Total scores announced, Zhu Neng's assessment criteria

On Lin Yuan's test paper, the combination he had placed first was none other than:

Attack: Lin Yuan -- A [Living Creature Affinity] -- [Spirit] [Still Spirit Cat].

Defense: Hou Ming -- A [Water Shieldfall] -- [Water] [Water Armor Turtle].

Support: Huang Zixuan -- S [A Hundred Grasses Flourish] -- [Wood] [Wonderstar Grass].

For offense, the strongest talent in the class currently belonged to the number one seed, Liu Mintian, who possessed the S-rank talent [Clear Mind, Seeking Wind].

For defense, it belonged to the fifth seed, Jiang Dun, with his S-rank talent [Heart of the Rock Shield].

Most of the answers he had graded so far had centered on the combination of Liu Mintian, Jiang Dun, and Huang Zixuan.

Still, the marks depended on their specific analysis.

When he saw the first line of Lin Yuan's answer, he couldn't help nodding.

[The strength of a talent combination depends not only on talent ranks, important though they are, but even more on how the talents' attributes reinforce or counteract one another.]

[Attack, defense, and support form a trinity, and bridges must also be built between the pet beasts' attributes.]

He continued reading.

[The Still Spirit Cat's Heart Frenzy and Lion Spirit are the core of offense; Wonderstar Grass's Blooming and Radiant Light are the foundation of support; the Water Armor Turtle's Water Wall and Hard Shell form the defensive fortress.]

[Water nourishes wood, while spirit blends into both, taking support coordination and skill effects to an even higher level.]

Not only that, Lin Yuan had also drawn several attribute analysis diagrams and scenario analysis diagrams. Of his ten plans, this was the one he had put the most effort into.

Chen Xuanbai nodded. The logic was complete, and the scenario analysis was strong.

Most importantly, Lin Yuan's [Still Spirit Cat] actually possessed mutated traits?

[Heart Frenzy] and [Lion Spirit] were traits that usually appeared in lion-type pet beasts.

Chen Xuanbai had read several papers about cases of feline pet beasts developing traits commonly found in lion-type pet beasts, but such cats generally started at Commander quality, or even higher.

Their size and appearance also differed somewhat from ordinary feline pet beasts.

Lin Yuan's [Still Spirit Cat] was no ordinary creature.

With those two powerful traits, it definitely belonged in the top tier for combat talent among the forty pet beasts in the class.

Thinking back now, it was no wonder its fur had looked a little bristled.

That also made Sun Xingtian's decision to award this [Still Spirit Cat] first place all the more reasonable.

However, it had sat upright for three hours, looking even more elegant than the ones he had seen at the Breeding Center, so Chen Xuanbai hadn't paid particular attention to its unusual qualities.

If even he hadn't noticed, could the other students have?

At that thought, he quietly turned back to the second question on the papers and deducted marks from everyone who had listed [Tranquil Heart] and [Spirit Agility] as the traits of Lin Yuan's [Still Spirit Cat].

"This Lin Yuan has given me even more work..." Despite his words, he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

He also looked through the other nine plans Lin Yuan had written afterward. Any one of them would have been a good answer.

Finally, he wrote a score of one hundred on Lin Yuan's paper.

In fact, he had even wanted to give Lin Yuan bonus marks for the second and third questions, since he had provided so much additional information and insight.

Unfortunately, he hadn't established a bonus-mark rule at the outset, so he stuck to the rules...

Three hours later.

All forty students returned to the classroom.

Everyone looked a little nervous.

"Your scores and rankings for each subject are in the compartments in your desks," Chen Xuanbai said. "Take them out and have a look."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of drawers opening rang out one after another.

Lin Yuan smiled as he looked at his report card. It was about what he had expected.

[Beast Tamer General Knowledge]: 100 points, rank 1/40.

[Beast Tamer Practical Skills]: 100 points, rank 1/40.

[Beast Tamer Aptitude]: 97 points, rank 1/40.

[Beast Tamer Resources]: 81 points, rank 1/40.

Total: 378 points, rank 1/40.

Lin Yuan had been brimming with confidence about the [General Knowledge] exam.

His [Practical Skills] score didn't surprise him either—he had caught Sun Xingtian giving Baishi approving looks several times earlier.

Through their soul link, Lin Yuan passed the good news to Baishi, who was still in the [Pet Beast Space].

A joyful response came back, filled with delight at not having embarrassed its Beast Tamer!

As for not getting full marks in [Aptitude], that didn't surprise Lin Yuan either. Zhao Liang was far too mysterious and unfathomable. He figured the only reason he hadn't received full marks was that his current mental strength hadn't yet reached the standard Zhao Liang considered worthy of them.

That wasn't a problem.

But his score of eighty-one in [Resources] made Lin Yuan sigh.

He suspected that if the first thing he had done, before taking out the test paper, had been to open the box, his score might have been much higher.

Huang Zixuan, who sat in front of him, was also quite happy. He turned around, flashed Lin Yuan a V sign, and thanked him.

The reason was simple—during the day yesterday, he had asked Lin Yuan whether Chen Xuanbai would give them a written exam or something similar. Lin Yuan had told him straight out to memorize every classmate's talent and its uses.

Without Lin Yuan's prediction of the questions, he wouldn't have been so well prepared.

When exam results came out, some households rejoiced while others grieved. If someone came first, someone else had to come last.

Just then, the screen at the front of the classroom lowered again.

Chen Xuanbai used [Shadow Painting Art], displaying the entire ranking from first place to last.

Everyone looked up together.

First place: Lin Yuan, total score 378...

Second place: Huang Zixuan, total score 352...

Third place: Liu Mintian, total score 349...

Fourth place: ...

Then, as if by unspoken agreement, everyone's gaze settled on Lin Yuan.

Not a single person found it strange that Lin Yuan had scored full marks in [General Knowledge].

During his first year of high school, he had gotten full marks on every theoretical knowledge exam.

This was simply a field where he crushed the competition. There was no comparison.

Instead, everyone thought Huang Zixuan's score of ninety-five on such a difficult paper deserved attention.

What truly surprised them was that Lin Yuan's [Still Spirit Cat] had also earned one hundred points in the [Practical Skills] assessment.

After all, none of them had contracted a pet beast during their first year.

The fact that he had trained his pet beast to this level in just a few short days could only mean that Lin Yuan's abilities were far too well-rounded, far too unfathomable.

Everyone was also puzzled by their scores on the [Resources] exam.

Even their "legend," Lin Yuan, had stumbled on that one.

"All right, we haven't had our first lesson of the school year yet," Chen Xuanbai said. "Today, the four of us teachers will explain this exam to you, and that will be your first lesson."

"I hope you can learn from it and clarify your goals for the next two years."

"This time, none of you achieved a particularly outstanding score in the [Beast Tamer Resources] assessment. I'm sure you're curious about Teacher Zhu Neng's assessment criteria."

"We'll have him explain them to you first."

As soon as Chen Xuanbai finished speaking, Zhu Neng stepped forward.

He cleared his throat and said, "As Beast Tamers progress, making use of resources is an immense field of study."

"How to determine the value of pet beast products, how to obtain resources as efficiently as possible during wilderness exploration, how to learn resource-processing techniques and produce potions, or even [Beast Gear]—all of these require study."

"And today, the core of my assessment was resource use—using the right resource at the right time. You all did fairly well in that respect."

"I deliberately locked the resource boxes to make you think they contained lifesaving supplies that should only be opened as a last resort."

"But as Beast Tamers, the first thing you need to know is what resources you possess."

"Only by knowing what you have can you allocate it properly, rather than scrambling desperately to find something when you need it."

"Beast Tamers must plan ahead."

"So, if the first thing you did after the exam began was start answering questions rather than open the resource box, twenty points were deducted from your score."

"However, you did well in the other areas."

"We all know that resources are precious to Beast Tamers, especially consumables. Once used, they're gone."

"So, all forty of you did very well at conserving resources and not using them recklessly. I also assigned marks based on when you began using your resources."

"This assessment also included a small bonus question."

"You may already know that I put [Happy Water] in the resource boxes."

"Resources must be allocated sensibly, but we mustn't forget why we use them: recovery, healing injuries, and improving strength. And as a Beast Tamer, the most important thing..." He paused. "Is to let your pet beasts gain satisfaction and happiness from those resources."

"Pet beasts need encouragement. You must always remember that, and consider which resources are most suitable for them at which moments."

"Even water tastes sweet when you're thirsty. When you're starving, even tofu tastes like meat."

"I'm not telling you to mistreat your pet beasts. I'm telling you that pet beasts have emotions and thoughts of their own. Never treat them as tools."

"Lin Yuan did very well in this respect, so I gave him two extra points at the end."

"As for the reward for first place in my assessment, it's the resource box itself."

"Lin Yuan, you can take that resource box with you after class. Everything inside is yours."

At that, some students made envious sounds.

Lin Yuan's heart leaped with delight as well.

There was a piece of low-grade Transcendent [Beast Gear] in that resource box...