49: Chapter 49 First, Second, Third, Grand Slam

As the three of them deliberately dragged their feet down the mountain, it was already afternoon by the time they reached the bottom, carrying several scarlet snake-skin bags, one of which was dripping blood.

This was because they had encountered three Mountain Horn Deer on the way down; the Sha Jin Wolf had chased after them and only managed to bite one to death. After a pause of just a few seconds, the remaining two leaped and twisted, disappearing directly into the woods.

Although they could catch the scent, under Qin Ding's restraint, the Sha Jin Wolf did not pursue.

"We're almost there, let's confirm one more time."

"Wan Kang, you get the Brocade Fighting Chicken head, the Green Mantis head, the Earth Rat head, and two Mountain Boar heads."

"Mu Xue, you get the Mountain Horn Deer head and three Sharp-Toothed Crocodile heads, while I get the six Black Wolf heads and two Green Wolf heads."

"Any problems?"

As he finished speaking, Qin Ding didn't even look at Bai Muxue, his gaze locking onto Wan Kang as if targeting him.

Wan Kang didn't mind at all; after all, having spent three days and two nights together, he had grown somewhat accustomed to it, so he immediately shook his head. "No, but, am I getting too much?"

Five beast heads, although three were considered small, there were still two Mountain Boar heads; these were large beast heads, and one was worth several small ones.

Qin Ding nodded slightly upon hearing this. "That's fine, let's pick up the pace."

For the rest of the journey, the three of them didn't speak, instead quickening their pace down the mountain. Only the wolf, Da Hei, despite leading the way, kept looking back at the path they had descended with lingering attachment.

Wan Kang, walking behind, saw this and assumed Qin Ding's beast was afraid he would 'run off with the cash,' having seen the Sha Jin Wolf's combat prowess clearly.

He immediately chose to keep a certain distance from the Pink Pig, his eyes firm and his expression serious.

About half an hour later, led by Da Hei, the three returned to the spot where they had ascended three days ago, and at this very moment.

Present were only the homeroom teachers of the three Beast Taming Classes, the instructors of the three Beast Taming Classes, and the principal.

Besides them, there were the other students who had participated in the Class Competition and had already descended the mountain. Qin Ding swept a glance over them; Zhou Xiang, whose arm he had severed yesterday, was not present.

Perhaps he was currently in the school infirmary receiving treatment? After all, it was a severed arm injury; even with a Level 30+ beast as the attending physician, it would take a few days to fully recover without sequelae.

Principal Chu Shan stood at the very front, hands behind his back, looking stern, but when he saw the pile of snake-skin bags and urea bags on the Pink Pig, his eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

With just this one look, Chu Shan understood that the first and second places were indisputable; only this third place might still hold some surprises.

The Class 2 monitor's face turned pale, and his legs felt unsteady when he saw those huge snake-skin bags.

"This... is this fake?"

The participants from Class 3 were standing right next to Class 2; upon hearing the commotion from Class 2, the people from Class 3 were much the same, their eyes seemingly glued to the snake-skin bags on the Pink Pig.

Only Chen Rui and Cao Yun showed a calm expression, as if this was expected, or even rightfully so.

"I think the first and second places must be Qin Ding and Bai Muxue. Chen Rui, do you think third place will fall to this guy named Wan Kang?"

Chen Rui's mouth twitched at the words, and he glanced unobtrusively at the Class 2 monitor, who was already so nervous his palms were clenched into fists.

This is being nervous? If you had a genius leading your team trying to intercept Qin Ding, you would even be able to feel how close death actually is.

It was just that Qin Ding still had principles; when he took action, he only targeted the ringleader and didn't make things difficult for him and Cao Yun. As for the spoils being snatched away?

Just as Zhou Xiang said, they wanted to be sneaky, and they failed; it was just winner takes all.

If they had won, they would be the ones standing at the front right now.

As the instructor for Class 1, Liu Jun felt very satisfied and happy to see this impressive scene, but he still had to feign an impartial and selfless appearance on his face.

"Hey... uh... put the bags down and open them. Separate the large beast heads and small beast heads; don't stack them."

Qin Ding subconsciously took an extra look at Liu Jun upon hearing this, and the three of them finally opened the bags one by one.

"Holy crap? So many wolf heads? No way... did they run into a wolf pack on the mountain? Not to mention surviving, they didn't even get injured??"

"Wolf heads? Did you see that massive crocodile head? Answer me! That one is worth at least two!"

"Baboons... wolf heads, crocodile heads... no, don't you see that some of the beast heads there look familiar? Green Wolf heads, Earth Rat heads, and Green Mantis heads. Don't you really find them familiar?"

Chen Rui and Cao Yun didn't offer an opinion; they just stood there quietly, rolling their eyes.

Oh, are you scared now?

When the two of them came down earlier, why didn't many people believe them? Only now do they believe that Beast Tamers and beasts were actually dying on the mountain, rather than just being injured and taken away for treatment?

Regarding the fate of Li Dong and the others, Chen Rui and Cao Yun knew the moment they came down the mountain and didn't see those three.

Wang Chunfa blinked. As the liberal arts teacher for Beast Taming Class 1, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief upon seeing the large number of wolf heads and the huge Sharp-Toothed Crocodile head.

He looked in astonishment toward the answer his heart provided: Qin Ding.

"Hiss... this..."

Only Liu Jun was not shocked or stunned; there was only deep, irrepressible joy.

Why?

Because he was a martial general; the strength he possessed didn't require the shock of others, but rather their recognition.

The weak are recognized by the strong, and the strong are recognized by the even stronger.

Chu Shan walked up to Qin Ding, lowered his head to scan the eight wolf heads laid out, and looked deeply at Qin Ding.

"Wolf heads, five points each. Eight of them, totaling forty points. Currently in first place."

"Crocodile head, ten points. Deer head, five points. Totaling thirty-five points. Currently in second place."

Finally, Chu Shan walked up to Wan Kang, looking at the corners of Wan Kang's mouth, which wanted to curl up but were forcefully suppressed; Chu Shan felt very helpless.

Because this was a source of points where most were students being carried; in terms of real strength, it was far from what was displayed. This was why Chu Shan felt helpless.

However... riding coattails well is also a part of strength; it just depends on how long this kid can keep riding them.

"Earth Rat and other small beast heads count as one point each, Mountain Boar heads count as ten points. A total of twenty-three points. Currently in third place."

After announcing the final rankings, Chu Shan turned around quickly, took a ring from the vice-principal, and nine bonus cards representing Changcheng No. 11 High School.

Starting from tenth place, he handed them out from back to front, but when Chu Shan reached the Class 2 monitor, this fourth-place finisher, he could clearly see the slightly dull look in the Class 2 monitor's eyes.

After quickly finishing with Wan Kang and Bai Muxue, Chu Shan walked up to Qin Ding, placed the Storage Ring worth 500,000 on Qin Ding's hand, and locked eyes with him.

"The reward given by the school must not appear in anyone else's hands in any form. If it is forcibly snatched, tell me immediately. The school will stand up for you, no matter who the other party is."

"As for how to bind and use the Storage Ring, it requires Mental Energy. For specific operations, you can learn from the internet."

After finishing, Chu Shan turned his head to look at the liberal arts and martial arts teachers of each class.

"Alright, teachers of each class, take your students back. By the way, announce the rankings of this Class Competition. Dismissed."