Beast Taming: The Beginning of Hatching an Ancient Dragon

Chapter 10: Final Exams

Although Wen Miaohua was quite enamored with Mao Mao’s fluffy head, she clearly understood that it was an impossible dream. After all, her own lazy pet, who slept all day, still refused to let her mother or anyone else touch it.

Mao Mao’s well-behaved eating habits attracted the attention of many high school students in their adolescence. The girls were captivated by Mao Mao’s adorable demeanor, while the boys were more interested in its fire-based attributes. However, no one dared to approach for a closer look—Wen Miaohua was still there!

After eating its fill, Mao Mao obediently returned to the Beast Taming Space. This time, more students witnessed Li Chang’an’s contract formation being summoned and retracted, eliciting either bitter smiles or looks of admiration. Overall, they had fallen far behind the duo from Hongyan No. 1 High School, not just in academic performance but also in achievements within the Beast Taming field.

Establishing a soul contract and opening a Beast Taming Space were both monumental challenges that stood as barriers to becoming a true Beast Tamer. Missing either meant one couldn’t be considered a genuine Beast Tamer. Unintentionally, Li Chang’an had shown off his prowess, though he himself was unaware of it. To him, forming a contract and opening the space weren’t particularly difficult and hadn’t posed any significant obstacles. Instead, it was the sudden appearance of the Hunting Notebook, with its deeply soul-corrupting allure, that had kept him on edge for several days.

The second-year students watched as the formidable duo left, their meals tasting like cardboard in their mouths. Rumors spread that many students had cried after the afternoon geography and Beast Language exams, their morale shattered. Part of the reason was that this year’s Beast Language exam was particularly challenging. Of course, this had nothing to do with Li Chang’an—Mao Mao was simply part of his strength.

The first day of finals concluded, and upon returning home, Li Chang’an was treated to a lavish meal by his mother, Mu Qingqing, as a reward for his efforts. “Your father will be back the day after tomorrow. We’ll discuss your matters then,” she said. Li Chang’an nodded in acknowledgment. Today, Mu Qingqing didn’t teach him anything new, so he spent his time in the kitchen reviewing the basics of pet food preparation for the next day’s exam.

The second-year practical final exam required each student to prepare a basic pet food, which would be graded based on its quality and effectiveness. Students at Hongyan No. 1 High School had already chosen their specialization during their summer internship after the first year. This choice was crucial because, upon passing the exam, the Hongyan Ecological Research Institute would assign students to select a pet of the corresponding attribute. For example, if a student chose to make water-based food, they would be assigned a water-based initial pet.

Some might wonder what would happen if a student awakened a fire-based talent during the awakening ceremony in the first semester of their third year but had chosen a water-based initial pet. The answer, as provided by Xiao Chang’an’s memories, was simple: it didn’t matter. The initial pet wasn’t chosen for its powerful attributes but for the practical abilities it could pass on to the Beast Tamer. Before reaching the King-level, only the initial pet could provide a 100% inheritance of its abilities. Thus, pets with single, practical skills and good racial talents during their awakening period became highly sought after.

Take, for instance, the water-based Bubble Turtle. During its awakening period, it was most likely to possess a single skill: [Clear Water Healing]. Its racial talents included a high probability of [Water Therapy] or a rare chance of [Turtle’s Breath]. The [Water Therapy] talent provided continuous healing effects in water-based environments, while [Turtle’s Breath] was even more extraordinary—it slowed the passage of time, effectively extending the user’s lifespan by 100 to 150 years. As a result, Bubble Turtles were several times more expensive than some dragon-type pet eggs.

There were many such examples. Many novice Beast Tamers from influential backgrounds weren’t after powerful initial pets but sought abilities that, while mediocre on the pet, could shine brilliantly when inherited by a human. It was common for fire-based Beast Tamers to have water-based initial pets.

Originally, Xiao Chang’an had planned to contract a wood-based pet, preferably one with a plant-affinity talent. Unfortunately, that plan was no longer feasible. Li Chang’an had chosen Mao Mao as his initial pet, and the ancient dragon’s power far surpassed any other formidable abilities. Moreover, what if he inherited one of the ancient dragon’s unique abilities? The benefits were numerous.

Still, Li Chang’an couldn’t help but feel intrigued by the pets offered by the Ecological Research Institute. As the son of the institute’s deputy director, he knew just how unique those pets were. Even if he couldn’t inherit their abilities, contracting a wood-based pet with healing capabilities would still be a great choice.

On Tuesday morning, the biology comprehensive exam concluded, and in the afternoon, the pet food preparation exam began. Second-year students gathered at the gymnasium entrance, entering in batches to take the exam. The sports field was occupied by third-year students, as it was also their day for mock combat exams. In a few days, they would face the real battle—the college entrance exams. For those pursuing the Beast Tamer path, the combat exam was of utmost importance.

Li Chang’an was in the third batch of students to enter the exam hall, while Wen Miaohua was luckily in the first batch. By the time the girl finished her exam, Li Chang’an was already inside the gymnasium, waiting for his turn. When the second batch of students completed their exams, he moved to the station assigned to him by the draw.

“The basic pet food preparation exam is about to begin. All students, please…” After the teacher finished explaining the exam rules, which took about ten minutes, the exam bell rang, and all students, including Li Chang’an, began their preparations in earnest.

Li Chang’an had three sets of ingredients for [Fresh Salad] laid out in front of him, as did everyone else. Each student had three attempts. Successfully preparing one dish earned 20 points, and only by completing all three dishes could a student achieve the passing score of 60. The prepared dishes would then be sent to a testing machine, which evaluated factors such as life energy, elemental content, and ingredient fusion to assign a score. Each dish could earn up to 10 points, totaling 30 points. The final 10 points were based on the speed of preparation. Completing a dish within ten minutes guaranteed at least 5 points.

Li Chang’an worked quickly. While others took ten minutes to prepare one dish, he finished all three in the same amount of time. His simultaneous preparation of three [Fresh Salads] left the patrolling invigilators stunned. Was this even allowed?

At 9 minutes and 10 seconds on the gymnasium’s overhead timer, a crisp bell rang out in the quiet hall. “Candidate No. 33 has completed all preparations.” Li Chang’an pressed the bell on his workstation, and after the invigilator confirmed his completion, the three [Fresh Salads] were collected and promptly sent to the testing machine. Due to the importance of food freshness, this was the only exam where results were announced on the spot.

“9.6 points.” “9.7 points.” “9.7 points.” “With a preparation time score of 9 points, Candidate No. 33’s final score is 98 points.” The mechanical voice announced Li Chang’an’s results, sending a ripple of shock through the students below. Even the invigilators were taken aback—none of them had seen such a high score in their years of teaching at Hongyan No. 1 High School.

One invigilator, slightly dazed, turned to his colleague and asked, “Old Ji, you’re the history teacher. Has our school ever seen such a high score in this subject before?” The middle-aged, balding teacher named Ji pondered for a moment before replying hoarsely, “No. The highest score since the school’s founding was 96.8 points. The last time someone scored above 95 was twenty years ago.” In other words, they had just witnessed history.

Some sharp-eared students overheard the teachers’ conversation, and their hands faltered, nearly ruining their dishes. Fortunately, they managed to recover in time. The gap between people could sometimes be wider than that between humans and dogs. Many students silently thought to themselves, “Li Shen is a legend!”