72: Chapter 72 The Freshman Competition Begins!

Hearing this, Yun Chuxiu didn't say anything, just stared straight at Lin Chen.

After a good while, he spat out two words: "For real?"

Lin Chen nodded: "For real."

"How long did it take?"

"Forty-four days."

Yun Chuxiu gasped, falling silent again. After a moment, he leaned in closer, pressed his right hand against his mouth, and lowered his voice:

"Buddy, tell me honestly, are you from a prestigious family or the future heir to some corporate group?"

"Or perhaps, have you awakened some special constitution?"

"This point is very important; it directly relates to how I'll get along with you, Big Shot, in the future."

Lin Chen spread his hands and answered truthfully: "Neither. My family is very ordinary."

Yun Chuxiu remained unmoved.

Lin Chen looked sincere: "Really, I have no reason to lie to you."

This world is just strange; when you tell the truth, nobody believes you.

Yun Chuxiu's gaze was deep. He pointed at the nearby playground, his tone filled with confidence: "If you're an ordinary person, I'll run ten laps around the playground right now."

Perhaps feeling ten laps was too simple, he held up two fingers: "No, twenty laps."

Lin Chen silently took out his phone and pulled up a video of himself at home.

This time, Yun Chuxiu's silence lasted longer than before.

Who knows how long passed before he opened his mouth and spat out two words: "Awesome."

Immediately after, without looking back, he turned and left.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to shed some sweat on the playground."

August 29th, early morning.

The horizon was just beginning to turn pale, the air fresh and slightly cool.

Inside the small training ground, dull thuds of energy collisions were already ringing out.

The training ground was a standard facility for every dormitory building; it wasn't large, but it was enough for basic skill training.

At this moment, the Flame Claw Beast was moving at an extremely fast speed, occasionally spitting out scorching fireballs from its mouth, accurately bombarding the constantly moving training targets.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three Flame Breath Bullets accurately hit the centers of three energy targets moving in different directions and at different regular speeds, and explosions followed.

"Alright, time to rest." Lin Chen nodded with satisfaction.

The Flame Claw Beast trotted back to Lin Chen's side, panting slightly.

The next moment, the system sound rang out:

[Ding!]

[Flame Claw Beast skill Flame Breath Bullet proficiency breakthrough!]

[Current proficiency: Mastered Rank]

"Finally broke through."

A genuine smile appeared on Lin Chen's face.

As the Flame Claw Beast's earliest mastered and most frequently used long-range attack method, Flame Breath Bullet had finally advanced from Proficient Rank to the higher Mastered Rank.

With a slight movement of his mind, he called up the Flame Claw Beast's current detailed stats:

[Pet Beast: Agumon (Local Name: Flame Claw Beast)]

[Level: Tier 2, Stage 5 (38/66)]

[Attribute: Fire]

[Race Grade: Medium Extraordinary]

[Moves: Flame Breath Bullet (Mastered), Sharp Claws (Proficient), Small Explosion (Proficient), Fiery Charge (Proficient)]

[Intimacy: 88]

[Evolution Method: evolution exp (450/500), tyrant dragon heart x1]

Scanning the data panel quickly, Lin Chen was quite satisfied.

Thanks to the bonus from the knowledge badge, as well as the focused high-intensity training and sufficient energy supplementation during this period, the Flame Claw Beast's strength had improved significantly compared to the incident at the Duanshan Mountains.

Its level had steadily increased to Tier 2, Stage 5, having already completed half of this stage.

[Flame Breath Bullet] broke through to Mastered Rank, and [Small Explosion] increased to Proficient Rank, leading to a significant overall increase in combat power.

In addition, Lin Chen had done some daily tasks during this time, leaving only the last fifty points of evolution exp for the Flame Claw Beast.

As long as he filled the evolution bar and obtained the tyrant dragon heart, the Flame Claw Beast would be able to evolve into a brand new form.

According to his search, the tyrant dragon heart belongs to Tier 3 Dragon-type resources and is usually produced by powerful sub-dragon species, with a high market price.

Even though Lin Chen now had 50,000 in monthly cultivation funds from the Rift Investigation Department, plus his previous savings, he still couldn't afford to buy it in the short term.

However, Lin Chen was not in a hurry.

As long as he obtained enough credits, he could exchange for the tyrant dragon heart through the academy's internal resource library.

This was actually one of the foundations and benefits of a top-tier institution.

The academy's internal resource library often stored a wide variety of resources, including Tier 3 evolution materials like the tyrant dragon heart.

Students could earn credits by completing academic work, participating in competitions, making special contributions, etc., and then use those credits to exchange for what they needed in the resource library.

This was far more reliable than trying their luck in the outside market or saving up money to buy them.

And as long as he achieved a sufficiently high ranking in this Freshman Grand Competition, he could obtain a sum of credits.

Lin Chen checked the time and said: "Let's go, it's time to gather."

A moment later, Lin Chen and the just-awakened Yun Chuxiu arrived at the school gate.

Over a hundred freshmen had already gathered here, roughly grouped by class, and the noise was deafening.

On the open square, dozens of flying mount pet beasts were already lined up. Beside each one stood an upperclassman responsible for guiding and maintaining order, clearly tasked with transporting the freshmen to the competition venue.

"Class 3, over here!"

Senior Sister Han Jiayue's voice rang out.

This senior sister, who had once been responsible for receiving freshmen, was now a teaching assistant for Class 3 of the Combat Academy.

Unlike traditional universities, the Qiming Beast-Taming Academy emphasized a high degree of openness and autonomy, with only upperclassmen serving as teaching assistants to help resolve tedious matters in study and life.

Lin Chen and Yun Chuxiu hurried to the Class 3 assembly point, where Zhou Ming and others were already waiting.

After a simple nod of greeting, the freshmen of Class 3 orderly boarded the backs of the flying mounts and sat down.

Soon, everyone had arrived.

"Set off!"

Following the order, dozens of flying mounts simultaneously spread their huge wings and took off one after another, a spectacular sight.

The strong wind stirred up by the flapping wings of the raptors kicked up dust from the ground and also brushed against the young, tense faces of the freshmen.

The campus, training grounds, and building complexes below quickly became smaller, eventually being replaced by rolling, verdant mountains.

After flying for about half an hour, the terrain below gradually changed from rolling hills to a dense, primitive forest.

Eventually, the raptors began to lower their altitude, gliding toward a huge landing platform on the edge of the forest that had clearly been cleared by human hands.

In front of the platform, quite a few academy teachers had already gathered.

And at the very front of the platform, a figure stood upright like a javelin. Just by standing there, he naturally emitted a heavy, heart-palpitating pressure, instantly making the noisy group of freshmen quiet down significantly.

That was a middle-aged man with a build as tall as an iron tower.

He wore a dark grey martial outfit without any markings, his short hair was like steel needles, and his facial features were as hard and chiseled as if carved by a knife or axe, naturally imposing without anger.

When all the freshmen stood in formation in front of the platform, the faint noisy sounds that had remained completely disappeared under the calm, waveless gaze of Zhao Honggang, leaving only the wailing sound of the wind blowing through the forest sea.

Zhao Honggang stepped forward. He didn't use any amplification equipment, but his voice sounded like rolling, dull thunder, exploding in everyone's ears:

"I am the Dean of the Combat Academy, Zhao Honggang."

A simple self-introduction, yet it made all the freshmen subconsciously straighten their backs.

Zhao Honggang, Dean of the Combat Academy at Qiming Beast-Taming Academy, a renowned Master-level Beast Tamer of the Donghuang Federation, was a figure who truly stood at the top of the Beast Tamer pyramid, with brilliant battle achievements and unfathomable strength.

"Your batch is very lucky."

Zhao Honggang's gaze slowly swept over the young faces with varying expressions, his expression serious. "You just happened to catch the pilot program for the academy's teaching evaluation system reform."

"Therefore, this year's Freshman Grand Competition will no longer be the child's play-like arena tournament of the past."

He paused, his voice suddenly rising, like a heavy hammer striking everyone's hearts: "Such competitions, apart from showing off flashy moves and distinguishing rankings for vain fame, are of no damn use to your real growth!"

The rough and direct words made many freshmen's expressions change slightly.

"A true Beast Tamer can remain safe and sound even when in a strange environment, even when facing danger."

Zhao Honggang's voice was like a booming bell: "Therefore, this Grand Competition is to throw you into a trial secret realm controlled by the academy for a three-day, two-night comprehensive field assessment!"

Although they were mentally prepared, hearing the Dean confirm it personally still made most of the freshmen gasp.

A secret realm is not an amusement park, and besides, they had to survive in there for three days.

"The rules are very simple."

Zhao Honggang ignored the freshmen's reactions and continued to announce in his calm, waveless tone: "After entering the secret realm, you need to explore and survive on your own. Defeating or killing wild pet beasts in the secret realm will earn you corresponding points based on their strength level. Finally, you will be ranked by your total points. Rankings can be exchanged for credits. I don't need to say much about the use of credits, right?"

"Of course, you can also choose to form teams, but the points earned will be reduced accordingly."

"Considering this is the first time the Grand Competition has been held in this format, the academy has appropriately lowered the difficulty."

He changed the subject and pointed to a long table nearby, on which thick manuals were stacked:

"Before you enter, everyone can take a copy of the 'Secret Realm Basic Survival Manual'. It contains records of known extraordinary creatures, edible resource points, basic terrain, and some life-saving advice for this trial secret realm. This is all the academy can do."

"Now, take the manuals, and then enter the secret realm entrance in order of class."

"This year's Freshman Grand Competition officially begins from the moment you step into the secret realm!"

At the same time, a familiar system sound rang out in Lin Chen's mind:

[Ding!]

[As a mature player, you cannot tolerate anyone else taking first place in the competition.]

[Mission Content: Please obtain first place in this Freshman Grand Competition.]

[Mission Reward: exp x100, triple exp card x5, basic physical fitness improvement]