Chapter 16 – Changing Interpersonal Relationships

“Bro, you’ve become quite the celebrity.”

Guan Ning also noticed the commotion around them and playfully patted Lin Ze’s arm.

Lin Ze rolled his eyes, ignoring the stares around him, and headed straight for the teaching building.

The two were in classes on different floors.

After parting ways at the stairwell, Lin Ze soon reached his own classroom.

Walking in, he once again experienced that feeling of being the center of attention.

In an instant, all the students in the classroom turned their gazes toward him.

Shock, envy, jealousy, confusion… all kinds of looks focused on him.

“Lin Ze.”

A male student who usually hung around with him walked over, looking at him with a strange expression.

“I heard you took the Apprentice Assessment and passed. Is that true?”

“It’s true.”

Lin Ze admitted it openly—there was no point in hiding it.

“…At Ultra Difficulty?”

“Yeah.”

A wave of gasps spread through the room.

Even though they had already heard about it, hearing the person himself confirm it still sent a jolt of shock through the students in the classroom.

After all, unlike outsiders, they were Lin Ze’s classmates.

They had been studying together for nearly three years.

During that time, Lin Ze had always been unremarkable—some might even say poor.

Many classmates knew his Pet Beast was Little Snowball, which almost guaranteed he’d never become an Apprentice Beast Tamer.

But who would have thought that someone so ordinary would suddenly become an Apprentice Beast Tamer one day?

And not just that—a peerless genius who passed the Ultra Difficulty assessment.

He had suddenly climbed to a height they could hardly reach.

Such a stark contrast made it hard for everyone to accept at first.

Lin Ze, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm, indifferent to the attention around him. He returned to his seat and sat down leisurely.

A moment later.

The class bell rang.

The Homeroom Teacher walked in carrying a stack of documents, his gaze immediately landing on Lin Ze’s seat.

Clearly, he too had heard about yesterday’s events.

“Before we start filling out the forms, let me announce some good news. Some of you may already know—our classmate Lin Ze passed the Ultra Difficulty Apprentice Assessment yesterday and has officially been promoted to Apprentice Beast Tamer. Let’s give Lin Ze a round of applause to celebrate!”

As the Homeroom Teacher finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the classroom.

A few girls sitting near Lin Ze looked at him with stars practically shining in their eyes.

“This is an honor for our class, and an honor for the school. Everyone should learn from Lin Ze.”

After a few words of encouragement, the Homeroom Teacher quickly shifted the topic to the main business.

“Enough chit-chat. Today is the day to fill in your College Entrance Exam preferences. The forms are being handed out now—fill them out carefully.”

The classroom soon buzzed with activity.

The whole process didn’t take much time.

Especially for the few Apprentice Beast Tamers—their only choice was Ningjiang Academy, so there was hardly any deliberation needed.

Lin Ze finished filling out his preferences quickly.

When he handed the form to the Homeroom Teacher, the latter patted him on the shoulder and said with satisfaction:

“You’ve brought honor to the school. Early this morning, the academy’s higher-ups held a meeting and unanimously decided to award you a bonus as a reward for your contribution to the school.”

Lin Ze raised an eyebrow.

This was exactly what he needed—a pillow arriving just as he was feeling sleepy.

He had just been thinking about how to make money, and now a bonus was coming his way.

“Indeed, power is money.”

Lin Ze let out a quiet sigh inwardly, but kept his expression unchanged as he asked:

“Thank you, teacher. May I also ask, how much is the prize money?”

“One hundred thousand Credit Points. It should be disbursed by tomorrow.”

Lin Ze nodded to himself.

One hundred thousand Credit Points was already a considerable sum—undoubtedly a fortune for a student.

Though it was still far from enough to fill the gap, of course.

“By the way, there’s this too. I’ll give it to you as well.”

The Homeroom Teacher handed the book in her hand to Lin Ze.

Lin Ze looked closely and saw that it was actually a book related to Soul Arts.

The Complete Compendium of Basic Soul Arts

“This book records the cultivation methods and techniques of some Basic Soul Arts. It’s one of the required courses for Apprentice Beast Tamers.”

“Although you’ll be able to take this course once you enter the Beast-Taming Academy, I thought it would be better for you to get an early exposure to it. Perhaps it can help you achieve better results in the Ningjiang Academy Admission Assessment.”

The Homeroom Teacher explained slowly.

Lin Ze nodded in understanding.

To apply for Ningjiang Academy, one only needed the qualification of an Apprentice Beast Tamer.

But that didn’t mean it was sufficient.

As one of the top ten Beast-Taming Academies in the Federation, Ningjiang Academy had always been known for its fierce competition.

Even the Admission Assessment incorporated a competitive mechanism.

Candidates needed to take an Enrollment test on the day of the major exam, and Class Assignment would be determined based on their test scores.

Classes ranked higher would receive more resource support in their subsequent school life.

So many candidates were going all out, hoping to achieve outstanding results on the day of the Admission Assessment.

Lin Ze was naturally no exception.

Without any polite formalities, he said his thanks and took the book.

“There’s still half a month before the College Entrance Exam. Don’t slack off during this period—try to master the Soul Arts as soon as possible.”

The Homeroom Teacher patted Lin Ze on the shoulder and offered a few more words of encouragement before letting him leave.

However, just as Lin Ze was about to walk out of the classroom, a group of girls swarmed around him in a rush.

“Lin Ze, you’re amazing—you actually passed the Apprentice Assessment!”

“Yeah, and at Ultra Difficulty too. Can you tell us about the assessment process?”

“Lin Ze, do you have time later? Let’s go grab a drink together.”

The girls chattered noisily around him, a flurry of youthful vitality that was quite a sight to behold.

Many of the boys couldn’t help but cast envious glances their way.

A few of the boys who were usually close to Lin Ze were now standing far away.

Without exception, their expressions were complicated.

Carrying a sense of distance.

This wasn’t surprising.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Originally, everyone had been mud at the bottom of the pit—marginal figures in the class—so naturally they could stick together.

But when one person leaped out of the pit, even transforming into an eagle soaring through the sky, intense inferiority and jealousy would drive the others to distance themselves from that person.

They could no longer be people who gathered together.

The enormous gap in talent and strength was like an insurmountable chasm, separating them far apart.

Lin Ze noticed this from the corner of his eye.

His mental age was far more mature than his physical age, and with rich experience, he immediately understood the key to it all.

But he didn’t care.

It took considerable effort before Lin Ze managed to shake off the girls’ pestering and quickly leave the classroom.

Afterwards, he found a quiet, secluded corner on campus, took out The Complete Compendium of Basic Soul Arts, and began to flip through it.

Soul Arts could be said to be the Beast Tamer’s primary means of combat besides their Pet Beast.

Soul Art masters who have cultivated their skills to a high level can even kill Ferocious Beasts with ease using only their Soul Arts, without relying on their Pet Beasts at all.

However, in most cases, Soul Arts serve merely as a means of protection in the hands of Beast Tamers.

After all, although Beast Tamers can command powerful Pet Beasts in battle, they themselves are extremely frail.

Far inferior to Ferocious Beasts in comparison.

When fighting in the wild, Beast Tamers often have to cast Soul Arts to ensure their own safety and avoid taking damage.

For this reason, defensive Soul Arts are a mandatory subject for Beast Tamers.

“Achievement Points can enhance Constitution and Soul Strength—I wonder if they have any effect on Soul Arts.”

Lin Ze thought to himself as he flipped through a book.

There are not many Basic Soul Arts of the defensive type—only a handful at most.

Among them, the most practical and widely used is the ‘Soul Guardian.’