"Chen Pi, get your ass up here!"
Shen Wushuang finally lost it. She'd never seen someone this shameless.
Only then did Chen Shu leisurely rise from his seat. He smiled and nodded at his classmates, announcing, "That's right, that's right! It's me, Chen Shu—'FIRST PLACE' Chen Shu!"
To emphasize his ranking, he deliberately cranked up the volume on "FIRST PLACE."
Everyone else had black lines running down their foreheads. This guy was just begging to get punched.
But what could they do? They couldn't beat him in a fistfight, and their contract spirits were useless against him too. They had no choice but to accept their fate.
"Everyone's here, yeah? Let me say a few words!"
Chen Shu clasped his hands behind his back like some big-shot leader, completely ignoring Shen Wushuang.
"I have to thank everyone here for helping me win first place. If you guys weren't so weak, how could I have won so easily?"
"..." The class was stunned into prolonged silence.
"Especially you, Young Master Tang! I have to thank you for providing such excellent contrast!"
Tang Lie's fists clenched in his seat, his face turning slightly green with rage. In all his years of living, he'd never been humiliated like this.
"Finally, I'd like to describe myself with one phrase." Chen Shu cleared his throat and spoke with utmost seriousness.
"That's like a sparrow pecking a cow's ass—absolutely badass!"[2]
"Get your ass back down!"
Shen Wushuang hurled the prize box straight at him. If she let Chen Shu keep talking, the entire class would probably lose their minds.
"Wait, Teacher, I wasn't finished—"
"Second place, Tang Lie!"
Shen Wushuang cut him off and called Tang Lie to the stage.
Chen Shu shook his head helplessly and returned to his seat.
"Ooh, these rewards!"
Chen Shu opened the box in his hands. Inside were four white pearls, and next to them sat a fierce beast's innards.
He recognized the four pearls as High-Grade Beast Orbs at a glance.
On the black market, they were worth around 120,000 Huaxia Currency each—six times the value of Low-Grade Beast Orbs. Four of them meant 480,000, and with the Variant-tier fierce beast organs on the side, the total value exceeded a million.
Of course, the school had official channels that offered discounts. But he could take these to the black market and convert them to cash immediately. Both fierce beast materials and Beast Orbs were hot commodities in the underground market.
The fierce beast innards came from a Mutant Roaring Lion from Frost Canyon. Its innate skill was War Cry, which could briefly stun enemies—a fairly versatile ability.
"Holy shit, that's some good stuff!"
Xie Sunan leaned over, rubbing his hands together, his face full of envy.
Chen Shu hadn't expected the first-place prize in a class competition to be worth over a million Huaxia Currency. The school had really gone all out.
Of course, only first place got such lavish rewards. Second place dropped off dramatically—only worth about 500,000.
Just as Shen Wushuang was distributing the prizes, a pot-bellied figure appeared at the classroom door.
It was Nanjiang Second High's principal!
"Teacher Shen, could you step outside for a moment?"
Shen Wushuang temporarily left the classroom.
"Teacher Shen, I know you have extensive teaching experience, but isn't giving such a large reward to an F-rank Beast Tamer a bit excessive?"
The principal frowned, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
The school could spend money on the Special Training Class, sure. But you had to use good steel on the blade's edge. Pouring resources into potential Huaxia Academy seeds was acceptable, but Chen Shu's F-rank contract spirit could only get him into a prestigious university at best. Spending this much on him seemed wasteful.
Shen Wushuang smiled. "Principal, Chen Shu might not be out of the running for Huaxia Academy. At least for now, he's outperforming everyone else."
The principal countered, "Do you really think Huaxia Academy would accept someone with an F-rank contract spirit?"
Shen Wushuang's words caught in her throat, and she fell silent.
The quality of a Beast Tamer's first contract spirit was indeed crucial—it affected not just combat power but their lifetime achievements. While nothing was set in stone, people whose first contract spirit was S-rank typically had second and third spirits that were equally impressive.
But with Chen Shu's F-rank first contract spirit, his second one would likely be E-rank or D-rank. Would Huaxia Academy really accept a student like that?
This was precisely why potential ratings were such a critical metric in the college entrance exam.
Shen Wushuang shook her head firmly. "Regardless, I have to ensure fairness. We can't have second place getting better rewards than first place."
The principal suggested, "Teacher Shen, you could reduce the first-place prize appropriately."
As principal, his thinking wasn't wrong—resources were limited and should go to students with real potential.
Shen Wushuang replied, "Principal, I have my own approach. If you think someone else is better suited to be homeroom teacher, I'm willing to resign."
The principal's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Shen Wushuang to be so resolute.
He quickly smiled. "That's not what I meant at all. You've trained multiple Special Training Classes—I have complete confidence in your teaching abilities."
"Fine then. Since you have your own methods, I won't interfere. The school's resources remain at your disposal."
Their conversation ended quickly, and the principal left with a sigh.
To secure better results for the next college entrance exam, the school had bet everything on this. As principal, his pressure was immense. If they succeeded, he'd reverse Nanjiang Second High's declining fortunes. If they failed, he'd be the school's sinner.
"Little Xing, Old Xie—do you guys have any connections? I want to convert these into Beast Taming Pearls."
Chen Shu wanted to liquidate his rewards. Beast Orbs required time to refine—a waste of time. And the War Cry skill wasn't particularly useful, plus the odds of comprehending it were too low anyway.
Xie Sunan's eyes bulged. "Have you lost your mind? Convert them to Beast Taming Pearls?"
A basic-tier Beast Taming Pearl cost 150,000, while a High-Grade Beast Orb was worth 120,000. But comparing their effects, the orbs were actually slightly better.
The only downside was that Beast Orbs needed time to refine, whereas Beast Taming Pearls could be converted directly into Beast Taming Power.
Chen Shu blinked. "Have you ever seen me cultivate?"
"Huh?"
The two of them were immediately stumped. Come to think of it, they really had never seen Chen Shu cultivate or absorb any natural spiritual energy.
Every night, both of them would cultivate before bed. Only Chen Shu would just pass out the moment his head hit the pillow.
"Then where does your strength come from? Don't tell me it's all from chugging Beast Taming Pearls?"
Xu Xingxing's mouth twitched. Even the most outrageously wealthy trust-fund kid wouldn't do something like that.
Never cultivating from the start, relying entirely on Beast Taming Pearls—nobody in the country played the game like that, right?
Chen Shu sighed and explained with an air of profound mystery, "You wouldn't understand. Cultivation isn't just about meditation. For those who truly understand, eating, sleeping, attending class, even sitting on the toilet—it's all cultivation."
"..."
The two of them remained utterly baffled. They'd never heard of toilet cultivation before.
Chen Shu sighed and gave up explaining.
I can't just tell them I have cheats, can I?