20: Trainee intern of the Beast Tamer Association
After Bai Ye sent his report, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean; there was no response for two whole days.
He wasn't anxious. Every day, aside from familiarizing himself with his surging power, he supervised Xiao Lan's rest and took the opportunity to use his grass-attribute energy to nourish its body.
He also took the time to grind his own Rank.
The energy required to promote to Elite Rank was quite substantial.
But fortunately, he would likely be able to promote within a day or two.
To ensure Xiao Lan's health, Bai Ye only let it get injured about ten times a day.
However, the proficiency of Night Demon Strike had improved, upgrading from Proficient to Mastered.
When used by him personally, it could summon a large swarm of black bats composed of undead-attribute energy.
Xiao Lan had already stabilized at the Transcendent Elementary, its aura becoming increasingly powerful.
On the morning of the third day, just as Bai Ye finished a round of "Photosynthesis" and was preparing to go Cultivate with Xiao Lan, his phone finally rang.
It was a call from Qin Yue.
"Hello?"
Bai Ye answered.
"The Association has received your report."
On the other end of the line, Qin Yue's voice was as cold and detached as ever, but Bai Ye detected something unusual in it.
"The value of the intelligence inside is average; neither high nor low."
"So, what about the reward?"
Bai Ye got straight to the point; he wasn't one to work for free.
"..."
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, evidently rendered speechless by Bai Ye's blunt attitude.
However, Qin Yue had already more or less figured out Bai Ye's personality.
"The Association has decided, as an exception, to let you become a Preparatory Intern of the Luoxue City branch in the capacity of a Trainee Beast Tamer."
"Preparatory Intern?"
Bai Ye raised an eyebrow: "What are the benefits?"
"You can access the Association's internal resources in advance, consult some non-public documents, and receive a fixed monthly resource subsidy," Qin Yue explained.
It sounded pretty good, equivalent to getting an iron rice bowl in advance.
"However, it is only a preparatory position, so you won't be able to enjoy many of the benefits."
"If you want to become a full-fledged intern, you need to complete a trial task."
Preparatory Intern? What kind of Russian-doll profession was this? It was just like Transcendent Great Perfection Peak.
"What task?"
Despite his internal complaints, Bai Ye was interested.
He didn't have many ways to make money, so if he could take on stable tasks from the Beast Tamer Association, that would be nice.
"Go to a Secret Realm friendly to the Association and act as a sparring partner for the offspring of a Demonic Beast race inside for a period of time."
"Sparring partner?"
Bai Ye was stunned for a moment; this task sounded a bit strange.
Was she sure she meant a Demonic Beast race, and not some Beast Tamer Family?
"Yes, that race is called the 'Phantom Cat Clan'. They are naturally friendly to humans and are one of the Association's important partners."
"Meow?"
Various images of fluffy cats instantly appeared in Bai Ye's mind.
If Lin Anan found out, she would probably go crazy.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, I just think this task sounds like it shouldn't be difficult."
Bai Ye cleared his throat.
"Don't be too happy too soon. Although the Phantom Cat Clan is friendly to humans, they are very arrogant. Wanting to gain their approval is not an easy thing."
"Every year, many Geniuses who think too highly of themselves are weeded out at this stage."
"When do we leave?"
Even if there wasn't a challenge, Bai Ye wanted to see the Phantom Cat Clan. The school had talked about them, but he had never seen a real Phantom Cat before.
If he was lucky, he might even be able to gain the approval of a Phantom Cat.
"Tomorrow at 8:00 AM, someone will come to the entrance of your residential complex to pick you up. I have other things to do and cannot go. There is a Senior in the Association who is specifically responsible for liaising with the Phantom Cat Clan."
"Okay, I understand."
"Right."
Qin Yue added one more sentence before hanging up.
"For this mission, besides you, there are five other interns from Beast Tamer universities in other cities. They are all Second-Tier Beast Tamer, so they count as your competitors. Good luck."
Hanging up the phone, Bai Ye rested his chin on his hand and thought.
Second-Tier Beast Tamer generally possess two beast taming space.
They can contract two beast pet.
But there are also some Beast Tamer who only Cultivate one beast pet, pouring all their resources onto that one beast pet.
At lower Rank, they are stronger than Beast Tamer who normally contract two beast pet.
He also wanted to see what level his current strength was compared to a genuine Second-Tier Beast Tamer.
Before the Sacred Dragon Cup, should he find them to test it out?
...
Early the next morning, Bai Ye appeared at the entrance of the residential complex on time.
A black commercial vehicle that looked quite ordinary was already parked on the side of the road.
The car window rolled down, revealing the face of a mature and steady man.
He looked to be in his thirties and was wearing a black Association uniform.
He smiled kindly at Bai Ye.
"You must be Bai Ye, right? My name is Li Wei, and I am the person in charge of taking you all to 'Xuxia Forest' this time."
"W... Hello, Brother Li."
That word almost slipped out, but Bai Ye quickly changed his phrasing and greeted him.
"Get in the car; everyone else is already inside."
Bai Ye opened the car door and saw five young people already sitting in the back seat.
Three men and two women, all looking a few years older than him, wearing school uniforms from different universities.
They must be the Second-Tier Beast Tamer Qin Yue mentioned.
Seeing Bai Ye get in, the five pairs of eyes turned to look at him in unison.
A boy wearing a blue tracksuit, who looked very sunny, took the initiative to smile at him.
"Hello, my name is Chen Yang, from Wenshui Capital Beast Tamer University."
"Bai Ye, Luoxue City No. 2 High School."
Bai Ye also stated his background.
"No. 2 High School?"
Hearing this name, the expressions of the others in the car turned somewhat strange.
A high school student?
Participating in the Association's internship trial together with students from prestigious universities like them?
Was there some kind of mistake?
"Brother Li, who is this?"
A girl with short hair, who looked very capable, couldn't help but ask.
"Bai Ye is a Preparatory Intern specially recruited by the Association. He is participating in the trial with you all this time," Li Wei explained while driving.
"He's actually a special recruit!"
The atmosphere in the car became even more subtle.
Anyone who can be specially recruited by the Beast Tamer Association is, without exception, a Genius among Geniuses.
If nothing went wrong, Bai Ye probably wouldn't even need to take the College Entrance Examination. Based solely on his status as a Preparatory Intern, a bunch of universities would be fighting over him.
Second-Tier? Or Third-Tier?
As for First-Tier, that wasn't even in the realm of their consideration.
"Alright, everyone will be colleagues from now on, so get to know each other on the way."
Li Wei seemed not to notice the strange atmosphere in the car and began to introduce the mission by himself.
"The destination this time is Xuxia Forest, a very stable Second-Tier Secret Realm, and also one of the Secret Realm in our Luoxue City."
"The Secret Realm has regulations; it only allows Beast Tamer of Second-Tier and below to enter, so we personnel responsible for internal affairs are basically all Second-Tier."
"Your task is to gain the approval of the Phantom Cat Clan within the Secret Realm."
"As long as you can make their elders satisfied with your training results, the mission is considered a success."
"Of course, if you perform well enough, you might even have the chance to take away a gifted Phantom Cat cub from them as your initial beast pet."
Li Wei's words made the eyes of the few university students in the car light up.
The Phantom Cat Clan are very rare beast pet in the outside world, and they have high aesthetic appeal; they are very hard to buy on the market.
If they could get one, then this internship would be a huge profit.
Bai Ye's heart also stirred.
He remembered Lin Anan's face when she was crying and complaining about not being able to contract a fluffy beast pet.
"If I could bring one back, she would probably be so happy she'd jump up."
He thought about this and looked out the window.
Alright, actually, he himself also wanted a Phantom Cat; it just depends on whether he can get their approval this time.
The car had already driven out of the city and was heading towards the suburbs.