Beast Taming: I'm Really Not a Cultivation Master

Chapter 342: Chapter 312: Rewards

"The Freshman Challenge?" Li Qian asked, a bit confused.

"That’s right, the Freshman Challenge."

Lu Tianjiao explained, "It’s held every year, usually mid-semester—late October or early November."

"The school sent out the official notice yesterday."

"And the rewards are pretty generous."

Lu Tianjiao’s words instantly piqued Li Qian’s curiosity. "What kind of rewards are there?"

"I took a quick look. I only paid attention to the top three prizes."

Lu Tianjiao said, "First place gets a Reincarnation Fruit, second place gets a Soul Crystal Stone, and third place gets an Emperor Level Potential Pet Beast Egg."

"Damn, that’s generous!"

Li Qian couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment after hearing the rewards Lu Tianjiao listed.

An Emperor Level Potential Pet Beast Egg was, of course, incredible. As long as it was raised properly, it would smoothly advance to the Emperor Level—a prize countless people coveted but could never obtain.

The Soul Crystal Stone was no less valuable than the Emperor Level Potential Pet Beast Egg. It could directly increase a Beast Master’s Spiritual Power with no side effects.

At Li Qian’s current Spiritual Power Level, if he used a Soul Crystal Stone to aid his Meditation, he could easily break through to the Commander Level.

Even breaking through to the Commander Level would likely only consume a tiny fraction of its Energy.

If he absorbed it all, it wasn’t impossible that he could step directly into the Dominator Level.

Of course, given his current Spiritual Power Level and physical condition, it would be extremely difficult for him to absorb it all.

And as for the first-place prize, that was even more incredible.

Its value might even be equal to the second and third-place prizes combined.

The description of the Reincarnation Fruit was quite mystical. It was said to awaken the wisdom of one’s past life, even allowing one to recall fragments of memories from it.

Of course, there was no way to verify if such rumors were true.

However, one thing was certain.

Those who consumed a Reincarnation Fruit had an extremely high chance of awakening a second Beast Taming Talent.

As everyone knew, a Beast Master could normally only possess a single Beast Taming Talent.

That was common knowledge.

However, Li Qian had read many books and had also spoken with a Cultivation Master like Sun Hongyi, so he knew a few secrets.

As far as he knew, some Beast Masters could indeed possess a second Beast Taming Talent.

The most straightforward way was... to be born with a second Beast Taming Talent.

However, such Beast Masters were one in a million, and the probability of awakening it was pitifully low.

Another way was to use special items to develop a second Beast Taming Talent.

The Reincarnation Fruit was one such item.

And even among such special items, it was truly in a class of its own.

Its value was astronomical.

For the Freshman Challenge to offer such rewards was indeed very tempting.

At that moment, Li Qian had to admit he was truly tempted.

But his expression quickly soured. "You’ve said all this, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with me."

"My major is in cultivation, not combat. Even if I entered this Freshman Challenge, I’d probably just be along for the ride."

It wasn’t that Li Qian was being overly modest.

In fact, saying so was just a sign of his self-awareness.

If he were a junior or a senior, he’d have the confidence to compete.

But now? He’d rather not.

Although he had awakened his Golden Finger and could increase his Spiritual Power by completing tasks, it had all come too late.

He could probably hold a slight advantage over an ordinary Beast Master.

But compared to the scions of great families and major powers, there was definitely a gap.

Those elite scions probably had contracts with not just Dominator Level Potential Pet Beasts, but even Emperor Level ones.

In that respect, Li Qian had no advantage whatsoever.

Hearing this, Lu Tianjiao just smiled and continued, "Hehe, this Freshman Challenge isn’t like an ordinary competition."

"You have a shot, too."

Meeting Li Qian’s questioning gaze, he began to speak with enthusiasm. "This is a competition for freshmen jointly organized by the nation’s top one hundred Beast Taming Universities."

"The competition is divided into many categories. There are not only combat events, but also support and cultivation events..."

Li Qian’s eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this.

’If there’s a cultivation event, I’m pretty confident I can do well.’

"They’re releasing the news now for a competition in late October or early November?" Li Qian asked.

"They release the news around this time every year to give students more time to prepare," Lu Tianjiao said.

Li Qian nodded.

He then discussed some more of the competition’s details with Lu Tianjiao.

As for how Lu Tianjiao, a freshman just like himself, knew so many secrets, Li Qian didn’t even want to ask anymore.

Lu Tianjiao’s background was clearly not simple. Since he didn’t bring it up, Li Qian wouldn’t pry.

The two of them chatted until around ten o’clock at night, at which point Lu Tianjiao finally left.

The next day was Sunday.

Li Qian didn’t have a habit of sleeping in.

He got up bright and early.

He went to the nearest track to get some exercise.

Then he had breakfast.

A little after eight o’clock, he returned to his dorm room.

"You are...?" Li Qian asked, confused to see someone standing right outside his dorm room door.

And it was a woman, no less.

Li Qian was rather perplexed.

The young woman looked vaguely familiar.

But for the life of him, he couldn’t recall where he might have seen her before.

"Hello, Li Qian."

Seeing Li Qian, the young woman immediately walked over, a bag of fruit in her hand.

"I’m Mary, Mary Galoway," the young woman said, her face full of gratitude. "Thank you for... for saving me last time."

"Oh, it’s you!" Hearing her name, it all came flooding back to Li Qian.

’So she’s Lu Tianjiao’s ex.’

’Last time, she must have been possessed by some malevolent Extraordinary Creature. She really put me and Lu Tianjiao through the wringer.’

’I even got pretty badly injured because of it.’

’Looks like she’s finally made a full recovery.’

"It wasn’t just me. To be precise, the ones who did most of the work saving you that night were Lu Ming and a girl named Xue Yuan," Li Qian said, opening the door to let Mary Galoway in.

Mary Galoway followed Li Qian into the dorm room. At his polite invitation, she set down the fruit and sat on the sofa.

"I’ll be sure to thank Xue Yuan. As for that womanizer Lu... Hmph!" Mary Galoway said.

’Clearly, even though they’d broken up, she was still full of resentment toward Lu Tianjiao.’

’He must have done a real number on her back then.’

"Haha... well... looks like you’ve made a full recovery," Li Qian said, not knowing how to respond. He laughed awkwardly and tried to change the subject.

"Yes. After being stuck in a hospital bed for so long, I’m finally better. What a... special... start to my freshman year, huh?" Mary Galoway said with a self-deprecating laugh.

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