leonardwarren Chapter 76 Shared Beast Taming Has Truly Arrived!
Chapter 76 Shared Beast Taming Has Truly Arrived!
Chapter 77 Shared Beast Taming Has Truly Arrived! (Grand Joint Examination - Qingshan City)
"Ahem~!"
Zhou Qingguo cleared his throat and put the thermos back on the lectern.
"Regarding the special fund for beast taming, this afternoon, all thirty-six middle schools in Jiangling City held a meeting in the city."
He paused, letting his words resonate in the classroom for a couple of seconds: "First, I need to make one thing clear to everyone: the idea of everyone having a tamed beast is absolutely impossible!"
In the classroom, the people who had been looking forward to this were suddenly dampened by these words, and many of them froze for a moment.
"The final plan is as follows: In addition to the existing points malls in each school, a Beast Taming Mall will be added."
The points in this Beast Taming Shop are calculated completely independently.
"The key point is... the Beast Taming Mall is shared by all thirty-six middle schools in Jiangling City."
As soon as those words were spoken, a low commotion immediately arose in the back of the classroom.
Shared? What does that mean?
Thirty-six middle schools' students were all crammed into the same shopping mall, scrambling to buy things?
Wouldn't those who are slow-handed miss out on even the soup?
Zhou Qingguo had clearly anticipated this reaction.
He raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling for quiet: "After a while, once Jiangling City has collected enough Beast Taming and resources such as pills and spirit fruits specifically for Beast Taming, we will release them into the Beast Taming Mall."
"Just like a regular points mall, you need to meet certain standards to purchase various resources and tamed beasts."
He changed the subject, his voice becoming a bit deeper: "And obtaining Beast Taming Points is quite difficult."
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"After all, no school can just give you Beast Taming Points randomly."
"For example, if I randomly gave Su Chen 100,000 points, would he immediately buy the best beast with king-level bloodline in the Beast Taming Shop? Is that possible? Obviously not!"
Su Chen, whose name was called, scratched his head, a slightly embarrassed yet polite smile on his lips.
But my heart was already churning.
A beast tamed with royal bloodline!
The other students in the class might not have a clear idea yet, but he knew it all too well.
Xiao Zi is currently at the high-level soldier rank, with the potential ceiling being the warrior general rank. Only one or two out of ten people in the entire species can reach this level, and Xiao Zi is a genius among those one or two out of ten!
As for the King level, that's a bloodline ceiling that's three whole major ranks higher than Xiao Zi! Monarch level and Emperor level bloodlines are absolutely out of the question! Each one possesses the strength of a fifth-rank leader... equivalent to a Spirit Martial Realm expert.
"Our current discussion has concluded that, starting now, all 36 middle schools in Gangneung City will conduct performance comparisons, even if a unified exam is not held."
Zhou Qingguo turned around, picked up the chalk, and drew a horizontal line on the blackboard. Above the line, he wrote "Total Score of Each School" and below, he wrote "Score Comparison".
"Based on the comparison results, the total number of Beast Taming Points that each school can obtain will be allocated."
"As for how the school will allocate these points after receiving them—"
"I'm not too sure about other schools. But at least for our No. 1 High School, the allocation rules are not much different from before."
"The result of our internal discussion is that, based on your overall performance, you will receive an additional 10% to 30% of the Beast Taming Points on top of the points you normally earned in this exam."
The moment he finished speaking, the classroom erupted in a buzz.
10% to 30%! That's not a small amount!
Especially for top students who already have high scores, multiplying by this ratio results in a considerable sum.
"As for how to define 10% and 30%—"
"The key factor is your performance compared to the last exam, as well as the level of dedication you put into daily training."
"Of course, the proportion of top students will inevitably be higher. The minimum allocation to the honors class is 15%."
He paused, waiting for the classroom to quiet down again, then sighed softly: "But... don't get too excited yet!"
"Going back to what I said at the beginning, the idea of everyone having a tamed beast is absolutely impossible."
"After exchanging for a beast, you can't just leave it unattended! Without nurturing it and investing resources, how can it keep up with your strength? How can it accompany you to the college entrance exam?"
This question really hits the nail on the head.
Su Chen recalled the amount of time and effort he had invested in Xiao Zi during this period.
In just one week, two to three hundred thousand pills were used to feed the patient the Wind and Thunder Pill and the Bone-Sculpting Pill.
This doesn't even include the pet energy points in the system panel; ordinary people simply don't have that kind of economic strength.
"The current plan we're discussing is that it would be best if you formed a fixed team of three to five or seven to eight people to raise one or two beasts together."
"As for the remaining students, since the Beast Taming Points can only be used to purchase items in the Beast Taming Shop, you can use these points to buy Beast Taming-related pills and spiritual fruits and invest them in the Beasts that the team is jointly cultivating."
"After all, teamwork is allowed in the college entrance examination."
He straightened up, his gaze becoming more serious, and his tone more forceful.
"However... this involves the distribution of profits, which could very well cause conflicts. Therefore, you must be extremely careful when choosing your team!"
"If a dispute does arise, our school has only one way to handle it: whoever uses Beast Taming Points to redeem a Beast from the Beast Taming Shop owns that Beast."
"Even if others invest more resources in this beast, even exceeding its original exchange price, there is no issue of ownership distribution!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water, cooling down the previously eager atmosphere.
Teaming up to raise beasts sounds wonderful, but when it comes to money and resources, it's a different story.
Who will pay the majority of the cost? Who will be in charge of training? Who will bring the beast tamers to the exam? What if they fail? How will the resources invested be accounted for?
Zhou Qingguo looked at the thoughtful faces below and waited a few seconds.
He continued, "Some of you must have seen the battle video of Wu Junchao's Heavenly Mountain Demon Flame Tiger, right? It's amazing, isn't it?"
Someone in the corner shouted, "That's insane! It's like he's cheating!"
"Haha~"
Laughter rang out sporadically.
Zhou Qingguo smiled, but quickly stopped.
"That's impressive! But you need to know what the new college entrance exam regulations are: the bloodline of the beasts you bring cannot be higher than the King level!"
He turned and wrote a series of words on the blackboard, arranged from top to bottom: Servant Level, Soldier Level, Elite Level, General Level, Leader Level, Lord Level, King Level, Monarch Level —
"Wu Junchao's beast-taming bloodline is at the lord level!"
"Based on the documents issued by the city government, the Beast Taming Mall will definitely include beasts with royal bloodlines!"
Holy crap!!!
This wasn't shouted by just one person; it was uttered by several people simultaneously.
Then the whole classroom exploded like a firecracker with a lit fuse...
"King-level bloodline!? Really!?"
"The Heavenly Mountain Demon Flame Tiger is only at the Lord level, how powerful must a King level one be?"
"This is insane! This is insane! This is insane!"
"Forget it, do you think you can even get your hands on it?"
"What if! What if we get lucky! We have to give it a try!"
"What the hell?! A king-level bloodline, converted to points, starts at 500,000! Do you think this is a lottery?"
"??? It's so expensive?"
"You think it's rice? Do you think it'll be cheaper?"
Su Chen sat down, turned around to look at Wang Yichuan behind him, and said in a low voice, "My goodness! This investment is too huge!"
Wang Yichuan's expression was a bit more serious than usual.
He nodded seriously and replied, "Indeed! But think about it, out of the 360 base cities in the Federation, our Jiangling City only ranks around 300th."
He paused, his voice taking on a more analytical tone: "With the addition of beast taming, the already advantageous major cities will benefit even more! If Jiangling City doesn't invest heavily, the college entrance examination pass rates of the nine top universities will only fall further behind!"
"And the lower the college entrance rate, the fewer federal resources Jiangling City can get—it's a vicious cycle."
Su Chen nodded slowly, but his mind was filled with more thoughts.
Having lived two lives, he naturally understood this logic.
Although the Huaxia Federation has recovered all the land in the country, since the apocalypse and the opening of the Spirit Realm, the surface area of Blue Star has increased more than a hundred times compared to before the apocalypse.
The wilderness between the base cities is vast and boundless, transportation is difficult, and the connections between different places are far looser than they appear on the map. Martial arts geniuses are absolutely the most valuable resource in this era.
Why does Gangneung City need to build a university? Why do every base city go to such lengths to build universities? Because only by building universities can we ensure that a portion of our talent doesn't leave!
In the early years after the federal government was established and before the college entrance examination system was announced, how strict were the controls on talent between the various base cities?
The city refuses to release a promising student who could get into one of the top nine universities!
After all, a powerful expert in the Divine Power Realm is a pillar of strength during wartime and can also govern a remote wilderness during peacetime. The GDP they generate each year and the number of demons they kill are real achievements.
Leaving such talented individuals in resource-scarce small base cities is a waste!
How did the federal government solve this problem? By providing money, resources, and technology!
A powerful base city must pay a substantial price to acquire personnel from a smaller base city.
It is no exaggeration to say that a freshman from one of the nine top universities can easily bring nearly one billion federal dollars in resources back to their base city!
A talent shortage means a slow death for a base city!
Therefore, Jiangling City is going to great lengths to put king-level bloodline beasts in the Beast Taming Mall, and the gamble is not about fairness at all.
We're betting on the future of this city!
On the podium, Zhou Qingguo picked up his thermos, took a slow sip, and waited for the clamor of discussion below to subside naturally.
He knew that these kids needed some time to process the weight of the words "King-level".
After a while, the noise gradually subsided before he spoke again.
"A beast with royal bloodline, tamed to level six. Even if it only has the strength of a low-level warrior, it's worth a hundred million!"
The air in the classroom seemed to freeze for a moment.
One billion!
This number, when it hit the minds of a group of senior high school students, had a more impactful effect than any of the previous mobilization efforts.
"If converted to points, that's 500,000! Given the current situation, it's definitely impossible for anyone to accumulate that many."
"Therefore, when the King-level Beast Taming is actually released in a month or two, it will definitely not be based on the listed price. Instead, it will be based on the Beast Taming Points balance held by the top students, plus a comprehensive evaluation of multiple limiting conditions."
"If multiple students are competing for the same beast, a separate competition assessment may be arranged."
His gaze swept from left to right: "Of course, those whose strength doesn't reach the top level shouldn't be discouraged. Since even those with King-level bloodlines can be deployed, the number of Lord-level bloodlines must be considerable. Further down, the number of Leader-level and Warrior-level bloodlines will definitely be even greater."
He paused, his voice deepening.
"If you wanted to buy one on the market, would you have enough money? Definitely not! A decent elite-level battle pet can easily cost hundreds of thousands or even millions. Without the Beast Taming Mall, most of you will never even get close to a lord-level bloodline in your lifetime!"
"So..." his voice rose again, "you all need to work incredibly hard during this time! Try to accumulate a high enough number of Beast Taming Points before the city decides to release the Beast Taming NPCs!"
He had barely finished speaking when he abruptly changed the subject.
"But...don't just focus on beasts with high bloodlines and high combat power!!"
"Bringing high-bloodline beasts into battle will result in very strict scoring standards! Wu Junchao's Heavenly Mountain Demon Flame Tiger is strong enough, right? He killed so many monsters, and this time he did get a perfect score of 200 points."
"But this is just the score given by Jiangling City under the previous imperfect scoring rules. Is it really possible for him to get that many points in the college entrance exam? That's the question!"
He turned around and his gaze fell on the class monitor in the row by the window.
"Look at Squad Leader Chen Xue. Her beast, the Blue Flame Eagle, is only at the peak of the soldier level, not even as strong as her."
"But she maximized the Blue Flame Eagle's reconnaissance capabilities in the practical assessment, gathering a wealth of intelligence and processing it effectively. This is the core reason why she scored 160 points and ranked 52nd in her grade in this practical assessment!"
He tapped his fingers lightly twice on the lectern: "A powerful beast tamer won't necessarily boost your score!"
"Including Su Chen! His beast taming is only at the high-level soldier level! It's not that exaggerated."
"If he relied solely on his beast taming to overwhelm others, or if his beast taming performance far outweighed his own, he definitely wouldn't have scored 155 points in the practical assessment and ranked 99th in his grade!"
Su Chen was called on twice in a row, and his back straightened up unconsciously.
Damn it! Even though I know I'm being used as a source of inspiration for others, what can I do if it feels kind of good?
"Even Wu Junchao is the same!" Zhou Qingguo's voice rose another notch. "If he himself hadn't overcome that hurdle..."
Without mastering any spiritual arts, he went straight into the arena with such a powerful beast... Well, let me tell you, he gets zero points!
These words were so powerful that they stunned everyone.
"So, everyone needs to use their brains."
"Take the Azure Wind Horse for example. It's cheap, right? A high-ranking soldier-grade one costs around 50,000 to 60,000, and at most 100,000."
He shrugged and said, "I think none of us in the top class can't afford it, right?"
A few low laughs rang out in the classroom.
"With a Green Wind Horse, your mobility will be greatly enhanced. In practical assessments, while others are running themselves ragged, you'll already be at the next coordinate point. Your combat record might even double or triple... Doesn't that boost your score?"
He patted the lectern, his tone filled with earnest expectation.
"I won't go into the specifics. After the meeting, you can discuss it yourselves and think about what kind of beast you're suited for and who you can trust as partners."
He straightened up and picked up another notification from the podium.
"Next... about the joint entrance exam!"
"This joint exam is being held together with 44 junior high schools in the neighboring city of Aoyama. In total, eighty schools are taking the exam together!"
"Qingshan Base City is slightly stronger than us, and they are also old rivals."
"Specific exam schedule: It's currently the last day of week six. The joint exam is scheduled for Thursday morning at 8:00 AM and Sunday evening at 9:00 PM in week ten, lasting three and a half days."
"Before that, there will only be one weekly test, around the eighth week."
"This week's test will also be a small-scale joint test with nearby schools to improve everyone's coordination with their beast tamers. At the same time, the subsequent distribution of beast tamer points will be determined based on the weighting of the tests."
"Although there are fewer weekly tests, there will definitely be more quizzes during the week! So please keep an eye out for announcements. If you can't make it due to an off-campus training trip, remember to ask for leave in advance."
He put down the notification form, picked up his thermos, unscrewed the lid, took a sip, and then let out a long breath.
"Alright. That concludes this class meeting."
"Meeting adjourned!"
After saying that, he picked up the folder from the lectern, turned around, and walked towards the classroom door. His footsteps gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor.
As soon as the homeroom teacher left, the classroom instantly transformed into a bustling market.
"Holy crap! That's some serious investment! A beast tamer with royal bloodline!!!"
"Forget it, forget it. These aren't even meant for us. And there's probably only one or two. Jiang Wei, Wu Chen, Qian Youliang, and those other top martial arts masters will definitely fight tooth and nail for them!"
"Exactly, let's see if we can snag a bargain from the lord-level..."
"You think you can get away with anything at the Lord level? Dream on! I'd be lucky to even get close to the Chief level!"
"Wait, can't you guys think outside the box? Didn't Old Zhou just say, 'Let's team up and raise one!' If three or five people get together, and the points accumulate, maybe we can actually reach the threshold of the leader level!"
"It's impossible to allow people to accumulate points! Otherwise, how could a hundred people combined not outdo Jiang Wei?"
"No! Even if we can share beasts, who will be the team leader? Under whose name will the beasts be registered? What if things fall apart? Who will own the beasts then? Old Zhou just said that ownership belongs to the person who made the exchange!"
"So we need to find a reliable person! Someone we know well enough to trust —"
Su Chen did not participate in the surrounding discussion.
He leaned back in his chair, his mind still replaying Zhou Qingguo's words: teams of three to five people, sharing beasts.
Green Wind Horse...
This perfectly matches the beast-taming partnership plan that everyone was talking about when we came out of the subway station at noon today.
At this moment, Lin Xiyue turned around.
She rested her elbows lightly on Su Chen's textbook, her fingers interlaced, a faint smile playing in her light brown eyes.
"It seems that the beast-taming partnership we discussed at noon today is really going to take place."
Her voice still had that gentle, soft tone.
Wang Yichuan strode over from the back row. He rested one hand on the corner of Su Chen's table, his expression a mix of excitement and seriousness: "Brother Chen already has Little Purple, so the rest of us can try to get another one. No need to be greedy, just a leader-level bloodline would be fine! It should complement Little Purple's abilities in collaborations!"
Looking at Wang Yichuan's serious expression, Su Chen felt a surge of warmth in her heart.
He certainly knew what Wang Yichuan and Lin Xiyue's grades were.
These two would be highly sought after by any team of top students!
But they never even considered teaming up with anyone else.
"What's there to hesitate about?"
Su Chen stretched, leaned back, and smiled matter-of-factly: "Since Jiangling City is going to release beasts with King-level and Lord-level bloodlines, if we can't compete for King-level, we'll definitely compete for Lord-level!"
"Besides, my family will cover all the costs of raising Xiao Zi! And we'll still cover the costs of raising another one!!!"
"My parents definitely won't object. They'll be happy as long as my grades improve."
He wasn't exaggerating.
With the new feed formula for Firefeather Chickens, plus the addition of Crimson Flame Worms and Fire Spirit Grass...
These industries can definitely generate a lot of profits!
His grades are improving rapidly, and he's in the crucial final year of high school, so his family's financial investment will inevitably be much greater!
More importantly... the rewards for various tasks in the pet space are quite substantial, and in other people's eyes, they're all given by their families.
Wang Yichuan's eyes lit up when he heard him say that.
He scratched the back of his head, a hint of worry in his voice: "Those with lord-level bloodlines—I'm afraid there aren't many. And, to be honest, I'm still a long way from fusing with a spirit orb."
He sighed softly, a hint of self-reproach in his voice: "Sigh~ I've been wavering between speed and lightning attributes, wasting a lot of time. The spirit orb hasn't been chosen yet, and fusion will take at least another month or two. The good stuff in the Beast Taming Shop definitely won't take that long—"
Seeing his expression, Su Chen didn't comfort him. Instead, she laughed and said, "Then we'll have to rely on Xi Yue."
"Huh?" Lin Xiyue was slightly taken aback, blinking her light brown eyes. "I—I'm ranked lower than Yichuan."
She is usually unassuming and rarely puts herself on the spot to compare herself with others.
Now, pushed to the forefront by Su Chen's words, he was clearly lacking in confidence, and his hands unconsciously clenched together, showing his nervousness.
Wang Yichuan exclaimed excitedly, "Yes! We're counting on Xiyue!"
"I've thought it over carefully, and I still want to go down the lightning path; the potential is much higher! So this time... I really can only rely on Yuuki!"
Lin Xiyue looked at Wang Yichuan's serious, almost solemn expression, then turned to look at the smile on Su Chen's face, and pursed her lips slightly.
"Okay—I'll try my best."
Su Chen stood up abruptly and gently patted Lin Xiyue's shoulder.
"Let's go! Let's strike while the iron is hot and get to practicing!"
"Zhang Yan will definitely be on our team. We'll make her contribute to the baby formula expenses too. Haha~"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiyue couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly.