Chapter 493: Chapter 301: Life or Death, It All Comes Down to This Strike

"The skyscrapers of the Beast Taming Dao have long since been built. Later generations are already standing on the shoulders of giants; all that’s left to do is add a brick or a tile.

"I know you have many questions, but this is the most critical time in your life. Don’t let these doubts distract you.

"For a Beast Tamer, the years before age eighteen are when the Beast Taming Space develops most rapidly. Advancing after that becomes much more difficult. And as a student, your efforts over these next few years will determine the entire course of your life.

"What you call doubts now are hardly doubts at all. As long as you follow the correct path, step by step, you’ll naturally understand everything when the time comes."

...

To this day, Wang Haokun still remembered the words of his homeroom teacher, Lei Ji.

From that day forward, Wang Haokun wholeheartedly followed the training plan his homeroom teacher had designed for him, focusing only on his Pet Beasts.

The results were undeniable.

From being ranked at the bottom when he first arrived at Shanda University Affiliated School, Wang Haokun had shot to the top of his grade. He was even singled out for praise multiple times during class meetings, gave a speech at the school’s flag-raising ceremony, and received a scholarship presented by the principal himself...

All this only strengthened Wang Haokun’s conviction that his teacher’s path was the correct one.

As for his old doubts, they slowly faded away without him even noticing.

Perhaps maturity is the process of killing off parts of yourself.

As long as he could become stronger, sacrificing a few things didn’t seem so hard to accept.

...

Until the day of the selection tournament, when an obscure school called Huai City First Middle School left a deep impression on him.

To be precise, it was the Beast Tamer named Su Zhi.

Marching to the beat of his own drum, utterly self-assured, taking an unorthodox path... In a trance, Wang Haokun saw a reflection of himself in Su Zhi.

As a fellow Beast Tamer, Wang Haokun knew all too well the meaning of the saying: ten years of training for one minute on stage.

Behind the dazzling performance of Su Zhi and his Pet Beasts in the arena, there must have been an unimaginable amount of hard work. But more than the hardship, it was Su Zhi’s defiant spirit that Wang Haokun found unforgettable.

His methods were far from perfect—in fact, they were riddled with flaws!

But...

After their first battle, Wang Haokun was surprised to find that he actually wanted to see Su Zhi win.

And in the end, Su Zhi had been unstoppable, leading his team all the way to victory in the selection tournament.

It was the first time in a decade that the ever-dominant Shanda University Affiliated School had been defeated by an unknown, minor school.

As a result, Head Coach Lei Ji publicly reprimanded everyone who participated in the team competition and ordered all of them to undergo mandatory all-night training.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for? Careful, or Old Ban will find out and make you run laps."

The team captain, Chen Xinghao, patted Wang Haokun’s shoulder and glanced around. "There are cameras everywhere; it’s no use trying to hide now. But he seems to be fuming today, so he probably won’t have time to notice us."

"I was thinking... about Su Zhi," Wang Haokun sighed.

"Chen Xinghao, do you really think we students from Shanda University Affiliated School are better than the students from the rest of Shanyou Province?"

"Of course we are."

Chen Xinghao replied without a second thought.

Wang Haokun gave a slight smile. His friend had always been this confident. It was less arrogance and more just a part of his personality.

It had its downsides, but he wouldn’t go so far as to call it a flaw.

"I’ll admit, Su Zhi is strong. I’m not even sure I could beat him. But so what? If we face off again, I’m still going in with the mindset that I have to win."

Chen Xinghao pursed his lips. "Still, Old Ban probably wouldn’t want to hear you say that."

"When has he ever been talked back to like that by a student? And a student from a ’minor school,’ at that."

Wang Haokun smiled. "I really did admire Su Zhi’s performance this morning. If I were a student at Huai City First Middle School, I’d be proud of him..."

At this, both of them fell silent.

After all, that admiration was a personal matter between individuals. They represented their schools in the team competition, and the atmosphere at their next meeting would probably be strained.

Chen Xinghao sighed.

This wasn’t what he wanted. When they had parted ways, they’d agreed to have a good, clean match next time. He could still picture Su Zhi showing up with a bag of oranges for the visit, only to eat three of them himself.

A figure, ramrod-straight as a blade, approached, and the two boys simultaneously straightened up.

"Finished with your all-night training?" Lei Ji asked, his face devoid of expression.

"Reporting, sir! It’s complete!" the two answered loudly in unison.

"And the one hundred tactical sets I had you memorize?"

"Reporting, sir! Those are memorized too!"

"If you’re done with everything, then go to bed. Is the Battle Hall a place for you to stand around and chat?"

Lei Ji glanced at each of them in turn.

"In the national tournament, you won’t be facing small fry like Huai City First Middle School. You’ll be up against the ace teams from the major powerhouse provinces. Compared to them, you don’t have a single advantage."

"Beast Taming is like rowing a boat against the current: if you don’t advance, you fall back. The moment you slack off, someone else will seize the opportunity to surpass you. I need you to stay sharp at all times, both physically and mentally. Even your rest is part of the training."

Wang Haokun and Chen Xinghao said nothing. They just nodded and walked silently out of the Battle Hall.

The night sky was pitch black; there were no stars. The boys’ figures were quickly swallowed by the darkness.

A pair of sighs emerged from the darkness.

"I knew Beast Taming was hard work, but I never thought it would be *this* hard. You think this is why Fang Yuan transferred out?"

"As if anyone actually likes training. We just have to tough it out. Things will get better once we break through..."

"Oh, right! That super popular Beast Taming Text is about to go premium. The author said they’re dropping a hundred Chapters on launch day, and there’s an exclusive profile badge."

"Tsk, looks like we’ll have to break a few school rules, then."

...

「One evening.」

Huai City, Xia Wudu Village.

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