"Don't provoke any fierce beasts for now. Wait until I can summon the Slime at a moment's notice."
Chen Shu waited for the summoning cooldown to end, and then the three went right back to causing trouble.
With this hit-and-run tactic, they ran rampant through Frost Canyon without a care in the world.
Six days flew by in the blink of an eye.
The trio snagged another three rare medicinal herbs, drawing a swarm of Ice Scorpions into a furious chase below—but all they could do was watch helplessly as the Mutant Thunderbird soared away.
Xu Xingxing spoke up: "Chen Pi, our haul should be pretty solid, right?"
"Pretty solid? It's incredible! First place is locked in!"
Chen Shu said this with full confidence. Over six days, the herbs they'd gathered were worth at least two million yuan.
The only way another team could surpass them was by hunting a Lord-tier fierce beast.
But Lord creatures were different from Variant creatures. No matter how weak the species' bloodline, every Lord was at least Black Iron rank.
The entire Special Training Class could team up and still not take down a single Lord beast. They'd just end up as a free meal for it.
Nighttime.
"Violent Sitting Kill leveled up again. I'm literally getting stronger in my sleep."
Chen Shu lay comfortably in his sleeping bag, wearing his hospital patient clothes.
After enjoying a delicious BBQ dinner, the three gathered inside a tent.
"Bid!"[1]
"Rob!"
"I'll rob!"
"I'll rob again!"
The three kicked back and started playing Fight the Landlord.
The poor Black Iron-rank Spirit Suppression soldier outside had to stand guard over their safety in the middle of the night.
It was nighttime now, and Shen Wushuang had already swapped shifts with another soldier. He couldn't provide twenty-four-hour protection.
Black Iron-rank Beast Tamers were human too!
"They seem like perfectly normal students. Was Old Shen really being that cautious for nothing?"
A Spirit Suppression soldier stood atop a flying beast, gazing down at the cave in the cliff wall below.
He was a Black Iron Three-Star Beast Tamer—specifically requested by Shen Wushuang, who claimed a Black Iron One-Star might not be able to protect all three of them.
Chen Shu won the Landlord bid, a smug grin spreading across his face. "A three!"
Xu Xingxing's expression didn't change. "Rocket."
"I played... a three?"
Chen Shu's face froze. He stared blankly at Xu Xingxing.
"Yep. Rocket."
"Hold on—I played a goddamn THREE and you drop a ROCKET? Are you insane? What are you even doing? Have you ever seen Ultraman open a fight with his finishing beam?"
Xu Xingxing shrugged. "I wanted momentum."
Chen Shu nodded. "Fine! Your turn then. No way in hell your seventeen remaining cards can one-shot me."
"Airplane with three pairs!"
Xu Xingxing slapped down every single card in his hand.
"..."
"..."
The tent fell into dead silence.
Chen Shu's eyes went wide, staring at Xu Xingxing in utter disbelief.
You actually one-shot me with seventeen cards?!
"Old Xie, the hell are you standing up for?"
Xie Sunan made a shushing gesture, brow slightly furrowed. His Winged Caterpillar was communicating something to him.
"Quick! Someone's approaching!"
The three snapped to attention instantly, scrambling to pack up anything important.
Chen Shu recalled his Slime. The three rushed out of the cave and mounted the Mutant Thunderbird's back, ready to take off at any moment.
"Which direction?"
Chen Shu frowned, looking at Xie Sunan.
"Three hundred meters to the left. Moving slowly, heading straight for us. They're definitely trying to ambush us!"
The fire inside made the cave glow visibly from the outside—a clear sign it was occupied.
By Frost Canyon's unspoken rules, other Beast Taming Corps wouldn't approach an occupied cave without reason. Unless they had bad intentions.
"Wait," Chen Shu said. "Let them come."
Moments later, six figures appeared outside the cave entrance. Clearly a Beast Taming Corps.
"So you've got a reconnaissance-type contract spirit, huh?"
The leader—a burly man—looked startled. He hadn't expected to be detected so early.
All that sneaking around for nothing.
Greed filled all six of their faces. "Not bad, kid. Looks like you've had a good haul these past few days."
"Robbers?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected anyone to actually try robbing him.
"Hand over all your herbs. Then you can scram!"
The leader was a Black Iron-rank Beast Tamer with considerable strength. Three students were nothing to worry about.
Xie Sunan spoke up: "Boss, we're from the Special Training Class. There's a Spirit Suppression soldier right above your head!"
"Hm?"
The leader's expression shifted. He couldn't help looking upward. With his enhanced vision, he could faintly make out a dark silhouette in the sky.
No wonder three trainee Beast Tamers could make it to Frost Canyon.
"I know your rules. Unless there's a life-threatening crisis, he won't intervene."
The leader thought for a moment. "Hand over half the herbs. Otherwise your training ends right here!"
If the Spirit Suppression soldier stepped in, it meant the trio's trial was over.
But the Beast Taming Corps wouldn't face any consequences. The Alternate Dimension was lawless territory—the soldier would only protect the students, not punish outsiders.
"You want the herbs? Sure—come get them yourself."
Chen Shu flashed a grin, opening the backpack stuffed with medicinal herbs. The sight immediately drew the leader's attention.
Greed shone in the man's eyes, but wariness filled his gut. He approached slowly.
Just as the leader was about to reach the trio, a dazzling green spotlight descended onto the top of his head.[2]
"..."
The scene went completely silent.
"Boss... your head..."
The Corps members' mouths twitched, their expressions impossibly conflicted—desperately wanting to laugh but not daring to.
The leader sensed it too. He jerked his head upward.
What he saw was a massive hat shape hovering above him. And the light was fucking green.
"You little shits are DEAD!"
Rage ignited inside him like a bonfire. He wanted to murder all three of them on the spot.
In that split-second of distraction—
Chen Shu smiled faintly. The Slime's cooldown had just ended.
A massive Slime plummeted from the sky, crashing directly toward the five subordinates behind the leader.
The five hadn't reacted at all. They'd been too busy staring at the glowing green light on their boss's head with great interest.
It wasn't until their own contract spirits shrieked warnings that they finally snapped out of it.
"LOOK OUT!"
Someone bellowed, looking up to see the Slime bearing down on them. In an instant, it turned into a life-or-death situation.
BOOM!
All five contract spirits attacked simultaneously, trying to hold up the enormous creature—but they were crushed within moments.
Any contract spirit below Black Iron rank was essentially no match for the Slime.
Despite the brief delay from their spirits, some still couldn't escape the Slime's attack radius.
Two of them had their legs pinned instantly.
They didn't die on the spot, but without timely medical attention, they'd bleed out all the same.
"You little SHIT! I'll KILL you!"
The leader heard the commotion behind him, spun around—and his eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
"Gotta run!"
Chen Shu flashed a grin and recalled the Slime to his Beast Space.
The Mutant Thunderbird spread its wings, launching into the air at breakneck speed—and spat right at the leader on its way up.
"Take care of Xiao Liu and Xiao Li!"
The leader was seething. He summoned his own contract spirit.
A massive black bird appeared, giving chase after the Mutant Thunderbird.
The Spirit Suppression soldier high above watched the scene unfold with cool detachment, a faint smile playing at his lips. "This kid is genuinely ruthless."
The Mutant Thunderbird remained utterly unbothered by the pursuit. It even wiggled its butt at the leader.
"GODDAMMIT! I'm teaching you brats a lesson TODAY!"
The leader ground his teeth. Nobody had died, but two people were badly injured—and that meant a massive medical bill.
For an already-broke Beast Taming Corps, this only made things even worse...