The wager

Jiang Hao had been buzzing with excitement all night. After a night of hard work, he had finally led his beast pet to conquer five kinds of monsters on the Thunderclap Continent: Antler Beasts, Giant Jesters, Hunting Beasts, Goblins, and Sataniel.

His little hen had also become a Big Hen in the Body Tempering Realm (level 11), and her newly transformed yellow feathers gleamed as though polished with oil.

She had grown even more attached to him, following him wherever he went, and particularly disliked staying in the Beast Taming Space. But Jiang Hao certainly wasn't about to bring her along and make a spectacle of himself.

To distinguish beast pet levels from cultivation realms, the Survival Simulator had specifically listed the corresponding levels, from lowest to highest:

Body Tempering Realm (levels 10-19), Qi Condensation Realm (20-29), Fusion Realm (30-39), Golden Body Realm (40-49), Mountain Moving Realm (50-59), Divine Valor Realm (60-69), Transcendence Realm (70-79), Saint Realm (80-89), Myriad Forms Realm (90-99).

As for what realms lay beyond level 100, no one knew.

Beast pets fell into three broad categories: combat pets, companion pets (also called ornamental pets), and working pets.

Combat pets were further divided into close-combat fusion types (melee pets for short), enhanced ranged damage types (ranged pets), tank defense types (defense pets), and support types (support pets).

Judging by her current condition, Jiang Hao had practically defied heaven and rewritten his Big Hen's fate, dragging a working pet meant for laying eggs into the ranks of combat pets. As for which combat branch she belonged to, that was still hard to say, since she had yet to acquire a single skill. That was Jiang Hao's only regret after the night's efforts.

Only after a beast pet comprehended or learned its first skill could its future path be mapped out. What troubled Jiang Hao so much was that natural-born combat pets would comprehend the skills best suited to them through their racial bloodlines. Whether they specialized in melee, ranged attacks, or something else had already been determined by their bloodlines.

Take that she-T. rex Liao Yunxiao's Blazing Flame Dragon King, for instance. His awakened bloodline ultimate, Heaven-Scorching Flames, had established him as a ranged pet.

That was why Jiang Hao cared so much about which path his Big Hen would take. Her first skill was crucial, but he currently had no idea where to begin. Rely on the hen to comprehend one herself?

Oh, please. Dream on.

He had at least that much self-awareness.

"Whoa~"

Jiang Hao walked out of his room with his hair looking like a chicken's nest.

"Cluck-cluck! Cluck-cluck!"

Man and chicken swaggered into the main living room as though they wouldn't recognize even their own family.

Everyone who heard them turned to look in unison.

"Pfft~ Hahaha! Third Brother, your little chick-your little cock got bigger overnight, uh..." Before she finished, Luo Su suddenly realized how her words sounded. Her face flushed scarlet, and she was too embarrassed to keep laughing.

The she-T. rex Liao Yunxiao, however, shamelessly activated her frenzied mockery skill.

"Whoa~ Hahaha! Jiang Hao, how did you make your little chick grow so big overnight? Your big sister is dying to know! Hahaha!"

Jiang Hao rolled his eyes, sat down beside his eldest brother, Long Yun, and picked up his chopsticks to eat breakfast.

Hearing her mockery, he snorted in disdain. "Tch, enough with the little chick and little cock. Have you no shame? I've given my beast pet a name: Ice Crystal Phoenix."

Hearing the word "phoenix," then looking at the Big Hen by Jiang Hao's feet, everyone sprayed their food again.

Luo Su said, "Pfft~ Hahaha! Third Brother, you're the shameless one, plastering gold all over your own face. A hen is a hen. Even a fallen phoenix that's worse off than a chicken would still beat your fake phoenix! When there are no phoenixes in the mountains, the hen crowns herself king! Hahaha, I can't take it anymore!"

Liao Yunxiao said, "Whoa~ Hahaha! When there are no phoenixes in the mountains, the hen crowns herself king! That's a pretty fitting comparison, Fifth Sister!"

Jiang Hao's face darkened. It felt as though a glob of old phlegm had lodged in his chest, leaving him thoroughly stifled.

"Cluck-cluck! Cluck-cluck!"

How humiliating. Hearing the Big Hen cluck, Jiang Hao could no longer endure it and recalled her into the Beast Taming Space. Out of sight, out of mind.

"All right, stop laughing at Third Brother. Contracting a chicken was hard enough on him already. You two, rein it in, and don't wake Father." At last, the steady eldest brother, Long Yun, couldn't stand watching anymore.

The main living room instantly fell silent, and Jiang Hao finally had some peace. After swallowing a steamed bun, he grew more resentful the more he thought about it, so he quietly questioned Luo Su. He had been so crushed yesterday that he hadn't even found out what beast pets she and Luo En had.

"Susu, what's your beast pet?"

At that, Luo Su put down her chopsticks with a proud expression. "My Beast Pet is a big kitty, an Elf Leopard. My brother's is an Earth Bear King, a descendant of the Titan Giant Bear. Jealous?"

Jiang Hao: ...

He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Comparing yourself to others could drive you to your grave. He should never have asked. Sure enough, he had only made himself feel worse.

People really shouldn't compare themselves with others. Being worse off than some but better off than others might offer a little comfort. The problem was that he was a bottom-ranking weakling with a combat rating of five. There was nobody beneath him to cushion the fall.

He was like the footwraps on the Dragon Kingdom's men's soccer team-so foul they couldn't possibly get any fouler.

Offering a lukewarm word of congratulations, Jiang Hao quickly finished the food in front of him, shouldered his schoolbag, and fled this place of heartbreak.

The moment he reached the classroom, he saw Chubby staring at him with eyes that had nearly worn through from waiting.

"Oh, my heavens! You've finally returned to my side in one piece! After that monster carried you off yesterday, I couldn't sleep all night. I'm so excited to see you-ah-choo!"

With Chubby's sneeze, a lump of smoked meat flew out of his nostril and struck Jiang Hao's shoulder.

Chubby was a chain-smoker. Every day, he would hide in the restroom and enjoy puffing clouds of smoke while squatting on the toilet.

And so this lump of snot, smoked and fermented for who knew how long, had successfully made its debut.

Looking at the black lump on his shoulder, Jiang Hao nearly brought his entire breakfast back up. Fighting the urge to gag, he took a tissue from his schoolbag, wrapped the thing up, and wiped it away.

He also gave it a curious squeeze. Mm, springy and silky.

Goose bumps rose all over him as he tossed the tissue into the trash.

Once Jiang Hao sat down, Chubby hurried over to apologize. "Sorry, I got a little too excited just now. By the way, after Teacher Liao grabbed you yesterday, she didn't do anything to you, did she?"

Sensing a hidden meaning in his words, Jiang Hao answered bluntly, "What could she do to me? She's lucky I didn't do anything to her."

Hearing that, Chubby returned to his seat with a sigh of relief.

He muttered, "As long as she's fine. Teacher Liao is my perfect dream girl. I absolutely won't allow anyone to defile her, not even my best brother."

Jiang Hao happened to hear him.

He shot him a sidelong glance, intending to retort, "I think-"

"Thinking about it isn't allowed either! Even thinking is a crime!"

The words You've got it wrong were apparently too hot for his tongue. In the end, Jiang Hao never managed to spit them out.

"Jiang Hao, happy birthday!"

It was the class beauty, Wen Ruxue, a sweet-looking girl with a little dimple in her cheek when she smiled. She was a good student, too.

The class monitor, no less!

Jiang Hao looked at the gift she held out. It was beautifully wrapped, and he could tell she had put thought into it.

Jiang Hao glanced at her again. Wen Ruxue appeared perfectly composed, but he still caught the shyness in her eyes.

Ah, being handsome really does make people like you. Grades have nothing to do with it.

"Thank you, Class Monitor!" Jiang Hao accepted the gift.

Good-looking people never lacked admirers. Their every move became the focus of someone else's attention.

Jiang Hao sensed a distinctly unfriendly gaze. Now that he had taken the gift, he only hoped the class beauty would leave quickly, but Wen Ruxue clearly had other ideas.

"Jiang Hao, yesterday was your birthday, so you must have held your contracting ceremony, right? What beast pet did you get?"

"Ruxue, you should just ask whether he could afford to hold a contracting ceremony, and whether he needs our help."

The malice in those words was obvious.

"Song Jie, how can you say that? We're all classmates. There's no need to be so nasty!"

Chubby had barely finished before Song Jie snapped at him.

"Shut up. You don't get a say here. Jiang Hao, why don't you just show us your beast pet and satisfy everyone's curiosity?"

Jiang Hao was in a bind. If he dared reveal his Big Hen, he would probably become the laughingstock for the next year. He had long since seen through people like Song Jie. The guy would certainly mock him for a good six months to a year.

Those words drew everyone's attention. A beast pet represented its owner's strength and appeal. On a smaller scale, its quality determined your status and how much weight your words carried in the class. On a larger scale, having a good beast pet determined your future prospects and achievements.

Take the Shenzhou Kingdom, for instance. Its greatest achievers were the ten Transcendent Masters, whose beast pets were all combat pets of the most formidable strength.

Seeing Jiang Hao hesitate to reveal his beast pet only strengthened Song Jie's suspicions. Jiang Hao's pet must be too embarrassing to show, or he simply hadn't been able to afford a high-quality beast pet for his contracting ceremony. At that thought, Song Jie smiled.

Wen Ruxue saw Jiang Hao's predicament. She had only wanted to use the gift as a chance to spend a little more time with him, never expecting to put him in such an embarrassing position instead.

Annoyed, she glared at Song Jie, the fly that buzzed around her all day. "Song Jie, don't go too far. Your beast pet is only an Iron-Armed Mantis. Is that really so impressive?"

Challenged to his face by the girl he admired, Song Jie's embarrassment turned to anger, and he pointed at Jiang Hao. "Ruxue, what's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with my Iron-Armed Mantis? At least it's a high-grade melee pet. What about him? He doesn't even dare bring out his beast pet to compare with mine. What exactly do you like about him? Just because he's a tiny bit more handsome than me? He's nothing but a useless academic failure who only knows how to disrupt class!"

"You-"

Wen Ruxue hadn't expected Song Jie to expose her feelings in front of so many people. Her delicate face turned bright red, though whether from anger or embarrassment was hard to tell.

Jiang Hao knew that, as one of the people involved, he would have to step forward now or this would be difficult to settle.

Besides, he was a man with some fire in his blood, all right?

"How do you want to compete?"

That was exactly what Song Jie wanted to hear.

Song Jie smiled arrogantly. "Good. You've got some guts. Since you've agreed to compete with me, I won't take advantage of the fact that you only got your beast pet yesterday. How about this? Next month is the Shenzhou Kingdom's beast pet tournament, held once every five years. Let's see who ranks higher in Primordial City-no, in the whole Shenzhou Kingdom. What do you say?"

Song Jie's proposal was fairly sporting. At least he wasn't demanding a competition right now, leaving Jiang Hao some time to prepare.

"Fine, I'm in. But if this is a wager, shouldn't we put something on the line? Otherwise, it'd be pretty boring, don't you think?"

Song Jie nodded, then suddenly looked at Wen Ruxue beside them. A sleazy idea quickly took root in his mind. "Ruxue, since this whole thing started because of you, you aren't planning to stay out of it, are you?"

Wen Ruxue frowned. She knew Song Jie was up to no good, but couldn't tell whether being dragged into this would turn out well or badly for her.

"What do you want?"

Song Jie chuckled. "Simple. If I win, you become my girlfriend. If he wins, whether he agrees to have you as his girlfriend is none of my business."

He had never even considered the possibility that Jiang Hao might win. How could a coward who didn't dare show his beast pet possibly beat him?

The moment he said it, the other students began egging them on.

Wen Ruxue's heart lurched up and down. Of course she wanted Jiang Hao to win, but could he? And what if he did win? Would he ask her out? If he did, should she accept or refuse? What did Jiang Hao think about all this?

As her thoughts twisted through countless turns, Jiang Hao said, "If that's all, it isn't very interesting. Let's make this exciting. I heard your Song family has a rare beast crystal they've treasured for years. Well? Do you dare put it on the line? Didn't you doubt I could afford a contracting ceremony? I'll put up a rare beast crystal too. How about it?"

When it comes to showing off, who have I, Jiang Hao, ever feared?

At those words, the entire classroom erupted.

"Song Jie, bet him! Come on! Aren't you so good at showing off? Don't chicken out!"

"Brother Jie, if you're a man, don't back down. You were the one who proposed the wager. Don't make everyone look down on you! Haha!"

"Go, Song Jie! We believe in you! Mwah! ＾3＾"

A few girls joined in the teasing, sending Song Jie's adrenaline surging. In a moment of hotheadedness, he immediately answered, "Fine! It's just a rare beast crystal. I'll take that bet. With all our classmates as witnesses, the loser pays up. Whoever backs out is a spineless little brat!"

"Quiet! What is all this disgraceful noise?"

Suddenly, Liao Yunxiao appeared at the lectern, and the lively classroom instantly fell silent.

Liao Yunxiao glanced at Jiang Hao in the corner, and the icy daggers of her gaze instantly emptied his health bar.