In the year 3770 of the Taiyuan calendar, the eastern continent of the Four Continents, known as the Qi Wu continent, was the largest continent among the Four Continents. In the Qi Wu continent, there were four powerful nations that divided seventy percent of the land. They were the Sida Empire in the east, the Qilanlou Alliance in the north, the Tailong Empire in the south, and the Hua Na Bang Principality located in the middle of the three countries.
Among them, the Tailong Empire was the strongest, followed by the Qilanlou Alliance, then the Sida Empire, and the Hua Na Bang Principality was the weakest.
The capital of the Hua Na Bang Principality was Yan Shu City.
It was an ancient cultural capital with a history of over a thousand years, located in the center of the Qi Wu continent, exuding a rich cultural atmosphere and martial arts ambiance, and was one of the most prosperous cities on the continent.
In the western outskirts of Yan Shu City, there was a college occupying an area of about a hundred acres. It was one of the five famous colleges in the Hua Na Bang Principality and renowned throughout the continent - Yunliu Academy.
The academy was divided into three disciplines: Armor Martial Arts, Phantom Demon Arts, and Divine Arts.
As the name implied, Armor Martial Arts guided students on how to utilize the Beast Phantom Armor, tapping into their potential to enhance their attack power, defense, and recovery abilities in battles. Phantom Demon Arts taught students how to use external energy through the Phantom Demon Armor to achieve "magical effects" with powerful attack capabilities. Divine Arts focused on guiding certain special ability beasts to mature and transform into "tools" with special functions before they reached adulthood, thereby accelerating their special abilities.
In Class 11 of the high-level Armor Martial Arts class, about thirty-odd students were listening attentively to the history of phantom beasts being taught by the teacher at the lectern.
The teacher, who appears to be in his early forties, writes a few words on the blackboard and begins to passionately lecture: "As you all know, the history of humans using magical beasts can be traced back to 2,800 years ago. Legend has it that magical beasts were weapons created by our ancestors in ancient times. However, due to some cataclysmic event, ancient cultures were destroyed and humans entered a dark period of chaos. It wasn't until 2,800 years ago that the great sage, Heinie Wailubin, discovered the dormant magical beasts in ancient ruins and, after decades of research, finally unlocked their usage, revealing them to the world. This caused a sensation worldwide, and at that time, many countries devoted themselves to researching and excavating ancient ruins. With the joint efforts of people around the world, countless types of magical beasts were discovered, and after centuries of research, the magical beasts we use today finally took shape."
Pausing for a moment, the teacher continues, "Nowadays, our magical beasts can be roughly divided into several stages. First is the egg stage: magical beasts in the egg stage have no abilities until they hatch. The time it takes for magical beasts of different species to grow varies, but all of them require about three years in the egg stage. That's why the kingdom has a rule that children who are at least twelve years old must go to school to learn how to control magical beasts, because by the age of twelve, everyone must find their own magical beast egg. I believe many of you have already hatched your magical beast eggs by now!"
The teacher then goes on, "After hatching, the magical beasts enter the juvenile stage. Juvenile magical beasts have no abilities, but their species can already be identified. This stage is also known as the bonding period, as it is the only time in a magical beast's life when it can bond with a master. Once a master is chosen, it cannot be changed for life. There is also an interesting fact that the shorter the juvenile stage, the higher the level of the magical beast. For example, the royal family's magical beasts are said to have only one month of juvenile stage."
"Next is the growth stage. During the growth stage, the magical beast will transform and fuse with the body of the master it bonded with during the juvenile stage. This is because magical beasts in the growth stage require a large amount of energy, and relying solely on their own energy absorption is not enough for their growth. They need to rely on the energy provided by their master. The more energy the master provides, the faster the magical beast will grow and the stronger it will become. So, my dear students, don't think that your magical beast's level is inferior to others' means you will definitely lose to them. Just like three of the famous top ten martial artists on the continent who use low-level magical beasts."
"Then comes the metamorphosis stage. The magical beast's metamorphosis stage is the most vulnerable period in its life. During this stage, the magical beast will transform into the most suitable form for its master, based on its growth, the energy provided by the master, and the attributes of the master. It could be a combat armor, a magic-powered suit, or even a technological support beast. Since a magical beast can only undergo metamorphosis once, the goal of the academy is to teach everyone how to help their magical beast grow into the form they need."
"Finally, there is the mature stage. After going through the previous stages, the magical beast reaches the mature stage, which is the practical stage. Depending on the final stage, it can be divided into the beast armor of the combat armor, the magic beast armor of the magic-powered
Speaking of which, the teacher on the podium suddenly noticed a young boy sitting at the back by the window, staring absentmindedly outside.
Teacher Gais saw Yawen looking out the window, and his anger surged as he realized Yawen wasn't paying attention to his lecture. Known as "Ghosthead Teacher" by the students, only Yawen Stadak dared to not pay attention in his class. He was about to reprimand him, but then remembered his usual behavior and couldn't help but feel discouraged. Yawen had always been unresponsive to the outside world, like a walking corpse, which was the only way he had been since he entered school at the age of 12.
He was not unaware that many students in the academy mocked him because he was a member of the Stadak family, but Yawen's unchanging cold expression had never shown any signs of irritation.
He sighed and thought to himself, "Growing up in such a famous family, it would be painful if you don't have the talent to maintain that reputation."
Shaking his head, he was about to continue the lecture when the timekeeping beast on the side let out a bird-like cry, reminding him that it was time for class to end. He cleared his throat and said, "Classmates, review today's lessons when you go back, tomorrow I will show you various specimens of magical beasts from different eras. Class dismissed."
As soon as the words fell, most of the students hurriedly left the classroom, and Teacher Gais tidied up a bit and followed suit.
At this moment, Yawen Stadak, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned his head back and saw that there were only less than eight people left in the classroom. He thought to himself, "Why is class over so quickly?" He packed up his books and was about to leave.
Suddenly, a group of five or six people came in with great momentum, and five of them surrounded him directly. Among them, a tall and big teenager who was also fifteen or sixteen years old said, "Young Master Yawen, did you bring your magical beast?" Yawen was stunned and asked, "Magical beast? What magical beast?" He couldn't help but wonder why the boy didn't listen to his words.
A beautiful girl beside him disdainfully said, "Naken, how could Young Master Yawen bother to listen to us commoners!"
Naken, the boy, couldn't help but get angry and said, "Yawen, you brought this upon yourself, don't blame me."
After speaking, he grabbed Yawen without giving him a chance to say a word, and hurriedly ran with him and the others to an open space by a small lake in the academy, releasing Yafang and standing three steps away from him.
Yawen was filled with confusion. He knew that the young man called Naken was Blue Siva's grandson, the old butler of his family, entrusted by his father to come to Yunliu Academy to study and take care of him.
Naken could be described as the complete opposite of him. He had a high talent in martial arts, praised by his teachers as a rare genius in ten years. He was tall and handsome, with a witty and humorous personality, and could be considered a prominent figure in the academy.
However, for some reason, he always liked to compare himself with Yawen in various aspects, from combat skills, magic, to other achievements and tests.
Whenever he surpassed Yawen, the people around would applaud and say, "Well done." Naken would also look very proud, which puzzled Yawen. Just now, a flash of inspiration struck Yawen's mind, and he suddenly remembered that yesterday evening on his way home, Naken had surrounded him with a group of people, talking about something related to magical beasts. However, Yawenwas captivated by a Water Deity magical beast (a species of the Xie Maiqi series) catching fish in the creek at that time, so he didn't hear clearly what Naken said. Could it be that Naken brought him here now because of what happened yesterday?
Before Yawen could think too much, Naken had already reached out his right hand and shouted, "Tiger King."
A pattern appeared on his right arm, and then something strange peeled off along the pattern, revealing the slightly pale original skin color underneath, which gathered into a cat-sized, wheat-golden animal on his right palm.
Yawen was stunned, thinking to himself, "It's a Intermediate Level Four Fire Beast, Fire Tiger."
Naken smirked at Yawen and said, "Young Master Yawen: Since you refuse to bring your magical beast, then please help me identify my recently hatched magical beast, Tiger King."
After speaking, he shouted loudly, "Tiger King, Flame Blast Cannon."
The Tiger King immediately opened its mouth, and a ball of flame about ten centimeters in size shot out from its throat, hitting Yawen's chest at a rapid speed.
Yawen grunted, feeling as if a hot iron hammer had hit his chest hard, making him unable to stand, stumbling back a few steps, and kneeling down.
The former beautiful girl, Lanni Triss, sneered, "Look, even someone from the Stark family can't even withstand a single attack from the Flame Blast Cannon."
After a moment of pain in his chest, Yawen lifted his head and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Why? Why do you always come to bother me like this? I haven't offended you at all."
A slightly chubby youth named Ilan Lamban, who was standing on Yawen's right, sneered even more disdainfully, "It's because you're such a useless noble! We commoners have had enough of being bullied by nobles like you. How can we not take advantage of you to gain some interest back?"
Yes, in this world, power is everything.
Whether it's commoners, nobles, or royalty, power is everything.
And magical beasts represent power. That's why the royalty and nobles are superior to commoners, because they possess powerful magical beasts and formidable strength.
Without a magical beast, without power, someone like Yawen Stadak, what's the difference between him and a commoner? He can only be bullied by others.
Hearing Ilan's words, Yawen could only remain silent, only able to resent himself for not having power. He could only watch as Naken and his group gradually walked away with disdainful laughter, leaving behind their receding figures.