"Chen Shu!"
Just then, Fang Ke walked over with a stern expression.
"If you can't do the problems, just lie there quietly. Stop constantly flipping through your test paper!"
Wasn't this obviously disrupting other people's exams?
"My hand was cramping badly earlier, but it's better now." Chen Shu put his head down and went to sleep. The reward was already in hand anyway.
Since each exam took half a day, the liberal arts portion was finished after two days, prompting the students to gather and discuss the results.
"This exam was really difficult. I guess it was designed to filter out the top students."
"Sigh, I hope I can score at least 320 points on liberal arts."
"Yeah, the third-year special training class is out of reach for us, but at least we can't do too poorly."
Chen Shu smiled quietly on the side without saying anything. Generally, academic aces acted this way—smiling without speaking, then shocking everyone when the scores came out.
"Alright, everyone, stop discussing!"
Fang Ke suddenly walked into the classroom. "No matter what the results are, the exams are over. The key now is the upcoming Beast Taming exam."
Liberal arts had a total of 400 points. Student scores generally ranged from 340 to 380 points, so the gap wasn't too large.
Beast Taming had a total of 360 points. Some students might not even reach 100 points, while others could achieve two or three hundred.
This was where the real differences would show.
"I hope everyone can follow proper discipline during the final exam and not imitate certain people!"
Fang Ke's gaze fell on Chen Shu. He was actually somewhat afraid now, worried that Chen Shu might pull off some other outrageous stunt.
After school that afternoon, Zhang Dali was already waiting outside the classroom early.
Zhang Dali looked over and said, "Finally made it to summer vacation! Chen Pi, you're not really going to work for two whole months, are you?"
Regular classes naturally didn't have Beast Taming exams, so Zhang Dali was completely free now.
Chen Shu nodded. "Of course. I'm really short on cash. What are your plans for summer vacation?"
The two walked out of school together.
Zhang Dali said excitedly, "Online gaming, obviously! I'm going to grind my way to King tier in Beast Taming Glory."
"Oh right, my mom's back. She invited you to dinner at my house tonight."
Chen Shu readily agreed without even thinking about it.
Who could refuse a free meal?
"Chen Pi, I'm going to have to rely on you from now on!"
Zhang Dali suddenly slung an arm around his shoulder, his expression grave. "Dog! When you're rich and famous, don't forget me!¹"
"..." Chen Shu was speechless. "Can you not put so much emphasis on the 'dog' part? You make it sound like I'm the dog."
The two joked around as they returned to the residential complex.
Chen Shu's father had something come up and wasn't coming home for dinner tonight, so they went directly to Zhang Dali's house.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home."
The two of them threw down their backpacks and collapsed comfortably onto the sofa, with Chen Shu making himself right at home as if he owned the place—after years of friendship between their families, the Zhang household was practically his second home.
"Ah my two sons are back?" A middle-aged woman came out of the kitchen with a kind smile on her face.
This was Zhang Dali's mother, Xue Yuan.
"Aunt Xue, hello!" Chen Shu stood up and politely greeted her.
Zhang Dali lay there lazily. "Mom, where's Dad? I don't see him around."
"Old Zhang is in the study, buying things. You can go take a look."
"Never mind, I wouldn't understand it anyway." Zhang Dali closed his eyes and sprawled on the sofa.
But Chen Shu looked somewhat interested. Zhang Dali's parents were both Black Iron rank Beast Tamers, so whatever they were buying must be related to beast taming.
He didn't hesitate and headed toward the study.
"Look who’s here, hey buddy"
Zhang Feng, with his sturdy build, was seriously looking at his computer screen while gesturing for Chen Shu to sit down beside him.
Chen Shu came over and was immediately drawn to what was on the computer screen.
"Tianyuan Ginseng, Price: 300,000 Chinese yuan!"
"Yunding Peak Stone Milk (one liang), Price: 500,000 Chinese yuan!"
"Level 2 Gigantification Fruit, Price: 100,000 Chinese yuan!"
"Ice Snow Wolf King Beast Core, Price: 1,000,000 Chinese yuan!"
...
Chen Shu swallowed hard. While he recognized most of the general resources from his high school studies, he'd never imagined they would be so astronomically expensive. His previous belief that brewing a few Strength Potions had made him wealthy now seemed laughable—looking at these prices, he realized that to become a high-level Beast Tamer, he was nowhere close to having enough money.
"Little Chen," Zhang Feng explained with a smile, "this is all stuff for Black Iron rank Beast Tamers, so of course it's a little pricier."
Anyone below Black Iron rank counts as just an apprentice—no access to the good stuff yet.
"Uncle Zhang, what website is this?" Chen Shu's eyes showed curiosity.
Everything sold here was what Beast Tamers needed—all materials from dimensional spaces that would be extremely useful to him.
"It's the Beast Tamer Association Website," Zhang Feng explained. "It was specially built by the country for communication and trading among Beast Tamers. Once you become a Black Iron rank, someone will specifically invite you to join."
Chen Shu sighed. It seemed Apprentice Beast Tamers knew far too little.
No wonder the physical stores in the residential area didn't have many dimensional space materials—they only carried things that Apprentice Beast Tamers would use.
The precious dimensional space materials were mostly sold on the Beast Tamer Association website. Other than Beast Tamers, ordinary people simply couldn't afford them.
Chen Shu watched in amazement as Zhang Feng spent a million Chinese yuan, purchasing materials that Black Iron rank Beast Tamers needed.
If it were Silver rank or Gold rank materials, how expensive would those various medicinal ingredients be?
"Come on, Little Chen, let's go eat."
Zhang Feng stretched and closed his computer. The things he'd ordered would be delivered in two days.
Smelling the aroma of food wafting from the living room, Zhang Feng's appetite was stimulated.
All four gathered around the dinner table in a harmonious atmosphere.
"Little Chen, you still have the Beast Taming exam tomorrow, right?" Aunt Xue suddenly spoke up. "If you get a chance to enter the special training class, you absolutely must not let that opportunity slip by."
"Aunt Xue, you know about the special training class too?" Chen Shu said.
"Of course. Your Aunt Xue was actually a member of Nanjiang Second High's very first special training class." Zhang Feng's mouth curved in a smile.
"Students who get into prestigious universities basically all come from the special training class," Aunt Xue explained. "The various resources provided there will give your Beast Taming abilities a major boost."
Third-year special training classes weren't unique to Nanjiang Second High—basically every Beast Taming school in the country had them, though the resources provided would vary.
In Chen Shu's previous world, the third year of high school was indeed an extremely important stage that would give students' academic performance a comprehensive boost.
In this world, it was the same.
For the college entrance exam, every family would spare no effort and give everything they had.
Some families would even go deep into debt, hoping only that their children could get into their ideal Beast Taming university.