Donghuang Beast Taming Academy

"Great, another Origin Point."

Chen Yuan's face lit up with delight as he looked at the data panel that had appeared out of thin air.

This Steel-headed Earth Rat had the same quality as Spark, but its level and skill proficiency were inferior. No wonder it couldn't withstand Spark's assault.

Then again, with the system's support and a little effort, Spark's combat strength was far ahead at the moment.

With that thought, Chen Yuan looked over the surrounding wasteland and said to the Steel-headed Earth Rat, "Your task from now on is to cultivate this patch of wasteland."

"Kah." The Steel-headed Earth Rat nodded.

"If there's anything you don't understand, ask my grandpa," Chen Yuan added.

"Kah." The Steel-headed Earth Rat glanced at Chen Weiyi like a guilty thief. Sensing the latter's scrutinizing gaze, it immediately shrank its neck.

Chen Yuan couldn't help laughing. "Don't be afraid. As long as you work hard, you can live here as long as you want. No one will give you trouble."

"Kah~" The Steel-headed Earth Rat's dark eyes shifted. Perhaps sensing Chen Yuan's goodwill, it slowly nodded.

"But..." Chen Yuan looked toward the pitch-black hole again, changing the subject. "Don't dig burrows beneath this wasteland. You'll need to find somewhere else."

The Steel-headed Earth Rat was indeed needed to turn over the soil and cultivate the wasteland, but once that was done, continuing to live underground would affect the stability of the soil.

After all, the Steel-headed Earth Rat was too large.

"Kah."

Hearing this, the Steel-headed Earth Rat widened its confused eyes and stared blankly at Chen Yuan.

"Hmm." Chen Yuan surveyed the area and eventually chose the ground to the left of the wasteland as the Steel-headed Earth Rat's nest.

"Kah kah kah." The Steel-headed Earth Rat readily agreed.

For a Steel-headed Earth Rat that spent its days hiding and fleeing, where it lived didn't matter. All it needed was a stable, safe nest.

While the Steel-headed Earth Rat started digging a new burrow, Chen Yuan carried out a pile of vegetables he usually didn't like much from the kitchen and set them aside.

"Kah!"

The Steel-headed Earth Rat poked its head out of the newly dug burrow, sniffed, and suddenly widened its eyes. Its gaze shone brighter than ever before.

It shot out of the hole, rushed to the vegetables in a few strides, its barely noticeable Adam's apple bobbing as it stared ahead in a daze.

After a while,

it cautiously extended a claw, first pointing at the pile of vegetables before it, then at itself.

Chen Yuan understood what it meant and nodded with a smile. "They're all yours."

"As long as you work seriously, you can eat as much as you want."

Hearing this, Chen Weiyi's right hand holding his smoking pipe trembled slightly.

"Kah!"

Upon hearing that, the Steel-headed Earth Rat could no longer resist the vegetables' temptation. It squatted down and began devouring them with gusto.

Chen Weiyi tugged on Chen Yuan's sleeve and lowered his voice. "Kid, I'm not saying what you're doing is wrong, but..."

Chen Yuan understood the old man's concerns and smiled faintly. "Grandpa, times have changed."

"These vegetables are nothing compared to an Extraordinary Creature."

"But a whole pile of vegetables every day..." Chen Weiyi trailed off.

The smile on Chen Yuan's face remained unchanged. "Grandpa, it can not only help you work, but also guard the house and farm."

"Think about it. Our Xuanhe Village is right in the Qinling Mountains. Sooner or later, we might come into conflict with the Extraordinary Creatures in the mountains."

"With it around, our farm will be much safer."

"That makes sense." Chen Weiyi's gaze flickered, contemplation visible in his weathered eyes.

It wasn't that the old man didn't understand these principles. It was simply difficult for him to change his mindset so quickly and make the right choice.

Dusk deepened.

Chen Yuan lay in a rocking chair, enjoying the caress of the breeze while browsing information online.

Just like that morning, the internet was flooded with reports about the world's recent mutation. Chen Yuan even found plenty of discussions related to "Beast Tamers" and "Extraordinary Creatures."

Clearly, the authorities had not stopped this information from spreading.

Spark rested on Chen Yuan's shoulder, its deep-blue eyes quietly watching the setting sun sink toward the distant forest. Flames along its feathers reflected the evening glow.

Cola chased fluttering butterflies across the grass, the breeze swirling around it and making it faster and faster, as though its whole body had merged with the wind.

At dinner, Chen Weiyi had marveled at Cola after its evolution, to the point that it felt unfamiliar to him.

But when he saw Cola wolfing down food until it lay on the ground burping, and saw it trotting eagerly behind him, he felt that Cola was still the same Cola.

Evolution had reshaped its body, but it had never changed its soul.

As for the Steel-headed Earth Rat, after finishing its burrow, it had impatiently carried the vegetables inside and had not emerged since.

That made sense. Earth rats were nocturnal creatures, and the Steel-headed Earth Rat was evidently no exception.

Chen Yuan remained in the yard until moonlight spilled down before returning to his bedroom to begin meditating.

Almost at the same moment, the Jade Pendant on his chest gave off a faint glow, and a bright, lively voice rang out by his ear.

"Good evening, Chen Yuan!"

"Good evening to you too." Chen Yuan poured his mental power into the Jade Pendant, and a glowing speck appeared before his eyes.

"How was your day?" Chen Yuan asked with a smile.

"Ahem." Jiang Wenning cleared her throat, her smile bright. "Today, I officially became a first-batch student of Donghuang Beast Taming Academy."

"Congratulations!" Chen Yuan said. "From now on, I'm an online friend of a first-batch student at Donghuang Beast Taming Academy."

"Hahahaha!" Jiang Wenning laughed without caring in the slightest, then continued, "Don't worry. There are only a little over two hundred students in the first batch, but I heard the academy is already preparing admissions for the second and third batches. It'll be your turn soon."

Chen Yuan neither confirmed nor denied it, merely smiling.

"Oh, right. Although classes haven't officially started today, I found out quite a bit from the teachers."

"I'm all ears."

"Well, Extraordinary Creatures have attributes such as wood, water, fire, earth, steel, poison, wind, and so on. There's a principle of mutual generation and restraint between attributes."

Chen Yuan's thoughts stirred. "For example, water restrains fire?"

"That's right." Jiang Wenning nodded lightly, her voice cheerful. "My Nuomi has the ice attribute, which is restrained by the fire attribute."

"But the teachers also said that attribute restraint isn't the only factor that determines a pet beast battle. A pet beast's quality, skill proficiency, physical condition, and the Beast Tamer's commands can all affect the outcome."

Chen Yuan nodded thoughtfully. "That's probably the difference between reality and games."

"In games, attribute restraint and stats can determine the outcome of a battle to a large extent."

"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Jiang Wenning nodded with a smile. "That's exactly it!"

The two chatted through the Jade Pendant for quite a while. Only after Jiang Wenning yawned did she say, "Today was too tiring. I'm going to rest first."

"Okay."

"Chen Yuan, the authorities will soon make the Beast Taming Academy public and recruit talented Beast Tamers from across society."

"With your talent, joining the Beast Taming Academy will be easy."

"I'll wait for you at the Beast Taming Academy. Your big sis will look after you!"

Chen Yuan laughed. "I'll do my best, haha."