Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.
During this month, most of Zhou Haoyu's time was spent cultivating the Summoning Element.
Aside from that, he also went to Magic City three times, mainly to hunt demons and complete missions with Lingling, and by the way, see if he could run into any new treasure chests.
"Jiang Yu, could you introduce me to your master, the Chief Pang Lai?"
Zhou Haoyu had already mastered the seven stars of the Summoning Element, and immediately sought out Jiang Yu to bring this up.
"You want to see my teacher? He usually doesn't meet outsiders."
Although Jiang Yu didn't reject him immediately, there was a hint of reluctance on his face. Apparently, Pang Lai was quite strict in his management of Jiang Yu.
"I recently awakened the Summoning Element and have some questions I'd like to ask Chief Pang Lai." Zhou Haoyu said directly.
"You reached the Intermediate Level in Space? But you've only been cultivating for two years?!" Jiang Yu's eyes widened.
"My family gave me a few resources. I accidentally broke through." Zhou Haoyu said casually.
Hearing this, the corner of Jiang Yu's mouth twitched.
Accidentally broke through? Does that sound like something a human would say?
Jiang Yu suddenly thought of something and then gave Zhou Haoyu a scrutinizing look.
"You're not thinking of becoming my fellow disciple, are you? Let me tell you, that's impossible. You specialize in the Space Element. My teacher would never accept you, even if you've reached Intermediate Level."
Zhou Haoyu naturally understood this logic. As the nation's top Summoner, Pang Lai would only accept disciples with exceptional talent in the Summoning Element.
But right now, Zhou Haoyu simply had no way of finding a top-tier master in the Space Element.
However, as long as he could showcase enough Summoning talent, Zhou Haoyu believed Pang Lai might be tempted.
No matter what, he had to try. Even if Pang Lai ended up rejecting him, at least he would have made the acquaintance of a powerful figure.
"You never know until you try. Jiang Yu, just help me this once." Zhou Haoyu said with sincere expression and tone.
Seeing Zhou Haoyu's firm resolve, Jiang Yu sighed and said helplessly, "My teacher is always busy. He only has a little free time at night. Just wait for my message in the next few days."
"Let me say this first—I can't guarantee my teacher will be willing to see you. Even if he agrees to meet you once, I think the chances are very slim."
"Just do your best."
Zhou Haoyu smiled faintly. If Pang Lai didn't work out, he'd move on to the backup plan.
He would head to the northern edge of the Scorching Plains to find the Flame Witch Jiang Feng. With her strength, entering the Volcano Heavenly Pond would be no problem.
As long as he could seize the fire vein at Sun Ridge, the Zhou Clan could definitely rise to first-class family status in a short time. Surpassing the Mu Clan and the Dongfang Clan wouldn't be out of the question.
As for how to convince Jiang Feng to help, once he found Chen Ying, everything could be solved!
After parting with Jiang Yu, Zhou Haoyu visited the Mu Family once more.
Ever since receiving support from the Zhou Clan, the Mu Family had been living far more comfortably and had even developed some decent businesses in the capital.
It was worth mentioning that the Mu Clan had done some business with the Zhou Clan a few times, even driving the Zhou Clan's development to an extent.
As a top-tier aristocratic family, the Mu Clan had countless ventures across the country. Perhaps because they valued Zhou Haoyu's talent, they had also considered supporting the Zhou Clan.
Zhou Haoyu was very aware that bargaining with a tiger was a dangerous game. One careless move could cost everything and lead to the Zhou Clan being completely devoured by the Mu Clan.
However, for now, the Zhou Clan's position was still secure. Since a fallout could happen at any time in the future, it was better to grow quickly while they still could.
"My dear nephew, you're here for Ningxue again, I suppose. Unfortunately, Ningxue is currently in the middle of a breakthrough. Why don't you come in and wait for a while? I'll make you some tea."
Mu Zhuoyun immediately recognized the visitor as Zhou Haoyu and figured he must have come to see Mu Ningxue. He explained the situation at once.
Over the past month, Zhou Haoyu had frequently visited the Mu Clan. Over time, he had become quite familiar with some of the Mu family members.
Of course, most of the Mu family members were still based in Bo City. If they all moved to the capital, Mu Zhuoyun would be overwhelmed.
Through this period of interaction, Mu Zhuoyun had become increasingly satisfied with Zhou Haoyu.
At first, he had been a little worried that Zhou Haoyu might show a different face after their engagement, but now it seemed he had worried for nothing.
"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle," Zhou Haoyu said, following Mu Zhuoyun inside.
"It's no trouble at all. Ningxue was able to advance to the Intermediate Level so smoothly, all thanks to that spirit fruit you gave her," Mu Zhuoyun said cheerfully.
Zhou Haoyu sat on the sofa in the first-floor living room and responded with a calm smile, "Ningxue is my fiancée. Don't mention just a small spirit furit even the Galaxy Vein would be nothing."
Zhou Haoyu was well aware of the dangers of the Ice Crystal Bow. Only when Mu Ningxue broke through to the Advanced Level could she begin to gain proper control over it.
However, to resolve the side effects of the Ice Crystal Bow, sufficient cultivation alone wasn't enough—she would also need to find other shards of the Ice Crystal Bow.
This was something that had to be handled step by step.
Mu Zhuoyun's breathing noticeably quickened at the mention of the Galaxy Vein. On the market, a Galaxy Vein was worth a hundred million.
"My dear nephew, wait here a moment. I'll go look for that stash of treasured tea leaves," Mu Zhuoyun said, hurrying off.
Taking advantage of the break, Zhou Haoyu tested out Dimensional Summoning to see if he could find a contracted beast to his liking.
A few minutes later, Zhou Haoyu exited the Summoning Plane.
"Finding a summoned beast with even slightly high bloodline quality is really not easy."
Zhou Haoyu gave a bitter smile. The Summoning Plane was vast and full of diverse life. Under normal circumstances, encountering even a Warrior-level beast relied heavily on luck let alone a high-bloodline Servant-level beast.
This trip into the Summoning Plane, Zhou Haoyu only ran into a few low-level creatures. The strongest was just a Shadow Wolf Beast.
But for Zhou Haoyu, the Shadow Wolf Beast was clearly unqualified. The path of evolution for a contracted beast was extremely difficult.
A Servant-level beast with low bloodline attempting to break through to Warrior-level had, even with expensive auxiliary materials, only a fifty to sixty percent success rate.
And that success rate wasn't much different from failure.
If a summoned beast failed to evolve, at best, its strength would regress heavily, requiring a long time to reach the breakthrough point again.
At worst, the beast's soul could be shattered on the spot. If a summoned beast died, the Summoner would suffer heavy backlash in return.
Zhou Haoyu had no interest in self-destruction. His strong spiritual energy was his biggest asset for contracting high-bloodline beasts wasting it would be a shame.
Although Zhou Haoyu wasn't aiming for a Monarch-bloodline creature, he needed at least a Commander-bloodline one.
Only then would he have enough confidence to move Pang Lai's heart!