Chapter 24

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ordinary people would definitely have a headache dealing with these Earth-Element Rats. That was why they were always handing them over to Beast Tamers, even a group of rookie Beast Tamers like Shi Yu and the others, since the efficiency was extraordinary.

The battle power of the Earth Mouse that had grown some was basically comparable to that of a wild dog. It was very strong. In other words, ordinary people would definitely be afraid of wild dogs even if they had weapons in their hands.

But before the current Iron-Eating Beast with battle power and super vision, it could only be said that these Earth Rats were unlucky. One by one!

The Earth Mouse was glad that it wasn’t a bamboo rat.

It didn’t taste very good, all right?

Otherwise, it would definitely be annihilated…

But even if it was a bamboo rat, Eleven might not be willing to eat it.

Due to the evolution of its body, the Iron-Eating Beasts in this world basically didn’t like to eat meat anymore. Instead, they loved to eat metal ores, which was quite novel.

Shi Yu just didn’t know if there were any creatures like iron-skinned rats…

As the Thorny Monster put down the Earth Mouse that had been entangled until it lost its mobility, Yu Jingjing spoke, “This one counts as Shi Yu’s kill. Without his Iron-Eating Beast, this Earth Rat would definitely have run away.”

She had still underestimated the Earth Mouse’s reaction speed… The Thorny Monster, as a natural hunter, actually couldn’t capture the Earth Mouse at the first moment. It seemed that their level wasn’t good enough.

“Yes.” Chen Kai and Zhuang Yue had no objections.

The reward for eliminating an Earth Rat was only about ten yuan each. Even Shi Yu didn’t fancy it, let alone students with pretty good family conditions like them.

In Shi Yu’s opinion, if he could get rid of 100 Earth Rats in a day, he would barely be able to keep above Eleven’s food consumption and the nutritional supplements he’d have to buy.

But then again, he wouldn’t come here if it was to earn money.

Exercising its super vision was the most important thing!

“Next, we’ll act according to what we said in the car. Let’s split up,” said Shi Yu.

“Alright.” Chen Kai nodded. “Then we’ll meet here at noon.”

This way, the clearing speed would increase a little. After all, this farmland and the whole forest were too big.

First, they would split up. When they encountered a lone Earth Mouse, they would think of ways to deal with it. When they encountered groups of Earth Mice, they would call everyone and come up with a plan together. When the time came, the efficiency of teamwork would be higher.

“Let’s see who can get rid of more Earth Rats,” Yu Jingjing said.

“Ah…” Zhuang Yue looked at her Iron-Eating Beast and fell into deep thought. If they were to compete, she suspected that she would be at the bottom.

Why did she feel that her Iron-Eating Beast wasn’t even the same species as Shi Yu’s Iron-Eating Beast?

At this point, Zhuang Yue’s Iron-Eating Beast had already started to doze off in a daze. Meanwhile, Shi Yu’s Iron-eating Beast was still looking around energetically…

With good eyesight, everything was pleasing to the eye.

With poor eyesight, everything looked like a mosaic.

This was Eleven’s current mood.

After making the agreement, the four of them separated.

“The target is twenty, before noon…” Shi Yu said to Eleven who was following beside him.

“Wuu!” Eleven showed a serious expression.

No, it wanted to catch 200!

It was rare for its eyesight to become so good. It wanted to move around to its heart’s content.

“I don’t care how many we catch.” Shi Yu looked at the huge pit and said, “You are not allowed to destroy other people’s crops and fruit trees, do you hear me?

“Otherwise, not only will we not earn anything, but we will also lose money.

“Since we don’t have much money, we can only deduct it from your side.”

“Sob.” Eleven’s face fell, and it looked aggrieved as it dispelled the palm that was hardened already.

Life was hard!

“Let’s not train Hardening today. The main thing is to train your reflexes. With your physique, you can defeat the Earth Rat without using any skills.”

Shi Yu heaved a sigh of relief.

This fellow could even leave marks on steel plates now! Those fruit trees and crops really wouldn’t be able to take it!

“But no matter how many you catch, the remuneration you receive can all be used to increase your meals.”

When the rewards and punishments were clearly distinguished, Eleven’s eyes lit up.

…

Then, Eleven started galloping wantonly in the field.

The middle-aged farmer who was in charge of guarding and patrolling the farm arrived late. He followed behind to count the number of Earth Rats they had cleared.

This group of giant rats was indeed difficult to deal with. It was still alright if they encountered those far away from the hole. With Eleven’s explosive power, he could completely capture their trajectory and quickly knock them out.

But when it encountered those near the hole, even though Eleven tried very hard, a few of them escaped. It was so angry that it wanted to get Shi Yu to teach it Earth Escape on the spot so that it could directly go underground to catch them.

Shi Yu was speechless.

Didn’t you dislike skills that you reaped without sowing…?

Now he knew that having more skills was a good thing?

However, replicating Earth Escape was impossible. With the upper limit of the number of skills recorded in the skill index, every skill had to be chosen carefully.

Didn’t he see that he was so poor that he was looking for business opportunities with the Worm Silk skill?

If he got the Earth Escape skill, he would have to directly open an underground construction business.

Time passed quickly.

At noon, Shi Yu and Eleven’s battle results were temporarily at 22. On average, they had captured an Earth Mouse every five minutes.

Unfortunately, they didn’t encounter groups, or else there would have been even more.

At this moment, because Eleven was full of energy, it was still looking for Earth Rats all over the field.

Typical rats didn’t rest, so it didn’t rest.

The other three returned feeling dizzy from hunger. Only Shi Yu and Eleven were still working hard.

“Damn, you guys are still catching?” Chen Kai said in disbelief.

After the three of them gathered at Shi Yu’s side, they looked at Eleven, who was extremely active in the field, and their mentality was slightly affected.

It had been more than two hours.

How was this Iron-Eating Beast still so energetic???

Especially Zhuang Yue, who had a strange expression on her face. After all, her Iron-Eating Beast had started to nap not long after it started to move…

“After all, this is also a form of training. Apart from eating, my Iron-Eating Beast likes to train,” Shi Yu said after a moment of silence. “This is nothing compared to his usual training.”

The three of them: ???!!!

“Weren’t you in a bad state this morning? Why are you so energetic now?” Chen Kai looked at Shi Yu blankly.

It was fine if the Iron-Eating Beast wasn’t tired as it was a supernatural creature, but why was Shi Yu still so energetic?

Despite being under the sun for so long, it was as if he had been doing nothing.

Shi Yu casually took out the Refreshing Capsule and said, “Want one? It’s pretty useful.”

The three of them were affected even more.

After all, when a normal person was tired, they would subconsciously want to rest.

But Shi Yu… relied on supplements to recover??

This was too much.

“I think I know how I lost to this Beast Tamer from the city.”

Chen Kai subconsciously imagined the scene of the students in the city staying up late to study medicine.

He wasn’t afraid that others were more talented than him, but he was afraid that others would work harder than him!

Damn it, he had completely lost!

Zhuang Yue looked at Eleven, who looked completely different from her Iron-Eating Beast in the distance, and asked Shi Yu, “You… You guys, how many have you eliminated?”

“What about you guys?” Shi Yu asked.

“I have six,” Yu Jingjing said.

“Seven,” Chen Kai said.

Zhuang Yue sighed. “Iron-eating Beasts are too stupid. There were only two for us.”

“Wuu—”

At this moment, Eleven happened to return and caught the key words that the Iron-Eating Beasts were dumb, which it understood. It was immediately unhappy.

Don’t insult all the Iron-Eating Beasts as one…!

The physiques between different Iron-Eating Beasts couldn’t be compared!

Following it was the patrolling farmer who was in charge of cleaning up the battlefield for Shi Yu and the others.

“Don’t say that. This Little Metal-Eating Beast is the most efficient pet I’ve ever seen. It caught twenty-two Earth Rats in two hours. It’s very impressive.”

He had only seen this kind of efficiency on some eagle-type pets. He would have never imagined it from Iron-Eating Beasts.

Twenty-two???

The other three couldn’t think straight anymore.

Twenty-two? Not even 12, but 22???

Zhuang Yue was also stunned. Eleven times her total? Was he kidding?

“Let’s eat lunch and rest first,” said Shi Yu.

They gave up. There was no point in competing anymore.

Food was more important!

The village committee staff brought them lunch boxes. After eating a little, they still had to continue working.

This was also the first request for the four of them. But after all, they were here to train, so they just had to make do with lunch. There was no need for a lunch break; just a little rest would do.

Then, the four of them each took a simple lunch box and started eating, along with cold mineral water.

Zhuang Yue’s Iron-Eating Beast, Chen Kai’s Ice-Armored Beast, and Yu Jingjing’s Thorny Beast were also taken back to the Beast Taming Space to rest. Only Eleven… was still outside.

After wolfing down a few mouthfuls of the Iron Bamboo shoot rations in Shi Yu’s backpack, in order to not waste too much time, it ran to the side to train hard.

It felt that its explosive speed was still too slow. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have let so many Earth Rats escape.

Letting one run away was equivalent to losing a piece of bamboo…

In his grief, Eleven started running around the field.

This behavior confused Chen Kai and the other two.

Looking at the self-disciplined and diligent Eleven, Zhuang Yue, Chen Kai, and Yu Jingjing felt their chests tighten. They didn’t understand what was going on.

Although there was mineral water, they felt that this box lunch was really hard to swallow.

They looked at Shi Yu, who thought this was very normal.

“This… Doesn’t your Iron-Eating Beast need to rest???” Zhuang Yue asked.

This didn’t make sense! Iron-Eating Beasts shouldn’t be like this!!

Back then, she had been picking at the breeding base for so long.

Why didn’t she see such a lively iron-eating beast?!

“Why else do you think it can master proficiency-level Hardening?” Shi Yu was very calm throughout.

The three of them were immediately speechless. That made sense.

However, Beast Tamers who carried tonics with them, Iron-Eating Beasts who didn’t sleep at noon and practiced sprinting instead… You guys are definitely abnormal!!

In fact, it was proven that not only was idiocy and laughter contagious, but hard work also had a chance of contagion.

After finishing the box lunch and taking a short rest, Chen Kai and the others looked at the Iron-Eating Beast that was still in training and felt a little uneasy.

Even the known-to-be-lazy Iron-Eating Beast was so hardworking and diligent.

If it didn’t waste any time, what right did they have to rest?

“I finally understand why the passing rate of the Beast Tamer vocation assessment in the city is so high…”

“Are all the beast tamers in your city so hardworking? And how exactly did you train your pet to be so disciplined…” Chen Kai’s face twitched.

Was the education level in the city really that much higher than in the suburbs?

He had never seen such a situation like Shi Yu among the Beast Tamers he’d met.

“It’s not that exaggerated…” Shi Yu said.

It seemed that he had unknowingly increased the three people’s views on Beast Tamers in big cities?

Misunderstanding, it was purely a misunderstanding.

He brought supplements purely because he was helpless.

He didn’t want to work so hard either, but the cost of using the skill index was just that high.

What could he do?

As for Eleven, it was purely an accident!

It had the hard work attribute from the start. It had nothing to do with him…

Eleven might have belonged to someone else but was left over for Shi Yu to pick up.

Back then, only Lin Xiuzhu and he could tell that Eleven had extraordinary potential.

Lin Xiuzhu had a lot of experience in raising pets, and he purely had the trump-card guarantee of the index, so he had confidence in choosing any kind of pet.

By chance, an illogical combination of interplay occurred between Shi Yu and Eleven.

In any case, there was really no need to learn from them. They were special cases.

You mustn’t believe what you see with your eyes!

You will only run astray.

Although that was the case, it was difficult for Shi Yu to explain. He couldn’t persuade others not to work hard, right?

“How is it not exaggerated?”

“But it’s also good to exaggerate a little. Only then will there be a future. Don’t say anymore. In the future, I’ll request the Ice-Armored Beast to train at this level.”

“Me too. I’ll go to the pharmacy tomorrow to buy a box of Refreshing Capsules and stay up late to study.”

“I don’t believe it. They both have two arms and two legs… I can do it too if I want,” Chen Kai said through gritted teeth.

He had shamelessly followed Shi Yu on this mission because he wanted to see why Shi Yu was so strong and find the relevant reasons.

Now that he had finally found it, he naturally had to give it a try.

Zhuang Yue and Yu Jingjing looked at each other. Although they didn’t say anything, they felt that they had indeed relaxed a little.

There was clearly still a lot of time to work hard… Tomorrow, definitely.

Shi Yu: “…”

Were they really going to work so hard?

Then he wished them success.

It wasn’t a bad thing to be hardworking anyway…

Shi Yu was very pleased that his excellent quality could affect others.

“Shi Yu, are you going to take part in the professional Beast Tamer assessment? By the way, are you going to take the nursing specialization… or are you going to take the professional Feeder assessment?” Chen Kai asked.

“Well…”

A professional Beast Tamer was the traditional Beast Tamer promotion route. It tested the battle power of the Beast Tamer.

The assessment for professional Feeders was the Beast Tamer’s level of raising and cultivation level, so most of the work would be done at the farm.

The higher-level ones could work alone, help other Beast Tamers take care of their pets, and even give birth to related occupations such as Skill Teachers and Evolution Planners.

Logically speaking, Shi Yu should be a Breeding specialist, and he even had the index. He would definitely earn a lot of money in the future by taking the professional Feeder assessment…

However, his second talent was really strange. Shi Yu was really afraid of being caught and cut into pieces after being exposed.

Although this country was also a society governed by law now, there was clearly a hierarchy between high-level Beast Tamers and ordinary people. From the fact that there wasn’t even a relatively fair promotion route like the College Entrance Examination, it could be seen that this world’s monopoly was very serious.

In some public battles, there were also cases of Beast Tamers scheming against each other. It was very dangerous for sects to compete and countries to get involved.

Besides, there were also some highly intelligent transcendent creatures eyeing the human area… He didn’t want to lose his freedom.

Shi Yu thought about it. If the teaching method of the skill index couldn’t be changed, he definitely wouldn’t use this talent to teach other people’s pets skills before he had strong self-preservation abilities.

Even if it was a slightly intelligent wild creature, he wouldn’t teach it.

Unless it was a pet with almost no intelligence like the Green Silk Worm. After teaching it, the Green Silk Worm would not even know what happened. That way, there would be no safety hazards.

In short, only a pet that had signed a soul contract with him could be taught by Shi Yu safely.

Therefore, Shi Yu felt that it was better to take the professional Beast Tamer assessment first to increase his own battle power.

Some outstanding Beast Tamers could teach themselves skills outside of their pets. For example, many Iron-Eating Beasts in the Bamboo Stone Dojo could master thunder and fire skills.

It was even possible for some talented rare wild pets to master skills outside their own species.

For example, the Wolf Kings of the Snow Wolf pack basically all had deterrence skills.

Even though this kind of cross-species skill-teaching was very ridiculous, it was relatively common in higher-level Beast Tamer domains. It wasn’t impossible.

Although, there had never been a teaching talent that could teach pet skills the moment it was touched. Besides, he was a transmigrator with two talents at the beginning…

In other words, it was a dangerous situation.

In this relatively dangerous world, strength was the foundation of everything… It was always right to increase one’s strength first.

“Although I’m in the Breeding specialization, I want to prepare for the Beast Tamer assessment first,” Shi Yu said.

His answer immediately attracted the interest of Chen Kai and the other two.

Chen Kai said, “Let me calculate. Next one… No, the next next one, right? I think, maybe we can still go together.”

The Beast Tamer assessment was held on January 1st, once a year.

It was already July, there was less than half a year left until the next assessment started.

Shi Yu’s Iron-Eating Beast was currently at level five, while Chen Kai’s Ice-Armored Beast was at level six. This level didn’t meet the professional assessment criteria.

To qualify in the first round of the Beast Tamer assessment, the minimum requirement was for the Beast Tamer’s pet to have transcendent battle power. This was the level after awakening level 10.

Half a year later, their pets would barely reach level 10, let alone the transcendent level. Therefore, Chen Kai subconsciously judged that Shi Yu, like him, intended to participate in the next next assessment.

However.

“If I don’t pass the next assessment, I can join you in the next one,” Shi Yu said seriously.

If he didn’t have a follow-up source of income, his little savings wouldn’t be able to last one and a half years…

Therefore, getting a professional certificate as soon as possible could also reduce the economic pressure on Shi Yu.

He planned to directly participate in the next vocation assessment half a year later.

Chen Kai was confused.

“But isn’t your Iron-Eating Beast just at level five? Wouldn’t it be a little difficult to reach the transcendent level in half a year…?”

Things like growth levels were naturally harder to increase the further one went.

The bottleneck from the awakening stage to the transcendent level… Just look at how many creatures were stuck at that stage, after all.

The transformation from mortal to transcendent depended entirely on whether one could cross this gate.

“It’s alright. It might be a little difficult to reach the transcendent level, but awakening to level ten shouldn’t be a problem…”

As long as it continuously strengthened Eleven’s racial skills, its growth level would also advance.

Shi Yu felt that it shouldn’t be a big problem to reach level 10 in half a year. It was even very likely that it would be transcendent.

Even if one couldn’t reach the transcendent level, it wasn’t impossible to participate in the vocation assessment at the awakening level. Those with strength had always had special privileges.

Chen Kai realized something. “You’re talking about the special assessment???”

“The one where you challenge someone of a higher level??” The other two girls had also heard of it.

For some genius Beast Tamers and pets with higher racial levels, there was a special criterion for the vocation assessment.

That was, although its growth level had not reached the transcendent level, it could defeat real transcendent-level creatures while at the awakening stage. A pet with transcendent battle power and its Beast Tamer could also participate in the subsequent vocation assessment.

“Yes, the one where you can challenge those at a higher level… If you can’t reach the transcendent level, you can take this route.” Shi Yu smiled.

Wouldn’t it be easy for pets with high proficiency in skills and high-leveled skills to skip levels to challenge those above them?

At this point, Chen Kai also understood. For an Iron-Eating Beast that could master proficient racial skills at level five…

It was indeed not difficult for it to challenge someone above its level!

He had already been surpassed!

As Chen Kai thought about it, he felt a little regretful for asking so much. He was losing his mind.

Their beasts were at such different levels!

After returning, the training intensity of the Ice-Armored Beast must be super doubled!!

In the eyes of the three, Shi Yu was still very mysterious and powerful. It was just that they didn’t know if Shi Yu could really pass the vocation assessment in the next batch…