High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 182: Chapter 106 Earth Dragon_1

Professor Li Qihuang had warned all the students before entering the garden: every plant and every tree in the Hundred Herb Gardens had medicinal uses, each flower and leaf were precious, and they must not be carelessly damaged.

The very soil under their feet, richly imbued with spiritual energy, was exceptionally valuable.

But this didn’t mean that the flora and fauna in the garden were fragile.

On the contrary, the value of magical plants was directly proportional to their danger. The more precious a magic plant is, the more dangerous it is to wizards.

This was sharply felt by Zheng Qing when Old Man Sitangda led the group of freshmen along the pathway deeper into the Hundred Herb Gardens.

It was when the new student group crossed the seventh field, that had passed through seven different environments, this group ran into a minor hiccup.

A dwarf dragon happened to be rolling and digging in the ridges of the farmland, and for safety reasons, Old Man Sitangda made the group halt their journey, waiting for the dwarf dragon to roll out of their sight before moving on.

According to the ”Wizard’s Encyclopedia”, the ’dwarf dragon’ was an invertebrate that possessed a mild magic attribute. Despite having ’Dragon’ in its name, it bore no relation to the monstrous creatures capable of moving mountains and seas, with sharp fangs and claws.

Instead, it was a relatively passive creature.

They had no eyes or nose and could perceive their surroundings intuitively. Their mouths contained no sharp teeth, just layers of filtration structures that resembled strainers, and they had an exoskeleton with magical patterns that allowed them to move without legs.

Dwarf dragons were skilled at earth magic, loved soil filled with spiritual energy, and usually fed on tiny organisms in the soil invisible to the naked eye. Because they could absorb pollution and balance out the spiritual energy in the land, they were quite favored by spiritual garden managers.

A young dwarf dragon was about the size of an adult’s forearm, while an adult dwarf dragon could grow up to tens of meters long and several meters thick. Given this size, even a passive creature could inadvertently cause harm to other smaller beings.

The dwarf dragon in front of them was nearly a meter in diameter.

At that moment, half of its body was burrowed in the soil, and the other half was idly swaying in mid-air.

Watching it swinging its body around, like an iron rod, surely anyone would be half-dead if hit by it, or it’d make them spit up blood with just a graze.

So, the newcomer group could only stay put and wait for the dwarf dragon to leave.

On the left side of the field track was a wet environment with persistent drizzle, while on the right was a world of blowing sand. Neither side had any interesting plants.

Out of boredom, Li Meng discovered a strange flower.

The plant stood tilted on the edge of the field, neither conforming to the rainy, moist environment on one side nor belonging to the sandy environment on the other.

It seemed like a normal plant in the Hundred Herb Gardens.

This plant didn’t have leaves. On a slender, bald stem, it bore a flower the size of a fist. It faced downward, appearing vulnerable as if a gust of wind could knock it down completely.

Li Meng looked to her left and right.

Professor Li and Old Man Sitangda were both at the front of the line, watching the dwarf dragon that was stretching its limbs. Tang Dun and Jiang Yu were at the back of the line, maintaining order.

The others in the middle of the line were either craning their necks, trying to get a clear view of what the slippery, dark purple dwarf dragon that was covered in mucus looked like; were closing their eyes to sense the unique aura of this alien world; or were gathered in groups, chatting aimlessly.

Like Zheng Qing, for example, he was discussing with Xiao Xiao whether the dwarf dragon was indeed a dragon species.

”If it’s not a dragon, why is it called a dwarf dragon?” Zheng Qing argued, ”It’s precisely because it manifests some characteristics of dragon species, it is therefore called a dwarf dragon.”

”Childish.” Xiao Xiao, even without his notebook, still surpasses a fully funded student in knowledge.

He crossed his arms, glanced at Zheng Qing, and mocked, ”By your logic, should Totoro be moved from the rodent family and be placed under the dragon classification... even though it’s a rodent; are you suggesting that Agave should grow sharp claws and long tails, even though everyone knows it’s a plant.”

”You’re just being ridiculous,” Zheng Qing thought about Xiao Xiao’s response for a while and found himself unable to refute his arguments. He changed the topic and asked, ”Then why is the Earth Dragon called a dragon?”

”Huh,” Xiao Xiao turned his face away, choosing not to answer this question.

”Excuse me,” a timid voice was heard around them, ”The Earth Dragon is huge so wouldn’t it damage the environment of the garden?”

Zheng Qing turned his head to see Liu Fei Fei staring at Xiao Xiao, her face full of curiosity.

”Earth Dragons are magical creatures, skilled in earth magic,” Xiao Xiao said seriously, not revealing any disrespect. ”After they go underground, they can meld their body with the soil. You can think of them as being a part of the soil. In fact, they don’t just not harm the spiritual land, they can also balance and improve the soil. That’s why every spiritual garden of a certain size will breed a batch of Earth Dragons.”

”I see, thank you, thank you.” Liu Fei Fei seemed to comprehend, expressing gratitude a few times.

”Prioritizing love over friendship.” Zheng Qing muttered to himself at Xiao Xiao’s attitude and sneered.

”This flower has seven colours!” A voice rang out from nearby.

Zheng Qing looked at the source of the noise to see Li Meng squatting at the edge of a field, yelling excitedly, ”Quick, come look! Each petal has a different colour, and they keep changing!”

”Li Meng!” Jiang Yu, who was at the rear of the line maintaining order, heard the girl’s shouts and ran over in a hurry, ”Didn’t I tell you to stay in line? Don’t touch the flowers in the garden!”

She shrieked the last statement.

That’s because Li Meng extended her delicate fingers and gently poked the flower in front of her.

”Pst.” A noise resembling that of a deflating balloon was heard.

Li Meng stood up, gave Jiang Yu a stunned look, and collapsed into her arms..

The girls started screaming.

The freshmen instantly plunged into chaos.

At the front of the line.

Professor Li Qihuang and Uncle Sistanda were watching the Earth Dragon crossing territory.

”Has that old fellow in the garden divided up some new Earth Dragons again?” Professor Li stood next to Old Man Sitangda, squinting at the creature half-burrowed in the ground. Out of curiosity, he asked, ”This little fellow seems to be less than a year old, right?”

”The old fellow is always coiled up asleep in the deep parts of the garden, having a big sleep, how does it have the strength to divide new Earth Dragons.” Old Man Sitangda spat and responded disdainfully, ”Recently, Alpha School’s ’special enrollment’ had sponsored several dozen Earth Dragons to their botanical garden, and as you know, their shabby garden doesn’t have many acres... so the old man gave me several. I thought, the old fellow likes sleeping all day, raising some young ones can share his workload, so I accepted.”

Professor Li listened to the old man by his side reeling off this detailed explanation, and gave a faint smile, but said nothing.

Just then, a commotion came from their group.

By the time the professor reached Li Meng, the little girl was staring blankly into the sky, entirely unresponsive to any external stimuli.