Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 75 - 74: Keep Studying, Keep Training, Don’t Overthink
Gu Ming left the principal’s office, holding the large red envelope and two contracts he had been given.
Before leaving, Gu Ming deliberately gave the red envelope a firm squeeze.
It had the texture of cash.
In the system’s view, however, it was a completely different story.
"You leave with the two hundred Spirit Stones and two contracts awarded by the school. Teacher Zhang shakes his head at you."
"The so-called ’retirement contract’ is far inferior to the ’genius contract.’ Besides, your Cyan Treasure hasn’t evolved yet; it might die in a few days.
"The school is offering the retirement contract now because they’re interested in the future development of the Green Treasure Breathing Technique. Teacher Zhang warns you not to sign anything rashly."
Reading this summary, Gu Ming’s thoughts cleared instantly.
’That’s right. My Pet Beast isn’t a powerful one. Even if the Little Cyan Snake has mutated, it’s still not as good as a genuine Four-star Potential Pet Beast.’
’The principal is probably interested in the future development of the Breathing Technique. My homeroom teacher, Ling Jun, saw the first-generation Visualization Image, so he likely guessed that the Cultivation Technique’s full potential hasn’t been tapped yet.’
If he produced more papers on improved Cultivation Techniques, the school’s reputation would grow, attracting more outstanding students.
But that raised a question.
What if he failed the college entrance exams? What if he didn’t go to university at all?
Gu Ming thought of his counterpart in the system’s timeline. That version of him had done poorly on the exams, not gone to university, and instead run off to a different city to work, avoiding his parents.
On his way downstairs, Gu Ming reread the breach-of-contract clauses in the genius contract. It did indeed mention what would happen if he failed the college entrance exams.
Clause 89 of the genius contract stated that if he failed to meet expectations on the college entrance exams—for example, if he didn’t get into his first-choice school but was accepted by his second or third choice—the promised resources would be reallocated.
Clause 90 stated that if he failed to get into any Beast Taming University, he would have to work for a company specified in the contract. The term of employment wasn’t too outrageous, only five to ten years.
After all, the initial investment of resources was only for the final push before the exams. If he couldn’t even get into a university, the major investments planned for the following years would naturally be canceled.
The only catch was that his salary would likely be determined by the employer, and he would have no bargaining power.
"Stop looking at it. You don’t need a genius contract right now. Even if you were to sign one, you should at least wait until after the college entrance exams. By then, plenty of major corporations and universities will be vying for you."
Teacher Zhang gave Gu Ming a detailed analysis. "You have a Little Cyan Snake with excellent innate Talent for Cultivation. If you take the college entrance exams with it at the Two-star Level, you can get a great ranking. The genius contracts offered by universities are a hundred times better than what your high school principal can offer."
There was one prerequisite here: Gu Ming’s family could support raising the Little Cyan Snake with abundant resources. And since the snake itself consumed far fewer resources than most Pet Beasts, Gu Ming could achieve a decent score on the exams relying solely on his family’s support.
With that foot in the door, countless top-tier companies would extend olive branches to him after the exams. Gu Ming’s options would no longer be limited to his own city or province; he could pick the best of the best from across the entire country.
Gu Ming put the contracts away and asked, "What happens if I don’t sign?"
"They can’t do anything to you. Just keep studying what you need to study, train what you need to train, and take the exams when the time comes." Teacher Zhang reassured him.
Gu Ming nodded, showing he understood.
He felt the principal’s large red envelope again. This time, it felt hard and solid. That’s right—the money from the school had been converted into Spirit Stones by the system.
However, the fifty thousand yuan reward from the school had become only two hundred Spirit Stones in the system. The conversion rate was off; it seemed the system had secretly skimmed some off the top.
The two of them arrived at the physical training room on the first floor. Teacher Zhang personally inspected the snake and said:
"How long are you going to keep stacking your Little Cyan Snake’s Inner Core?"
As he swept his Perception over it using a Spiritual Technique, Teacher Zhang raised his eyebrows. The Mana quality of this Inner Core was already twice that of an ordinary Little Cyan Snake. It was absurd.
And while accumulating Mana, Cyan Treasure’s own Physical Ability training hadn’t been neglected.
After all, every breath it took was also a form of physical exercise.
At this rate of training, Cyan Treasure would reach the physical threshold for a standard Evolution by the end of next week.
"It’s only stacked three layers so far. I plan to stack it to nine layers before letting it evolve," Gu Ming said.
Nine layers—the condition for the Magic Power Inner Core to undergo nine forging-like rotations.
That was the limit for a Magic Power Inner Core, and also the future limit for the number of Evolutions.
He didn’t know if Cyan Treasure could reach the ceiling of Nine Turns. No one in this era had ever tried it, but he was willing to be the first to test the waters.
"In that case, your Cyan Treasure will have to wait another month to evolve. It definitely won’t make it in time for the monthly exam."
Teacher Zhang sighed. He had thought it might evolve before the monthly exam, but it turned out he had been overthinking things. Gu Ming was in no hurry at all.
"Aren’t you afraid? You might miss the prime window for a Two-star," Teacher Zhang said.
Gu Ming was indeed a little worried, but with Spirit Stones as a foundation, his Cultivation speed could keep up.
"There’s still time. I want to let Cyan Treasure try." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"Speaking of which, this evolution method of yours is also pioneering a new path. You could write a paper on it. It probably won’t be as impressive as that Breathing Technique Cultivation Technique, but you could probably get it published in a two-star journal. I don’t know if that’s something you’d be interested in."
Gu Ming looked up. "Will it give me extra credit?"
"A two-star journal won’t give you any extra credit. You’d need a three-star journal at least." He shook his head.
"A discovery like this isn’t even enough for a three-star journal?"
"At best, it’s just freezing the Inner Core to accumulate Mana quality before Evolution. It’s a novel idea, but not a major innovation. People have had this kind of idea before; it’s considered a rather niche evolution path."
Teacher Zhang shook his head, judging from his own experience.
He hadn’t seen a similar evolution method published in a journal, but it was the kind of theory that one could easily come up with.
If even he judged it that way, the reviewers and editors of a three-star journal would surely think the same.
Gu Ming’s expression was strange.
’Is this a limitation of the current era, or is this discovery really not that valuable?’
’But this is a brand-new evolutionary path! It’s the future mainstream!’
