Chapter 376: Chapter 363: Investigation
After releasing his Pet Beast, Teacher Tang gave the Ghost Soul a few instructions and left.
He had other matters to attend to and wouldn’t waste his time on urban legends. Even if the thing behind this legend was quite tempting, whether it could be found was still an unknown.
As a company employee, this was precisely the time for Gu Ming to prove his worth. If not now, when?
Seeing Teacher Tang truly leave without a backward glance, Gu Ming asked the purplish-black armor covering his arm:
"Is Teacher Tang busy with something here at the university?"
He saw that Teacher Tang was heading toward the university library, not toward the exit.
At that moment, the voice of the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul sounded in Gu Ming’s mind:
"My master has gone to read an ancient book. It’s his study time now."
At Teacher Tang’s Realm, to break through a bottleneck, one must read extensively, searching for the path to find one’s true self.
This was also the main reason why Teacher Tang wasn’t severely shaken when he saw Gu Ming’s Foundation Establishment Evolution Method.
He himself was not a Cultivator who followed the path of the old methods.
Gu Ming was lost in thought. He set off with the Ghost Armor, Ah Ji, and his other Pet Beasts, wandering around the campus.
Since this was a company mission, he searched the university’s online forums for hotspots related to the urban legends.
With the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul, he turned onto a small path lined with camphor trees.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled spots of light on the ground, which was covered in layers of fallen leaves. Stepping on them made a soft RUSTLE.
This path was nearly half as narrow as the main road. Dandelions with white fluff grew from the cracks in the stone curb. In the distant woods, students in lab coats and their Pet Beasts would occasionally hurry past, clutching documents.
Most of the time, it was quiet here.
At the same time, Gu Ming discovered that with the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul attached to his arm, the path he had walked yesterday gave him a different Perception today.
For example, beside an uninhabited lake deep inside a forest, several hundred meters off the main path, two figures were writhing on the lawn.
Looking from a distance, it seemed they had set up a surrounding Array for concealment, doing some unspeakable things.
’Good thing I didn’t bring Lu You today,’ Gu Ming thought.
Hearing the sounds reaching his ears, Gu Ming pretended not to hear and quickly left with the Ghost Soul.
"Heh, it seems the so-called hotspots for urban legends are just trysting spots for young couples," the Profound Celestial Beast’s voice once again sounded in Gu Ming’s mind.
Gu Ming nodded. He retraced yesterday’s path with the Ghost Soul and discovered that while the path was the same, the places where he usually saw no one were now full of people.
Speaking of Wenquxing University, Gu Ming had only casually explored it before; he had never walked through every single corner like he did today.
And because he explored so many corners, he discovered that the truth behind some of the urban legends had already been solved; the strange sounds actually came from their "hobbies."
"An hour’s up. Let’s search again tomorrow," the Profound Celestial Beast said suddenly.
Disappointingly, Gu Ming had searched for an hour but still had no leads, just like last time. At most, he had learned that some of the supposed urban legend hotspots were fake.
He asked the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul on his arm, and it also said it hadn’t detected any soul traces left by a Ghost Element Pet Beast.
The other party had either reached Perfection in its Cultivation Technique or had a very special constitution, possessing a shielding ability similar to its own.
Gu Ming pressed, asking what kind of Talent that was.
But the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul changed the subject.
The Ghost Soul said, "I need to go back to my master."
Coincidentally, Gu Ming’s route back to the villa passed by the library.
The Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul "got off" here and flew directly through the library’s entrance checkpoint.
It passed through the library’s security check without pausing at all.
Seeing this, Gu Ming suddenly noticed that Teacher Tang’s Pet Beast could enter without needing to swipe an access card.
’Could Teacher Tang be a graduate of Wenquxing University?’
Gu Ming logged into his social media account and asked Team Leader Lan Ze.
After a moment, Lan Ze replied: "Yes, Teacher Tang Tianyi is a distinguished graduate of Wenquxing University. For four consecutive years, he won the university’s top honors in Array, Talisman Dao, and overall grade level."
"Amazing." Other than admiration, Gu Ming couldn’t find the words to express the man’s strength.
"By the way, why are you asking about this?"
"Well, I’ve been looking for a Two-star Ghost Element kitten lately..."
"Ah, you couldn’t find it even with the Profound Celestial Beast? Then the Pet Beast you’re looking for is definitely no pushover.
"Just go through the motions with this job. The Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul’s Perception Ability is a hundred times greater than a human’s. If it can’t find it, you definitely can’t. Unless the target wants to be caught by you, it’s a lost cause."
The words were spoken casually, but they struck a chord with the listener.
A thought sparked in Gu Ming’s mind. ’Unless it wants to be caught by me, how could I possibly succeed so easily?’
The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it.
Gu Ming immediately contacted Mr. Huo and asked which professor was the owner of that stray kitten:
"I’d like to ask for some guidance. I want to understand this kitten’s habits and use its preferences to lure it out for a meeting."
That was Gu Ming’s line of thought.
The cat had been wandering the campus for so long, and students were occasionally getting possessed.
He figured it was probably short on food.
After all, upon reaching the Two-star Realm, if a Pet Beast didn’t want its powerful physical Talent Abilities to degenerate, it needed to consume high-energy, nutritious food every day.
And the grounds of Wenquxing University were vast, with many hidden restrictive wards.
It might seem safe walking around campus without encountering any wards.
In reality, these Arrays had a built-in authentication ability.
For anyone without an ID or a campus pass, leaving the university was next to impossible.
Outsiders had to register at the main gate to enter the university.
Let alone a little kitten trying to escape from within the campus.
Yet under these circumstances, no one could find it. It hadn’t escaped and was still appearing on campus, which was enough to show that the kitten was short on food and was searching for something to eat.
Gu Ming couldn’t help but recall his experience looking for Ah Ji last time.
’Could it be hiding in a Space crack again, unknown to anyone, only findable under specific circumstances?’
Last time, Gu Ming had relied on the system’s bullet-comment prompts to find Ah Ji.
As long as the system reacted to it when he passed by, he would have a chance to find its hiding place.
Of course, the prerequisite was to start with its preferences. At the very least, he had to make the stray kitten pass by him of its own accord.
’Otherwise, how would the system be able to perceive it?’
Gu Ming waited a while. Elder Huo did not disappoint, using his connections to communicate with that professor.
For anyone else, trying to inquire about the stray kitten would have been extremely difficult.
After all, the university’s upper management was also sending people to search for it. No matter how you looked at it, this cat had a significant background.
If Gu Ming rashly tried to catch it and failed, that would be one thing.
But if he succeeded, that professor would definitely come looking for him to get the cat back.
And with the company behind Gu Ming, the two sides would naturally come into conflict.
Gu Ming had no need to catch the cat himself, anyway.
He already had Ah Ji and didn’t plan on catching a fourth Pet Beast.
He was just interested in its Possession-type Cultivation Technique.
After experiencing the immense Power boost from having the Profound Celestial Beast Ghost Soul attached to his right arm, he began to imagine Ah Ji turning into a shadow and attaching to his arm, enhancing his abilities.
Even if it only enhanced his movement ability, it would still be a huge improvement.
