Chapter 62 – Crimson Luan Club

The forum instantly became a hive of activity.

Countless players were discussing Lin Ze’s strength in astonishment.

“Say, could Lin Ze be a direct descendant of one of the Federation’s top Beast Tamer families?”

“No way, didn’t they say Lin Ze came from an ordinary background?”

“Tsk, have you ever seen an Apprentice Beast Tamer from a commoner background with two Tier 4 Pet Beasts?”

“I think so too. Even the most carefully nurtured direct members of the Federation’s top Beast Tamer families weren’t this strong at his age. That guy is simply monstrous!”

“Not necessarily—maybe Lin Ze just has exceptional talent.”

Players launched into heated discussions beneath the post.

It wasn’t surprising they were making such a fuss.

The strength Lin Ze had displayed was truly beyond comprehension.

He didn’t seem like a Freshman who had just gotten into the Beast-Taming Academy this year.

No one would believe he wasn’t a seasoned Beast Tamer who had spent years accumulating experience at the Apprentice level.

Regardless.

Now that everyone knew Lin Ze possessed two Tier 4 Pet Beasts, all their previous estimates had been completely overturned.

No one doubted whether Lin Ze could break into the top hundred anymore.

That was already a foregone conclusion.

And so it came to pass.

Before long, Lin Ze’s ranking soared all the way to ninety-eighth place.

Since the opening of the Glory Virtual Realm, the first Freshman to climb from over five hundred thousandth place in Virtual Combat to within the top hundred in just two days had been born!

Everyone watching this spectacle could only feel sheer amazement.

Inside the booth.

Lin Ze slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

“Finally made it into the top hundred.”

As his ranking rose, the opponents he faced became increasingly difficult one after another.

Although his strength was already formidable compared to his peers, he still didn’t hold a significant advantage against those seasoned Apprentice Beast Tamers with deep foundations.

No matter how powerful the Cheat was, it still took time to convert into real strength.

But this wasn’t without its benefits.

At the very least, after a series of intense battles, his Pet Beasts’ Growth Rate had increased considerably.

[Name]: Snow Maiden

[Level]: Tier 4, Stage 9

[Skills]: Ice Waterfall, Sigh of the Snow Maiden, Extreme Ice Chain, Ice Crystal Mirror, Frost Nova

[Empress Path, next Evolution Form [Frost-Blue Maiden], requirements: Growth Rate 100%, Superior Ice Element Essence X30, Ice Blue Tear X1]

In less than a single day, Xiao Xue’s Growth Rate had skyrocketed by nearly 16%.

There was no denying that battling opponents of the same level was an excellent way to boost Growth Rate.

Unfortunately.

With his strength increasing, there weren’t many people left at the Apprentice level suitable to be his opponents.

It was foreseeable that before long, using this method to rapidly increase Growth Rate would no longer be possible.

“But at least until I reach first place, this method will still be effective.”

Lin Ze steadied himself and turned his attention back to the Pet Beast panel.

After Growth Rate exceeded 80%, Xiao Xue had gained another unlockable skill.

[Blizzard]: Area Damage skill. Creates a blizzard in a designated area, dealing massive Ice attribute damage to enemies and applying a Slow effect. Unlock requires Growth Rate 80%, 500 Achievement Points.

He still had plenty of Achievement Points left.

Without hesitation, Lin Ze decisively unlocked it.

“In that case, Xiao Xue now has a total of six skills.”

Lin Ze nodded in satisfaction.

An ordinary Tier 4 Pet Beast typically only had three to four skills.

A Pet Beast with five skills could already be considered exceptionally well-raised.

Not to mention that several of Xiao Xue’s skills had been upgraded.

In this regard, she was undoubtedly far ahead of other Pet Beasts of the same tier.

“It’s a pity that Rock Ghost’s Growth Rate hasn’t improved much.”

Today’s battles were almost entirely fought by Xiao Xue, with Rock Ghost only appearing in the final match, so its Growth Rate had barely changed.

At this point, Rock Ghost’s Level had already fallen two Stages behind Xiao Xue.

But Lin Ze didn’t mind. At worst, he could take Rock Ghost out to the wilderness for some hunting later.

“At this pace, Xiao Xue and Rock Ghost should reach full Growth Rate by the end of the month, both breaking through to Tier 5. Then we can start working on evolution.”

“After that, it should be about time to apply for the Bronze Assessment.”

The Glory Virtual Realm’s forum contained a wealth of Beast Tamer intelligence that couldn’t be found elsewhere.

Including information about the Bronze Assessment.

Lin Ze had been browsing quite a bit over the past couple of days and had gained a general understanding of the matter.

Generally speaking, having two Tier 3 Pet Beasts at Stage 4-5, or one Tier 3 Pet Beast at Stage 8-9, was roughly enough to participate in the Bronze Assessment.

However, that would only allow one to pass the Basic Difficulty.

To pass the Intermediate Difficulty, one needed at least a Tier 4 Pet Beast.

The Advanced Difficulty had even higher requirements—without two Tier 4 Pet Beasts, there was no hope of passing.

Moreover, their Stages couldn’t be too low either.

As for the Ultra Difficulty… no one had passed it so far.

It was said that a Beast Tamer with a Tier 5 Stage 2 Pet Beast had once attempted the challenge, but ultimately failed.

Because of this, many people speculated that one would need at least two Tier 5 Pet Beasts to have any chance of passing the Ultra Difficulty Bronze Assessment.

This condition was undoubtedly extremely harsh.

For an Apprentice Beast Tamer to raise their Pet Beasts to the Tier 5 level was incredibly difficult.

Let alone raising both Pet Beasts to Tier 5.

Even if one could manage it, it would consume enormous resources.

Not to mention it would take five to six years, or even longer.

During that time, other Beast Tamers who had passed the Advanced Difficulty Bronze Assessment and received the Baptism, thereby surging in strength, might have already raised their Pet Beasts to Tier 6.

Perhaps even more than one or two.

There was no question that the gap in strength between the two sides would widen dramatically.

Furthermore, if one still failed the challenge after all that, the loss would be devastating.

In light of this, very few Beast Tamers could bring themselves to remain at the Apprentice level for five to six years, just for a sliver of hope of passing the Ultra Difficulty Bronze Assessment.

Due to these multiple factors, no one had ever managed to pass the Ultra Difficulty Bronze Assessment to this day.

Of course.

Just because others couldn’t pass didn’t mean Lin Ze couldn’t.

His goal had always been the Ultra Difficulty from start to finish.

Closing the interface, Lin Ze walked out of the booth.

He glanced at the adjacent booth and was surprised to find that Guan Ning was no longer there.

“Where did she go?”

Lin Ze thought for a moment, then left the battle room and stepped into the corridor outside. He scanned the area and soon spotted Guan Ning at the end of the hallway.

She was standing together with two female students, seemingly in the middle of a conversation, nodding from time to time.

Worth noting was that.

Both of those female students were wearing Second Year badges.

They clearly knew Lin Ze. Seeing him approach, they smiled and gave a slight nod, exchanged a few quiet words with Guan Ning, then took their leave.

“Who were they?”

Lin Ze asked casually.

Guan Ning replied with a smile:

“They’re senior students from the Crimson Luan Club, here to invite me to join.”