Beast evaluators of the pavilion, especially older ones, were very happy with his humble yet eager attitude toward learning. They even went ahead to praise him in front of Mother Bing. Although few were doing lip service, however, most of them were honest in their praise.
Mother Bing's lips curled into a smile upon hearing them. She felt very proud in her heart. People were praising her son, and which mother wouldn't be happy.
The day she learned he wouldn't be able to cultivate and saw him collapsing right before her eyes, she made a vow to never allow harm to come his way ever again. Because of this, Yuan lived a protected life for the last 3 and a half years. But the recent incident at Golden Crane Sect and now with evaluators forced her to think otherwise.
"Maybe the kid does have what it takes to become Beast Master." She fell into a deep thought. After a while, she sighed and raised her head toward the sky, her eyes deep like an abyss. "It seems it's time to allow my cub to spread his wings and walk into the wild world."
Though she had no idea how much turbulence this small decision of hers will cause and change the course of Yuan's life completely (But that's for later).
After making up her mind, she strictly prohibited everyone not to disturb him and assist him whenever necessary.
Yuan spent whole 3 days evaluating all 1-star and 2-star beasts in the beast pen.
After completing the last report and comparing it with the pavilion evaluators' report, he finally stretched his arms and yawned. Only now did he realize how tired he actually was. But still, there was a wide smile on his face as he moved his heavy body back to his room and collapsed on the bed.
*****
The next day, Yuan woke up completely refreshed, the earlier fatigue was nowhere to be seen. After his morning practice, he hurried through a quick shower and dashed to the fifth floor.
Mother Bing and Xu'er were already at the breakfast table when he arrived. He settled beside his mother and joined them. Picking up a cup of milk she had prepared for him, he drank it in one big gulp.
"Mom, can I ask you a question?" He asked.
Mother Bing gestured him to continue.
"I've finished reading all the books in your and Dad's collections, but for the last 3 days while evaluating, I felt as if I knew nothing. Why is that?" He furrowed his brow, clearly troubled.
Mother Bing sighed thoughtfully, "Yuan, there's a difference between knowledge and experience."
She paused for a second, then continued, "I've heard you can evaluate 1-Star beasts quite well. How many beasts have you evaluated in the last three days?" She asked.
"I've evaluated almost a hundred beasts," Yuan replied, his pride evident.
"Do you find that the more you evaluate, the quicker you become, and the more accurate your reports are?" She asked again.
Yuan nodded, a puzzled expression crossing his face. "But why is that?"
"It's simple." She explained. "You're combining the knowledge you've gained from books with the experience you acquire through evaluating. This is something we call developing an experienced eye. The more you evaluate, the more experience you gain by applying your knowledge to a practical use."
"Knowledge is the first step, and putting it into practice is the second. Do you understand?" Mother Bing spoke gently, recognizing that Yuan was still learning and needed time to grasp these concepts fully. There was no point in rushing him.
A look of enlightenment appeared on his face as he exclaimed, "So that's why those evaluators could evaluate 1-star beast almost instantly, but 2-star takes longer and 3-star even more."
Mother Bing smiled warmly, "Exactly. So, don't hesitate or give up learning new things, and never stop practicing, even when you feel you know everything."
Mother and son pair continued their conversation for a while till Xu'er grew bored and began throwing a tantrum. For a child, eating, sleeping, and playing was everything.
Both of them laughed, and Yuan scooped her up, leading her outside to play. They only paused in the evening, taking a break from their fun. During this time, Yuan played the role of moderator between Xu'er and Silver.
At first, she was hesitant to accept Silver, blaming him for a past injury to Yuan, but under some gentle persuasion from him, she forgave Silver and began to play happily with him. Silver was just a child, and with Xu'er bubbly personality, they soon got attached with Silver becoming her tail, following her wherever she went.
*****
A day later, after finishing breakfast, Mother Bing asked, "When will you return this time?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe in 10 or 20 days. Why?" he replied.
"A month from now, a big competition will be held at City Square under the Emperor's orders. I want you to participate as a 1-Star evaluator. It will be a valuable experience for you," Mother Bing said.
Yuan didn't take the competition seriously. A person without cultivation ability had no value whatsoever, so, why would he care about others then? But from the corner of his eyes, he saw a dark look in his mother's eyes, waiting for his response. A deep chill ran through his spine. Fortunately for him, he saw the look before replying. He immediately agreed to participate in the competition.
"My good boy." Mother Bing gently patted his head with a bright smile on her beautiful face. For a moment, yuan felt like he hallucinated about the dark look in her eyes, but the next instant, he decided to not take the chance. He knew it was better to participate in the competition than to live a life worse than death.
He hurriedly grabbed his backpack and left the pavilion with Red parched on his shoulder, while leaving Silver behind in the pavilion with Xu'er.
Once outside, he headed straight to a rental company to rent a horse. These renting companies reared a variety of beasts for hire. These beasts weren't usually high-quality beasts, mostly 1-Star or even lower, and were mainly used for travelers or labor needs.
Since Yuan was a regular customer, the process was quick. In just a few minutes, he secured a horse and after paying a silver coin, he sped for Cloudy Forest.