blueteamnovel Chapter 35: Death Training
Chapter 35: Death Training
The longest thing in the world is waiting, without accepting any arguments...
It's especially agonizing when you're stuck in a line that's moving incredibly slowly.
When Lin Yi and Wen Tao reached the registration desk, it was already half an hour later. The person in charge of registering their information was a senior student wearing a red vest with the word "Volunteer" written on it.
"Name?"... "Lin Yi."...
"Gender?"... "Male."...
"Department/College?"... "Department of Spiritual Plant Cultivation and Research."...
"A beast pet's evolution form?"... "Level 7 evolution."...
When asked about the "Department of Spirit Plant Cultivation and Research," the senior student's expression did not change. However, when she blurted out "Seventh-level evolutionary form," she subconsciously looked up at Lin Yi.
A level seven evolutionary form would make someone with exceptional beast-taming talent in any department, but unfortunately, they are only a spirit plant-type beast tamer.
"Seventh-level evolution form?" Wen Tao, who was standing to the side, paused upon hearing the voice, his face full of surprise. He could hardly believe his ears. He seriously doubted that he had misheard. Could it be that this guy had other beast pets under contract?
Wen Tao's first instinct was to rule out Mushroom. He had accompanied Lin Yi the whole time when Lin Yi made a contract with the Ground Mushroom two months ago, so it was impossible for him to have reached the seventh evolution stage so quickly.
Then there's only one possibility: the other party has another pet in contract, no wonder they were able to participate in this special training.
Thinking of this, Wen Tao's mood suddenly became complicated; the situation was not good.
Fortunately, the other party was only a plant-type beast tamer, while he was a combat-type beast tamer. This was an insurmountable gap. Thinking of this, Wen Tao felt a little better.
"What kind of pet?"
After a brief moment of surprise, the senior student continued to ask.
Wen Tao also subconsciously looked at Lin Yi.
Yeah, what kind of pet?
[Sword Spirit Grass]?
[Snow Tree Beast]?
Or is it the [Void Vine]?
"Free-range mushrooms".
Upon hearing this, Wentao and his senior were both stunned.
"Free-range mushrooms?"
The two spoke in unison, their voices tinged with surprise.
However, the surprise in the former was completely different from that in the latter. When it was his turn to register, Wen Tao was in a state of utter confusion and even began to question the meaning of life...
How can it be a free-range mushroom?
Just as Wen Tao was lost in thought.
The senior student in charge of registration was getting impatient: "Student, I'm asking you a question. What level is your pet's evolution form?"
Wen Tao snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Oh, it's also... a level seven evolutionary form."
The moment Wentao uttered the word "also," he felt extremely terrible.
After registering their training records, the two followed their senior's instructions and entered the training ground behind the registration area. Many beast tamers who had finished registering had already gathered there, all waiting for the training to officially begin.
"How did you do that?"
In a secluded corner... Wen Tao, unwilling to give up, continued to ask, "How did the contracted Ground Mushroom reach the seventh evolution stage so quickly after only two months? I've only reached the seventh evolution stage myself."
"The evolution of the ground mushroom is relatively easy, right?" Lin Yi said.
Wen Tao nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, confirming that this must be the reason.
Wen Tao's contract is with the Azure Eagle, a combat-type pet known as the most difficult to cultivate. It is a high-level extraordinary beast, which is why it has only reached the sixth level of evolution so far. The difficulty of cultivating pets increases exponentially with their level.
If the pet you've bred is similar to the Ground Mushroom, it should have already reached Tier 1, Level 10, right?
Wen Tao finally felt relieved and returned to being the confident young man he once was.
The two waited silently in the crowd, while the discussions of the beast tamers came from all around them, and Lin Yi listened attentively.
"Have you heard? Apparently, this year's special training is several times more difficult."
"I've heard that too. It's not just our school that's been strengthened; all beast-taming universities and beast-taming training institutions across the country will increase their training efforts in the future."
"Why have you suddenly become so demanding?"
"According to rumors, it seems that the Fallen Beast Clan on the Seven War Fronts has undergone a mutation. If the methods used by various countries to train Beast Tamers do not change, they may not be able to control the 'Beast Cave' in the future."
"Hiss... Really? The 'Beast Cave' is about to break down?"
"Whether it's true or not is uncertain, but these are too far away for us to deal with. Our most urgent task is to ensure that our pets don't perish during special training."
"Fallen? What do you mean? Aren't there senior students protecting us during special training?"
"There are senior students protecting us, but this special training seems to be for real. There have been cases of pets dying in previous special trainings, so the risk level is likely to skyrocket this time."
Listening to the conversations around him, Lin Yi frowned slightly. Tang Xinyi had obviously not told him these things, but since he heard that there were senior students protecting him, he didn't need to worry too much.
Time passed second by second, and in the blink of an eye, another half hour had passed. All the participants in the special training had finally finished registering, and hundreds of teachers from Tiannan Beast Taming University walked to the front of the crowd with the registration list in hand.
Two faculty members, a man and a woman, also came over from Lin Yi's group. They were both unfamiliar to them and probably not teachers from the Department of Spirit Plant Cultivation and Research.
The two men approached and glanced at the crowd indifferently. The middle-aged man, who looked to be around forty or fifty years old, said casually, "Those whose names are called, line up in front of me."
Before long, the teacher called on more than sixty people, including Lin Yi and Wen Tao. Soon, the area in front of them was filled with the new generation of Beast Tamers.
The middle-aged man folded up the list, put it behind his back, and looked at the sixty-odd energetic freshmen.
"Let me briefly introduce myself. I am Wang Jianghe, a three-star instructor in the combat system."
"This is also a three-star instructor in the combat system, Teacher Li Lan."
"For the next seven days of intensive training, Mr. Li and I will accompany everyone."
After a brief introduction, Wang Jianghe changed the subject.
"However, there is some bad news that I may need to inform you in advance. This year's special training will not have the protection of senior students. This special training will be a true real combat exercise. Your pets, and even you yourselves, may be injured, or even... perish."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire team erupted in cheers and excitement.
"Teacher, in previous years there were senior students protecting us during the special training, why aren't there any this year?"
One of the beast tamers immediately asked.
Wang Jianghe spoke calmly.
"There won't be any more of these. From now on, there will be no more senior students to protect us during the freshman training every year."
"Furthermore, the special training will become real combat training. If you want to withdraw from the special training, we will not stop you. We will give you one minute to consider. If you want to withdraw, you can leave now."
As Wang Jianghe spoke, he glanced at the timer in his hand: "Only one minute. After one minute, I will assume that you have agreed to the special training."
After he finished speaking, he fell silent, giving no one time to accept his words.
Li Lan quietly watched the changing expressions on the faces of these new beast tamers. Those who could stand here were the best of every beast taming class in the school, either in the top three or the top five. They were the talents that the school would focus on cultivating, and it was time to let these newbies see the cruelty and bloodshed of the beast tamer world.
Lin Yi frowned even more deeply in the crowd. He glanced at Wen Tao, who looked calm, as if he had already received word of the situation.
"It's not too late to back out now." Wen Tao tilted his head slightly towards Lin Yi and said softly, his tone carrying a hint of barely suppressed smugness.
At that moment, Lin Yi also received a message from Tang Xinyi, as if it had been sent at the exact time.
Tang Xinyi: [Dear junior, registration should be over by now, right? Have the combat department instructors mentioned any changes to this year's special training? If you have any concerns, you can withdraw on the spot.]
Lin Yi suddenly realized that it wasn't that Tang Xinyi was unaware of the changes in this year's special training, but rather that she hadn't intended to tell him beforehand; it was more like a test.
"Ten seconds left."
As Lin Yi frowned, Wang Jianghe began the countdown: "Ten, nine..."
In just two seconds, many beast tamers had already left the group, their faces quite grim. Li Lan looked at the new students who had withdrawn and shook her head inwardly.
Lin Yi was also caught in a dilemma. It wasn't that he was afraid of this special training method, but rather that he and Gu Zai were not prepared for a life-or-death battle and he was worried that the little guy wouldn't be able to handle it.
Just as Lin Yi was struggling internally, and a script could lift off the ground, Wang Jianghe's countdown abruptly stopped.
"4, 3, good, you haven't disappointed me. Those who left, you can leave now."
Lin Yi: ? ? ?
What about '2, 1, 0'?
Teacher, you haven't finished counting yet.
Seeing that only two-thirds of the original sixty-odd people remained, Lin Yi immediately understood why Wang Jianghe hadn't finished counting.
If they continued counting, there might not even be half left. This made Lin Yi press his raised foot back down, and his eyes gradually hardened.
After thinking for a moment, he sent Tang Xinyi this message.
Lin Yi: [The strong never back down!!!]
The message was followed by three exclamation marks…