Beast Taming: The Beginning of Hatching an Ancient Dragon - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Ecological Park

“Students who have chosen the Wood element, come over here!”

“Water element students, gather here!”

…

Research institute staff, holding signs, called out loudly. Once the numbers were sufficient, they checked off names from their lists one by one.

Li Chang’an and Wen Miaohua had chosen different elements—one Wood, the other Ice—so they wouldn’t meet in the ecological park.

After confirming the attendance, two lead teachers and three research staff for each element led their respective student groups to an altar. The altar was inscribed with a silver array.

A staff member explained, “This is a short-distance spatial teleportation array. The ecological park covers 500 square kilometers. Without the teleportation array, it would take a whole day to walk across.”

“Now, does anyone have a history of spatial energy allergies?”

All the students shook their heads. If someone were allergic to spatial energy, they wouldn’t be able to open a Beast Taming Space. Without a Beast Taming Space, there would be no place to store large amounts of magical energy, and they would remain a Level 1 Beast Tamer for life. In that case, why even pursue being a Beast Tamer? It would be better to switch majors while there’s still time.

After repeatedly confirming, the staff confidently activated the spatial teleportation array. After several rounds of teleportation, everyone arrived at a serene valley.

The valley was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with lush trees and an endless plain in the distance. On the plain, scattered black dots moved about.

The staff took out a large bag from their backpack and distributed a special smart wristband to each student.

“This is a specially designed smart wristband, monitored uniformly by the Mechanical-type beasts in the institute. It comes with a protective energy shield that activates when your life is in danger. At the same time, rescue teams will quickly arrive at the coordinates sent by the wristband.”

“Additionally, it is strictly forbidden to use force when selecting beasts, unless the beast initiates a challenge. Otherwise, your selection qualification will be revoked.”

“After that, you’ll probably have to buy beast eggs at your own expense.”

The lead staff member showed a strange smile and said, “Of course, I know some of you aren’t short of money, but I still have to remind you.”

“If the above situation is deemed serious, it will be recorded in your file. You should know what that means.”

Hearing this, some students who had initially been indifferent stuck out their tongues. This was indeed a price they couldn’t afford. Having a blemish on their record would make it nearly impossible to get into a top university.

Rich kids might have money, but they weren’t foolish enough to risk their future by bullying young beasts.

Seeing the threat had its effect, the staff shouted, “Now, dismiss! Return here by 5 PM. If you get lost, use the smart wristband’s markers to guide you.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the two school teachers nodded, and over a hundred students scattered like birds and beasts, running toward the distant forest and plain.

As for the risks of the wild, Donghuang Kingdom had been teaching wilderness survival training since middle school. Those who couldn’t overcome this hurdle should give up on the idea of adventuring outside the city.

Li Chang’an headed straight for the Wood Element Zone C. With his father’s connections, why would he dawdle?

Seeing Li Chang’an’s clear goal, the staff’s eyelids twitched. As expected of the vice director’s son, his sense of purpose was clear!

Along the way, Li Chang’an encountered no danger. In fact, it seemed as if the dangers were consciously avoiding him.

What was going on?

Li Chang’an was puzzled. Mao Mao, through soul communication, said, “Meow? Could it be because Chang’an hasn’t suppressed his aura?”

Suppressed his aura? What aura do I have?

Thinking about it, Li Chang’an’s expression grew serious. He did seem to have such an ability—the Prison Flame Dragon’s talent, Shadow of the Prison. Even though it only affected him, it was still an ancient dragon’s talent.

Now, he was like a half-blood ancient dragon walking freely through the forest. How could the magical beasts living in the ecological park dare to provoke him?

Realizing this, Li Chang’an felt truly helpless. He had considered using the Hunting Notes to learn a stealth skill, but Mao Mao could ignore the soul contamination when adding skill points through the Hunting Notes. He, however, couldn’t.

As an adult who had experienced the complexities of society, the only thing Li Chang’an had learned was self-awareness. Adding skills to himself was like an addict taking drugs—once you start, it’s hard to stop.

The soul messages left in the Hunting Notes all warned against over-reliance on the Hunting Notes. While attribute plundering was unavoidable in the process of becoming stronger, adding skill points to oneself should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. If you do use it, be prepared to be enslaved.

Therefore, Li Chang’an’s initial excitement about his second beast dwindled. Compared to the second beast, he was more concerned about his own future.

Forget it, let’s just take a walk. Maybe I’ll encounter a little guy who isn’t afraid of me.

Li Chang’an completely relaxed and wandered leisurely through the Wood Element Zone. Although the beasts were avoiding him, thanks to his decent physical fitness, he still managed to see many rare Wood-type beasts.

“Hmm, there’s even a Flower Vine Snake here.”

The Flower Vine Snake was a pure Wood-type, non-venomous beast. Its scales were covered in moss, and it had a flower on its head. The type of flower varied depending on the environment where the snake was born.

The Flower Vine Snake was highly sought after for its instant recovery and shedding abilities. These two abilities were also its talents. When the Flower Vine Snake received a fatal attack, it would use its slippery moss-covered scales to shed its skin and evade the attack. When it was on the verge of death, it would absorb the flower on its head, extracting the stored energy to achieve instant recovery.

Both abilities were highly prized by humans.

“I wonder who this timid little guy will end up with.”

Li Chang’an circled around the trembling little snake in the cave and continued toward the plain. Along the way, he encountered a herd of Four Seasons Deer. These beautiful creatures were leisurely grazing.

These deer were uncommon and classified as protected beasts. Only during this special period of selecting initial beasts was there a chance to contract them. For others, without sufficient authority, these treasures were out of reach.

The Four Seasons Deer were also Wood-type beasts. Depending on their birth season, they were divided into Spring Antler, Summer Antler, Autumn Antler, and Winter Antler Deer. The evolved forms of the four types also had different attributes, all with the potential to surpass the Elite level and reach Commander level.

The evolved form of the Spring Antler Deer, the Spring Flower Deer, was a pure Wood-type. Its light green fur was covered in flowers, hence its name. The Spring Flower Deer had strong healing abilities, and a few individuals with powerful life force could accelerate plant growth.

The evolved form of the Summer Antler Deer, the Summer Flame Deer, was a dual Wood and Fire-type. Its fiery red fur made it more temperamental than other evolved forms. Its antlers, which would normally shed, became flame antlers that were extremely difficult to shed. This made the flame antlers highly valuable in the herbal medicine market.

The evolved form of the Autumn Antler Deer, the Autumn Fruit Deer, was a dual Earth and Wood-type. Its pale yellow body had antlers that periodically bore fruits. The type of fruit depended on the spiritual fruit materials the deer consumed during evolution, making it a rare resource-type beast. Beast Tamers who were often short on funds could consider raising one, provided they had enough contributions.

Finally, the rarest was the Winter Antler Deer. Since few fawns were born in winter, this type of beast was extremely scarce. Although the Four Seasons Deer were a supernatural species, their breeding season was in summer and autumn. Winter-born individuals were one in ten thousand exceptions.

In Li Chang’an’s memory, only five Winter Antler Deer had been born in the ecological research institute in the past twenty years. Not only were they rare, but their strength was also among the best of the Four Seasons Deer. Their evolved forms were of two types—Winter Crystal Deer and Winter Wood Deer. The former was a dual Wood and Ice-type, known for its powerful strength. The latter remained a Wood-type beast but had a powerful Monarch-level evolved form—the Blizzard Giant Wood Deer. This was the only Four Seasons Deer capable of evolving to the Monarch level, with the potential to reach High Monarch level.

The conditions for evolving into a Blizzard Giant Wood Deer were harsh, and only a few successful cases existed. One of them was in the hands of Lin Feiya, one of the Eight Pillars of Donghuang, known as “Snow-Filled Bow.”

“Meow. Chang’an, we’ve got a lead. Those antlered deer were chatting about a pair of very special beasts up ahead.”

Mao Mao, who shared Li Chang’an’s soul vision, reminded him.

Li Chang’an: You even understand deer language!

Mao Mao: o(////▽////)q!