One fatal flaw of fusion among similar kinds is that once the fusion succeeds, it is irreversible and permanent unless one of the fusion participants possesses the rare same-kind splitting ability.
The original Nine-headed Dragon was a victim of this same-kind fusion ability, forming into a single-headed dragon and seeing its power skyrocket, making it one of the world's top elite fighters.
A moment of pleasure, a lifetime of pain.
If given a choice, the original Nine-headed Dragon would rather not have fused. With nine heads came nine minds, and if even one disagreed, nothing could be accomplished.
For its entire life, the original Nine-headed Dragon did two things: argued, with each of the nine heads refusing to accept the authority of another, each wanting to control the body and be the leader, and secondly, sought together the rare dragon with the same-kind splitting ability to undo their fusion.
Same-kind splitting is common among Slimes but is a hundred times rarer than gold-level legendary abilities among other pets.
Throughout its long life spanning nine thousand years, the original Nine-headed Dragon never found a sole dragon in the Divine Beast World with a same-kind splitting ability.
Li Cunxu brought the five Slimes with digestion abilities back to his tent.
Newborn Slimes are extremely fragile, easier to shatter than glass, and can wither if exposed to sunlight.
This is also why after every heavy rain, numerous Slimes are born, yet a few days later, very few remain.
"Other Slimes must also avoid sun exposure, or else by tonight, more than half of the captured Slimes will perish."
Although Xiaoruan's ability can regenerate and revive deceased Slimes, there is a limit – only one percent of the Slimes in the Soul Kingdom can be brought back each day.
"The warehouse and barn can provide shelter from the sunlight for the Slimes."
Li Cunxu acted immediately, releasing Xiaoruan and instructing the Slimes to enter the warehouse and barn in an orderly manner.
There were too many Slimes, so the warehouse and barn couldn't hold them all.
In fact, there was enough space in the warehouse and barn, but newborn Slimes are so fragile that stacking was impossible, as those on the bottom would be crushed to death.
"Build a house specifically to shield the Slimes from the sun?"
Building a house for the Slimes' shade is simple – just refurbish the factory and add a few more floors.
After thinking for a moment, Li Cunxu abandoned the idea of constructing a sunshade house, coming up with a cheaper and more practical solution.
Earth Slimes mainly eat soil; given enough time, they can dig a hole in the ground.
This underground hole perfectly meets the newborn Slimes' need to avoid sun exposure.
"It's just that there aren't enough Earth Slimes."
Slime birth is also related to the surrounding environment. On grasslands, Grass Slimes are generally born, near water, Water Slimes, and near volcanoes, Fire Slimes...
The Muye Plain is lush with grass and has many rivers.
The Slimes captured tonight were mainly Grass Slimes and Water Slimes, with only a dozen Earth Slimes.
"Looks like I'll need to mow a patch of grass before the next heavy rain," mused Li Cunxu.
To attract Earth Slimes, simply cut the grass, leaving only the bare yellow earth, and after the next rain, Earth Slimes will appear on the barren land.
Those dozen were captured on such a barren patch of land.
By day, Store Slimes in the warehouse; by night, release the Slimes to graze the ranch's grass, and once the grass is devoured, Li Cunxu plans to sow seeds of premium forage he specifically bought.
This forage is called Black Iron Grass; when grown in ideal conditions, it evolves into Bronze Grass, Silver Grass, and Golden Grass.
The highest evolution is Golden Grass.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Cunxu woke up early to wash up; today, he planned to buy aromatic dairy cows.
Ping~
His phone chimed with a message.
The education bureau informed Li Cunxu via text that his school transfer procedure was complete, advising him to report to Tongdu Eighteenth Middle School the next day.
Li Cunxu looked perplexed.
The Eighteenth Middle School is a newly built high school, but its full name is 'Tongdu Girls' School,' an all-girls academy.
How was he assigned to a girls' school?
Li Cunxu narrowed his eyes. Was Stone Golden Soup behind this?
Li Cunxu's suspicion was correct; indeed, it was Stone Golden Soup's doing.
Upon learning that Li Cunxu went to the education bureau to report him, Stone Golden Soup furiously smashed his favorite teacup on the office desk.
He wanted revenge on Li Cunxu; as vice principal, he wasn't fazed by openly retaliating against a student. He dared to do it, even if his father were here.
The alliance's focus on education is beyond imagination.
Revenge had to be done covertly, so Stone Golden Soup devised a wicked plan, transferring Li Cunxu to a girls' school.
Would being in a girls' school be a blessing?
Yes, it would.
Surrounded by beauties, even without doing anything, one could feast their eyes and arouse envy in others.
What if the girls' school principal detested men severely?
It would no longer be a blessing but a form of torture.
As to why the girls' school was admitting male students? It's not strange.
The alliance abolished the all-girls school policy this year.
The alliance always intends to reclaim the territories humanity once lost through expansion.
A necessary condition for expansion is sufficient population.
To increase population, there must be more children born.
Experts argued that exclusive all-girls schools hindered teenage romance, hence affecting birth rates, leading to the abolition of the girls' school policy.
Following Lin Xiaoxuan's provided address, Li Cunxu arrived at Yellow Crown Ranch.
This ranch is vast, over ten times the scale of Li Cunxu's ranch, with large tracts of fruit trees and numerous Yellow Crown Cows.
Seeing the expansive herd of cows, Li Cunxu thought, "An adult Yellow Crown Cow costs a million, and this ranch likely has over a thousand Yellow Crown Cows. Her third uncle must be filthy rich!"
Li Cunxu couldn't help but wonder how someone wealthy enough to raise a thousand Yellow Crown Cows couldn't manage to rear a few milk-producing aromatic cows.
Lin Xiaoxuan's third uncle, Lin Jiusan, wasn't particularly keen to sell aromatic cows, sullenly stating, "Ten aromatic cows for fifty thousand, card or phone payment accepted."
"Card," Li Cunxu replied.
Lin Jiusan glanced at Li Cunxu's bicycle and asked, "Are you transporting the aromatic cows yourself, or should I do it?"
"I don't have a truck for cattle transportation," Li Cunxu responded.
"Where's your ranch?" Lin Jiusan inquired.
Li Cunxu pulled up a map on his phone to show Lin Jiusan the location of his ranch.
Lin Jiusan replied, "Transporting to this location will cost three hundred."
Li Cunxu paid by card.
A black car slowly entered Yellow Crown Ranch.
Li Cunxu stared at the black sedan for a long time, feeling it was familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
From the car stepped a grand lady, accompanied by a black-caped young girl.
Seeing the car enter the ranch, Lin Jiusan abandoned his conversation with Li Cunxu.
"Wife, you've returned. How's Qingwei's health? What did elder aunt say?" Lin Jiusan asked with a smiling face.
Madam Lin sighed, "Not good. It's incurable. Elder aunt said she's never seen such an illness before. Elder aunt suspects it might not be an illness but some sort of curse."
Upon hearing this, Lin Jiusan's heart sank to the bottom, cold as ice. His elder aunt is the director of the Tongdu Holy Healing Hospital; if she claims it's incurable, it might truly be so.
To think his daughter, just sixteen, at the prime of her youth, could be struck by such a strange illness.
Lin Jiusan's eyes reddened, comforting his low-spirited wife.
"Don't worry, healthcare in Shendu is more advanced. I'll take Qingwei to Shendu for treatment tomorrow."
A curse?
Upon hearing about a curse, Li Cunxu grew intrigued.
In games, Li Cunxu specialized in curse and poison attributes.
These two attributes aren't particularly strong, but they're definitely devious!
Even when facing an unbeatable opponent, they can disgust them thoroughly.
In the game arena, players would rather match with the first in the leaderboards than 99th-placed Li Cunxu.
The former results in instant defeat, whereas the latter is a long, torturous experience with no joy, even after winning.
Once, a high-end player critiqued Li Cunxu's gameplay as pure societal revenge.
In reality, Li Cunxu was indeed taking revenge on the world because back then, he was deeply dark inside, triggered by an accident where he got hit by a car, leaving him a vegetable, trapped immobile on a hospital bed.
Although conscious, his body couldn't respond to reality, not even allowing death. Such pain was unspeakably dark and hopeless.
Fortunately, not long after becoming a vegetable, the virtual reality game "Divine Beast" emerged, allowing play through brainwaves, allowing even vegetative states to participate.