Volume One, Chapter 11: My Success Is Entirely Due to Unwavering Effort!

When Wang Dongzhe stepped into the novice trial hall with a terrifying performance as a Level 7 Beastmaster, the entire hall erupted in an instant.

The principals of more than forty high schools in Northwind City were stunned at first, then rose one after another, swarming toward Wang Dongzhe. Lu Zhengting, the principal of the Military-affiliated High School, could no longer contain himself and hurried to the front.

With a beaming smile, he asked politely, "Student Wang Dongzhe, do you have any secrets of success you could share with all the Beastmasters in Northwind City?"

As soon as Lu asked, all eyes in the hall converged on Wang Dongzhe, waiting eagerly for his answer. To everyone’s dismay, Wang poured a bucket of cold water on their expectations.

"Sorry, my success is non-replicable!"

"I come from the Wang family, the power behind the Wang Military Industrial Group. The education, resources, and training I have received since childhood are the absolute best of the best."

"Even with a family background as illustrious as mine, it is impossible to perfectly replicate my path to growth."

"Therefore, I have no replicable experience to share with you all."

Hearing this, the many Beastmasters present wore expressions of disappointment. It seemed that since they couldn't count on contracting an SSS-rank Leopard-Girl beast-kin, they wouldn't be squeezing any useful insights out of Wang Dongzhe either. After all, his success was bought with money, something others could neither envy nor emulate.

But just as Wang Dongzhe was basking in the adulation of the crowd, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

Amidst the clamor of the hall, a cheerful and melodious piano melody suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, a voice broadcast echoed synchronously from all the speakers in the hall:

[Lin Yao, a third-year student of Class 11 at Beichen No. 1 High School, has completed the trial. His Beastmaster level has successfully reached Level 8!]

[The record for the Northwind City novice trial battlefield has been updated. The new record holder is Lin Yao!]

The moment the broadcast rang through the hall, the previously boisterous room fell so silent that a pin drop could be heard. After several seconds of silence, the crowd snapped back to reality, eyes wide with disbelief.

They had heard correctly. Lin Yao hadn't just tied the record; he had shattered it! They were already astounded when Wang Dongzhe merely tied the record just moments ago. Now, in the blink of an eye, countless people reflexively activated their detection skills, scanning Lin Yao and Zhu Zhihan to confirm their true levels.

Ordinarily, prying into others' privacy in this way was extremely rude, but the crowd was too shocked and excited to care; they were desperate to understand what was going on with Lin Yao. Eventually, many could not help but cast their detection skills.

[Name: Lin Yao]
[Level: 8]
[Profession: Beastmaster]
[...]
[Name: Azure Profound Dragon Girl]
[Level: 8]
[Potential: SSS-rank]
[...]

When using detection skills on others, one can only see basic information like name and level. Furthermore, if the target carries equipment that blocks detection, these basic methods fail entirely. After confirming that both Lin Yao and the Azure Profound Dragon Girl had indeed reached Level 8, the expressions of those in the hall were colorful indeed.

The students who had previously mocked and ridiculed Lin Yao and Zhu Zhihan were now tongue-tied, as if petrified. The few who had been the most boisterous were now red-faced, feeling a stinging heat on their cheeks. The cold, hard facts proved that Lin Yao was no confused clown. So, who was the real clown? It went without saying.

At this moment, Wang Dongzhe and his entourage were also stunned. The golden-eyed leopard-girl beast-kin he held in his arms widened her beautiful eyes in disbelief. They could never have imagined that such a monster capable of breaking the record would emerge from the trial ground today. And even more unexpected was that this powerhouse was none other than the Lin Yao they had previously disregarded.

While others were still in shock, the principals of the forty-plus high schools in Northwind City were jubilant, swarming toward Lin Yao as if it were a festival. Just a moment ago, Wang Dongzhe had arrogantly declared his success non-replicable. Now, Lin Yao was different. He wasn't a rich second-generation heir who had paved his way with family wealth, yet he had achieved even more dazzling results than Wang Dongzhe. Regardless, he must possess invaluable secrets that could be shared with everyone!

Principal Lu Zhengting of the Military-affiliated High School stepped forward again, his tone even more eager: "Student Lin Yao, could you briefly share with all the Beastmasters of Northwind City how you managed to achieve such brilliant results?"

As soon as the question was asked, countless eyes turned toward Lin Yao. If Lin Yao were willing to share even a fraction of his secret, every Beastmaster present—and perhaps even those across the entire Great Zhou Empire—might benefit. Much like the [Energy Bullet] training method revealed by a previous record-breaker, which had helped countless Beastmasters.

Although the [Energy Bullet] was a basic skill, in the process of practicing it, a Beastmaster’s mental power and internal energy were honed and improved time and again. Once one reached a level of mastery where they could dissect an ox with ease, it would undergo a qualitative change! The previous record-breaking genius had used this transformed [Energy Bullet] to charge all the way to Level 7!

With such a precedent, could Lin Yao provide some practical insights for the Beastmasters of Northwind City and the entire Empire?

Meanwhile, news of the new record spread rapidly through the upper echelons of Northwind City. Three prominent figures arrived at the trial hall in haste. Two of them, Lin Yao had met before: Wang Guangyang, Chairman of the Wang Military Industrial Group, and Han Yanran, President of the Northwind City Beastmaster Association. The third was Murong Nan-ci, the Warden of Northwind City.

The Warden, in simple terms, was the top leader of the city. In this era of catastrophe, the Warden held the highest authority in politics, commerce, military, research, and beast-taming. While Han Yanran was cold on the surface but warm inside, Murong Nan-ci was a true ice queen. She was never one for small talk, radiating an icy aura that kept others at a distance. She was also the previous record holder of the novice trial battlefield. In fact, the [Energy Bullet] training method used today by Lin Yao and others was her creation.

As the three appeared, the crowd parted like a tide, clearing a path. When Chairman Wang Guangyang saw that it was Lin Yao who had broken the record, his face turned as sour as if he had swallowed a fly. While the Wang family hadn't actually lost out when they bought the golden-eyed leopard-girl from Lin Yao for three hundred million, Wang Guangyang couldn't accept that Lin Yao had used that initial capital to reap such massive rewards.

Yet, Wang Guangyang couldn't figure out how Lin Yao had done it. He refused to believe that the "useless dragon girl," whom countless experts in the North had given up on, had been turned into a miracle by Lin Yao. If Lin Yao truly had such heaven-defying ability, why would he have gone to the trouble of shaking down the Wang family for three hundred million?

Wang Guangyang was completely baffled, but President Han Yanran had a faint inkling. She looked at Lin Yao and her sister, Zhu Zhihan, with a rare, gratified smile.

As the top authority in Northwind City and the former record holder, Murong Nan-ci was also deeply intrigued. 'Relying solely on an SSS-rank humanoid beast cannot possibly lead to reaching Level 8 in one go in the novice trial. There must be something special about this little guy.'

Murong knew the difficulties well: first, the efficiency of killing monsters; second, the efficiency of finding them. A Beastmaster had to be able to locate and eliminate beasts swiftly while having enough luck to ensure everything went smoothly. If luck were poor, one might end up like the others—full of combat power but with no monsters to kill.

Even so, Murong Nan-ci could not fathom how Lin Yao and Zhu Zhihan had managed to reach Level 8.