Chapter 1: You Can't Blame Her
Zhehai Province, Hanggang City.
Wencheng Middle School, Class 37.
"This time's mock exam has shown remarkable progress in everyone. Especially Qin Shou, who ranked second in the entire grade, only 2 points away from a perfect score. Everyone should learn from him."
"Most students have done well, but a few have surprisingly shown no desire for improvement and scored zero, dragging down the class average."
"I won't name names, but I hope the student in question takes this seriously. There are only 21 days left until the high school entrance exam. Such grades won't even get you into an ordinary vocational school, let alone the Beast Taming High School."
The homeroom teacher, Yu Guang, scanned the location at the far right, third row from the back, near the window. There sat a girl with a ponytail, sitting straight-backed, the epitome of an exemplary student.
The corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily. What's with the act? He was definitely talking about her!
Of course, Qiao Sang knew the homeroom teacher was referring to her, but what could she do? She wasn't the Qiao Sang of this world.
She had just transmigrated a couple of days ago and barely adjusted before this mock exam.
However, it was just a middle school mock exam. She wasn't afraid at all. After all, she was a high-achieving student who had made it to a prestigious 985 university in her previous life.
But as soon as she received the test paper, she was baffled.
"What does the awakening of the human brain domain create?"
"What kind of extraordinary creatures does Heart Scale find attractive, and what purpose do they serve?"
"What is the final evolved form of the stinky loach called?"
"Which planets have humans already migrated to?"
What... what were these questions?!
In the end, she had to resort to a strategy: selecting long-worded answers for three short-worded questions and short- worded answers for three long-worded questions, filling the blanks randomly, and leaving the essay questions blank.
Over these two days, Qiao Sang had adjusted to her new body, and the memories of the original host had surfaced. She had gained a basic understanding of this world. It was a world primarily centered around Beast Taming. From the time humans discovered their ability to tame beasts until now, 32.05 million years had passed, resulting in a mature society revolving around the practice.
Although it was called the Era of Beast Taming, not everyone practiced it. When humans reached the age of 15, their brain domains could be awakened to the Beast Taming Codex through the stimulation of magnetic waves.
This Beast Taming Codex served as a contract and a space that perfectly connected the relationship between humans and extraordinary creatures.
If a person's brain domain couldn't awaken by the age of 15, there was a high probability that their life would be unrelated to Beast Taming.
Despite the millions of years of development in the Era of Beast Taming, not all humans could awaken the Beast Taming Codex.
For instance, in the previous year's nationwide entrance exam, only 73% of candidates awakened the Codex, leaving 27% without awakening. Even if some among them were academic geniuses, they were still destined to not get into Beast Taming High School.
Those who couldn't tame beasts were relegated to mediocrity, spending their lives in the lower echelons of society.
This was a harsh reality. If you couldn't tame beasts, you might even struggle to do manual labor.
Why use human strength to carry hundreds or even thousands of kilograms of bricks when extraordinary creatures could do it effortlessly?
Even waiting tables was the same.
Even if their wages were several times higher than humans', restaurants preferred to hire extraordinary creatures to carry trays because it attracted more customers.
In this world, which differed greatly from the previous society's common sense, Qiao Sang, as an approaching high school entrance examinee, felt the pressure.
In the past, knowledge changed destinies; now, Beast Taming altered lives.
Although Qiao Sang had the memories of the original host, that host had been a poor student!
Consistently ranking near the bottom of the class, the original host's scores usually hovered around the third to last place. Last month's mock exam did show some improvement; she climbed from last to fourth from last.
Of course, that was due to her skipping two subjects on the day of the previous fourth-from-last exam because she had diarrhea.
The high school entrance exam was in 21 days. She didn't even expect to get into a prestigious high school. Being able to enter any high school was a relief.
Qiao Sang listened attentively in class, took notes, and even continued reading her textbook after class, displaying the same intense dedication she had shown during her final sprint towards the college entrance exam in her previous life.
"Qiao Sang, the teacher is talking about you." Her desk partner, Fang Sisi, leaned in and whispered.
This wasn't a question; it was a confirmation. Although the teacher hadn't specifically named anyone, Qiao Sang had brazenly taken notes on her zero score paper, not bothering to conceal her score.
Qiao Sang nodded.
In her memories, she and Fang Sisi had a good relationship. They would eat together and hang out.
The primary reason for their close bond was that Fang Sisi was also a academically poor student.
Fang Sisi had replaced Qiao Sang as the fourth-from-last when Qiao Sang got diarrhea during last month's mock exam.
"Wow, I see you answered all the multiple-choice questions, yet you got zero. That's almost as impressive as someone getting a perfect score." Fang Sisi gave an admiring thumbs-up.
Qiao Sang choked and couldn't respond. Could she really be blamed for this? If anything, it was that stupid strategy of selecting long-worded answers for short-worded questions!
"How many points did you get?" Qiao Sang asked.
"263. I improved by 98 points compared to last time." Fang Sisi said proudly.
Truly a poor student; even with the addition of two subjects, she only gained 98 points.
Though Qiao Sang inwardly mocked, she refrained from saying it out loud. After all, they were both poor students. There was no need to hurt each other.
"Not bad."
This wasn't a lie on Qiao Sang's part. Although she considered Fang Sisi's score somewhat lacking, it was a significant improvement compared to her previous score of around 200.
"I know, right? My mom's been watching me closely these days…"
Before Fang Sisi could finish, the person sitting in front of her turned around nervously and said, "Is it true that Dai Shushu from Class 9 got a guaranteed spot at Litan Beast Taming High School? Or is it just a rumor?"
Fang Sisi sighed, "If it's spread around like that, it's probably true."
Qiao Sang flipped through her textbook.
The Dai Shushu they were talking about had ranked first in this mock exam. As someone guaranteed admission to Beast Taming High School, she didn't consider it much of a gossip topic. Right now, her priority was to study and master the subject matter.
"I heard she got the guarantee because she awakened on her own." Another classmate in front of Qiao Sang turned around and joined the discussion.
Until the year 2563, a researcher named Chen Le Shen discovered that the human brain could awaken the Beast Taming Codex through the stimulation of magnetic waves, marking the true beginning of the Era of Beast Taming.
However, those who could successfully awaken the Codex on their own were still among the exceptional few.
"Awakening on their own?" Fang Sisi fell into thought. "Do you think I can still curry favor with her by now?"
The classmate sitting in front of Fang Sisi shook their head. "Don't even think about it. Anyone who's successfully guaranteed admission won't stick around in school. If you knew in advance that you could attend high school, would you still come to school?"
Fang Sisi nodded in agreement.
"If I awaken on my own, can I get guaranteed admission even if I fail the academic subjects?" Qiao Sang took a deep breath, her expression earnest.
This question captured the attention of the three people.
"Never mind failing, the school would take you even if you got a zero." The classmate in front of Qiao Sang joked.
"Forget it, those who awaken on their own are always the top students. There's no room for poor students." Fang Sisi patted Qiao Sang's shoulder. "I had a dream like this a couple of days ago."
Qiao Sang kept her head down and said nothing.
Thinking she might be disheartened, the three of them ceased discussing self-awakening.
Little did they know, it took a great effort for Qiao Sang to restrain herself from bursting into laughter.
Self-awakening!
She had succeeded in self-awakening as soon as she transmigrated!
Back then, she had no idea what it was and mistook it for some kind of cheat. It wasn't until her memories integrated that she learned about the Beast Taming Codex awakening at the age of 15.
Since most people awakened at 15, she hadn't thought much of it. But she hadn't anticipated such a huge difference!
No wonder the original Qiao Sang was a poor student. Even with integrated memories, she hadn't realized the vast disparity between self-awakening and awakening through magnetic waves.
...
...
Without the pressure of the high school entrance exam, Qiao Sang found studying much more relaxed. She read about certain concepts, not just rote memorization.
"Deep-Haired Tortoises belong to the Earth-type and commonly inhabit desert tropical regions. They have black eye rings and are poor swimmers."
A tortoise that can't swim?
If you can't swim, why are you a tortoise?
Why is a tortoise an Earth-type and not a Water-type?
"Steel-Willed Rats shouldn't be exposed to rain because their bodies are prone to rust. They enjoy sunlight."
Why would a supernatural creature rust?
If their attribute is steel and they rust when exposed to rain, why do they like sunlight?
Aren't they afraid of oxidation and rusting?
Seeing so many common sense anomalies, she wanted to mock it.
However, Qiao Sang found this amusing rather than painful. She could remember these details without resorting to rote memorization.
School was dismissed soon after.
As Qiao Sang packed her things, a girl with black-framed glasses approached. "Qiao Sang, the headteacher wants to see you in the office."
Qiao Sang hesitated. "I understand."
The girl with glasses was Ma Xiao, the class monitor. She was used to teachers summoning Qiao Sang to the office, given her status as a perennial third-from-last.
The original Qiao Sang might have been used to it, but the current Qiao Sang wasn't.
Especially not when the headteacher's spit was flying in her face.
"What's wrong with you! The high school entrance exam is approaching, and you've performed this badly! How do you justify this to yourself? To your parents!"
Qiao Sang took a step back in silence. "Tea...cher, please calm down."
Close call. She almost called him 'old head'...
"Calm down? How can I calm down! I've taught so many batches of students, and I've never seen someone as poor as you!" The headteacher escalated, continuing his spittle attack.
As someone who had been a top student in her previous life, this was the first time Qiao Sang had received such treatment. She silently took another step back. "There's a reason for my poor performance."
The headteacher sneered. "What reason?"
"Well, I actually awakened on my own, but my mind hasn't caught up yet."
At that moment, Qiao Sang admired her own quick thinking.
"Hmph." The headteacher snorted. "It seems I've been too lenient with you in the past."
Qiao Sang's face displayed confusion. What does being nice to me have to do with this?
The headteacher opened a drawer and pulled out a contact list, dialing a number from inside.
Before long, the call was answered.
"Is this Qiao Sang's parent? I'm Qiao Sang's headteacher. Do you have time to come to the school?"
Qiao Sang: ...
Table of Contents | Next Chapter
Wencheng Middle School, Class 37.
"This time's mock exam has shown remarkable progress in everyone. Especially Qin Shou, who ranked second in the entire grade, only 2 points away from a perfect score. Everyone should learn from him."
"Most students have done well, but a few have surprisingly shown no desire for improvement and scored zero, dragging down the class average."
"I won't name names, but I hope the student in question takes this seriously. There are only 21 days left until the high school entrance exam. Such grades won't even get you into an ordinary vocational school, let alone the Beast Taming High School."
The homeroom teacher, Yu Guang, scanned the location at the far right, third row from the back, near the window. There sat a girl with a ponytail, sitting straight-backed, the epitome of an exemplary student.
The corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily. What's with the act? He was definitely talking about her!
Of course, Qiao Sang knew the homeroom teacher was referring to her, but what could she do? She wasn't the Qiao Sang of this world.
She had just transmigrated a couple of days ago and barely adjusted before this mock exam.
However, it was just a middle school mock exam. She wasn't afraid at all. After all, she was a high-achieving student who had made it to a prestigious 985 university in her previous life.
But as soon as she received the test paper, she was baffled.
"What does the awakening of the human brain domain create?"
"What kind of extraordinary creatures does Heart Scale find attractive, and what purpose do they serve?"
"What is the final evolved form of the stinky loach called?"
"Which planets have humans already migrated to?"
What... what were these questions?!
In the end, she had to resort to a strategy: selecting long-worded answers for three short-worded questions and short- worded answers for three long-worded questions, filling the blanks randomly, and leaving the essay questions blank.
Over these two days, Qiao Sang had adjusted to her new body, and the memories of the original host had surfaced. She had gained a basic understanding of this world. It was a world primarily centered around Beast Taming. From the time humans discovered their ability to tame beasts until now, 32.05 million years had passed, resulting in a mature society revolving around the practice.
Although it was called the Era of Beast Taming, not everyone practiced it. When humans reached the age of 15, their brain domains could be awakened to the Beast Taming Codex through the stimulation of magnetic waves.
This Beast Taming Codex served as a contract and a space that perfectly connected the relationship between humans and extraordinary creatures.
If a person's brain domain couldn't awaken by the age of 15, there was a high probability that their life would be unrelated to Beast Taming.
Despite the millions of years of development in the Era of Beast Taming, not all humans could awaken the Beast Taming Codex.
For instance, in the previous year's nationwide entrance exam, only 73% of candidates awakened the Codex, leaving 27% without awakening. Even if some among them were academic geniuses, they were still destined to not get into Beast Taming High School.
Those who couldn't tame beasts were relegated to mediocrity, spending their lives in the lower echelons of society.
This was a harsh reality. If you couldn't tame beasts, you might even struggle to do manual labor.
Why use human strength to carry hundreds or even thousands of kilograms of bricks when extraordinary creatures could do it effortlessly?
Even waiting tables was the same.
Even if their wages were several times higher than humans', restaurants preferred to hire extraordinary creatures to carry trays because it attracted more customers.
In this world, which differed greatly from the previous society's common sense, Qiao Sang, as an approaching high school entrance examinee, felt the pressure.
In the past, knowledge changed destinies; now, Beast Taming altered lives.
Although Qiao Sang had the memories of the original host, that host had been a poor student!
Consistently ranking near the bottom of the class, the original host's scores usually hovered around the third to last place. Last month's mock exam did show some improvement; she climbed from last to fourth from last.
Of course, that was due to her skipping two subjects on the day of the previous fourth-from-last exam because she had diarrhea.
The high school entrance exam was in 21 days. She didn't even expect to get into a prestigious high school. Being able to enter any high school was a relief.
Qiao Sang listened attentively in class, took notes, and even continued reading her textbook after class, displaying the same intense dedication she had shown during her final sprint towards the college entrance exam in her previous life.
"Qiao Sang, the teacher is talking about you." Her desk partner, Fang Sisi, leaned in and whispered.
This wasn't a question; it was a confirmation. Although the teacher hadn't specifically named anyone, Qiao Sang had brazenly taken notes on her zero score paper, not bothering to conceal her score.
Qiao Sang nodded.
In her memories, she and Fang Sisi had a good relationship. They would eat together and hang out.
The primary reason for their close bond was that Fang Sisi was also a academically poor student.
Fang Sisi had replaced Qiao Sang as the fourth-from-last when Qiao Sang got diarrhea during last month's mock exam.
"Wow, I see you answered all the multiple-choice questions, yet you got zero. That's almost as impressive as someone getting a perfect score." Fang Sisi gave an admiring thumbs-up.
Qiao Sang choked and couldn't respond. Could she really be blamed for this? If anything, it was that stupid strategy of selecting long-worded answers for short-worded questions!
"How many points did you get?" Qiao Sang asked.
"263. I improved by 98 points compared to last time." Fang Sisi said proudly.
Truly a poor student; even with the addition of two subjects, she only gained 98 points.
Though Qiao Sang inwardly mocked, she refrained from saying it out loud. After all, they were both poor students. There was no need to hurt each other.
"Not bad."
This wasn't a lie on Qiao Sang's part. Although she considered Fang Sisi's score somewhat lacking, it was a significant improvement compared to her previous score of around 200.
"I know, right? My mom's been watching me closely these days…"
Before Fang Sisi could finish, the person sitting in front of her turned around nervously and said, "Is it true that Dai Shushu from Class 9 got a guaranteed spot at Litan Beast Taming High School? Or is it just a rumor?"
Fang Sisi sighed, "If it's spread around like that, it's probably true."
Qiao Sang flipped through her textbook.
The Dai Shushu they were talking about had ranked first in this mock exam. As someone guaranteed admission to Beast Taming High School, she didn't consider it much of a gossip topic. Right now, her priority was to study and master the subject matter.
"I heard she got the guarantee because she awakened on her own." Another classmate in front of Qiao Sang turned around and joined the discussion.
Until the year 2563, a researcher named Chen Le Shen discovered that the human brain could awaken the Beast Taming Codex through the stimulation of magnetic waves, marking the true beginning of the Era of Beast Taming.
However, those who could successfully awaken the Codex on their own were still among the exceptional few.
"Awakening on their own?" Fang Sisi fell into thought. "Do you think I can still curry favor with her by now?"
The classmate sitting in front of Fang Sisi shook their head. "Don't even think about it. Anyone who's successfully guaranteed admission won't stick around in school. If you knew in advance that you could attend high school, would you still come to school?"
Fang Sisi nodded in agreement.
"If I awaken on my own, can I get guaranteed admission even if I fail the academic subjects?" Qiao Sang took a deep breath, her expression earnest.
This question captured the attention of the three people.
"Never mind failing, the school would take you even if you got a zero." The classmate in front of Qiao Sang joked.
"Forget it, those who awaken on their own are always the top students. There's no room for poor students." Fang Sisi patted Qiao Sang's shoulder. "I had a dream like this a couple of days ago."
Qiao Sang kept her head down and said nothing.
Thinking she might be disheartened, the three of them ceased discussing self-awakening.
Little did they know, it took a great effort for Qiao Sang to restrain herself from bursting into laughter.
Self-awakening!
She had succeeded in self-awakening as soon as she transmigrated!
Back then, she had no idea what it was and mistook it for some kind of cheat. It wasn't until her memories integrated that she learned about the Beast Taming Codex awakening at the age of 15.
Since most people awakened at 15, she hadn't thought much of it. But she hadn't anticipated such a huge difference!
No wonder the original Qiao Sang was a poor student. Even with integrated memories, she hadn't realized the vast disparity between self-awakening and awakening through magnetic waves.
...
...
Without the pressure of the high school entrance exam, Qiao Sang found studying much more relaxed. She read about certain concepts, not just rote memorization.
"Deep-Haired Tortoises belong to the Earth-type and commonly inhabit desert tropical regions. They have black eye rings and are poor swimmers."
A tortoise that can't swim?
If you can't swim, why are you a tortoise?
Why is a tortoise an Earth-type and not a Water-type?
"Steel-Willed Rats shouldn't be exposed to rain because their bodies are prone to rust. They enjoy sunlight."
Why would a supernatural creature rust?
If their attribute is steel and they rust when exposed to rain, why do they like sunlight?
Aren't they afraid of oxidation and rusting?
Seeing so many common sense anomalies, she wanted to mock it.
However, Qiao Sang found this amusing rather than painful. She could remember these details without resorting to rote memorization.
School was dismissed soon after.
As Qiao Sang packed her things, a girl with black-framed glasses approached. "Qiao Sang, the headteacher wants to see you in the office."
Qiao Sang hesitated. "I understand."
The girl with glasses was Ma Xiao, the class monitor. She was used to teachers summoning Qiao Sang to the office, given her status as a perennial third-from-last.
The original Qiao Sang might have been used to it, but the current Qiao Sang wasn't.
Especially not when the headteacher's spit was flying in her face.
"What's wrong with you! The high school entrance exam is approaching, and you've performed this badly! How do you justify this to yourself? To your parents!"
Qiao Sang took a step back in silence. "Tea...cher, please calm down."
Close call. She almost called him 'old head'...
"Calm down? How can I calm down! I've taught so many batches of students, and I've never seen someone as poor as you!" The headteacher escalated, continuing his spittle attack.
As someone who had been a top student in her previous life, this was the first time Qiao Sang had received such treatment. She silently took another step back. "There's a reason for my poor performance."
The headteacher sneered. "What reason?"
"Well, I actually awakened on my own, but my mind hasn't caught up yet."
At that moment, Qiao Sang admired her own quick thinking.
"Hmph." The headteacher snorted. "It seems I've been too lenient with you in the past."
Qiao Sang's face displayed confusion. What does being nice to me have to do with this?
The headteacher opened a drawer and pulled out a contact list, dialing a number from inside.
Before long, the call was answered.
"Is this Qiao Sang's parent? I'm Qiao Sang's headteacher. Do you have time to come to the school?"
Qiao Sang: ...
Table of Contents | Next Chapter
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