6: Beastmaster Association

Two days later.

Early Sunday morning, Su Ze was eating a huge boiled egg with great relish, holding it with both hands.

He had used the god-tier gacha system twice more over these two days, but unfortunately, luck wasn't consistently on his side. Both times, he only drew the lowest grade bronze grade Spirit Beast eggs.

With his current Spiritual Power, he could only contract one Spirit Beast at most. Only after breaking through to the Tenth Level, with a significant boost in Spiritual Power, could he contract a second.

This was only because Su Ze's talent was exceptionally strong.

For others, they had to break through the Twentieth Level milestone before obtaining a second Spirit Beast slot.

Therefore, Su Ze had no way to hatch and contract the extra low-grade Spirit Beast eggs obtained from the system.

He could choose to sell them for substantial wealth, let the system recycle them to increase the probability of a better draw next time, or simply cook and eat them like he was doing now.

However, selling them would make it hard to explain how he obtained so many Spirit Beast eggs. If he caught the attention of the wrong people, he might be locked up like a chicken forced to lay eggs every day.

As for system recycling, there was a dedicated progress bar.

Recycling a Silver grade Spirit Beast egg would increase this progress bar by one percent, while a Bronze-grade one could only raise it by one-thousandth. It was a slow accumulation process.

But once the progress bar was full, the next gacha was guaranteed to yield a Platinum-rank or higher Spirit Beast, which was incredibly precious.

So, Su Ze chose to recycle all the Silver grade Spirit Beast eggs, while keeping the Bronze-grade ones for consumption.

Consuming demon beast eggs could elevate a Beast Tamer's Spiritual Power level, and Spirit Beasts eating them could also enhance their own strength grade.

"Truly worthy of a demon beast egg. Even simply boiled, it tastes far better than an ordinary chicken egg."

Then, Su Ze frowned: "But if this system makes me draw an egg every day, and I just boil and eat them... it makes me feel like a hen who's been practicing egg-laying techniques for two and a half years..."

After completely finishing the boiled demon beast egg, Su Ze felt the barrier to his Tenth Level breakthrough loosen slightly once more.

He had used the quenching thought bead he won from the wager immediately upon returning home two days ago, but even so, he was still just one step away from breaking through to the Tenth Level.

Years of accumulated foundation had made his breakthrough barrier exceptionally thick and solid.

Even the quenching thought bead couldn't refine it away; he could only chip away at it bit by bit by consuming demon beast eggs.

"It's about time. Time to meet up with Xu Yao."

By the time he reached the downstairs, Xu Yao had just stepped out as well.

Today, she had shed her school uniform, wearing a light, casual outfit with subtle, natural makeup that made her already exquisite face even more flawless.

This puzzled Su Ze greatly. The Beast Tamer Association used testing crystals to assess the levels of Beast Tamers and their Spirit Beasts. Dressing up beautifully wouldn't help at all.

When he voiced this question, as expected, Xu Yao shot him a glare... The Beast Tamer Association was the organization in Daxia specifically dedicated to managing Beast Tamers, holding importance on par with the Beast Taming Universities that trained them.

However, unlike the mere five Beast Tamer Universities nationwide, the Beast Tamer Association had branches in every major city.

Beishan City, where Su Ze lived, even boasted both a Beast Tamer Association branch and a Beast Tamer University, two key facilities.

The Beishan City Beast Tamer Association was located in the bustling downtown area. Its tallest, most magnificent building made it highly conspicuous.

In front of the association building stood a statue of a man seated on the back of a flood dragon. The statue was incredibly lifelike, as if it might start moving at any moment.

The mane behind its head and the man's hair strands were individually distinct, appearing vivid and awe-inspiring.

Dragon Tamer — Xiao Sheng, the strongest Beast Tamer to emerge from Beishan City, the pride of Azure Dragon Beast Taming University.

His level reached a staggering hundred. Among all Beast Tamers nationwide, only two had reached level hundred, and he was one of them.

His Spirit Beast, the Biyun Flood Dragon, possessed dragon lineage, making it an outstanding figure even among Diamond-rank Spirit Beasts.

Su Ze looked up at the statue and remarked, "A flood dragon with dragon lineage is already diamond rank... It seems Diamond is far from the pinnacle of demon beast bloodlines."

Diamond-rank Demonic Beasts were the highest bloodline level discovered in this world, with a level cap of a hundred.

It was precisely because of this demon beast cap that the highest level for Beast Tamers was also a hundred.

Su Ze recalled that in his god-tier gacha system, some special eggs were even rarer than diamond rank ones.

Perhaps those were the demon beasts beyond diamond rank bloodlines — true Divine Beasts!

Su Ze couldn't help but feel anticipation for the system's potential.

"What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and go inside for the test. They'll be off work soon," Xu Yao urged from beside him.

Only then did Su Ze step away from the statue.

Although the statue was awe-inspiring, the people living in this city had long grown accustomed to its presence, passing by without finding it particularly remarkable.

"The Beast Tamer Association is a place dedicated to serving Beast Tamers. It handles the sale and capture of Spirit Beasts, learning and upgrading skills, and also includes the Beast Tamer testing we're here for today,"

Xu Yao continued, "Those who pass the test receive a badge issued by the association. Only then are they recognized as official Beast Tamers by the state and can receive monthly benefits corresponding to their level."

The association's interior was vast, divided into different sections.

There was a trading area, where registered demon beast hunters sold their captured prey.

There was a healing area, where injured Spirit Beasts could receive free treatment provided by the association, though serious injuries requiring medication had to be paid for.

There was even a breeding area. The more powerful the demon beast, the harder it was to produce offspring, so specialists were needed to assist and increase success rates.

And so on. Every conceivable facility was available.

Su Ze and Xu Yao were headed for the testing area within the public zone.

Five testing platforms were set up there for conducting assessments.

On each platform was a crystal the size of a human head and a cockpit that resembled an opened eggshell.

The two walked together to one of the operating consoles.

During the test, simply pressing a hand on the crystal would measure the Spiritual Power level, while the Spirit Beast was tested inside the cockpit.

The final Beast Tamer level was determined by the lower of the two results.

For example, if a Tenth Level demon beast was paired with Eighth Level Spiritual Power, the Beast Tamer would still be considered Eighth Level.

And vice versa.

Although in actual combat, the former would undoubtedly be stronger than the latter.

Additionally, because there was a risk of losing control when a demon beast's level exceeded the Beast Tamer's Spiritual Power by five or more levels, a warning would be issued by the Beast Tamer Association.

In severe cases, the association would forcibly dissolve the contract between the two to prevent tragedy.

Beast Tamer testing was a completely free public service. With the Beast Taming College Entrance Examination approaching, many wanted to take one last gamble, so the line in front of the testing platforms was not short.

Su Ze stood in line behind Xu Yao. After quite a wait, it was finally Xu Yao's turn to step onto the testing platform.

Moments later, a mechanical electronic voice announced: "Spiritual Power Level: 10. Gold-rank Tenth Level Spirit Beast: Azure Phoenix Butterfly!"

The association hall immediately buzzed with excitement.

"A Gold-rank Spirit Beast? Boundless prospects!"

"Exactly! Having a Gold-rank as your first Spirit Beast means contracting a diamond rank in the future isn't impossible. They say Lord Xiao Sheng was like that back in the day!"

"Heavens..."

Under the eager gazes of the crowd, Xu Yao slowly turned and stepped down from the platform.

Her beauty sparked another round of heated discussion.

"Your turn..." Xu Yao whispered softly to Su Ze after coming down.

Su Ze nodded slightly and was about to walk towards the testing platform.

Suddenly, increasingly loud commotion erupted from the entrance of the Beast Tamer Association.

An urgent voice rushed in, shouting: "Everyone, get out of the way! This person is a Shadow Guard from Fusang!"

Ahead of him, a short, slender figure was running towards the awakening platform, shouting in broken Daxia language: "You think you can kill me? I'll kill a Daxia genius right in front of you first!"