Beast Tamers enjoy benefits such as resource subsidies and guidance from renowned mentors, while Breeders only receive the benefit of mentorship. Moreover, Breeders have to learn a vast array of knowledge and must engage in practical training at breeding gardens, leaving them with little time to train their Pet Beasts.
It is common for young people to aspire to become Beast Tamers. Cao Xianzhu offered a few words of advice, speaking highly of the Breeder profession, but Li Cunxu remained unmoved.
His goal had always been clear: to become a Beast Tamer.
Becoming a skilled Breeder takes about ten years, much like the medical profession in his previous life. Although it can be lucrative, it requires extraordinary effort.
"Encouraging someone to study medicine is like inviting a thunderbolt," they say.
The same applies to Breeders. Encouraging someone to become a Breeder is akin to inviting a thunderbolt.
Cao Xianzhu clapped his hands and said, "Everyone, quiet down. Next, we'll complete our second task: testing Contract Slots."
Contract Slots determine how many Pet Beasts a Beast Tamer can contract.
Contract Slots are randomly assigned. Some people have as many as a hundred, while others have none at all.
Even with talent, without Contract Slots, one cannot contract Pet Beasts and thus cannot become a Beast Tamer.
Contract Slots can be expanded using Expansion Items.
However, Expansion Items are extremely difficult to obtain. For a genius like Chen Lu Shuang, who possesses a rare purple-tier talent, the Chen family would only grant her an Expansion Item if she made significant contributions to the family.
As for obtaining Expansion Items through school? Li Cunxu's No. 17 High School couldn't provide even one, as the school's treasury had none. Even if they did, they would be snatched up immediately.
Only schools like Tongdu No. 1 High School, with abundant resources, would offer Expansion Items as rewards.
There are restrictions on using Expansion Items.
Using the same type of Expansion Item is only effective the first time; the second time, it is useless.
"I wonder how many Contract Slots I have?" Li Cunxu thought.
In his previous life, players didn't have this worry. Their Contract Slots were fixed at twelve.
Though it was said to be twelve, in reality, only six were available initially. The remaining six could only be unlocked after reaching the King level.
Cao Xianzhu carefully retrieved the Contract Slot Detector from the safe.
"Number one, Xiang Bai."
Another auspicious start. Xiang Bai was found to have nine Contract Slots.
The qualifying line for Contract Slots is six, as Beast Taming battles often involve 6v6 matches. If one can't even muster six, how could they compete?
"Number two, Wu Wei."
...
"Number twenty-nine, Chen Lu."
The testing proceeded quickly, and soon, almost the entire class had been tested.
Among them, Li Gou'er had the most Contract Slots, with a staggering thirty-six.
The moment the result was revealed, Li Gou'er jumped with excitement. He had thought that without awakening a talent, he couldn't become a Beast Tamer, but now, the situation had taken a turn for the better.
Next was Chen Lu, who had fifteen Contract Slots.
Her calm expression suggested she had already been tested beforehand.
As for the Contract Slot Detector, as long as one had money, they could acquire one. However, Talent Awakening Stones were another matter—no amount of wealth or influence could buy them, as they were strictly controlled by the Alliance.
After school, the school would immediately return the Talent Awakening Stones to the Alliance. Losing even one would be treated as a major incident.
"Number thirty, Li Cunxu."
It was Li Cunxu's turn.
As for the number of Contract Slots, Li Cunxu didn't have excessive expectations. He only hoped for at least six.
Cao Xianzhu looked at the detector's result. "Three Contract Slots. Huh? Wait, it should be counted as two and a half."
When Li Cunxu heard that he only had three Contract Slots, his heart sank. Hearing that it was two and a half, his heart sank even further.
The classmates below were puzzled. Aren't Contract Slots supposed to be whole? How could there be half a slot?
Cao Xianzhu explained, "One of your Contract Slots is a Defective Contract Slot, something rarely seen in a century."
A Defective Contract Slot is very special and rare. Because it is defective, it cannot contract high-level or high-quality Pet Beasts.
It can only contract low-level, low-quality Pet Beasts, such as Green Cotton Worms, Red Weak Carps, Slimes...
In other words, Li Cunxu's Contract Slots consisted of two regular slots and one Defective Contract Slot.
Cao Xianzhu said, "I'm sorry, student, but with so few Contract Slots, you cannot become a Beast Tamer."
Li Cunxu replied, "If I have few Contract Slots, I can use Expansion Items to increase them."
Cao Xianzhu flipped through Li Cunxu's file and shook his head.
Given Li Cunxu's family situation as recorded in the file, Cao Xianzhu didn't believe he could obtain Expansion Items. Moreover, Li Cunxu wasn't just missing one Contract Slot—he was missing three. This meant Li Cunxu would need to acquire three extremely rare and expensive Expansion Items just to meet the basic requirement of six Contract Slots for a Beast Tamer's Pet Beast team.
Cao Xianzhu said, "Student, given your situation, you are most suited to become a Breeder."
Li Cunxu insisted, "No, I want to be a Beast Tamer."
This wasn't stubbornness on Li Cunxu's part. In the world of Divine Beast Taming, the profession of a Beast Tamer was the path to greatness.
This was a world where strength was everything. If you had strength, you had everything.
And a Beast Tamer was synonymous with strength.
As for a Breeder? That was synonymous with support.
Cao Xianzhu said, "I will report your situation to the school, but don't get your hopes up. Your situation is special—with so few Contract Slots, you are not suited to be a Beast Tamer. Moreover, you have awakened a blue Breeder talent. It is highly likely that you will be forcibly transferred to the Breeder class."
Cao Xianzhu spoke very tactfully. Highly likely? That meant he would definitely be transferred to the Breeder class.
Li Cunxu frowned. "Ignoring personal wishes, is the school really that domineering? Can I transfer to another school?"
Cao Xianzhu shook his head. "It doesn't matter which school you transfer to—they will all move you to the Breeder class and make you a Breeder. This isn't about being domineering; it's the policy of the Alliance."
The trend of aspiring to become Beast Tamers was too severe. Everyone wanted to be a Beast Tamer, and no one wanted to be a Breeder. Yet society couldn't function without Breeders. To prevent talented individuals who could become Breeders from going astray and wasting their potential by stubbornly pursuing a path as a Beast Tamer with limited prospects, the Alliance had introduced a series of related policies.
Li Cunxu's head ached. The two and a half Contract Slots had disrupted his plans for the future.
Returning to his seat, Chen Lu whispered comfortingly, "Actually, being a Breeder isn't so bad. You don't have to go out and take risks; you can earn money just by staying in the city."
Li Cunxu said, "I wanted to earn money to raise Pet Beasts by competing in matches. If I become a Breeder, I won't be able to participate in matches."
The school regularly held small competitions, and the rewards for these competitions were very generous. If Li Cunxu could win these rewards, he could grow quickly, like a snowball rolling bigger and bigger.
These small competitions were held for students in the Beast Tamer class. Students in the Breeder class couldn't participate.
Breeding is a vast field of study that requires learning a great deal. Schools won't allow students in the Breeder class to waste time on competitions where they're destined to achieve no results, as it would hinder their studies.
In fact, the school's approach is quite correct. Breeders are generally weaker than Beast Tamers, and with their heavy academic workload, participating in competitions would only mean being an also-ran. Apart from wasting time and hindering their studies, it's simply not worth it. Therefore, Breeders are not allowed to participate.
(End of Chapter)