The setting sun was gradually engulfed by the mountains and the sea, as the twilight painted the sky red. The roads were bustling with cars and pedestrians, people rushing to get home for a warm reunion over dinner.
"Peach Blossom Village, your emperor is back!"
At the gate of Beast Master High School in Abyss City, Gary Smith disembarked from the public bus. Being dressed in a black denim jacket and straight-leg pants gave him a casual look, with his 1.8 meters height, sunglasses, and a cheeky smile curling at the corner of his mouth, he cut rather a charming, bad-boy figure.
But in reality, he was trying to imitate the Crooked Mouth Dragon King, only he ended up failing to purse his lips the right way, almost pulling a muscle in his face instead.
Little Spider, who was dressed in a black Gothic Lolita dress from a children's shop, tried to follow suit. However, before it could imitate Gary's twisted smile, it was tapped on the head by him, "Children aren't supposed to pick up bad habits!"
"Ying!"
Little Spider looked pitifully at him.
Why was it considered bad when it was merely imitating its master?
Since Gary was out to forage, he did not place Little Spider into the Beast Master Space but kept it in the pocket of his jacket for easy transportation.
Standing at the school's entrance, he handed a stick of Peach Blossom Village brand cigarette to the bald, one-eyed old man casually listening to a radio in the guardhouse, and greeted, "Old Man Sinclair, would you mind opening the gate for me?"
He didn't smoke, but his experience from his previous life taught him that it's always good to keep more friends around.
The old security guard's last name was Sinclair. In his sixties, being quite an austere character, he would stop any students trying to sneak out for fun, and would even go into the small woods to drive away young couples. Behind his back, countless students have cursed him.
To freely enter and exit the school, Gary naturally wanted to engage his good side, so he offered him cigarettes a few times. Initially, Old Man Sinclair refused but after many attempts, he accepted and even engaged in conversations with Gary. After some time, they became friends.
Not until then did he know the seemingly inscrutable gatekeeper, Old Man Sinclair, used to be a scout of a Large Adventure Group. Astonishingly, he was a distant relative of the School Headmaster's wife, and he was a Silver Beast Tamer with a Silver Spiritual Power. He even owned a Four-eared Dog with remarkably keen hearing, named Oliver Thomas.
Although he wasn't someone important, his mastery over the latest gossip and all things happening within the school made him more important than he seemed.
The previous application for the Peach Blossom Village project was also introduced by Old Man Sinclair.
As an official public school established by the government, Beast Master High School naturally topped the chart when it came with attached breeding bases. The school is exceptionally resourceful and high-tech.
Peach Blossom Forest, Starlight Lake, Frost Freeze Land, and similar ecological environments are all replicated versions of the Eco-Mysterylands near Abyss City.
This placement was half within the system.
Although the Peach Blossom Village project failed midway, if not for being a student of the school and Old Man Sinclair's introduction, Gary could never have gotten his hand on it.
If not for the looming threat of the Nightmare Demon, Gary could have lived his whole life relying solely on this project. He could retire into the system, or advance to become a renowned Pig Raising King in the locality.
The end of the universe was all about one's position!
Old Man Sinclair, who was blind in one eye, gave Gary a side glance, took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, and grumbled,
"You're just coming now, when it's almost off-school. Aren't you afraid that the pigs you're raising would run away and be taken by the students?"
Gary shrugged, "They're super creatures after all, getting eaten is not at all possible. I'm more worried about them digging up the school's fields and the school charging me for compensation!"
"Huh, you're really cocky. Those kids are all above eighteen and they've all contracted pet beasts. They can't be so weak as to not be able to deal with your pigs..."
Old Sinclair rolled his eyes but he had to admit a degree of respect for Gary.
Most of the Peach Pigs, although only of the high-level servant rank, had extraordinarily hard skin due to continuously rubbing against tree trunks to relieve itchiness. An average Silver Beast Tamer might find it hard to break the skin of a fully-grown Peach Pig.
Let alone the fact that Gary had introduced an elite rank Great Peach Pig King as the seed pig to manage the group. Living up to eighty years, it had a massive frame, and a skin harder than steel.
If it were to escape, other than the teachers themselves, the students would certainly lose to them.
Although Peach Pigs are mostly calm, they have the wild temper of boars and are not easy to deal with. They've hurt several breeders, and it was only after Gary took action that these wild beasts were tamed.
Even though he has the talent of "Beast Affinity", it's enough to prove his abilities.
Being amiable to people, having strong abilities, those naturally earned him the affection of others.
With this in mind, Old Man Sinclair glanced at a revitalized Gary and casually remarked,
"Eh, you seem different, anything good happened?"
"I've contracted with a beast, how can I not be in a good mood!"
Gary laughed heartily.
As his strength grew, the pressure in his heart lightened, and his mood was no longer as gloomy as before.
All the pains one suffers, at the core, come from the anger towards one's impotence.
Old Man Sinclair nodded, knowing well about the information for exchanging the Golden Medal. As he opened the school gate, he reminded Gary Smith:
"Once you've made a pact with a beast, spend more time in the battle field watching pet beasts battles, learn from their experiences."
Gary waved his hand, "Good advice, credit to you. Once I become a Morning Star Beastmaster, I shall appoint you as my gatekeeper general!"
"Get out of here!"
Entering the school campus, Gary noted the lush, verdant lawns, the modern academic buildings lined up, passing through the shaded path paved with frosted white stones leading to the open-air battle field. This path is a requisite route to the Peach Blossom Forest District.
From afar, upbeat cheers filled the air.
"Go Bob Chandler, crush Five Classes, reach the ten consecutive victories!"
"Aiming for Ten-Crowned King!"
"John Watson, don't chicken out, smash this show-off!"
Large number of students had already gathered around the open-air battle platform. Their faces are filled with excitement, the energy was electric.
In this world where the strong are revered, the inherent violent tendencies have resulted in the rise of Beastmasters' battles, giving birth to numerous leagues.
A large-scale BeastMaster battle league could easily blow up the network, having huge commercial value. Some top Beastmasters profit greatly from it, each appearance includes a substantial signing fee, not to mention subsequent advertising endorsements and the like.
The enormous wealth, coupled with official guidance, has made Beastmasters extremely enthusiastic about battles.
Gary glanced at the battle platform and recognized one of the competitors.
Bob Chandler was a classmate from class three. His family owned a medium-sized breeding base, a perfect representation of handsome, rich and talented. The only drawback was that his score in cultural studies and tactical theories always ranked second, naturally, the first was Gary himself.
Whether it was his previous life or now, Gary's cultural score had always been the highest. Before the talent awakening, he was considered a genius, making Bob regard him as a competitor.
When Gary had gone to raise pigs, Bob was baffled, crazily running to Peach Blossom Forest to question why he chose not to breed battle pet beasts.
In comparison, they were somewhat similar to Aidan Brown and Weasel.
But after that day, things deteriorated!
"What exactly happened that day..."
Gary recalled that at that time he seemed to have been having nightmares continuously and was mentally exhausted. By mistake, he fell asleep. But in Bob's eyes, he was being dismissive. Bob was almost driven crazy with anger.
Gary tried to explain afterwards. However, it was regarded as a provocation and even a rumor had spread that Gary said "Because the opponent is too weak, I would rather raise pigs than fight".
So his reputation has always been that of a mad and crazy pig raising genius.
"This nickname sounds awful!"
Gary commented internally. Meanwhile, the battle on the stage was getting heated.
Bob's beast was Copper-armored Baboon, covered in copper armor, displaying enormous strength and fierce temperament. It could evolve into a Silver Armored or Golden Armored Baboon by swallowing high level metals, the potential ranking being high-level leader.
Truly the style of rich second generation.
John's beast was the Bloody Wind Centipede, with the mid-level command potential. Its race ability [Bloody Wind], allowed it to spit out corrosive poison winds.
Both beasts were peak servants, just one step away from stepping into the elite rank, hence their fight was intense.
Bang!
On the stage, facing the blow from the Copper-armored Baboon, the Bloody Wind Centipede manipulated its wild winds to fling itself into the air. The place where it originally stood was hit by a fist, forming a giant pit. While avoiding the attack, it opened its mouth, and its black winds swept out.
Huh-huh-huh!
In the middle of the corrosive black wind, countless wind blades were condensed and swept across, cutting onto the Copper-armored Baboon. The tough copper armor was corroded and burst open, leaving behind bloodied wounds.
Then it continued to use the Bloody Wind to constantly oppress the Baboon, forcing it to defend passively.
"Go John Watson!"
"The Bloody Wind Centipede is invincible!"
The folks from class five cheered, as they could see the glimmer of victory. The rest also thought the outcome was just a moment away.
Gary shook his head, whispering, "John Watson has lost!"
Just as he was preparing to leave, a voice came from behind:
"You really are quite arrogant!"