AUC Chapter 36 to 50

 Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food

Back at the school team residence, Chen Xing closed the door.

Lying on the bed, Chen Xing closed his eyes and opened the Stone Booklet to check the mini-game related to Taotie’s newly awakened skills.

Interactive Minigame (Escape the Great Vortex): Create a Great Vortex within the designated area. The owner throws a small ball into the vortex and the pet must dive into the heart of the Great Vortex to retrieve the target ball and bring it back within three minutes. Exceeding the time limit results in failure.

Proficiency Level: Beginner (0/10)

There was a friendly progress bar following the minigame.

It seemed to represent the skill’s Proficiency Level, which could optimize the skill if the game was cleared successfully, much like a Passive Skill.

But after thinking for a while, Chen Xing couldn’t help but stare at the word “Beginner.”

The previous Passive Skill, Water Concealment, did not have this Proficiency Level advancement. Could it be that completing this only improves the Proficiency Level instead of directly evolving the skill like a Passive Skill?

Was it because one was an Active Skill and the other a Passive Skill?

Could Proficiency Levels even be maxed out?

After reaching perfection, could there be even higher Proficiency Levels, and what would happen if all Proficiency Levels were maxed out?

These questions surfaced one after another in Chen Xing’s mind.

Regardless, at least the game seemed not challenging.

It certainly wasn’t as tricky as hide and seek and only required ten attempts to fill the progress bar.

But now there was another problem. Chen Xing flipped to the front of the Stone Booklet to learn Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food!

Ten Skill Points were deducted, emptying the Skill Points he had accumulated over time.

A wealth of knowledge on making a large amount of carnivore pet food flooded his mind.

After digesting the knowledge, Chen Xing checked the subsequent skills for Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food, the next should be Advanced…

Chen Xing’s eyes widened. Behind the Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food skill was not Advanced Carnivore Pet Food

but a new skill: [Spicy Dried Fish] – Spicy and sweet dried fish, a food many Beast Tamers love. It quickly restores spent energy, maintaining a clear mind and refreshing vitality. (0/10)

Hissss… this thing.

Chen Xing pondered for a moment, it was called Spicy Dried Fish, right?

Considering the cost of Primary and Intermediate Carnivore Pet Food, the cost of Spicy Dried Fish shouldn’t be exorbitant. According to the Skill Tree’s nature, it should be budget-friendly, suitable for an ordinary person like himself.

Chen Xing immediately took out his phone to check the prices of dried fish and small fish. After finding the prices, he felt reassured.

A magic power recovery capsule for two thousand bucks apiece?

No, no, no, I just need cost-effective dried fish.

However, activating this skill requires 10 Skill Points.

Such a tempting skill, always coaxing me.

He estimated the time needed; at least half a month.

…

“Have you made your decision?”

“I’ve made my decision; I’m going to train the Intermediate Skills first. Perhaps it won’t be as hard to train in Intermediate Skills.” Chen Xing replied.

“You,” Kuang Shiyi chuckled, but young people are just like this, so he wasn’t too surprised.

“Alright, whatever choice you make, this was what the school prepared for you from the start. I’ll let you keep it, and you can use it whenever you feel like it.”

Kuang Shiyi handed a wooden box to Chen Xing, “Let me introduce you to the things inside.”

Chen Xing opened the box to find five pigeon egg-sized spheres that looked a bit like crystal balls, with a faint blue outline vaguely visible inside the transparent spheres. In addition, there was a yellow crystal.

Kuang Shiyi introduced Chen Xing, “These five are Skill Orbs of Water Rotation. Since learning Skills has a success rate, I’m giving you five as a precaution. Your Beast Taming is of the Water Element, and you have a higher success rate with Water Element Skills, so with five you should be able to learn it.”

“The yellow crystal is a Skill Forgetting Crystal, which can erase the Skills mastered by Beast Taming. Of course, the Beast Taming must cooperate with all its heart for it to work; if it doesn’t cooperate, then the Skills can’t be erased.”

“If you end up unsuccessful with all five Skill Orbs, you can contact the school. The school can still provide you with Skill Orbs until you succeed.”

Although Chen Xing didn’t say he would use the things in the box, Kuang Shiyi seemed sure that Chen Xing would definitely choose to learn the Primary Skills first.

“There you go, I’ve given you everything inside the box. If there are extras after you’ve used them, you don’t need to return them; deal with them yourself,” Kuang Shiyi said with a laugh.

Chen Xing nodded; he truly felt the school’s investment.

The cheapest Skill Orb on the market costs several thousand, and that’s for Primary Skills, which are more common among the various Attributes. I’ve heard that some rare Skill Orbs can sell for tens of thousands or even six figures.

The Skill Forgetting Crystals are not cheap either. I’ve heard that there are Low, Intermediate, and High grades of Skill Forgetting Crystals.

Only a Forgetting Crystal of the corresponding grade can erase Skills of that grade. The one in the box should be an Intermediate Skill Forgetting Crystal.

Chen Xing wanted to sneak a look at the price, but it felt inappropriate with the teacher present. It just didn’t seem right.

“The Intermediate Skill Forgetting Crystal in the box has a market price of 660,000 each,” Kuang Shiyi, as if seeing through Chen Xing’s hesitation, pointed at the items in the box and heartily laughed, “No need to be embarrassed. I went through the same thing back in the day.”

“I was an orphan, and after graduating from high school, I thought that since the state raised me, I might as well join the military. After the new recruit training, the unit issued us combat uniforms. Our platoon leader pointed at the newly issued clothes and told us that each set was worth four hundred thousand. Damn, at that time I thought to myself that I had never worn clothes so expensive in my life. I was so careful every time I wore it, afraid I’d tear it.”

“My platoon leader laughed and scolded me, saying I might as well enshrine the damn thing like an ancestor. Then he made me wear that uniform and do prone position training in the field for an afternoon. You know what? The expensive stuff really is durable; I didn’t have a scratch, but my hands that were exposed got chafed.

After that day, I understood one thing — the gear was made for soldiers to use! What I mean is, no matter how expensive something is, its essence is just an item. It’s only worth that money if you use it; otherwise, it’s worth nothing.”

After finishing, Kuang Shiyi gave Chen Xing a firm pat on the shoulder, “Don’t feel any pressure. The school is investing in you, and with investments, there are losses and gains. Worst case, the school will just have to learn a lesson, hahahaha.”

Chen Xing was speechless, unsure whether Kuang Shiyi was trying to encourage him or take a dig at him.

However, after Kuang Shiyi’s speech, Chen Xing did feel a bit less pressure.

From the monthly exam rewards to the “salary” of the school team and now the school’s investment.

Apart from initially earning his first pot of gold from Four Rams Milk Powder, his second, third, and fourth pots of gold all came from the school, each one bigger than the last.

These investments had saved him a lot of trouble, at least in the beginning he didn’t have to wrack his brains over every little bit of money.

The hardest part is never earning the second ten million, but the first million.

In his heart, Chen Xing resolved that if this was considered an investment, he at least wanted those who invested in him to know… they would not lose out.

Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Exceptional Pet Food

“`

After resting for half a day and waiting for Taotie’s energy to fully recover, Chen Xing took a tennis ball from the school team’s warehouse and then took Taotie to the swimming pool behind the teaching building.

Zhou Hao was training his Beast Taming in the pool.

Just as people swim at different speeds, so do beasts.

Their physical strength, power exertion techniques, and injury state all affect a beast’s speed.

In the pool, Zhou Hao’s Salty Bay Crocodile, carrying several small sandbags, was diligently training.

Seeing Taotie coming over, Zhou Hao’s Salty Bay Crocodile stopped its movements. After a week of togetherness, the two beasts of the same species had become familiar with each other.

Zhou Hao’s Salty Bay Crocodile lifted its head out of the water and started barking at Taotie incessantly.

“Oh,” Taotie replied coolly with just a syllable.

To Chen Xing, it sounded like—”Have you eaten? I ate a lot today; the water is very comfortable. Do you want to come and play in the water with me?” “I have.”

“Classmate Zhou, may I use the pool for a bit?”

“Go ahead,” Zhou Hao called his beast out of the water readily.

Chen Xing had Taotie create the Great Vortex in the pool, turning it into a tumbling washing machine.

Chen Xing threw the tennis ball into the water.

“Your beast has awakened a second skill?!” Zhou Hao was shocked as he recognized the skill at a glance in the pool’s Great Vortex.

“Yeah, your beast should be close too, right?”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hao’s spirits lifted.

“Very close. I’ll break through to energy level 10 within a week at most.” Zhou Hao was confident in awakening the second skill before the second monthly test at the end of the month.

However, as he spoke, Zhou Hao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. During the first monthly test, his beast had been 0.6 energy levels higher than Chen Xing’s.

Now, in just half a month’s time, he had already been left behind. The only advantage he could take pride in front of Chen Xing had vanished.

He watched Taotie, following the tennis ball and jumping into the pool, and hesitated for a moment. “What’s this about?”

“Training,” Chen Xing replied.

“Retrieving… tennis balls?” Zhou Hao watched Taotie fetch the tennis ball from the bottom of the pool like a dog and couldn’t help but fall into contemplation.

Having gained a bit of proficiency, Chen Xing left with Taotie, leaving Zhou Hao still pondering on the spot.

Is this training?

This… should be training, right?

Perhaps it’s some new type of training method he isn’t aware of.

Maybe I should give it a try later.

…

Compared to basic meat pet food, intermediate meat pet food requires higher quality ingredients.

When it comes to meat, monster meat is needed as a raw material; other than that, there isn’t much difference from basic pet food.

After class, Chen Xing went to the largest monster meat market in the new district to select ingredients.

As Jinzhou’s twelfth district closest to the west side, the terrain here was flat and the plains vast. Lots of monster breeding farms had been built in this area.

Chen Xing had thought that the monster meat market would be somewhat refined, but upon entering, he realized he was mistaken. The huge market hung with a tall dome, the floor paved with gray concrete, and the air was thick with the scent of blood.

Chunks of meat, neatly divided, hung on hooks, clearly priced according to different parts.

The market was bustling with customers, and there were more people buying monster meat than Chen Xing had imagined.

After wandering around the market a few times, Chen Xing had a good grasp of the prices of different qualities of monster meat.

The price of the meat varied greatly, with cheap meat at 200 per pound and expensive meat selling for up to thirty-three thousand three per pound, each piece of meat labeled with its species and energy level trademark beside it.

The main factors determining the price difference were the meat quality, part of the beast, and the beast’s energy level.

Having done his homework before coming, Chen Xing knew that even within the same beast, different parts contained different nutrients and had different tastes.

After a long selection process, Chen Xing finally bought twenty pounds of Green Stone Fish belly meat for eight thousand yuan, at four hundred yuan per pound. He also bought two thousand yuan’s worth of various side dishes.

“`

The Green Stone Fish is a freshwater monster that lives in shallow water. The N14 Green Stone Fish, upon reaching adulthood, can grow between 2 to 3 meters in length, has a mild temperament, and feeds on aquatic plants and algae, embodying a pure herbivore.

Its name comes from its hard dorsal scales, which make it look like a large green rock submerged in water when viewed from the shore.

While the flesh on the back of the Green Stone Fish is rather coarse, its belly meat is tender and chewy with few bones. It grows quickly, reaching adult size in two years.

The twenty pounds of Green Stone Fish belly meat Chen Xing purchased were from an N14 adult Green Stone Fish. According to the butcher who cut up the fish, it was a fully-matured Green Stone Fish that had been raised in a large pond for three years.

After returning to his residence, Chen Xing prepped the ingredients and began cooking.

An hour later, a bowl of Intermediate Carnivorous Pet Food (Green Stone Fish Belly version) was ready.

Taotie gave the food a doubtful glance, sniffed it and wondered why today’s meal smelled a bit different from before.

It tentatively took a bite.

Taotie: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

It was a flavor it had never tasted before! So delicious!

Perhaps because it was exactly to its taste, it devoured eleven pounds of fish before stopping, full and content, and then sprawled lazily beside him.

Adding in the side dishes, Chen Xing estimated in his mind that just this meal alone had cost 5,000 yuan.

That was nearly the equivalent price of a bottle of Grade C universal nutritional reagent on the market, and even for him now, that price was admittedly expensive…

Selling all the resources given by the school team weekly could barely cover Taotie’s daily meal.

While the market price for Grade B universal nutritional reagent was 25,000 yuan, he could not sell it at the original price in private transactions.

The auction house would buy it at 70% of the market price, only fetching a price of 17,500 yuan. Two bottles would therefore be 35,000 yuan, and with an additional contribution of 8,000 yuan from his own pocket for household expenses, it was just enough to cover Taotie’s weekly food costs…

Chen Xing even began to consider whether Intermediate Carnivorous Pet Food might be too expensive.

If it were just Basic Carnivorous Pet Food, a meal would only cost three to four hundred yuan, as regular beast meat was much cheaper.

Early the next morning, Chen Xing felt a pressure on his chest.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a large head resting on his chest.

Taotie was lying on its back, its pale belly facing up. As it grew larger, the small bed was becoming increasingly burdened.

Now when Taotie slept, it could only curl up, forming a C or D shape.

“Get up,” Chen Xing said with effort as he pushed Taotie away, still puzzled by the fact that it hadn’t felt this heavy the morning before.

“Wait a second…”

Chen Xing hurriedly got up from the bed to take a closer look.

Ever since Taotie had started to grow larger, there had been a daily increase in size, but it wasn’t as noticeably rapid to the naked eye as when it was younger.

However, this morning, its size had clearly increased substantially, with a growth rate that was somewhat embarrassing, as if it were cheating.

[Species]Salty Bay Crocodile

[State]Healthy (Slightly Hungry)

[Energy Level] 10.79

[Energy Level Limit] 38

[Length] 277.9cm

[Weight] 131kg

[Skills]

Intermediate Skill: Great Vortex (omitted)

Passive Skill: Water Mimicry·Rest

If he remembered correctly, the length was only 254 centimeters yesterday; it had surged by 23.9 centimeters overnight.

What was more significant was the increase in Energy Level by 0.78.

However, if it continued growing at this speed, it probably wouldn’t take two years for Taotie to reach the full adult size of eight to nine meters—it might take just a month.

But would others think he was cheating? It wasn’t too outrageous for a child to grow tremendously in two months as if it were two years, right?

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: From Today Onwards, You Are a Rare Individual

“`

Chen Xing looked up relevant information online, and indeed, he managed to find something useful.

In the world of Beast Taming, there are some special individuals that are naturally different from their kin, either being significantly larger or smaller than their peers, some with an extra pair of wings, others with three or four hearts, and yet others with fur of a different color.

However, due to their exceedingly rare numbers, few people are aware of them.

Chen Xing clapped his fist into his palm, great! From today onwards, Taotie, you’re officially a rare individual with gigantism.

He didn’t expect everyone to believe it, but there needed to be a plausible reason on the surface.

After all, Taotie would become just that when it grew up.

Instead of deliberately suppressing the growth of his Beast Taming creature due to fear of suspicion, it was better to cultivate it into a massive beast while others were still unaware.

Chen Xing had now decided there was no need to erase the Grand Vortex Skill and start training from the Primary Skill level.

After all, there were mini-games to increase the Skill Proficiency.

When it’s time to switch from the Primary Skill to the Intermediate Skill, one would have to start from scratch anyway.

He would find a reason to sell these Skill Orbs and Skill Forgetting Crystals later.

The issue that Teacher Kuang was worried about, Taotie’s low Energy Level and insufficient Magic Power within its body, was actually easy to resolve.

Just focus on raising Taotie’s Energy Level quickly!

It’s better to create sources than to plug holes.

During the daytime, Chen Xing continued to engage Taotie in mini-games and routine training.

Over the course of the day, he had increased the Grand Vortex Skill Proficiency by 2 points; together with yesterday’s point, only 7 points were needed to raise the Proficiency to Mastered.

Today, Taotie actually attempted the Grand Vortex three times, but there was one attempt at deploying the Skill that failed!

At the entry Proficiency Level, releasing Skills isn’t 100% successful.

The success rate is around 70%, and one can only guarantee precise Skill deployment each time once it is mastered proficiently.

…

In the new district of Jincheng, Xintian Middle School team.

A large bird, pitch-black all over with rigid black feathers like metal pieces, folded its wings like swords and pierced through four wooden targets in consecutive thrusts.

“Good!” The coach of Xintian Middle School applauded with approval.

“Weixin, you performed very well!” Mu Xikai clenched his fist, not skimping on his praise.

Zheng Weixin’s face flushed red, embarrassed by the public praise and excited by the encouragement. “Teacher, is its performance really that good?”

Mu Xikai continued to bolster him: “Don’t sell yourself short. Although your Beast Taming creature is not top-notch in Energy Level and physical conditioning compared to others, it’s already very good against peers of the same age. Besides, physical conditioning is just one aspect. If combat were only about physical conditioning, why would we train fighting techniques? We could just compare the sizes of the Beast Taming creatures directly.”

“Your Beast Taming creature has a natural talent for combat training, akin to a born fighter. I’m looking forward to it shining in the battle two weeks from now, fighting for your own honor.” Mu Xikai looked into Zheng Weixin’s eyes seriously. “Your Beast Taming creature is also a flyer, air against ground, the advantage is yours.”

Hearing Teacher Mu’s analysis, Zheng Weixin couldn’t help but clench his fists.

He thought of Azure Dragon Middle School. Why should that rundown place get a spot, and moreover, after his departure, they intentionally created three new spots just to mock him!

Heh, if there were extra spots available, why not offer them from the start? Why wait until after he had left to mention them.

When a person’s heart is filled with resentment and prejudice, they cannot hear other voices.

He would magnify every flaw endlessly under a magnifying glass.

Fortunately, he had met the responsible Teacher Mu. Under his guidance, the combat power of his Beast Taming creature had steadily increased.

With this thought, Zheng Weixin’s gaze turned icy. Heh, just wait. He was determined to discipline Chen Xing’s Beast Taming creature mercilessly in front of everyone, decisively defeating it before a crowd!

“`

Let everyone know that Xue Jinbao was wrong from the start!

Two weeks, only two more weeks!

Heh, just wait, Chen Xing, these are your last two weeks of peace.

In two weeks, you will become the laughingstock of the entire school! Not just the school, the whole of the new district will know that I, Zheng Weixin, am the strongest genius of the freshman year in the new district!

Even though it wasn’t two weeks yet, the scenarios Zheng Weixin imagined in his mind made him shiver with excitement uncontrollably.

…

As soon as Chen Xing got home, he saw his older sister sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, watching him with a smug look on her face.

Not seeing the surprise or excitement she expected on her brother’s face, Chen Lingya couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Chen Lingya asked, “Didn’t you notice something different?”

“I did, Chi Yu has evolved,” Cheng Xing excitedly ran towards Chi Yu, who was sitting in the corner of the wall.

After evolving, Chi Yu’s fur now had some ice-blue strands.

Its ears had grown larger, but the fluff on them had also become thicker.

Its pure silver eyes were cold and immaculate, and its size had increased by more than a circle from before.

Its body length had reached 3.1 meters, and including its tail, it would be 4.5 meters long.

[Species]Holy Spirit Snow Leopard (Chi Yu)

[State]Healthy

[Attribute]Ice

[Energy Level]41.3

[Energy Level Limit]71

[Body Length]3.1m

[Weight]310kg

[Skills]

Primary Skill: Frost Spike (Proficient), Shadow Assault (Perfect), Frost Claw (Perfect)

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

Advanced Skill: Blue Hell (Mastered)

Innate Skill: Traceless Snow Step (Active) (Perfect)

Passive Skill: Child of the Great Snow

Looking at this attribute panel made Chen Xing envious, and within such a short time, Chi Yu had actually perfected the proficiency of an intermediate skill.

Not bad at all! It truly deserved to be the little guy he had watched grow up.

Now with its size, it should be called the big guy instead.

After feeding it a strip of jerky and obtaining a Skill Point Fragment from Chi Yu, Chen Xing asked, “Where’s the little snail? You didn’t lose it while you were out, did you?”

“It’s sleeping in the room. Speaking of which, I have you to thank for this time. I consulted the principal, and after a thorough check, the principal confirmed that the little snail is a marrow-eating evil snail and it must be a rare mutated individual with another kind of mysterious power in its bloodline,” Chen Lingya said with an intrigued look at her brother. If she hadn’t seen him grow up from childhood, she would have doubted if he had been replaced by someone else.

This time, even the principal acknowledged that he had misjudged at the beginning. Out of apology, he even gave the little snail a piece of wood, claiming that it would be quite beneficial for it.

Ever since getting the piece of wood, the little snail clung to it every day, sleeping on it, even eating while on it, and wouldn’t move a step away. They still didn’t know what was so alluring about this piece of wood.

Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Full Favorability

“`

Chi Yu seemed to have smelled the lingering scent of a mid-tier pet meal in the room. The unique and enticing aroma made it restless, with even its blood coursing with a faint surge of excitement.

The clever creature understood which man in this household was the best at cooking. It swiftly ran to Chen Xing, affectionately nuzzling his head with its own.

“What are you doing?”

“Ao woo, ao woo.” Chi Yu kept calling out.

“There’s none left, we’ve only got one meal left at home, and I’m saving it for Taotie. If you eat it, Taotie won’t have enough.”

Chen Xing said helplessly, “How about I cook another meal for you tomorrow?”

“Ao woo.” Chi Yu looked pitifully at Chen Xing. Chen Xing understood its meaning— it said it would only eat a little bit, even just a taste would do.

“Just a little bit, huh… alright then. But you’ll have to explain it to Taotie yourself.”

“Ao woo~” Chi Yu jumped up excitedly, completely shedding its cool demeanor from before.

It might have been that Chi Yu was being too noisy, as Chen Lingya chided, “Chi Yu, shut up.”

“Didn’t you put something addictive in your cooking?” Chen Lingya asked suspiciously. Chi Yu’s temperament was actually quite calm; it was rare to see it this boisterous.

Chen Xing chuckled lightly, “I cooked everything right in front of you. Whether I added anything, didn’t you see it all clearly?”

“That’s true.” Chen Lingya was still a bit puzzled, but sadly she couldn’t communicate directly with Chi Yu. Even in daily interactions, she could only grasp the general idea, like when it indicated it found something tasty or wanted to eat. “Anyway… why does it want to eat so badly?”

“Can’t it just be that my cooking is good and it loves to eat it?” Chen Xing scratched under Chi Yu’s chin.

Chi Yu squinted its eyes and lifted its head proudly, purring from its throat.

Watching Chi Yu act so sycophantly for just a bit of food, Chen Lingya felt a sense of disdain.

“Right, let’s settle the food bill. I don’t mind cooking for it, but the ingredients are too expensive, your brother is so broke he can’t even lift the pot lid.”

“Enough already, your sister has plenty of money.” Chen Lingya haughtily slapped five hundred-yuan bills on the table from her wallet.

After slapping the money down, she smirked with the haughty bearing of an elder sister.

Chen Xing slowly pocketed the money from the table, then stretched out his open palm in front of Chen Lingya, “You’re still short four thousand five hundred. Thanks for your patronage, boss.”

Chen Lingya froze. This price…

“It’s all made with bred monster meat, at cost. I haven’t overcharged you a penny.”

Monster meat? No wonder it was so expensive.

Chen Lingya’s face flushed red in the aftermath, thinking about the way she had flaunted her money earlier. She gritted her teeth in silent fury. That stinking little brother must be laughing at me! Indeed, a brother needs a good beating every now and then.

“You’re not short on money, are you? That won’t do.” Chen Xing feigned exaggeration, then shook his head, “Never mind, if my sister wants to freeload, could this little brother really refuse her?”

Hearing Chen Xing’s sarcastic tone, Chen Lingya huffed coldly, “Don’t worry, you won’t be short of living expenses. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

It wasn’t that she found it too expensive, but Wanhai High School, although it provided her with plenty of resources, would issue them directly to her, and they were typically required to be used within the school.

She was aware that, although the resources were officially distributed by the school, in reality, they were dispensed by “the organization,” merely channeled through the school to her.

As for money, other than a small scholarship given each semester, she had no other source of income.

The reason was quite simple—as the purpose of giving money was to buy resources, it made more sense for the school to handle it to prevent the purchase of inferior quality items. Moreover, the school and the organization had their own procurement channels, which made the cost even lower.

However, this wasn’t to say she had no way of making money.

“`

Chen Lingya was making plans at the bottom of her heart. Tomorrow, she would make time to visit the Ze City Secret Realm. She hadn’t gone last year because her Beast Taming level wasn’t high enough; she felt it was rather dangerous. The main danger didn’t come solely from the omnipresent monsters but also included other Beast Tamers.

This year her Beast Taming level was sufficient, but she had been waiting, preparing to go after her beasts evolved. That way, she could maximize the use of the opportunity for Jincheng citizens to enter the Ze City Secret Realm for free once a year.

Every Beast Tamer who entered the Ze City Secret Realm could take up to three wild monsters out of the realm for free, whether dead or alive. Numerous cameras were also installed in the Secret Realm, ensuring that wild monsters could not be wantonly attacked or slaughtered unless they initiated an attack on a Beast Tamer.

This was to ensure the sustainable and cyclical development of the Ze City Secret Realm and was the reason why, after so many years, it still had abundant Beast Taming resources without being exhausted.

Otherwise, with the tens of millions of people in Jincheng, the group of Beast Tamers alone was enormous.

Since compulsory education, the number of civilian Beast Tamers had been growing year by year. If not controlled, the Ze City Secret Realm would be depleted before long.

The subsequent Beast Tamers would then have no chance to explore this Secret Realm.

In reality, the true freedom lay in the Exotic Region, which was even more vast and boundless than the world they lived in.

The Exotic Region was vast with sparse population; despite many years of effort, Great Xia and other countries still couldn’t probe the borders of the Exotic Region. Monsters there were rampant, unlike in Great Xia, where they had been controlled and became “endangered species.”

Chen Lingya planned to capture three of the most valuable monsters in the Ze City Secret Realm tomorrow and sell them for a high price.

“I’m going back to sleep,” Chen Lingya stood up, returned to her room, and quickly closed the door. She then hurriedly took out her phone to check which monsters were the most expensive in the Ze City Secret Realm.

…

“Feeding the beast once, intimacy value reached 100, obtained 5 Skill Point Fragments.”

“Training the beast once, intimacy level reached 100, obtained 5 Skill Point Fragments.”

Finally, Taotie’s intimacy level was maxed out. Having raised it for so long, Chen Xing finally increased its intimacy to the maximum value and felt a strong sense of achievement at this moment.

However, this was enough to show the sheer difficulty of maxing out the intimacy level. Even as a beast he had raised since birth, assisted by Affinity Knowledge skills, it took over a month to increase its intimacy to the maximum value.

Two daily activities, each yielding 5 Skill Point Fragments, meant he could reliably earn one skill point every day.

This time, Chen Xing’s target skill was the manufacturing technique for spicy dried fish.

Once he acquired this skill, he could make food that quickly restored Magic Power and then give Taotie more opportunities to use its skills.

With only a 2-3 point increase in skill proficiency level each day, the progress was too slow.

If he continued at this rate, by the end of the month, he could at most improve the proficiency level of the Grand Vortex Skill to a level of mastery. If he could have food that rapidly restored Magic Power and increase the frequency of daily mini-games, perhaps he could advance the proficiency level of the Grand Vortex Skill to an expert level before the month’s end!

A night went by, and the next morning, the size of Taotie steadily increased.

Its body length officially surpassed 3 meters!

[Species] Salty Bay Crocodile

[Energy Level] 11.5

[Energy Level Limit] 38

[Body Length] 301.1cm

[Weight] 140kg

It’s no exaggeration to say that many classmates’ beasts were only half the length of Taotie at most, not to mention its bulk.

Placing the two side by side was like a primary school student standing next to Schwarzenegger.

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Advantage is Mine

“Is your Beast Taming… is it a little bigger than yesterday?”

Wang Bing and Zhou Hao circled around Taotie, somewhat uncertain.

The other four senior schoolmates all had their own training routines as well.

Teacher Kuang spent most of the time guiding those four, as it was already mid-October and the Shu State Cup was coming next month.

They were in intensive training for the seniors, and it was heard that they were preparing for something crucial.

Chen Xing, on the other hand, was very clear about it; he had seen the Beast Tamings of the several seniors nearly fill their Energy Levels, reaching the Species limit. It seemed they were probably preparing for Beast evolution.

The three of them enjoyed their leisure as well.

“No way, it’s just your imagination,” Chen Xing said calmly.

‘Imagination, huh…’ Wang Bing took another look at Taotie, which was over a meter longer than Zhou Hao’s crocodile. Even though they were the same Species of Beast Taming, the difference seemed a bit too large.

However, Wang Bing was tactful. Since Chen Xing didn’t want to say more, he didn’t continue to ask.

Just watching Taotie use the Grand Vortex Skill to jump into the water, and then come out holding a tennis ball, Wang Bing couldn’t quite figure out Chen Xing’s approach.

Was this a training method taught by Teacher Kuang? It certainly looked a little novel.

After a day’s training, Chen Lingya didn’t come home until almost eleven at night, looking weather-beaten. She took out fifty thousand yuan from her pocket and placed it on the table.

“This is for Chi Yu’s meals for the week.”

After saying that, Chen Lingya went to take a shower. The Ze City Secret Realm was humid and hot; she had sweated profusely after running the errand.

Before entering the bathroom, she casually summoned Chi Yu to stay in the living room.

Chen Xing didn’t stand on ceremony; he took the money and looked at Chi Yu.

“Let’s go, I’ll get you something to eat.”

Chen Xing added a significant amount of basic pet food to Chi Yu’s pet meal, mixing basic carnivore pet food and intermediate carnivore pet food in a 2:1 ratio.

This was also to reduce the effect of the intermediate pet food.

Even though his sister hadn’t said anything, Chen Xing still vaguely sensed something.

He knew just how potent the effect of the intermediate pet food was; if Chi Yu, like Taotie, woke up after one night’s sleep looking like it had a steroid-induced growth spurt, that would be troublesome.

Chi Yu was an adult Beast Taming, not a cub. If there were any special traits, they should have appeared earlier, not suddenly after reaching adulthood.

If others follow the clues and investigate, as her family member, he would certainly be exposed, leading to Taotie being noticed by others.

Combining Taotie’s continuous surge in size, if noticed by someone with intent, it would probably bring trouble to the family.

So, Chen Xing had to be cautious.

Of course, even if some basic pet food was mixed in, the combination was still a premium supplement!

Outside, you definitely couldn’t buy this quality of food for five thousand yuan; Chen Xing estimated that it was definitely superior to an A-grade generic nutrient supplement.

Because he had asked Wang Bing and Zhou Hao, they fed their Beast Tamings B-grade custom nutrient supplements daily, costing fifty thousand a bottle, spending millions a month just on supplements.

But looking at the growth rate of Zhou Hao’s Beast Taming’s size, it grew an average of just 5–6 centimeters a day.

Is it useful?

Useful!

Others might take about three years to grow to their physical limits, while they only needed about a year. Now, growing five or six centimeters a day, the speed of size increase would gradually slow down; over a year was needed, according to the Beast Taming nutritionist hired by their family.

That’s what money does! Spend a couple of tens of millions to reduce a three-year growth period to just one year.

This was only about the size, not the Energy Level; increasing Energy Level was even harder.

Whether it was worth it, only they knew.

The next day, Chen Xing went to school.

Due to its size, Taotie can no longer stay in the classroom during classes now.

After finishing the daytime classes and coming to the school team after school, Zhou Hao and Wang Bing also arrived one after another for training almost at the same time. It must be said, although both come from well-off family backgrounds, they were still very diligent.

Chen Xing had talked with them, and their views were quite straightforward.

They understood that Beast Taming was the key. Educational background, family history, connections—all were insubstantial, and only personal strength was truly significant.

Once you became strong by yourself, everything else would follow as accessories.

“But hasn’t your Beast Taming grown bigger again?” Wang Bing looked at Taotie in shock. Was it his imagination?

No, it wasn’t an illusion.

He was certain that just yesterday, Zhou Hao’s beast was barely larger than half the size of Chen Xing’s, but today, it wasn’t even half anymore?

“Did you notice?” Wang Bing covertly approached Zhou Hao, feeling that Chen Xing’s beast was not so simple.

“What do you think?” Zhou Hao looked at Wang Bing as if he were looking at a fool.

He trained with Chen Xing’s beast every day, and they all had the same Species of beasts. If he hadn’t noticed anything unusual by now, he would indeed be blind.

“I think Chen Xing’s beast must be an exceptionally rare special individual, especially in terms of its physique,” Zhou Hao quietly said to Wang Bing.

Wang Bing thought seriously and felt that Zhou Hao’s explanation seemed very reasonable, as it seemed to be the only reason that made sense.

They had also looked into Chen Xing’s family background; it was just a normal family.

“Probably, it lacked nutrition before and didn’t show its potential. After all, even if it has extraordinary talent, it needs a large amount of nutrition to manifest,” Zhou Hao sighed. He had already given up any thoughts of competing with Chen Xing.

He found such juvenile behavior rather pointless.

Had Zhou Hao known Wang Qiming, they would likely have found much in common and have had shared topics of discussion.

…

After a day’s training, Wang Bing returned to the Galley Bridge Pavilion Villa area.

Wang Bing was walking his beast by the lake in the residential area, when someone happened to be walking a bird on the opposite side.

Upon getting closer, he realized it was Zheng Weixin.

Wang Bing nodded to Zheng Weixin as a greeting.

Since transferring schools, Zheng Weixin always seemed gloomy, which also affected his cold attitude towards him, they had had unpleasant encounters.

Wang Bing certainly knew the reason; a wasted three million and a transfer from the best school in the new district to the second-best school.

But knowing the reason didn’t mean Wang Bing was without temper. Zheng Weixin’s family made a dumb move, and taking it out on him, what was that supposed to mean?

Seeing Wang Bing, Zheng Weixin’s eyes lit up, and he hastened over to greet him. After a brief exchange, Zheng Weixin eagerly began inquiring for information, “You and that Chen Xing both joined the school team, how has his beast been performing lately? What’s its Energy Level at now?”

Wang Bing realized what was going on; this was information gathering.

Having interacted with Chen Xing these past days, they had developed a bit of camaraderie between teammates.

Moreover, Zheng Weixin was now a member of the Xintian Middle School team. If they ended up facing each other in next month’s team challenge, Zheng Weixin might become his opponent.

Therefore, Wang Bing didn’t answer directly, but instead countered with a question, “Your beast should have awakened its second Skill by now, right? Back then, your Beast Taming Level was a bit faster than mine.”

Zheng Weixin confidently said, “Not yet, but it’s coming soon.”

Having revealed his own situation, Zheng Weixin focused on Wang Bing, “What about Chen Xing? I want to know his progress.”

Wang Bing fell silent for a moment, “It hasn’t awakened yet, but it should be soon.”

“Good! Let me know when he awakens it, and tell me what Skill he awakens when the time comes. Don’t worry. In the challenge, I’ll only challenge him, not you,” Zheng Weixin said.

After finishing their talk, they went their separate ways. Zheng Weixin squinted his eyes as he turned around. Wang Bing had hesitated for a moment when answering, so that kid might have already awakened his second Skill, which meant 10 Energy Levels!

But even if he had broken through to 10 Energy Levels, it didn’t matter. He didn’t care, for the greater the strength they had when defeated, the more satisfying the accomplishment!

Moreover, he had a natural advantage. Fighting air with land, how could he lose with such an advantage?

Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Lingya’s Choice

Jincheng High School, school team.

Coach Fu Chang of the Jincheng High School team clapped his hands and stepped aside, revealing the girl behind him.

“This is Chen Lingya, the new addition to our school team. For the time being, she will be on the reserves, until…”

“Coach Fu, the principal said that I was to become an official member of the team,” Chen Lingya interrupted him.

Fu Chang’s face changed. The principal had, of course, informed him, but he had his own reasons for wanting to proceed differently. Students in private high schools were incredibly spoiled; especially those on the sports team knew their personalities all too well.

His plan was to start Chen Lingya off in the reserves and then find an opportunity later to promote her to full member.

A sneer came from within the group, “Just anyone can become an official member? Coach Fu, I don’t think she’s even fit for the reserves. Better to just let her get lost.”

Chen Lingya looked at the person who had spoken, extended her little finger, and hooked it lightly, “Let’s have a match. If I lose, I’ll leave immediately. If I win… you get lost from the school team!”

Several others egged them on, “Lu Ming, fight her.”

“Right, if I were you, I’d take the bet.”

“Be a man and accept, or else I’ll look down on you.”

Hearing the jeers from his teammates, Lu Ming felt annoyed. He and Zhou Hanxue were cousins, and she had always wanted to join the school team. He had heard that his cousin and a few other girls had been targeting Chen Lingya, and that his cousin’s accident might have been somewhat related to this girl.

But for some reason, the adults at home didn’t pursue the matter further. However, this didn’t change his dislike for Chen Lingya, which was why he had made malicious remarks just now.

“Coward, I thought you had more guts,” Chen Lingya scoffed.

Lu Ming’s expression darkened, “Fine.”

He glared at Chen Lingya viciously, refusing to believe that he couldn’t beat a girl from a poor family.

Chen Lingya summoned her Holy Spirit Snow Leopard, Chi Yu, who seemed to sense its master’s emotions, fixing a cold, threatening gaze on the opposing Qiushou King Bear.

Chi Yu’s broad and sturdy paws stomped the ground.

Winds blew from all directions, the fierce gale mixed with bone-chilling ice spikes and blizzards.

The temperature of the entire field plummeted by more than twenty degrees in an instant, as Chi Yu’s agile form silently merged with the heavy snow, blending perfectly with the surrounding world.

A blanket of snow covered everything in sight, turning the world a blinding white, causing the other three spectators to sit up straight at once.

One of them swallowed hard, “What skill is this?”

“It looks like Snowfall Cascade…”

“Your Snowfall Cascade can do this?”

“Perhaps a perfect-level Snowfall Cascade might be able to,” the only girl in the trio murmured.

But isn’t Snowfall Cascade an intermediate skill?

A perfect-level intermediate skill? By someone of the same age???

“This is bad,” the tall and thin boy suddenly said.

The other two turned to him, confusion in their eyes.

“Lu Ming is done for.”

They were all teammates and had sparred often, so they had a rough idea of each other’s strengths.

Three minutes later, the blizzard gradually subsided, leaving only the thick snow that piled three feet high on the ground. The Qiushou King Bear lay in a pool of blood, its fate unknown.

Its limbs were drenched in blood, the fur on its back had been peeled open by some sharp instrument, and its spine was severed, revealing the bone so white, turning a living bear into a dead one.

Fu Chang hurried forward to check on the King Curled Horn Bear’s state, “It’s still breathing.”

He quickly contacted the school doctor, fearing that Lu Ming’s Beast Taming would be gone if he were even a bit later.

Lu Ming’s face was ashen, and he looked at Chen Lingya in disbelief, both shocked and angry.

“Out of kindness, I spared your beast’s life. You should thank me,” Chen Lingya said with her arms crossed over her chest, “And remember, as we agreed before, get out of the school team.”

Fu Chang turned to look at Chen Lingya, “Chen Lingya, Lu Ming, he…”

“Teacher, why keep such trash if he can’t even defeat my beast? Isn’t that just wasting a spot? The school team only needs four people anyway, so he is now superfluous.”

Fu Chang fell silent; then from not far away, a voice was heard. “Just as Chen Lingya said, Lu Ming is to leave the school team, and Chen Lingya will take his place as a member.”

Fu Chang shuddered at the sound and looked in the direction of the voice, “Yes, Principal.”

Watching Chen Lingya walk away shoulder to shoulder with the principal, the three members of the school team who had been watching the battle remained silent for a while, exchanging looks and a bitter smile.

The abilities of Lu Ming and the four of them were almost equal; the beast’s state and the arena could all influence their victory or defeat.

If the new teammate could easily take down Lu Ming’s beast, then naturally, she could easily take down theirs too.

Moreover, it seemed her personality was somewhat nasty and difficult to get along with… Sigh.

“Feeling better after venting?” Wan Hailong said indifferently.

Chen Lingya, walking beside him, didn’t answer, just staring off into the distance with a somewhat vacant gaze.

“Don’t worry, this time it won’t involve your family.”

Chen Lingya suddenly spoke up, “Why did that assassin know my home address last time?”

Wan Hailong chuckled lightly, “He’s an assassin. It’s not strange for him to find out your home address, right?”

He continued, “Your talent is quite good. Haven’t you noticed that training your Beast Taming skills is easier for you than for most people? It takes others great effort to bring their skill proficiency to perfection, but for you, it’s not that hard. Staying here is just a waste of time; Jincheng is too small, the Exotic Region is where the prodigies truly compete.”

“After you get that item in the college entrance exams, we’ll arrange for you to go to the Exotic Region. Don’t worry about your family; our organization may not be official, but we don’t conflict with the authorities, and sometimes we even cooperate, so your family won’t be implicated.”

Chen Lingya remained silent, only staring straight ahead as confusion swirled in her eyes.

“Great Xia has stood for eight hundred years; when you reach a certain stage you’ll either have to join or venture out on your own. Eventually, you must make a choice. Our organization has already shown much goodwill; you should consider it carefully.”

“Besides, your father’s illness can’t be delayed any longer, and there’s your younger brother who just started high school. Isn’t it better to support him once you are stronger? You live in that police apartment now, which has much better security than where you lived before. You don’t need to move back; that apartment will be transferred directly into your father’s name.”

After a long while, Chen Lingya’s light voice carried on the wind, “I understand.”

…

In recent days, the most critical task for the school team has been preparing for the first evolution of the three senior members’ beasts.

They did not hide the process from the three new reserves; over these days, Chen Xing also learned quite a bit about beast evolution.

The most important aspect of Beast Taming evolution is “materials”—collecting precious materials.

Precious materials have a broad meaning: plants and minerals rich in spirituality, vital organs from high-energy level beasts, and even some special gases are all classified as precious materials.

If one chooses an evolutionary path, the school and the Teaching Department will each sponsor one precious material; that makes two.

The rest is up to the Beast Tamers to figure out; those who can afford to collect on their own, and those who cannot, I hear, could apply for an educational loan from the Teaching Department.

However, precious materials are not cheap. Although Chen Xing had not looked into it, one could infer this from the prices of skill orbs and monster meat…

Besides collecting precious materials, one must also choose the “place.”

Here, “place” refers to the special location needed for evolution. For example, some beasts need to evolve by bathing in a volcano, others by being frozen in the polar ice caps—these are considered common. I have heard that some special evolutionary paths require collecting the seven emotions and six desires, which means slowly gathering these emotions in places where worldly desires are strongest.

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Great Turtle that Nurtures Trees

The last aspect to consider is “timing.”

Different times of the day have different effects, and some evolutions have strict requirements for the timing, but others don’t, so “timing” is the last consideration.

Senior Wen’s Beast Taming Evolution, I heard, requires burying it in nutrient-rich soil alive.

When Chen Xing heard this, his expression turned somewhat odd, how it sounded a little strange.

Bury a Dryland Turtle in spring and harvest a whole tree of Dryland Turtles in autumn?

The thought of it was unexpectedly beautiful, too daring to imagine.

Chen Xing and the others helped to dig a five-meter-deep pit in the vacant lot behind the school team’s yard.

Then, in front of them, they buried the Dryland Turtle.

The Dryland Turtle’s body was covered in a layer of dense “runes,” said to be written using a precious liquid treasure material mixed with another earth-type treasure material, inscribed by one of the school’s teachers.

Chen Xing squatted beside it, sneaking glances for half the day, and extinguished the thought of learning surreptitiously, because he truly couldn’t understand the runes.

Turning his head, he saw Wang Bing and Zhou Hao, who had been squatting beside him trying to peek, also stand up, their faces full of confusion.

Kuang Shiyi said, “These are primordial characters, the ace up the sleeve of Beast Taming Evolution masters. If you want to learn, you can do so in university, high school doesn’t teach these subjects.”

Seems it’s not high school knowledge after all.

I heard that the Dryland Turtle needs to be buried alive for seven days; whether it succeeds or not depends on the situation after seven days.

As layers of soil were poured on, the Dryland Turtle, eyes closed, was engulfed by the earth.

Zhou Hao asked worriedly, “It won’t be buried alive, will it?”

“No, Dryland Turtles can naturally hibernate in the soil for two weeks,” Kuang Shiyi shook his head.

…

At home, Liu Yuzhen sat in front of the living room sofa, pinching the tips of vegetables, and said to herself, “Hey Old Chen, living in this police residence community feels pretty good, much better than our previous house. The house is bigger, the environment is nicer, and it’s convenient for shopping and going to school.”

“It’s okay, but it’s not our house; we’re just staying here temporarily,” Chen Guohai said.

Liu Yuzhen paused in her motions, looking towards Chen Guohai, “This morning, when I returned from grocery shopping, the community property management approached me.”

Chen Guohai looked at Liu Yuzhen.

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Yuzhen continued, “They gave us a property deed, for the house we’re living in now, with both our names written on it.”

Chen Guohai coughed violently; the houses in this police residence community were not cheap. Their apartment was sizeable, worth at least three to four million.

Who was so generous to put their names on this apartment?

The couple’s first reaction was not joy but shock.

Worrying whether it was a mistake by someone else, their family couldn’t afford such a turmoil.

“Please accept it; it’s a gift from our principal,” Chen Lingya emerged from the bedroom, surprised herself at the principal’s quick action.

Liu Yuzhen hesitated, wondering why someone would give them such a valuable gift for no reason.

Although she couldn’t help but think of certain things, she quickly discarded the thought because she believed in her daughter!

“Our principal is a very important person. He took me as a disciple, and this is the gift he gave to our family,” Chen Lingya spoke calmly, “You don’t need to overthink it. My teacher has never taken back a gift he’s given, and to him, this is trivial.”

For an Advanced Beast Tamer, a few million is indeed a mere trifle.

Liu Yuzhen was conflicted, on the verge of speaking. After a moment of silence, Chen Guohai said to his daughter, “Principal Wan is a very important person, and he must have taken you on as a student because you’re outstanding, and I’m very gratified.”

“Your mother and I have never tamed a beast in our lives. We say we understand a little, but it’s all hearsay, and our experience is of no use to you.”

“Dad just wants to tell you that we have never wished to be your burden, and you shouldn’t bear any pressure.”

People are born free, and so are you. The same goes for your younger brother. You should both have your own dreams, your own paths.

Your mother and I are merely passersby in the journey of your life; we cannot accompany you to the end.

You and your brother are still young. I’ve heard that those skilled Beast Tamers live longer than ordinary people. In the future, when we are no longer around, you siblings will be the only family for each other in this world. I just hope you can support each other.”

Chen Lingya froze for a moment, her nose suddenly tingling. Why the sudden sentimentality?

Turning her head away, Chen Lingya gave a soft “hmm” through her nostrils, “If my brother doesn’t listen to me in the future, I’ll beat him up.”

Click.

The living room door was unlocked with a key, and through the crack of the door, a confused and bewildered head peeked out.

What happened? Why do I hear Chen Lingya saying she’s going to beat me up as soon as I come in?

Chen Lingya didn’t expect that her words would be caught perfectly by her brother who just got home, and in her embarrassment, her delicate earlobes instantly turned red.

Feigning calm, she announced, “I’m going back to my bedroom,” and quickly retreated to her room.

Sitting down, Chen Xing listened to their mother recount what had just happened.

The brother, chagrined but amused, raised a finger in front of their parents and assured, “Don’t worry, as the younger brother, I’ll keep my sister in line. If Chen Lingya doesn’t behave in the future, I’ll warn her three times. If she still doesn’t listen, then I’ll discipline her!”

The sound of a table being smacked vaguely came from Chen Lingya’s room behind the closed door.

…

In the following two days, the other two senior students also finally gathered all the materials and prepared to start their Beast Taming Evolution.

Their beasts’ evolution methods did not require as much time as the Earth-Turtle.

But the outcomes were far from good: on the first day, Senior Wu’s Shadowcat failed its evolution.

Under the moonlight, the Dark Night Gemstone placed on the Shadowcat’s forehead shattered into five fragments, and the Shadowcat, stricken by backlash, fainted on the spot.

The school doctor examined the Shadowcat and told everyone that it needed half a month’s rest; another attempt within that time could lead to permanent damage.

The next day, Senior Tong Xuhua’s Wildflame Monkey suffered a setback at the last moment of evolution, unable to endure the scorching heat, and fainted. The evolution process required the beast to remain conscious throughout, and the unconscious Wildflame Monkey couldn’t control the boiling flames within its body. It was scorched severely as flame backlashed against it on the spot.

It was only after being rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment that the monkey narrowly escaped death.

The doctor said the monkey needed at least a week-long hospital stay, and it should not attempt evolution again for a month after being discharged.

Two consecutive failures cast a heavy pall over everyone’s head.

Even the usually confident Wen Jin started to feel uneasy.

I won’t fail too, will I?

Five days later, on the seventh day since the Earth-Turtle was buried, a sprout suddenly grew on the mound that looked like a grave.

“It’s successful,” Kuang Shiyi suppressed the worry in his eyes, feeling a great sense of relief. If all three students had failed… He really didn’t know how to explain it to the principal.

It’s said that the success rate of the first evolution for Beast Taming isn’t a hundred percent. According to statistics, the average success rate is 37.5%.

But as everyone knows, averages can be deceiving, much like average annual incomes.

For students like Wen Jin and Wu Ju, whom the school has carefully cultivated for the team, the success rate for their beasts’ first evolution is around sixty percent.

The sprout on the mound of earth swayed from side to side, and following that, the ground around it cracked rapidly, the soil rising swiftly as if a huge creature was about to emerge from the ground.

Standing not far away, Zhou Hao asked, “Chen Xing, what was the name of the evolution route for Senior Wen’s beast they talked about last time?”

Narrowing his eyes and feeling the vibrations under his feet, Chen Xing couldn’t help but take two steps back and uttered four words.

“Tree Guardian Tortoise.”

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Awakening the Third Skill!

Chen Xing narrowed his eyes, and the ground beneath his feet shook as the earth mound in front burst open.

A black behemoth emerged from the ground, layers of soil cascading from the sides of its carapace.

A creature with a shell diameter of over 4 meters burrowed out from the earth.

“This… I didn’t expect the evolution to change its size so much,” Zhou Hao took a deep breath, somewhat in disbelief.

Standing to the left and behind, Chen Xing thought of something he had read before.

It is said that Beast Tamings’ sizes change upon evolution, with a minority experiencing exaggerated changes in size.

The tree-nurturing giant tortoise before him undoubtedly belonged to those with significant size changes.

With a diameter of four meters, it crouched on the spot like a small truck.

The dark turtle shell surface gleamed with a subtle light, and in the very center at the top, a small sapling about 2 meters tall swayed gently.

A tree actually growing on the back of a turtle… this magical scene materialized in reality.

Unlike the videos and images seen online, though those may be more magnificent and magical, the scene before them was real and tangible, offering a different visual impact.

Wang Bing remarked, “A turtle with a tree growing on its back—if one day a toad with flowers blooming on its back appeared, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

The success of their senior Wen had lifted the gloomy clouds that had loomed over the school team.

To their knowledge, no one on the Nittan High School team had successfully evolved their Beast Taming.

Keeping their victory in next month’s school team skirmish shouldn’t be a problem now.

With the seniors’ evolution matters coming to a close, Kuang Shiyi, perhaps as compensation for his recent neglect, shifted his focus to the three newcomers.

“You… How is your Beast Taming Skill learning coming along?”

“Teacher, I’ve already mastered the Grand Vortex Skill,” Chen Xing replied.

“Oh… What, mastered?” Kuang Shiyi was taken aback, doubting what he had heard.

This was an Intermediate Skill. The higher the level of the skill, the greater the difficulty in learning it.

For a simple analogy, a Primary Skill is like a one-handed sword weighing 5 pounds. An Intermediate Skill, however, is akin to a pair of mandarin duck axes made from meteoric iron, each weighing 88 pounds.

A newcomer with insufficient strength barely manages to grasp it and perform a routine, let alone practice the techniques.

It’s not that simply executing a skill equates to practicing it. Give a primary school student a pen, and they can scribble a solution on a college-level math problem. But whether the answer is correct or achieves any training effect is another matter entirely.

“Yes,” Chen Xing admitted confidently without being arrogant or humble.

He remembered a saying that went: Hide your clumsiness and bide your time, but when the day comes, display your edge in all its glory.

Playing the fool has to be timed right, lest you play the porker too long and truly become one.

From his observations over the past days, different people training different Beast Tamings saw varying efficiencies in improving their Skills’ Proficiency Levels.

This indicated that there were natural differences between individuals.

The school invested in him, so he could reveal a corresponding value.

Just as capital flocks to a stock showing good potential, investing more as it grows.

Moreover… if he wasn’t mistaken, his sister must have a talent for improving Skill Proficiency Levels, which is why she was valued.

Being siblings from the same mother, it would be quite normal for the brother to have a similar talent if the sister had one.

Besides, showing his abilities now would be better than making a sudden, leap-like progress later on.

“`

Of course, it’s not about revealing all one’s trump cards; there’s a balance that needs to be well controlled.

“Let your Beast Taming release a skill to take a look,” Kuang Shiyi said.

Subsequently, Taotie released the Grand Vortex Skill towards the swimming pool.

Kuang Shiyi, who observed the entire process, was quietly astounded after watching.

Whether it was the speed of skill release or the violent level of water flow exhibited by the Great Vortex, this standard was definitely not that of a beginner. It looked as though he had truly mastered the skill.

“I didn’t expect you to have talent in this area,” Kuang Shiyi remarked.

“If you can maintain this pace of improvement, it’s fine not to change skills.”

Chen Xing is just a first-year high school student, with two more years to go until senior year.

If he could maintain this rate of improvement… Kuang Shiyi’s eyes brightened, he saw hope in Chen Xing, the hope for their Azure Dragon Eighth Middle School to win the Shu State Cup!

“Your Beast Taming is about four meters long now, isn’t it?” Kuang Shiyi glanced at Taotie, then turned to Zhou Hao’s Salty Bay Crocodile.

“Yes,” Chen Xing recalled the data he saw in the morning, 4.49 meters.

Kuang Shiyi sighed, looking left and right. Why do these two Salty Bay Crocodiles sitting next to each other look like a grandparent and grandchild…

“Your Beast Taming is naturally a rare individual of large stature; it’s just unknown what the upper limit is. Some are 1.5 times the size of their kind, some can be two or three times bigger. Salty Bay Crocodiles are already not small, you might really end up raising a giant crocodile.”

A powerful body naturally requires correspondingly strong bones, muscles, and internal organs to support it—the time might come when it could fight with level thirty or forty Beast Tamings with its physical body alone.

After giving Chen Xing some guidance and encouragement, he then proceeded to instruct the other two.

Wang Bing’s feelings were complex—his Beast Taming had just awakened a skill yesterday. He was unlucky, having awakened only a rather insubstantial Primary Skill.

His family had spent a lot of money on overnight delivery from a merchant, using three Skill Orbs to switch to a suitable Primary Skill.

The skill hadn’t even warmed up, and here someone had already proficiently mastered an Intermediate Skill?

Suddenly, he thought about the upcoming spar in a week, and feared that Zheng Weixin would really suffer a big loss. Unexpectedly, he found himself looking forward to that scene.

…

After walking home, Chen Xing fed Taotie Intermediate carnivorous pet food. His attention was entirely on the 14.9 Energy Level displayed on the panel.

As seconds and minutes passed, finally, the 14.9 leaped suddenly, and the number changed to 15.

At the same time, a rich azure light emerged around Taotie.

Chen Xing quickly checked the newly awakened skill.

Primary Skill: Water Devouring.

Skill effect: Swallow water to recover from injuries.

The third skill awakened was actually a healing skill.

But it seemed quite suitable for Taotie.

It was naturally larger than peers of the same age and tough in flesh. Now, it had acquired a healing skill. Others might exhaust themselves fighting it for half a day, finally breaking through its skin, only for Taotie to swallow a gulp of water and recover back to its original state.

The challenge was not knowing whether this skill was difficult to train. Chen Xing checked the mini-game associated with the Water Devouring Skill.

Interactive Mini-Game: (Big Eater Challenge) The Beast Taming needs to participate in a Big Eater Challenge with other Beast Tamings. The challenged target must be older than the challenger, and the one who eats more food within the prescribed 10 minutes wins.

Proficiency Level: Beginner (0/3)

This mini-game seems quite simple at first glance, as he had not yet encountered any peers with a bigger appetite than it.

“`Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Ultimate Tyrant Volcano Grilled Creamy Steak

“`

Wanhai High School, team.

Ever since the last time Lu Ming’s Beast Taming nearly got beaten to death, the remaining three members of the team had a complete 180-degree change in attitude towards Chen Lingya.

They just felt that the new student had a bad temper, ready to throw down at the slightest provocation.

But at the same time, Beast Tamers were inherently a group that revered the strong.

Being of the same age, Chen Lingya’s Beast Taming strength was so impressive that after spending a few more days with her and realizing she wasn’t the type to fight over trivial matters, they began to admire her.

“What were you just talking about?” Chen Lingya stopped in her tracks, having overheard something about the Azure Dragon No. 8 Middle School.

“Uh… it’s just that there’s a friendly match between Azure Dragon No. 8 Middle School and Xintian Middle School’s team next week. We were discussing whether we should go watch it.”

“Speaking of which, I heard a bit of gossip. There’s a reserve student at Xintian Middle School who used to be a student at Azure Dragon No. 8 Middle School. It’s said that he transferred schools after a conflict over competing for a spot in the school team and got beaten up by another student.”

Gossip always spreads faster.

“This time, Xintian Middle School also has a battle between reserve students. It’s said it’s for revenge, so we’re planning to go watch.”

What an inspiring story, a student who was bullied bravely brandishing his sword against the forces of darkness.

Of course, the main reason was to find a legitimate excuse to slack off.

Chen Lingya withdrew her gaze, uninterested in such childish matters.

“Oh, by the way, I heard that boy from No. 8 also shares the same surname as our captain, also named Chen, something like…”

“Chen Xing.” another girl added in.

“Right, Chen Xing! That name is kind of a tongue twister.”

“It’s not a tongue twister; it’s quite easy to pronounce.” Chen Lingya turned her head aside and asked indifferently, “Which day next week?”

The other three were taken aback; they thought that Chen Lingya wouldn’t be interested in going given her personality.

“Friday.”

…

Lying on the dormitory bed of the team, Chen Xing’s eyes were closed as he lay there.

The Stone Booklet in his mind quietly opened, and he focused on the grey skill [Spicy Dried Small Fish] at the very bottom of the Pet Nutritionist Skill Tree.

The next moment, activate!

[Spicy Dried Small Fish] Spicy and sweet dried small fish, a food favored by many Beasts. Eating it can rapidly restore a Beast’s energy. (10/10) (Activated)

Right after, a new grey skill awaiting activation extended underneath it.

Unlike the skills which were only in the “Leaf Area” before, this new skill had reached the “Branch Area” of the tree.

Chen Xing glanced at it, and then his eyes locked onto the new skill without moving away for a long time.

[Ultimate Overlord Volcanic Grilled Butter Steak] A steak as fiery as a volcano, filled with an extremely rich buttery fragrance. Beasts that consume this delicacy over a long period can break through their own species’ body size limit, allowing their physical body size to reach up to 1,000 times their current individual limit. (0/100)

The name was long, and the effect was equally domineering.

As everyone knows, volume is a three-dimensional unit, made up of length, width, and height.

Volume = length * width * height.

Therefore, a 1,000 times increase in volume means the length, width, and height each increase by 10 times.

If Taotie’s limit is 8 meters in length, then after eating the steak, it would transform into a terrifying Behemoth that’s 80 meters long.

It seems that the first generation Godzilla was only 50 meters tall…

However, Chen Xing felt that the limit of Taotie’s size should be more than 8 meters; it grew faster than the crocodiles of the same age because of the nutritious meals it ate every day, making its size likely even larger.

The larger the base value, the more exaggerated the limit after eating the steak.

“`

“`

Unfortunately, the more advanced the skill became, the more exaggerated the required Skill Points. It wasn’t as cost-effective as the previous skills.

However… you get what you pay for. The previous skills only served to speed up the training of Beast Taming, but this skill was already breaking limits, leading Beast Taming towards an abnormal direction, further and further away.

Having digested the knowledge in his mind, Chen Xing had mastered how to make spicy fish snacks.

He organized the knowledge in his mind.

This skill was a “growth” type of skill, but of course, it came with limitations: it was only for carnivorous beasts, and herbivorous beasts would only experience 50% of the magic power restoration effect.

The first was the crafting technique, which wasn’t difficult—it was just like the actual process of drying small fish. The only requirement was that he personally had to do the drying and preparation.

The higher the Energy Level contained in the fish, the better the magic power restoration effect of the fish snacks produced would be.

Even ordinary fish turned into spicy snacks could restore half of Taotie’s magic power per piece, and it would only take two snacks to fully replenish its magic power.

The cost of two ordinary fish snacks… Chen Xing took out his phone to check, and it was indeed hard to calculate because the wholesale market sold them by weight.

Small white-scale fish were twelve yuan per pound, and one pound could have 20-30 pieces.

There were also other more expensive fish in the market.

However, even if the prices were a bit higher, for Chen Xing they were basically a bargain…

The only limitation was the time wasted in preparing the fish snacks, but compared to the effectiveness of the finished snacks, Chen Xing felt the time spent was quite worthwhile.

Once the preparation was complete, Taotie would finally be able to use its skills without being hindered by magic power supply.

After school, he went to the market to buy ten pounds of small fish, then bought salt and white vinegar. After preparing everything, he laid the fish out to dry on the Tianlou rooftops.

The weather forecast predicted sunny days ahead, and with the current hot weather, two days of drying would suffice.

Somehow, a rumor had started from somewhere, and what was initially just a friendly match between two school teams had escalated wildly, turning into gossip known to the entire grade.

…

After breakfast in the morning, Chen Xing crouched down to put on his shoes to leave the house; he glanced at the time—it was already seven o’clock. Any more delay and he would be late.

Chen Lingya, sitting at the dining table, suddenly spoke up, “Do you have a match today?”

Chen Xing, having put on his shoes, nodded. “There is one. Why, are you interested in these things too?”

“It’s nothing.” Chen Lingya took a sip of soy milk, squinted her eyes, and gently swayed her legs.

Arriving at school and not long into class, Wang Qiming asked Chen Xing for news. “Brother Chen, I heard that Xintian Middle School is coming over this afternoon?”

Chen Xing, who was reading a book, paused. Why was everyone asking about this today?

Did it really have that much influence?

It was just a friendly match between two school teams, and to minimize the impact, they had even chosen to hold it after school hours. It wasn’t even an official match.

Chen Xing replied, “They are coming.”

“That… I heard you beat up Zheng Weixin so bad he left. Is that true or just a rumor?”

“…”

Chen Xing remained silent. Could people really believe such rumors?

“No,” Chen Xing shook his head.

“Oh, okay.” Wang Qiming nodded, but his expression seemed to indicate he didn’t fully believe that answer.

The classmates were unaware of the rapid progress in Chen Xing’s Beast Taming since after joining the school team—particularly when his beast had grown too large to summon in the classroom—he had not summoned it in public again.

In the afternoon, at the No. 8 Middle School gymnasium, many students entered the gym after school had ended for the day.

The venue was already set up. It’s worth mentioning that due to frequent battles, the gym floor was not paved with cement but was uneven earth instead. Besides that, there was also an irregularly shaped large water pool in the center of the huge gym, with the deepest part being six to seven meters deep and the shallowest part less than half a meter.

“`

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Duel

“`

A hive of students poured into the gymnasium and gradually took their seats in the bleachers.

Apart from the huge central battlefield, the surrounding bleachers were carved from large blocks of stone, with stairs at the back leading up to the seats placed on top of the boulders, where Jincheng Middle School’s students sat.

Meanwhile, outside the school gates, students from other schools continued to arrive in dribs and drabs.

Seemingly under instructions from above, the school security guards left the gate wide open, turning a blind eye to the comings and goings. In the guard booth, thick with smoke, two guards chatted leisurely while smoking.

The two dappled dogs that looked like Beast Tamings lying at the guards’ feet were coughing from the thick smoke inside the booth.

One of them stood up, using a paw to open the door handle, while the other followed and sat down by the gate.

Both dogs stuck out their tongues, watching the students go by.

“Excuse me, in which direction is the gymnasium?”

“Behind that teaching building over there.”

“Thanks.”

Chen Lingya and her group entered Jincheng Middle School.

Three walked ahead while Chen Lingya, hands in pockets, casually observed the school surroundings. This was where her younger brother went to school.

The school seemed rather nice.

If I hadn’t joined Wanhai High School, I might be studying at Azure Dragon Jincheng Middle School right now.

“It looks similar to our school’s gymnasium,” Pei Lingmin remarked.

“Athletic fields of schools are more or less the same,” Ruan Jun said, glancing casually at the surrounding students, many of whom were heading in one direction.

“It should be over there.”

Noises of commotion and hubbub came from the school gate behind them, and Ruan Jun turned to see a bus stopping at the entrance.

Three teachers led the way, followed by six students in succession.

“Xintian Middle School’s team has also arrived,” Ruan Jun observed the six students behind.

In the new district, the schools with the potential to vie for the Shu State Cup amounted to two and a half: one was Azure Dragon Jincheng Middle School, one was their own Wanhai High School, and the last half was Xintian Middle School.

It was said that the principal of Xintian Middle School was quite ambitious; in recent years, the school had actively reformed and recruited many top-notch students.

“You all must be confident, right? I taught you the methods before,” Mu Xikai encouraged the students behind him as they walked forward. “There are quite a few students here to watch the match today; show them what you’ve got.”

As they entered the gymnasium, cheers like tidal waves rang out from the high platforms on both sides.

Mu Xikai said to a tall, skinny boy wearing glasses behind him, “Don’t feel pressured this time. It’s best if we win, but don’t be afraid if we lose, their school ranks higher than ours anyway. Just perform as usual this time. Azure Dragon Jincheng Middle School’s team is also considered a strong team in Jincheng. If you can defeat their team head-on, it will prove your strength has reached a certain level. We have hopes of making it to the top eight this year!”

The tall and skinny boy nodded. He pushed his glasses up and looked across the gymnasium at the members of the Azure Dragon Jincheng Middle School team.

He quickly glossed over the three who looked like naive first-year students, as they were not his opponents for the day; his real targets were the other four.

“It’s just a friendly match; don’t feel pressured,” Mu Xikai whispered encouragement, then turned his head and said to Kuang Shiyi, “Since it’s a friendly match, there’s no need to overthink it, right? How about we just get started right now? What do you think?”

“Let’s begin,” Kuang Shiyi said indifferently.

Four official players from each team stepped forward.

At the edge of the venue, Jincheng Middle School’s many teachers summoned Beast Tamers to maintain safety, protecting the students watching around while also stepping in to stop the fight at critical moments. After all, it was only a friendly match, and everything had to be kept safe.

A senior-high teacher, acting as the referee, held a command flag high, “Incapacitation signifies defeat, and Beast Tamers must immediately recall any Beast Taming that has lost the ability to fight. The winning side is not allowed to attack incapacitated Beast Tamings, and the battlefield is confined within the gymnasium. Skills must not be intentionally directed at the audience, and cheating or communicating with people outside the venue is forbidden, with violators losing their qualification to fight. Now, let me repeat one more time…”

Eight players from both sides shouted that they understood the rules.

Only then did the senior-high teacher nod, waving the command flag, “Begin the fight!”

One after another, Beast Tamings were summoned by both sides, with the three reserve players from Chen Xing’s side naturally not qualified to enter the field.

Chen Xing observed from afar the Beast Tamings of the four official Xintian Middle School team members, surprised to find that one of their Beast Tamings had evolved once, while the other three, although not evolved, were not far from their first evolution either.

Overall, judging by their Energy Levels, the strength of the Beast Tamings from both sides was about equal. However, if you were to break it down, generally, the four Beast Tamings on Jincheng’s side possessed Skills with higher Proficiency Levels.

However, team battles are not only about visible Energy Levels and Skills, but also coordination, Attribute suppression, real-life response, and more…

The eight Beast Tamings fought fiercely together, battling intensely.

One of Xintian Middle School’s team’s Beast Tamings had its spine broken; it was trying to burrow underground to stealthily attack from below but was detected by a Giant Earth Turtle. An Earthquake skill shook the gymnasium’s ground, Earth Waves surged, and the Giant-Clawed Pangolin was forcibly pushed out.

The Giant Earth Turtle followed up with a heavy Earth Stampede, and after two consecutive intermediate Skills with high Proficiency Levels, the Giant-Clawed Pangolin was nearly blown back to its ancestral planet, its spine concaving and collapsing, instantly losing combat capability.

Tian Xuechuan’s Ghost-Faced Mastiff had the lowest Energy Level and was the weakest among the four Beast Tamings. The opponent found a weakness and focused their attack on the Ghost-Faced Mastiff, which was beaten so badly that it vomited blood and had large chunks of its scalp shorn off.

Chapter 46: Chapter 45 Duel_2

“`

Seeing the miserable state of the teammate’s Beast Taming, the originally restrained parties seemed to have completely unleashed their true fervor.

In the end, Azure Dragon No.8 High School secured victory with two members sustaining serious injuries and two with minor injuries.

When No.8 High School clinched the win, cheers merged into one continuous roar from both sides of the spectator stands, echoing thunderously within the half-enclosed indoor stadium,

At the end of the battle, No.8 High School’s medical team immediately entered the field to start healing the Beast Taming creatures from both sides.

Beast Taming creatures are tenacious in life, and with the effect of healing skills, as long as they do not die on the spot, most injuries of this level can quickly be nursed back to health.

“The fight was a bit bloody, but the battles between Beast Taming creatures are inherently cruel.” In a secluded corner of the gymnasium, Xue Jinbao and Director Sun stood in the corner, with other teachers tactfully giving them space.

“Principal, I’ve heard rumors that the higher-ups are considering reforms?” Director Sun asked the principal.

“That has nothing to do with us, we’re just a high school; the twelve-year compulsory education is the backbone of the nation, nobody will touch that.” Xue Jinbao cast a meaningful glance at Director Sun.

Director Sun gave a sheepish smile and wisely shut up.

Talking about reform is easy, but actually implementing it is far from simple.

Throughout history, which reform hasn’t faced tremendous resistance? Everyone knows that reforms can strengthen national power, but reforms will inevitably harm the interests of those with vested benefits. Touching on interests will provoke conflicts, which is unavoidable.

Observing from the vantage point of history, one can see things clearly, but those living in the present are caught in the thick of history’s web. Being part of this world, it’s not so easy to extricate oneself.

In fact, while it may not be evident among the students, the higher echelons of Great Xia’s officialdom have recently been turbulent, especially since that one high-ranking official proposed the new law, provoking fierce opposition from many influential families.

Xue Jinbao narrowed his eyes; he had no interest in factional struggles or legal reforms.

He only wanted to be a good principal and develop Azure Dragon No.8 High School into the best high school in Jincheng.

“Principal, the official team members’ trials have ended; next should be the match between Chen Xing and Zheng Weixin.” Director Sun changed the subject, knowing that the principal had taken time out to watch this match specifically.

“Mm.” Xue Jinbao looked towards the direction of the No.8 High School team, especially at the tall, slender boy in the team, expecting a fair bit from him.

According to Kuang Shiyi’s teaching logs, Chen Xing’s Beast Taming was progressing rapidly.

Especially in terms of size, he even mentioned a remarkable growth.

Xue Jinbao wanted to see for himself how much the Salty Bay Crocodile, belonging to Chen Xing, had grown, something Kuang Shiyi said would surprise him.

Heh, I, Xue Jinbao, have been a principal for ten years, after all; there’s no Beast Taming creature I haven’t seen.

“Both sides are using only one beast that has evolved once, that’s all No.8 High School has this year?” disappointed, Pei Lingmin spoke from the spectator’s stand, having thought that No.8 High School might be a strong opponent.

Is this it?

In a 4V4 team battle, as long as they can hold off that one evolved beast and then quickly defeat the other three members, they can swiftly claim victory.

Even if their Energy Levels are the same, once a Beast Taming creature has evolved, its physical body and the upper limit of its Magic Power undergo a sort of purifying, making its overall strength superior to a creature that hasn’t evolved.

Ruan Jun said with a grin, “Looks like No.8 High School has fallen behind; they’re probably just top sixteen material this year.”

“Right, wasn’t there talk about No.8 High School and Xintian Middle School each having a reserve coming for the ‘Grudge Match’? Is that up next then?” Ruan Jun tiptoed, looking into the distance.

…

Although Xintian Middle School lost the match, Mu Xikai’s face didn’t show much emotion.

He looked across the freshly fought battleground at Kuang Shiyi from a distance.

“Many schools probably think that we in Xintian only have one beast that has evolved once this year, right? Is everything ready?” Mu Xikai revealed a smile.

“Don’t worry, coach, all the materials for evolution are prepared.” He Liang let out a long sigh of relief. His beast hadn’t gone all out in the battle against the opponent, and although it was injured, it was only a minor injury. It would recover in a couple of days, preserving its state for the upcoming evolution.

The short-haired girl next to him gratefully said, “Coach, I’ve also got the last treasured material I needed.”

Her beast’s evolution required three treasured materials, and the school had helped her collect the two hardest-to-find ones.

Mu Xikai nodded; with two beasts evolving, they were bound to successfully evolve at least once, and if they were lucky, both might evolve.

If anyone in the upcoming Shu State Cup thought they only had one beast that has evolved once, they better be prepared to take a major fall.

“`

It was a pity that they were just a bit short; if they could ensure having four beasts that had evolved once, they probably would have had a chance to fight for the top four.

The teams that make it to the final four in the Shu State Cup every year are basically all teams with beasts that have evolved once.

Mu Xikai’s expression became serious, “Zheng Weixin, it’s your turn now.”

“Don’t worry, Coach!” Zheng Weixin took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.

For this battle, he had made all sorts of preparations in advance, whether it was tactical planning or skill training.

“Go!”

…

Kuang Shiyi gently pushed Chen Xing’s back, “Come to think of it, this is your first public fight, isn’t it? It’s also a chance for you to gain some experience. You need a strong heart to fight; training every day isn’t enough.”

A thunderous cheer erupted from both sides of the gymnasium, and figures with arms raised began to stand up. The passionate atmosphere caused Chen Xing’s blood to flow faster, and his brain even experienced a brief moment of slight hypoxia.

For some reason, faced with the attention of countless people, Chen Xing’s legs didn’t go weak; instead, he felt an impulse to jump in and try his hand at it.

A smile spread across his face involuntarily.

He lowered his head, spread the fingers of his palm, and the summoning array’s patterns shimmered between his lines, giving him a glimpse of the Taotie lying in the Beast Taming Space.

Its dark scales were cold and deep, its bone spines eerily aligned.

Suddenly, his body shuddered, and the eyelids that were tightly closed flipped open. The dark and deep eyes stared straight ahead, his body tensed, his head slightly raised, entering a hunting posture.

A deep and low roar emanated from its throat.

Unlike the obedient and cute demeanor it usually had around Chen Xing, the Taotie’s eyes now held a cold and icy chill. This was the gaze of a predator from the natural world.

“Our hearts are in sync; do you feel my emotions too? Then, join me,” Chen Xing murmured to himself, and in the next moment, he raised his head to look toward Zheng Weixin, a hundred meters away.

Zheng Weixin suddenly swung his hand, and the dazzling Array of Light surged, revealing a figure with its wings held high, emerging from it.

“Screech!”

The silhouette soared into the sky and circled overhead.

This was an Iron Feather Fighting Hawk, its wingspan stretching to 1.2 meters, its hawkish eyes locked on the ground below.

“Iron Feather Fighting Hawk,” Xue Jinbao muttered from a distance, a complex look in his eyes. The beast had originally been brought in by him for his school, intended to be the ace for a contest three years later. Unexpectedly, it had become an opponent against his own school.

On the empty ground, Chen Xing probably wouldn’t have an easy time… No… What is that!?

Xue Jinbao’s pupils suddenly widened.

The exclamations from the stands turned even more frenzied.

“Two months? You’re telling me this is two months?!”

“Fuck, what is that thing!”

Especially the freshmen, many of whom stood up in fright, some leaning over the railing, sticking their heads out.

In a corner, a man with glasses was recording with his phone, a look of surprise in his eyes as he saw the Taotie that had been summoned.

On the other side of the field, the Array of Light gradually faded, revealing a cold giant crocodile over five and a half meters in length slowly stretching its limbs. Its long and enormous tail swept behind it, kicking up a cloud of dust, and the crocodile raised its head, its black eyes greedily scanning the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk soaring above.

Zheng Weixin’s command to attack got stuck in his throat, “Atta…”

“Atta…”

He opened his mouth several times, but the rest of his words just couldn’t make it out.

The Taotie took heavy, slow steps toward the nearby pool.

Zheng Weixin finally snapped back to reality; so what if it’s big? Size alone doesn’t guarantee victory!

Chapter 47: Chapter 46 Death Roll

“Attack! Use Skill 1,” Zheng Weixin ordered decisively.

The Iron Feather Fighting Hawk let out a sharp cry.

Spreading its wings, three metallic sheen feathers materialized in front of its body. Judging from the speed at which the feathers were forming, it had trained hard on this. Chen Xing looked up at the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk from a distance, pondering whether it had mastered the “Sky-piercing Feather” Skill.

In Chen Xing’s eyes, the capabilities of the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk were laid bare—its Energy Level was at 11.5. Besides the Sky-piercing Feather, it had also mastered the Hard Armor Skill, with both Primary Skills reaching a Proficiency Level of mastery.

With an Energy Level of 11.5, how many times could it release the Sky-piercing Feather?

Chen Xing’s eyes were profound.

The solidified feathers, like arrows, shot towards Taotie, leaving long trails behind. The Taotie’s body shuddered; the palm-sized feathers did not penetrate its body but embedded about a third of the way in.

Taotie continued to move forward, its massive body sinking into the water.

As it dove, the crocodile’s jaws opened to gulp down water, a fleeting blue light shimmering subtly across its body.

The next moment, its carapace vibrated slightly and the three feathers were squeezed out. The flat, neat wounds healed rapidly. In fact, the feathers hadn’t even penetrated the carapace…

The creature’s body merged with the murky yellow water as its tail swished, quickly disappearing from sight.

Had it not been for the moving water on the surface, no one would have been able to see any trace of the giant crocodile.

Assessing the situation, Zheng Weixin deduced that given the Salty Bay Crocodile’s large size, it must have awakened a second Skill. However, the first Skill this Beast Taming had awakened was a Passive Skill.

He had gone back to look up information about the Salty Bay Crocodile’s Passive Skills. It was a Passive specialized in stealth attacks, useful only for gaining the upper hand. Now that the upper hand had been lost, and even if it hid underwater, it couldn’t escape his Beast Taming’s penetrating vision.

After all… an eagle is still an eagle!

How could the eyes of an eagle let it escape?

Although the Water Concealment Passive could help the Salty Bay Crocodile hide better, it didn’t make it completely invisible, nor did it leave no trace while moving in water.

Such a large creature moving through the water would obviously leave traces. Staying still would naturally not leave any traces, but by doing so, its location would still be exposed!

The Iron Feather Fighting Hawk, soaring in the sky, wouldn’t give it a chance to hide, effectively negating one of its Skills!

What then was the remaining Skill?

Putting himself in the other’s shoes, it must be an Attack Skill, the only means of offense.

Zheng Weixin thought of “Water Cannon,” “Scalding Water Fang,” and other long-range attack methods. To deal with a flying enemy, long-range attacks were definitely essential.

Therefore, he instructed the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk to keep moving and continuously unleash Sky-piercing Feathers!

After releasing four in a row, Zheng Weixin looked at the crocodile still roaming underwater and felt a sinking sensation in his heart.

The crocodile on the other side was too tough; an Attack Skill like Sky-piercing Feather, with its small area of effect, wouldn’t do much damage unless it hit a vital spot.

Besides Sky-piercing Feather, he still had another Attack Skill, but this one was a “melee Skill” requiring close-range combat.

This Skill also had a larger area of impact.

After deploying the Hard Armor, the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk’s wings were like sabers. He had once used this move to cut through four 2-centimeter-thick wooden targets in a row on the training grounds.

“Skill 5!” Zheng Weixin suddenly shouted.

The Iron Feather Fighting Hawk circling in the sky moved and dove down from the heavens.

Zheng Weixin stared intently at the water’s surface.

Skill 5 was a feint; it pretended to dive towards the water for an attack, its real purpose being to force the opponent to reveal its remaining Skill.

Only by seeing the final Skill could he deploy his subsequent tactics more effectively.

Although he was almost certain Chen Xing’s Salty Bay Crocodile’s next Skill would be a long-range attack, he also had to guard against the possibility of a close-combat burst Skill.

Like a dragonfly skimming the water, the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk dove towards the water and then suddenly soared upward at the last moment.

A dark shadow flashed over the surface and disappeared.

The Iron Feather Fighting Hawk rose sharply less than a meter from the water.

The water remained calm…

Zheng Weixin felt slightly relieved in his heart; it wasn’t a close-combat burst Skill, or perhaps it hadn’t reacted in time… what exactly was it waiting for?

He looked at Chen Xing’s face, hoping to discern something from his expression.

Seemingly aware of his gaze, Chen Xing turned his head, his face bearing a faint smile.

This guy…

Zheng Weixin clenched his fists.

“4!”

Zheng Weixin shouted loudly, this time changing his command.

In the sky, the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk circled once more before diving down again!

Zheng Weixin’s gaze was fixed on Chen Xing’s face, but no one knew that “4” was actually a feint!

He was determined to force out Chen Xing’s Beast Taming skills, of course, if Chen Xing thought this would exhaust his Beast Taming stamina…

Bang!!!

Suddenly, a splash erupted from the water.

The gasps from the audience seats quickly drew Zheng Weixin’s attention back to the surface of the water.

A dark shadow exploded from the calm surface.

The Taotie leapt out of the water, its huge jaws opening and snapping at nothing.

The prepared Iron Feather Fighting Hawk quickly turned in mid-air to avoid the leap.

It had to be said that Zheng Weixin’s Iron Feather Fighting Hawk was indeed well trained and very agile.

As the big crocodile plunged back into the water, creating a large splash, Zheng Weixin quickly issued a decisive command, “Attack!”

In mid-air, the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk circled back slightly, its body quickly covered in a faint silver glow.

Once it had adjusted its position during the circling, it streaked down towards the water with a long afterimage, slashing heavily!

From a distance, it looked like a heavy saber plunging into the water!

Boom!

The water splashed high.

The crocodile’s tail shot out of the water, and Zheng Weixin’s eyes brightened, hit!

From this angle, the strike was definitely a hit on the crocodile!

But before he could rejoice, the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk, which had just slashed with its attack, was preparing to gain the leverage to fly out of the water when the calm surface suddenly began to twist, creating a huge vortex as the turbulent waters violently rose!

Taken by surprise, the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk was swept away by the current, the raging waves preventing it from exerting any force.

“Great Vortex…?” Zheng Weixin’s eyes nearly burst with rage, not expecting it to be this skill.

How could it be this skill?!

Why would a Beast Tamer just past energy level ten choose to master an Intermediate Skill?

What did you use to practice this skill, did you smash out its proficiency by consuming magic power recovery capsules every day?

In the water, the Taotie’s huge body seemed completely unaffected by the vortex. In fact, as the caster of the skill, it naturally had a certain immunity to its own skills, coupled with the amplification of Passive Skills, the Taotie moved like a specter toward the submerged Iron Feather Fighting Hawk.

The vast crocodile jaws clamped onto the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk’s wing in one bite, a ferocious light flashing in its eyes. This scrappy bird had caused it real pain just now, now it was its turn!

Death…

“Wait, we concede!” Mu Xikai hurriedly called out.

…Roll!

Without a command from Chen Xing, Taotie wouldn’t listen to anyone else. If someone other than its master insisted on giving it orders, it would bestow upon them a Death Roll.

The water stirred up violent splashes as the Taotie spun rapidly three or four times before Chen Xing’s voice finally drifted over, “Stop.”

The water’s surface calmed down again.

Mu Xikai took a deep breath and quickly shouted loudly, “Medic!”

“You are ignoring the rules. We’ve already conceded, yet you didn’t stop.”

Chen Xing immediately expressed his regret, “This teacher, I haven’t broken any rules. Zheng Weixin didn’t say he conceded, and his Beast didn’t lose its combat ability. It just fell into the water, that’s all. I also have to be responsible for my Beast. Teacher, don’t you think I’m right?”

Mu Xikai took a glance at Zheng Weixin, who was pale and seemed unable to accept his defeat, took a deep breath, yet he couldn’t find fault with Chen Xing’s words.

Because the rules were such that the person himself had to verbally concede or unless the Beast completely lost its fighting ability, and indeed, the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk wasn’t completely devoid of fighting capacity just yet.

Leaving only the comment, “You were too harsh. I don’t know if the Iron Feather Fighting Hawk’s wings will stay intact,” he hurriedly pulled Zheng Weixin away.

Chapter 48: Chapter 47: The Enemy

“The school has specialized Medical Beasts, so there’s no need to worry. Besides, you did nothing wrong; in that situation, you should have acted decisively, just as you did. It’s not the first time something like this has happened. Someone held back during a match before, only to be taken by surprise and lose the match because of a counterattack,” Kuang Shiyi, who had approached silently, patted Chen Xing on the shoulder.

“Uh… I understand,” Chen Xing nodded humbly.

A smile appeared on Kuang Shiyi’s face—his bald-headed grin seemed more frequent lately—”You performed well this time, earning the school some honor. Based on your combat performance just now, you seem to have a talent for battle.”

“There are many Beast Tamers who talk a big game before a fight, very proficient in theory, but they fall apart once the real combat starts, always a step behind.”

Kuang Shiyi said with satisfaction, “The most important thing in combat is mentality. For instance, how you managed to hold back your beast and not strike first, waiting for an opening from the opponent was excellent.”

In his view, Chen Xing handled the fight perfectly, waiting for the opponent to make the first move, then countering in the instant the opponent showed a weakness!

“However… after this battle, other schools will probably start paying attention to you,” Kuang Shiyi said, “but you don’t need to worry too much. It’s an old tradition to scout out the seed players of other schools. Jincheng is big, but also small. Although its permanent population exceeds ten million, there are only around one hundred and twenty thousand first-year high school students in the whole city.”

“They’ll generally just inquire about your beast’s information. Try not to use outside venues to test your Beast Taming Level. Some teachers lack martial virtue; they’ll sneak a look at your data right after you’ve checked,” Kuang Shiyi couldn’t help but laugh as he found the situation somewhat amusing.

“Is that even a thing?” Chen Xing looked perplexed.

Kuang Shiyi continued, “You’re just a freshman, so it shouldn’t be a big problem. They probably won’t focus on you too much. The most they might say about you is ‘that guy from No. 8 Middle School who raised a decent crocodile’.”

“What about senior Wen?”

Senior Wen’s Giant Tree Tortoise had put on a remarkable performance in this battle and was likely to earn a nickname as well.

Kuang Shiyi stroked his chin and nodded, “That’s a good question. I’ll ask around later. But from what I know, nicknames for those who raise turtles aren’t usually very friendly.”

…

“Not bad, that Great Vortex looks very proficient—must be at the mastery level, right?” Ruan Jun commented with interest from the audience seat.

Listening to other classmates around him, the Salty Bay Crocodile on the opposite side seemed to be only two months old. To grow so much in two months definitely indicated exceptional talent, along with the opposing Beast Tamer’s apparent talent in training skills, they would surely be a formidable rival in their university entrance exams.

But… what of it?

He was already a third-year student, and after the university entrance exam this year, he’d be off to college.

What did it matter to him if his juniors got beaten up?

“Not master level, but… expert,” Pei Lingmin said with a bitter tone as she looked at the Salty Bay Crocodile below like it was a monster.

She was so sure because her own beast was a Water Element Beast too! It had mastered the Grand Vortex Skill! And its level of mastery was indeed at the expert level.

That’s why she was so certain when she saw the Great Vortex suddenly surge up in the pool—the higher the Proficiency Level of the Grand Vortex Skill, the quicker the vortex forms.

Especially for a controlling skill like the Grand Vortex, the faster it forms, the better the effect. Otherwise, if you’re slow to form the vortex, your opponent would have long since swum away, making the release of the Great Vortex pointless.

The other beasts weren’t fools, and even if the beast was slow-witted, its owner would direct it to avoid the attack.

Sitting behind them, Chen Lingya’s eyes held a different light, as if she was seeing her brother for the first time.

He had trained an Intermediate Skill to the expert level so quickly?

Let her think… When she was at Beast Taming Level ten plus, she wasn’t this fast either.

Mainly because the magic power limit at Level ten plus stages was limited, she couldn’t practice many times a day, so at that time, she had Chi Yu focus on practicing Frost Claw exclusively. It took her a week to achieve mastery over Frost Claw and then almost half a month to reach proficiency. Consequently, during the second monthly exam, she secured first place in her class and that’s also when she started her feud with You Kaihui and those few idiots.

Watching her younger brother shine in the venue, winning cheers from everyone, Chen Lingya’s face couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

“Let’s go, fortunately, he’s two grades below us, if he were in our grade for the college entrance exam, we’d have one more competitor.”

The four of them left through the back door of the gymnasium, and Chen Lingya didn’t go down to find Chen Xing.

…

“Principal, this Salty Bay Crocodile of his is a variant species, isn’t it?”

Xue Jinbao said with a smile, “The growth rate of its body size far exceeds that of its kind, it’s definitely a variant.”

“His Beast Taming talent is exceptional, and he trains skills quickly. I’m more concerned about other schools poaching little Chen.” Xue Jinbao’s eyes twinkled with mirth, “We, as a school, can’t continue to provide him with more resources. After all, every school has its limits to resources, and there are other students aside from him, but I can offer sponsorship in my personal capacity. Let him come to my office after school.”

“Alright, I’ll bring him to you after school,” said Director Sun, lamenting Chen Xing’s good fortune.

He also had a son who had just started junior high this year. If his son had even half of this student’s talent, he would be content.

Watching the principal leave, Director Sun, who had finished his moment of reflection, gestured towards Lu Junxiang not far away.

Lu Junxiang hurried over…

After the sparring was over, Chen Xing was preparing to go to the school team’s training ground when his homeroom teacher suddenly showed up.

“You performed very well. Go to the principal’s office after you’re finished.”

“Then you go ahead, and come over here when you’re done,” said Kuang Shiyi liberally.

“Alright.”

Arriving at the principal’s office, besides the principal, there was another man.

“Sit,” Xue Jinbao motioned for Chen Xing to sit down, then began whispering something to the man.

Chen Xing noticed that the man kept looking back at him.

Chen Xing turned his head and made eye contact with the turtle in the office’s water feature.

“Chomp chomp chomp,” Chen Xing shook his finger.

The turtle looked at Chen Xing indifferently, its gaze as calm as an elder from the village when he sees a mischievous child.

“Classmate Chen, let me introduce you—this is Qiu Qiuyu, a Beast Tamer from the Southern Croc Qiu Family,” Xue Jinbao introduced the man to Chen Xing, “The current teaching materials we use about Salty Bay Crocodiles were personally compiled by Mr. Qiu’s father.”

“Their Qiu Family is also the largest family in the country to breed Salty Bay Crocodiles. The batch of Salty Bay Crocodile offspring we have at our school was sent from their family’s largest breeding base.”

“Hello, I watched your competition just now, and you’ve cultivated your Salty Bay Crocodile very well. Over the years, my father has always wanted to breed the largest Salty Bay Crocodile in the world. Currently, within our family, the largest recorded body length of a Salty Bay Crocodile is 24 meters. If you cultivate yours well, there’s a chance to surpass the largest record,” Qiu Qiuyu said earnestly, pushing his glasses up.

Chapter 49: Chapter 48 Ze City Secret Realm

“If you don’t mind, you can come with me to my hometown. I’ve already recorded and sent your battle performance to my father, and he would like… to meet your Beast Taming creature.”

It seemed that in order to show she meant no harm, Qiu Qiuyu felt her initial words weren’t quite serious. She fumbled on herself, retrieving a business card from a small pocket at her collar.

“This is my business card.”

Taking the business card, it glinted with a silver sheen, as if it were silver-plated.

Director of Fangcun Pharmaceuticals

Qiu Qiuyu

Phone: 099…

Before Chen Xing could take a clear look, the card was snatched back, and Qiu Qiuyu coughed, “Sorry, I gave you the wrong one.”

She then took out another business card from her pants pocket, this one was crumpled and made of paper.

This business card only contained a name and phone number, the latter seeming more like a personal number than a company landline.

“Our Qiu family has been researching Salty Bay Crocodiles for over a hundred years, mastering three Salty Bay Crocodile evolutionary paths, with six evolution forms,” Qiu Qiuyu said with a smile.

Six?! Chen Xing’s heart skipped a beat in excitement.

Because according to his online search, the information available suggested Salty Bay Crocodiles had only two evolutionary paths, with four evolution forms:

Salty Bay Crocodile → Deepwater Scale Croc → Tyrannical War Croc

Salty Bay Crocodile → Rotting Deform Croc → Virus Bone Croc

Among them, the Tyrannical War Croc evolved towards close combat, while the Virus Bone Croc evolved towards water and poison attributes.

The internet only provided the names; detailed information was impossible to find.

“There are some things that you won’t find on the internet,” said Qiu Qiuyu lightly. “Our family also has a final, rare evolutionary path, evolving towards the ruler of the waters.”

Qiu Qiuyu continued, “Don’t worry. I’m here in Jincheng handling some matters and will stay for another week. You can give me your answer anytime within this week.”

“I will consider it carefully!”

Chen Xing put the business card away, and right on cue, Principal Xue gave a wave of his hand as Chen Xing was about to exit the room.

Principal Xue quickly said, “What’s the rush, Chen? It’s not about you. Qiuyu, you can go ahead and leave.”

Qiu Qiuyu: ???

He glanced at Principal Xue annoyedly, “Alright then, I was worried for nothing. I’ve personally handed you the letter this time, and you better not stand us up again. Otherwise, I will have trouble explaining to my second sister, and you’d have to explain it yourself.”

Chen Xing heard Principal Xue sighing, “Understood.”

After Qiu Qiuyu left, Xue Jinbao pulled Chen Xing aside, urging him to summon the Taotie to take a good look.

When Chen Xing summoned the Taotie, Xue Jinbao crouched on the ground, scrutinizing it closely, his buttocks stuck out, and his suit pants stretched tight.

“What a rare little fellow, full of vitality. Hahaha!”

Xue Jinbao stood up from the ground, unable to resist a hearty laugh.

After laughing, Xue Jinbao seemed to sink into reminiscence, his face bearing a meaningful look.

Then Xue Jinbao seriously admonished, “I have made contact with the Qiu family for you, and you shouldn’t stand them up. As for the courses, I will have Mr. Lu and Mr. Kuang keep track and send you the daily progress. If we’re talking about research on Salty Bay Crocodiles in our country, no one is more formidable than Old Master Qiu; calling him the world’s number one Salty Bay Crocodile Beast Tamer wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

“His Salty Bay Crocodile evolutionary path is different from others, and I heard the conditions required for evolution are quite stringent. It’s not just a matter of precious materials, but the Salty Bay Crocodile’s own qualifications must also be very high. If your Salty Bay Crocodile can choose the evolutionary path that Old Master Qiu Beast Tames, it would be a great opportunity for you!

Choosing the right evolutionary path for your Beast Taming creature is a key turning point in everyone’s life.”

Chen Xing bowed deeply to Principal Xue, expressing his gratitude, “Thank you for your trouble, Principal.”

Xue Jinbao was gratified, “Train your beasts well, that’s the best way to repay me. You can go now.”

…

When he got back to the school team, Coach Kuang was reviewing the battle with the senior students.

Seeing that they were busy, Chen Xing took Taotie to find Zhou Hao, who was practicing beast taming.

“How about we see whose beast can eat more?”

“Brother Chen, let’s not… I’ve lost so many times already; there’s really no need,” Zhou Hao hurriedly refused, waving his hands. His Salty Bay Crocodile was only 2.2 meters, so there was no need to compare its eating capacity with Chen Xing’s beast.

At first, owing to the thin-skinned nature of high school students, he was embarrassed to refuse, but after five matches, he couldn’t resist refusing anymore.

“Wang Bing, let’s see whose beast can eat more.”

Wang Bing chuckled, “Alright, alright, let’s do it!”

He felt that Chen Xing might have developed some strange little quirks, but since they were all teammates and Zhou Hao had refused, rejecting the offer would make Chen Xing look bad.

Anyway, it wasn’t about betting money, so it didn’t matter; he decided to just indulge Chen Xing for fun.

Chen Xing quickly said, “Let’s go to the cafeteria.”

After joining the school team, food was essentially provided in unlimited quantities at school.

Even after school hours, one could still go to eat; the cafeteria had staff on duty every day.

The two of them took their beasts to compete in a meal competition.

It wasn’t that Chen Xing was unwilling to elaborate, but he had tried and failed to use verbal methods to coax others; he could only extend direct invitations.

Once someone verbally refused, even if he managed to invite them again successfully in a short period of time, he wouldn’t be able to receive the small game rewards or Proficiency Level increases.

After about fifteen minutes, the two well-fed beasts licked their bowls clean.

In the Stone Booklet, the page for Taotie showed an increase in the Water Devouring Skill’s Proficiency Level by +1.

Primary Skill: Water Devouring (Mastered) (7/20)

The Proficiency Level of the Water Devouring Skill had increased over the week, with Wang Bing contributing the most, followed by Zhou Hao.

Previously, in order not to expose information about his beast, Chen Xing had not summoned Taotie in his class; naturally, he did not challenge his classmates to a gluttony contest either. Now that Taotie had been exposed, he could invite classmates to play the small game in the next couple of days. With many classmates in the class, they should contribute a lot.

The Mastered-level Water Devouring Skill was already usable, with no chance of skill failure during the release.

During that week, Chen Xing’s main focus was still on the Grand Vortex Skill; to increase the Proficiency Level of the skill, he even made another batch of dried fish at home.

He played interactive games daily, boosting the Grand Vortex Skill’s Proficiency Level from novice all the way to expert.

Intermediate Skill: Great Vortex (Expert) (439/1000)

To level up an Intermediate Skill from novice to mastered, only ten Proficiency Level points were needed; to go from mastered to expert required one hundred points, and from expert to perfect soared to a thousand. Whether there were any higher levels above perfect would be revealed once the Proficiency Level of the Great Vortex Skill broke through a thousand!

In that period, Taotie had almost become depressed from fetching balls. It took Chen Xing a good while to soothe its small frustrations.

Taotie indicated it needed to eat more to alleviate its hurt feelings, so Chen Xing conveniently took it to several gluttony contests.

In fact, it was understandable. Putting oneself in their shoes, if someone were to dive over five hundred times within a week to fetch the same object, it would be strange if that person’s mood remained stable.

When any hobby turns into a profession, it’s natural to lose the initial passion.

After finishing the meal competition, they left the cafeteria. Coach Kuang’s post-match review with the upperclassmen was over.

Kuang Shiyi then announced some news: they would depart for Guanghu District tomorrow afternoon and enter Ze City Secret Realm the following morning, for a total duration of three days and two nights.

“Each Beast Tamer gets one free chance to enter Ze City Secret Realm every year, and it’s already November. If we don’t go now, it’ll go to waste. The Shu State Cup is coming up, and I want to take you and the senior students to Ze City Secret Realm for some practical training, because the rules of the Shu State Cup change every year, and this year, there’s a possibility that wilderness survival will be included.”

Chapter 50: Chapter 49 Squid Seafood Canned

“`

“Hey, not bad performance there, Crocodile Bro.”

As soon as Chen Xing got home, he heard Chen Lingya looking at him with a smirk.

“You came to watch? Why didn’t you come to find me?” Chen Xing put down his backpack, not particularly surprised; he had also heard some rumors. The escalating story of him and Zheng Weixin reaching outside the school and being picked up by his sister was no surprise.

“There were too many people, I was embarrassed.”

Chen Xing snorted and looked at the empty living room, “Where are mom and dad?”

“They took dad to the hospital for treatment. Mom said there are cold dishes in the fridge, and if you don’t want those, you can cook something else for yourself.”

“I’m going to cook some noodles. You want any?”

“No green onion, less salt, no Sichuan pepper oil, extra chili, and throw in a fried egg.”

“So demanding.” Chen Xing rolled up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen.

He quickly cooked the noodles and brought them to the dining table in the living room, where the steaming noodles exuded a fragrant scent.

After gobbling down the noodles in a few bites, Chen Xing wiped his mouth clean with a paper towel, “You do the dishes, alright?”

Returning to his room, he closed the door and opened the Stone Booklet.

The upper-right corner showed a current balance of 8 Skill Points.

There were four skills available for activation: Primary Vegetarian Pet Food, Primary Polishing Technique, Primary Waxing Technique, and Large Can Pet Meat Freeze-Dried.

Primary Vegetarian Pet Food seemed unnecessary at this stage. Polishing and Waxing, from the descriptions, appeared to buff his own Beast Taming. One increases elemental resistance, and the other makes the Beast Tamer’s body lighter and faster.

Lastly, the description for the Large Can Pet Meat Freeze-Dried indicated it could help pets focus better and cooperate with their master in small games.

After some consideration, Chen Xing decided to activate the Large Can Pet Meat Freeze-Dried skill.

Mainly because in the later parts of the Pet Nutritionist career tree, two domineering skills had emerged: Spicy Dried Fish and Extreme Overlord Volcanic Charred Butter Steak.

He was excited at the prospect of discovering new cost-effective abilities beyond the Large Can Pet Meat Freeze-Dried.

Because, based on his current impression of the three career trees, the Pet Nutritionist offered the best value, solving his problem with startup capital.

Next was the Pet Trainer career, while the Pet Caretaker seemed rather ordinary at first glance.

Activate Large Can Pet Meat Freeze-Dried!

A flood of knowledge appeared in his mind, and Chen Xing closed his eyes to slowly digest it.

A little later, after having fully assimilated the information, it all made sense…

He understood the effect of the Large Can Pet Meat Freeze-Dried.

It could enhance a Beast Tamer’s interest in small games, including but not limited to such games; even in regular training, it could entice pets to show a substantial increase in enthusiasm through its temptation.

This was essentially an irresistible treat for pets.

Since it was so tempting to Beast Tamers… Chen Xing thought of some other uses for the Large Can Meat Freeze-Dried, like quickly improving relations with other Beast Tamers.

However, with the Secret Realm trip the next day, it was better to wait until he got back before buying it; otherwise, the machine would be useless just sitting there.

Because he had to handcraft the freeze-dried food himself, and it wasn’t something that could be done in a few hours. Without supervision, the machine would be unattended.

After activating Large Can Pet Meat Freeze-Dried, a new skill to unlock appeared—Seafood Squid Canned.

[Seafood Squid Canned] You’ve learned to make delicious cans full of rich seafood flavor. Although it has a strong fishy smell, it’s the greatest delight for aquatic Beast Tamers, but non-aquatic Beast Tamers might need to get over the odd smell a bit. Consuming the can quickly restores the Beast Tamer’s stamina. (0/10)

Based on the description, it seems like a skill similar to Spicy Dried Fish.

Spicy Dried Fish restores Magic Power, Seafood Squid Canned restores stamina.

It’s quite a nice ability, as Beast Tamers are not made of iron—they get tired too. When tired, they can eat a can to recover stamina and continue their training with vigor… hiss.

Wouldn’t this be somewhat too capitalistic?

“Awoo, awoo, awoo.”

The Taotie lying by the window wanted to get on the bed, stood up from the ground, and its huge croc head bumped into the side of the bed, staring at its master with innocent little eyes.

Looking at the nearly one-meter-long head, Chen Xing sighed deeply, “It’s not that I won’t let you up on the bed, it’s just that your size doesn’t allow it.”

Every night, Chen Xing felt his living space being increasingly compressed, waking up from nightmares several times to find a huge crocodile head heavily resting on his chest, and a thick tail on his legs. Thankfully, the bed now was a bit bigger than the one at their previous home, or even if Taotie curl(''), Water Devouring Proficiency +19.”

The word “mastering” behind the Water Devouring skill gradually blurred until it became crystal clear as “proficient.”

Primary Skill: Water Devouring (Proficient) (6/100)