Chapter 13: The Ten-Crown King and the Arrogant One!

The setting sun gradually sinks into the mountains and sea as the evening sky is tinged with red.

On the road, there’s a constant stream of vehicles and horse traffic as pedestrians hurry back to enjoy a reunion dinner.

“Taohua County, your emperor has returned!”

In front of Dayuan City’s Beast Tamer High School, Lu Yu steps off the bus wearing a black denim jacket paired with straight-leg pants in a casual style, looking fresh and sunny. With sunglasses, a height of about 1.8 meters, and a mischievously curved smile, he has the air of a scoundrel.

But in reality, he tried to imitate the crooked-mouthed dragon king and found out not only could he not surpass him, but he almost cramped his face while trying it.

The little spider, dressed in a black gothic lolita skirt bought from a toy store on the street, tries to imitate him as well. Just as she tries to twist her mouth, Lu Yu taps her head, “Little kids are not allowed to behave badly!”

“Ying!” The little spider looks aggrieved.

After all, she was just imitating her master, so how did she become bad?

Since they’re out to forage, Lu Yu didn’t put the little spider into the taming space, instead he pops her into the pocket of his jacket for convenience.

Arriving at the school gate, he sees the leisurely, one-eyed, bald old man in the guardhouse listening to a tape recorder. Lu Yu hands over a Taohua County brand cigarette, greeting him: “Grandpa Qin, please help me open the gate.”

He himself doesn’t smoke, but his past experience in business taught him that having more friends opens up more paths.

The gatekeeper, surnamed Qin, is over sixty years old and quite rigid. He stops students who try to slip out for fun and even takes it upon himself to chase away couples in the small woods, being cursed by countless students behind his back.

To have easy access in and out of school, Lu Yu naturally wanted to get on his good side and handed over cigarettes a few times. At first, Old Qin didn’t accept them, but after the persistence of offers and a few smokes, coupled with Lu Yu starting conversations, they became friends over time.

Only then did he learn that the seemingly inconspicuous Gatekeeper Qin was formerly a scout of a large adventure team and a distant relative of the principal’s wife, a Silver Spirit beast tamer with a Four-Eared Hound named Tang Baihu under his care, which has acute hearing and was not just any floor-sweeping monk character. When it came to the movements and gossips of the school, he was the most informed.

It was also through Grandpa Qin’s introduction that the Taohua County project was applied for.

Being a public school established by official organization, Dayuan City’s Beast Tamer High School and its affiliated pet beast base were naturally among the top breeding bases in the city, abundant in resources and advanced in equipment.

Inside, they’ve replicated ecosystems like Taohua Forest, Starlight Lake, Frost Freeze Earth, and so on, all modeled after the ecological mysteries surrounding Dayuan City.

It’s part of the semi-institutional system.

Though the Taohua County project failed halfway, if Lu Yu weren’t a student of the school and without Grandpa Qin’s introduction, he might not have been able to get it.

If not for the threat of nightmares, he would have been able to live off this project alone for a lifetime, either falling back into the system or becoming a well-known local Pig Raising King.

The end of the universe is indeed the system!

Grandpa Qin, who is blind in one eye, looks somewhat fierce with his cloudy left eye. He glances at Lu Yu, takes the cigarette, puts it in his mouth, and mutters: “You’re coming to school so late, aren’t you afraid the pigs you’re rearing will run out and get eaten by the students?”

Lu Yu shrugs, “Those are supernatural creatures. They can’t possibly be eaten. In fact, I’m more worried that the pigs will dig up the school’s little cabbages. Then, the school might ask me to compensate!”

“Huh, you’re bold, kid. They’re all over eighteen and have contracted with pet beasts. Surely, they’re not so weak as to lose to your pigs, right?”

Grandpa Qin can’t help but roll his eyes, though he somewhat agrees internally.

Most Taohua pigs, although their strength is only at the high end of servitude, have been rubbing against peach trees for so long to relieve itchiness that their fur is covered with sap, becoming extremely hard. An ordinary Silver Spirit beast tamer might not be able to break the skin of a mature Taohua pig.

Moreover, to manage the herd, they even introduced an elite Taohua Pig King as a breeding boar, which lived to be eighty years old, immense in size with a hide harder than steel.

If it ever got out, no students could win against them unless the teachers took action.

Furthermore, although Taohua pigs are mostly docile, they still have the temper of wild boars, making them difficult to handle, having injured several keepers before. Only after Lu Yu intervened did he manage to tame the beasts effectively.

Even possessing the talent for “Wild Beast Affinity,” it’s enough to prove his ability.

Being personable and capable, it’s only natural to be looked upon favorably by others.

With that in mind, Grandpa Qin looks at the transformed Lu Yu and casually says: “Hey, you seem like a different person; did something good happen?”

“I’ve contracted a beast, why wouldn’t I be in a good mood!” Lu Yu laughs heartily.

As his strength improves, the pressure in his heart also lessens, and his mood is no longer as gloomy as before. After all, the essence of all human suffering is anger stemming from one’s own impotence.

Grandpa Qin nods, well aware of the information to exchange for the Gold Medal, opens the school gate, and reminds him: “Since you’ve contracted a beast, make more visits to the battlefield to watch the pet beast battles and learn some experience.”

Lu Yu waves his hand, “Good suggestion, I’ll remember your merit. Wait till I become a Morning Star beast tamer, I’ll appoint you as my Gatekeeping General!”

“Scram, kid!”

Walking into the campus, with the glistening grass and modern teaching buildings, Lu Yu takes the froststone-lined shady path to the open-air battlefield. This is the necessary route to reach the Taohua Forest area.

From a distance, he hears the uproarious cheers.

“Qi Wei, keep it up, take down Class Five with the tenth consecutive victory!”

“Charge for the ten-crown king!”

“Fang Yun, don’t be a coward, blow up that show-off!”

A large number of students have already gathered around the open-air fighting stage, their expressions excited and shouting continuously.

In this world, the strongest is respected, and the violent gene is ingrained in the bones. Hence, the birth of beast tamer battles and the emergence of numerous leagues.

A large-scale beast taming battle league can easily go viral online, holding tremendous commercial value. Some of the top beast tamers also profit from this, commanding sky-high fees for each appearance, not to mention subsequent advertisements and endorsements.

With the huge fortunes, along with official guidance, the beast tamers have an intense enthusiasm for battle.

Lu Yu glances at the fighting stage and recognizes one of the participants.

Qi Wei is a classmate from Class Three, whose family runs a medium breeding base, a genuine rich, handsome man who also studies diligently. His only flaw is that his cultural and tactical theory scores are always second, with the first naturally being him.

Whether in past or present, Lu Yu’s scores have always been the highest. Before awakening his talent, he is also regarded as a genius, hence Qi Wei sees him as a rival to catch up to.

When he ran off to raise pigs, Qi Wei went nuts, running to the Taohua Forest to ask him why he didn’t choose to breed battle pets.

To use an analogy, it’s like the relationship between Sasuke and Itachi.

However, they fell out after that day!

“What exactly happened back then…” Lu Yu reminisces but recalls that he had been weakened by continuous nightmares and had inadvertently fallen asleep at the time. In Qi Wei’s eyes, it was a sign of disdain, nearly driving Qi Wei mad with anger.

Lu Yu later went to explain, but it was taken as provocation, and a rumor even spread that “he would rather raise pigs than battle because the opponents were too weak.”

Thus, his reputation has always been that of a mad and wild pig-raising genius.

“What an unsavory nickname!” Lu Yu thinks to himself. On the stage, the battle enters an intense phase.

Qi Wei’s beast is a Copper-Armored Baboon, covered in a copper shell and immensely strong with a cruel nature. It can evolve into a Silver-Armored or Gold-Armored Baboon by consuming higher-grade metals, possessing high potential as a commander.

What a rich second generation.

Fang Yun’s beast is a Scented Wind Centipede, with potential as a medium commander and a race skill called “Scented Wind” that allows it to spit out corrosive toxic wind.

Both beasts have the strength of the pinnacle of servitude, just a step away from entering the elite rank, resulting in a powerful battle effect.

Bang!

On the battle stage, facing the Copper-Armored Baboon’s onslaught, the Scented Wind Centipede blows itself aloft with the wind, the spot where it stood just moments ago being pulverized by a punch, and while dodging the attack, it opens its mouth to send forth a black toxic wind.

Inside the corrosive black wind, rows of wind blades form, slashing at the Copper-Armored Baboon’s body, corroding the armor, and leaving deep bloodied wounds.

Next, it continually uses Scented Wind to press the attack, forcing the Copper-Armored Baboon into a defensive position.

“Fang Yun, keep it up!”

“The Scented Wind Centipede is invincible!”

The crowd from Class Five cheers, seeing a glimmer of victory, while others feel the battle is close to a conclusion.

Seeing this, Lu Yu shakes his head and softly says: “Fang Yun has lost.”

Just as he prepares to leave, a voice suddenly arises from behind him:

“You really are quite arrogant!”