"Sister Fang Si, you're so badass!"
Along the way, Chen Shu and Zhang Dali kept kissing up to her, their faces plastered with sycophantic grins.
They hadn't expected Fang Si to be such a big deal. Huaxia Academy wasn't just some ordinary university—it was a top-tier faction in the Capital itself.
"Cut it out!"
Fang Si's expression remained cold. She was clearly still a bit annoyed about Chen Shu's fake death stunt from earlier.
"Sister Fang Si, I was just trying to protect myself in an emergency!"
Chen Shu explained, "That guy's fist was raised up—it was as big as a clay pot! With my frail little body, one punch would've killed me on the spot!"
Zhang Dali sidled over. "Perfect timing then. Me and Sister Fang Si could've attended your funeral banquet."[1]
"..."
Chen Shu shoved Zhang Dali away. You've really been thinking about eating at my funeral, haven't you?
Fang Si nodded expressionlessly, but a hint of amusement flickered in her eyes.
"Sister Fang Si, you didn't see it! I was spitting blood while crawling toward him, and that guy was so scared his legs went weak. When I finally collapsed, his heart probably stopped for a second!"
Chen Shu kept describing the ridiculous scene with wildly exaggerated gestures and expressions.
"Piss off! You're spitting all over my face!"
Fang Si punched Chen Shu away, but now there was a smile at the corner of her lips. She'd stopped holding a grudge.
The three of them chatted and laughed their way to a hotpot restaurant, ready to celebrate.
Chen Shu raised his glass. "Dali! I knew I had the right read on you! Back then I said you were a diamond wrapped in shit![2] Congratulations—future God of Cooking of China!"
Fang Si also raised her glass. "As expected of my little bro. Even without being a Beast Tamer, you still got into a first-rate university through your own merit."
"Keep working hard in college. You're different from Chen Pi—you're young, talented, and motivated. Your future is limitless..."
Chen Shu felt something was increasingly off. He quickly interjected, "Sister Fang Si, hold on a second..."
"What do you mean I'm 'different'? I'm young too! I have talent too!"
It really feels like you're dissing me here, sis!
Zhang Dali also raised his glass. "Don't worry about it, Chen Pi. Sister Fang Si is right. Maybe she didn't phrase it perfectly, but just don't take it to heart."
"Right my ass!" Chen Shu laughed and cursed, though he genuinely didn't care.
The three of them clinked glasses in celebration, smiles on all their faces.
Revival Era Year 980, August 5th—Zhang Dali successfully passed the entrance exam for Spirit Chef University in the Capital.
...
That evening, the three of them took a taxi back to the entrance of Huaxia Academy.
"Sister Fang Si, take these. You can use them."
Chen Shu pulled out the Beast Taming Pearls and a pair of beast claws from his backpack and handed them to Fang Si.
"I'll take the claws. Keep the five Beast Taming Pearls for yourself—you're too weak to be my little brother at this rate."
Fang Si thought for a moment, then took the claws.
The claws came from a Variant-tier Iron Claw Beast. There was a chance to comprehend the skill "Rend" from them, but they didn't suit a slime at all.
At that moment, space split open above Fang Si's head. The Scarlet Flame Dragon's head emerged and swallowed the claws in one gulp.
As expected, no skill was learned...
Trying to comprehend a skill from a Variant-tier fierce beast was basically winning the lottery. Only Lord-tier beasts or higher were reliable sources for contract spirit skills.
"Sister Fang Si, your dragon is so cool."
Chen Shu and Zhang Dali's eyes were full of envy. Two dragons as contract spirits—she'd basically won at life.
Chen Shu asked, "Can you take us for a flight?"
Fang Si shook her head. "What are you dreaming about? It can only fly low. One lap around the city and all the greenery would be on fire."
"Then can we pet it?"
The two of them approached the Scarlet Flame Dragon curiously and reached up to touch its head.
"So warm!"
"Yeah! Does that mean you don't need heating in winter? Just hang this dragon from the ceiling and the whole room's toasty."
"Definitely! And with that ice dragon too, you won't need AC in summer either."
The two of them kept stroking the Scarlet Flame Dragon's head like they had some kind of disease.
Fang Si's mouth twitched. "Get lost!"
The Scarlet Flame Dragon let out an angry roar and retreated into the Beast Space.
"Oh right, Chen Pi. Tomorrow you need to go to Huaxia Hospital's Beast Taming Department and wait in line for me."
"What's wrong? Are you sick?"
"Are you the one who's sick? I said Beast Taming Department—the Frost Dragon has a minor issue."
"Roger that! Over! Over!"
...
Back at the hotel, Chen Shu swallowed all five Beast Taming Pearls in one go.
The Beast Taming Power inside him surged again. He was one step closer to Level 7 Beast Tamer.
The next morning,
Chen Shu headed out alone. Huaxia Hospital was right next to Huaxia Academy—the nation's top medical institution.
Meanwhile, to celebrate Zhang Dali passing his exam, Fang Si was personally taking him to the Capital's shopping street to get a full set of Spirit Chef equipment.
As a Spirit Chef, everything from the knife to the pots and bowls was different from ordinary cooking utensils. After all, they were specifically for preparing and cooking fierce beast meat.
This was also punishment for Chen Shu's earlier stunt—Fang Si made him queue at the hospital alone.
"Making a future legendary Beast Tamer do such menial tasks! The humiliation!! The shame!!"
Chen Shu lamented to the heavens as he arrived at the hospital's Beast Taming Department and joined the long, snaking queue.
Each attending physician only saw a fixed number of patients per day.
Chen Shu had managed to grab a number—but it was the very last one.
Only when standing in these endless dragon-lines did he truly feel like a "descendant of dragons"...[3]
Chen Shu clutched a boxed meal in his hands, mentally prepared to spend the entire day in line.
"Might as well watch some streams."
Bored out of his mind, he pulled out his phone and opened a gaming livestream app. Suddenly, someone sent him a private message.
An account with a sexy female avatar said: "Hey cutie, need any services? Check my profile!"
"What the hell?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow and tapped the profile. There was a ChaoXin contact listed inside.
His eyes lit up as he added the ChaoXin account.
"Hey cutie, need any services? Anything you want!"
"Anything I want?"
"Of course! Great prices!"
"Perfect timing then. I'm at Huaxia Hospital right now. I need someone to stand in line for me. Get here ASAP."
Chen Shu grinned. I'm such a genius. Obviously I should get someone else to do this kind of thing.
Half an hour passed. No reply.
Chen Shu's mind filled with confusion. He typed out question marks: "???"
But a red exclamation mark appeared before the question marks!
"She blocked me?" Chen Shu's eyes went wide. He hadn't expected this outcome.
"Won't even take such a simple job, yet claims 'any service you want'? Fraud!"
Chen Shu grumbled for a bit, then quietly continued waiting in line.
But after another half hour, the queue had barely moved a meter.
Before long, a commotion arose from up ahead.
"Sorry everyone, please wait patiently. I have an emergency to handle!"
A doctor in a white coat hurried out of the consultation room with an apologetic expression, leaving behind a crowd of people staring blankly.
"Are you kidding me? This can happen too?"
Chen Shu wailed at the sky. But the next moment, options appeared before his eyes.
[Option 1: Wait patiently for the doctor to return. Completion Reward: Contract Spirit Endurance +5%]
[Option 2: Take the opportunity to cut in line. Completion Reward: Medium amount of Beast Taming Power]
[Option 3: Pretend to be the doctor and send away everyone ahead of you. Completion Reward: Violent Sitting Kill level +1]
Chen Shu let out a sigh, his face full of difficulty and conflict.
System, you're really making this hard to choose.
The next second, he excitedly grabbed the white coat hanging outside the consultation room...