Chapter 13: Someone Is Looking for You

"Oh right, Thighs…" Fang Sisi still wanted to say something.

"Can you stop calling me Thighs?" Qiao Sang cut her off directly.

"Then how about I call you Beautiful Legs?" Fang Sisi asked.

Qiao Sang: "…"

Under Qiao Sang's death stare, Fang Sisi finally changed her tune. "Qiao Sang, have you already contracted a beast?"

Any newly awakened beast master couldn't resist the temptation to contract a beast at the first opportunity.

Qiao Sang nodded without denying it.

"Then you…"

Fang Sisi was just about to keep asking when the voices in the classroom suddenly went mute, as if someone had hit the silence button.

Looking up, it turned out the homeroom teacher had arrived…

Qiao Sang looked up and saw a girl in a faded, washed-out school uniform smiling at her from the doorway.

"What's the use of being recommended? With her family's situation, can they even afford a beast?" the boy standing on the right mocked.

Wang Yao, relying on his SS-rank beast master constitution, fought his way out of the Alliance's encirclement, single-handedly killing 223 beast masters, including 11 S-rank beast masters.

Wang Wenyu vanished from the world ever since.

It was a disaster Wang Yao created with his beasts; as an SS-rank beast master, he already possessed the ability to alter nature itself.

Back in the classroom, Qiao Sang put all her focus on her book.

Qiao Sang grew interested and pricked up her ears to listen to the speech.

If ordinary people having a child who became a beast master was still somewhat possible, the probability of a self-awakened one appearing was almost negligible.

【A. Chen Jiading】

"Is there something you need me for?" Qiao Sang asked, her face full of confusion.

【D. Wang Yao】

Third year was in the冲刺 stage and basically wouldn't hold morning assemblies together with first and second year students; even if the school required gathering, there was always one or two classes that were the exception.

"Qiao Sang, someone's looking for you." the girl sitting by the door called out.

This question—if you weren't careful, you'd easily pick D.

Qiao Sang looked up at the stage and saw that, including the principal, vice-principal, and dean of studies, all the school's top brass were present. This was a rare sight for an ordinary morning assembly.

Qiao Sang had read quite a bit about these history questions in recent days; the catastrophe over 3,000 years ago was no natural disaster but a man-made one.

The next second, Fang Sisi's face went deathly pale.

Qiao Sang was bored out of her mind; whatever was being said on stage went in one ear and out the other.

She looked at the question and changed her answer from last time.

Qiao Sang's lashes fluttered.

Dai Shushu showed an apologetic expression. "It was just some ugly words. My mom didn't mean it—your aunt said some things too at the time." She paused. "It's just that the teacher, seeing they were about to come to blows, told your aunt to step outside. I feel bad about it."

Qiao Sang was a little surprised. With the development of beast-master society, humanity had long realized that children born of two beast masters were far more likely to be beast masters themselves.

Dai Shushu tucked her hair back. "If the teacher hadn't done it for me, she wouldn't have made your aunt leave."

Oh no, oh no—she hadn't finished copying the homework yet!

"Everyone assemble at the field in five minutes." After saying this, the homeroom teacher glanced in Qiao Sang's direction.

They were both self-awakened, and now with Sacred Water Middle School in the picture, it was hard for Qiao Sang not to compare herself to her.

【B. Sen Xiaoman】

Principal Chen Yongfeng was droning the same old speech up on stage; every morning assembly it was the same few lines, nothing new.

"Didn't your aunt tell you? Last Friday my mom said some ugly things to your aunt. There were teachers all around at the time, so I couldn't get a word in. Was your aunt okay when she got back?" Dai Shushu said in a soft, meek voice.

【Over 3,000 years ago, disaster struck from the heavens. Earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions—these super catastrophes plunged the entire world into an apocalyptic atmosphere. Which beast master stopped this catastrophe?】

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment, then asked: "What did your mom say?"

"I don't know." Qiao Sang said.

Later, the SS-rank beast master Wang Wenyu returned from Yan Tianxing and finally subdued Wang Yao, but five beasts that had always been by his side died in that battle.

Qiao Sang had never had any dealings with Dai Shushu herself, but with people around her gossiping so much, she had picked up a thing or two.

"I'm apologizing on my mom's behalf for what happened last time." Dai Shushu said.

Over ten minutes later, thunderous applause rang out by her ear, and Qiao Sang instinctively clapped along.

On the flip side, if both parents were ordinary people, the probability of their child becoming a beast master was only 2%.

"Neither of her parents is a beast master, and yet somehow she gave birth to a self-awakened beast master." someone gossiped.

The higher the rank of a beast master, the more likely they were to produce a child with high talent.

"Respected teachers, dear students, good morning. I am Dai Shushu from Class 9, Grade 9. It is my great honor…"

With the awakening count of the Beast Codex, when a beast master reached D-rank, they would receive a certain feedback from their beasts, affecting their lifespan and constitution.

She had thought it was just an ordinary morning assembly, but it turned out to be Dai Shushu's personal commendation ceremony.

【C. Wang Wenyu】

She was certain her past self had no interaction with Dai Shushu either—one a top student, one a slacker, and they weren't even in the same class. With graduation approaching, she couldn't figure out what business the other could have with her.

A petite figure walked from the Grade 9 section up to the stage.

"Being recommended to Sacred Water Middle School this time is not only due to my own efforts but also inseparable from the teachers…"

"What is it?" Qiao Sang raised an eyebrow.

Unless one was directly attacked, it was hard to be hurt by the aftershocks.

She walked out.

"It's Dai Shushu! When did you get to know her?" Fang Sisi asked in surprise.

"I don't know her." Qiao Sang was equally baffled.

Dai Shushu was a prominent figure at school, naturally drawing the attention of her classmates, one after another turning their heads to look.

"Why did the whole school come?" Fang Sisi, standing behind, poked Qiao Sang with her finger.

That comparison stung, and hearing the next speech left her listless.

As the level increased, the feedback grew stronger.

She had the face of a delicate little flower, and due to malnutrition she looked frail and fragile, as if a gust of wind could carry her away.

Her family was poor — she was the only one receiving the school's financial aid, had been ranked first in her grade for all three years of middle school, and was later recommended to Beast Taming High School after her self-awakening, a typical inspirational figure.

This question had appeared on the last mock exam; Qiao Sang hadn't misread it — she'd chosen D because three options were long and one was short.

Qiao Sang said expressionlessly, "The teacher told my mom to step out. What's it got to do with you?"

As middle schoolers about to take the entrance exam, they'd long finished the courses they were supposed to learn — the main thing now was reviewing and doing practice papers.

All 4,000-plus students and 300-plus active teachers of Wencheng Middle School had gathered on the sports field, a dense, dark mass.

An S-rank Beast Tamer required at least a century of effort to reach that level — the Alliance's losses were devastating.

"I see." Qiao Sang asked again, "What did your mom say back then?"

Dai Shushu lowered her head; she was already half a head shorter than Qiao Sang, and once she lowered it, her expression couldn't be seen.

"My mom said your bad grades are because you have no father to discipline you, that you only self-awakened by sheer dumb luck, and that it's no wonder your aunt is getting divorced since she's so fierce."

She raised her head, the picture of innocence. "So, did you really self-awaken?"

(End of chapter)