“Ugh…What time is it? What class do I have this morning?”
Lin Xing rubbed his bleary eyes and sat up, his hair sticking out like a messy bird’s nest, his voice still hoarse and nasal from just waking up.
Lumiya crouched at the edge of his pillow, her paw lightly resting on his wrist as she pretended to sleep.
But her golden slit-pupiled eyes secretly peeked open a sliver, a mischievous smile glimmering in their depths.
She had actually been awake for a while now.
At first, she’d planned to copy a cat and give him a flying leap to wake him up.
But remembering that silly grin Lin Xing had in his dreams last night, Lumiya changed her mind.
Might as well watch this little fish embarrass himself for being late.
Anyway, it’s only the humans who get punished for being late. She, this “innocent” little beast, doesn’t know anything at all~
Across from him, Zhao Kai groped for the communicator on his bedside in a daze. The moment the screen lit up, his eyes widened like bronze bells, pupils shrinking:
“!!! It’s 8 o’clock! We’ve got Teacher Su’s Tactical Training Class!”
“We’re done for, we’re going to be late!”
He scrambled out of bed, nearly stepping on Dundun the groundhog—who had been let out for fresh air last night.
Dundun squeaked in fright and darted back to Zhao Kai’s feet.
“Lumiya, hurry over, we’ve got to rush!”
Lin Xing frantically grabbed his jacket and threw it on, at the same time scooping Lumiya into his arms.
Zhao Kai also snatched up Dundun and returned him to the Tamer’s Space.
The two of them bolted out the door like a gust of wind.
When they crashed into the Tactical Training Classroom just as the class bell rang, Teacher Su Qingyue was standing at the podium adjusting the projector.
All the students’ eyes instantly swiveled over, and even the air fell silent for half a second.
“Lin Xing, Zhao Kai. You’re three minutes late.” Teacher Su pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold glint.
Her tone was calm but brooked no argument.
“After class, each of you will copy the Battle Coordination Code twenty times. Hand it to me before class tomorrow.”
“Yes!” The two of them bowed their heads almost to their chests and answered in unison.
They slunk along the wall to the empty seats in the last row.
As soon as they caught their breath, Lumiya poked her head out from Lin Xing’s arms, her golden eyes curiously sweeping over the classroom.
Little White was already sitting in the front row. She secretly turned and mouthed a fist-pumping “you can do it” to them. Snowball on her lap bobbed its head along, its ice-blue collar glimmering with faint light under the lamps.
“All right, let’s continue the class.” Teacher Su withdrew her gaze and tapped the control panel. The projection screen switched instantly.
A simple human outline appeared on the screen, surrounded by nine hollow circles.
“Today, we’re focusing on the core of the Beastmaster system—the Tamer’s Space slots. Every Beastmaster starts with one slot, unlocking another with each rank advancement. Currently, it’s known that humans can have up to nine slots.”
This Teacher Su taught several subjects and was always imaginative but never strayed from the main point.
As she said herself: “Rules are dead, knowledge is alive. You only learn if you have some freedom.”
“Each slot represents an opportunity to contract with a new beast!”
A buzz of whispers immediately filled the room. Some excitedly counted on their fingers how many contracts they could have in the future. Teacher Su raised her hand and lightly knocked on the podium, restoring silence at once.
“Don’t get greedy just because you think nine is a lot,” she said sternly.
“Raising beasts takes a huge amount of energy, Magic Crystals, and time. True strength usually comes from training one or two beasts to their utmost, building an attack-and-defense battle system.”
At that moment, the back door of the classroom creaked open, and a boy in a deep gray training suit walked in, holding a silver-white Wind Fox in his arms.
It was none other than Yate, who had a past conflict with Lin Xing.
“Teacher Su, sorry I’m late. I just finished advancing Little Wind through 0-Star 6th Rank training.”
His tone held a deliberate hint of boasting, and when his gaze swept the class, he paused on purpose.
A faint trace of displeasure flickered in Teacher Su’s eyes, but she nodded.
“Just in time. Yate, as a sophomore, come and demonstrate tactical coordination for your juniors.”
Yate walked to the side of the podium. The Wind Fox, Little Wind, leapt lightly to the ground, a pale blue aura of wind elements swirling around its body.
When its tail brushed the floor, it sent a few fallen leaves fluttering.
“I’m at first rank now, so I’ve unlocked two Tamer’s Space slots,” he said proudly, lifting his chin.
“Little Wind is a 0-Star 6th Rank speed-type beast. I also have a first-rank, third-star Earth Bear—pure defense type. Just right for attack and defense.”
He snapped his fingers. Little Wind instantly darted around him, stirring a breeze.
“Next, we’ll simulate a real battle. Who wants to give it a try?”
The classroom immediately fell silent. The freshmen all looked at each other—
Yate was a first-rank Beastmaster.
Just his Wind Fox was already hard enough to deal with, not to mention a first-rank, third-star Earth Bear.
This was a total mismatch!
Yate’s gaze swept around the class, finally settling on Lin Xing in the last row. He gave a playful, provocative smile.
“That late student over there—since you ran so fast earlier, why not come up and try?”
Lin Xing felt his heart sink.
He and Yate had a grudge for a long time.
At the enrollment rewards counter, that bottle of silver-glowing Star Dew Potion was the grand S-rank prize, able to boost high-level beast contract success rates by thirty percent.
Yate had just broken through to first rank then and was eager to try his luck at contracting an A-rank beast, so he’d already set his sights on the potion.
But by the rules, the potion had to go to new students who hadn’t contracted any beasts yet.
All the other S-rank freshmen had already picked their partners.
Only Lin Xing was still hesitating, so the potion naturally ended up in his hands. Yate immediately approached with an arrogant tone:
“Junior, you don’t need this potion. Give it to me and I’ll pay triple in Magic Crystals.”
Lin Xing gripped the cool crystal bottle and refused. Yate’s face instantly darkened, but he couldn’t snatch it in front of everyone.
In the end, he spat out, “Just you wait,” and held the grudge to this day.
Lin Xing was still hesitating, but Lumiya suddenly jumped from his arms, golden eyes full of disdainful provocation.
A mere first-rank Beastmaster dares to be arrogant? Perfect time to let this kid see the might of the lord of the Sea of Clouds!
“Okay!” Lin Xing took a deep breath, stood up, and walked with Yate to the center of the training field.
Teacher Su announced the rules.
“Yate and the Wind Fox act as ‘opponents’. Lin Xing and Lumiya will try to break through the defense. Stop at a touch.”
Yate let out a light chuckle, his eyes full of contempt.
“Junior, don’t let your little beast cry in fear later. Little Wind, speed suppression!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Little Wind shot out like a streak of silver lightning, circling Lin Xing at high speed.
The swirling wind carried fine wind blades that stung Lin Xing’s cheeks.
“Lumiya! Straight ahead! Fireball!”
A golden flame condensed into a small sphere in her mouth.
She cocked her head and casually spat—
It hit exactly where Little Wind was about to move next.
“Huh?”
A flash of surprise crossed Yate’s eyes.
Little Wind was forced to brake hard, barely dodging the flame attack.
A few hairs were singed off.
“Jump! Attack Yate!”
Lumiya leaped into the air, a basketball-sized fireball forming instantly in her mouth, hurtling straight toward Yate.
She was intentionally “attacking” the Beastmaster, testing his reaction!
Cries of shock came from the audience. But Yate was prepared; his fingertip glowed with an earthy yellow light, and the massive Earth Bear Phantom appeared, its heavy paw thudding down to block the fireball.
Sparks from the flame scattered on the phantom, extinguishing at once.
“Not bad, your prediction is pretty sharp,” Yate’s tone grew heavier.
“But you forgot, the key is the coordination between Beastmaster and beast.”
Lin Xing stared intently at the field, suddenly noticing a tiny pause at Little Wind’s rear left every time it moved—a weakness when it caught its breath!
“Lumiya, shift left, attack the Wind Fox!”
Lumiya obeyed with a resigned air, twisting nimbly in mid-air.
The fireball split into several smaller ones, simultaneously targeting Little Wind and the Earth Bear Phantom.
Little Wind couldn’t dodge in time, getting grazed on the ear and yelping in pain; the Earth Bear Phantom’s energy wavered as its strength was split.
Yate’s face changed slightly, and he hurriedly retracted his magic.
“Not bad, junior. Didn’t think your beast’s firepower was this strong.”
Teacher Su watched Yate fall into disadvantage and grew speechless.
If Lin Xing kept going, there’d be no class left to teach.
She signaled for the match to stop.
“Excellent! Everyone, look—Lin Xing’s battle command was nearly flawless, and his beast’s firepower is tremendous. Even a first-rank Earth Bear could barely hold out.”
She turned to the class, “But, see—even though Yate barely gave any orders and didn’t activate his first-rank boost, the synergy between the two beasts was enough to withstand the assault. That’s the importance of system and teamwork.”
Lin Xing let out a breath of relief.
Lumiya jumped proudly back into his arms, but inside, she sighed.
Blasting fish is fun, but only if the fish can actually move.
With this level of strength, the other side isn’t even a fry.
It’s so boring, and she still has to pretend to be excited.
Thunderous applause filled the room. Little White waved her fists in excitement.
Yate’s gaze toward Lumiya grew more serious. Only he knew that, contrary to what Teacher Su said, he hadn’t just left his first-rank enhancement unused.
In fact, at the last moment, he’d given it his all, pushing the Earth Bear to shield with full power! Otherwise, he really would’ve lost face!
But even Yate didn’t realize—that fireball hadn’t been blocked, nor had it missed.
It was a warning from the other side!
In that instant, both the Wind Fox and Earth Bear saw it through the fireball!
They both saw a pair of golden, slit-pupiled eyes—endless draconic might, reflected through a small fireball into their minds, giving them a clear warning!
“There won’t be a next time!”