75: Chapter 75 Is this freshman too ruthless?

Since becoming a Beast Tamer, Lin Chen had seen all kinds of pet beasts.

Some, after being defeated, were intimidated by the Flame Claw Beast's formidable strength, feeling fear and anxiety, wanting only to avoid further combat;

Others were stubborn fools like this Scorching Viper, who, despite clearly being inferior in strength to the Flame Claw Beast, refused to accept defeat and insisted on continuing the attack.

Under normal circumstances, Lin Chen usually wouldn't bother with such stubborn fools.

Because according to the system's judgment, defeating such injured pet beasts again would not yield any experience points.

But since the system had actively issued a mission, he couldn't be blamed for attacking again.

Lin Chen looked at the Songsong Dog, the corners of his lips curling slightly upward: "It isn't very convinced."

"Ying wu?"

The Songsong Dog looked at the Scorching Viper, which was still provoking it despite being heavily injured, its dark eyes filled with confusion.

Why do this?

Shouldn't one hide in Lin Chen's warm embrace after getting injured?

The next instant, a fierce glint flashed in the Scorching Viper's eyes, and its slender body lunged out, carrying a scorching heatwave as it attacked the Songsong Dog once more.

"Ying wu!"

The Songsong Dog's gaze tightened, and its figure once again turned into a white streak of light, dashing out.

A moment later, the heavily injured Scorching Viper was curled up on the ground, while the Songsong Dog stood to the side, staring intently at it.

"Hiss!"

Every time the Scorching Viper tensed its body, attempting to attack again, the Songsong Dog would unhesitatingly extend its paw and strike the former's body with force.

Slap, slap, slap! One blow after another!

Under the clear disparity in strength, the Scorching Viper couldn't react at all; its body was struck repeatedly, pain spreading throughout it, and it kept emitting miserable hisses.

The sounds became increasingly miserable, and the Scorching Viper's resistance grew weaker and weaker, while the Songsong Dog secretly glanced at Lin Chen, its expression nervous.

"Not bad, exactly like that."

"You cannot be soft-hearted toward opponents; you must whip them severely."

But when the Songsong Dog saw Lin Chen's face full of smiles, even continuing to praise it aloud, the force of its paws grew heavier and heavier, striking the Scorching Viper's gradually limp body over and over again.

Do you submit! I asked you, do you submit!

"Hiss..."

Finally, the Scorching Viper collapsed completely on the ground, its eyes turning into swirls.

It had submitted long ago, but under the intense pain, it simply couldn't say it out loud.

[ Ding! ] [ Current number of submissive pet beasts: 1 ]

Lin Chen smiled, then looked at the Songsong Dog, which was still patting the snake's head, and coughed lightly: "Alright, alright, it has already submitted."

The Songsong Dog looked at the Scorching Viper, which had fallen into a complete coma, withdrew its paw, and kept its head slightly raised. However, upon meeting Lin Chen's gaze, it quickly lowered its head and walked toward Lin Chen with a reserved gait.

But halfway there, the Songsong Dog realized its paws had touched something filthy, so it trotted over to some fallen leaves, vigorously rubbed its paws against them, and only returned to Lin Chen's side after they were clean.

This scene left the Flame Claw Beast dumbfounded.

You detestable little guy, you even noticed such a small detail?

The Flame Claw Beast suddenly recalled that every time it killed an opponent, it would always touch Lin Chen with its blood-stained paws, and it immediately fell into contemplation.

Should it make a change?

After defeating the Scorching Viper, a question surfaced in Lin Chen's mind: "This Scorching Viper is worth ten points, but how is the academy recording it in real-time?"

Along the way, he hadn't seen any technological devices like cameras or sensors.

Could it be that there are pet beasts following every student, secretly observing and recording? How many would that require?

He looked up, through the gaps in the layered branches and leaves, toward the slightly pale sky of the secret realm. Apart from the occasional bird-type pet beast flying by, it was empty.

And deep within that seemingly empty sky, a pair of giant eyes was silently opening, overlooking the entire secret realm without any blind spots.

These eyes had no physical form, no iris or pupil; they were more like a sensory network woven from pure spiritual power and some special energy field, covering every corner of the secret realm.

Light, sound, energy fluctuations, life auras... all information was silently captured, analyzed, and recorded by these eyes.

Outside the secret realm, a temporarily constructed monitoring center. It was a spacious room with a huge high-definition projection screen in the center.

The screen was divided into hundreds of frames of varying sizes, each clearly displaying the real-time dynamics of different areas and different freshmen within the secret realm.

In front of the screen, Dean Zhao Honggang stood with his arms crossed, towering like an iron tower at the very front, his deep gaze slowly scanning through each frame.

"As expected of the Curtain Eye, this clarity and zero-latency sensory transmission are simply perfect."

An elderly professor wearing glasses with graying hair stroked his beard, looking at the screen with eyes full of admiration: "Isn't it a bit of an overkill to use such a strategic pet beast for monitoring the Freshman Grand Competition?"

A younger technician nearby smiled and agreed: "Professor Li is right. But it's also a good opportunity to fully test the stability of the Curtain Eye in complex secret realm environments; after all, this is the crystallization of many years of hard work between our academy and the Tiangong Manufacturing Group."

The Curtain Eye, a mechanical and spiritual type artificial pet beast. Its original design intent was for border reconnaissance, monitoring of important areas, and even insight into enemy infiltration operations; it is an absolute military and strategic-grade technology.

Using it to monitor a Freshman Grand Competition is indeed luxurious. But as this technician said, this is also an excellent practical testing ground.

Under the invisible gaze of the Curtain Eye, the position and actions of every student in the secret realm were accurately captured and recorded. Combined with the pre-set point algorithm, each student's points were updated and ranked in real-time in the background.

Zhao Honggang was noncommittal about the discussion between the professor and the technician; his attention remained on the young figures moving through those frames.

After watching for a while, he spoke in a deep voice, his voice echoing in the quiet monitoring room: "Which seedlings are worth noting in this batch?"

The male teacher responsible for summarizing the freshmen's data immediately stepped forward, brought up a floating light screen, and reported quickly: "Dean, there are a few outstanding candidates."

"First is Ye Zhen of the Ye family."

The teacher enlarged one of the frames, revealing a young man dressed sharply, but with a very youthful face, directing a ferocious-looking sub-dragon type pet beast, cleanly and efficiently defeating a Tier 2 Armored Rhino. The combat process was efficient and swift.

"He was already a Primary Beastmaster before enrollment, and his contracted pet beast is the Ye family's ancestral Radiant Bone Dragon. His skill proficiency is high, and his tactical literacy is excellent."

Zhao Honggang's gaze lingered on Ye Zhen's tense, baby-faced countenance for a moment, and he nodded.

"There is also Bai Lu." The teacher switched the frame.

A slender girl with a pale complexion appeared on the screen. She walked alone in the woods, accompanied by a beautiful butterfly whose wings shimmered with a hazy moonlight.

Suddenly, two Shadow Wolves lunged out from the bushes on the side. She didn't even turn her head; only her pale purple eyes moved slightly.

The next moment, the two lunging Shadow Wolves seemed to hit an invisible wall, suddenly stiffening, and then collapsed to the ground, howling and unconscious. Throughout the entire process, her Moon-Light Butterfly was not seen making any moves.

"Her spiritual power intensity is unbelievable; it has been confirmed that she has mastered multiple spiritual-type skills. Her spiritual power level is evaluated as approaching the standard Tier 3 level. Her pet beast, the Moon-Light Butterfly, has devious abilities, and combined with her spiritual power, it is difficult to guard against."

"Bai Lu, is that the child born with spiritual power?" Zhao Honggang seemed to have heard this name, and there was a hint of interest in his tone.

"Yes, Dean. Her situation is quite special, and the relevant report has been submitted." The teacher nodded in confirmation.

Other teachers discussed among themselves: "It seems the first place will likely be born between the two of them."

"Hmm, interesting." Zhao Honggang's gaze paused on Bai Lu's hollow eyes for a moment, then shifted away. "Are there any others?"

The teacher operated the light screen, searching quickly. Soon, his finger stopped on a name: "There is another freshman from Qinglan City, named Lin Chen. He is also a Primary Beastmaster who broke through before enrollment."

"Bring it up and let's see." Zhao Honggang ordered.

A corner of the high-definition projection screen quickly switched and enlarged. In the frame, Lin Chen was walking through the forest with the Flame Claw Beast and the Songsong Dog.

Zhao Honggang's gaze first fell on Lin Chen, assessing him briefly, and then his brows furrowed slightly as his line of sight fell on the two pet beasts beside him.

"Flame Claw Beast and Songsong Dog?" Zhao Honggang's voice carried a hint of confusion: "His contracted pet beasts are these two?"

"Yes, Dean. The data shows that the Flame Claw Beast is his initial pet beast, and the Songsong Dog was likely contracted recently."

The teacher reported truthfully, while adding: "Additionally, there are two points worth noting about this freshman."

"First, it only took him forty-four days from awakening as a Beast Tamer to breaking through to Primary. This speed is second only to Bai Lu among the freshmen this year, but considering his background, it is even more astonishing."

"Second." The teacher paused, his tone carrying a hint of uncertainty: "Before coming to the academy, he was a temporary assistant at the Qinglan City Management Bureau, during which he received a commendation and a personal Third-Class Medal."

A commendation and a Third-Class Medal? Zhao Honggang frowned. "What were they awarded for?" he asked curiously.

The teacher shook his head, a look of helplessness on his face: "Sorry, Dean. Regarding the specific reasons for his merits, the Qinglan City Management Bureau did not provide detailed information, citing confidentiality."

Zhao Honggang nodded thoughtfully. He was silent for a moment, then cast his gaze back to the young man on the screen. "Continue to monitor him," Zhao Honggang said slowly.

"By the way, Dean." The teacher spoke up again, "There is another freshman who just became a Primary Beastmaster two days ago, also from Qinglan City, and graduated from the same school as Lin Chen."

Zhao Honggang raised his brows slightly, sighing with emotion: "Qinglan City again? A small place like Qinglan City, yet it has such outstanding people this year."

"This freshman is named Su Qingyuan." The teacher reported while operating the console quickly. Soon, a corner of the central big screen switched.

In the frame, a young girl with a high ponytail and a beautiful, clear countenance was directing an Green Feather Wind Bird to battle against a Tier 2 pet beast.

The entire combat process was efficient and calm, carrying a rhythm almost like art; a suffocating combat tempo suppressed the opponent from beginning to end.

The other teachers, who were still whispering, gradually fell silent, their gazes firmly attracted by the battle on the screen.

"This child's command is too seasoned!" "The grasp of the battle rhythm is simply not like a freshman!"

Zhao Honggang frowned. He always felt that this freshman's posture and aura during combat were very special, faintly giving him the illusion of facing a Beast Tamer of the same level.

"Focus on monitoring her," Zhao Honggang finally issued the order.

"Ye Zhen, Bai Lu, Lin Chen, and now this Su Qingyuan; it seems the first place of this Freshman Grand Competition will likely be produced from these four." A senior teacher summarized.

Everyone nodded, their gazes turning back to the big screen, paying attention to the movements of the four.

The frame switched back to the area where Lin Chen was located. At this moment, he was encountering a new opponent—a Tier 1 pet beast, the Green Blade Mantis, which was emerald green all over with forelimbs like two sharp sickles.

The mantis hid among the branches and leaves, suddenly launching an attack, its sickles carving out a cold light.

After a fierce battle, the Songsong Dog quickly suppressed its opponent. The Green Blade Mantis was knocked over to the ground, its sickle-like forelimbs hanging down powerlessly; it was clearly heavily injured, struggling but unable to rise immediately.

According to common sense, the battle should end here; the target has lost its combat ability, and points can be obtained.

But the Songsong Dog did not back away; instead, it walked forward with small steps, raised a front paw, and stepped firmly onto the Green Blade Mantis's chest and abdominal shell, pinning it to the ground.

The Green Blade Mantis emitted an unwilling hiss, its sickle forelimbs trembling as they swung upward, seemingly wanting to make one last struggle.

Slap! Almost the instant the sickles were raised, the Songsong Dog's paw pinning it down didn't move, but its other front paw struck down with lightning speed, hitting the Green Blade Mantis squarely on the head.

Do you submit? "Hiss!" The Green Blade Mantis's hiss stopped abruptly, its head tilted, seeming even dizzier.

But its tenacious life caused its limbs to twitch slightly again after a few seconds. "Slap!" Another paw strike, hitting the same spot. Do you submit?

The Green Blade Mantis stopped moving completely. But the Songsong Dog still didn't release its paw, just staring with its dark eyes at the completely limp mantis under its feet, as if confirming something.

After a few seconds, the Green Blade Mantis's body twitched ever so slightly. Do you finally submit? "Slap!" The third paw landed.

This time, the Green Blade Mantis made no further movement, having fallen into a deep coma. Only then did the Songsong Dog move its paw away and return to Lin Chen's side.

And Lin Chen, who had stood to the side watching the battle quietly from beginning to end, looked at the completely unconscious Green Blade Mantis, a bright smile appearing on his face.

His smile appeared clean and bright in the sunlight filtering through the forest gaps, but combined with the scene that just happened, it felt extremely incongruous.

At the same time, the Flame Claw Beast on the side stood with its paws on its hips, grinning ferociously; the Songsong Dog pounced into Lin Chen's arms, a smile also rising on its face.

For a moment, the one person and two pets were all smiling brightly, as if tormenting this Green Blade Mantis, which had long since lost its combat ability, brought them great joy.

"..." In the monitoring room, there was silence. All the teachers were momentarily at a loss for how to evaluate this. Is this freshman too ruthless?