Chapter 304: Chapter 185: Incredible Sights at the Farm

Even as they boarded the bus headed to Xuanhe Village, everyone kept bombarding Chen Yuan with questions.

"Mr. Chen, why is your Flame Cloud Falcon so powerful?"

"They work hard on their own."

"Mr. Chen, each skill of the Flame Cloud Falcon is highly proficient, is there a secret to it?"

"Practice more."

"Mr. Chen..."

Everyone was deeply curious about Chen Yuan, except for one person who stood quietly by his seat.

Unlike his previous excitement, Lu Ran was particularly quiet now. He pulled out a notebook from his backpack, biting his pencil as he wrote: Chen Yuan (0 wins, 1 loss)

Upon a closer look, similar notes were written on that page:

Li Tianyun (3 wins, 32 losses)

Zhang Lan (6 wins, 5 losses)

...

Noticing Lu Ran’s actions, Jiang Wenning, seated next to Chen Yuan, couldn’t help but laugh, "You’ve been indexed in the death notebook."

Chen Yuan was puzzled.

"Once someone loses a match, Lu Ran records them in his notebook and keeps challenging them until the number of wins exceeds the losses," Jiang Wenning explained.

Chen Yuan’s expression turned odd, "What... an eccentric habit."

But Lu Ran’s current skills were closely related to his intense competitive spirit.

Failure doesn’t matter, just challenge again.

If once doesn’t work, then twice, if twice doesn’t work, then N times.

Until victory is achieved.

Thus an incredible and bizarre situation arises: against Lu Ran, winning felt worse than losing.

The research team’s bus seemed ordinary on the outside but was actually luxurious and comfortable inside, with reclining seats for sleeping.

Yet as the bus entered the winding mountain road, the slope turned steep, rendering sleep a luxury.

Professor Song, who had closed his eyes for a rest, opened them, observing the quickly retreating scenery, suddenly asked, "Wenhao, explain today’s plans."

"Okay, Professor." Chen Wenhao replied without thinking, "After arriving in Xuanhe Village, we’ll stay at the Beastmaster Office, purchase at least five days of supplies, have free time in the evening, and then set out early tomorrow."

"Alright." Professor Song nodded slightly, "Your older brother is familiar with the local environment, consult him if you have any questions."

Professor Song was of advanced age and his energy wasn’t what it used to be. Though he was the overall leader of this research expedition, he tasked Chen Wenhao with planning and executing most of the affairs, while he focused on the research once in the Mysterious Forest.

"Okay, Professor."

Chen Wenhao opened the window, the biting winter wind whipped against the glass, barging into the vehicle, slapping against his cheeks.

Having not been home for a long time, his fresh sense of excitement about Qinling was no less than the rest of the students.

There was not only excitement but also a deep sense of anticipation.

Chen Yuan asked, "Where is your Contracted Pet Beast?"

Chen Wenhao had long become a Beastmaster but seldom talked about his Contracted Pet Beast, and every time asked, he always dodged the question.

Hearing the question, Chen Wenhao coughed lightly, his gaze wavering, "It... is sick."

Perhaps sensing his own performance was odd, his tone turned firm, "Yes, it’s sick, resting in the Pet Beast space!"

Chen Yuan’s expression remained unchanged, three words slipped out, "Tell the truth."

The intimidation from his elder brother, the suppression from blood ties instantly silenced Chen Wenhao.

After a while, he scratched his sparse hair, eyes under silver glasses flickering with helplessness, sighed softly, "Alright, alright, actually I never had a Contracted Pet Beast."

"Why?" Chen Yuan was curious.

"Because having one Beastmaster in the family is enough." Chen Wenhao lowered his gaze, staring unblinkingly at his denim jeans.

"Tell the truth."

"Alright, because after careful study, I found the cost-effectiveness of becoming a Beastmaster too low."

"Cost-effectiveness?"

"Yes, nurturing and training Pet Beasts require considerable investment, and this investment is ongoing, hard to recoup in the short term."

"I remember the academy provides support for students."

"There is support, but it only guarantees the bottom line, it doesn’t raise the upper limit."

Chen Yuan fell silent for a moment, then spoke again, "Your Beastmaster talent is high, it shouldn’t be buried." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Chen Wenhao flashed a bright smile, "But I prefer research."

"Aren’t you afraid of losing all your hair?" Chen Yuan glanced at Chen Wenhao’s precarious hairline.

Chen Wenhao replied, "Bald is fine, just saves the time of grooming."

Chen Yuan was temporarily speechless.

Chen Wenhao instead comforted Chen Yuan, "It’s alright, bro, I’ve considered these things seriously long ago."

"A person’s energy is limited. If I choose to become a Beastmaster, I surely can’t focus on research."

"Moreover, becoming a Beastmaster brings too much pressure to the family. I’m an adult now, I don’t want to keep asking family for money."

"Sticking to research is better, at most some late nights, a bit of hair loss, without other costs."

Quietly listening to these words, Professor Song removed his glasses, pulled out a cloth from his pocket, and carefully wiped them.

Chen Yuan patted Chen Wenhao’s shoulder, feeling moved, "You’re more mature than I imagined."

Chen Wenhao smiled slightly, "But now I regret it, if I had known bro was so amazing, I would have become a Beastmaster too."

"Bro, why don’t you sponsor me to contract a Pet Beast?"

Chen Yuan laughed heartily, waved his large hand, "Not just one, even ten is fine."

Twilight like a spoonful of warm honey poured slowly over the blue tiles of Xuanhe Village.

The crooked old locust tree at the village entrance was the first to be draped in golden silk, the returning Puppy Team circled around the old locust tree before continuing their orderly trot.

On the dirt road on the other side, fine dust rose, adventurer-dressed Beastmasters returned one after another, and the figures of Pet Beasts emerged faintly amidst the dust.