The Locked Box and the "Elegant" Baishi (Please Vote with Your Monthly Tickets)

Under the effects of [Tranquil Heart Technique], all the pet beasts quieted down.

They all knew their performance over these next few hours was especially important to their Beast Tamers, even though most of them had no idea what an "exam" was.

Just then, the screen beside the podium lowered.

Chen Xuanbai casually moved his hands a few times, and the photos and names of all forty students in their class, along with photos of their pet beasts, appeared on it. Clearly, this was to make answering the questions easier for the students.

This was a [Beast-Taming Art]—[Shadow Painting Art], originally used to conceal certain distinctive features on pet beasts.

Later, it gradually found applications in medicine, education, and other fields.

Lin Yuan did not need to look at this information.

During those noisy three minutes earlier, he had already looked over every pet beast in the class.

He had even "graded" the questions he had set himself last night in his head. His assignment had been: based on your understanding of Beast Tamer talents, select the three types of pet beasts you consider most suitable as each person's first pet beast.

He had gotten the idea because Chen Xuanbai had recommended three types of pet beasts to him that day.

So, excluding himself and Huang Zixuan, he had completed thirty-eight sets of matches yesterday, selecting three pet beasts for each classmate.

Beyond drawing on his existing knowledge, he had also gained a deeper understanding of over a dozen pet beasts he had previously known little about.

And today, aside from one classmate whose pet beast fell outside his predictions, all thirty-seven others matched.

Even without seeing these pet beasts' panels, he could have scored close to full marks on the first two questions.

Of course, who could turn down getting everything right?

With the information on the panels, his pen strokes were certainly more confident.

Still, he had yet to see a single pet beast in the class with a hidden evolution route, which was within his expectations.

Nor did every pet beast have multiple evolution paths.

But this was more than enough to handle the exam.

Before putting pen to paper, Lin Yuan once again analyzed exactly what the four teachers were assessing—

Chen Xuanbai was testing knowledge. Whoever answered best would score highest.

He was certain he could ace that part.

Sun Xingtian focused on the pet beasts. Baishi had already reached transcendent mid-grade, and his level had risen to ordinary level 5, placing him among the top of these forty pet beasts.

Coupled with his patient, enduring, and courageous nature, this little bit of pressure would be nothing to him. Lin Yuan believed in him.

Zhao Liang's assessment was also easy to understand. Whoever remained most at ease under multiple pressures and best allocated and applied their mental energy would claim the top spot.

Only Zhu Neng's assessment left Lin Yuan a little uncertain.

He looked at the box on his desk. There was a locked padlock on it, with the key resting on top of the box.

If this was simply a test of resource allocation, why bother?

He pondered it, an idea taking shape in his mind.

About an hour of the exam passed.

The effects of [Tranquil Heart Technique] were already starting to weaken.

There were stirrings in the exam room.

Quite a few students had already opened their resource boxes and begun using the items inside.

Lin Yuan noticed that every time a box opened, Zhu Neng would raise his head and then write something down.

Baishi was sitting primly, bored out of his mind. He thought this exam was rather dull.

Aside from the slight pressure he seemed to feel whenever that burly man looked at him, he found things here a little too easy.

He did not really understand why the other pet beasts were so panicked.

Sure enough, pet beasts that haven't ventured out into society just can't handle pressure.

At that thought, Baishi suddenly felt that his six months of wandering and hardship seemed to have given him an advantage in some respects. And those advantages might help his Beast Tamer earn a better score?

I've been eating and drinking at his expense for days. Can I finally help him a little?

The thought filled him with motivation, and he sat even straighter. Boredom was something he could endure. Helping his Beast Tamer take first place was what mattered!

His eyes sparkled, too.

[Still Spirit Cat], right?

I don't really like those Still Spirit Cats and their prim, refined posturing, but today, this kitty is going to be the most elegant [Still Spirit Cat] in the whole world!

Who can't put on an act?

Just then, Sun Xingtian's gaze swept over Baishi again, and he noticed tiny flames suddenly kindling in this [Still Spirit Cat]'s eyes.

Why has he suddenly gotten all fired up?

The other pet beasts are all shrinking back, trying to adjust to their surroundings. How is this [Still Spirit Cat] doing even better after an hour?

He nodded involuntarily.

He was not the only one nodding.

Chen Xuanbai, beside him, was doing the same.

He was very pleased with Lin Yuan's choice of pet beast. Of the three types he had recommended, the [Still Spirit Cat] had always struck him as the most suitable for Lin Yuan's talent.

But I don't think I saw this one when I visited the Breeding Center that day?

That transcendent high-grade one had left quite an impression on him. Its build had been a little more slender, its bearing far icier.

Still, Lin Yuan's pet beast was also excellent in both quality and capabilities. The ruff around his face, in particular, looked both adorable and imposing, lending this [Still Spirit Cat] a distinctive appearance.

It was not only Lin Yuan's choice that pleased Chen Xuanbai, but also his current progress on the exam.

In less than an hour, he had already filled his answers to the first two questions to the brim.

With long-answer questions like these, unless someone had committed every relevant point to memory, they could never write so quickly and accurately.

Lin Yuan was currently checking his paper.

He was not checking for anything he had left out, but looking to see whether he had written anything "beyond the syllabus" among the evolution paths.

After all, the evolution routes he saw on the panels included some that existed in this world but had never been made public.

If even the teacher did not know about them, wouldn't that amount to "making things up" and "getting it wrong"?

Only after checking twice did Lin Yuan nod in reassurance.

Then he looked at the third question.

To be honest, he was not quite so confident about this third question.

After all, by the logic of exams, the earlier questions tested basic theoretical knowledge, while this long-answer question tested practical application.

He had to assemble the most suitable three-person teams across the three dimensions of defense, support, and offense.

He actually had several ideas in mind.

But he felt he did not fully understand his classmates' pet beasts. Whether a team was truly the best was something only practice could reveal. For now, he could only aim for the most "reasonable" answers.

Still, there were over two hours left in the exam.

With so much time, he might as well write out a few more team compositions he considered strong rather than sit idle.

Then he would rank them according to his own understanding.

Time ticked away, second by second.

By the two-hour mark, the effects of [Tranquil Heart Technique] were negligible.

Still, these were the outstanding students of the Kindling Class. Although they had to answer questions during those two hours, they could also communicate with their pet beasts.

Two hours was enough to prepare them mentally.

Besides, quite a few students had already used the items in their resource boxes.

The classroom was not as noisy as it had been when all forty pet beasts were first summoned together.

At the two-hour-forty-minute mark, Lin Yuan saw Huang Zixuan, seated in front of him, open his resource box and use the mental recovery potion inside.

Lin Yuan himself was actually in excellent condition.

That was because he did not have to divert any attention to communicating with Baishi or soothing his condition and emotions.

On the contrary, Baishi's behavior in public today had completely exceeded his expectations.

Even now, he remained seated with perfect elegance, as though no disturbance could disrupt his composure.

For the past two hours, Baishi's [Status] had displayed only one thing: First place! I want first place! I want my Beast Tamer to take first place!

It let Lin Yuan feel his determination, leaving him deeply gratified.

He had actually finished the exam already.

He had provided ten proposals for the third question.

With ten minutes left before the exam ended, something else happened.

He noticed that Liu Mintian, currently seated at exam station one, who had awakened the fifty-fifth-ranked talent [Voidminding Wind-Seeker], also opened the box.

At this point, he was probably the only person in the class who had yet to open his resource box.

Through observation during the exam, he had also gained a rough idea of what items were inside these boxes.

At first, he had wondered whether resource allocation meant using them only when urgently needed, delaying their use as long as possible to earn a higher score.

Especially since Zhu Neng carefully recorded the time each student opened their box.

However, he felt the assessment could not be that simple.

If it were, wouldn't someone like him, who had no need for any of these supplementary resources, simply leave the box unopened?

After thinking it over, he picked up the key.

It had a slight heft to it. He inserted it into the keyhole and opened the resource box.

Then he saw something he found very interesting.

It was also something he encountered every day at his family's pet food shop.