Chapter 15
“Hey, how did you all do on the exam this time? I couldn’t even find the extra credit questions.”
“We’ve done well just to hold on until the end! Extra credit is something only the top students need to worry about!”
“Exactly! I barely managed to contract an F-grade Mudstone Turtle on the last day. Those extraordinary creatures are really uncooperative—once we connect through the psychic link, they fiercely resist!”
*Sigh* “I just hope my final results aren’t too embarrassing. Before the exam, my dad had such high hopes for me; once the results are out, he’ll know what disappointment feels like.”
“Being able to contract a beast is already good enough. In Class One, some students even dropped out early. Even if their brain domain qualifies, they still can only take part in the regular college entrance admissions.”
After the exam, aboard the floating car on the way back, a group of college entrance exam students in the front row excitedly shared their experiences.
“We’ve all worked hard for so long; it’s truly a pity not to finish the exam. Hey, do you know if anyone from our school who came out of the secret realm contracted a particularly powerful beast?”
“Huh? Didn’t you see? That girl just now—the one walking by with a monkey? Zhou Wanli from Class Three! She was amazing this time. While others struggled to contract even one beast, wow! She came out with two E-grade ones!”
“Wow! That’s incredible! How did she manage that?”
“Ha! I heard she first did this in the secret realm… then that…”
*
Becoming a beast tamer and gaining enhanced psychic power has its downsides.
Zhou Wanli closed her eyes helplessly, listening to her classmates from Beixi No. 1 Middle School enthusiastically discussing her, while feeling the burning gazes cast her way.
It was like sitting on pins and needles.
Because the provocative monkey wasn’t contracted, it couldn’t be stored in her mind sea and had to endure the constant stares along the journey.
They departed the suburban base in Huicheng District.
The Federation, following the original plan, sent all candidates back.
When they finally arrived at Beichen District in Xijing City, the moment the car stopped, Zhou Wanli jumped out with the provocative monkey and ran straight toward her apartment complex without looking back.
Behind her, the others stood there, feeling somewhat lost.
——
“Old Zhou! Don’t you think Wanwan should’ve been back by now? It’s been two whole days. The beast tamer exam should be over, right?”
“Could something have happened?!”
Yang Yue grew increasingly anxious. She couldn’t sit still and stepped out from behind the cash register, deciding to wait at the supermarket entrance for her daughter.
Zhou Qingfeng peeked his head out from behind the shelves and said, “Don’t worry yet! Didn’t Brother Li say the global exams only officially ended at 10 a.m. today?”
“Plus, the Federation needs time to get all the candidates back! You’re just fretting for nothing. Why not think about what delicious food you’ll make to reward your daughter when she returns?”
“You don’t have to tell me that!” Yang Yue said disdainfully.
“Dad! Mom!”
At that moment, the automatic door of the convenience store slid open, and a girl with a dirt-smudged face, messy hair, and clothes torn like a beggar’s walked straight in.
Behind her trailed a fluffy black monkey, the two looking like refugees escaped from an African camp.
Yang Yue and Zhou Qingfeng exchanged blank looks.
Zhou Wanli showed no embarrassment; smiling brightly, she revealed a row of pearly white teeth. “Dad! Mom! I’ve successfully contracted a beast and officially become an extraordinary beast tamer!”
“…We can tell.”
Yang and Zhou’s expressions were complicated.
In their minds, their daughter would return from the beast tamer exam looking glamorous, accompanied by a powerful beast.
Instead, they were hit with a brutal reality.
That black monkey looked emaciated, with only its large eyes left to intimidate. It was pitiful and ugly. They wondered whether she contracted it out of pity or simply had no other choice.
Yang Yue felt uneasy but thought, at least the child came back safe.
They comforted themselves silently: a weak contracted beast is still better than nothing. If worse comes to worst, it can just be a pet to play with.
*
After all, she brought it back from the entrance exam—how bad could it be?
Zhou Wanli, however, was completely unaware of the unease in her elders’ hearts and kept cheerfully reporting her progress.
“My exam performance was alright. I should get a decent score,” she said modestly.
Yang Yue fell silent, glancing again at the skinny black monkey behind her daughter, and finally couldn’t help but say, “It’s okay. Mom knows you did your best.”
“Sometimes, failure isn’t really scary. What’s scary is when a person can’t accept their own failure. Don’t you think so, Wanwan?”
Zhou Wanli was caught off guard.
She listened to her parents’ consoling words with a wry smile, realizing they must have misunderstood her and the monkey’s appearance.
Helplessly, she had to keep explaining.
Zhou Wanli even released her baby dragon from her mind sea to finally dispel their doubts.
When Yang Yue and Zhou Qingfeng heard every detail of her secret realm exam experience, without exaggeration, they were stunned.
“So, once the cultural exam is over…” Yang Yue’s expression turned dreamy, “our daughter can apply to those beast taming academies?”
“Yes, yes!” Zhou Qingfeng was overjoyed. “When that time comes, we have to hold a big celebration for Wanwan’s graduation.”
“Wait, cultural exam?” Zhou Qingfeng suddenly realized and hesitated, looking at his wife. “What was Wanwan’s cultural score again at the last parent meeting?”
“...250?” Yang Yue’s smile faded.
“Can a cultural studies underachiever get into a beast taming university?”
“...Who knows.”
——
There were only ten days between the beast tamer exam and the cultural exam.
Zhou Wanli had hoped for some rest, but her ambitious parents clearly thought they hadn’t squeezed enough out of her.
Unbeknownst to her, they had already made a secret deal with the provocative monkey and baby dragon.
As long as the two beasts helped keep an eye on Zhou Wanli’s studies and informed them when she slacked off, they would receive one hundred energy fruit per day—no limits!
Wow, not even her previous treatment had been this good!
Zhou Wanli felt heartbroken—not from shouting or quarrels, but true coldness.
Ten days passed in a flash.
When Zhou Wanli once again stepped out of the exam hall, she saw a middle-aged couple standing beneath a large tree at the school gate, each holding an extraordinary beast.
The area around them was so crowded with parents waiting for their children that there was barely room to move, except for a spacious circle around these two parents with their beasts.
Beast tamers in Xijing City were rare; ordinary people rarely encountered such extraordinary creatures and naturally felt uneasy or even fearful.
Zhou Wanli smiled and waved to her parents and her two little beasts.
The provocative monkey climbed onto her father’s shoulder, squeaking oddly, while the baby dragon nonchalantly flicked its tail—yet even the light tail taps made loud thumping sounds, drawing curious glances.
Zhou Wanli hurried over to “rescue” them from the crowd.
Together, the family chatted as they walked toward home.
Less than half a month after leaving the secret realm, the provocative monkey and baby dragon had fully adapted to life in the human world.
After the cultural exam, Zhou Wanli no longer needed the beasts to supervise her study. Thus, the young beast tamer and her companions entered a routine of training, studying, and working.
Fearing that the three of them might become lazy, she forced herself to start a morning running regimen every day.
Her route was a 5,000-meter run around the mountain park on the outskirts of Xijing City.
After the run, she would take the baby dragon to a clearing on a nearby mountain to practice skills using psychic energy, ensuring no disturbance to residents.
During this time, the provocative monkey was not idle either. To some extent, it had already become Zhou Wanli’s second pet, and training could not be neglected.
*
However, the provocative monkey was extremely intelligent and somewhat rebellious.
Therefore, Zhou Wanli treated it differently from the baby dragon. Their relationship was more a power struggle than a friendly partnership.
She needed to enforce strict discipline to command the monkey, rather than negotiating or trying to be friends. She knew this clearly.
Every morning, she devoted a lot of time to behavioral training for the provocative monkey.
Without the psychic contract’s binding, at first the monkey was reluctant to cooperate, quickly growing impatient, irritable, and even throwing tantrums or running away—common occurrences.
The girl did not get angry, for she had already known the monkey’s species traits back in the secret realm.
Reborn once, Zhou Wanli had plenty of patience, at least that’s something she had as a seasoned experimenter.
——
Federation Global Beast Tamer University Council, Huazhou Branch.
“This year, all schools will continue as planned, expanding the number of special admissions.”
“Yes.”
“The exam results of beast tamer candidates have been submitted to the Tianyu Network AI for final verification over the next few hours. Prepare for data upload accordingly.”
“Yes.”
“As for the submission of choices by beast tamer candidates... the process...”
“...”
One by one, commands were issued in an orderly manner at the Huazhou Beast Taming Center headquarters. Hundreds of participants attended, including middle and upper management involved in the exam procedures, among whom was Xi Muqing.
After the meeting ended and people began to leave, Xi Muqing turned and unexpectedly encountered a familiar icy-faced man.
“Major Huo Ming?”
“Director Xi is here as well.”
Huo Ming gave a slight nod, preparing to move on.
“By the way, your Western First Army didn’t happen to spot any promising beast tamers in Tonghai Province this year, right?”
The man stopped, frowning as he looked at Xi Muqing’s warm smile.
“As the Tonghai Province regional examiner for this global exam and a teacher in the Beast Soldier Department of the Western First Army’s Beast Taming University, Major Huo must have already identified candidates for early recruitment?”
Xi Muqing seemed genuinely curious, then sighed, “As expected from one of the top ten beast taming universities in the Federation—each year they have a wealth of talent.”
“What do you mean?” Huo Ming’s face turned serious, voice lowering.
“Nothing much, just suddenly remembered something your Western First Army’s dean said two years ago.”
Xi Muqing smiled brightly but enunciated sharply, “There are no true beast taming prodigies in Tonghai Province. The early admission slots allocated to them are a waste—it would be better to admit more children from established beast taming families.”
“That year, not a single candidate from Tonghai Province was admitted to the Western First Army Beast Taming University.”
Her smile faded, and the usually gentle woman became chillingly stern, sending a shiver down spines.
“You Western First Army sure are something.”
At this moment, Huo Ming’s aura completely vanished. He opened his mouth but could only lower his voice, “Director Kui is old and sometimes makes mistakes. Moreover, the principal has already punished him. Why do you keep holding this against us?”
“Oh?” Xi Muqing feigned surprise, “So you’re blaming me for being petty?”
Huo Ming frowned, “Of course not.”
“It seems the Western First Army is as arrogant and conceited as ever.” Xi Muqing lightly brushed dust off her robes, a faint smile curving her lips. “Let’s see if the Western First Army Beast Taming University can remain so proud in the future.”
“But please don’t forget the words you once spoke and the deeds you once did!”
“I don’t want to see you appear again in this year’s beast tamer admissions!”
“Kids from small places like Tonghai Province probably aren’t even worth a finger to you Western First Army, huh?”