After using cheats, I became the strongest Beast Tamer Chapter 5 to 20

 Chapter 5: Chapter 5 The First Skill: Health Scouting

The school had specialized equipment for detecting Beast Taming Levels. Chen Xing had taken his Beast Taming in secret to check the day before yesterday, and the little Salty Bay Crocodile was at a pitiful Level 1, just a bit higher than the newborn Level 0 common to Beast Taming newbies.

Actually, methods for quickly breaking through Energy Levels were all in the books, and they had even been taught in middle school.

Feeding a Beast Taming with substances rich in energy and easy to absorb can promote rapid growth, making nutritional elixirs undoubtedly the most cost-effective option. But even the cheapest generic nutritional elixirs required money, one thousand per bottle.

The most frequent topic of conversation among the other students in the classroom was the monthly exams and the insights on nurturing the Salty Bay Crocodiles.

For the past few days, the social media feeds of friends from elementary, middle, and high school had been flooded with Beast Taming posts.

Photos of cute Beast Taming cubs hung in everyone’s feeds.

However, it would only be a few months before the number of photos dwindled dramatically. That’s because the cubs of any Species looked good, but many are indescribable once grown…

After finishing today’s classes, Chen Xing returned home early from school.

His sister hadn’t come back, as this sort of intensive training usually meant staying outdoors for three to four days.

He took out the black box from the bedroom, opened the lid, and looked at the Salty Bay Crocodile custom reagent inside.

As soon as he unscrewed the cap of the reagent, the little Taotie smelled the fragrance and crawled over.

“Oooh ooh!” It stared with big eyes, looking pitifully at its owner.

“Open your mouth,” Chen Xing said, prying open Taotie’s mouth with his fingers and pouring all the nutritional reagent into it.

“You’ve fed the Beast Taming, Intimacy Value above 90, received 2 Skill Point Fragments.”

Chen Xing’s hand shook, nearly spilling the last bit of nutritional reagent, but his eyes brightened; he realized two key points: Taotie’s Intimacy Value had increased, and the higher the Intimacy Value, the more Skill Point Fragments were obtained.

However, it wasn’t surprising that Taotie’s Intimacy Value had risen rapidly. The school had issued nearly-hatching eggs and had purposely given them two days off to stay at home and hatch their Beast Tamings by hand. Although the hatching crocodiles wouldn’t see the first person they saw as their parents, they most definitely would develop a strong dependency.

The first life seen at the moment of hatching, coupled with constant close companionship, made it only natural that the Intimacy Value would reach over 90 points in just half a month.

Since feeding resulted in more Skill Point Fragments being awarded, then the gains from training should also increase, right?

But Chen Xing soon realized that the dazed Taotie was not suitable for training.

After drinking his sister’s reagent, Taotie was staggering around like it had drunk fake liquor, spinning in place. It tried to bite its tail but couldn’t catch it. Finally, in frustration, it jumped up and snapped at the air.

This was the first time Chen Xing had seen a crocodile jump!

With a little thrust from its four short legs, it leapt forward.

And it leapt quite far, a full ten centimeters.

Chen Xing stroked Taotie; its entire body was overheating, its temperature nearly ten degrees higher than usual, warm to the touch.

That night, after dinner, Liu Yuzhen was tidying up the pots and pans in the kitchen when a sudden bout of back pain made her drop the bowl she was cleaning. It shattered on the floor.

Hearing the crisp sound of the bowl smashing on the kitchen floor, Chen Xing quickly came out of the bedroom and saw his mother bent over, sweeping up the shattered fragments with a broom.

He hurried over, “Mom, go rest, I’ll do the dishes.”

“Don’t fuss, you go study,” she replied.

Noticing his mother’s thin, worn-out face from overworking, a somewhat repressed Chen Xing blurted out, “I’ve finished my homework. Just sit for a while; doing the dishes won’t take much effort.”

After dumping the broken pieces from the dustpan into the trash can, Liu Yuzhen looked at Chen Xing, who had already taken over washing the dishes. She hesitated, wanting to say more, but the pain in her waist made her hesitate repeatedly and eventually stopped her from insisting further.

Leaning on the counter, he sat down on a stool in the dining room, watching Chen Xing’s silhouette while sighing silently to himself.

Sitting on the sofa, Chen Guohai put down the newspaper in his hands and said to his wife Liu Yuzhen, “I’ll cook dinner tomorrow.”

“The doctor said you can’t enter the kitchen. You get dizzy easily when you’re even a little bit tired. Now is not the time for you to add to the chaos,” Liu Yuzhen firmly refused.

Chen Guohai, once again facing rejection when he wanted to help, fell silent.

All he could do was pick up the newspaper and start reading again, even though he had already read it seven times that day.

After washing the dishes, Chen Xing took the opportunity to sweep the floor of the house before returning to his bedroom. Seeing Taotie sprawled out dizzily on the table, Chen Xing thought to himself that he had made a mistake; judging by the look of it, he probably wouldn’t be able to train today.

At eleven-thirty at night, Chen Xing was woken by his alarm and promptly got up from bed, then woke up Taotie, who was still in a deep sleep.

After three hours of sleep, Taotie’s condition had clearly improved, looking dazed as he woke up, and then accompanied Chen Xing for a training session that lasted all of ten minutes.

After receiving the two Skill Point Fragments from today’s routine training rewards, Chen Xing happily lay back down on his bed; he now had seven Skill Point Fragments.

Reclining back beside the pillow and covered by a blanket, Taotie looked spiritedly at the ceiling, his tiny mind full of confusion, thinking, “Who am I, where am I, wasn’t I just asleep?”

Outside the window, the bright silver moonlight spilled onto the head of the bed, and the little Taotie, after zoning out for a while, closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

A dreamless night.

The next day, Chen Xing arrived at school, with thirteen days left until the first monthly exam.

He took Taotie out of his pocket and compared to yesterday, Taotie seemed a bit larger. Holding him, Chen Xing could clearly feel the weight of Taotie in his hand had increased quite a bit.

He took a flexible measuring tape out of the drawer and measured from the tail to the tip of the nose: 41.2 cm!

He remembered that when he measured yesterday, it was only 35.7 cm. To have grown 5.5 cm overnight, more than half a centimeter, was certainly not his imagination.

The effect of the potion his sister gave him was indeed remarkable, but the more obvious it was, the more Chen Xing felt that the potion his sister gave him was extraordinary. The Beast Tamings of Wang Qiming did not show such clear effects even after taking customized potions.

A few days ago, he measured Taotie and found that on average, he was only growing about 2 cm per day.

If he could drink that potion every day, he would grow nearly one meter longer in a month than a Beast Taming that did not drink a potion! But such a potion would cost at least… several thousand dollars, right? For a month, that would be six figures in expenses, and a year would be over a million.

Suddenly, he deeply understood that spending money and not spending money were completely different concepts.

In fact, this trend had already appeared in his class, where some students from wealthy families had Beast Tamings that were obviously larger. They all had the same Beast Taming Species, and there was no difference due to Species either; perhaps the occasional Beast Taming with exceptional natural talents could break this norm, but those cases were very few and far between.

Nobody noticed the changes in Taotie. Currently, among the various Salty Bay Crocodiles in the class, Taotie’s size was barely average, so naturally, no one paid attention.

After another day of lessons, Chen Xing returned home in the evening to feed and interact with Taotie. After accumulating 11 Skill Point Fragments, the “+” symbol representing the Skill Points finally lit up.

Chen Xing focused his thoughts on the plus sign, and the next moment, ten Fragments disappeared, turning the Skill Points from 0 to 1.

Pet Trainer, Pet Caretaker, Pet Nutritionist—Chen Xing had to make a choice among these three career trees.

He had spent three days just to accumulate one Skill Point, and at this stage, the speed of acquiring Skill Points was not exactly fast.

Therefore, priority in activating the initial profession was crucial.

If it had been before, Chen Xing might have been torn, but after feeding Taotie a bottle of nutrition reagent yesterday, he personally experienced the importance of nutrition.

Without hesitation, Chen Xing’s gaze settled on the career of Pet Nutritionist.

Pre-requisite skill for Pet Nutritionist—Health Detection, activated!

Chapter 6: Chapter 6 Sister’s Secret

[Health Inspection]After learning, you can check the current state of your beast taming, allowing you to understand your beast taming more intuitively. (Activated)

Chen Xing immediately performed a Health Inspection on Taotie.

A transparent frame appeared above Taotie’s head.

[Species]Salty Bay Crocodile (Taotie)

[State]Healthy (Slightly Hungry)

[Attribute]Water Element

[Energy Level]Level 1

[Energy Level Limit]Level 38

[Skills]Unmastered

This panel seemed to radiate with tremendous potential.

After the Health Inspection skill was activated, two new grayed-out skills appeared below the tip of the tree branch, awaiting activation.

Basic Carnivorous Pet Food Preparation (0/2), Basic Herbivorous Pet Food Preparation (0/2).

Indeed, there were the abilities he wanted. Chen Xing breathed a sigh of relief after seeing these two pending skills.

His choice to use Health Inspection also contained a gamble. If the subsequent skills had nothing to do with pet food, his pace of cultivating pets would be slowed down.

At least for the first monthly exam, he couldn’t expect to receive any rewards. One had to be in the top hundred of the grade to have a chance at extra rewards.

He could earn one Skill Point every three days, and with only twelve days left until the first monthly exam, he could gain a maximum of four Skill Points.

The Salty Bay Crocodile was a pure carnivore; for now, he just needed to learn Basic Carnivorous Pet Food Preparation.

In just five days, he could earn 2 Skill Points, and then he would have seven days left to prepare for the exams.

He didn’t know if there would be enough time, or if the pet food would be effective or expensive to make.

But he had no more choices.

Three days after acquiring the Health Inspection ability, his sister returned.

His sister’s return made Chen Xing very happy. On one hand, it was because his sister had come home safely as outdoor training was dangerous, and every semester, there would be news of students dying in accidents during school field training. On the other hand, her return meant he could continue to “liberate” Skill Point Fragments from Chi Yu.

While his sister took a shower, Chen Xing sneaked into her bedroom and took out the meat strips from their usual hiding place, “Here, have some jerky.”

Chen Xing crouched on the floor, shaking the dried meat strip in his hand. Even though he was holding the jerky up to its mouth, Chi Yu just turned its head away, mouth firmly closed.

Noticing something was off, Chen Xing performed a Health Inspection on it.

[Species]Azure-eyed Snow Leopard (Chi Yu)

[State]Moderate Injury (Internal Bleeding *4) (Broken Bones *3) (Epidermal Cuts *12) (Loss of Appetite) (Healing)

[Attribute]Ice Element

[Energy Level]Level 39

[Energy Level Limit]Level 41

[Skills]

Beginner Skill: Frost Spike (Expert), Shadow Assault (Perfect), Frost Claw (Perfect)

Intermediate Skill: Snowfall Cascade (Expert), Soul-capturing Fear (Expert)

Advanced Skill: Blue Hell (Mastered)

Innate Skill: Traceless Step (Active) (Perfect)

Chen Xing: ???

When I put out question marks, it’s not because there’s something wrong with me, but because there’s something wrong with you.

Chi Yu, who always seemed gentle, is actually this fierce?

No problem, one bite at a time, little Karami. I am this little Karami.

Let’s not talk about the three perfect skills; it can be said that my sister has a natural talent for beast taming that’s different from ordinary people, good at training beast taming skills.

But this Energy Level is a bit exaggerated.

Ever since he gained the new skill, he couldn’t stop himself from testing it on beasts passing by the school, just like a student who had just gotten a power-level scanner who couldn’t resist going “pew pew” at every stranger passing by. This ability to secretly glimpse at others’ secrets was always fascinating at first.

However, Chen Xing soon lost interest because no matter how much he peeked, in the end, it was someone else’s beast taming, and seeing beast taming panels that were more luxurious than Taotie’s only spurred his competitive desire.

Instead of hiding in dark corners envying others, it’d be better to train his own beast taming to stand out in the sunlight proudly.

But so far, he had not found anyone in the school, besides teachers, whose beast taming Energy Level exceeded 35.

And those beast taming’s skill panels were not as luxurious as Chi Yu’s. So far, he had only seen one student’s beast taming that had mastered skills to the perfect level.

Through these days of exploration, he had more or less figured out the level tiers of skill proficiency: Beginner, Mastered, Expert, Perfect.

He had never seen proficiency beyond perfect, not even among the teachers’ tamed beasts.

In the school, the teachers were the highest-level Beast Tamers they could come into contact with in their daily lives, especially those who taught courses related to beast taming.

But this also made him understand why Chi Yu had lost its appetite.

Who would be in the mood for snacks after such severe injuries?

What made him even quieter was the evaluation standard in the state bar, considering such serious injuries only moderate. What kind of injury would then be considered severe?

Chen Lingya, with her hair wrapped in a bath towel and dressed in pajamas, entered the room, “Chi Yu doesn’t feel like eating today, feed it tomorrow.”

“It’s injured?”

“Just a minor external injury, it’s quite normal to get hurt during outdoor training.”

Just an external injury? As the owner of Chi Yu, she couldn’t possibly be unaware of its injuries. Chen Xing could feel his sister was hiding something.

Chen Xing wanted to say more, but at that moment, there was a knock at the living room door.

“Coming,” Liu Yuzhen went to open the door, and soon seemed a bit flustered, “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Police Department, these are our IDs. Is Chen Lingya home?”

The action of Chen Lingya drying her hair paused for a moment, then she continued as if nothing had happened.

…

Liu Yuzhen poured some warm water for the two visitors, standing aside somewhat awkwardly.

Chen Lingya, now wearing a coat, sat on the couch, facing two officers from the Police Department seated on stools.

“Your classmates, You Kaihui, Huo Lu, and Zhou Hanxue, are dead. Their bodies were found an hour ago.”

Chen Lingya first appeared surprised, then a smile of joy emerged, “That’s really great.”

“According to your classmates, you didn’t get along with them,” said the somewhat chubby officer on the left, his eyes sharp as he watched Chen Lingya.

Chen Lingya shook her head lightly and spoke indifferently, “They’re all classmates, how can there be anything good or bad.”

The chubby officer spoke bluntly, “But it’s You Kaihui, Huo Lu, and Zhou Hanxue who have been bullying you in school for a long time! And we have found claw marks of the Snowfall Cascade Panther on their beasts’ corpses, which is your tamed beast, right?”

“What?” Liu Yuzhen exclaimed in shock, her eyes nervously turning towards her daughter.

Liu Yuzhen, who busied herself with part-time work to earn money, only now discovered her daughter had been bullied at school.

Chen Lingya frowned slightly and looked at the officer with sarcasm, “Those were injuries from a public battle, witnessed by at least hundreds of students in the grade. They summoned their beasts to attack me, and I merely summoned my beast to defend myself as is normal. Furthermore, during the adventure afterward, I was with Xu Junbai’s team the whole time, never leaving the group privately once.”

Chen Lingya stressed the last sentence heavily.

The officer on the right, who had been taking notes all this time, continued to write something down.

“Could you explain your timeline?”

Chen Lingya confidently recounted her schedule during the training.

It sounded problem-free, but whether it was true required further investigation.

“I need to see your tamed beast,” the chubby-faced officer said.

Chen Lingya glanced at him and scoffed, “Although you don’t have a search warrant, there’s no harm in showing you.”

With a wave of her hand, the summoning Array of Light shone on the ground.

Moments later, when the light faded, a beast over two meters long, Chi Yu, glared menacingly at the chubby officer who was just an arm’s length away.

The chubby officer’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly, his neck retracting slightly since the Snowfall Cascade Panther kept staring at his neck.

This close…

He was about to summon his own beast when a hand stopped him. The tall and thin officer, who had been head-down taking notes, now looked up with a smile, “Young lady, my colleague isn’t articulate, I apologize on his behalf. Sorry for the late disturbance, it’s really quite regrettable.

May I quickly examine the wounds on your beast? It seems to have been injured, and we want to help clear your name. After all, you were schoolmates with You Kaihui and the others; you should know their backgrounds. Although protected by law within the city, proving your innocence should be beneficial for you.”

“It’s okay, go ahead and check,” she responded.

“Thanks for your cooperation. We really didn’t want to impose, but we had no choice, as soon as we clocked out, we were coerced into overtime. My colleague was a bit impatient,” said the tall and thin officer, who stood up, walked over to Chi Yu, and crouched down to meticulously examine its wounds.

A short while later, after the examination, “All right, thank you for your cooperation. We’ll take our leave now.”

“No problem, take care,” Chen Lingya nodded.

The two officers left the Chen residence and sat down in the police car parked on the side of the street; the chubby officer initiated, “What’s the verdict? Was it her?”

“The wounds on her beast do have some high correlations with those that could’ve been inflicted by You Kaihui and their beasts, but they’re mostly old wounds. The timing doesn’t match the time of death. More importantly, my beast did not detect any deception when she was recounting her whereabouts.”

The tall and thin officer’s cap wriggled, and then was pushed up as a little creature with giant ears, resembling a puppet, lifted the hat and jumped into his arms.

The chubby officer fell silent for a while, then voiced his inner doubt, “But I feel she was too calm.”

“Children of the poor take on responsibilities early! Being calm isn’t necessarily a problem. Alright, alright, evidence speaks. Let’s move on to the next house so we can finish up and go home earlier. There are only so many coins a month, why work so hard for nothing! They won’t see your effort no matter how hard you try!” The tall, thin officer floored the accelerator, and the police car roared off from the curb.

Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Investigation

“You at school…”

After the security officers had left, Liu Yuzhen wanted to say something, but she didn’t know where to start.

On one hand, she was worried that her daughter was being bullied at school, and on the other hand, she was concerned that her words might inadvertently hurt her daughter, so she anxiously clutched the hem of her clothes.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. It was just some childish behavior, and I plan to attend the best university in the future to earn money for Dad’s treatment,” Chen Lingya stretched languidly, took a couple of steps, turned her head, and said, “Besides, those who bullied me are already dead. No one will bother me at school anymore.”

“Sister.” Chen Xing suddenly spoke up.

Chen Lingya paused in her steps, “Hmm?”

“Let Chi Yu cooperate with me in eating a piece of dried meat,” Chen Xing took out some dried meat from his pocket and gently shook it.

“…” She had thought her brother was going to ask something important, but it turned out to be this.

Although she couldn’t understand why her brother was so adamant about feeding Chi Yu, what could she do? She just considered it to be his peculiar hobby.

“Chi Yu.” Chen Lingya’s voice fell, and Chen Xing’s hand relaxed.

A white flash passed before their eyes, and the dried meat in his hand disappeared, now clutched in the mouth of Chi Yu, who had appeared in another corner of the living room.

Chi Yu rolled up its tongue and swallowed the dried meat in one gulp.

Back in his room, Chen Xing looked at the 14 remaining Skill Point Fragments he had, still needing 6 more to reach his goal.

Today, having been able to feed Chi Yu, who was injured, was already enough to make him content.

Exhausting the beast with internal injuries and fractures with training would be too demanding.

However, if he could get the daily feeding and training rewards for Taotie and Chi Yu the next day, then he would be able to gather two Skill Points immediately, one day ahead of the five days he had anticipated.

Over the past few days, Chen Xing had explored other ways to obtain Skill Point Fragments, but unfortunately, after trying many methods, he still hadn’t opened up a new source of income.

Chen Xing couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild, thinking about whether he should simply take a part-time job at a breeding farm, get along with the tame beasts, become the most welcome man among them, and pluck Skill Fragments every day.

Regrettably, after searching through job listings, Chen Xing was disappointed to abandon this idea.

Because he wasn’t even qualified to work at the Beast Taming farms. Breeding farms were basically divided into two types: one was for livestock, where ordinary chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep were raised. The other was the kind he was planning to go to, the Beast Taming farms.

Those capable of establishing large-scale Beast Taming farms were basically large local enterprises, even workers who took care of the beasts on a daily basis required a bachelor’s degree and demanded a Beast Taming Level of at least 30. Chen Xing even found some farms recruiting workers with beasts possessing over Level 35 Energy Levels. High Energy Level beasts were preferred for the farm workers due to the dangerous nature of the beasts, to facilitate daily care.

Although he couldn’t go to the farms, Chen Xing was already very satisfied. Ever since he obtained the Skill Tree, everything had been gradually improving, and he had never been a greedy person.

Lying in bed, Chen Xing was filled with anticipation. He had moved one step closer to his goal; tomorrow, he would be able to activate a new skill.

Under the night sky, a black crow stood on the railing of the rooftop of the building opposite Chen Xing’s home, like a statue.

When the clouds covered the moon, the crow spread its wings, blending into the night, and flew through the window into Chen Lingya’s room, landing on the desk.

At the very first moment the crow entered the room, Chi Yu rose to its feet, watching the crow with a vigilant stare.

Chen Lingya, who had been reading a book, put down her book. She didn’t seem surprised by the crow’s arrival, as she untied a box attached vertically to the crow’s leg and took out two cobalt-blue glass vials from inside.

The crow picked up a pen from the table with its claws and began writing awkwardly. Although the writing was ugly, it was still legible, “You should have come with us. Staying here poses the risk of being exposed sooner or later.”

Chen Lingya locked eyes with the crow’s black gaze, “Next time, don’t come to my home without my permission. Go back and tell them not to disturb my family.”

The crow unfolded its wings and flew out the window into the night.

The clouds in the sky scattered, and moonlight once again spilled onto the desk.

Chen Lingya sat in silence at the desk for a while, and Chi Yu, sensing its owner’s somber mood, moved forward and nudged her waist with its head.

Looking down at Chi Yu, who had come close, Chen Lingya stroked its head.

Thump, thump.

Hearing the knock, Chen Xing, who was rolling around on the bed with Taotie, paused, placed Taotie on the bed, then slipped on some slippers and opened the bedroom door.

“This is for you.”

Standing behind the door, Chen Lingya handed over two tubes of reagent.

Those two tubes of reagent were exactly what Chen Xing had seen before; they were the same kind that had been in the box opened yesterday.

Chen Xing looked at the reagents, then at his sister.

Chen Lingya didn’t seem inclined to explain where they came from, “You have a test at the end of the month, strive to achieve some ranking.”

After thrusting the reagents into Chen Xing’s hands, she prepared to return to her room, but a hand reached from behind, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her back.

Chen Lingya stumbled a couple of steps and was dragged back into the bedroom; the door slammed shut behind her.

Chen Lingya tried to break free, but one hand pinned hers against the wall. Chen Xing, staring at her, said, “Sis, we’re family, right? I feel like you’re keeping something from us.”

Chen Lingya looked at the Chen Xing close at hand, and finally, her expression changed, her eyebrows frowning slightly as she said calmly, “You have bad breath.”

Chen Xing nearly lost it, laughing despite himself, “Bullshit, I just brushed my teeth.”

He casually stuffed the reagents into his trouser pocket, “Don’t give these to me again. Strength is the priority. You should take care of Chi Yu first, I don’t need you to worry about me. However… if you really feel bad about it, how about you let Chi Yu accompany me in training for a bit?”

Chen Lingya was speechless. How had giving him something turned into her feeling guilty? Bizarre. A little brother really should be disciplined early on. “Chi Yu is my Beast Taming creature; why would you train it?”

“My Taotie is still too young to train, I want to try out the feeling of training skills. You know that Beast Taming requires a Level 5 Energy to start training skills. Before Level 5, it’s the developmental stage, the body is too weak to withstand the strain. Don’t worry, I won’t train recklessly. If you’re worried, you can stay and watch. I’ll just train for about twenty minutes a day.”

Taotie? Is that the Salty Bay Crocodile’s name?

Chen Lingya glanced at the Salty Bay Crocodile on the bed.

But she always felt that this wasn’t her brother’s real intention; however, she couldn’t guess why.

Could it be… he had guessed something?

Chen Lingya’s gaze flickered ever so slightly.

“I still need some time before I can start training skills for Taotie, so think of this as letting me get a feel for it in advance,” Chen Xing said with a light laugh.

Chen Lingya nodded slightly, “Alright, but not today. Chi Yu took some medicine today and needs to rest.”

“Then it’s a deal.”

…

In the brightly lit villa, a woman’s hysterical screams, “My daughter is dead, and you’re still sitting here? You Jinghong, are you even her father? My daughter is dead, why should anyone else live? They must all die!”

“Enough.” The man sat on the couch, glancing at his wife. His gaze was calm, but as she met his eyes, the wife’s voice gradually lowered. The news of their daughter’s death, combined with her husband’s indifference, made her grief unbearable. Burying her face in her hands, she sobbed softly, her shoulders trembling ceaselessly.

“Getting angry won’t solve anything,” You Jinghong said calmly. “We can have another child. Right now is a critical moment in the seven-year turnover. Everyone is watching me, so I cannot afford to make mistakes.”

Shhhh… shhhh… shhhh…

From the corner of the living room, a sloping passage rang out with a shuffling sound. A giant serpent with scales like forged steel emerged, its girth wider than the couch. The mere act of lifting its head slightly almost reached the ceiling. The colossal head swayed gently, causing the crystal chandelier hanging above to tremble, and light and shadow flickered throughout the room.

Beneath the trembling light, the shadows on You Jinghong’s face also distorted with the shifting light.

You Jinghong’s voice was delicate, slightly effeminate, “You think I’m not heartbroken that our daughter has died? Even a dog can form an attachment if looked after long enough.”

“I have made quite a few enemies over the years. Don’t leave the house recently, and try to stay home as much as possible. I will find a way to deal with our daughter’s death.”

You Jinghong’s last words were addressed to his wife.

The woman lifted her head, her eyes bloodshot as she looked at You Jinghong.

She didn’t speak, only silently turned her head away, looking out the window at the big tree.

Chapter 8: Chapter 8 Skills Training

Although there were no classes today due to the weekend, I still could go to the school at noon to treat my Beast Taming pet to a free lunch.

The school cafeteria didn’t close on weekends, and all students on campus could bring their Beast Taming pets every day for a free lunch.

Taotie had reached a body length of 52.8 centimeters, 5.6 centimeters longer than yesterday’s 47.2 centimeters; after taking the potion, its growth rate was now equivalent to two days’ growth in just one day.

It was now a standard half-meter category competitor, with a brain almost ten centimeters long. When it opened its mouth, the dense rows of small white teeth were quite lethal, and the ones near the back could easily bite through a chopstick.

But with this size there were also problems: compared to a few days ago, it was quite difficult to think about putting Taotie into a pocket to carry around.

It also had short legs that made it slow to walk, so leading it to school wasn’t feasible. I had no choice but to carry it back and forth to school every day.

It was still manageable now, but in a few months, Chen Xing might not be able to carry it anymore; however, she could ride the crocodile to school.

“Hey, your crocodile seems to be growing pretty fast,” Zou Minghan said, holding his crocodile. He was surprised to find that the crocodile in Chen Xing’s arms seemed to be a whole size larger than his own.

It seemed just recently that his desk mate’s Beast Taming pet was about the same size as his own.

But without paying attention for a few days, he suddenly noticed it had grown an entire size larger than his own Beast Taming pet.

Everyone’s Beast Taming pets were of the same species, which was easy to tell at a glance.

“Have you secretly been supplementing it too?” Zou Minghan was somewhat shocked. He had thought that everyone was in the same boat, but it turned out Chen Xing had been secretly giving it extra nourishment.

“Kids need to eat more when they’re growing,” Chen Xing admitted without denial.

Wang Qiming, who was nearby, heard Zou Minghan’s remarks and leaned over to take a look, letting out a silent sigh of relief after confirming that it was smaller than his own Beast Taming pet, then promptly laughed heartily, “Not bad, your Beast Taming pet looks very spirited.”

A student who had a good information network and liked to play with classmates from other classes spoke up. “I heard that someone in Class 2 already has a Beast Taming pet at Energy Level 5 starting to practice Skills.”

Wang Qiming was obviously just hearing the news and looked shocked. His family had spent nearly a hundred thousand on their Beast Taming pet this month, and it was only at Energy Level 4; there were actually people who had reached Level 5? What level of spending was that?

And if they could spend that much, why not go to a private high school instead of coming to a public high school and raising a free Beast Taming pet supplied by the country?

Although the Species gifted by the country also had decent innate talent—the Salty Bay Crocodile, for instance, could grow to Energy Level 38 when mature—but there were better choices.

However, Wang Qiming quickly adjusted his mindset. It wasn’t his business that other people were wealthy, and envy wouldn’t do him any good.

Although he couldn’t compare with that freak, when compared with the vast majority of classmates, his Beast Taming pet was already far ahead.

“My Beast Taming pet should reach Energy Level 5 in a few days, and then I’ll see if it can awaken a decent Awakening Skill. If it awakens a good Skill, I could save a lot of money, but if the Skill is too poor, I’ll have to figure out a way to wash the Skill and re-imprint a new one,” Wang Qiming sighed.

Envy filled Gao Jianqiang’s eyes, “I’ve heard that Skills can be quite expensive.”

Deng Hongtao added from the side, “Not all of them are expensive. There are also cheap Skills, but the cheap ones tend to be average.”

After Taotie ate its lunch, Chen Xing took it for a visit to the school’s Energy Level test room, where the results showed a 2.5 Energy Level. The school’s test room could only detect up to one decimal point; it was said that some professional institutions could even detect up to two or three decimal points after the Energy Level.

Chen Xing took Chi Yu to the park for Skill practice, under his sister’s supervision, upon returning home.

The deserted park was scarcely populated, perhaps because it was known people would often come here for Skill practice. Signs didn’t help, so they simply left a bare area behind, near the lake, where wild flowers and grasses grew freely.

Chen Lingya said, “Just have it release the Frost Spike. It’s a Skill I also plan for it to practice more lately to increase its Proficiency Level.”

Chen Xing immediately commanded Chi Yu, “Chi Yu, release Frost Spike toward the open space in front of you.”

Chi Yu glanced at its master and, after seeing Chen Lingya nod, released the Skill toward the open space ahead.

In less than half a second, a bunch of icy blue mist quickly condensed in the air in front of Chi Yu, taking shape.

An almost one-meter-long spear, resembling an ice crystal spear, floated in mid-air, its tip aimed forward. Under the sunlight, the Frost Spike glittered.

After a brief pause, as if propelled by an invisible hand, the Frost Spike flew forward with great speed.

Thud!

It buried a third of itself into the ground and then immediately exploded, sending tiny ice shards scattering in all directions.

Palm-sized ice shards littered the five-meter radius around the impact zone.

This Skill inflicted two stages of damage: the first when it impaled, and the second upon explosion with a small area of dispersal.

This is still just a Primary Skill that has only reached Proficiency Level “Mastery”; one can only imagine how powerful the other Skills are.

Chen Lingya explained from the side, “Actually, Chi Yu isn’t very good at casting spells. It’s not the kind of Beast Taming creature that specializes in spellcasting. The same Skill would cause greater damage if cast by a spellcasting Beast Taming creature.”

Since his younger brother wanted to practice, no matter what the motive was, but since it was practice, he had to learn something; otherwise, it would just be a waste of time.

Chen Lingya then said to Chi Yu, “The speed at which you release your Skills is still a bit slow. It looks like you’ve been slacking off recently. When you get back, practice the energy loop structure for an extra hour and strive to increase the speed of Skill condensation to within 0.3 seconds.”

“Ao.” As soon as Chi Yu heard this, its expression fell, looking as pitiful as a giant cat.

Chen Lingya completely ignored Chi Yu’s attempt at looking pathetic and said without sympathy, “Hmph, acting cute won’t work.”

The Taotie standing by the side watched with great interest, especially when Chi Yu released its Skill, which seemed to stir the warlike blood in its veins. Its eyes even brightened a bit, and it was eager to try as well.

The Taotie’s cries of “Auo Auo Auo” were non-stop, as if it were saying, coach, I want to learn this too.

Chen Xing seemed to feel the enthusiasm of the Taotie as well, and he squatted down to comfort it, “No need to be anxious, we’ll learn it later too; how about we study for an extra two hours every day, given how eager you are to learn?”

The Taotie didn’t understand the implications behind this, but it nodded excitedly.

Chi Yu looked at the naïve little Taotie with pity. This poor child didn’t yet know what that represented.

After half an hour of training, the energy inside Chi Yu had almost been depleted, and only then did the training stop.

While training Chi Yu, Chen Lingya also continuously corrected Chen Xing’s training techniques on the side.

“Training a Beast Tamer isn’t simply about making it use Skills. Although this also improves Proficiency Level, that method is too clumsy and inefficient.”

“You need to observe what is still lacking when it releases Skills. For example, the release speed is too slow, or the accuracy is too low; these issues need targeted remediation.”

“Training a Beast Tamer to release Skills is also training for yourself. You need to know the upper limit of the energy inside your Beast Tamer, how many times it can release Skills, and you should be crystal clear about every Skill’s release speed, damage radius, skill characteristics, and power.”

“In battle, due to environmental factors, its judgment of the situation definitely won’t be as careful as an observer from outside. At that time, you are its second brain, and it is an extension of your body.”

“You’re a person; in battle, you must employ human intelligence, craftiness, treachery, and stratagems to their utmost. If it’s a battle, you must spare no effort and aim for nothing but victory.”

In fact, much of what his sister was saying was also found in books, but knowledge from books always feels superficial.

Many things must be personally experienced before one can have a deeper understanding.

Today, Chen Xing thoroughly indulged in commanding Beast Tamers, but the Taotie was still too small, had not yet awakened its Skills, and was small in size; it was only slightly bigger than a grilled fish on a platter.

It could bully the plants in the park, but at the current stage, it had less fighting power than even his own fist.

However, this was also a necessary experience. Basically, this is how most novice Beast Tamers started, including Chi Yu, which once was a milky little cat with its eyes not even open. In just two years, it had grown into a big cat capable of fitting its own head in its mouth.

Having obtained the six Skill Point Fragments from Chi Yu and Taotie today, the number of Skill Point Fragments had reached 21.

On the way home, Chen Xing silently activated them.

The professional skill tree diagram lit up instantly; the grey skill icon representing the “Primary Carnivorous Pet Meal Preparation” shone brightly!

[Primary Carnivorous Pet Meal Preparation] You have learned to make scientifically nutritious pet meals which can help your pets grow quickly and healthily. (Activated)

At the same moment, some knowledge about pet meal preparation popped into his head.

Pausing in his steps, Chen Xing carefully discerned and confirmed that it really was just the process of making ordinary pet meals, without any magic spells, nor adding fancy technology or harsh tasks. The raw materials were simple too, no need for expensive Beast Tamer meat, ordinary beast meat would do. Just needed to add some carrots, broccoli, seaweed… at least it sounded quite scientific, the only requirement being that he had to complete all steps personally, not delegating to anyone else.

“Sis, I’m going to the supermarket to buy some stuff.”

“What are you buying?”

“Taotie’s appetite has been bigger lately, I’m going to add a little something to its meals.”

“Don’t just feed it anything on your own; more isn’t necessarily better, there’s skill in this,” Chen Lingya warned.

“Why are you more bothersome than mom, are you hitting menopause early?”

There’s no girl who can take the words “menopause” kindly, “Chi Yu, bite him!”

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Magical Pet Food

“`

There was a two-story supermarket just over seven hundred meters in a straight line from their home, where summoning of beast taming was not allowed. Before entering the supermarket, both of them withdrew their beasts.

Chen Xing executed a reverse summoning formation on Taotie. After a flash of light, Taotie vanished from the ground.

The only change was an additional blurry space in his mind, the volume of which was hard to determine, but he could vaguely feel it wasn’t large. The small Taotie fit just right inside it.

The Taotie, now retracted into the beast taming space, made anxious cries, “Ow? Ow? Ow!”

Ever since hatching, Chen Xing had rarely returned Taotie to the beast taming space, so Taotie felt lost and afraid in the empty void, constantly calling for Chen Xing.

After entering the supermarket, Chen Xing purchased the ingredients he needed—a total of ten jin of beef and a big bag of various vegetables.

“Do you have enough money?” Chen Lingya was about to pay when Chen Xing took out a pile of change from his pocket.

Chen Xing said, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m out of money. This is the transportation and living allowance Mom gives me.”

Chen Xing had saved all that money, which amounted to more than three hundred. Although the family budget was tight, Liu Yuzhen did not skimp on the siblings’ daily expenses and even occasionally gave them some pocket money.

Chen Lingya scoffed, “Humph, take kindness for granted. As if anyone’s got their eye on your pennies.”

Before returning home, they also bought two newspapers at the kiosk downstairs. Chen Guohai was the only one at home, as even on weekends their mother had to work, doing a part-time job at a restaurant. On weekends, the business at the restaurant would boom, and sometimes Liu Yuzhen would be able to bring home some leftovers in the evening.

Chen Xing opened the balcony door and handed over the two newspapers to Chen Guohai, “Dad, I bought you newspapers, the Great Xia News and National Boundary News that you like to read.”

Chen Guohai took the newspapers and spoke lethargically, “You two go ahead with your tasks. I’m going to bask in the sun for a while. I have to take medicine at noon so I won’t eat lunch.”

His illness was very peculiar, requiring not only rest but also frequent sunbathing, as the doctors said sunlight had a certain inhibitory effect on the disease inside him.

Chen Xing went to the kitchen to process the ingredients, washed the meat and vegetables, and began preparing them in various ways: boiled, steamed, raw-cut, eggs beaten…

Everything was done in an orderly and busy manner.

At first, Chen Lingya was curious about what Chen Xing was making and stood watching at the kitchen door for a while. After a few glances, she quickly lost interest.

Because it seemed her brother was really just cooking…

After processing all the ingredients, Chen Xing made a large pot of fragrant meat rice.

In the moment of its successful preparation, a silver light flashed across the surface of the pot, followed by a layer of shimmering silver glow.

A line of mysterious text, only visible to him, appeared above the pot of rice, similar to that Stone Booklet. It was not written in any recognizable language, yet he understood its meaning.

“Basic Carnivorous Pet Food” (Good) – This is a pot of steaming fresh pet food that can fill up a pet, but only carnivorous pets can fully absorb the nutrition inside.

Looking at the glowing pet food, Chen Xing thought for a moment and then took out his phone to take a photo.

The photo in the phone’s gallery was just a pot of food, without any silver glow on the surface.

As expected, it seemed that only he could see it.

It was fine if others couldn’t see it. Otherwise, how would he explain that the food he cooked could glow? One lie can only be covered by even more lies.

He then summoned Taotie again. The Taotie, which had fallen asleep in the beast taming space, suddenly found itself back in the outside world.

Before it even had a chance to feel aggrieved, its nose picked up the aroma coming from the pot.

“Ow, ow, ow!” It howled as it ran toward the direction of the pot, but its legs were too short, so it could only stand below the stove, looking up anxiously and hopping around occasionally.

“Eat!”

The food was made for it to eat.

Chen Xing found an infrequently used plate and filled it to the brim.

The little crocodile gobbled it down ravenously.

While the little crocodile was eating, Chi Yu also appeared from nowhere and ran over.

“`

Chen Lingya followed behind, “Just now, Chi Yu opened the door by itself. Is this the pet food you made?”

“You should try it too!”

Chen Xing generously grabbed another plate and filled it up.

While Taotie was still hungrily wagging its tail and eating, Chi Yu had already licked the plate clean and was gazing at its little master with eager eyes.

Chen Xing added more to its plate, but for Chi Yu, a plateful was merely a mouthful. For a big cat nearly two meters long, similar in size to a Siberian tigress, a pot of this pet food weighing over ten pounds was just enough for a meal.

“Sis, if it’s all eaten, you can just go buy another portion,” Chen Xing said as he filled the plate again for Chen Lingya.

Chen Lingya was skeptical, “Alright. But you haven’t added some kind of appetite stimulant to it, have you? They seem to love it so much, even I’m getting curious to try some.”

She had tasted this kid Chen Xing’s cooking before, although that was years ago.

His previous cooking skills were just at the level of “not lethal,” so how did he suddenly become a great chef?

Chen Xing didn’t even blink, “Maybe this is talent, after all. ‘It takes only three days for a prodigy to emerge…’.”

Talent… maybe this kid did have a knack for cooking.

Chen Lingya was speechless. While everyone else was studying Beast Taming, was this brat secretly learning how to cook?

Chen Xing originally thought this pot of food would last Taotie for several meals, but with the addition of Chi Yu, the gluttonous eater, it was devoured in one sitting.

The meal wasn’t cheap either; the groceries alone cost three hundred and sixty-one yuan.

To verify the effects of the pet food, there was still a bottle of nutritional reagent that Chen Xing had held back from using, intending to observe the contrast in effect.

For a growing beast, there was no more direct measure than its physical development.

Waking up the next morning, Chen Xing looked at Taotie, who was snoozing beside his pillow, and immediately noticed that it seemed to have grown quite a bit.

He took out a measuring tape and from the tip of its tail to the top of its snout, it measured 62.4 centimeters.

Wait a minute?

To make sure he hadn’t misread, he measured again.

Indeed, he had gotten it wrong the first time; 62.6 centimeters, having shorted it by 0.2 centimeters.

He sat up in bed and with his high school-level math, he solved a simple equation: 62.6 minus 52.8 equals 9.8.

To have grown 9.8 centimeters overnight, that was more terrifying than eating hormone-injected pig feed!

He felt that he could start pig farming, with this level of expertise, wouldn’t he become rich in minutes?

And this was just the basic pet food; what about the intermediate pet food, the advanced pet food?

More importantly, the cost was low!

Even though this meal cost three hundred and sixty-one yuan, the bulk of it had been devoured by Chi Yu.

If he economized according to Taotie’s appetite, it could last at least four meals.

That meant ninety yuan per meal.

Expensive? For him at this stage, the expense was indeed not small.

His pocket money for a month was only one hundred yuan.

A meal equated to a month’s pocket money, but he was also aware that the price was already very reasonable.

For any Beast Tamer, if they knew the effects and cost of the pet food, they would exclaim in disbelief. If they still found it expensive with such cost-effectiveness, they could only blame themselves for not having worked hard enough all these years and should really reflect on that.

Chapter 10: Chapter 10 Leap Forward

Early the next morning, Sister headed off to the supermarket and bought thirty pounds of fresh meat as well as the corresponding vegetables.

The total cost of these meat and vegetables was at least a thousand bucks. I’d heard that private high school scholarships were quite substantial, and looking at this, she really did seem like a little rich girl. No wonder she never needed to ask her family for living expenses.

Chen Lingya said, “Save a portion for Chi Yu after you’re done cooking today, but you don’t need to save any after that since it won’t be convenient to eat at school.”

Private high schools were different from public ones; there were no free Beast Taming lunches on weekends. Students had to sort it out themselves at home.

In fact, very few students in private high schools would bring their beasts to the cafeteria, most would bring their meals from home.

In the evening, Chen Lingya looked at Chi Yu, instructing it to stand properly and let her examine it closely.

“I feel like you’ve gotten a bit bigger.”

Chen Lingya held her chin with one hand, furrowing her brows in thought.

“I haven’t fed you any supplements recently. It’s just…”

Suddenly, something occurred to her, and her expression shifted, becoming somewhat strange.

It couldn’t really be…

…

Chen Xing carefully measured the body length, which had grown by 9.7 cm since yesterday. The daily growth rate was very significant, roughly equivalent to five days of normal development.

If you looked at it daily, it might not seem so obvious, but a sudden growth of one-sixth in body length was definitely striking. Its 72.3 cm body length now possessed a certain deterrent power; it could easily scare a kindergarten child if seen on the street.

When Monday came and they returned to school, there were only seven days left until the exams, marking the final week.

During class, Wang Qiming, sitting diagonally behind Chen Xing, frequently glanced at the Beast Taming creature on Chen Xing’s desk.

Taotie lay across the desk with closed eyes, its head and tail almost reaching from one end to the other.

Chen Xing’s textbook was placed on Taotie’s back, where the uneven crocodile scales provided a perfect non-slip stand.

“How did it get so big?”

Wang Qiming lowered his head to compare his own beast, which not only extended to the other end of his desk but even had its tail slightly hanging over.

But that was a precise comparison. At a casual glance, his beast only seemed a bit smaller than Chen Xing’s.

One’s own failures were scary enough, but the success of a classmate was even more heart-wrenching.

Suddenly, Wang Qiming felt a sense of urgency. Could it be that he was about to be surpassed?

“Damn, Brother Chen, did your beast take steroids or something?”

After class, Zou Minghan couldn’t help but gesture as he turned to glance once more at Wang Qiming’s beast behind him.

Wang Qiming: ???

Why are you looking at my beast?

Zou Minghan said, “Seems about the same size.”

Wang Qiming’s face darkened.

“Uh, no wait, Wang Qiming’s seems a bit bigger,” Zou Minghan noticed that Wang Qiming’s beast’s tail was sticking out beyond the desk, while Chen Xing’s was not.

“But Chen Xing’s seems thicker.” Zou Minghan observed that despite Wang Qiming’s beast being longer, Chen Xing’s appeared more robust with glossy crocodile scales.

Sitting in the front row, Li Zhixuan couldn’t resist turning around. She wanted to see what outrageous remarks Zou Minghan was making.

Turning to see Chen Xing’s beast, Li Zhixuan was taken aback, surprise filling her eyes. This beast looked spirited, and its proportions seemed quite good.

Her family ran a Beast Taming product store, which specialized in selling products related to beast taming.

Having been exposed to such knowledge since childhood, she understood a lot about the subject.

She knew that judging whether a beast was good involved more than just length; body length was not the sole criterion. If it was long but as skinny as a stick, then it was just a skinny hound.

Beast Taming not only requires larger bodies but also sturdier ones. Coordinated body proportions are the best.

The Beast Tamer that Chen Xing has looks to have good body proportions, it’s been well-cultivated—I wonder what he’s been feeding it.

However, Chen Xing’s attention wasn’t focused there for the moment. Instead, he was concentrating on the new Skills appearing in the Stone Booklet.

He had thought that he needed to activate another basic herbivore pet food Skill before he could unlock subsequent Skills, but to his surprise, after lighting up the basic carnivore pet food Skill, the branch’s subsequent Skills had already been unlocked.

After the activation of the basic carnivore pet food, two new gray Skills waiting to be activated extended from below.

[Large Can of Pet Carnivore Freeze-Dried Food]You have learned to make crisp, delicious freeze-dried food. The temptation of gourmet food is irresistible—it can make your pet more obedient and improve your interactive play together. (0/8)

[Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food Crafting]You have learned to make extremely nutritious pet food that can help your pet grow healthily in various aspects. Prolonged feeding may optimize their bloodline to some extent. (0/10)

Although the prices of the subsequent Skills soared, looking more expensive.

But just from the introduction alone, it is definitely worth the price. The introduction for Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food went from rich in nutrients to extremely rich in nutrients, and it mentioned it could lead to comprehensive healthy growth for pets—what exactly does ‘various aspects’ refer to? And it also mentioned that prolonged use may somewhat optimize bloodlines.

You know, even among the same Beast Tamer, there’s a difference in quality, just like humans. All are humans, yet some are born with stronger athletic genes, some with higher natural intelligence.

But Chen Xing had never heard of a tool that could check the bloodlines of a Beast Tamer, and the aptitude of a Beast Tamer is mostly judged based on the Quality of its Awakening Skills. However, there are rare cases where one can tell at first sight that the aptitude is extraordinary, like looking thirty at the age of seven.

Every Beast Tamer has a chance to awaken Skills at each 5 Energy Level interval. Each Species of Beast Tamer has different Skill pools available for awakening, but generally speaking, the better the Skills awakened, the higher the aptitude.

If one goes by the current rate of obtaining Skill Point Fragments, it would take 14 days to collect 8 Skill Points, and 17 days to collect 10 Skill Points.

At this rate, there seems to be no chance of activation before the first monthly test.

Ding-a-ling~

The ring of the class bell echoed in his ears; the class was taught by the homeroom teacher, Lu Junxiang.

Lu Junxiang, holding a thermos, said casually, “Take out the homework you did yesterday. I had the class representative distribute the workbooks yesterday at noon, and I’ve looked through the problems you did. The one with the most mistakes was question four of the multiple-choice section. Let’s go over it.”

The chalk scribbled on the blackboard.

Registered spirit beasts with no criminal record can be summoned in public places. Based on the Spirit beast’s own Attribute and size, its danger level is categorized into W1, W2, W3, W4, with the level unable to be summoned inside indoor malls being ( ).

1. W1 and above. 2. W2 and above. 3. W3 and above. 4. W4.

“This question is a trap! As is commonly known, not all spirit beasts can be summoned in public places—for example, summon a Fire Demon Giant in a room full of flammable materials, and everyone in the mall can wait to turn into well-done roast! ”

“Many students still can’t distinguish clearly between W2, W3, and W4 levels; this is something you need to memorize. W1 is the safe level, where you can summon anywhere in public places as long as you have no criminal record. W2 is the specific places hazard level, which can be summoned in open, outdoor public places. W3 is the restricted danger level, prohibited from summoning in urban areas. W4 is the disaster damage level, forbidden from summoning in our world; if you want to summon, go summon in the opposite world. Of course, these restriction levels are for ordinary situations during peacetime; should personal safety be under threat, exceptions can be made. You are my students, and I still have to teach you to prioritize your personal safety!”

“Alright, then there was a calculation problem that many got wrong too.”

On the training field, you release a tsunami wave with a speed of 160 km/h directly in front of you. The attack range of the water rush wave can be estimated as a horizontal area 12 meters wide. Assuming from a previous battle you have observed that the enemy takes 1.2—1.9 seconds to move 30 meters, how many meters away must you release the tsunami wave to effectively ensure that it will hit the enemy and the enemy cannot avoid the attack range?

“I know many of you don’t take math calculations to heart, believing that battles are all about intuition, feelings, and summoning a Beast Tamer then issuing attack orders – blasting all offensive Skills at the enemy’s face is right! Wrong! Big mistake! This question is actually very simple, experienced Beast Tamers can estimate the result within a second in the heat of battle.”

“You may think even a second is too long, as battles change in an instant, but truly good Beast Tamers will control the field and direct the rhythm of the fight towards their Beast Taming style! They predict the course of the battle several seconds, even ten seconds, before releasing a Skill, step by step leading the enemy into a trap.”

“Got off topic, let’s continue explaining the method of calculating this problem…”

Ding-dong-ding~

The end-of-class bell interrupted the incessant Lu Junxiang.

Lu Junxiang frowned slightly but did not prolong the class. Clearing his throat, he said, “That’s all for this class. Oh, and the Department of Education recently notified us that all students must not linger outside of school after classes, as illegal organizations have been active in the city. Later, the class president should come to my office and pick up a safety pledge to submit before school is out.” Having said that, he left the classroom.

After school that evening, Chen Xing visited the school’s Energy Level testing room.

After queuing for a while and it was his turn, he found that Taotie’s Energy Level was 3.5, a whole 1 point higher than the result from two days ago, with an average increase of 0.5 per day.

If this pace continues, it would take roughly 3 more days for Taotie’s Energy Level to reach 5, and then awaken the first Skill.

With 4 days left until the monthly test by then, four days of solid training should improve the Proficiency Level of the Skills, lest there be an embarrassing occurrence of a misfire.

What Skill Taotie would awaken remains unknown, he could go to the school’s library later and look up the Skill pool that Salty Bay Crocodile may awaken to.

Chapter 11: Chapter 11 Skills Pool

The reading room of Azure Dragon Middle School No. 8 may only claim to be a reading room, yet it is actually a three-story building, reportedly donated by an alumni from a previous graduating class.

Although school had already let out, there were still many students flipping through books in the reading room.

As the best public high school in the new district, the study atmosphere here is quite impressive.

After searching for a while, Chen Xing finally found the book he wanted—”One Hundred Ways to Cook Salty Bay Crocodile.”

The pages were slightly yellowed and curled, emanating a rich, old-book scent.

Chen Xing sat down on the floor and leaned against a bookshelf, opening up “Three Thousand Questions about the Salty Bay Crocodile.”

The cover featured an immense Salty Bay Crocodile lurking in the marshes, confronting the camera. On the rippling water surface, two eyes peered out, dark and depthless, showing cold indifference. The animal’s massive body was partially visible in the water, with the murky green depths concealing untold terror.

The title page recorded a line: Written by a 60-year-old Royal Emissary who raised three Salty Bay Crocodile familiars.

‘My uncle owns a large aquaculture farm, where he raises many Salty Bay Crocodiles. When I was a child, he told me that Salty Bay Crocodiles were a delicacy. I once had a skewer, and it tasted fantastic. It’s because of that skewer that I formed an unbreakable bond with Salty Bay Crocodiles.’

‘In fact, before eating it, I didn’t even know it was crocodile meat. At first, I thought it was chicken, but after learning it was crocodile meat, I was so scared that I cried, fearing that these colossal crocodiles might sneak in through the window at night and eat me.’

‘Later, when I was twelve, my uncle personally selected the strongest offspring from the first litter of a female crocodile at the farm. It was from that day on that I became fascinated by the charm of Salty Bay Crocodiles.’

‘Before becoming a Beast Tamer, I thought Salty Bay Crocodiles were cold-blooded, heartless creatures without emotions, which fit my stereotype of all cold-blooded beast tamers.’

‘However, as I interacted with them longer, I discovered that Salty Bay Crocodiles were more interesting than I had imagined. They are sly, like to ambush their prey in swamps and on the water surface, and are extremely cautious, never making a move without the certainty of a one-hit kill. But that is all just their external disguise. Once they get to know you, the crocodiles will reveal their lovably clumsy side.’

‘In my lifetime, I have raised three Salty Bay Crocodile beast tamers and managed a farm with over a thousand Salty Bay Crocodiles. I wrote this book to record everything about Salty Bay Crocodiles as a gift to all those who love them.’

Chen Xing noticed that some of the content overlapped significantly with the school textbooks, but considering the publication date of the textbooks and this book, it seemed that some of the content in the textbooks probably came from this book.

However, there wasn’t time to read slowly today, so he registered to borrow the book at the front desk on the first floor.

After returning home, the living room was filled with the aroma of food, and his mother was about to finish cooking.

“Mom, don’t work overtime too late recently,” he said.

“Why?”

“The school said that some illegal organizations have been causing trouble in the city recently; it’s not very safe at night.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to Sister Liu, and we won’t work overtime at night,” Liu Yuzhen said with a smile born out of being cared for at the corner of her mouth.

After dinner, Chen Xing immediately opened the book upon returning to his room.

Taotie, lying on the bedroom floor, looked up at Chen Xing on the bed with some confusion. Unfortunately, from its angle, it couldn’t see the person, only the edge of the bed.

It became so anxious that it tried to stand up and made several attempts to jump but still couldn’t reach the edge of the bed.

Out of frustration, it burst into anger.

Chen Xing, lying on the bed, let out exclamations from time to time.

I didn’t expect the pool of skills that Salty Bay Crocodiles could awaken to be so broad!

According to the author’s records, based on his sixty years of extensive observation of thousands of Salty Bay Crocodiles, he confirmed that the pool of skills Salty Bay Crocodiles could awaken contained a total of 29 skills!

There were 14 Primary Skills, 9 Intermediate Skills, 5 Advanced Skills, 1 Passive Skill, and 1 Innate Skill.

According to statistics, the higher the Beast Taming Level, the higher the probability of awakening rare skills. At Energy Level 5, the probability of Salty Bay Crocodiles awakening an Advanced Skill was 0%, a Primary Skill 88.9%, an Intermediate Skill 10.1%, a Passive Skill 0.5%, and an Innate Skill 0.5%.

Chen Xing focused on the passive and innate skills of the Salty Bay Crocodile.

A passive skill, as the name suggests, is a skill that only appears under certain conditions or probabilities. Of course, that condition might be “satisfied under all circumstances,” and the probability could be 100%. A passive skill might be a permanent increase in some aspect of a beast’s characteristics, such as a permanent increase in energy recovery speed or strength. It could also grant the beast the ability to trigger effects under specific conditions, like inflicting rebound damage on an enemy when attacked.

The passive skill of the Salty Bay Crocodile is called—Water Stealth.

As one would guess, it allows the body to blend perfectly with the water when lurking beneath the surface. According to the author’s tests, a Salty Bay Crocodile with this passive skill gains a certain amount of additional resistance to water element abilities, roughly between 10% to 15%.

This passive skill is very suitable for the Salty Bay Crocodile, which primarily relies on ambush tactics.

The innate skill of the Salty Bay Crocodile, on the other hand, is named—Death Roll.

This innate skill is not a water element ability but a normal-type skill, also known as a combat skill.

Thanks to the Salty Bay Crocodile’s incredibly strong bite force, which according to the author’s tests, ranks near the top among beasts of the same weight class. The innate skill, combined with the species’ innate talents, makes this Death Roll extremely lethal, capable of tearing off the bitten part of the prey almost instantly, with a disability rate of 99% among the same energy level.

Besides these two skills, Chen Xing looked through all the other twenty-three primary and intermediate skills.

Not all skills are suitable for Taotie; some are only effective when combined with other skills, and on their own, they’re rather mediocre in power.

Chen Xing could only hope that Taotie would awaken a more useful skill when the time came. If its skill turned out to be pretty useless, he feared he wouldn’t have the money to buy a skill orb for a while. Moreover, it was said that to replace skills, one had to erase the original skills first and then use the skill orbs, and there was also something about a success rate for the skill orbs.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

So how was he going to make money… Maybe sell pet food?

The idea flashed through Chen Xing’s mind but was quickly dismissed.

It was too dangerous.

The effects of the pet food were very noticeable; if he fed it to a beast, others would definitely be able to tell.

He wasn’t strong enough to protect this secret yet.

The best course of action now was to turn this ability into strength!

But buying materials to make pet food also cost money… He couldn’t always ask his sister for money, and besides, she wasn’t rich, just as poor as he was.

Perhaps taking Taotie to competitions?

Some malls or enterprises often host small-scale events to generate buzz.

The prize money for these events was insignificant to real experts, but to ordinary people, they were quite tempting.

Of course, these competitions were also a significant challenge for Taotie, which hadn’t been born for even a month.

But if they couldn’t compete in the adult category, they could do the student category! And if the student category proved too hard, there was still the children’s category! As long as one sets their goals low enough, there are always cubs to bully!

Chen Xing couldn’t help but admire his own cleverness and wisdom. He immediately reached out from the side of his bed, scooped up the fuming Taotie from the floor into his arms.

Taotie, still angrily flicking its tail on the floor, suddenly found itself hovering in midair. After instinctively kicking its legs a couple of times, it realized that it was being held by its master and glared at Chen Xing with fury, “Aoo aoo aoo!” protesting why it hadn’t been picked up and put on the bed earlier.

Mua!

Chen Xing planted a kiss on Taotie’s cool forehead, finding it more adorable by the second, “You’re already a half-month-old crocodile, you should start learning how to earn your keep!”

Taotie didn’t understand what earning a keep was, but something in its gut told it that a huge mountain called life was slowly approaching.

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Assault

“`

Closing the book, Chen Xing opened the Stone Booklet and looked at the activated Skill Tree, his attention once again irresistibly drawn to the first two skill trees.

All three skill trees could be activated at the same time; the only limit was the number of Skill Points he had.

What effects did the prerequisite skills of the first two skill trees have?

Other skills might be too expensive, but the prerequisite skills only required one Skill Point, which meant he could gather enough for one in just two days.

Chen Xing’s attention focused on the skill “Beast Taming Linguistics.”

“[Beast Taming Linguistics]After learning, one can understand pet languages, making it convenient to communicate and further train them (0/1)”

If he could communicate directly, it would definitely be easier.

He just didn’t know what expression Taotie would have upon discovering that he could understand its speech.

Although he and Taotie had previously communicated, most of it was through spiritual connections; both could approximate the other’s meaning through their emotions and tone of voice, and the higher the Beast Tamer’s affinity with their beast, the clearer this emotional feedback would be, serving a purpose close to that of communication.

But it was only close to direct language conversation, not quite the same.

However, Chen Xing had heard of scholars who specialized in the study of beast languages, who were proficient in many beast languages and could communicate by imitating them through vocal techniques.

…

The next day in class, Wang Qiming was frequently distracted, his gaze wandering over Chen Xing’s desk.

‘It’s bigger than mine?’

‘It should be about the same…’

‘Why does his seem a bit more robust?’

‘That must be an illusion.’

‘But it really does seem bigger than mine!’

Wang Qiming, with horror, realized Chen Xing’s beast was growing like it was on steroids, expanding insanely as if it was cheating.

Just a few days ago, his beast was so much smaller than his own.

And now, in less than a week, not only had it caught up but it also surpassed his own beast.

He wanted to catch up, but felt powerless upon discovering he had reached his limit, as his family had hit the upper limit of their funds for krypton.

His parents were Beast Tamers themselves, and the daily maintenance and cultivation of a beast were considerable expenses. Furthermore, straining resources wasn’t an option, since they needed to proceed gradually and sustainably over the three years of high school, slowly spending money in a stable manner.

Wang Qiming, with malice, theorized that Chen Xing’s family must have spent a significant sum to buy some expensive advanced generic nutritional serums for him, and once the money ran out, the growth rate would slow down.

Spend money, keep spending! I want to see how much money your family has!

After school, as soon as Chen Xing returned home, he sensed something was amiss.

Unusually, his mother wasn’t in the kitchen cooking, and his father wasn’t reading the newspaper on the balcony; they were both seated in the living room.

Apart from his parents, there was a stranger in the living room, though not entirely unknown, as they had a brief encounter before.

It was the tall, thin police officer who had come to investigate previously.

He nodded at Chen Xing, “I’ve explained everything to your mother and them. Your sister was attacked on her way home and is now in the hospital under police protection.”

“My sister was attacked?” Looking at his father’s troubled face and his mother’s eyes, red-rimmed from crying, an ominous premonition began to swirl in his heart.

“`

“`

“Your sister’s life is currently not in danger, the doctor said that she has passed the critical stage. The assassin who attacked her is being hunted by the entire city. To prevent you from being targeted by the killer for revenge, I will stay here for the next two days until the killer is caught,” the policeman hinted meaningfully toward the end.

At the same time, at the First People’s Hospital of Jincheng New District.

In the core ward of the VIP area, several policemen were whispering outside.

Sitting on the hospital bed behind the floor-to-ceiling windows, a young girl was holding a book, and next to her sat a policewoman who seemed helpless as Chen Lingya answered many of her questions with ‘I don’t know.’

Footsteps approached, and an older policeman came in, called the policewoman out, and then closed the door behind them.

A middle-aged man who had entered with the policeman stayed inside the hospital room.

Chen Lingya looked up, “Principal.”

Wan Hailong nodded, his tone calm and forceful, “No one can bully a student from my school. I will give you an explanation for this incident.”

“Thank you, Principal.”

“Yes, the school will reimburse all your expenses at the hospital during these days. You just focus on recovering here, and I’ll have your teacher send you your daily study tasks. Your family will also be taken care of by the school, so don’t worry.”

Chen Lingya nodded, looking at the man who had brought her to Wanhai Middle School and had gone against public opinion to give her a wealth of resources, “I understand, thank you, Principal.”

Wan Hailong smiled, “The best way to repay your alma mater is to perform well in the college entrance exam.”

As Wan Hailong emerged from the ward, the captain from the police department, having received the news, hurried over to greet him, “Principal Wan.”

“Thank you for taking care of my student’s matter,” Wan Hailong said to the captain.

The captain’s expression turned serious, and he quickly acknowledged.

As Wan Hailong walked away, the other policemen were a bit puzzled. The captain seemed to treat the principal of Wanhai High School with excessive respect.

Even though he was a principal, he was just the principal of a private high school. Was all that respect necessary?

The police department held considerable authority, especially in an era where everyone could become a Beast Tamer. As an organization responsible for the city’s internal violence, even business leaders had to be courteous when meeting their captain.

“You don’t understand, if it were any other middle school principal, it would be different, but this one is special,” the captain reflected, “He was personally invited by our district chief. I had the honor of attending his welcome banquette, where the mayor personally made an appearance. All those high-ranking officials were very courteous to him.”

At this point, the captain paused, “Most importantly, Principal Wan is also an Advanced Beast Tamer.”

If it were only for the previous reasons, it would be just a matter of respect, but the last point was the fundamental reason for his genuine reverence.

Advanced Beast Tamer?!

The faces of the policemen changed dramatically. Even without the former identity, just the last point alone was enough to command their respect.

What is an Advanced Beast Tamer? Only a Beast Tamer who not only possessed a Transcendence Stage beast but also completed the Transcendence Ceremony could qualify as an Advanced Beast Tamer! It was a realm they could only dream of.

In the quiet hospital corridor filled with the strong smell of disinfectant and whitewashed walls, Wan Hailong raised his right hand.

A summoning array emerged on the back of his hand, followed by a flash of light.

A completely black crow perched silently on his shoulder, bowing its head and pecking at its own feathers without a care.

“Go and warn certain people that it’s best to behave themselves during this critical time. Anyone who sticks their hand out, I will chop it off!”

Wan Hailong gave an address, and the crow’s intelligent eyes turned before it nodded. It spread its wings and dove toward the wall behind.

The moment before touching the wall, its body became ethereal, passing through the wall and soaring into the sky, circling above the hospital for a moment before flying directly toward the east.Chapter 13: Chapter 13: The Giant Fang Bat

Upon receiving the message sent back from her subordinate, the woman in the villa burst into loud laughter. She had initially only wanted to find some people who had conflicts with her daughter but lacked powerful backgrounds to accompany her daughter in death, as well as to vent her own inner emotions.

But she never expected that by blindly striking out she would unexpectedly hit pay dirt.

The woman sitting by the window muttered to herself, “To actually survive an assassin’s attack, you little bitch, hiding such strength and yet still enduring, what exactly are you enduring? Is my daughter’s death related to you? Being bullied by her every day, you must hate her.”

She knew her daughter’s capabilities better than anyone, with a Beast Taming Level of only 31, and although the family had provided her with a set of decent skills, she lacked real combat experience and was also not focused on developing her Beast Taming abilities.

You Jinghong entered, took a few steps, stopped, and spoke to the woman by the window. “That’s enough, this matter ends here.”

“Why should it?”

“Because she is a student valued by Wan Hailong.”

“Our daughter also got into Wan Hai High School, she’s his student as well.”

“There’s a difference between students, and being a student at Wan Hai High School is not the same as being Wan Hailong’s student!” You Jinghong said coldly, “Don’t cause any more trouble, if the daughter is gone, just have another who is more obedient.”

“Does that girl have anything to do with our daughter’s death?” the woman asked unwillingly.

After a moment of silence, You Jinghong said, “I don’t know.”

The woman suddenly laughed, a laugh full of despair, “Do you really not know, or are you just afraid to say? You fear that I’ll take revenge on her, jeopardizing your leadership transition, don’t you? You Jinghong, it seems you’ve never changed; after all these years, you’re still this cold-hearted. And to think I once foolishly hoped I could change you.”

You Jinghong said indifferently, “The forensic pathologist has examined the body, the wounds on the corpse have nothing to do with her Beast Taming.”

“I see, so should we call off the assassin we hired before?”

You Jinghong’s expression was enigmatic, “That’s not necessary; he said not to extend our reach further, not to pull our extended hand back. That assassin has become the whetstone for that girl now.”

“Heh,” the woman couldn’t help but scoff, “You people are all the same once your hearts are carved out.”

After speaking, the woman turned to look out the window in silence.

You Jinghong reiterated his warning, “Just stay at home quietly during this time.”

The woman said nonchalantly, “Fine, I got it. By the way, hire me a few Beast Taming trainers. Ever since I married you, I’ve neglected my training. It’s been a long time since I trained any beasts.”

Seeing that You Jinghong wasn’t speaking, the woman turned her head and smiled sweetly, “What’s the matter? Won’t you even let me train beasts now? Don’t worry; I’m still looking forward to your continued climb upward. I wouldn’t ruin your good thing at a time like this. We are husband and wife after all, aren’t we?”

“I will arrange for someone,” You Jinghong nodded and left the room.

…

At the city’s exit.

A bus heading for the neighboring mountain city was stopped and blockaded.

In the last row of the bus sat a man in black wearing a hat and a mask. As the bus came to a halt, he abruptly turned his head to look out the window, then his gaze fell on the girl sitting next to him.

To his left was a girl with curly hair, dressed in a crop top, with perfect figure, her long, snow-white legs crossed and propped up, also wearing a white hat and chewing bubble gum.

As the officers drew closer, the man’s eyes flashed with a vicious light as he prepared to summon his Beast Taming creature, but his motions suddenly froze.

What… When did that happen?

A scorpion, unknown to him as to when it had crawled up from behind his seat, was now on his shoulder, edging slowly under the brim of his hat, its black, shiny stinger hovering less than half a centimeter from his eye.

Pop~

The bubble gum burst.

The girl stretched her arms in a luxurious yawn, revealing the beautiful curve of her abs, but clearly, the man’s attention was nowhere near that.

The girl said to herself, “Don’t move around, and don’t run away. Just go back where you came from, okay? Quitting halfway is not a good habit.”

The man’s eyes twitched in frustration. Damn it, why wouldn’t they leave him alone even though he’d already decided to abandon the mission and leave?

Which group did this girl belong to? The employer? Or those who saved the target?

He had thought it was a straightforward assassination mission. The employer had given him a list of thirteen high school girls, and he had chosen to start with the one with the weakest background after some investigation.

But as soon as he made his move, he hit a snag. Just when he was about to take down his target, a mysterious Beast Taming creature appeared and repelled him.

There was something wrong with the information the employer provided!

Realizing the danger, he decisively gave up on the mission and planned to relocate his strategic position.

Now it seemed that someone absolutely didn’t want to let him go.

The police officer walked to his car with a fire hound, then headed straight for the man, pulling out his badge.

“Sir, we suspect you are involved in a case. Please come to the station to assist with the investigation,” he said.

An hour later, the man walked out of the police station. The investigation concluded that he was a major suspect. Not only was he fitted with a tracking bracelet, but he was also ordered not to leave Jincheng until the case was closed.

“Pah!”

Standing in front of the police station, the man spat on the ground.

Then a fierce light gleamed in his eyes. Since they wouldn’t let him leave, then just wait for the consequences. He wouldn’t play house with these big shots. If someone died, it would be too late for regret.

…

“He’s here.”

Officer Gao Lin, who was sitting in the room, lifted his head and slapped his hands together sharply.

The Four-armed Spirit Monkey, which had been standing in the living room, suddenly reached out, grabbing a golden energy rod from the void into his palm and charging towards the balcony, swinging it heavily through the air.

Boom!!!

An explosive sound came from the air, with an invisible bomb going off several meters away from the balcony.

The powerful blast blew the balcony railing apart, with fragments flying everywhere.

“Giant Fang Bat, it seems you, too, were once a citizen who underwent obligatory education. Why have you chosen this path?”

Gao Lin looked at a cow-sized black bat hovering above the community. Against the sunlight, its figure was indiscernible, with only a vague bat-shaped silhouette visible.

On the inside of the living room, Liu Yuzhen and Chen Guohai sat in their chairs, holding hands, as Liu Yuzhen gazed at the lean figure standing protectively in front of them.

In their era, there were no free compulsory education and no national distribution of free tamed beasts. Tamed beasts weren’t cheap and were even more expensive to train, not to mention the day-to-day maintenance costs, which weren’t lower than owning a car.

But at this moment, Liu Yuzhen suddenly regretted not biting the bullet back then and training a tamed beast.

Had she owned a tamed beast, she might have been able to stand in front of her son as a mother.

Giant Fang Bat?

Chen Xing remembered, among the tamed beasts distributed for free by the state, there was the Giant Fang Bat.

This was a Wind Element beast, with a growth limit of Energy Level 33.

Moreover, it grew fast, reaching maturity in just one year.

The commotion had already drawn the attention of many residents in the community. The Giant Fang Bat stalled for just a moment before diving down, and at the same time, four crescent-shaped cyan arcs materialized and circled around it as it flew.

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Capture

The Four-armed Spirit Monkey watched as the giant-fanged bat approached, gripping the staff in its hands, stepping forward feebly, and then suddenly stabbed downwards—a fierce jab following a brief pause!

The diving giant-fanged bat curved in an arc outside the window, dodging the staff while sinister wind blades flew towards the inside of the house.

The staff in the hands of the Four-armed Spirit Monkey struck nothing but air, and in the next moment, it slipped from his grasp.

A thrown staff whirled out, the Golden Light Staff striking the giant-fanged bat heavily.

The movement of the giant-fanged bat was abruptly halted, and it skewed backward as it was thrown out of flight.

The Four-armed Spirit Monkey advanced a couple of steps and with a leap from the balcony, jumped onto the back of the giant-fanged bat mid-air.

Chen Xing watched this scene in amazement, was the Four-armed Spirit Monkey actually versed in martial arts? This truly broadened his horizons.

The technique using the golden staff just now was clearly a form of staff martial arts, especially the last “throwing staff” move, which was downright cool. Who could withstand a monkey that knew martial arts?

However, it was indeed easier for a Humanoid-Type Beast to use martial arts, which might be considered an advantage for them.

“Don’t worry, any damage will be reimbursed,” Gao Lin said.

As his words fell, Gao Lin summoned his beast the next second.

A red dog, larger than Chi Yu and measuring over two meters in length, was summoned.

This red dog had a ring of red mane around its neck, while its body was sleek, with large, sharp ears and delicate limbs, appearing quite comical, like a thin dog wearing a scarf.

Gao Lin and the red dog exchanged a glance, he extended two fingers, then pointed in a direction.

The red dog seemed to understand immediately, then powered up towards Chen Lingya’s bedroom, a rich red light gathering in its mouth, the high energy converging to emit a blinding light.

After charging for three seconds, a red light beam erupted from its mouth, evaporating the door and the wall behind it as well.

Chen Xing, like an onlooker, silently thought to himself, ‘Sis, your room is gone.’

Squeak, squeak, squeak~

High-pitched shrieks came from the sister’s bedroom.

A gray shadow flashed through the doorway and in the next instant burst open, transforming into seventeen or eighteen thin, gray serpent-like forms that swiftly approached.

“4,” Gao Lin commanded.

A ring of fire expanded from the center of the red dog, colliding with all the gray serpents, blasting them backward in the air where they exploded into solid forms.

The corpse turned out to be a gray giant rat roughly the size of a wolf. It was now in a sorry State, its fur scorched and matted with signs of burning, and a chest wound inflicted by a sharp weapon had reopened due to its frenzied movements, bleeding profusely.

The ring of fire spread outward, causing the hanging calendars, curtains, and TV on the walls to tremble sharply, breaking, cracking, and falling, scattering across the ground.

Some flammable items even caught small fires.

Chen Xing silently thought to himself, ‘My living room is gone too.’

Gao Lin’s voice continued, “6.”

The red dog stomped its right front paw on the ground, sending a line of fire speeding towards the giant rat, and just before touching it, it burst open into a red-light cage that enveloped it.

The cage was not large, barely accommodating the giant rat’s body, making it difficult for it to even turn over, and the high temperature of the red light seemed to be burning its fur, causing it to squeal in pain.

Footsteps approached from outside, thump, thump, thump.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Brother Gao, the suspect has been arrested.”

Gao Lin opened the door, and the heavyset police officer who had come with him that day escorted a despondent man inside.

“Okay, the mission is completed, I can return to the squad. There shouldn’t be any trouble after this.” Gao Lin took out his phone and confirmed the man’s identity with a photo.

Then he said to Chen Xing, “Come back to the station with us to make a statement. This month, you’ll temporarily stay in our station’s protected district. We’ll reimburse you for any damage to your house and offer free repairs and replacements. You can move back once the repairs are finished.”

Liu Yuzhen expressed her gratitude, “Thank you so much.”

Gao Lin smiled warmly, “It’s all part of our duty.”

However, Chen Xing still felt something odd about the whole thing. Was this man an assassin? He seemed more like he had walked into a trap. He asked the assassin, “We have no grudge against each other, right? Why did you attack our home, and who is behind this?”

The assassin’s face showed a strange expression. He turned to look at Chen Xing and said meaningfully, “Do you really want to know who sent me?”

Gao Lin thought of something, turned to Chen Xing, and said, “Our station will protect every law-abiding citizen, you can trust us.”

The assassin didn’t turn around but just kept looking at Chen Xing.

Chen Xing understood Gao Lin’s intention, knowing that the more you know, the more trouble you invite. Though some things have happened, pretending to be ignorant might be one ending, knowing could lead to another.

Considering their attitude, the person behind this must have an extraordinary identity. Gao Lin probably knew who it was, so he didn’t want Chen Xing to continue asking.

The assassin didn’t say directly… Was he scared to speak? Or did he want to use this as leverage to make the person behind him bail him out?

Standing at a crossroads of decision.

Looking around, he saw a home in disarray, and his sister, who had just escaped life-threatening danger in the hospital.

Their home was like their current situation, too fragile to endure further turmoil.

Chen Xing spoke softly, “I don’t want to know anymore.”

Upon hearing Chen Xing’s words, the assassin was taken aback, his expression froze; he had thought the boy would relentlessly dig for answers.

A cold glint appeared in the assassin’s eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the heavyset police officer gave him a shock with a stun gun.

“Aaah!”

The assassin cried out in pain, his body convulsing, and the words he was about to say were swallowed.

Gao Lin was somewhat surprised and looked at Chen Xing appreciatively. This was a smart person.

Throwing a punch isn’t anything remarkable, but knowing when to pull your punches truly surprises.

Chen Xing bowed his head, his emotions complex. He had never craved power as much as now. If Taotie really had the mythological strength its name suggested, he would have pursued the matter to the end today, dealing with everyone involved.

But he couldn’t be reckless; he still had family—his mother, father, sister. The police station couldn’t protect him forever. He could only rely on himself.

So, to avoid such a powerless situation in the future… Taotie, let’s grow stronger together.

Aside from the assassin, the police officer Gao seemed to also know some inside information.

If Officer Gao knew, then certainly more high-ranking officers in the station knew as well, and perhaps this information wasn’t even a secret within certain circles.

If that’s the case, what difference does it make to know earlier or later? He’ll wait until his strength is sufficient to seek the answers.

All of a sudden, a pair of hands embraced him from behind.

His mother’s voice, somewhat choked with emotion, resounded in his ears, “It’s okay… Mom is here.”

It’s all Mom’s fault for being helpless, unable to give you the best.

Sitting beside, Chen Guohai gazed blankly out the window, seemingly making a significant decision. His tense expression relaxed at this moment.

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Awakening Skills

Under the arrangement of the senior police officer, they moved into the settlement behind the police station.

Most residents here were family members of the police officers from the station, or some retired officers, and there were also some houses specially vacated for temporary use.

After settling their living situation, Chen Xing’s family went to the hospital to see Chen Lingya.

However, they couldn’t stay long in the intensive care unit, and after seeing the state of Chen Lingya’s spirits, Liu Yuzhen also let go of the worry she had been holding in her heart.

“Sister, our house is being renovated and it might take some time before we can return. If you’re discharged, come to our place. Your room has already been prepared, so you can move in right away, and it’s even bigger than the one you had before.”

Chen Xing told Chen Lingya their new address.

Upon hearing that someone had gone to their home, Chen Lingya tensed, “That person went to our house? You all weren’t hurt, were you?”

“Right, maybe he didn’t dare to come because the security around here is too strong. We weren’t hurt. The senior police officer is really powerful; his second Beast Taming must have evolved, overpowering that assassin with tactics and strength.”

“That assassin had two Beast Tamings, one of which, the grey mist rat, belonged to a Beast Taming that had undergone one evolution.”

Chen Lingya thought of the assassin who had attacked her.

Indeed, Beast Taming in the evolution phase is much stronger than in the growth phase. It is said that there is a comprehensive enhancement during the evolution.

But she was close too. Once Chi Yu reached the species limit in energy level, she could start preparing for evolution. After evolving, she would also be able to tame a second Beast Taming.

“I understand, but there shouldn’t be any more trouble in the future,” Chen Lingya said with a narrowed smile, rubbing her younger brother’s head.

That night, lying in bed, Liu Yuzhen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Her sleep quality had been poor for the past two years, and the day’s events had only aggravated her insomnia.

Hearing the restless sounds beside her, Chen Guohai suddenly spoke, “Wife, I have a matter to discuss with you.”

Liu Yuzhen stopped moving, “Did I disturb you? I’ll go sleep in the living room outside.”

“Not that,” Chen Guohai said with a bitter smile. “There really is something I want to discuss.”

Liu Yuzhen stayed silent, choosing to listen.

Chen Guohai continued, “It’s… what if I stop treatment?”

Liu Yuzhen’s breathing quickened.

“I mean, my illness is incurable anyway, and just dragging it out is no solution. You’ve had a slightly easier time in the early years with me, but these past years have been too hard for you.”

Chen Guohai opened up, speaking candidly, “Actually, I’ve wanted to stop treatment for a long time. As a man, I can only lie at home every day, unable to do anything, while having my wife work several jobs to support the family—I really feel awful about it.”

“Right now, we need money everywhere at home. Lingya is promising, she’s always had good grades, she even went to a private high school and got the tuition waived, but that’s not our world. The more outstanding she is, the more isolated she becomes.”

As Chen Guohai spoke, his voice became choked up, “This child has been strong-willed since she was young, not liking to talk about her grievances at home. I know she doesn’t want to worry us. Now that Xiao Xing is in high school, save the money for my treatment every month and buy some nutritional supplements for the two of them instead.”

“Seeing them grow up in these years is satisfaction enough for me. Yuzhen, you don’t need to work so hard every day, quit the extra jobs. With the children’s bright futures, you can enjoy some peace later on. My life… well, there’s no need to struggle anymore.”

Chen Guohai, as if arranging his final affairs, rambled on for a long time.

Liu Yuzhen didn’t know if she had taken it in, but she hadn’t moved since Chen Guohai started speaking; she just lay with her back to him, and it was a long time before she softly said she was going to sleep.

…

Three days passed, and because his sister was recuperating in the hospital, Chen Xing didn’t have the chance to farm skill Fragments from Chi Yu.

So it took him three days to gather enough Fragments for one Skill Point, and after combining them, he had 3 Fragments left over.

Looking at the fresh Skill Point, Chen Xing couldn’t wait to light up the [Beast Taming Linguistics].

A tickling sensation filled his ears, and the sounds around him seemed to have changed slightly.

Amidst the noisy sounds, there seemed to be a mixture of something else.

After distinguishing for a while, the sound was finally confirmed to be coming from Taotie, who was chowing down on food with fervor in a bowl at the corner of the room.

As Taotie devoured its meal, it hummed and murmured with its mouth full.

The sound reached Chen Xing’s ears, turning into a crisp and tender murmuring to itself.

“Delicious, delicious, delicious, delicious, delicious….”

“Is it really that delicious?”

Suddenly, Chen Xing’s voice appeared out of nowhere by Taotie’s ear.

Unable to help itself, Taotie responded, “Yeah!”

After answering, Taotie froze mid-action, suddenly lifting its head in panic to look at its master, not knowing when he had approached.

Was it just its imagination? Was the master speaking to it? The master had never understood its speech before.

“If it’s delicious, eat more.”

Chen Xing reached out and tapped its forehead with a finger.

Taotie’s little brain capacity vanished in an instant, forgetting about why the master could understand its speech.

To it, nothing was more attractive than eating.

After Taotie finished eating, Chen Xing held it in his arms and murmured to it in the room.

Now, Taotie’s body length had completely exceeded one meter, but its weight wasn’t very heavy, only seventeen kilograms. Despite that, it wasn’t skinny; its limbs were covered with a fine layer of pleated skin armor, puffed and inflated. This primary carnivorous pet’s meal seemed to have a certain plastic effect; Taotie’s body proportions were not the kind of skinny and elongated.

“Do you like your master?”

“Like.”

“How much do you like?”

“Super like.”

“How much is super like?”

“….” The little crocodile’s brain crashed; this question was clearly not one it should be answering at its age, and being not too bright, it stared with wise eyes and gave a standard answer, “It’s like super super like!”

Chen Xing’s lips couldn’t help but curl upward.

“I’ll give you an extra meal tomorrow!”

Hearing about an extra meal, the little crocodile’s eyes lit up!

Suddenly, a wave rippled over the little crocodile’s body, and droplets of water condensed on the surface of its armor.

Chen Xing felt the hands holding it become moist.

It seemed like…

an Awakening Skill?

It was said that the first time Beast Tamers awoke a skill, this kind of thing would typically happen; the body containing no skills previously and never having released any energy, the energy that had been gathering inside from birth would stimulate the awakening genes in the bloodline when it reached a certain peak, inheriting a skill.

It only remains to be seen what skill Taotie will awaken.

Placing Taotie on the floor, the droplets gathering on its body became more plentiful, eventually pooling into a puddle on the ground.

Suddenly, as it lay on the ground, Taotie’s body gradually faded, its wet carapace seeming to blend into the color of the surrounding floor.

This obvious change, even without checking its status, Chen Xing felt like he could guess what skill it had awakened.

Chapter 16: Chapter 16 The Taotie that Strives to Make Money

Good news, Beast Taming has awakened the rare passive skill Water Concealment.

Bad news, this passive skill isn’t suitable for arena battles, only for ambushes in the wild. More importantly, how exactly should one train a passive skill? The books don’t teach this.

Chen Xing fell into deep thought. How should he make Taotie cope with others’ active skills in the monthly exam with just a passive skill?

[Species] Salty Bay Crocodile (Taotie)

[State] Healthy (Slightly Hungry)

[Attribute] Water Element

[Energy Level] Level 5

[Energy Level Limit] Level 38

[Skills]

Passive Skill: Water Concealment

…

After pondering the innate skill that Taotie had awakened, Chen Xing turned his attention to the new skill that appeared in the Stone Booklet.

The Pet Trainer career path only revealed one skill afterward—[Pet Skill Training]

[Pet Skill Training] Enhances their skill training benefits through playing interactive mini-games with pets, accurately observing the pets’ mastery of skills. (0/2)

At a glance, this is a core ability of the Pet Trainer, training pets in skills.

Chen Xing couldn’t help but speculate about the three career trees. The Pet Trainer’s ability is related to Beast Taming’s skills, and the Pet Nutritionist is connected with the growth and development of Beast Taming.

So what direction would a Pet Caretaker’s skills take? Treating the injuries of Beast Tamings?

But if it’s just treating injuries, then it might as well simply be called a veterinarian or pet doctor.

The role of a Pet Caretaker is not just as simple as a vet. It also includes pet grooming, daily care, and so on.

Uh… Chen Xing suddenly thought of a possibility. He hoped it wouldn’t come to a point where the Pet Caretaker would develop skills like doing manicures, dyeing the Beast Taming’s hair, polishing, waxing, or offering a full-service wash, cut, and blow-dry!

Shaking his head, he dismissed his wandering thoughts and refocused his attention on the newly emerged skill awaiting activation, [Pet Skill Training].

It only requires 2 skill points to activate, and according to the skill description, it not only enhances the effect of skill training but also allows for an accurate observation of the Beast Taming’s mastery of skills.

He had planned to save his skill points for activating Beast Taming Linguistics, then wait to activate Freeze-Drying Production or Intermediate Pet Food.

But now there’s a new [Pet Skill Training] skill that boosts skill training effects…

And it only requires 2 skill points.

This cost-effectiveness is somewhat tempting for Chen Xing.

Sigh, he wants all the skills.

Chen Xing, lying on the bed, was searching online for clever netizens who might know how to train passive skills.

He came across a help post with a question similar to his.

“Does anyone know how to train a Beast Taming’s passive skill?”

Reply on the first floor: ‘Huh? Your Beast Taming has passive skills?’

‘Damn it! My two Beast Tamings haven’t awakened a single passive skill! Does this world even have passive skills!!!’

‘O.o What’s a passive skill? Can you show me yours, please?’

‘What kind of Beast Taming do you have? As far as I know, passive skills are hard to enhance, but it’s not impossible. I have summarized the following three points…’

‘Lucky bastard, neither passive skills nor innate skills can be inherited through Skill Orbs; only the Beast Taming itself can awaken them.’

‘It seems there have been cases of Beast Taming passive skills evolving, but they are basically inimitable. I heard that many university labs are now studying how to evolve passive skills. Perhaps in a decade or two, there might be some outcomes.’

‘Don’t listen to others’ nonsense. I remember certain Beast Tamings will have their passive skills evolve too if they evolve, and others can experience beneficial mutations in passive skills under specific extreme conditions. But forget about training to enhance passives. Passive skills are untrainable.’

Chen Xing closed the thread and went on to read many other posts.

The answers he found were not entirely satisfactory; the responses were basically that passive skills cannot be trained, and even if there were examples of evolution, those were minority cases that couldn’t be replicated.

Forget it, if the passive can’t be enhanced, then it can’t be enhanced.

At least based on the replies from many netizens online, passive skills are still very rare and can’t be inherited through Skill Orbs.

Isn’t there still the [Pet Skill Training] skill? Maybe the skills from the career tree will give him a surprise.

He turned off his phone, placed it on the bedside table to charge, turned off the lights, and lay in bed.

Better get some sleep, the monthly exam is in four days.

Lack of skill improvement doesn’t affect Taotie’s practice of the energy conduction loop structure.

The content their teacher taught in class these days also briefly touched on the energy conduction loop structure. It’s a model of energy circulation developed by scholars that can improve the speed at which Beast Tamings condense energy! The essence of a Beast Taming releasing skills is to condense the internal energy into a skill framework structure and then release it.

Simply put, releasing a skill requires “casting a spell,” which can also be understood as “channeling.”

Practicing this energy structure can shorten the “channeling” time, making skill release faster.

The energy conduction loop structure they are practicing is the seventh generation; after six generations of scholars’ improvements, the energy conduction loop structure is very refined.

For students like Chen Xing, it’s akin to a precious secret technique. It’s like everyone else in the sports track events is still using primitive running techniques, while he has the unique running techniques researched by countless professionals.

Ten minutes later, Chen Xing suddenly regretted his ability to understand Taotie’s speech.

Lying in bed trying to sleep, he could hear Taotie’s relentless babbling.

“Time to eat.”

“Time to eat.”

“Hungry.”

“You’re not asleep, I’m hungry.”

Taotie crawled out from under the covers, and with a flip, the giant croc’s cold body pressed down onto Chen Xing.

Opening its big mouth, Taotie let out a hungry whine close to Chen Xing’s ear, “Hungry hungry.”

Clang!

Chen Xing couldn’t hold it in any longer, and clenched his fist to knock heavily on its dome!

“Sleep!”

Before, he had never found it so annoying.

Was this the retribution for understanding what it was saying?

The Taotie, having been knocked on the head, resentfully crawled back to its spot.

Taotie closed its left eye while its right eye was slightly squinted, slowly becoming unfocused. Glancing at its owner beside him with its increasingly lax right eye, it gradually closed both eyes.

Only when it was sleeping beside Chen Xing at home could it rest assured and close both eyes.

When sleeping outside, it had to keep at least one eye open.

…

In the blink of an eye, another weekend had arrived, with just two days left until the monthly test, and the pet food made at home had long been eaten up.

Chen Xing had also started his own money-making plan.

After breakfast and tidying up, Chen Xing was ready to go out. Today he planned to take Taotie to participate in a children’s Beast Taming challenge race in the city.

This challenge race was sponsored by a Beast Taming milk powder company in Jincheng and was a long-term event held there. With two events each week, the challenge did not offer much prize money but had attracted quite a few spectators due to its fun nature. Moreover, the exciting moments of the competition could be edited and uploaded to the company’s social media.

The contents of the challenge were a bit like the game “Boys and Girls Forward,” but it was a children’s Beast Taming version. Anyone who could clear the challenge would win a prize of three thousand.

Chen Xing calculated that this amount of money was almost enough to cover half a month’s food expenses for Taotie, whose appetite had been increasing as it grew.

Chen Xing discovered that to keep it growing at the same rate as before, he needed at least to feed it until it was full. Although it was just ordinary beast meat, the price was not cheap when the quantity increased.

Holding Taotie, Chen Xing boarded the bus. The driver glanced at Taotie’s size but didn’t ask Chen Xing to buy two tickets.

Some small Beast Tamed creatures could ride for free, but not the larger ones; they had to pay for tickets, and some very large ones even needed to buy several.

Arriving at the event venue, they saw a spacious water park with a registration booth outside. Behind the booth, there was a large advertising banner – “Four Sheep Milk Powder.”

Chen Xing, who had already registered on Four Sheep Milk Powder’s official website the day before, took out his ID for confirmation and received the contestant’s badge.

The water park, which was bigger than a stadium, had staggered “checkpoints” erected.

Depending on the type of Beast Taming, the challenge courses were divided into land, water, and air tracks.

High platforms, each five stories tall, were built on three sides of the water park. Many relaxed-looking spectators were standing at the railings outside the high platforms, and there were also shops. It was said that the rent from these shops alone was enough to cover the prize money every year, not to mention the company’s promotional reach brought about by the event.

The event required that the participants’ beasts be no older than three months.

In the backstage waiting area, it was all Beast Tamers “pampering their babies.”

Chen Xing was indeed in for an eye-opener. There was an under-month-old Kirin kid, whose owner was feeding it with a bottle while advising it on how to proceed with the challenge.

There was also a knee-high hyperactive monkey, hopping around like an acrobat.

And a bald eagle chick which hadn’t even shed all its baby fuzz, already experiencing what seemed like half of a lifetime’s journey in its infancy.

Soon it was Chen Xing’s turn in the line.

Holding his beast, the host looked at the Taotie in Chen Xing’s arms and joked, “Well, here comes a big one. How old is this Beast Taming creature?”

“Just turned one month.”

“This is one month old?”

“Yep, one month.”

The host looked at the crocodile that was over a meter long in Chen Xing’s arms, his expression exaggerated, “Well, that’s some fast development. Alright then, let’s hope this one-month-old little crocodile can successfully complete the challenge.”

In fact, those who were able to participate had certainly been checked, and there would be no instances of over-age beasts. The host said this to lighten the mood, and regardless of whether the audience found it cliché, it was part of his job.

Chen Xing squatted down and gently patted Taotie’s head, “Perform well, and I’ll give you an extra meal tonight. Don’t eat the meat along the way.”

The eyes of Taotie immediately lit up.

In its mind, only two words remained – extra meal!

It oinked twice at its master and then dived into the water.

The organizers had placed some aromatic bait along the course. If a Beast Taming creature couldn’t resist the temptation and went for the bait, it would trigger a mechanism leading to failure.

Swimming with a flick of its tail in the water, Taotie smelled the tempting scent of the bait and couldn’t help salivating.

But remembering the extra meal promised by its owner, it swallowed the saliva with a heavy heart and made a strong push with its four legs to race forward!

Underwater ball retrieval, diving through hoops, underwater maze… Taotie passed one challenging checkpoint after another that were quite difficult for young beasts.

For mature beasts, these obstacles were very simple; the main difficulty lay in obedience and suppressing natural instincts. If these two challenges could be overcome, the whole course was relatively easy.

When Taotie leapt over the last small waterfall and pushed up the ball, the challenge came to a successful end.

Chen Xing lifted the prize plaque in front of the camera and maintained a smile.

…

“Are you buying some supplements for your two kids?”

“Right, Sister Zhang, you have experience. You help me take a look.”

“I’m not working today; I’ll accompany you to the city to have a look. The Beast Taming milk powder for my kids just ran out. The brand we tried last time was pretty good, and it’s on sale with discounts right now.”

“How’s it working out?”

“Not bad at all, I’m telling you. I heard from those experts online that just like children, young Beast Taming creatures need to drink milk powder! It promotes bone development.”

…

“What do you think? This brand is quite attentive. They often organize some kind of challenge events on weekends. Last time my child almost succeeded with their beast. The prize was three thousand; if you add a little of your own money, you can buy five cans of milk powder.” Sister Zhang, accompanied by Liu Yuzhen, picked out products from a specialty shop on the high platform. “Buy three cans, get one free; buy five cans, get two free, and one can is just 699. Hey, what are you looking at?”

Liu Yuzhen withdrew her gaze, looking somewhat distracted, and smiled at Sister Zhang, “Nothing much. Hey, shop assistant, I’ll take five cans.”

Chapter 17: Chapter 17 Midterm Exam (Part 1)

“`

After receiving the prize money, Chen Xing went to the supermarket to buy ingredients.

As he passed by a shoe store, Chen Xing suddenly remembered that the shoes his mother often wore had already been repaired with glue several times, so he walked into the shoe store and a few minutes later left the store amidst thanks for his patronage.

When he got home, Chen Xing found his mother busily working in the kitchen.

Suddenly, Chen Xing felt that something was amiss, so he turned to take another look.

His father was actually helping in the kitchen?

Uh… ever since she got sick, his mom had never let his dad into the kitchen again.

Liu Yuzhen smiled and said, “Your sister is coming home from the hospital tonight, so I’m cooking her favorite ribs in advance.”

Chen Xing looked at his parents and always felt that they were hiding something from him.

“Mom, I bought you a pair of shoes.”

Chen Xing put the ingredients he had bought on the table and then handed another box to Liu Yuzhen, “Try them on and see if they fit.”

Liu Yuzhen exclaimed, “Why waste the money, these shoes must have cost several hundred, go and return them.”

“I’ve already torn the receipt, can’t return them.”

Liu Yuzhen was both happy and reluctant, seeing this, Chen Guohai squatted down and helped her put on the new shoes.

“It’s a gift from your child, it’s the thought that counts.”

“Old Chen, do they fit well?”

“They fit, and you look good wearing them.”

…

In the evening, Chen Lingya returned home from the hospital.

At the dining table, Chen Guohai announced something to all the family members.

“Your mother and I have discussed it, and we have decided not to treat the illness.”

Liu Yuzhen pressed her lips together and did not deny while picking up a chopstick of vegetables.

The atmosphere at the dining table became subdued.

Chen Lingya put down her chopsticks and seriously said, “Dad, the principal from our school has agreed that if my exam results bring honor to the school, he is willing to ask his friend to treat you.”

“Your principal?”

“Yes, our dean is an Advanced Beast Tamer.”

Upon hearing this, the realization dawned on Liu Yuzhen and Chen Guohai; they also came to know for the first time that Lingya’s school principal was such an important figure.

Even though they were not part of the Beast Tamer circle, they knew about the revered status of an Advanced Beast Tamer.

“But…”

“There are no buts, the purpose of me studying hard is to change the fate of our family,” said Chen Lingya. “I hope that in ten years, our whole family can go to a cloud-end restaurant for dinner; a family should be together and complete.”

The Cloud-End Restaurant is a very famous luxury restaurant in Jincheng, where consumption is high, and reservations need to be made in advance; only people with certain status can reserve a table.

“There are still nine months left until the college entrance examination; you wouldn’t want to affect my mood at this critical moment, right?”

Chen Guohai was silent, a spark of hope ignited in Liu Yuzhen’s heart; all these years of hardship were for that slight, almost negligible chance of a miracle, or rather, hope.

Now that there was hope, she naturally didn’t want to miss it.

Before Chen Guohai could speak, Liu Yuzhen had already agreed for him, “Okay! I’ll hold on for another nine months. And you… don’t put too much pressure on yourself; no matter what, it’s good that we, as a family, have tried.”

Chen Xing glanced at his sister; he knew her pressure must not be small either.

She alone was shouldering the burden of the family; the expectations of their parents weighed on her.

Carrying the hopes of her family, she had to perform well in the college entrance examination.

Chen Xing didn’t know what sort of results ‘bringing glory to the school’ entailed, but it surely wouldn’t be easy.

“`

After all, a Transcendence Stage Healing Element Tamer’s services are worth at least a hundred million…

Noticing her brother’s gaze, Chen Lingya exchanged looks with him and smiled slightly.

At night, Chen Xing borrowed Chi Yu from his sister to train together.

His sister didn’t ask about Chen Xing’s little secret; she simply lent Chi Yu to him.

Accompanied by Chi Yu and Taotie, he found a secluded spot downstairs for some basic training.

“After training the beast, intimacy level above 80, obtained 1 Skill Point Fragment.”

“After feeding the beast, intimacy level above 80, obtained 1 Skill Point Fragment.”

“After training the beast, intimacy level above 95, obtained 3 Skill Point Fragments.”

“After feeding the beast, intimacy level above 95, obtained 3 Skill Point Fragments.”

While completing the day’s routine, Chen Xing suddenly discovered a pleasant surprise.

That is, Taotie’s intimacy level had somehow risen above 95.

It must be said that beasts raised from a young age have an easier time increasing their intimacy levels.

Moreover, after interacting with a beast with an intimacy level over 95, the obtained Skill Point Fragments actually increased to three.

Feeding and interacting yield 6 fragments per day, which means 12 fragments in two days!

Adding the Skill Point Fragments from Chi Yu, that’s 8 fragments possible in a single day.

It turned out that raising intimacy levels was the best way to obtain more Skill Point Fragments in the short term.

Chen Xing suddenly thought of the Pet Caretaker’s basic prerequisite skill.

“Affinity Knowledge” – Once learned, it increases the host’s affinity, giving a refreshing feeling as if basking in the spring breeze, which makes it easier to establish friendly relations with beasts.

It can improve pet friendliness, and if there are many beasts around, this skill could help to accumulate more Skill Point Fragments more quickly in the early stages.

It turned out that these three prerequisite skills were interconnected, each one useful.

…

Over the weekend, Chen Xing arrived at school.

Wang Qiming had chosen to give up; he had stopped trying to compete with Chen Xing in silence.

He had discovered that Chen Xing’s beasts changed every day, especially today—not only was his beast much larger than Wang Qiming’s, but it also appeared to be in excellent condition. Wang had suspected that some kind of forbidden drug was used to force growth, but looking at it now, the beast’s spirited state didn’t resemble the results of drugs; it rather seemed as if it had swallowed a panacea.

When Wang Qiming gave up competing and felt relieved, he actually looked forward to the scene where the big spenders from classes one and two would get crushed by Chen Xing.

Damn, this kid keeps a low profile; he goes straight home after school and isn’t seen hanging out on weekends with classmates. He’s definitely planning to make a big splash in the monthly exam.

He had no idea which abilities Chen Xing’s beast had awakened.

These things remain a secret until they are revealed, especially when everyone is still in competition with one another.

Not to mention Chen Xing, even Wang Qiming kept the abilities his own beast had awakened a secret, without understanding the intelligence on the skills, he still had a chance to turn the tables.

In Wang Qiming’s speculations, he thought that Chen Xing’s skills would definitely not be poor, after all, his beasts were developing so abnormally. He certainly had the money to buy Skill Orbs. What could those skills be…

Meanwhile, Chen Xing sitting in front was also troubled.

The first skill his beast awakened was a Passive Skill, which meant he couldn’t hope to have overwhelming power at the 5-9 Energy Level stages.

He had hoped to get a good ranking in the first monthly exam; Chen Xing had even fantasized about claiming the first place.

But lacking a skill truly made things difficult, like two heroes in a solo clash with one accidentally selecting a passive skill at level one…

No more playing unbeatable at the same level; I’ll race to level up quicker than you and let you all feel the dominance of the Salty Bay Crocodile in advance.

There’s no other way, since I can’t win at the same level, I’ll have to rely on a level advantage.

I have to break through to Energy Level 10 to awaken the second skill!

The Salty Bay Crocodile can only awaken one Passive Skill, and since the only passive one has already awakened, the next one is sure to be an active skill.

Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Monthly Test (Part 2)

In the evening, after returning home, Liu Yuzhen beckoned Chen Xing into the bedroom with a mysterious look and handed him a black plastic bag she picked up from the bedroom table.

“I went to the supermarket and got you some Beast Taming milk powder today.”

Chen Xing opened the bag and found it contained seven large cans of milk powder, no wonder it felt so heavy.

Four-Sheep milk powder, a brand so familiar.

Chen Xing then remembered that this was the sponsor of the challenge he participated in with Taotie!

Why did mom buy their brand of milk powder? She didn’t see me there, did she?

But then Chen Xing realized that his mom had gone to the supermarket today, so she definitely hadn’t seen him.

“This isn’t cheap.” Chen Xing looked down at the Beast Taming milk powder.

This Beast Taming milk powder is different from milk powder for babies.

The cans for Beast Taming milk powder are much bigger, with an image of a baby gorilla holding a milk bottle in the bottom right corner.

Next to it was written a line: Beast Taming Native Milk.

“It’s not expensive.” Liu Yuzhen said with a smile, touching her neck, “There was a promotion at the supermarket, each can was just over two hundred.”

“Thanks, mom, I really like it, but you don’t have to buy it for me next time.” Chen Xing glanced at the milk powder; he had heard about it from his classmates.

It’s considered a sort of supplement for beast tamers, but only families with ample budgets usually buy it, sort of like a health product.

To say it has no effect would be wrong, as it does have some effect.

To say it has an effect, well, health products are somewhat mystical…

Liu Yuzhen really can’t lie, though—every time she lies, she instinctively touches her neck.

Chen Xing took a photo with his phone and searched online for the same product, finding the cheapest price to be 499, which means these seven cans together would cost three thousand five hundred.

Suddenly, Chen Xing remembered the “[Skills for Large Can Pet Freeze-dried Meat]” that he hadn’t activated yet.

He recalled that milk powder should be able to be made into yogurt freeze-dried, according to the knowledge feedback from making junior carnivore pet food, the better the raw materials for pet food, the more significant its effects, and it seemed the same principle applied to freeze-dried food.

Plus, if Chen Xing remembered correctly, milk powder was also an optional ingredient in junior carnivore pet food.

Chen Xing took out the junior carnivore pet food made yesterday from the refrigerator, heated it in the microwave, added two spoonfuls of milk powder, stirred it well, and then sprinkled a spoonful of dry milk powder on the surface. The milk-flavored junior carnivore pet food was ready.

Taotie wagged its tail, raising its head high like a dog, looking eager and greedy.

As soon as Chen Xing placed the bowl on the ground, Taotie couldn’t wait to rush over and start eating heartily.

“Tasty, tasty, tasty!”

Taotie said joyfully while eating.

…

In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and the timing of the first monthly exam at Azure Dragon Middle School Eight arrived as scheduled.

In the principal’s office while sitting by the window looking at the bustling scene on the playground below, Xue Jinbao felt quite satisfied.

A few months ago, he had bid farewell to the graduating senior class, and now a new semester had started again. He wondered whether this batch of students would yield any outstanding talents.

The pressure on his shoulders was not small either. The new district had been developing for just a decade, and as the top-ranked public high school in the new district, Azure Dragon Middle School Eight received the most substantial resources from the district’s education department.

Therefore, their competition was never with other high schools in the new district but with the established powerhouses in the other eleven districts.

Last year, Azure Dragon Middle School Eight’s comprehensive score in the college entrance examination ranked thirty-fourth among one hundred and twenty-five high schools in Jincheng’s twelve districts. Excluding the twenty-six private high schools, Azure Dragon Middle School Eight ranked sixteenth among the ninety-nine public high schools.

Last year, he made a military order in the mayor’s office, so the number sequence for free Beast Taming for this year’s freshmen was even earlier.

The fifty-six types of free Beast Taming provided by the country vary in power, and although it is said that all beasts are equal and there’s no distinction between high and low quality, Xue Jinbao felt there was a difference!

Otherwise, why would these principals want to apply for earlier numbered beast resources every year? If they were the same, everyone would wait for random allocation.

“How are this batch of students performing? I’ve made a military order to the mayor, claiming that this batch must make a name for themselves and advance into the top twenty of Jincheng’s hundred schools in the college entrance examination,” Xue Jinbao asked the head teacher of the first year.

Sun Dekang nodded, “Principal, there are some promising students in this batch. Comparing the internal data of the education department with the progress reported by the teachers of each class, there are forty-six students who can currently be graded as excellent.”

Sun Dekang admired the principal for his incredible influence, having managed to acquire three kinds of beasts ranking within the top ten sequences.

Especially with the sequence ranking third, the Heavy-Armored Rhinoceros—last year’s university championship’s main player had a Heavy-Armored Rhinoceros, known as the tank of the land!

“Forty-six…”

Xue Jinbao seemed slightly disappointed. The number was average, about the same as previous years.

If you consider the stronger Beast Taming advantage than previous years, the college entrance examination scores might look a little better, but not enough! He needed more to break into the top twenty of Jincheng’s hundred schools; it depended on luck.

Thinking deeply about change, Xue Jinbao suddenly asked, “What do you think about shifting more resources towards the top students?”

Sun Dekang was startled, “Principal, I think there’s a certain risk. If the top students get more resources, the average students will get fewer. In this scenario, the overall results of the college entrance exam would fluctuate more…”

While exceptionally talented students definitely add to the school’s evaluation score, the numerous average students are also important. Though individual scores for average students might not be high, they add up to a substantial contribution.

Moreover, there is the consideration of the parents’ sentiments. It could impact the school’s intake of new students for the following year since the majority of the world’s population are ordinary people.

If the principal’s scheme is adopted… then it’s a gamble.

It’s a bet on whether there are any exceptional talents that stand out. If such a talent is eye-catching enough and performs exceptionally well, perhaps even clinching the top spot in the city or province… then naturally, the bet is won, and the influence of a top-ranking student is immense.

Xue Jinbao understood this as well.

So he wanted to see for himself if there were any suitable candidates.

“Spending too much time up here means missing the view below. Head Teacher Sun, accompany me to see how the students perform in this month’s exam, and let’s see how many promising students can be spotted with the new examination scheme I came up with.”

Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Monthly Test (Part 3)

“This year’s first monthly exam content has undergone some reform and is a little different than in past years.”

“Let me tell you about the rewards for top students first. I know you must have secretly looked up past rewards online, but this year the school is more generous than before. The top ten will be rewarded with C-grade universal nutrition reagents. Moreover, the rankings are more lenient; this year, any student who makes it into the top two hundred will get a reward.”

As Lu Junxiang spoke, he couldn’t help but secretly blame the grade director. He had only learned about the exam rules the day before.

Some students had secretly asked him about the content of the monthly exam after class, luckily he didn’t give a direct answer.

“In past years, for your first monthly exam as freshmen, there would have been a Beast Taming battle. But this year, we will not include this in either the first or the second monthly exams.”

“For the first-year students’ first monthly exam this year, we’ve switched to a Beast Taming physical assessment and will not have a battle test.”

“Many prestigious schools out there now adopt this exam model, especially those in Dragon City. Before the end-of-semester exams of the first term, the focus will mainly be on the growth of the Beast Taming.”

Upon hearing this, the students didn’t show much change in expression.

After all, most of them didn’t have much confidence in Beast Taming battles.

Having never commanded a beast before, they were all anxious before their first battle. When they heard that the first monthly exam wouldn’t include Beast Taming battles, they actually felt relieved.

On the other hand, directly assessing the development of the tamed beasts was more straightforward, which gave everyone a better idea of where they might rank.

“If you have an Awakening Skill, the score in this area will be determined based on the skill awakened and the degree of mastery.”

“Everyone, line up in two columns in the hallway and get ready for the monthly exam check on the field.” Lu Junxiang clapped his hands, signaling the students to gather in the hallway.

They followed the crowd to the field.

On the way there, the whispers of Zou Minghan next to him were incessant, “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, I feel like I can’t even make it into the top two hundred, GG.”

“Chen Xing, you should be able to make it into the top twenty this time,” someone said.

Wang Qiming chuckled softly, “Top twenty? I think Chen Xing could probably make it into the top five.”

Li Zhixuan exclaimed in surprise, “The beasts I saw from the students in Class 1-2 aren’t as big as Chen Xing’s. If we’re just comparing the size of the beasts, Chen Xing could probably make it into the top one of our grade.”

Chen Xing, “…”

Stop jinxing me, you guys; I haven’t even seen the beasts from the other classes.

Arriving at the field, they were divided into three large formations based on class.

Chen Xing also saw the other two types of tamed beasts from the same grade. He had seen them occasionally at school, but it wasn’t often and it was rare to witness such a large-scale, impressive scene of collective summoning.

Compared to the Salty Bay Crocodile, the armored rhinoceros looked quite plump, round, and bulging like a fat ball.

“Although our crocodile is a bit longer, it can’t compare in weight to them; their weight is solid,” someone commented.

On the far right, there was a group of restless fledgling eagles.

The dark Iron Feather Fighting Hawks were flying and circling in the sky, occasionally spar with each other. These birds loved to fight, even against their own kind.

At the front of the field, equipment for measuring height and weight had been set up, and the teachers were handing out report cards. When a student’s name was called, they would step forward to record their results.

It wasn’t long before it was Chen Xing’s turn. As the teacher responsible for recording the results saw Taotie beside Chen Xing’s feet, there was a noticeable look of surprise.

Whispers of amazement rippled through the students waiting in line.

“Wow~”

“His is so big.”

Besides the students from Chen Xing’s class, most from other classes were seeing Taotie for the first time.

“Your Beast Taming is quite impressive; it looks strong, and it’s in good spirits too,” the teacher said approvingly and gently continued, “Let your beast go and stand on the equipment over there.”

Taotie wasn’t shy, treading with an aggressive stride onto the platform.

The equipment quickly displayed the results.

Body length 136.6cm! Weight 19.6kg! Energy level 6.12!

“Well raised,” the teacher complimented. “Have you awakened any skills?”

Chen Xing, neither humble nor arrogant, replied, “Passive Skill: Water Concealment.”

The teacher was somewhat surprised, taking another look at Taotie, “You’re that lucky?”

Passive Skills can’t be inherited through Skill Orbs, so they can’t be re-learned by removing the original skill, which means that Passive and Innate Skills totally depend on luck.

In other words, the luck is really good. More than a hundred students were tested before, but none had awakened a Passive Skill.

This student… Chen Xing.

The teacher glanced down at Chen Xing’s name.

“Chen is quite lucky, but it’s not just luck. You’ve done a very good job with your beast taming as well.”

The teacher entered the score onto Chen Xing’s report card and then handed it to him.

Not far away, a group of teachers stood to one side, with a middle-aged man at the very center seemingly their focus.

The middle-aged man was none other than the principal of School No. 8, Xue Jinbao.

His main attention was still on the team with the armored rhinoceros, given that an adult armored rhinoceros is known as a “land tank,” averaging 4-5.5 meters in body length, 1.7-2.5 meters shoulder height, and weighing between 4-8 tons. Moreover, the various evolutionary forms of the armored rhinoceros were also impressive.

“What’s the largest size that’s been measured for the armored rhinoceros among the students tested so far?” Xue Jinbao asked.

“113cm long, 92kg,” one teacher replied, looking at the latest data on the electronic tablet. “According to the historical rankings from the same period in previous years from other schools, this size would rank 14,874th.”

More than fourteen thousand ranks…

Xue Jinbao was silent.

Of course, it wasn’t to say that this result was low.

After all, this was the ranking for the size of armored rhinoceroses that other public schools had raised during a one-month period, which had been recorded since the internal network of this education authority was established.

With tens of millions of students in Great Xia each year, nearly a hundred thousand who raise armored rhinoceroses annually, and nearly thirty years since the establishment of the internal network…

It meant that being able to rank around ten thousand out of more than three million was still quite significant.

“Principal, within the Salty Bay Crocodile scorecards, there’s a student whose combined historic ranking is actually within the top thousand!” exclaimed the teacher who was browsing the data on the tablet.

Xue Jinbao’s eyes brightened and he snatched the tablet immediately.

The rankings for various data were already listed; he saw the top data immediately.

Body length 136.6cm, weight 19.6kg, Energy Level 6.12! Awakening Skill: Water Stealth.

Comprehensive score 5462, overall ranking 987th.

This was the ranking over thirty-three years; if averaged across each year, it nearly ranked this student among the top thirty Beast Tamers who were raising Salty Bay Crocodiles in all high schools across Great Xia for the same period.

Of course, it couldn’t be calculated in this way since this year’s scores had yet to be registered.

But even so, this gave Xue Jinbao a glimpse of hope.

He repeatedly compared the scores of other students around the rank of 987 and found that this particular Salty Bay Crocodile had a slight advantage in body length and weight but fell short in Energy Level. Moreover, it had even awakened a Passive Skill.

Very good, very good, the difference between a Salty Bay Crocodile with a Passive Skill and one without was substantial, especially when ambushing in the wild.

“It’s a pity that the Energy Level is slightly low.”

The Energy Levels of other students nearby averaged above 8. This issue had cost quite a few points, but if the Energy Level could be increased, the rank could go much higher.

Xue Jinbao inquired to Director Sun, “What’s the background of this student’s family?”

Director Sun quickly called Lu Junxiang over.

Lu Junxiang pondered; he had a general understanding of the family backgrounds of the students in his class.

He relayed the general situation of Chen Xing’s family to Xue Jinbao.

After listening, Xue Jinbao nodded slowly, contemplating.

“So the family isn’t able to provide much support, and most of it comes down to the beast’s own aptitude?”

Lu Junxiang agreed, “It seems that way.”

He had an inkling of the principal’s thoughts. Lu Junxiang had a favorable impression of Chen Xing, a serious and attentive student. If he could help the student, he naturally would not be stingy with his praise, “This student works hard and shows ingenuity when answering questions in class.”

“Is he able to take first place in this month’s exam?” Xue Jinbao asked.

Director Sun smiled and replied, “Almost certainly, although the grades from the other classes aren’t all out yet, there shouldn’t be a problem. Principal, your revised exam strategy this time has really helped this student. If it were a practical fight, it’s not certain he could have secured first place easily. I’ve seen quite a few who have mastered Intermediate Skills.”

Standing to the side, Lu Junxiang also largely agreed that the power of an Intermediate Skill was not insignificant. Although the power of the same skill was somewhat influenced by the releaser’s own Energy Level, at this stage, an Intermediate Skill could potentially achieve a one-shot kill.

Xue Jinbao maintained a neutral expression, but inwardly he calculated. If a student with little family help could break into rank 987, then with additional support from the school, couldn’t he climb even higher?

“Let’s wait and see, and check if there are any other surprises later on,” Xue Jinbao spoke with his hands clasped behind his back.

Soon, half a day passed, and all the students’ scores were gradually recorded, then converted into corresponding ranks on the school’s intranet based on a formula.

To everyone’s surprise, in the end, there were actually two more unexpected achievements: an Iron Feather Fighting Hawk that ranked 3,450 in the historical records and a Salty Bay Crocodile that ranked 16,677.

The rankings of other students were a bit more distant. Aside from the top four in the grade, the fifth place in the historical records had already fallen beyond the 100,000 mark.

Principal Xue’s gaze locked onto the name of the student ranked first, Chen Xing… It was a good name. He hoped it would bring him luck.

Xue Jinbao spoke, “Increase the reward resources for the student ranked first in the grade. Upgrade from ten bottles of Grade C Universal Nutrition Reagent to fifteen bottles. Mr. Lu, please have Chen come to the principal’s office later.”

Chapter 20: Chapter 20 C-Level Reagent

“The principal wants to see me?”

Chen Xing was somewhat surprised to hear the homeroom teacher’s words; after pondering for a moment, he couldn’t recall doing anything out of the ordinary recently.

The sudden request from the principal must have had its reason, and the only “big event” lately had been the monthly exam.

“Principal Xue, the student is here.”

“Come in.”

Entering the principal’s office.

The spacious office, spanning several hundred square meters, was lavishly decorated. An entire wall was lined with bookshelves brimming with books, and in the center of the room, a middle-aged man was freely brandishing a writing brush at a desk, energetically creating a splash-ink painting.

In a corner of the room sat a large, antique pendulum clock, its pendulum swinging left and right, ticking and tocking rhythmically.

On the other side, a spacious area featured artificial mountains and flowing water, where an enormous turtle lay in a pond.

The turtle’s shell, about two meters in diameter, shone with a slick gloss, dark as if polished, as the creature lay motionless amidst the artificial landscaping.

Putting down his writing brush, Xue Jinbao looked at his work with satisfaction.

Not bad; he was in a good state today and had produced a fine piece.

“Come, Director Sun, Xiao Chen, have a look at my work and tell me what you think.”

Director Sun quickly stepped forward and couldn’t help but exclaim after glimpsing the artwork on the desk, “What a divine stroke, Principal, this painting is extraordinary.”

Chen Xing secretly snickered, thinking that Director Sun’s flattery was way too exaggerated. He walked over for a look and saw that the painting on the rice paper depicted a group of four spirited horses.

The lead horse faced the front, its hooves capturing the essence of motion; three horses followed behind it, with the transition from dry to wet ink appearing natural and effortlessly conveyed, as if the horses in the painting could leap forth at any moment.

Initially suspecting that Director Sun was simply brown-nosing, he now recognized that Principal Xue indeed had quite the talent.

Chen Xing cautiously complimented, “The principal’s painting is quite good, it looks almost the same as those illustrations in books.”

“Our principal is also the chairman of the Jincheng Calligraphy and Painting Association; it’s possible that the illustrations you’ve seen were done by the principal himself,” Director Sun added from the side.

Xue Jinbao chuckled lightly, waving his hand dismissively, “Vice-chairman, alright, Old Sun, you can leave now.”

“Yes, Principal.”

Director Sun left the office, closing the door behind him.

“Chen Xing, could you show me your Beast Taming?” the principal asked.

Chen Xing summoned Taotie; the moment Taotie appeared in the room, the huge turtle that had been lying quietly in the pond stealthily extended its head out of the water, its closed nostrils opening to take in a breath of air before closing and submerging once again.

With his back turned towards the pond, Chen Xing did not notice this scene; the principal’s gaze shifted from the pond and he felt reassured.

It seemed Chen’s Beast Taming was indeed naturally developed, not enhanced by any illegal hormones or doping agents.

Xue Jinbao nodded and said, “Not bad, quite spirited. This Salty Bay Crocodile of yours has awakened a passive skill; it should stand out in certain exams.”

“Originally, the reward for ranking first in the monthly exam for your grade was 10 bottles of Grade C universal reagent, but I’ve decided to increase the amount to 15 bottles.”

“Thank you, Principal!” Chen Xing expressed his gratitude.

Seeing Chen Xing’s appreciative attitude, Xue Jinbao nodded with satisfaction. His motive was also self-serving; naturally, he didn’t want to cultivate an ingrate.

“We compared your results with those of students from other major high schools nationwide who trained the same species of Beast Taming in previous years. Your Beast Taming ranked 987th, which means there’s still significant room for improvement.”

“I’ll work hard,” Chen Xing thought, but inside he was considering that Taotie had been eating the beginner-level meat pet food for not even half a month. If he had started feeding it from the first day he got it, its ranking would probably have risen even higher.

Xue Jinbao continued, “In the skill scoring, the passive skill added 1000 points. The fact that you entered the top thousand is largely thanks to your Beast Taming’s passive skill.

At the 5 Energy Level stage, apart from passive and innate skills, a Beast Taming can only possess a maximum of intermediate skills. Intermediate skills are only worth 300 points, and your Beast Taming’s energy level isn’t advantageous, as in the weighted score, the energy level is considered slightly more important than earlier factors like weight and body length.”

“Next month’s monthly exam will still be a physical check, and I saw that other Salty Bay Crocodiles that ranked in the top thousand last month have reached over 12 Energy Levels in their second month, with even the top hundred achieving 15 Energy Levels and mastering three skills.”

To reach 15 Energy Levels in only two months?

“Of course, don’t feel too much pressure. This ranking includes all students from the past thirty-three years; the earliest batch might even be older than your father. On average, making it into the top hundred is roughly equivalent to being in the top three amongst the nationwide students training Salty Bay Crocodiles each year.”

“Although the Salty Bay Crocodile is only ninth in the national ranking for free Beast Taming, it is the only amphibious Beast Taming to make it into the top ten, and one of the only two aquatic Beast Tamings there; its popularity is still quite high.”

Xue Jinbao went on to say, “This time your Beast Taming was lucky enough to awaken a passive skill. But you can’t always rely on luck. Once your Beast Taming reaches 10 Energy Levels, come back to my office, and I will have something good for you.”

Chen Xing had some guesses about the principal’s intentions.

“Thank you, Principal,” Chen Xing acknowledged, understanding the implication and bowing respectfully to the principal.

The principal nodded secretly in approval, “Work hard on training your Beast Taming; our school has plenty of opportunities. If you have any difficulties in life or studies, feel free to come to me.”

Returning to the classroom and after school, Chen Xing went to the academic affairs office to collect the Grade C universal reagents.

Back home, he opened the black box containing fifteen bottles of ruddy-brown transparent glass reagents.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination… Chen Xing felt that the glass bottle seemed less premium than the one his sister had given him.

But it’s just a packaging bottle and shouldn’t mean much.

He searched online and found that this was the Grade C universal nutritional reagent openly sold by Great Xia’s First Laboratory, priced at 4,999 yuan per bottle.

He had never tried such expensive stuff before.

To check its effectiveness, Chen Xing had specially not given Taotie pet food tonight, only a bottle of the Grade C reagent.

He was also curious to see how his pet food compared with the reagent.

It was his first time giving Taotie a commercially sold reagent; the ones his sister had given before were unlabeled products without any brand.

Overnight passed, and the next morning, Chen Xing measured Taotie’s body length with a tape measure.

141.2 cm.

It had grown 4.6 cm since yesterday.

Compared to his own pet food… the improvement was so much less?

Could this be a fake drug?