Lin Xiaomei and the others looked surprised.
Who would have thought that Qin Shou, who had bred such powerful beasts, was himself just a newborn Six-star?
This was completely unexpected for them.
Zhao Jing crossed his arms disdainfully, "Tch, just a newborn Six-star. And Lin Xiaomei even…"
Lin Xiaomei glared coldly at Zhao Jing, "If you keep mouthing off, you'll be the one going back this time!"
Zhao Jing opened his mouth, then clenched his teeth and shot a look at Qin Shou without saying anything.
Qin Shou rolled his eyes — Was this guy captivated by the charisma of me being a transmigrator? Is that why he's acting so melodramatically?
Shaking his head, Qin Shou spoke to the staff.
"I'm a student of the Breeding Beast System. Let me show you my Da Long!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Space Gate behind him opened wide, and a corner of a ferocious dragon head peeked out, accompanied by a low dragon roar that sent a chill through the group.
The staff chuckled with surprise, "Ah, a Dangerous Seven Stars Dragon Beast. Excellent, you meet the requirements to leave the city."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jing blurted, "Impossible! That Dragon Beast is just Dangerous Seven Stars. How could it have defeated Hong Cong's Dangerous Eight Stars Skeleton Giant Lizard in the finals?"
Staff gave Qin Shou a more scrutinizing glance and then suddenly smiled, "So you're the little…uh, student Mr. Yu often talks about. Not bad, you've got limitless potential."
Qin Shou noticed the peculiar smirk on the staff member's face and felt speechless.
Looks like the principal has been badmouthing me everywhere. What did I ever do to offend him?
Not only that — now it's spread all the way out here. This is definitely not good.
After the chuckle, the staff member regained his composure, saying seriously, "Alright, you all may head to the Weapon Department to pick up your gear."
"Okay, thank you, sir," Qin Shou replied with gratitude.
The staff's face stiffened — Sir?
Seriously, this kid is asking for a beating.
...
At the Weapon Department, accompanied by the staff, Lin Xiaomei explained to Qin Shou.
"Any student who meets the standards for leaving the city can receive basic weaponry equipment provided by the Federation. But once back in the city, it has to be returned."
Qin Shou suddenly realized, "Oh, so we have to return them."
"Of course," Lin Xiaomei chuckled.
Saying that, she walked toward a weapons rack, picked up a silver alloy longsword, and said with satisfaction, "This one's perfect."
Seeing this, Qin Shou casually picked out a black alloy longsword.
Yu Zhan and Zhao Jing each selected a alloy greatsword.
Following that, the group picked tailored black combat suits and, after logging their selections, officially left the city.
As they stepped beyond the gates, Qin Shou looked at the lush green forest ahead and said, smiling, "The environment looks pretty nice here."
Lin Xiaomei added, "This area is still under the surveillance of the West City Defense Team. Any threatening monsters have already been cleared out, so there's not much destruction."
After saying this, she pointed farther ahead, her expression growing serious, "Once we're past this forest, that's where the real battleground begins!"
...
Beast Breeding High School.
Liu Chao walked out of the school gate with a dark expression, recalling Yu Shusheng's cold attitude earlier, and a surge of rage boiled within him.
Yu Shusheng, you're merely a humble principal of West City High School, and yet you dare to disregard me like that!
I am from the Demonic Group!
Hmmph! And that brat too…
From atop the school building, Yu Shusheng stood with his hands behind his back, gazing coldly at Liu Chao's figure as he walked away.
...
Outside, in the forest.
The four formed a triangular formation as they cautiously scanned their surroundings.
"Roar!!"
Suddenly, a three-meter-tall Unihorn Saber-Toothed Tiger leapt out from the dense forest alongside the trail, charging directly at the seemingly weakest one — Lin Xiaomei.
"Watch out!" Yu Zhan shouted in alarm.
"Buzz!"
In an instant, Lin Xiaomei's fiery red Star Power exploded forth as three flaming fox tails materialized behind her. With a swift motion, three flaming whips lashed out, sending the pouncing Unihorn Saber-Toothed Tiger hurtling through the air, crashing into a thick tree trunk.
"Roar…"
The Unihorn Saber-Toothed Tiger, hit by the attack, now bore three deep, scorched wounds on its abdomen.
It howled miserably and struggled to get back on its feet, but its spine had already been shattered by the robust tree trunk. Paralyzed, it could only lie there, barely twitching.
"This Saber-Toothed Tiger is just Danger Level 4 — not a threat," Lin Xiaomei remarked.
As she spoke, her Star Power enveloped her alloy longsword, which shot out and effortlessly killed the Saber-Toothed Tiger. She then stored its corpse within the Space Gate.
Qin Shou, noticing her actions, curiously asked, "Lin Xiaomei, how much Federation Coins did your Space Wristwatch cost?"
"Not much — thirty thousand Federation Coins," Lin Xiaomei replied casually.
Since advancing to Newborn Seven Stars last year, she had gone out hunting monsters with her classmates.
Over the past year, she had easily earned a hundred thousand Federation Coins — an amount far surpassing her parents' combined annual salary.
"Thirty thousand…"
Qin Shou's heart sank — thirty thousand is 'not much'… seriously…
Wait a minute…
Something clicked in his mind — he quickly followed up, "Then how much is this Danger Level 5 Saber-Toothed Tiger worth?"
"Four thousand," Lin Xiaomei replied.
"What about a Dangerous Eight Stars Pangolin Beast then?"
Lin Xiaomei thought for a moment and said, "If sold to the Federation, fifteen thousand.
If sold to certain groups, about eighteen thousand."
"I…"
Qin Shou's face flushed with indignation, silently cursing the Guard Team from the other day.
Highway robbers! They only gave me a measly ten thousand Federation Coins reward…
"Oh, also, if the body isn't intact, the price drops drastically," Lin Xiaomei added.
Qin Shou thought of the Pangolin Beast that had been burned to a crisp and felt slightly relieved.
I guess it's not entirely their fault.
Just then, a five-meter-tall giant Saber-Toothed Tiger emerged, roaring loudly — likely the father of the one they'd just slain.
Qin Shou immediately perked up and shouted, "Leave this one to me!"
Before his words even finished, Zhao Jing had already charged forward, his black Star Power manifesting into eight ferocious spider legs, which he used to relentlessly stab the Saber-Toothed Tiger.
"Splat, splat, splat…"
In the blink of an eye, the giant Saber-Toothed Tiger had been riddled with holes, collapsing dead in a pool of blood.
Compared to Beast Tamers, Beast Ability Masters were far more clean and efficient in combat.
Zhao Jing shot a triumphant glance at Qin Shou, smugly storing the corpse.
Qin Shou's face darkened — This brat seriously needs a beating.
Boohoo, my Federation Coins…
The group rested briefly before continuing their journey.
As they passed through a patch of shrubland with low-hanging trees, Lin Xiaomei suddenly spoke up.
"Stay sharp, everyone — this is Lion territory."
"Zombies?" Qin Shou paused, startled.
A biological crisis?
That wasn't in the textbooks!
Lin Xiaomei saw Qin Shou's puzzled expression and patiently explained, "Lions usually appear in packs. Each Lion typically has power equivalent to Danger Level 6.
Since Lions lack the ability to heal themselves, their wounds won't close after being injured. However, their vitality is extraordinarily tenacious — even severely wounded, they can sustain peak combat power, and their injuries won't worsen.
Lions who've fought numerous battles are often covered in scars, their skin ripped open, their flesh exposed and mangled.
They resemble undead creatures, or 'zombies', which is why the Federation formally named them Lions."
Qin Shou suddenly understood — Oh, Lion as in literal lions.
As they say, reading ten thousand books is less enlightening than traveling ten thousand miles. The ancients weren't wrong.
Just as he was reflecting on this, low growls echoed from all directions, causing Lin Xiaomei's expression to change.
"This isn't good. The Lion pack has already discovered us."
Zhao Jing's face grew tense, his eight spider legs shifting restlessly behind him as he scanned the surroundings defensively.
Yu Zhan's body shuddered as his fists transformed into massive, red-furred ape-like hands, bracing himself for a fight.
He had fused the Monster Gene of the mighty Red Ape Beast!