Time flew by as Chen Yue spent his days busy with cultivation and earning money.
Through his training sessions with Yun Xianhe, not only did his savings grow substantially, but his combat skills also improved significantly. Thanks to the resources he accumulated, his strength rose rapidly—his already excellent talent received a massive boost.
Toward the later stages, Chen Yue began to conceal his true strength during their sessions. After all, Yun Xianhe was a major client—he had to keep him satisfied. Giving the illusion of being close to surpassing someone was far more stimulating than outright overpowering them. That was how you kept the money flowing—a true little capitalist.
Chen Yue slowly opened his eyes, ending his current round of cultivation. His gaze drifted toward the white jade necklace around his neck.
"Ever since I got this necklace, my cultivation efficiency has gone way up. Definitely a good buy."
The necklace he had once coveted but couldn't afford was finally his, thanks to a generous "donation" from the cash-cow Song Xuan. It boosted his cultivation speed by 30%—a true treasure for any cultivator.
And now, all the resources he'd poured in had finally paid off.
With a thought, a silver-bound contract book appeared in front of him. The pages flipped open, showing not only Bastet on the first page, but also a newly unlocked blank page.
Chen Yue had just advanced to Silver-ranked Beast Tamer!
He was thrilled. Flipping to Bastet's page, he activated the Eye of Truth, and Bastet's updated stats were revealed in full.
Name: Radiant Cat
Growth Level: 100% (Mature Stage)
Potential: Elite Tier
Attribute: Light
Skills: Light Claw, Divine Shield, Flash
Description: A powerful cat beast with holy light energy. Possesses formidable capabilities in offense, defense, and control.
Evolution Path
1. Solar God Path – Final Evolution: Mythical Form
Seeing Bastet's maxed growth, Chen Yue was very pleased.
"All the resources I poured in were worth it!"
As its growth increased, so did its strength—and Chen Yue received greater feedback in return. Now that Bastet's growth was maxed out, it was eligible to evolve again.
He tapped the evolution path tab to check the requirements.
Next Evolution Requirements:
Growth: 100%
Luminous Stones ×5
Light Attribute Spirit Stones ×20
Holy Feathers ×3
Must be bathed in sunlight for 2 continuous hours.
"All materials are ready—except the Holy Feathers. Looks like I'll have to venture into the secret realm after all."
Aside from training and earning money, Chen Yue had also been monitoring the major marketplaces. Unfortunately, he hadn't come across any Holy Feathers in recent days.
With no better option, he finally decided to venture out himself—he didn't want to wait any longer.
Based on past college entrance exam standards, only with a mature-stage beast could he secure a high score and gain admission to the two top universities.
That made the secret realm journey a must.
Once decided, he first had to deal with his parents. He casually made up an excuse—if they knew the truth, they might try to stop him. Better to play it safe for now.
His preparations were simple, as he didn't plan to stay overnight in the secret realm—just the essentials.
Once everything was packed, he hailed a hover taxi and set off for the outskirts near the secret realm.
Due to the emergence of secret realms, many originally-inhabited areas became unsafe due to the threat of wild beasts, forcing people to flee. Only when powerful beast tamers appeared were the people of Daxia united, and later they formed a federation with other surviving nations.
For safety, cities were built far away from secret realms. Thus, beast tamers had to leave the city centers and travel to the edges if they wanted to enter a secret realm for training.
Chen Yue's hover taxi brought him to the city's outskirts.
"Sir Beast Tamer, this is as far as we can go. Beyond here is off-limits to us regular folks."
"Got it. Thanks for the ride."
After quickly paying via QR code, Chen Yue got out.
The secret realm wasn't within the city—it lay beyond its borders. Following his map, Chen Yue arrived at the outer perimeter, where checkpoints were heavily guarded.
These guards were ordinary people, stationed here to prevent non-tamers from venturing out. Beast tamers, however, were exempt from such restrictions.
Even though tamers weren't that numerous, a line had still formed at the gate. Chen Yue joined the queue.
Bored, he scrolled on his phone while eavesdropping on nearby conversations—their voices were loud enough for him to catch without trying.
Most of the talk revolved around beast tamers: who just broke through, what new evolution paths had been discovered by researchers, etc. He learned quite a bit.
Then, a snippet caught his attention.
"Have you heard? There've been quite a few disappearances lately!"
"Yeah, even the neighbor's kid vanished! Their crying was heartbreaking…"
"They say the missing ones all had awakened talents. Such a pity. You think it has anything to do with the Dawn Organization?"
"Shh! You trying to get us killed?!"
"Just saying… just speculation."
Hearing the name Dawn Organization, Chen Yue noted it carefully.
"Why haven't I heard of this group before? I'll have to ask Boss Yun about it later."
While pondering that, it was finally his turn at the checkpoint.
The process was simple—summon your contract book to prove your identity as a beast tamer.
Chen Yue complied, and with a thought, a silver-colored contract book appeared in front of him. The shimmering silver glow immediately drew everyone's attention.
"A Silver-rank contract book! He's a Silver Beast Tamer!"
"That's not the point—look how young he is! How old could he be?!"
"Must be some rich kid. If I had those resources, I'd be even better!"
"Pfft, with your talent? Keep dreaming."
Whispers followed him, mostly centered around his age. But Chen Yue ignored the chatter—he had no interest in correcting their assumptions about his background. To him, those things didn't matter.