Chapter 5 – The Challenge Difficulty Rating

The next day.

After breakfast, Lin Ze and Guan Ning prepared to head to the Beast Tamer Association.

Besides the two of them, Guan Ning had two classmates who would be joining as well.

The meeting point was set at the entrance of the residential complex.

The weather was a bit hot, and after standing and waiting for a short while, a thin layer of sweat had formed on both of their foreheads.

Lin Ze glanced at the convenience store not far away, then turned to Guan Ning and said:

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go buy some water.”

“Okay.”

Guan Ning replied obediently.

Not long after Lin Ze left, two vibrant and pretty girls came running over from a distance.

“Xiaoyun, Siyan, over here, over here.”

Guan Ning waved to greet them.

“Sorry, A-Ning, have you been waiting long?”

Zhang Xiaoyun ran over, out of breath, and clasped her hands together in apology.

“It’s all Siyan’s fault—she overslept!”

Another girl with fair skin, wearing a pink-and-grey floral print dress, blushed slightly at the remark and explained apologetically:

“I had insomnia last night and didn’t fall asleep until three or four in the morning.”

Zhang Xiaoyun couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her. “It’s just a probationary qualification assessment. Do you really need to be this nervous?”

“I’m not like you and A-Ning—you two are both so capable, so passing the probationary qualification assessment is definitely no problem for you. I’m the one who’s in trouble.”

Liu Siyan muttered.

Seeing Zhang Xiaoyun narrow her eyes, about to say something more, she quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry, okay? How about… I’ll treat you both to shaved ice later.”

Only then did Zhang Xiaoyun let her off with satisfaction.

“By the way, A-Ning, where’s your brother? Isn’t he coming with us to the Beast Tamer Association?”

“He went to buy water.”

Zhang Xiaoyun nodded in understanding, then suddenly remembered something and asked curiously:

“A-Ning, I heard Zhou Hong confessed to you yesterday. Is that true?”

“What? That happened?”

Liu Siyan’s eyes immediately blazed with gossip.

Guan Ning, however, curled her lips, a trace of disgust flashing across her face.

“It did happen, but I ignored him. That guy already has a girlfriend from another high school, and he thinks no one knows. He’s trying to play both sides!”

“Wow, so Zhou Hong is that kind of person. I never would’ve thought.”

“Scumbag!”

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan denounced him in unison.

Just then, Lin Ze had already bought the water and walked over.

Seeing this, Guan Ning stopped the topic and introduced him:

“This is my brother, Lin Ze.”

Then she pointed to the two girls.

“These are my good friends, Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan.”

“Hi, Brother Lin.”

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan greeted him with cheerful smiles.

Lin Ze handed the water to the three girls and said with a smile, “You’re the same age as me, so just call me by my name.”

The two girls happily agreed.

“Alright, let’s head out. The Beast Tamer Association isn’t far from here, so we can just walk over.”

Everyone agreed with Guan Ning’s suggestion.

Without further delay, the group set off toward the Beast Tamer Association.

On the way, the three girls discussed the probationary qualification assessment in hushed tones.

“A-Ning, have you decided which difficulty to choose?”

“Yeah, I’m planning to challenge the Advanced Difficulty.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. I wouldn’t dare—I’m going to pick the Basic Difficulty.”

“Same here. I don’t ask for much; as long as I can pass the assessment, that’s enough.”

The Beast Tamer qualification assessment has varying levels of difficulty.

They are, in order: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Supreme.

The higher the difficulty of the assessment, the more generous the Baptism received upon passing.

And the more beneficial it is for future development.

However, high rewards come with high risks.

For every level the assessment rank increased, the challenge difficulty multiplied exponentially.

Most Beast Tamers could only handle Basic Difficulty.

Those who could pass Intermediate Difficulty were few and far between.

Those who successfully cleared Advanced Difficulty could truly be called prodigies.

In the vast Pinghai City, only a handful appeared each year.

Every single one was a gifted child of destiny.

As for the highest difficulty—Ultra Difficulty—

Pinghai City hadn’t seen anyone clear it in many years.

And this was only the probationary qualification assessment.

In higher-level Beast Tamer qualification assessments, let alone Ultra Difficulty, even Advanced Difficulty was rarely challenged successfully across the entire Federation.

Although the Beast Tamer Association held qualification assessments many times each year,

for the same qualification assessment, each Beast Tamer only had one challenge opportunity per year.

So when it came to choosing challenge difficulty, all Beast Tamers were extremely cautious, fearing that a failed challenge would waste an entire year.

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan were far weaker than Guan Ning.

They were only mid-tier students at Pinghai High School.

Naturally, they wouldn’t overestimate themselves and challenge Intermediate Difficulty or above.

Being able to pass Basic Difficulty was already enough to make them very happy.

Lin Ze wasn’t surprised by Guan Ning’s choice either.

Given the girl’s strength, her chances of passing Advanced Difficulty were fairly decent.

“Challenge difficulty… I wonder what the assessment content for Ultra Difficulty probationary qualification would be?”

Lin Ze mused silently.

“Brother.”

Guan Ning had approached him at some point, speaking in a low voice:

“The qualification assessment will probably take quite a while. Why don’t you find a drink shop outside the association and just sit there waiting for us?”

The girl was thoughtful after all—afraid that Lin Ze staying too long inside the association would stir up painful memories and make him sad about not having Beast Tamer aptitude. That was why she made the suggestion so tactfully.

Lin Ze saw through the girl’s intentions, but didn’t mind. He smiled and said:

“That won’t do. If I wait outside, how can I participate in the probationary qualification assessment?”

Guan Ning was stunned. It took her a few seconds to react, her eyes widening in shock.

“Brother, you—you’re also participating in the probationary qualification assessment?”

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan had also heard Lin Ze’s words and froze in place simultaneously.

They were Guan Ning’s close friends, so naturally they knew that Lin Ze’s Pet Beast was a Little Snowball.

An ice-attribute Pet Beast known as an Ornamental Pet Beast.

It had almost no combat ability.

It couldn’t even defeat the weakest Ferocious Beast.

Taking a Pet Beast like that to challenge the probationary qualification assessment—wasn’t the outcome obvious?

It wouldn’t even pass the lowest Basic Difficulty.

It would just be a waste of time and energy.

Anyone could understand that with a moment’s thought.

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan really couldn’t figure out why Lin Ze would think of participating in the probationary qualification assessment.

Guan Ning was equally bewildered.

She was about to ask when she suddenly heard shouting from behind.

“Guan Ning, stop right there!”

The sudden shout interrupted their conversation.

They turned around in surprise and saw a man and a woman walking toward them with hostile expressions.

The man wore a black sleeveless vest, had a burly build, and tattoos on both arms. He looked to be in his twenties, with the air of a street tough.

The woman was about the same age as Guan Ning and the other two girls, heavily made up, with dyed red hair.

She stormed up to Lin Ze and his group, pointed at Guan Ning, and said to the tattooed young man beside her:

“Cousin, it’s this woman who seduced my boyfriend!”