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.