44: Chapter 44 Towards the North
Back at home.
After having dinner with his sister and feeding the Silver Scale Bubble Fish some high-quality rations, Li Yu returned to his room to begin his revision.
It had to be said that Zhou Ya was very meticulous.
Based on Li Yu's level of cultivation knowledge, she had organized the tens of thousands of questions in the question bank, filtering out the ones he was prone to making mistakes on; she had even written down key memory points for many of them.
This level of care could easily lead one's imagination to run wild, but after interacting with her over the past few days, Li Yu knew that this wasn't her being intentionally nice to someone—it was simply a habit of hers.
If she was going to do something, she would strive to do it to the best of her ability.
“Thanks, Teacher Zhou,” Li Yu murmured softly. He then clicked open the question bank and began grinding through the questions one by one.
Under the soft light of the desk lamp, Li Yu's face was illuminated with a pale glow. In the dim room, the Silver Scale Bubble Fish swam about on its own, serving as a background element.
The room was so quiet that the only sound remaining was the crisp clicking of Li Yu tapping on the chiclet keys.
Apprentices and Breeders are different.
Since Li Yu hadn't taken the certification exam and was only an apprentice, no matter how many outstanding cultivations he performed, they would not be recorded in the Beast Database and could not become part of his personal legacy.
But it would be different after the certification exam.
After the exam, personal information is entered into the Breeder's Guild and relevant Cultivation Departments. At the same time, past and future cultivation results would also be recorded in the Beast Database.
The Beast Database is the only official database used nationwide. It records all successful beast evolution routes and is accessible to anyone.
Of course, they can only view the name of the target, its quality and grade, and the Breeder who researched it.
If a Breeder is willing to make an evolution route public, they can register the copyright and upload the route. Any Breeder can then obtain this evolution plan after paying a copyright fee.
Naturally, this information cannot be sold privately; otherwise, one would end up rotting in prison.
Conversely, if a Breeder is unwilling to make an evolution route public and someone else wants to perform that cultivation, they have to follow the network cables—no, follow the Breeder's information—to request the Breeder to perform the evolution.
These things are the foundation and reliance of a Breeder.
Without the certification, he was just an apprentice, lacking even the qualification for others to find out about him online.
Li Yu focused on grinding questions.
Suddenly, a set of footsteps approached from outside, and then the door opened as Li Meng's head popped in.
“What is it?” Li Yu asked.
“Heehee~ Just checking if Brother is being serious.” Li Meng walked in with a grin, bringing out the hand she had hidden behind her back. In it was a fruit platter that wasn't particularly exquisite but was neatly arranged.
There were apples and pears sliced into crescents and soaked in water to prevent oxidation, as well as shelled walnuts and nuts placed in a bowl to keep them from getting wet.
“Remember to eat, Brother. I'll get you more after you finish,” Li Meng said, placing the fruit platter on the desk.
“Okay.” Li Yu picked up a piece of pear from the water. With a crunch, juice splattered as the sweet aroma filled his mouth, causing his furrowed brows to instantly relax. “Not bad, not bad.”
Seeing this, Li Meng smiled so much her eyes crinkled into slits.
“How has Mom been lately?” Li Yu asked.
“Pretty good. The doctor said her condition is very stable, as long as she takes her medicine on time.”
“How is the caregiver doing?”
“She's alright. She helps Mom turn over and gives her massages every day. I can't move her by myself, so the caregiver auntie helps out a lot of the time.”
“That's good then.”
“Big brother, you keep going then. I won't disturb you. Good luck! Become a Junior Cultivator so I can brag about it when I go out in the future.”
Li Yu smiled at her words.
After his sister left and the door closed, the room returned to silence. Li Yu ate two more pieces of pear and continued grinding questions.
...
It was past 2:00 AM.
Li Yu shut down the computer, rubbed his aching temples, and carried the empty fruit platter out of the room.
The living room was dim and quiet, with only a sliver of pale yellow light leaking from the crack of one door.
It was Li Meng's room.
With a sense of curiosity, Li Yu turned the handle and quietly peeked his head in, exactly the way his sister had looked at him.
His sister's room was smaller than his, with posters of popular Beast Tamers and beautiful beasts pasted on the walls. Under a matching desk lamp, his sister was hunched over studying, a few strands of hair falling down and partially covering her face.
On the desk, there was also a small shelf with a soft basket on it, and inside the basket was a fluffy little fellow.
[Monster Name]: Northward Sable
[Monster Quality]: Elite (E+)
[Monster Level]: black iron Level 7
[Monster Attribute]: None
[Monster Talent]: Northward Fighting Spirit
[Monster Description]: A type of sable creature that fantasizes about flying to the heavens. Their unique magnetic field sensing allows them to burst with stronger fighting spirit when facing north, though... they don't have much to begin with.
What a review!
The Northward Sable was something Li Yu had taken his sister to pick out during a clearance sale of monster eggs. At that time, the family's money had to be saved for their mother's medical treatment, so it was bought using the combined New Year's money the two siblings had saved up.
Thinking of this, the scene resurfaced in Li Yu's mind, and a trace of doting and softness appeared in his gaze as he looked at his sister.
“Ahem.”
His sister was startled. Only when she saw it was Li Yu did she pat her chest and say, “Big brother, you're scaring me.”
“I saw the light on in your room and came to check,” Li Yu said, leaning against the doorframe. “Stop for now; you need to balance work and rest. The brain can't remember much when it's exhausted.”
“Hehe, I know. I just thought that since the College Entrance Examination is only a few days away, I should memorize as much as I can and try to get more points on the theory part,” Li Meng said with a sheepish smile.
The College Entrance Examination is generally divided into a Written Exam and a Trial. The Written Exam is for theory points, while the Trial assesses the strength of the beast. Li Meng's beast was only a lowest-grade Elite monster, so she was destined not to get points in the Trial.
Therefore, she adjusted her strategy, planning to maximize her score in theory, playing to her strengths and avoiding her weaknesses.
“Go to sleep, or I'm cutting the power.”
“Oh~”
Before leaving the room, Li Yu looked back at the Northward Sable; the silly fellow was still asleep.
After getting the Junior certificate, he would find some time to cultivate it.
So his sister wouldn't always have to stay up until the middle of the night.
She would definitely end up dozing off in class the next day.
Separated by a single wall, the two siblings—two people who had killed off many brain cells—fell into a deep sleep, carrying their respective hopes and expectations.
The next day, sunny.
After Li Yu had breakfast, he fed the Silver Scale Bubble Fish some rations.
His sister helped him check the items he was carrying.
“Alright, your ID card and admission ticket are both inside. I've packed two extra pens; in case one runs out of ink, you can switch. The water is in a transparent bottle, as some exam centers don't allow opaque ones...”
Li Meng checked while nagging him with reminders.
Hearing this, a warm smile appeared on Li Yu's lips as he said, “I know.”
Once the check was complete, Li Yu headed out.
“I'm off.”
“Mhm! Good luck, Big Brother!” Li Meng said with a grin. “If you pass, I'll be the sister of a Breeder from now on. I'll walk with the coolest stride at school!”
“Hahaha~ Alright.”
Li Yu bid farewell to his sister and, full of fighting spirit, stepped forward toward the exam center.