Chapter 260: 刻度10以上?

"Huh?" Yun Tao was taken aback.

Hadn't he just firmly stated he wouldn't take the exam? How did his attitude suddenly change? The moment he heard it was free to ride the flying savage beasts, his demeanor immediately shifted... Yun Tao felt his saliva catch in his throat, almost choking him. In his eyes, Senior Zhang Xuan was a young grandmaster, with unfathomable cultivation and unapproachable strength. Such a person should treat money like dirt, yet his eyes lit up at the mention of "free." Cough, cough, that's a bit too realistic!

He finally managed to swallow his saliva and was about to speak when he saw Miss Mo Yu looking over. Her proud neck was raised, and a sneer appeared in her eyes.

"Try taking the exam? Hmph, do you think beast taming is child's play, that anyone can just take the exam? You happened to tame two savage beasts, and now you think beast taming is easy! Let me tell you, just memorizing the names, physical characteristics, temperaments, and living habits of the tens of thousands of common savage beasts on the continent, you won't be able to do it without several years!" She had challenged this guy earlier, and he had refused, filling Mo Yu with indignation. Now, seeing him speak so boastfully, she immediately retorted with a cold snort. "Still want to try taking the exam...?" Beast taming is one of the more advanced professions among the upper nine ranks. Its difficulty is no less than that of an alchemist. Do you think it's make-believe, that if you accidentally tame one or two savage beasts, you can take the examination? That's like haphazardly mixing a medicine, curing a disease, and then thinking you can become a doctor? You must be dreaming! Every profession has its own academic system, profound and intricate; it can't be learned in just a day or two. Especially beast taming. Low-level savage beasts can be conquered with brute force, but what about high-level ones? If you dare to be disrespectful, they might just destroy you first. Not knowing their habits, not knowing about geese flying south or fish swimming, and yet you dare to say you'll take the beast tamer exam—what is that if not boasting?

"Miss Mo Yu, there's no need to get angry with such an arrogant and ignorant person! He just happened to know the name of the Cloudlightning Ancient Sparrow and somehow tamed the Golden-bodied Iron-coined Leopard, and now he thinks he's the only one under heaven. In reality, he knows nothing about beast taming. Once he takes the exam, he'll surely be exposed!" Zhu Jinhuang stepped forward. Beast taming is a profound discipline. Even with talent, one can only learn the basics without several years of study. This guy isn't even a beast tamer apprentice, and it seems he hasn't had any exposure to it. He wants to take the exam just because he knows a few amateur tricks?

"He's just an ignorant fellow. A beast tamer not only tames savage beasts but must also understand them from the inside out. To defeat a savage beast with brute force, force it to submit, and then call oneself a beast tamer—what a joke! If that were the case, wouldn't everyone become a beast tamer?" Zhou Xuan also sneered. Both of them harbored resentment towards Yun Tao, so naturally, they didn't want anyone associated with him to pass the exam. Besides, this guy had just offended Miss Mo Yu, so it was a good opportunity for them to speak up for her and gain her favor.

Too lazy to bother with the two sycophants, Zhu Jinhuang and Zhou Xuan, Zhang Xuan looked up at the beautiful figure before him and calmly said, "I happened to tame two savage beasts, and I know nothing. So, Miss Mo Yu, why did you still want to compete with me, and even learn from me how to gain the favor of the Cloudlightning Ancient Sparrow?"

"You..." Her body stiffened, and Mo Yu's face flushed with anger. Her status was noble, and when interacting with others, she was always complimented. No one ever dared to speak to her like this. For a moment, the retort left her speechless, a surge of frustration trapped in her chest, unsure how to respond.

"Kid, do you know who you're talking to? You're asking for trouble..."

"Apologize at once! It's your immense fortune just to be near Miss Mo Yu, and you dare to retort? How audacious..." Seeing this guy dare to speak to their goddess like that, Zhu Jinhuang and Zhou Xuan immediately became indignant and shouted simultaneously. But before they could finish, Miss Mo Yu's face darkened.

"Shut up! No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!"

"Miss..." The two froze, silenced at once. They were speaking up for her, so why were they being reprimanded instead? However, at this moment, even a fool would realize they had overstepped.

"It's all this guy's fault! We'll see how you make a fool of yourself later!" The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, yet they dared not direct their fury at their goddess. So, they redirected all their anger towards Zhang Xuan, finding him more and more unlikable with every glance.

Ignoring the three, Zhang Xuan followed Yun Tao to Elder Feng.

"Elder Feng, Senior Zhang Xuan has agreed to take the beast tamer examination. When would you like to begin?" Yun Tao asked, his face beaming with joy. He had great confidence in Senior Zhang Xuan. While he struggled endlessly to tame a savage beast, this senior merely needed to beat one into submission and effortlessly help it advance. With that skill alone, even Elder Feng couldn't compare! How could someone with such ability possibly fail a mere beast tamer examination?

"We can start now. I heard that you haven't taken any examinations yet, not even for a beast tamer apprentice?" Elder Feng looked at him.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"You were able to tame a savage beast at the Aperture Opening realm and identify the Cloudlightning Ancient Sparrow. This indicates that the beast tamer apprentice examination is trivial for you and can be waived," Elder Feng stated. An apprentice is merely the foundation of the profession. Since Zhang Xuan recognized the Cloudlightning Ancient Sparrow, which even they couldn't identify, it showed he was not unfamiliar with the path of beast taming. A simple apprentice exam would be troublesome and a complete waste of time. Of course, if Elder Feng had known that Zhang Xuan actually knew nothing about beast taming and had only recently heard about it, he likely wouldn't have thought that way.

"However, without an apprentice examination, it's hard to test one's understanding of beast taming. Given that, I will waive the first stage of the formal beast tamer examination and incorporate the first stage of the apprentice examination instead." The apprentice examination consists of a theoretical test and beast identification. The formal beast tamer examination involves gaining a savage beast's approval and taming a savage beast. Zhang Xuan, before them, could even identify a rare ancient relic beast like the Cloudlightning Ancient Sparrow, which showed his vast knowledge. Therefore, a beast identification test would also be a waste of time. If he could genuinely tame a savage beast and gain its approval, a separate test for that would be redundant. So, Elder Feng considered for a moment and directly altered the examination. It would still have two stages, but different from those for other beast tamer apprentices.

"They are: first, a theoretical examination, which means answering a test paper; and second, taming a savage beast stronger than yourself! I will not show any favoritism; as long as you pass these two stages, you will be a one-star beast tamer."

"Uh, alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded. He had heard Yun Tao mention the beast tamer examination process before, and these seemed to be the usual steps. The other party wasn't deliberately making it difficult for him.

Seeing him agree, Elder Feng smiled and said, "Very well, I will go prepare a test paper now for you to answer. If you can answer all questions correctly without issue, you will pass!"

"Don't rush," Zhang Xuan said. "Do you have any books on beast taming here? Could I borrow some to read first?"

"Read books?" Elder Feng, Beast Tamer Lu, and the others exchanged bewildered glances. Why read books now? "The library over there is full of books on beast taming. Normally, only beast tamer apprentices are allowed to view them, but I can grant you special permission. It's just that reading now..." Although puzzled, Elder Feng still spoke. He didn't finish his last sentence, but everyone understood his unspoken meaning. There were at least hundreds of thousands of books on beast taming. Even if one were to cram at the last minute, they should focus on something more important. To start reading now... it was like only thinking about finding a wife after wanting to hold a child – a bit too late!

"Oh, I have a habit," Zhang Xuan casually replied. "Before important events, I get nervous, so I need to read to adjust my state. I might be troubling Elder Feng." He had used this excuse previously at Master Lu Chen's residence and found it quite effective, so he brought it out again.

"I see... Alright, the library is over there. You can go directly." Elder Feng didn't doubt him and pointed forward.

"Thank you!" Zhang Xuan nodded and strode over. He certainly couldn't pass the beast tamer examination without reading books. However, as long as the books were there for the Library of Heaven's Path to record, the rest would be simple.

"This guy..." Shen Biru, standing nearby, saw that Teacher Zhang had actually agreed to take the beast tamer examination and felt her eyebrow twitch. A mouthful of blood felt like it was about to spray out. His audacity was simply too great! It wasn't that she didn't believe him, but... this guy had been with her the whole way and was utterly unfamiliar with beast taming. Just now, he even asked her what a 'Beast Forest' was... Someone who doesn't even know what a Beast Forest is, fearlessly agreeing to take the beast tamer examination? And the most crucial part... He agreed, fine, but they're about to give him the test paper, and he wants to read books now? What is he doing?

"Hmm? Wait... The last time he went to the academy's library, he was flipping through books alone. Could it be..." Just as she couldn't figure out what he was doing, a thought struck her, recalling their encounter in the library. Teacher Zhang had been flipping through books haphazardly beside her. At the time, she thought he was doing it deliberately to attract her attention or had some ulterior motive. Only later did she realize she had overthought it; he wasn't just flipping through pages randomly but had already memorized all the content. Memorizing book content just by flipping through them... Could it be that Teacher Zhang truly doesn't know beast taming knowledge, and his purpose in going to read books now is... to learn? "This... how is that possible? The books in the teachers' library aren't that many, and besides, he's been going there frequently since becoming a teacher, surely he's flipped through them for more than a day. Even a three-star master teacher with photographic memory, let alone a master teacher apprentice, couldn't learn it all in such a short time, could they?"

Her heart was shaken, yet she still couldn't believe it. Legend had it that those in the Mind Clarity realm, with a Mind Scale of 10 or higher, possessed photographic memory. Once they read the content of a book, it would be firmly recorded in their minds, never to be forgotten. It was precisely because of this that powerful master teachers could learn many professions and memorize so much knowledge in the world. But... even if Teacher Zhang was truly extraordinary and his Mind Scale reached 10 or above, reading hundreds of thousands of books, page by page, would still take several months, wouldn't it? "Could it be... could it be?" Suddenly thinking of something, Shen Biru's delicate body trembled.