5: Flame Dog

It was the next day.

The morning light shone into the room.

Lin Shu had already woken up.

Yesterday, he only rested for four hours; the remaining time was spent meditating.

Because of the meditation, he felt refreshed and invigorated.

He twisted his stiff body.

His gaze fell upon Black Night, who was sound asleep by his pillow.

That little fellow was truly diligent; whenever it had energy,

it would run to the living room and spar with its clone.

That's why it was so weak and powerless now.

Then, two lines of text appeared.

(Meditated on Basic Mental Refinement Method – Proficiency +10)

(Practiced skill Assault – Proficiency +8)

Waking up meant 18 points of proficiency were credited.

His balance reached 54, instantly becoming much more plentiful.

Through exploration over such a long period,

he had also understood how to acquire proficiency.

On average, one point could be gained every two hours.

Most of these 18 points were provided by the clones.

After all, humans and Beasts are not robots; they cannot practice skills all the time.

Recalling how he used to accumulate points bit by bit,

he couldn't help but sigh, realizing he was now living a good life.

After a simple wash-up and breakfast,

Lin Shu woke up the groggy Black Night, placing it on his shoulder.

He prepared to head to Canglan No. 2 High School.

Two clones remained in the house, tirelessly practicing...

Canglan No. 2 High School, located in Shinan District,

is one of the Central Districts within Fengdu City.

There are a total of five districts in Fengdu City:

Shinan District, Central District, Beijiao District, Donglai District, and Xishan District.

Within the city, Canglan No. 2 High School also ranked among the top ten high schools, and third within its district.

It was only surpassed by Canglan No. 1 Middle School and Shinan Middle School in the district.

One can imagine how difficult it was for Lin Shu to be admitted to Canglan No. 2 High School.

Leaving the residential area, he arrived at the asphalt road.

The diverse scenery overwhelmed Black Night.

Its eyes spun non-stop.

Now, it was curious about everything outside.

Many strange Beasts walked along the roadside.

He spent another two daxia currency and boarded a horse.

The speed was fast, and in no time, they arrived at the school.

Entering the school through the main gate, he arrived at Grade One, Class 5.

Most of the classmates had already arrived.

Many had summoned their Beasts and placed them on their desks.

This made the originally empty classroom somewhat crowded.

Of course, Beasts of particularly large size were strictly forbidden in the classroom.

Only those smaller than 1.5m could be released.

There was a commotion outside the door; everyone looked up.

Upon seeing Lin Shu, they were then attracted by Black Night on his shoulder.

Black Night, seeing so many gazes, was not afraid and stared directly back at them.

“It’s a Shadow Mantis! I saw it in the bestiary.”

“So cool!”

“I’m so envious, an Elite-grade Beast.”

The quiet classroom instantly erupted, everyone captivated by Lin Shu and Black Night.

Everyone chattered, making it a bit noisy for a while.

Some bolder individuals directly reached out.

They gently stroked Black Night a few times.

This left Black Night very confused; what was this all about?

However, the commotion quickly ended.

The class monitor, Huang Yian, suddenly spoke.

“Everyone, quickly return to your seats and stop the noise.”

“The teacher is coming.”

Hearing this, everyone returned to their seats.

Lin Shu also went and sat next to the class monitor, Huang Yian.

After a short while, clear footsteps were heard.

The form teacher, Zhao Sheng, appeared on the podium.

He held a thermos cup in his left hand and a copy of “Basic Beastmaster Knowledge” in his right.

This class was a cultural studies lesson.

Everyone was quiet, waiting for the teacher to begin.

He took out chalk and wrote several large characters on the blackboard:

Level, Skill, Evolution, Attribute.

“I believe that you all have some understanding of these aspects.”

“This time, I will clearly explain them to everyone.”

This knowledge about Beasts is essential for everyone.

Everyone sat upright, listening carefully.

“Based on the energy within a Beast, levels are divided from 1-100.”

“Skills, on the other hand, are things that naturally emerge during a Beast’s growth.”

“The higher the quality, the greater the chance of awakening advanced skills, but this is not absolute.”

“Some Beasts have exceptional Talent in skill comprehension; of course, if you have money, you can also purchase skill orbs to learn directly.”

“Skills are divided into active and passive; everyone should thoroughly study skill combinations.”

“Skill proficiency is also extremely important, generally divided into five stages.”

“Beginner, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, Perfect, and Subtle.”

“Each stage is crucial for aiding in combat.”

After speaking, he opened the thermos cup beside him.

He took a small sip to wet his throat.

“Once the level reaches a certain point, it will hit a cap and cannot be further increased; this cap varies depending on the quality of different Beasts.”

“To break through the cap, evolution is required.”

“Currently, most known Beasts have their evolutionary forms.”

“After evolution, Beasts can continue to raise their levels.”

“There’s also the monthly exam in half a month; I hope everyone can achieve an ideal ranking and become the best batch of students I’ve ever taught!”

Zhao Sheng then continued to explain voluminously, even using classmates’ Beasts as examples.

“Ding-a-ling!”

The bell for class dismissal rang, and Zhao Sheng picked up his belongings and walked out.

As soon as he left, the quiet classroom instantly became noisy again.

Lin Shu looked beside him; a small red dog was lying by Huang Yian’s feet, playing with Black Night.

Its light red fur was somewhat shiny, its appearance similar to an ordinary puppy, and a flickering flame symbol on its forehead marked its identity.

Flame Hound, Lin Shu had some understanding of this Beast.

【Name】: Flame Hound

【Level】: Lv1 (9/10)

【Level Cap】: Lv43

【Status】: Happy

【Quality】: Elite

【Attribute】: Fire

【Talent】: None

【Skills】: Basic Skill — Bite - Beginner (3/20)

Extremely docile and obedient, Elite quality, it is one of the most suitable Beasts for new Beastmasters.

Of course, the price is also quite attractive.

The market price is around 200,000 daxia currency.

Huang Yian noticed Lin Shu's gaze.

“How about it, isn’t my Little Fire great!”

“Of course, it’s a Beast many people dream of.”

Lin Shu replied.

Huang Yian was generous and relatively frank in personality, and as Lin Shu’s deskmate, their relationship was naturally quite good; they often chatted and learned from each other.

As Beasts of the same Elite quality, it could also spar with this Flame Hound later.

Gaining some combat experience would also be good.

Lin Shu scanned the classroom.

He found that there were quite a few Elite-grade Beasts.

There were seven in total.

It seemed there were quite a few wealthy students in the class.

The remaining classmates all had ordinary Beasts received from the school’s Beast nursery.

Then it was lunchtime.

Canglan No. 2 High School had a total of three cafeterias.

The cafeterias for the three grades were separate, avoiding congestion when students and Beasts gathered together.

After going downstairs with his classmates,

an aroma that excited Beasts wafted from afar.