Having clarified his thoughts, Bai Wushang looked left and right, then climbed a large tree.Standing atop the tree''s crown, Bai Wushang gazed into the distance, only to find lush, green trees stretching endlessly in every direction.The only distinct feature was that the sun in the sky wasn''t a physical entity, but rather an illusory projection.


    "It seems figuring out the trial ground''s layout in a short time will be very difficult..."Bai Wushang frowned in thought, ultimately deciding to just pick a direction and take it one step at a time.


    Gripping his dagger tightly, Bai Wushang extended his perception fully, walking nimbly through the forest.Unlike the dry climate of the Endless Sand Region, the humidity here was very high. Just walking forward for a short while made Bai Wushang''s face feel sticky, coated in a thin layer of moisture.


    "Huh?"On a tree trunk not far away, a cluster of grass-like plants with a blue-green gradient caught his attention."It''s actually Tianzhu Grass?" Bai Wushang moved closer for a careful look, clicking his tongue in surprise. "This is one of the raw materials for many basic injury remedies. A stalk this large would fetch at least twenty-something gold coins on the market, wouldn''t it?"


    Carefully using his dagger to dig around the base on the trunk, Bai Wushang extracted the plant, root and leaves intact, and stored it in his dimensional backpack.This dimensional backpack issued by the academy was one of the smallest types of spatial storage equipment, with a total capacity of only one cubic meter. It was just barely enough to store some medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables, meat, and similar items.


    "I''ll keep it for now. If I get injured, I can crush it directly for external application to speed up wound healing. If I don''t end up needing it, I can take it out of the Mystic Realm and make some money..."


    Continuing onward, Bai Wushang gathered valuable medicinal herbs and edible fruits while constantly identifying the Transcendent Creatures hidden in various corners of the forest."Flower Bamboo Rat... Winged Powder Butterfly... Huh? This Fire-Cap Turtle seems to have mutated; the flame on its head is actually blue... Though somewhat rare, it''s still too weak. Not suitable for me..."


    For Bai Wushang, whose Soul Power was at the peak Spirit Practitioner level, the upper limit for contracting a Pet Beast was the peak Juvenile Stage. These weak early-to-mid Juvenile Stage Transcendent Creatures before him fell far short of his contracting standards."My selection criteria are: first, the bloodline quality cannot be too low, and it must guarantee sufficient future growth potential. Second, its current life stage should ideally be late Juvenile or peak Juvenile. Anything too weak won''t help me survive the trial.""However, these are just theoretical ideals, somewhat different from the reality I''m facing..."


    Bai Wushang knew that in other academies, or within certain family factions, a new Beastmaster''s first Pet Beast was usually provided directly by elders or mentors. They could easily form a contract after some familiarization, the quality wouldn''t be poor, and the overall difficulty was very low.But Shanhai Academy treated the new Beastmaster''s Pet Beast contract as a standard trial item, even creating a dedicated Mystic Realm for it. It required students to find, identify, subdue, and contract beasts themselves, survive alone in the wild, and even learn to cooperate or face competition.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Bai Wushang saw both pros and cons in this training model.The downside was that under such rules, every student had to figure out how to subdue a Pet Beast themselves, inevitably relying on strategy, or even physical combat. The danger level was high, and a considerable number of people would likely fail to form a contract and be eliminated.The upside was that the academy provided a perfect platform for contracting, a truly rare opportunity. For capable or fortunate students, it offered more choices and possibilities, significantly increasing the probability of obtaining a high-quality Pet Beast... Simultaneously, contracting and growing in such an environment forged a stronger bond between human and pet, making defections highly unlikely...


    Swish!A strange noise suddenly came from a patch of grass to the side. The commotion was quite significant, with the faint sounds of human laughter mixed with the struggling roars of a beast.Bai Wushang frowned, approached stealthily, and hid behind a tree to observe covertly.


    "Hahaha, after waiting patiently for an hour, we actually caught this Thunderhorn Bull! Nana, my trap-making skills are top-notch, right?"A man in grey clothes pointed at a huge pit in the ground, laughing proudly and ostentatiously.


    "Thunderhorn Bull?"Bai Wushang''s heart skipped a beat. That was a Common Bone Rank 6-star Transcendent Creature! Not only did it possess the rare lightning attribute, but it also had a two-stage natural evolution chain. At the Juvenile Stage, it was definitely a high-quality Pet Beast.


    "Brother He, you''re amazing!" The other person, a girl wearing a blue print dress that revealed her delicate shoulders, giggled charmingly, covering her mouth. Her voice was very soft and sweet.


    "Hehe, once this fellow struggles a bit more and tires itself out close to exhaustion, I''ll sign the Pet Beast contract with it. The success rate should be basically eighty to ninety percent." The grey-clothed man sounded spirited, his voice filled with strong confidence.


    "Brother He~"The blue-dressed girl named Nana suddenly placed a delicate arm on the grey-clothed man''s shoulder, bringing her red lips close to his ear:"Brother He, could you, could you possibly let me contract this Thunderhorn Bull first~~~?"


    "Huh? But... But Nana, didn''t we agree when we teamed up? The first one caught should rightfully be mine first... How could you..."


    Mua~The blue-skirted girl planted a quick kiss on the grey-clothed man''s cheek and said sweetly:"Brother He, you''re so amazing, surely you''re not afraid you won''t be able to catch an even better Pet Beast?""I don''t know why, but the moment I saw this Thunderhorn Bull, I felt a special connection with it. I really like it! Please let your little sister have it, I''m begging you~"


    The grey-clothed man had his back to Bai Wushang, but Bai Wushang immediately saw his body stiffen, the tips of his ears turning bright red."Well... alright then... As long as you like it, Nana..."The grey-clothed man''s voice was hesitant and awkward. Bai Wushang could even picture his flushed cheeks.


    ''What a naive young man, bought over by such a small favor. Pathetic!'' Bai Wushang complained inwardly.


    Moo! Moo! Moo!The Thunderhorn Bull struggled desperately in the deep pit, ramming the sides and jumping frantically, making loud noises.


    "Brother He, how does it still have so much energy... It won''t get out, will it..."


    "Don''t worry, this trap of mine is two meters deep. How could it possibly get out on its own!"


    Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!!!From several tens of meters away, Bai Wushang couldn''t see inside the pit, but judging solely by the sound, he could sense the Thunderhorn Bull going berserk, its struggles growing more violent each time.


    Suddenly, after a massive impact, an entirely yellow bull erupted violently from the pit, leaping one or two meters into the air before landing heavily on the ground.


    "Huh, did it just comprehend the skill [Air Step]? Interesting. These two are in for some bad luck..."