Chapter 164: 144 Harvest Day
"So this is the junior's breeding farm, huh? It's my first time here; it seems a bit remote."
"It's not too bad, actually. It's not very remote. Who knows, once this area gets developed, it might become as bustling as Ze City Secret Realm."
They passed a road that was clearly newly built.
Once inside and after turning a corner, a vast lake came into view.
From a distance, voices could be faintly heard.
The group looked over and saw an open space where the junior was wearing thigh-high coveralls and gloves.
Around him followed a large group of puppies, as if he were their leader.
From afar, the junior's hearty voice could be heard, "Am I lucky this year?"
"Woof woof woof!" The puppies joyfully ran around him,
and the junior at the center felt like a king surrounded by children.
Seeing this carefree scene, Wu Ju couldn't help but flash a hint of envy, "If we weren't considering career prejudice and other factors, I actually would like to be a farmer too; raise a bunch of little animals, grow some vegetables and fruits, and even dig a pond for fishing."
This remark seemed to stir certain memories for Tong Xuhua, who pursed his lips slightly, "Actually... if there were no career prejudice, I quite fancy the idea of being a dormitory supervisor for girls' dorms."
From a distance, Chen Xing appeared to have noticed them and smiled, waving over.
"It looks like these little beasts really like you," Wu Ju teased with a smile.
"Maybe they know who's raising them," Chen Xing replied, placing a dog bowl on the ground, immediately surrounded by the little Twin-fiend Dogs.
"The scenery here really is nice," Tong Xuhua looked around, commenting with a sense of admiration,
"Nestled against mountains and water, the tranquil environment is indeed a great place to live. Usually, you can fish and play with animals; I'm quite envious of this kind of life."
"What's there to envy? You guys can come over and play anytime," Chen Xing said with a laugh.
"Hey, junior. There's a lot of discussion online right now about that Dream Tower. Some people claim to have seen it; it's said to be in the Exotic Region."
"Someone even took photos, but the Shenlong can't be captured in them. They say the photos don't show the same things as what people see with their eyes.
In the pictures, all that appears is an empty, desolate city.
But what the eyes and ears perceive is a bustling city within, with glowing aurora.
The Shenlong is said to be hidden in the thick clouds above the city.
It's rumored that the city was purposely built in the Exotic Region by the country, and the Shenlong resides within."
Chen Xing hadn't had time to look at these things; he had been busy making pet food and playing with the puppies to build rapport since the Twin-fiend Dogs arrived.
He had been too busy to go online.
Chen Xing wiped his hands, "What else is being said online?"
Wu Ju spoke up, "There's all sorts of news online. They've even leaked some insider info about the national exam rules. This year's exam requires us to enter dreams and experience Great Xia's past battles.
I heard we can choose the difficulty of the battle, and the higher the difficulty, the more base points you get."
Chen Xing curiously asked, "Doesn't that mean you can specifically choose your own battle? If you can decide on the battle, you can prepare in advance and memorize the strategies to clear it."
"That's probably not the case," Wu Ju replied, "They only mentioned choosing the difficulty of the battle; there's more than one battle at each difficulty level. For example, if there's a low difficulty level with ten battles, the system will randomly select one from those ten."
Chen Xing nodded thoughtfully.
"That's true, but actually, there are still tricks," Tong Xuhua chimed in. "If you have a good memory, you can memorize all the major and minor battles of the nation. That way, no matter which battle you face in the exam, you won't be afraid."
"If you really can memorize them all, that's a skill itself," Wu Ju said with a light laugh.
Chen Xing inquired, "What about the actual exam then, do you participate in the battles on your own or in a team?"
Wu Ju shook his head, "I'm not sure, but I think it should be in teams. If it were individual, with so many candidates across the country, each needing a separate dream, it would require a tremendous amount of mental strength."
At that, they all fell silent.
As Beast Tamers, they naturally had some understanding of the abilities related to the Illusion Element and Soul Element beast taming.
It was said that some Illusion Element beasts had the ability to pull people into dreams; similarly, Soul Element beasts also had the ability to control human souls.
However, these abilities could only target a few individuals and had limited range.
But now, it was said that the mythical creature was capable of pulling all people into the same dream, and even allowing the tamed beasts to enter the dream as well.
To them, this seemed like an unfathomable and supernatural trick!
Remember, not only the Beast Tamers but also their beasts were pulled into the dream.
And considering the vast spread of the exam candidates and the immense territory of Great Xia, to extend the reach across the entire world at the same time, pulling countless people into the same dream...
This prospect seemed rather horrifying to these insiders.
Furthermore, if it were possible to create an individual battle scenario dream for each candidate,
It would mean creating tens of millions of dreams simultaneously.
If it could achieve such a feat, the strength of this creature was likely beyond their imagination.
After pondering for a moment, Chen Xing said, "I don't know precisely how it's achieved, but we'll find out during the college entrance exam. However, my guess is that it might have something to do with the newly established Dream Tower in the realm."
Upon hearing this, Wu Ju looked at Chen Xing and said, "Although they say the battle is randomly chosen, in reality, we can still make some preparations.
For example, you will definitely be taking the college entrance exam this year, won't you?
When the time comes, you can just choose the highest difficulty for the battle.
By doing so, you can completely disregard some of the smaller battles.
You only need to focus on understanding the most tragic, largest, or the battles that have left the greatest regrets since the founding of the country.
At least then, you won't be completely in the dark when you enter."
Tong Xuhua nodded in agreement, "I think Wu Ju makes a lot of sense.
Since you've already been recommended for enrollment, the college entrance exam is more of an opportunity for you to try and challenge yourself.
You can completely choose the highest difficulty to take a shot at it."
Chen Xing seemed pensive.
In fact, he felt there was merit in what his seniors were suggesting.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. There are still two months left before the college entrance exam, so there's no rush. Have you guys had dinner yet? If not, I'll go make a few dishes."
"We haven't eaten yet, and, oh, we've already bought the meat you asked us to help with." As Tong Xuhua spoke, he opened the car trunk and took out the groceries they had bought.
Chen Xing came over and carried the meat to the basement, where he had previously installed a huge refrigeration room.
After placing the meat inside, he went to the kitchen and cooked several dishes.
The group set up a small table in the yard.
Sitting outside in the open air, they enjoyed the cool breeze, chatting and laughing.
Time flowed gently, fast as a fleeting horse.
In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
On this day, just like always, Chen Xing carefully placed the prepared food bowl on the ground.
As the bowl touched the ground, the Twin-fiend puppies in front of him immediately wagged their short tails happily.
"Woof!" A clear bark rang out, as if expressing its joy to Chen Xing.
Then, at that moment, the semi-transparent Stone Booklet appeared, and beneath its cover, a line of text emerged, "You have fed your beast, intimacy level is above 80, you have obtained a Skill Point Fragment*1."
Chen Xing felt a burst of joy in his heart; after so much effort and time,
It was finally the season of harvest.