu restrained his excitement; the first to enter was the red one. The consciousness within could stand out among the other six, likely the strongest.

Then came the orange...

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven!

All the tiny consciousnesses were attracted inside!

Bai Xiaoyu then used his mental power to drive the other six yolks without consciousness, allowing their yang and yin halves to combine.

After some effort, all the yin and yang halves merged, embedding six Tai Chi symbols within the largest red Tai Chi symbol, resembling the unrefined Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass.

Now that the yin and yang poles were generated, were the consciousnesses within connected to the yolks?

Thirty seconds later, he saw the other six yolks, as if starved for a long time, start to frantically absorb the external nutrient solution!

And that yolk, bearing all the consciousnesses, finally gained complete control over the entire yolk, causing the absorption rate to soar!

Chapter 045

Bai Xiaoyu's eyes softened. _The little guys must be starving, right?_

Looking at the yin-yang symbol flickering on the egg yolk, he sensed the presence of the consciousness within. The consciousnesses were still connected and had not fully separated. However, they could partially enter the yin side of each yin-yang symbol without affecting the main body.

The Seven-Colored Yin-Yang Grass nourishes and repairs the spirit. Once these consciousnesses gradually repair themselves into complete entities, the connections between them will weaken. Then, he can separate them one by one.

After observing for quite some time and confirming that the eggs were fine, he withdrew his mental energy.

Watching the nutrient solution absorption rate steadily rise in the incubation chamber, Bai Xiaoyu finally felt relieved.

Once the eggs show significant growth, it would be time to test the interns.

Estimating the growth time of the eggs, he began to review the materials he had given to the interns and prepared the exam questions.

On the other side, the students were scratching their heads while studying.

The content was different from the textbooks. Not only were there many herbs not mentioned in the books, but also the optimal temperatures for integrating various herbs, potions, and liquids in the alchemy furnace. There were even more peculiar and seemingly unscientific contents.

They were utterly confused.

Something seemed off about this material, as it lacked expert verification. They even suspected that Bai Xiaoyu was trying to fool them.

"Do you think he'll test us soon?"

"Who knows? That egg with more than three yolks has been a problem for so long. It would be strange if he solved it quickly. Testing might take forever."

The next day, they went down to check on the multi-yolk egg.

Bai Xiaoyu was there too, and they soon saw that the eggs' size had not changed.

It seemed the issue was still unresolved. After all, this was an egg with more than three yolks; it couldn't be solved so quickly.

As they had thought the night before, it wouldn't be easily resolved.

They should have set a deadline with Bai Xiaoyu. Otherwise, who knows how long they'd have to wait.

However, they soon noticed that the absorption rate of the nutrient solution had increased sevenfold since yesterday and was still rising.

They were shocked. Could Bai Xiaoyu have actually solved the problem?

So they watched the egg from morning until evening, only to find that despite the absorption rate increasing, the eggs showed no growth.

It seemed Bai Xiaoyu had used some method to increase the absorption rate, which did nothing for the eggs' development.

Frightened by this, they sought out Bai Xiaoyu again.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the group surrounding him and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Ren Zitao and Zhou Miaomiao stepped forward as representatives to negotiate with Bai Xiaoyu.

"We hope to add a deadline. If the egg doesn't hatch after nearly three months, it's too long. After all, some multi-yolk eggs remain active inside even if they don't hatch on schedule."

He understood their concern.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the egg and explored it with his mental energy. "No need for a deadline. I solved the internal problem yesterday. It should develop soon and won't keep you waiting long."

No one believed him and wanted to say more, but Bai Xiaoyu sent them away.

Watching their backs, Bai Xiaoyu knew he wasn't lying. The eggs hadn't grown because the seven yolks required a lot of nutrients. They had been starved and needed time to recover. Moreover, newborn eggs needed over a day to reach saturation with the nutrient solution.

Now it was happening faster.

The interns discussed among themselves upon returning, clearly disbelieving Bai Xiaoyu's words.

But they didn't expect Bai Xiaoyu to call them over the next day.

They were momentarily confused.

Bai Xiaoyu usually didn't summon them. Why now?

Bai Xiaoyu started the live stream and looked at the arriving interns. "Everyone here?"

Ren Zitao and Zhou Miaomiao nodded.

"All the pharmacy majors are present."

"All the cultivation majors are present."

Bai Xiaoyu scanned everyone. "Good. Remember our bet? Now let's have the live audience witness it."

The interns were even more puzzled. Witness what?

Thinking back to the unchanged egg they saw yesterday, they felt inexplicably excited. Could Bai Xiaoyu be admitting defeat?

Just as they were gloating, everyone's attention turned to the egg.

Their pupils widened in shock. How had the egg doubled in size overnight?

What happened in just one night? Even with growth hormones, it shouldn't grow this fast!

The live audience was equally stunned, watching the data displayed on the screen showing the absorption rate had increased to 700%, with all other indicators showing healthy development. They checked several times to rule out the possibility of the egg being swapped.

Finally, President Luo stood up, his voice trembling with excitement. "According to the data, the egg is indeed developing normally now."

He knew Bai Xiaoyu always brought surprises. After solving dark matter, he had now tackled another long-standing interstellar problem!

The live audience was even more thrilled.

"Damn, I actually get to witness the day when a multi-yolk egg is cracked?"

"It's really happening! This is an egg with more than three yolks!"

"Awesome, streamer."

This news spread quickly, and Bai Xiaoyu once again topped the interstellar internet trends, sparking another storm across the stars. His name became increasingly familiar throughout the galaxy.

Bai Xiaoyu was unaware of this at the moment. He looked at the interns who were completely stunned. "How about it?"

His voice brought them back to reality. The facts were right in front of them, leaving no room for denial.

Looking at Bai Xiaoyu, their previous image of him as a wastrel from the Imperial Military Academy crumbled, replaced by the current calm and composed Bai Xiaoyu.

Their gaze toward him changed significantly. In the interstellar world, people admired strength, and whoever had the might had the say, regardless of the field.

At least at this moment, they were convinced by Bai Xiaoyu, and they accepted the bet they had made.

Bai Xiaoyu observed the now more subdued interns and pulled out a stack of exam papers. "Since you accept it, let's start the test now."

He handed the papers to Lou Hao. "Take them back to the classroom and have them do the test. I'll join you after finishing the live stream."

The interns didn't expect Bai Xiaoyu to be so decisive, starting the test immediately.

Bai Xiaoyu also instructed Zhang Yi and Lu Qing to go along and take the test with them.

When Bai Xiaoyu arrived after the stream, everyone was still working on the test.

He surveyed the group; the interns seemed quite composed, but Zhang Yi and Lu Qing were sweating and fidgeting nervously.

Bai Xiaoyu understood. The interns from the Imperial Military Academy naturally weren't afraid of exams, while the two assistants, who had graduated years ago, felt the pressure of competing with them.

An hour later, Bai Xiaoyu collected the papers. Including the two assistants, there were sixty-five in total.

Glancing through the answers, he found most of them correct.

The questions were standard, not just for testing but to assess how well students from different majors could integrate new knowledge.

The results came out quickly. The students from the Imperial Military Academy's top majors lived up to their reputation, having excelled among hundreds of thousands of planets. A single point could make a difference of several ranks.

They showed strong adaptability to new knowledge, and more importantly, their mental powers were all S or above, with only one person at S level. There were even ten or so with dual S levels, and two reaching SS, almost at the 3S level.

As for the two assistants, Zhang Yi had A mental power, and Lu Qing had A level. Their scores were decent, but compared to the interns, they were far behind.

Their study time wasn't much different, as he had given the two assistants three days to prepare for the test without needing to care for the eggs.

However, they could serve as a reference for many already-employed cultivators in the galaxy.

Bai Xiaoyu stroked his chin, making the others nervous.

Did they perform poorly?

Bai Xiaoyu soon announced the results: everyone passed.

Just as they were celebrating, Bai Xiaoyu distributed more materials, ten times as much as before. "These will be tested in half a month. Additionally, there will be mental training. Follow me."

Mental training?

In the interstellar world, there were specialized mental training devices. As they entered the training room, they saw rows of targets with thin sheets of paper on them.

What was this for?

Seeming to sense their confusion, Bai Xiaoyu explained, "These are mental training targets. Use your mental power to pierce that sheet of paper, and you'll complete the first stage of mental training."

Most interstellar people had a single, thick, and clumsy mental power tendril.

Whether refining medicine or guiding dark matter within the eggs using a cauldron, such a tendril would be extremely difficult to use.

Thus, training was necessary to transform these tendrils into a more refined form. Practicing on thin paper was a good method.

This quickly sparked skepticism. Ren Zitao glanced at the targets. "Mental power cannot perform physical attacks."

Everyone looked at Bai Xiaoyu, who remained silent and focused on a target. A fine thread of mental power shot out, piercing the paper and weaving back and forth like a needle.

Everyone stared in shock at the target riddled with invisible holes, mouths agape.

Bai Xiaoyu said, "Your mental power forms are too rounded. You need rigorous training."

"This is impossible. What did you use to attack the target?"

Bai Xiaoyu took out a box of colorful potions and drank a light green one.

"This is a mental power dye potion. Watch closely."

Everyone then saw a light green line appear in Bai Xiaoyu's palm, circle around him, and shoot towards another target, turning it into a sieve under their watchful eyes.

The prodigies were dumbfounded, hardly believing what they saw.

Their mental powers were strong, but they had never seen anyone else's before. Moreover, their tendrils were much thicker, a hundred times thicker than Bai Xiaoyu's.

Bai Xiaoyu distributed the box of dyes. "One bottle each. Drink it and focus on practicing. No matter what method you use, if you can pierce the target with your mental power, you've completed the task."

Skeptical, they drank the potions, and instantly, tendrils appeared above their heads.

Suddenly, tendrils of various sizes and colors appeared before everyone's eyes.

They were stunned once again.

Bai Xiaoyu waited until their shock subsided. "In the morning, you'll practice this. In the afternoon, you'll start by identifying herbs. Once you complete the second stage, you can try using the alchemy cauldron to remove impurities from the herbs."

Everyone watched as Bai Xiaoyu retracted his mental power, swallowing nervously.

They remembered that Bai Xiaoyu's mental power was rated F?

Looking at the target riddled with holes, they knew that F-level mental power couldn't produce such power.

Two interns nearly at the 3S level approached one of the targets. Blue and green mental power tendrils shot out from their heads, piercing the target.

The mental power tendrils, thicker than fingers, rushed forward, yet left no trace on the thin paper.

Their mental power was almost at the 3S level, so why didn't it work?

Everyone couldn't resist trying, but none succeeded.

Soon, they turned to look at Bai Xiaoyu's hand where his mental power had appeared. Seeming to know what they wanted to ask, a thin mental power filament emerged from above his head. "Mental power doesn't just appear in your head. If you can control it freely, it can appear anywhere on your body. Practice hard, and I'll wait for your good news."

This wait lasted half a month. The interns, practicing day and night, began to doubt themselves. Some could barely touch the target, but still couldn't penetrate it.

Over these two weeks, the eggs began to improve. The damaged ones were repaired with White Bone Flowers. Among the fifty-odd eggs, twenty blood eggs emerged after repairs.

These blood eggs, equipped with electric motors, grew rapidly, keeping pace with the eggs sent by the legion. The eggs from the region developed normally. Most astonishingly, the gourd eggs, with seven yolks, grew from basketball-sized to basket-sized in just two weeks, becoming giants among the eggs.

Now he was boiling the eggs, using the Cleansing Agent to expel dark matter from inside them.

The observing interns and assistants looked eager to try.

Bai Xiaoyu thought that these guys had recently made some progress and believed that guiding the agent or expelling dark matter within the eggs would be easier than piercing the targets.

Bai Xiaoyu felt they were too young; controlling mental power within the eggs would be even harder.

Without personal experience, they wouldn't believe him.

So, Bai Xiaoyu decided to let them try early.

Originally, this plan was reserved for after they completed the second stage with mental power.

Bai Xiaoyu turned and glanced at them. "Alright, if you want to try, go ahead. But you're responsible for the consequences."

Everyone was thrilled at the chance to finally put their skills to the test.

Bai Xiaoyu led them to the newly built alchemy room. Opening the door, rows of alchemy cauldrons greeted them. Each cauldron had a table in front, with various basic herbs prepared and an egg in a transparent box.

The eggs were all the same size, slightly larger than a basketball. They resembled the eggs in the incubation facility, but were actually artificial, specifically designed for practice. Bai Xiaoyu had checked each one with his mental power; there were no life signs inside, making them perfect for beginners.

Everyone exclaimed in surprise and rushed forward.

Selecting their positions, they looked around eagerly.

Bai Xiaoyu: "This is your chance to try. For the first attempt, the requirements are low. You don't need to remove impurities from the eggs or herbs. Just refine one herb and guide the liquid into the egg. That's all. Whoever completes this can directly enter the second stage."

Excited, everyone prepared for their first attempt at refining medicine in the cauldron. At this moment, Lou Hao walked in, puzzled by the scene before him. "Didn't you say this was for the second stage?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "They were eager to try, so I agreed."

Watching the students begin to control the fire in the cauldrons, placing herbs and eggs inside, many, especially those from the Department of Pharmacy, moved with practiced ease, looking quite professional.

Lou Hao: "Their movements are impressive. They seem to have improved a lot over the past two weeks."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Not bad, but not enough yet."

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at the students below, then quickly took out a box containing earplugs and put them in his ears.

After putting his own on, he handed a pair to Lou Hao. "These are noise-canceling earplugs Tao Limeng made. Put them on."

Lou Hao was a bit confused about the sudden need for earplugs, as it wasn't noisy. But since his boss said to wear them, he did.

As soon as he put them on, a loud explosion rang in his ears, catching only the beginning of the blast. Looking up, he saw the front row of cauldrons explode, forming mushroom clouds above them.

The explosions continued, shaking the entire building and filling the air with the smell of burnt eggs.

Once the smoke cleared, the aftermath became visible.

Some were knocked down by exploding cauldrons, others covered in cracked eggshells and blackened hair, and still others held half-cooked yolks, their clothes torn and tears welling in their eyes.

The alchemy room was filled with debris and smoke, and the ground littered with broken egg whites and yolks.

Bai Xiaoyu coughed lightly, but Lou Hao couldn't help laughing heartily.

At that moment, Tao Limeng's call came through on the optical brain. Bai Xiaoyu answered.

Tao Limeng: "What are you doing upstairs? Testing bombs?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Sort of. Sixty-five eggs, all exploded."

Everyone remained frozen in place, pretending not to hear.

Especially the interns, whose faces burned with embarrassment. Their A physical constitutions meant the explosions only caused minor injuries.

They had seen Bai Xiaoyu effortlessly expel dark matter from the eggs, thinking they could do the same after so much practice. Instead, their attempts ended in disaster.

Over the past two weeks, Bai Xiaoyu had thoroughly humbled them, and this explosion shattered whatever pride they had left.

Chapter 046

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the mess in the room and then at the interns who were frozen in disbelief. He slowly removed his earplugs, not saying a word, just silently observing them.

Over the past half month, their progress seemed good, but it was still far from satisfactory, falling short of his standards.

Thus, the entire space was filled with Lou Hao's laughter. The varied reactions of everyone made their scalps tingle, and they couldn't help but steal glances at Bai Xiaoyu, only to quickly look away when they met his gaze.

After ducking their heads, they inevitably saw the broken eggshells scattered on the ground, mixed with egg yolks and whites—a stark contrast to their imagined scenario of perfectly completing the task and impressing Bai Xiaoyu with their achievements. In this moment, they didn't know where to place their hands or feet.

While Lou Hao's mocking laughter made them feel ashamed, Bai Xiaoyu's gaze made them feel utterly humiliated.

Once Lou Hao finished laughing, the interns gradually stood up. After a while, they had mostly regained their composure and stood with their heads down, not daring to look at Bai Xiaoyu.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at them, clapped his hands, and soon several robots entered with micro-repair devices, starting to treat their external injuries.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Once your injuries are healed, clean up the mess you made. You're responsible for cleaning up after yourselves."

Everyone expected to be ridiculed, but upon hearing these words, they hurriedly started cleaning up.

In the end, each person had a damaged alchemy furnace in front of them, along with half-cooked or partially cooked chunks of egg white or yolk.

Bai Xiaoyu looked around, "Fortunately, these were artificial eggs today. What if they were real eggs? Think about it carefully."

Their expressions changed slightly as they realized that the egg liquid and shells on their bodies represented the loss of small lives, all due to their lack of skill and arrogance.

After finishing his words, Bai Xiaoyu left, with Lou Hao following him.

Lou Hao: "This should teach them a lesson. But shouldn't you scold them more?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "No need."

Lou Hao: "Why not?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'll include artificial eggs in their upcoming lessons every day. Alchemy furnaces will explode daily."

Lou Hao: "..."

Thinking about the grim situation and seeing Bai Xiaoyu's calm expression, Lou Hao's lips twitched. This was much harsher than any verbal reprimand.

After tidying themselves up, the interns rushed to the mental strength training room.

This time, looking at the targets, they no longer found them annoying. They drank the mental strength dye and repeatedly pierced the targets, enduring the tedious process until their mental strength was depleted. They slowly recovered and continued, repeating the cycle.

In one morning, they could go through this cycle three times.

This was much better than their previous training sessions, which barely exhausted their mental strength by the end.

Seeing their efforts, Bai Xiaoyu felt satisfied. It seemed that one explosion was enough; he would have to do it more often in the future.

In the afternoon, Bai Xiaoyu led the mentally drained interns to the Pharmacy Building.

Hundreds of people were queuing here. Parents of Xiao Shiqi and Xiao Shiba were familiarly inspecting herbs, sorting them by quality, and transferring credits, performing these tasks with great proficiency.

The interns watched curiously, especially since they rarely came here and didn't expect so many people.

After all, D36, an edge planet, had never been densely populated, and after the insectoid invasion, the population had decreased even further. Their Ninth District was particularly sparse.

What was happening now?

Seeing the number of people here, Bai Xiaoyu noted that the collection time was from 8 AM to 6 PM, and the current crowd wasn't even the full extent. People kept arriving continuously.

Many recognized Bai Xiaoyu and greeted him happily. Some young fans even ran over, surrounding him and chattering excitedly.

"Teacher Bai, I collected herbs today. Look at what I brought back."

"Me too! Check mine first; maybe I found some rare and high-quality herbs today."

"And me..."

Suddenly, there were over ten children, including pure human kids and mostly half-beast children. They were somewhat thin and had average mental strength and physical constitution, like most of the young ones raised by cultivators in this world, affected by dark matter, resulting in D and E-level mental strength and constitution, which would affect their lifespans.

Bai Xiaoyu squatted down and took out small, round white candies, about the size of thumbs, with transparent sugar wrappers tied into bow shapes.

He patted the head of a little half-beast child whose arm had been bitten off by an insectoid three years ago. As a half-beast, his body below the neck was in beast form, and the abnormal half-beast shape was already unstable. After his arm was damaged, his form became even harder to control.

Now, the child had a human head and beast body, human hands, and beast legs. Before this, Bai Xiaoyu had seen him with various combinations of human and beast parts.

"Little An, you did great today. Here's a candy for you."

The other children looked at him eagerly. Bai Xiaoyu found it amusing and patted each of their heads, praising and giving them candy.

"Little guys, go call your friends over."

The children nodded eagerly and quickly ran off. Soon, more children arrived, all accompanied by their parents. The amusement park at the cultivation center clearly held great appeal for these young ones.

More and more children came with their parents, and Bai Xiaoyu had noticed their longing looks before. He let them play inside once but realized it wasn't feasible to allow them in every time. So, he built a small amusement park outside, which became a favorite spot for these children.

Seeing the children leave and return with more, the interns were stunned. There were so many young ones here.

Bai Xiaoyu finished distributing the candies and then said to the little ones with a smile, "Today, I won't be checking your herbs. Instead, these brothers and sisters behind me will do it. They are all future excellent cultivators. Go back and tell your parents to bring the herbs here; we'll accept them."

After the little ones left, Bai Xiaoyu turned around to face the group of interns behind him.

"For the past half month, you've been learning about herbs by having them placed in front of you. But today, your task is to sort the herbs brought by the little ones and their parents according to type. For herbs of the same type, you need to further categorize them by quality. Different types and qualities of herbs have vastly different prices, so don't make any mistakes."

Soon, many parents arrived with their children, filled with gratitude towards Bai Xiaoyu. They knew their little ones' situations well. Recently, the children's mental strength and physical health had improved significantly, which thrilled them. When they asked the little ones, the only explanation was that Bai Xiaoyu gave them candies.

Bai Xiaoyu refused their offer to give him the herbs. After the parents left, the little ones stayed, each holding herbs and looking curiously at the sixty or so intern brothers and sisters.

Bai Xiaoyu transferred some credit points to everyone and then said to the interns, "Go ahead. By the way, the little ones have learned quite a bit from constant exposure, so don't let them catch you making mistakes."

Then he turned to the little ones again, "If you think these brothers and sisters made a mistake, point it out, and you get a candy for each one."

He shook the candy box in his hand.

The little ones cheered immediately.

He took the herbs from one of the little ones and, under the interns' watchful eyes, sorted an entire basket of herbs in less than a minute.

"This is how you sort them; it's very simple. Now it's your turn."

The interns watched Bai Xiaoyu work and thought it indeed looked easy, but they remembered the morning's mishap. Their expressions were no longer as relaxed. Some hadn't even started sorting when they were caught by the little ones.

"Brother, Cultivator Bai said you'll be excellent cultivators in the future. Will the siblings you cultivate also be able to fight the insectoids on the battlefield like those cultivated by Cultivator Bai and drive them away?"

"Sister, can you restore the appearance of deformed half-beast eggs like mine to their original beast form?" Little An spoke up, "My father is a hero who protects everyone, and I want to fight on the battlefield like him. But my physical condition and mental strength aren't good. If I could have met you when I was still an egg, it would have been great."

The person being asked was taken aback, remembering the eggs they had previously destroyed. Looking at the little ones, they felt even more ashamed.

Bai Xiaoyu watched quietly. On this war-torn planet, the children here yearned for strength more than those on other planets. Unfortunately, the planet was heavily contaminated by dark matter from the insectoids, and without proper nurturing during the incubation period, the best opportunity to improve had been missed.

There were countless planets like D36 where such defective little ones were born every day, unseen by others.

He looked at the interns, his eyes flickering.

Each person's herbs were different, and there were dozens to hundreds of varieties scattered across various baskets. Initially, they didn't feel pressured, but when faced with a mix of herbs, it was entirely different from recognizing individual plants.

Moreover, they had to deal with the enthusiastic little ones, answering questions and accepting hugs and kisses.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as they struggled to sort the herbs while gradually becoming more comfortable with the little ones, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

Take it slow; the torch needs to be passed. He was willing to be the first to pass these torches throughout the galaxy.

After half an hour, Bai Xiaoyu looked at the sorted herbs.

He took out the candy box and asked the little ones, "Do you think the brothers and sisters made any mistakes? There are candies for pointing them out."

The little ones looked at each other, hesitating.

Bai Xiaoyu found it amusing and wondered if the friendship formed over an hour could withstand the storm of candies.

Just as the little ones were hesitating, the interns gently encouraged them, "Little ones, go ahead and tell us. We want to know too."

One of the little ones suddenly seemed to remember something and said happily, "Sister, I'll go tell them. Let's split the candies later."

The other little ones quickly followed suit, excitedly pointing out mistakes.

Bai Xiaoyu couldn't help laughing as he watched them pick out both correct and incorrect sorts.

For the correct ones, the interns immediately understood. For the correct sorts, the interns next to them frantically winked at Bai Xiaoyu and made a gesture asking for help.

Bai Xiaoyu watched their antics but ultimately decided not to intervene. Mistakes were mistakes and shouldn't be overlooked. However, he offered to record the correct sorts under the corresponding interns, leading to a happy outcome. Each intern received candies, which they then gave back to the little ones.

After sending off the reluctant little ones, Bai Xiaoyu turned to the interns and said, "We'll continue these practical exercises every day. Those who made mistakes earlier, including those who wanted to give candies to the little ones, will be marked down one egg each time. Remember, it doesn't matter if you make mistakes now, but once you graduate, every egg you destroy means one fewer adorable little one like those just now."

"Can we postpone this training for a while?"

"Yes, until we're more proficient in this area."

Bai Xiaoyu shook his head, "No."

That night, through the surveillance, Bai Xiaoyu discovered that most of the interns, who should have been resting, were practicing in the mental strength training room. The rest were cramming herb knowledge.

At three in the morning, a cry echoed from the training room.

Bai Xiaoyu had just finished making a potion, showered, and was about to go to bed when he couldn't resist opening the holographic projection from the surveillance.

He saw that Zhou Miaomiao's target had a small gap. Her dyed mental strength tendrils, originally rounded, now had a slight protrusion, a tiny spike.

This wasn't the end. As Zhou Miaomiao broke through, Ren Zitao, another 2S top-tier mental strength user nearby, also broke through. His tendril developed a curved hook, leaving a mark on the target.

The others gathered around them, envious but soon returned to their training.

Bai Xiaoyu couldn't hide his smile. At that moment, the two eggs waiting for him on the bed finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the big black egg nudging him and felt the frequent urging from the small one through his mental strength.

Glancing at the interns making progress in the surveillance, he realized he could finally get some sleep. But first, he needed to calm down the big and small eggs.

Chapter 047

Bai Xiaoyu climbed into bed, and Dahede followed, rolling onto the bed and snuggling close to him. He reached out to touch Dahede's warm egg body. Dahede pressed even closer, wiggling as if trying to roll into his arms.

Bai Xiaoyu nudged Dahede. "Dahede, stop crowding me; you can't fit in here, and I can't hold you either."

Xiaodidian couldn't move, but its tiny mental tendrils were frantically waving, like snail antennae—short and small, yet much more flexible. Perhaps due to their shared mental energy source, Xiaodidian had grown mental tendrils shortly after first contacting Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy threads. Other eggs needed their parents to use mental energy for enlightenment, but Xiaodidian seemed to have completed the initial enlightenment unknowingly.

This was quite a pleasant surprise.

In other words, even if those two didn't come to enlighten Xiaodidian, Bai Xiaoyu could help complete the process.

This relieved Bai Xiaoyu, as his previous application for guardianship had not yet been approved. He suspected it had something to do with those two individuals.

He reached out to stroke Xiaodidian. While other eggs grew like rising dough, Xiaodidian's growth was extremely slow, barely increasing in size. It used to be slightly smaller than his palm, now it was just a little larger, with a diameter increased by less than two centimeters.

Compared to Dahede, this size was negligible. Among the batch of eggs, excluding the largest one, the smallest ones were still the size of footballs, much larger than Xiaodidian.

Mental energy threads probed into the egg, where the tiny tendrils waved enthusiastically, welcoming his presence.

Bai Xiaoyu used his mental energy threads to circle around Xiaodidian's mental tendrils, gently poking them.

The short, chubby, soft tendrils began clumsily chasing Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy threads. Xiaodidian's mental tendrils gradually changed shape during the chase, becoming even finer and sharper compared to the newly formed tendrils of other eggs.

Bai Xiaoyu was pleased with this progress and gained a new appreciation for Xiaodidian's mental energy strength. This progress matched that of the top two interns.

While playing with Xiaodidian using his mental energy threads, he also stroked Dahede, lightly tapping the black eggshell. Sensing Dahede's movement, he then probed inside Dahede with his mental energy.

This time, he still remained at the surface. Yesterday, he had given Dahede another Cleansing Pill, making it the third one. More dark matter had been cleared.

With the reduction of dark matter, Dahede had become increasingly active and energetic, absorbing the nutrient solution more efficiently.

As his mental energy entered, he immediately noticed a black-and-white bone claw waiting there. Upon sensing his presence, it excitedly approached, its claws stretching and contracting, seemingly trying to grab the mental energy threads.

Bai Xiaoyu found this amusing and wrapped his mental energy threads around the bone claw, gently pulling.

The black on the bone claw had faded significantly, and some flesh had begun to grow, no longer being consumed by the dark matter. Although still affected, it was much better than before.

The sight of flesh growing amidst the black-and-white bones would scare most people.

After playing with the two eggs for a while, Bai Xiaoyu yawned.

At this moment, the excited claw inside Dahede paused, gently pushing as if urging him to go to sleep.

Xiaodidian's mental tendrils waved goodbye to Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy threads, though they had returned to their original state, looking somewhat dejected and limp.

Bai Xiaoyu poked both eggs with his mental energy threads. "It's late now. Let's rest, and we'll play again tomorrow."

Before sleeping, he glanced at the interns who were still practicing and asked the system to remind them to rest.

The next day, Bai Xiaoyu brought the two eggs to the nursery, where the interns had already arrived.

Several of them in the front row looked visibly excited. Bai Xiaoyu knew that more breakthroughs had occurred after he went to sleep. There were five in total.

The interns, initially excited, now hesitated when facing Bai Xiaoyu, unsure what to say.

After waiting for a while, seeing they still couldn't speak up, Bai Xiaoyu chuckled and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Ren Zitao and Zhou Miaomiao exchanged glances, and Ren Zitao stepped forward.

"Um... five of us can now pierce the target."

Bai Xiaoyu smiled, habitually using the praise he usually gave the eggs. "Really? That's great."

Despite hearing many compliments before, they felt their faces heat up upon hearing this, feeling both excited and oddly familiar.

Then they saw Bai Xiaoyu patting Dahede and holding Xiaodidian. "Dahede and Xiaodidian are great too."

Everyone: "..."

Were they being treated like eggs?

Bai Xiaoyu continued the live stream, and this time the interns observed carefully, no longer distracted.

After experiencing the explosion of eggs, they realized how difficult it was to control the temperature of the alchemy furnace and the burning sensation when refining herbs with mental energy. Many hadn't even touched the eggs before the herbs exploded.

Watching Bai Xiaoyu place the herbs into the alchemy furnace with fluid movements, opening the lid to release smoke, revealing the egg immersed in black-gray liquid, intact unlike theirs, made them realize how far they still had to go.

The entire process took only half an hour.

Thinking about their own disastrous attempts within minutes, their earlier joy vanished.

To reach Bai Xiaoyu's level, they still had a long way to go.

The viewers in the live stream noticed the change in the interns and wondered what had happened to these prodigies. The two old professors, however, were delighted to see the students finally settling down.

After the live stream, Bai Xiaoyu comforted Dahede and Xiaodidian and led the interns back to the alchemy room.

New alchemy furnaces had been installed.

These furnaces were specially designed by Tao Limeng, using ordinary materials instead of hard mech materials, similar to the ones he used when learning alchemy. Back then, he had experienced many explosions. Being young, starting at six or seven, he had practically grown up amid explosions.

After announcing the start, Bai Xiaoyu put on earplugs, causing everyone's faces to redden. They hesitated, looking at the artificial eggs, before taking a deep breath and beginning.

The five successful ones were more confident, eager to try again.

Soon, the alchemy room began exploding again.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the differently shaped mushroom clouds, calmly comparing which one was more beautiful.

Five minutes passed, and everyone else had already exploded their concoctions, leaving only five people behind.

But they were drenched in sweat, clearly struggling to hold on.

Two minutes later, they too exploded their concoctions.

This time, after healing their wounds, they silently tidied up, each lost in thought as they stared at the shattered eggs.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Great progress."

Zhou Miaomiao thought for a moment before asking, "Mentor, didn't you say that once we enter the second stage, we could start refining medicines and removing impurities from the eggs? Why do I still feel so powerless? After refining the herbs, I can't remove the impurities inside, and pushing the resulting medicinal mass feels like moving a mountain—it's so heavy I can barely manage it."

The others nodded in agreement. That small medicinal mass was indeed incredibly heavy; they wished they could open the lids and push with their hands.

Bai Xiaoyu: "The leap in mental strength required for the second stage is significant. The early stages cannot compare to the later ones. Your mental strength isn't strong enough, or rather, its effective strength is insufficient. Your mental force tentacles are thick, but even though they've improved, it's only slightly at the tips. This partial improvement doesn't form a cohesive whole. While it can pierce within a limited area, guiding the medicinal mass requires a continuous trajectory. How can localized reinforcement work effectively? Next, you need to strengthen all your tentacles to match the tips, making the process effortless."

Everyone had an epiphany and followed Bai Xiaoyu to the mental strength training room.

Except for those five individuals, everyone else continued practicing mental force penetration. These five were taken to the adjacent room.

There were many transparent boxes filled with viscous, clear liquid, and targets placed inside. Not just one target, but nine arranged in a row, spaced twenty centimeters apart.

Bai Xiaoyu: "The liquid in these boxes is specifically designed to hone mental strength. It exerts suppression, and without sufficient mental strength, you won't be able to overcome the resistance. If you enter with your blunt tentacles, you might not even break through the surface of the liquid. Each of the nine targets has progressively increasing density and resistance. When your mental strength penetrates the ninth target, congratulations! At that point, pushing a small medicinal mass—or even an egg—will be no problem."

Of course, exceptions like Dahei, the massive creature, would still apply.

Bai Xiaoyu turned to them, "If you understand, let's begin."

The five nodded and stood in front of separate transparent boxes. After drinking the mental force coloring agent, five different colored mental force tentacles emerged and plunged into the boxes.

Then they got stuck a centimeter away from the box, their heads buzzing as if they had hit something hard.

When they regained their senses, they were stunned by the situation.

All their efforts amounted to just a centimeter.

If the previous medicinal mass was a mountain, this place felt like ten mountains. Each subsequent target was twice as difficult as the last; how could they possibly push through?

They turned to Bai Xiaoyu, their faces twisted with frustration.

Bai Xiaoyu chuckled, "What good does looking at me do? Keep pushing forward. Do you want me to demonstrate?"

They hesitated but eventually nodded, unable to imagine completing such a task.

Bai Xiaoyu drank the mental force coloring agent, and a thin thread of mental force appeared at his fingertip. With a gentle flick, the thread shot out like an arrow. This time, it was a delicate pink thread that entered the transparent box effortlessly, swiftly piercing through the first target, the second, ..., and the ninth!

The five watched in amazement as the thread retracted, circling inside the box as if patrolling its territory. Finally, it emerged and formed three words above their boxes—Push Push Push.

Seeing their own progress of just a centimeter, their mental force tentacles drooped. How did they ever think Bai Xiaoyu was useless? They were the ones who were.

As for Bai Xiaoyu, he was beyond human—he was a monster.

Unaware of being demonized in the interns' minds, Bai Xiaoyu withdrew his mental force and went back to his work.

After finishing a batch of pills, Lou Hao came to find him.

Lou Hao handed Bai Xiaoyu a document, "This is our production of nutrient solutions over the past half month. Our output exceeds many small pharmaceutical companies, allowing us to apply to become a supplier for the interstellar market. Once we become suppliers, we can apply to establish regional pharmaceutical departments on planets. However, besides quantity, our nutrient solutions are too uniform and don't meet the requirement of having seven essential basic medicines."

Bai Xiaoyu took the document and opened it. Lou Hao, sounding a bit excited, continued, "We have all these basic medicines, and even better versions, but in smaller quantities. These seven medicines might be challenging for other suppliers, but for us, there's no pressure. The only issue now is whether we have a stable supply chain for herbs or our own large herb fields to ensure consistent production."

After reading, Bai Xiaoyu said, "Our herb acquisition is still in its early stages. Let's build this up first, gain experience, and then expand to other planets. Currently, the herb fields should be prioritized."

After all, herbs take time to grow. He had considered this before, but then there weren't enough people, and the herbs were sufficient.

Now things were different. Across the entire interstellar region, countless eggs needed various herbs. Besides nutrient solutions, the bone-washing elixir used to remove dark matter required large-scale cultivation of bone-washing grass. Otherwise, it would be a drop in the ocean.

At that moment, a robot approached, informing them that visitors had arrived and transmitted a projection.

A middle-aged man with a scholarly appearance, accompanied by a sharp-looking assistant, led a group of about ten people of varying ages. Their expressions were a mix of anticipation and anxiety.

Bai Xiaoyu and Lou Hao went out and soon appeared before the group.

Upon seeing them, the eyes of the visitors lit up.

The scholarly man spoke first, "Hello, Master Bai. I apologize for the sudden visit, but we had no choice. Let me introduce myself—I am Yu Cheng, the district head of District Nine."

Bai Xiaoyu: "District Head Yu, hello. Let's go inside to talk."

They walked through the garden to the Pharmacy Building. Yu Cheng smiled at the steady stream of people selling herbs, and those behind him also showed surprise.

Yu Cheng: "Master Bai, are you interested in becoming a pharmaceutical supplier?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "We do have plans, but the conditions aren't currently met."

Yu Cheng: "Which condition is lacking? Perhaps I can help."

Bai Xiaoyu thought for a moment, "I want to develop herb fields. Could you tell me the process?"

Yu Cheng: "It's simple. District Nine is vast and sparsely populated. Choose any land and apply to the district; I'll approve it directly."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Thank you." Then he turned to Lou Hao, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Yu Cheng: "Actually, I'm here because they came to me, and I had no choice but to bring them to you."

Bai Xiaoyu looked behind them as Yu Cheng continued, "They are all the cultivators on this planet. Due to the decreasing amount of medicinal herbs acquired over the past half month, the Huang family has started cutting off the supply of potions to various cultivation centers across the region. They threatened us, demanding that we must stop purchasing herbs from you and revoke your alchemy rights. Otherwise, they will withdraw from Planet D36. If they do withdraw, it will happen in six months. Given the conditions on Planet D36—lacking resources, backward, and harsh—other potion merchants may not be willing to move in. Thus, our planet will lose half of its direct connection with the Pharmacy Department. It would be a disaster for those newborn eggs."

Yu Cheng added, "The Huang family's potions have often been subpar, and many district chiefs have given feedback. However, their voices get silenced halfway. We've been enduring this for years, and so have the people here, including those who sell medicinal herbs. We fear that if they leave, it would cut off hope for our newborn eggs. Now, we really can't tolerate it anymore. People's lives have just started to improve, and they are causing trouble again. Most importantly, the quality of your potions is evident to everyone. If half the planet's newborn eggs could be entrusted to you, we would be completely at ease."

Bai Xiaoyu felt anger towards the Huang family's actions. However, faced with the district chief's flattery and the pleading gazes of the people behind him, he pulled Lou Hao over, "We can take over without any problem, and we can immediately provide potions to those cultivation centers. As for other non-cultivation and non-potion matters, I know nothing about them, so you can discuss with him."

Lou Hao's hatred and disgust towards the Huang family intensified even more. This time, being pushed forward, he immediately began negotiating with the district chief.

When the district chief left later, he purchased a significant amount of potions to distribute to the cultivation centers that had been cut off by the Huang family.

While the Huang family was waiting for the district chief to bring people to Bai Xiaoyu's place to cause trouble and then compromise, Bai Xiaoyu had already been dragged away by Lou Hao to inspect nearby areas suitable for growing various medicinal herbs.

Chapter 048

Planet D36 has experienced war and appears desolate and backward, but its terrain, geology, climate, and other conditions are highly suitable for the growth of various plants.

Therefore, many people here make a living by gathering herbs, for this very reason.

Bai Xiaoyu and Lou Hao took a flight around in their aircraft and, after careful consideration, chose a piece of land located between District Nine and District Ten. This area contained a towering mountain range that experienced all four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Considering the growth characteristics of various medicinal herbs, a mountain range encompassing multiple climates clearly had an advantage.

However, just looking at this mountain range, it seemed challenging to develop herb fields on it.

Lou Hao followed his gaze. "What's the matter? You've been lingering here longer than anywhere else."

Bai Xiaoyu: "This place seems quite suitable."

Lou Hao: "Shall we go down and take a look?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Sure."

The two descended, with the robot leading the way and them following behind.

Bai Xiaoyu was not particularly robust; he used to be the first one to get out of breath when walking with others. But now, the situation had changed.

When Lou Hao was rescued, his physical condition was F-. After half a month of recuperation, it had improved to D-. Although Bai Xiaoyu was still at D, he was slightly better than Lou Hao.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Do you want to rest for a bit?"

Lou Hao wiped his sweat. "No need, I can keep going."

After saying this, he glanced at his body, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. If he had his previous physique, he could climb this mountain without breaking a sweat. Now, not only was his physique too weak, but he couldn't even transform into his beast form.

Lou Hao: "Boss, I have a question. What are the chances of my body recovering?"

Bai Xiaoyu patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, the chances are very high. While I can't guarantee a full recovery to peak condition, it's definitely possible. Including your beast form, there's hope for that too."

The missing wings and certain bones were the main reasons Lou Hao couldn't transform back into his beast form. Additionally, the extraction of his flesh and the potential depletion caused by consuming large amounts of Wild Beast Grass medicine required gradual recovery. As Lou Hao's physical condition began to improve, the initial treatments had already taken effect. Once his physical condition and mental strength reached a certain level, they could increase the dosage of the medicine.

Currently, Lou Hao, like Bai Xiaoyu, needed to dilute the medicine, baths, and oral intake due to his fragile constitution.

Previously, he had been thoroughly discouraged by Big Black and Xiao Xi, but now that Lou Hao was here, he finally had company.

Hearing this, Lou Hao was overjoyed and suddenly felt more energetic. "If I can recover, Boss, I'll carry you flying over the mountains. No need for you to walk."

Bai Xiaoyu thought about it—a winged snake carrying him while flying...

He nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

As they walked and observed, Bai Xiaoyu grew increasingly satisfied with the place.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Can we only apply for land in District Nine?"

Lou Hao: "We can also apply for land across districts. Since this is near the boundary, construction cannot completely avoid crossing lines. Many buildings straddle the border. The opposite side is also vacant, so our application has a good chance of success."

The application was submitted, and the result came quickly.

Just as Lou Hao predicted, part of District Ten was also allocated to them. The district leader of District Ten even contacted him, asking if he needed more land and even hinted at establishing a medicinal herb procurement point in District Ten.

After securing the land, Bai Xiaoyu initially thought it was just the area he wanted, but upon seeing the actual boundaries, he was stunned.

They had allocated him a vast expanse of land, covering twenty thousand square kilometers, larger than many cities before the apocalypse.

Developing such a vast area would require significant engineering work, not to mention the planting phase afterward.

However, having a larger area was better than a smaller one. This way, he could arrange numerous types of medicinal herbs.

After the land was approved, Lou Hao started getting busy.

He brought in several engineering teams for Bai Xiaoyu to choose from. After selecting the best two teams and allocating funds, the construction of the herb fields began.

Interstellar engineering teams worked fast, thanks to advanced technology, but given the vast area and the difficulty of working on the massive mountain range, the task was still challenging.

Bai Xiaoyu was also busy. At the moment, he was browsing various seed stores on the Star Network.

A small white figure was pawing through seeds, seemingly inspecting them.

Many people were drawn to him, as it was amusing to see a furry ball checking seeds seriously, with ears twitching when satisfied and tail swishing when dissatisfied.

Bai Xiaoyu was unfazed by the crowd and had grown accustomed to moving on all fours.

Indeed, he was still using the original avatar from the Star Network. When asked why he didn't change it, he simply didn't have enough credit points. More importantly, he wanted to use his credit points wisely. Since it didn't affect his actions, he continued using it.

Over the past half month, the Star Network pharmacy had sold over ten thousand high-grade cultivation fluids through selected cultivation facilities. After deducting taxes and other fees, he had accumulated over two hundred billion credit points.

Tao Limeng received fifty billion for research, and most of the remaining funds went to the herb field construction, which still wasn't enough.

Seeing the depleted balance, Bai Xiaoyu couldn't help but lament how quickly credit points were spent.

Next, he needed credit points for seeds, equipment, and purchasing medicinal herbs.

Bai Xiaoyu calmly inspected the seeds. If there were any issues, he might find solutions, but now, he acted like someone with no worries. After all, things couldn't be rushed; he needed to do what he could step by step.

Now, ordinary seed stores had plenty of seeds for widely used herbs like cultivation fluid. They had already entrusted Lou Hao to purchase the nineteen types of herbs they needed.

Bai Xiaoyu was here to acquire seeds for less common herbs like the ones used in Vitality Cultivation Fluid and Repair Fluid, hoping to find some rare seeds.

He quickly finished inspecting the seeds in a small box, which were the primary herbs for making repair fluid. The quality was acceptable.

He directly added the box to his shopping cart. The box disappeared, and another icon for medicinal herb seeds appeared on his cart, marked with the quantity and price.

This game costs ten credits per play, which is dozens of times cheaper than the price of finished medicine.

After buying a box, Bai Xiaoyu continued to increase his purchases, intending to clear out the entire stock of this shop.

He then bought a considerable amount of seeds for the main and auxiliary ingredients of repair and nourishing elixirs. Some of the required herbs for these medicines were not recorded in the interstellar database, so he could only find some of the seeds. Once he felt he had enough, he turned his attention to the bone-washing elixir. Bone-washing grass was a herb he wanted to cultivate extensively.

Previously, most of what he had obtained were mature plants, rarely seeds.

Recently, the Sixteenth Legion and the Twenty-ninth Legion had also sent him some, but the quantity was still far from sufficient.

The bone-washing elixir is applicable throughout the interstellar region. To guide the dark matter within newborn eggs, bone-washing grass is essential.

Even now, despite accumulating bone-washing elixirs over time, he did not have many.

For now, he could only search more and cultivate as much as possible.

Bai Xiaoyu bought piles of seeds but still felt it wasn't enough. He had visited many online herbal shops, where the seeds were scanned and stored in reality, linked to physical products.

There were many varieties, but few were what he wanted.

The shop owner saw the white tiger cub looking worried and couldn't help but twitch his fingers, but eventually resisted the urge to pet it. This little beast looked adorable, but it had already contributed half a month's sales to his store.

This was a big customer; even if he wanted to pet it, he had to restrain himself and just look.

Soon, he walked over and asked softly, "Little guest, I'm the owner here. Are you unsatisfied with our herbal seeds? If these don't meet your needs, we have others."

Bai Xiaoyu turned to face the shop owner, "Owner, it's not that I'm unsatisfied, but I've looked through all these seeds and haven't found what I want."

The owner curiously asked, "What kind of seed are you looking for? We have most of the interstellar medicinal seeds here."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'm looking for seeds that aren't recorded, more obscure ones."

The owner stroked his chin, seemingly thinking. Then he said, "You can try the Star Network Black Market. There, you'll find all sorts of things you wouldn't expect, perhaps including what you're looking for."

Bai Xiaoyu was immediately drawn in by the suggestion, "Star Network Black Market?"

The owner smiled at the tiger cub with its ears perked up and explained, "It's the free trading area on the Star Network, similar to the real-world black market. We call it the Star Network Black Market. However, minors cannot enter without an adult. You're still a cub, right? Why don't you tell your parents and let them take you there or buy it for you?"

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at his appearance, "I'm an adult; I just had poor mental strength and had to use a minor's avatar. But thank you for telling me this."

Though surprised, the owner quickly recovered and helped Bai Xiaoyu by sending him coordinates.

Bai Xiaoyu soon teleported to the location, standing in front of the entrance to the Star Network Black Market, guarded by two humanoid robots. People were coming and going.

As Bai Xiaoyu approached the entrance, he was stopped by an intelligent robot.

It was a beautiful female robot who looked at the tiger cub and said, "Minors are not allowed to enter the Star Network Free Trading Market without adult permission. Little one, please stop."

Bai Xiaoyu sighed, "I'm an adult. If you don't believe me, check my data."

Then the male robot also came over, and both robots' eyes suddenly emitted light as they scanned the small, fluffy creature for a long time.

Not only that, they also notified the supervisor.

The supervisor came out, confirmed Bai Xiaoyu's data, and told the robots, "He's an adult, no problem. Go back to your posts."

Then he turned to Bai Xiaoyu, "I know this place well. With those short legs, do you need me to carry you in?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "…No, thank you."

Entering the Star Network Black Market, Bai Xiaoyu found it bustling with stalls. Apart from the various avatars, it felt like returning to the pre-apocalyptic era.

With a sense of nostalgia, he walked past each stall.

Indeed, there were all kinds of items here, from food and clothing to energy guns, cannons, and even mechs.

Bai Xiaoyu's current goal was only herbs or herb seeds, but the known interstellar herbs were still more prevalent. Some people noticed that he was only interested in herbs and seeds and acted generously when making purchases. They quickly introduced him to unknown herbs, boasting about their miraculous effects, such as bringing the dead back to life.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at them, but with his limited knowledge, they all looked like ordinary weeds.

Despite the constant chatter, he made significant gains but still needed more, so he continued forward.

A small tiger cub hopped along, constantly scanning the stalls on either side.

Suddenly, the tiger cub stopped, almost losing balance and rolling forward.

He approached a stall, eyeing a plant that curved like a snake with fine scales.

This was a holy herb for snakes, the transformation grass. Even near-death snakes could shed their skin and transform after consuming it.

The tiger cub blinked his animal eyes, thinking Lou Hao was lucky. He had originally come to find bone-washing grass seeds but stumbled upon this instead.

He pawed at the transformation grass, feeling the slightly raised scales and the peculiar slippery texture of snake skin. He sniffed it, detecting a faint scent of herbs mixed with a slight muskiness.

It was indeed the right herb.

The stall owner observed the young cub, amused by his actions of touching and smelling the herb, and couldn't help but say, "Little guy, your parents must be really trusting to let you wander around here alone. They should be careful you don't lose your pants."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'm an adult."

The stall owner: "Kids always say that. My son does too. The herb in your hand was something I found interesting and brought home for him to play with, but it scared him. If you like it, take it."

Bai Xiaoyu: "This is a very precious herb called transformation grass. It's too valuable to give away. Name your price, and I'll buy it."

The stall owner found the cub's serious demeanor amusing and waved his hand, offering his terminal, "Just give me whatever you think is fair."

Thinking the cub was underage, he expected a small amount.

After the tiger cub left, he casually glanced at the transferred amount and was stunned—so many zeros!

He was given one hundred million credit points!

Bai Xiaoyu looked at his current balance; that one hundred million was now the bulk of his remaining funds, with only a few tens of millions left. He wondered how many seeds he could buy with it.

He continued walking, spending an entire day almost covering the entire interstellar black market.

The little tiger lay on a rock, panting. Even in the Star Network, there was physical exertion and fatigue, and he felt like he would be kicked offline by the system soon.

So far, he had only encountered a few plants of the Cleansing Grass, too few, and not a single seed.

Worried, he was.

At this moment, his gaze fell on a man with a scar across his face, standing not far ahead. More precisely, it was on the herbs in the man's hands.

It was a Cleansing Grass, one with seeds.

The little tiger jumped up and rushed over. Upon closer inspection, he found that the stall had more than just one plant of Cleansing Grass—there were about ten, each with seeds.

Bai Xiaoyu: "These herbs..."

Scar-faced man: "Kid, have your parents come."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'm an adult."

Bai Xiaoyu and the scar-faced man locked eyes. The man's gaze was sharp and his demeanor intimidating, with a scar on his face.

After their exchange of glances, the scar-faced man nodded, seemingly believing Bai Xiaoyu's words, and replied, "These herbs are not for sale. I want a favor in exchange. I've eaten this herb before; its effects can improve physical strength and mental power, but the process is extremely painful. I know a place where there are plenty of these herbs. I can trade this information for a favor."

Bai Xiaoyu: "What kind of favor?"

Scar-faced man: "Do you trust me? Many people don't believe in the efficacy of these herbs."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I do. This is Cleansing Grass, which can cleanse the body and enhance potential. It's exactly what I need right now. You can tell me your favor, and I'll see if I can fulfill it."

The scar-faced man opened his optical brain and showed Bai Xiaoyu a video.

The footage showed a gaunt woman, her limbs reduced to skin and bones, but her belly was swollen. Her bony hands, covered in veins, constantly caressed her belly, occasionally turning and convulsing in pain.

The scar-faced man's expression was pained. "This is my partner. We are freelance mercenaries. Three months ago, we took a mission and upon returning, discovered she was two months pregnant. It should have been exciting news, but it turned into a nightmare. The egg inside her began developing, with sharp tentacles piercing through the new egg into her body, draining her essence and nutrients. We consulted doctors, who said the egg and the host had become a symbiotic entity, making abortion impossible. I've been searching for solutions, even consulting high-level alchemists from the Huang family, but they told me it was hopeless and suggested handing her over for research. I injured them and fled with my partner. There are still over two months until the hatching, and I don't know if she can survive until then. But now I have a new hope and plan to seek help from someone else."

Bai Xiaoyu watched the woman in the video. She was parasitized. He had encountered similar symptoms before, but never one that started parasitizing from within the egg. He took a deep breath. "I can try, but I cannot guarantee the safety of both mother and child."

The scar-faced man, remembering the alchemist's cruel intentions, his expression turned grim. "How will you try?"

Bai Xiaoyu opened his optical brain and shared his identity and address. "My name is Bai Xiaoyu, and I am a cultivator. If you trust me, bring her here as soon as possible."

The scar-faced man looked at the information and then at the little tiger, his fierce demeanor softening. "I know you. You were always my last hope. If you can't help, no one can. If you need these herbs, I can take you there. There are many, all with seeds."

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. Finally, there was news about the Cleansing Grass. The woman and the egg inside her were already in great danger, and bringing her sooner would be better.

Chapter 049

To avoid sellers running off with credit points or switching goods after payment, interstellar black market transactions must be conducted on physical stalls across various offline platforms throughout the galaxy. These stalls have card slots where the items are locked in place. Once the transaction is successful, the item drops into a shopping cart below the slot for packaging and delivery.

After logging out, Bai Xiaoyu quickly received the Transformation Grass along with other seeds and miscellaneous herbs.

Upon receiving the Transformation Grass, he inspected it once more.

Despite being harvested a few days ago, the seller's professional technique ensured minimal loss of its medicinal properties.

Transformation Grass is usually consumed immediately after harvesting. Many snakes found it and swallowed it whole.

Rumor has it that this herb is somewhat eerie; the juice it exudes is as red as blood and tastes like blood too. The texture when eaten is similar to snake meat. Everyone who has eaten Transformation Grass describes it as if they had swallowed a live snake.

Of course, there is still a faint herbal aroma proving its nature. Moreover, the herb is about two fingers thick, with a curved body resembling a snake. Without transforming into a beast form, a normal person cannot finish it in one bite.

Without delay, Bai Xiaoyu informed Lou Hao to wrap up his current affairs and set aside three days for the transformation.

Lou Hao finished his work late at night, and Bai Xiaoyu asked him to wait in his room.

Bai Xiaoyu washed the Transformation Grass and placed it on a white plate, garnishing it with a few sprigs of coriander.

As he was about to leave, he paused. The Big Black Egg hopped over, and the little one on the bed waved its mental tentacles, calling out to him.

Lou Hao, waiting anxiously in the room, felt uneasy again when asked by Bai Xiaoyu to wash up and wait. The idea of disappearing resurfaced until he saw Bai Xiaoyu carrying both eggs—one black and one white, one big and one small. He instantly realized he was overthinking again. The two eggs were already showing hostility towards him, which he was almost getting used to. As long as they didn't attack, his small frame couldn't handle a fight with an egg—it would be embarrassing.

Ignoring the eggs' hostility, Lou Hao asked, "Boss, what do you need me to do this time?"

Bai Xiaoyu handed him the plate with a half-smile, "Good news. I've brought something good for you."

Distracted by the eggs, Lou Hao finally noticed the plate in Bai Xiaoyu's hand. Seeing the snake-like body and scales, he took several steps back, looking terrified and refusing, "Boss, what are you doing? My beast form is a snake, so I never eat snakes."

Bai Xiaoyu found it amusing, "This is Transformation Grass. Eating it will initiate your transformation period, reshaping your body. With time, you can recover to your peak condition."

Lou Hao was stunned, then appeared right in front of Bai Xiaoyu, staring intently at the Transformation Grass, "Is this herb really that miraculous?"

Bai Xiaoyu handed it to him, "I never joke about such matters. Take it."

Lou Hao carefully accepted the plate, staring at it without blinking.

Seeing him hesitate, Bai Xiaoyu urged, "Eat it."

Lou Hao placed the plate on the table, finding the herb increasingly snake-like, "How should I eat it?"

Bai Xiaoyu placed a knife, fork, and chopsticks on the edge of the plate, "Choose whatever method suits you. You can also eat it with your hands. Personally, I suggest avoiding using a knife and fork to prevent the juice from leaking and making it look like a dissection scene."

Lou Hao: "..."

Why did you even bring them out then?

Lou Hao picked up the chopsticks, lifted the Transformation Grass, and under Bai Xiaoyu's watchful gaze, took a deep breath and put it in his mouth.

Instantly, the familiar sensation of scales on his tongue made his scalp tingle. He closed his eyes and bit down hard. Blood filled his mouth, and the raw, fresh meat texture overwhelmed his senses.

His stomach churned, and his hand holding the chopsticks trembled.

Bai Xiaoyu saw blood at the corner of his mouth, "Swallow it. Don't waste a drop."

Lou Hao swallowed reluctantly, but this was just the first bite, with much more left to go.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as Lou Hao slurped down the thick herb, staining his lips red.

After finishing, Bai Xiaoyu examined Lou Hao closely, asking, "How do you feel now?"

Lou Hao: "Nauseous and want to vomit."

Bai Xiaoyu: "...Anything else?"

Lou Hao's face turned red, as if flushed with blood, "Hot, my entire body feels like it's burning."

He started tearing off his clothes and rolling on the ground.

Bai Xiaoyu could hear the faint sound of bones stretching. He said, "Hold on. Transformation is painful. Endure it, or you'll suffer in vain. If you miss this chance, it might take years to recover, or you might never reach your peak again."

Lou Hao could barely hear Bai Xiaoyu clearly, but he understood the gist. Amidst the searing pain of boiling blood and deforming bones, he maintained a sliver of consciousness with sheer willpower.

Soon, his body began to change, his clothes tearing apart as his bones stretched. In no time, a silver-bellied, black-backed snake as thick as an adult's waist lay where Lou Hao had been, with sparse scales and scars from having wings removed.

Lou Hao was delighted to find himself transformed back into his beast form. He wanted to roar with excitement but the intense pain prevented him from making any sound.

In the midst of agony, he curled up tightly, feeling his body tearing apart, something emerging inside...

Bai Xiaoyu saw cracks forming around the snake, with thick, viscous blood flowing out, creating a gruesome scene.

He frowned slightly, glancing at the little one in his arms and the Big Black Egg beside him. His two eggs remained eerily calm despite the situation. The Big Black Egg was understandable, but the little one seemed unusually brave.

With both eggs acting calmly, Bai Xiaoyu felt slightly reassured and focused on Lou Hao's transformation.

The thick blood continued to flow, gradually forming a large blood cocoon. The cocoon grew thicker, and three hours later, where Lou Hao had lain, a pure blood-red egg as tall as Bai Xiaoyu's chin appeared.

He walked over and gently tapped the eggshell, which was still warm with a steady pulsing sound inside, indicating the person inside was rapidly improving.

Bai Xiaoyu was surprised. Previously, snakes consuming Transformation Grass would expel old, damaged tissue and shed their skin. Now, Lou Hao had transformed into an egg. Could this be related to the physiology of interstellar snake-form beasts?

The Big Black Egg and the little one were stunned, then became increasingly hostile towards the colorful blood egg.

Tao Limeng came to find Lou Hao after finishing his work, his expression subtle upon seeing Bai Xiaoyu open the door. Bai Xiaoyu turned and let him in. Tao Limeng entered and did not see Lou Hao but instead saw three eggs.

Two were familiar, always following Bai Xiaoyu, while one was new. Had Bai Xiaoyu brought another strange egg from the incubation room? But why bring it to Lou Hao's room without any incubation equipment?

Tao Limeng: "Where's Lou Hao?"

Before Tao Limeng could wait for Bai Xiaoyu to answer, he sniffed the air and looked at the bloody egg in shock.

"Lou Hao, did you turn into an egg?!"

Bai Xiaoyu was no longer surprised by the keen sense of smell of the star beasts. "Yes, he ate the Transformation Grass and is undergoing metamorphosis."

Tao Limeng looked bewildered. "Does that mean it needs to be re-hatched?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Yes. We need to replenish all kinds of nutrients, but he won't need too long—just three days until he hatches. Also, the incubation chamber is full because we didn't expect him to directly transform into an egg. Since you're here, make a single incubation chamber for him."

So Tao Limeng worked through the night to create an incubation chamber for Lou Hao, placing the pure blood-colored egg inside. The slot began to fill with a large amount of nutrient solution mixed with the later-stage egg cultivation medicine and bone-washing elixirs.

This solution was originally prepared for the big black egg. Given the special circumstances, they had to use it temporarily.

The big black egg hopped around the incubation chamber, causing the sleeping blood egg to shudder involuntarily.

Watching the blood egg absorb nutrients at an incredible speed, Bai Xiaoyu wasn't surprised. Reconstructing a body required a lot of energy, so he needed to prepare more.

Three days later, the blood egg finally woke up.

Bai Xiaoyu was refining medicine when Zhang Yi ran up to him. "Master Bai, a blood-colored egg suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It's not one of our red-and-white eggs; it's a large, pure blood-colored one. It's fighting with the big black egg!"

Bai Xiaoyu was about to finish refining the medicine and immediately guessed what was happening. He just wanted to facepalm. After finishing up, he went with Zhang Yi to the incubation facility. Before they got close, they heard loud bangs and booms coming from the grassy area in front.

Seems like the fight was intense.

Interns were also shouting in surprise, clearly shocked by the scene before them.

They had always been curious about the big black egg that hopped around Bai Xiaoyu. After all, the eggs they usually saw never left their incubation chambers. Seeing two eggs fighting so fiercely and leaving craters on the ground was a first.

When Bai Xiaoyu arrived, he found not only the interns but also Tao Limeng, who was engrossed in the fight.

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu, Tao Limeng waved. "Perfect timing! Guess who will win?"

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the black and red eggs dodged attacks and used various tactics. Clearly, the blood egg was at a disadvantage.

The big black egg seemed to be holding back, considering how fierce its previous fight with Xiao Xi had been.

Without hesitation, Bai Xiaoyu said, "The big black egg."

Tao Limeng was surprised. "Lou Hao is an adult, the top student in both the Command and Mecha Systems. There aren't many people in the Imperial Military Academy who can match him."

Bai Xiaoyu: "But he's no match for the big black egg."

Indeed, the big black egg was holding back. It didn't like this guy, but he was Bai Bai's helper, and his skills were average. If it beat him too badly, Bai Bai would have to take care of him.

Even though it couldn't hurt him, it could still teach him a lesson.

Upon waking up, Lou Hao felt a surge of strength, as if all the past weakness had vanished. Frustrated after being cooped up for so long, he saw the big black egg and decided to confront it.

During this time, the big black egg had taken good care of him, and now he wanted to repay it.

He hopped over and slammed into the big black egg.

The two eggs soon engaged in a fierce battle.

As the fight continued, Lou Hao grew increasingly frustrated. Despite feeling much better, he still felt overpowered.

Being consistently dominated and led around by the other egg severely damaged his newfound confidence.

What kind of egg is this? Even the strongest student from the Imperial Military Academy can't defeat it?

The more he fought, the more embarrassed Lou Hao felt.

Zhang Yi: "Master Bai, aren't you going to stop them?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "No worries, the big black egg knows its limits."

Zhang Yi: "I'm worried the blood egg might bully the big black egg."

Bai Xiaoyu: "You should worry about the blood egg being bullied by the big black egg."

Tao Limeng: "... Lou Hao, you've been underestimated. You need to step up."

At that moment, the two eggs collided with a loud bang, accompanied by the sound of cracking shell.

Everyone gasped as they saw the big black egg unscathed, while the blood egg had a crack at the top.

The big black egg was shocked. It hadn't used much force, yet it had cracked the other egg's shell. Oh no, would Bai Bai be angry?

So the big black egg quickly hopped over to Bai Xiaoyu, standing still with a small twig on its shell, as if in penance.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the big black egg. "Big Black, he's about to hatch. It's not your fault."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Xiaoyu turned to the curious interns. "Have you completed today's tasks? Otherwise, I'll add some more..."

The interns scattered in panic, disappearing in seconds.

Zhang Yi and the others also left, while Bai Xiaoyu returned, carrying his little one, and together with Tao Limeng, brought the black and red eggs back to Lou Hao's room.

He took out the hatching equipment and placed the blood egg inside.

The blood egg rolled around for a bit, and soon the crack at the top widened. Suddenly, something pushed it open.

A pair of silver wings emerged, not feathered like bird wings, but more like the wings of a pterodactyl, with sharp bone spurs gleaming menacingly, as if they could cut through metal.

Tao Limeng reacted the most strongly, jumping to his feet with eyes full of disbelief. "Regrowth of a severed limb in beast form?"

With the appearance of these wings, everything became much easier.

The blood-red eggshell's cracks widened, and with a fierce swipe, the wings pushed the shell apart into two halves that fell away.

Inside was a snake with a silver belly and black back, adorned with beautiful silver wings. Compared to the previous thick snake, it was noticeably smaller.

The two wings gently fluttered, still shimmering with silver light, looking incredibly beautiful.

The black snake's head turned to look at its regained wings, and it actually grinned, sticking out its tongue and hissing in laughter before starting to flap its wings wildly, flying up and down frantically.

Everyone's initial joy for him soon turned to numbness as they watched him fly endlessly until Tao Limeng could no longer bear it. "Lou Hao, are you done yet?"

The serpent gave him a glare before suddenly flying towards Bai Xiaoyu, hissing, "Boss, I love you so much. I want to give you a big hug."

The large black egg, now understanding the beast language, rushed in front of Bai Xiaoyu, sending the serpent crashing into the wall, sliding down slowly.

Tao Limeng chuckled. "Serves you right. Are you finally sober now?"

Bai Xiaoyu gently patted the large black egg and turned to Lou Hao, who had just returned from his excitement. "Your beast form is now smaller than before, likely regressing to a juvenile state. Your strength has also decreased. We should test your physical condition and mental power to see how they compare to when you were a juvenile."

Curious, Tao Limeng immediately ran over to take the test. Having known Lou Hao since childhood and having competed with him secretly, he knew roughly what to expect.

His physical condition was SS, and his mental power was SS-.

Looking at the numbers, Tao Limeng remarked, "The rank hasn't changed, but the values have increased significantly."

At this moment, he looked at Bai Xiaoyu with the same bright-eyed enthusiasm he had for the instruments upstairs, only to be blocked by the large black egg.

Lou Hao had already transformed back into human form, much shorter than before, appearing like a teenager around sixteen or seventeen. He glanced at his test report and couldn't help rushing towards Bai Xiaoyu again, calling out "Boss" before being sent flying once more.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Calm down. It's all on you now. With proper training, you'll be back to your original self in a few months."

Just then, a spacecraft landed at the entrance of the breeding facility. A tall, scarred man carrying someone wrapped in thick blankets stepped out. The blanket slipped slightly, revealing a woman's emaciated neck, barely held together by skin, occasionally twitching.

Inside the room, Bai Xiaoyu, who was examining Lou Hao, stood up and patted his shoulder. "Xiaolou, you're almost fully recovered. Seeing you fight with the large black egg shows you're energetic. There's a pile of work waiting for you, so keep it up."

Lou Hao: "I can go three to five days without rest, and I'll handle everything perfectly."

Bai Xiaoyu instructed the robot to bring the person in, coinciding with encountering the scarred man downstairs.

Upon spotting Bai Xiaoyu, the man with the scar identified the individual from the images and grew restless. "Breeder Bai, I implore you to help my companion. She's on the verge of losing consciousness from the pain, and her periods of lucidity have significantly decreased compared to before."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Hold on a moment."

Bai Xiaoyu placed Xiaobudian back into the incubation compartment. Dahhei was unwilling to leave and insisted on following him, seeming to be somewhat wary of the scarred man.

He led them to a prepared room upstairs, where Tao Limeng had set up medical equipment.

The woman was placed on the bed, and the nearby instruments quickly generated her current health report.

At this moment, the woman's vitality was extremely low, nearing the brink of death.

Bai Xiaoyu lifted the blanket, revealing a swollen belly covered in veins, with only a thin layer of skin left. Beneath the skin, something seemed to be moving constantly, pushing against it as if about to break through.

Bai Xiaoyu reached out and pressed his hand on the belly. His mental power threads probed inside, revealing a twenty-centimeter-diameter egg covered in blue segmented tentacles, each ending in a circular suction cup filled with tiny mosquito-like openings. These suction cups were deeply embedded in the mother's body, continuously absorbing nutrients, nearly draining her dry.

Bai Xiaoyu maneuvered past the suction cups, his mental power threads sneaking into the eggshell. He discovered an unrecognizable shape directly connected to the yolk, which, compared to the mother's dire condition, was surprisingly healthy.

Bai Xiaoyu withdrew his mental power, frowning slightly. The situation was more complicated than he had anticipated.

This was not an ordinary parasitic egg but a symbiotic one.

Chapter 50

The parasitic egg meant that the bizarre parasite could not be removed, otherwise, it would kill the life within the egg as well. If the life inside had already been consumed, he might attempt to exterminate the parasite completely.

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu retract his hand, the scarred man anxiously asked, "How is my partner? Is there any hope?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "That creature has formed a symbiotic relationship with the yolk. I can't guarantee anything, but I'll do my best."

The woman on the bed seemed to hear him and moved her fingers slightly.

The scarred man turned to look at his partner on the bed. "Then I leave it to you. If necessary, I choose my partner."

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. "Understood."

The scarred man stayed by the bedside while Bai Xiaoyu left for a moment and returned with nutrient solution.

The nutrient solution was extremely gentle, easily absorbed by the egg, and enjoyed by Xiao Xi and the others. Even ordinary people could drink it to replenish energy. Besides, the woman was a beastkin; if she were an ordinary human, she would have been drained long ago.

Bai Xiaoyu handed a bottle of nutrient solution to Qin Lie, the scarred man. "This is nutrient solution. Feed it to your partner; she needs to replenish her energy."

Qin Lie's expression turned pained. "I fed her something not long ago, but every time she eats, the thing inside becomes restless and starts absorbing her nutrients. That's when she suffers the most. But if I don't feed her, she won't be able to hold on."

Bai Xiaoyu knew this was true and fell silent for a moment. "Feed her first, and I'll use my mental power to see what's happening."

Qin Lie took a deep breath. "We have no other choice. It's also time for her to replenish nutrients."

He carefully helped her sit up. "Little Huan, come, eat something."

The woman slowly opened her eyes. Her cheeks were deeply sunken, making her look like a gaunt mummy, and her eyes appeared large on her face. The contours still hinted at her former beauty.

Qi Yanhuan had no strength to speak, merely nodding slightly, which seemed to exhaust her. She needed to conserve energy for the ordeal after consuming the liquid food.

Qin Lie opened the nutrient solution and both of them felt invigorated by its scent.

Qin Lie carefully fed Qi Yanhuan the nutrient solution. Soon after drinking it, she felt a warm sensation in her stomach and regained some strength. However, before she could feel relieved, the intense pain in her abdomen began earlier than usual!

Seeing Qi Yanhuan curling up in pain, Bai Xiaoyu quickly looked at her belly, where several bulges started moving around.

This was much sooner than Qin Lie had described.

Without hesitation, he probed with his mental power and found the blue tentacles reacting instinctively to absorb nutrients. The shell inside the egg was now only a thin transparent layer, not yet hardened. A mass inside moved, and soon several thin segmented blue tentacles emerged from the soft shell, their suckers expanding and contracting before heading in one direction.

That direction was clearly towards the internal organs. Bai Xiaoyu realized the nutrient solution attracted the beastkins, and now it attracted these tentacles too. They couldn't wait to enter the organs directly.

Even if they didn't, he wouldn't let them root deeply into the mother's flesh like the others. His mental power threads rushed forward and stabbed the leading tentacle hard. The tentacle recoiled sharply, seemingly in pain.

Seeing it worked, Bai Xiaoyu targeted the other tentacles. Just as he was about to attack, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by a cold, thin hand.

Bai Xiaoyu looked down at Qi Yanhuan's pleading eyes. She endured the pain and managed to say, "Don't hurt him."

Bai Xiaoyu sighed and nodded. "Okay."

Then he extended more mental power threads, whipping the tentacles back.

The tentacles seemed confused but quickly charged again, only to be whipped back repeatedly.

Observing for a while, Bai Xiaoyu noticed the tentacles weren't very intelligent, acting purely on instinct without conscious control.

However, this wasn't sustainable. The tentacles already embedded in the mother's body were digging deeper and trying to move upward.

Thinking that the tentacles preferred the nutrient solution, Bai Xiaoyu decided to let them absorb it fully rather than taking nutrients from the mother. He used a syringe to inject nutrient solution directly into the amniotic fluid.

The tentacles stopped moving upward, their suckers opening and closing rapidly, absorbing the nutrient solution.

Qi Yanhuan, who had been struggling, suddenly stopped. Though the pain remained, it was lighter than ever before.

The nutrient solution was quickly absorbed, and Bai Xiaoyu noticed the blue tentacles becoming restless again.

Well, today, he wouldn't let them stop until they were full.

Bai Xiaoyu injected nutrient solution each time the tentacles finished absorbing. By the tenth injection, the unrooted tentacles seemed to belch and slowly retreated into the transparent eggshell, and the rooted ones also calmed down.

Qi Yanhuan felt the constant pain that had been plaguing her disappear.

After consuming the nutrient solution, she even gained enough strength to sit up, surprising and delighting Qin Lie.

The couple looked at Bai Xiaoyu gratefully. Before they could express their thanks, Bai Xiaoyu spoke. "For now, everything is fine. You two should talk. I'll leave."

Soon after, Qin Lie came over to thank Bai Xiaoyu and said, "Here are the coordinates of the planet with those herbs. I'll send them to you now. If you need me to guide you, I will."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Thank you. I need those herbs."

Bai Xiaoyu observed for three days, confirming that as long as the tentacles were fed, Qi Yanhuan would be safe. He arranged for someone to care for her and inject nutrient solution regularly. Then, he joined Qin Lie and Lou Hao on a spacecraft to find the Cleansing Grass.

This was Bai Xiaoyu's first time traveling between planets via spacecraft, and he felt dizzy throughout the journey.

There was no way around it; his physical condition wasn't great. He had improved since his original self would sometimes pass out during spacecraft jumps.

Spacecrafts were basic interstellar vehicles. Anyone showing abnormalities during spacecraft travel couldn't operate mechs. Specifically, those with physical or mental strength below C-level couldn't control mechs. Fighting in mechs required high physical and mental strength, especially during collisions, rolls, and rapid jumps.

Thus, pure humans and half-beastkins rarely met the standards, while naturally combat-suited beastkins did so more often, making them the frontline fighters in battles.

Bai Xiaoyu was interested in mechs but knew his current body couldn't handle the intense operations.

They soon arrived at the location Qin Lie mentioned, a valley beneath a cliff.

Qin Lie explained that he found this place while fleeing from insectoids, accidentally crashing his mech here. Later, with no energy left, he stayed for a while and noticed the local wildlife was exceptionally strong and larger than elsewhere. Even a rabbit he encountered could kick down a small tree.

Finding these animals strange, he observed them and discovered they frequently ate a certain herb. Seeing no ill effects on the animals, he tried it himself. The subsequent pain was unforgettable, but the surprise afterward was even more profound.

This is actually a medicinal herb that can enhance physical strength and mental power!

As a freelance mercenary, the tasks he took on were always full of danger. Three months ago, he discovered that his partner was two months pregnant, so he planned to trade this batch of herbs with a stellar pharmaceutical company to obtain enough credits to live a simple life with his wife and child. Who would have thought that such an incident would disrupt all his plans?

Now, he only wishes for his wife and child to live well. He has no complaints about giving these herbs to Bai Xiaoyu as payment.

The group landed in a small valley below the cliff, where it was peaceful and filled with birdsong and floral fragrance.

Qin Lie led the way, and they soon arrived at the northeastern part of the valley. There, surrounded by rocks, was a plot of land about one mu in size, completely covered with Xiansui Grass, estimated to be tens of thousands of plants.

Even more surprising was that, as Qin Lie had said, due to their unknown growth period, most of the Xiansui Grass had matured seeds.

The three of them worked for a day, harvesting over thirty thousand mature Xiansui Grass plants. Each plant typically had two or three seeds, plus the ones that had fallen to the ground and accumulated without spoiling, totaling ninety thousand seeds.

Though not many, these herbs were barely enough for him for now. The seeds, although requiring a long time to cultivate, were better than having none at all. Once this batch of Xiansui Grass matures, they could collect more seeds.

However, to eliminate dark matter and become a supplier of Xiansui Elixir to more planets, this amount of Xiansui Grass is still far from sufficient.

Bai Xiaoyu stored all the herbs in the system storage space. The Xiansui Grass occupied one slot, and the seeds occupied another. He left the unripe ones and those damaged by animals untouched. These could be left for the local animals; apart from the parts with compromised medicinal properties, they could also deter the animals. Most of them would only gnaw on the outer Xiansui Grass, preventing the inner unripe ones from being eaten.

He planned to sustainably develop the Xiansui Grass in this small valley. Additionally, they found quite a few other herbs and seeds in the valley, making this trip even better than he had imagined. Bai Xiaoyu was very satisfied.

Soon, they returned to the cultivation facility.

As soon as they stepped off the spacecraft, they were greeted by Dahai Dan, who rushed over and rubbed against them, causing Bai Xiaoyu to stumble. Simultaneously, he felt movement from Xiaobudian's tiny tentacles. He patted Dahai Dan, thinking, "It's just been a day, do they really need to act like this?"

Beside him, Lou Hao watched the scene with a twitching corner of his mouth. If it weren't for the fact that one of them was still an egg, he might have mistaken them for a couple reuniting after a long separation. But what kind of long separation was a single day?

They walked inside and saw Qi Yanhuan strolling in the garden accompanied by a robot, taking slow steps. As she walked, she gently touched her belly, and her complexion visibly improved. Seeing them, she smiled and greeted them.

Qin Lie almost immediately went over and carefully supported her, "Why did you come out?"

Qi Yanhuan: "After several months, I finally feel well enough to walk around."

She gently pulled away his hand, saying, "I'm fine. Don't forget, I'm also a beastman. I've recovered well these past few days, and the egg hasn't been causing any trouble. You can go attend to your business. See if you can help our benefactor."

Qin Lie: "...Okay."

Hadn't he just returned? Nevertheless, he was excited to feel his partner's spirit returning, stronger than his own combat abilities.

Qi Yanhuan turned to Bai Xiaoyu, "Master Bai, thank you for everything these past few days. If you need anything, feel free to ask Qin Lie to help. Don't let him idle around."

"I've already received my payment."

Bai Xiaoyu walked over, followed by Dahai Dan, who kept rubbing against him.

Lou Hao couldn't bear to watch; even true partners didn't act this clingy.

Bai Xiaoyu approached Qi Yanhuan, obtained her permission, and gently placed his hand on her belly, using his mental power to check. The tentacles were calm, clearly growing larger over the past few days, with their suckers becoming rounder and fuller.

"For now, everything is fine." Bai Xiaoyu saw that the other person wanted to say something but hesitated, clearly knowing what they were about to ask. "Don't worry; Egg Yolk's condition is much better than yours."

Bai Xiaoyu thought of those suction cups tightly attached inside Qi Yanhuan's body, varying in size and length, penetrating to different depths. Some had already pierced through her entire abdomen, forming lumps. As time passed, these incisions would become deeper and thicker, with barbs on the outside, making them impossible to pull out.

Moreover, after absorbing the nutrient solution for several days, the tentacles had evolved. The originally light blue color had deepened, and the incisions had become longer and more flexible.

Something had to be done.

Bai Xiaoyu returned to the cultivation room with the big black egg, picked up the little one with its tiny tentacles expressing grievance, and comforted it for a while.

He then went to check on the interns' training progress. Over the past few days, more than half of the interns had completed the first stage of mental strength enhancement and had moved into the advanced training area next door.

The top five individuals were making rapid progress, especially Zhou Miaomiao and Ren Zitao, both at the peak of double S mental strength, who were almost touching the first target. They hadn't neglected their training with various herbs either, though they still ended up exploding eggs every day.

Bai Xiaoyu was very satisfied. The most urgent matter at hand was this egg that could take the mother's life at any moment.

He spent the night refining several batches of herbs, constantly thinking about this issue. The next day, when he injected the nutrient solution into Qi Yanhuan again, he observed for an hour with his mental strength. Finally, he managed to catch one of the suction cups that had penetrated shallowly into the flesh and automatically pulled it out when he retracted the barbs.

After regaining freedom, it happily absorbed the nutrient solution from the amniotic fluid. After finishing, it reinserted itself.

Bai Xiaoyu's eyes flickered. Since they couldn't be forcibly pulled out, he would make them come out voluntarily.

He took out the highest-grade nutrient solution he had refined. The herbs he found in the black market and the small valley over the past few days were perfect for making the ultimate nourishing nutrient solution.

Looking at the thick, dark green liquid that was nearly solid, he also refined another type of medicine. It appeared transparent but formed a highly viscous and stretchy outer membrane. This was originally used to seal the gap between the medicine bottle and its stopper. The outer layer was smooth and non-sticky when wet, but once inserted, it was hard to pull out, especially for the numerous tiny suction cups.

Bai Xiaoyu went to Qin Lie and Qi Yanhuan to discuss this plan. After they agreed, he proceeded to the next step.

He first injected the transparent medicine, forming a clear sphere inside. Using his mental strength to fix it in place, he then extracted some of the mother's amniotic fluid and replaced it with the ultimate nourishing nutrient solution. Soon, the sphere began to expand, becoming slightly smaller than the translucent egg inside.

At this point, the tentacles inside the egg seemed to sense something and rushed out faster than before, only to be caught by Bai Xiaoyu's mental strength threads.

Now that you've eaten your fill, how willing will the other suction cups be to come out?

There weren't many of these tentacles, but they seemed to have evolved even further. The incisions seemed to have a metallic sharpness, and he wasn't sure if the membrane could withstand their attacks. He had to use his mental strength to violently pull them back, leaving them to smell the nutrients without getting any. The other tentacles couldn't wait anymore and slowly pulled out their incisions, retracting the barbs.

Bai Xiaoyu had given Qi Yanhuan a restorative beforehand. When the incisions came out, she only twitched slightly, finding the pain tolerable compared to the previous agony of having her bone marrow sucked out.

Seeing that she was doing well, Bai Xiaoyu focused entirely on dealing with the tentacles and suction cups inside.

The first suction cup emerged, carrying a cluster of pulsating incisions, and eagerly plunged into the green sphere. However, the incisions created a tangle of blue filaments inside the sphere, preventing penetration. The other suction cups became even more agitated.

Soon, the second suction cup inserted itself, followed by the third...

Within fifteen minutes, the originally dark green transparent sphere was covered with countless suction cups.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the last few deeply embedded tentacles continued to pull out. He waited a bit longer, knowing he could soon get them all.

Finally, when the last suction cup pulled out, Bai Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.

And Qi Yanhuan, drenched in sweat, was stunned. Under the restoration of the repair agent, she could no longer feel the constant agony and looked utterly disbelieving.

Apart from Bai Xiaoyu and the patient herself, Qin Lie paced anxiously nearby like a cat on a hot tin roof, unable to disturb Bai Xiaoyu and could only tightly hold his partner's hand.

Bai Xiaoyu, seeing all the suction cups ensnared, released the few tentacles he had been holding back with his mental power.

As expected, these tentacles quickly broke through the thin film to absorb the nutrients inside. To prevent the sphere from shrinking, Bai Xiaoyu injected ordinary nutrient solution into it, leaving water behind after absorption.

After these tentacles finished absorbing, they withdrew in satisfaction, disregarding the other suction cups still trapped. Naturally, the other suction cups ceased struggling and calmed down once the main body had its fill. Moreover, the yolk inside remained unharmed and even improved in color due to the high-quality nutrients absorbed. It seemed that as long as these tentacles were controlled, they would no longer pose a threat to the host.

Bai Xiaoyu relayed this information to the couple, watching them embrace each other, crying and laughing as they thanked him.

At this moment, Lou Hao brought another piece of good news: the first section of the pharmaceutical base had been preliminarily constructed.