Awakening Ceremony

Yan Country Alliance

Yan East Province

Jiaying City

Sacred Mountain Middle School

Grade 12 Class 24

Ye Bai was staring blankly out the window, watching a group of Little Blue Jays chirping away.

He had been reborn into this world, enduring a 996 grind every day, and had finally made it to the Awakening Ceremony.

As long as he could awaken, he could reach the pinnacle of life, with beautiful women in his arms.

The homeroom teacher, Zhang Lingxue, walked up carrying a heavy Awakening Stone.

This woman, whom the boys of Class 24 called their Dream Girl Xue, was in the prime of her youth at twenty, yet she was the youngest professor in the history of the Yan Country Alliance.

The Chameleon Silkworm she researched had evolved into a Goddess of Light Butterfly, earning her the Pet Beast Award of the Yan Country Alliance.

The Chameleon Silkworm was originally called the White Jade Silkworm; it looked white, chubby, and very cute, but it was only renamed the Chameleon Silkworm after Zhang Lingxue achieved success with her research.

As everyone knew, the usual evolution path for a Chameleon Silkworm was only into a Gray Poison Moth, which was drab and gray, covered in various scales.

Once someone came into contact with the scales of a Gray Poison Moth, they would fall into various negative status effects.

Every year, countless people were sent to the hospital for treatment after coming into contact with the scales of a Gray Poison Moth.

The evolution conditions for a Chameleon Silkworm were very simple: as long as it ate enough food, it could evolve into a Gray Poison Moth.

Zhang Lingxue believed that insect-type pet beasts had short evolution cycles and high variability.

She selected hundreds of insect-type pet beasts for genetic testing, among which the Chameleon Silkworm had unstable genes and higher plasticity.

Therefore, she specifically selected a high-quality Chameleon Silkworm egg, raised it from a young age, and utilized a Fourth Order resource, the Stone of Light, to successfully make the Chameleon Silkworm evolve into a Goddess of Light Butterfly.

After her research was published, more and more researchers turned their attention to the Chameleon Silkworm.

Soon, other evolution paths for the Chameleon Silkworm were discovered.

For example, the water-type Phantom Water Butterfly, the fire-type Flame Butterfly, and the wood-type Wood Grain Butterfly.

Resources were divided from the First Order to the Ninth Order.

Aptitude was also based on this ranking.

At the peak of her fame, she came to teach at Sacred Mountain Middle School.

Sacred Mountain Middle School was one of the top ten middle schools in Yan East Province, with rich teaching resources and its own exclusive Pet Beast Secret Realm.

The principal of Sacred Mountain Middle School, Liu Hang, even specifically designated an area for Zhang Lingxue to conduct her research.

Zhang Lingxue placed the Awakening Stone on the podium.

"Students, today is the Awakening Ceremony, and it is also the most important event in our lives."

"This Awakening Stone can assist students in awakening their Pet Beast Space and talent."

"Those who can awaken a Pet Beast Space will definitely be able to awaken a talent."

"However, talents vary in strength, but every talent has its own merits; there are no useless talents, only useless Pet Beast Masters."

"Talents are classified according to rarity, from high to low: S, A, B, C, D, E, F, and so on."

"Those who can awaken a B-Rank talent or higher are already as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; in the history of the Yan Country Alliance, only a few people have been able to awaken an S-Rank talent."

"Alright, let's begin now."

"Zhang Qiang."

A student who looked as thin as a hemp stalk walked up and placed his hand on the Awakening Stone.

This Awakening Stone was a stone that emitted a milky white light and looked very sturdy.

"Calm your heart and clear your mind."

At this moment, waves of white light began to emanate from Zhang Qiang's body.

Before long, Zhang Qiang dissipated the white light with a look of frustration; this meant the awakening had failed.

Those who succeeded in awakening would be surrounded by a circle of Light of Awakening, and the Awakening Stone would simultaneously display the awakened talent.

"Awakening failed. Next, Hua Qingyi."

Zhang Qiang looked dejected; he knew that failing the awakening meant he could only be an ordinary person for the rest of his life.

From this moment on, he and the classmates he had spent the last two years with were people from two different worlds.

Zhang Qiang left the classroom in low spirits.

Zhang Lingxue read down the list one by one according to the roster.

Many people had the Light of Awakening bloom directly on their bodies, which meant the awakening was successful.

And Zhang Lingxue kept recording the talents of these people.

"Water Affinity, D-Rank talent."

"Fire Enhancement, C-Rank Talent."

"Plant Manipulation, C-Rank Talent."

More and more people awakened, and the number soon surpassed ten.

At this moment, the surrounding area erupted in an uproar.

"Eye of Insight, A-Rank Talent."

Zhang Lingxue spoke with a proud expression, causing the entire class to break into a commotion.

"An A-Rank Talent! I never thought I'd live to see someone awaken an A-Rank Talent."

"Eye of Insight—is that the talent capable of seeing a pet beast's evolution path?"

"Class Monitor, you're absolutely legendary!"

The crowd discussed it one after another, all casting worshipful gazes at the haughty Li Weiyang.

Ye Bai looked over; the short-haired girl who had awakened the Eye of Insight and stood there like a blazing sun was none other than his desk mate, Li Weiyang. She was also known as the most beautiful school belle in the history of Sacred Mountain Middle School and served as the monitor of Class 24.

"Ye Bai, come up. Keep your heart calm and don't panic."

Zhang Lingxue repeated these words.

Ye Bai stood up unhurriedly, walked to the edge of the Awakening Stone, and placed his hand upon it.

A cold sensation surged directly into his mind, and he felt every cell in his body cheering and leaping with joy.

A strange sensation flashed through his mind, followed by a crisp crack—he didn't know what had shattered.

A special space measuring eight meters by eight meters by eight meters appeared in his mind.

At the same time, a white and a golden orb of light emerged.

In the next second, the white light around Ye Bai dissipated, and his homeroom teacher, Zhang Lingxue, quickly recorded Ye Bai's talent: Eidetic Memory.

"D-Rank Talent—Eidetic Memory."

Upon hearing the teacher's words, the surrounding students began to whisper.

"Eidetic Memory? This talent is too ordinary. It's only fit for an average person."

"Yeah, it's not even as good as Water Affinity or Fire Enhancement."

"Ye Bai is always the top of the grade in every exam. With this talent, he'll be even more of a monster in tests."

"What's the use of doing well on exams? Does he have any combat experience?"

At this moment, Ye Bai fell into a daze because a panel had suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Lines of text emerged on the panel.

Daily Intelligence Update.

[1: If the blood of someone who has awakened the Eye of Insight drips onto the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Jade, it can activate the jade and replicate the Eye of Insight talent.]

[2: Because Li Weiyang awakened the ultra-rare Eye of Insight talent, she will be shot at five o'clock this afternoon, suffering heavy blood loss and fainting multiple times.]

[3: The Thousand Changes Silkworm is very similar to the Chameleon Silkworm. The only difference is that the Thousand Changes Silkworm has a faint, jade-like glow between its brows. It is said that the exquisite silk it spins is worth its weight in gold.]

[4: Principal Liu Hang of Sacred Mountain Middle School, who claims to have flowing long hair, is actually bald. He has reached the point of obsession in his attempts to effectively treat his baldness.]

[5: Among the pet beast resources distributed by Sacred Mountain Middle School, a Tier 5 resource, the Life Spirit Seed, has been mixed into resource package number thirty-eight.]

The arrival of this cheat made Ye Bai's heart surge; the first piece of intelligence alone was enough to benefit him immensely.

In this era where information is king, mastering resources is equivalent to owning a goose that lays golden eggs.

Furthermore, based on the Daily Intelligence Update, it could be inferred that this information refreshed once every day.

However, Ye Bai was not yet sure exactly when it refreshed; he would need to test it to find out.

In addition to the control panel, Ye Bai also sensed the eight-by-eight-by-eight-meter Pet Beast Space he had just opened.

On an ancient stone tablet radiating a star-blue glow, nine indentations appeared, representing his contract slots.

This was Ye Bai's Pet Beast Space. One of the slots emitted a brilliant light, while the other eight remained gray and white, only accessible once Ye Bai's strength reached a certain level.

This represented the number of pet beasts Ye Bai could contract.

Generally, when a Beast Tamer awakens, they only have one contract slot, though occasionally, some gifted Beast Tamers can contract multiple beasts with a single slot.

Old friend's new book, The Fat Orange Cat That Crushes the Kang: Beast Taming: 16 Years Old, What the Hell is an Old Man Counterattack?

Tianhai First High School Auditorium.

Xia Mu, who had just started his third year of high school, was agonizing over whether to choose the path of a Beast Tamer or a Breeder when the Old Man Counterattack System suddenly arrived.

[Ding! Old Man Counterattack System is online!]

[At forty years old, having struggled for most of your life, you remain a bottom-tier drudge of a Breeder. When Tianhai City is breached by the Abyssal Bone Dragon and reduced to scorched earth, and your friends and family suffer heavy casualties, you regret not becoming a Beast Tamer. Do you have the courage to try again, embark on the path of beast taming, strive to catch up in your twilight years, and dance to your heart's content?]

[In the ruins of Tianhai First High School, now the lair of the Abyssal Bone Dragon, make the choice to become a Beast Tamer and begin your path of counterattack. Reward: Old Man Counterattack Gift Pack.]

Xia Mu stared at the system that had suddenly appeared, his eyes filled with confusion.

Wait, I'm only 16? What the hell is an "Old Man Counterattack"?

Brother System, did you transmigrate too early?