Chapter 112 - ill: Arriving at Six Tower
Soon, the car finally entered a castle surrounded by six tall towers. After undergoing a series of both obvious and hidden checks, Zhang Shan signaled for the two to get out of the car.
“These are your IDs. With these, you can come and go freely from the headquarters. As for your dormitory, someone will take you there later.” Zhang Shan handed over two IDs to the two of them, then turned and left without looking back.
Upon seeing that Zhang Shan did not mention the blunt hit from earlier, Bai Qi felt even more of a headache.
Abiting dog doesn’t bark… no, that’s not quite right. Under the calm surface, there must be a storm brewing. It felt like Zhang Shan would retaliate privately. “Actually, you don’t have to worry about that. Master Zhang Shan may not seem easy to get along with, but he’s famous for being fair and impartial. He absolutely wouldn’t let personal feelings affect his work.”
“Is that so? Then I’m reassured.”
Hearing Bai Qjucha’s explanation, Bai Qi finally breathed a little easier. He then followed Bai Qiucha to the castle gate. After presenting their IDs again, they smoothly entered the main hall of the castle.
Inside the main hall, a good number of the Special Training Beast Masters had already arrived.
However, these Beast Masters clearly had a strong sense of territoriality. They stood in groups of three or four in the hall, without any interaction amongst themselves.
And when Bai Qi and Bai Qiucha entered, all of the Beast Masters’ attention was focused on the two of them.
Some sneakily glanced out of the corners of their eyes while others blatantly looked them over, but most of the looks were filled with provocation and hostility.
Those who were selected for the Special Training Program were the best of the best, mostly arrogant individuals who were dissatisfied with anyone they met. The difference was simply a matter of whether they repressed or expressed these feelings.
Of course, the most crucial reason was the two’s identities.
One was the well-known child of legend, the other was the rising star developer of Rune Evolution. It would be truly pretentious to say they didn’t recognize the two.
However, Bai Qi and Bai Qiucha didn’t mind. They directly ignored the provoking gazes and walked towards a corner.
Seeing the demeanor of Bai Qj and Bai Qiucha, the Beast Masters who had arrived earlier could not help but draw back their gazes in disappointment. Many among them were troublemakers, mostly hoping for a show. They were hoping to see Bai Qi or Bai Qiucha lose their cool and start a fight with their classmates”, so they could closely observe their strengths.
But Bai Qi, naturally, was not going to do such foolish things. According to Old Qin, his rank in the special training was the lowest. If anyone was to step forward, it should be Bai Qiucha, who had already reached the Fourth Stage. However, after Bai Qi surveyed the room, he suddenly quickened his pace toward a slightly awkward-looking young man not far away.
Seeing Bai Qi’s move, the surrounding Beast Masters instantly became excited again.
Was he about to start something?
It seemed that he had noticed Bai Qi’s approach. The awkward young man also turned around. After recognising it was Bai Qi, he instinctively took a step back. “Gu Shan, so you’re here too?”
In this unfamiliar environment, Bai Qi wasn’t planning on taking the initiative to interact with these people. But he didn’t expect to see a familiar face here.
Gu Shan was clearly still immersed in the trauma of being defeated by Bai Qi. He was stunned for a while before responding to Bai Qi’s question.
“Yeah, the president said I shouldn’t waste my Dual Talents, so he sent me in too.”
Bai Qi nodded. Gu Shan’s two talents were quite good individually. Having them both in one person made him twice as valuable. If Cui Ming didn’t pay attention to this, he would truly be failing as the branch president.
But young people should be careful about what they say in public settings, as it can easily draw resentment.
Indeed, after Gu Shan revealed his Dual Talents, quite a few people shifted their attention to him.
Dual-Talent users, the probability of encountering one is even lower than hitting the jackpot on a random Federation lottery ticket. They hadn’t expected to meet one at this training session.
Soon, most of the Beast Masters’ attention in the hall was focused on Gu Shan, and the initially attention-grabbing Bai Qi was slowly overlooked.
It seemed as if this was not bad either.
Feeling fewer and fewer gazes on him, Bai Qi silently breathed a sigh of relief Meanwhile, Gu Shan bore the pressure that should have been on Bai Qi and Bai Qiucha with tears in his eyes.
Did I say something wrong again?
As expected, mother was right. I should speak less when outside. Otherwise, I might offend people.
Thinking of this, Gu Shan tightly closed his mouth, no longer speaking. Bai Qi also felt it was inappropriate to continue to pit Gu Shan against others, so he leaned against a wall and started to drink God’s Water.
Although the fight with Zhang Shan did not last long, Alpha had sustained some damage. To prevent any unexpected incidents, Bai Qi immediately put Alpha in the Evolution Egg to speed up recovery.
The saying goes that bad things come easily while good things don’t. Just as Bai Qi was closing his eyes to rest, a tall woman suddenly walked over to him. The surrounding Beast Masters also instantly perked up, refocusing their attention on Bai Qi.
The woman walked up to Bai Qi, extended her hand and said:
“Hello, can we get to know each other?”
Bai Qi opened his eyes and looked around. “You’re looking for me?”
The woman nodded with a smile, “Yes, it’s you, Bai Qi.”
Bai Qi scratched his head and curiously scrutinized the woman.
Although she was covered in a long windbreaker, her figure was still visible. Despite wearing a pair of nerdy glasses on her face, it failed to hide her exquisite features.
Wow, she’s definitely a beauty.
But the woman seemed to enjoy Bai Qi’s appraising gaze as well; she held her head up unconsciously, but froze in place after hearing what Bai Qi asked next.
“Uh, I don’t owe you any money, do I?”
She let out a sigh as if at a loss for words, then recomposed herself, “My name is Lu Qing. I’m a student at the Tower of Knowledge specializing in runes. I’ve heard you’re the founder of rune evolution, and I wanted to get to knowyou.” Relieved at hearing this, Bai Qi thought to himself that, traditionally, when a beautiful woman approached him uninvited, it was either to collect a debt or seek revenge-being handsome was of no benefit in such situations.
However, this Lu Qmg was apparently a member of the Six Towers. No wonder all the guys around were so excited.
The Six Towers were at the core of the Beast Master Association.
These were the Tower of Decision, Holy Relic Tower, Moon Night Tower, Tower of Competition, Tower of Knowledge, and Schizonepeta Tower.
Legend had it that these six towers were left behind by beings of nearly mythical standing throughout the Association’s history. However, none of them seemed to make it to the mythical level and left their Secret Realm Towers here instead.
The Tower of Knowledge was specifically designed for storing all sorts of references, evolutionary formulas, and related information in the possession of the Association.
Simply put, it was the Association’s exclusive library.
Being a student of the Tower of Knowledge, Lu Qing clearly had some solid background. She was definitely in a different league compared to a half-baked practitioner like him.
“Sorry, I’m not exactly big on studying runes. I’m afraid I might disappoint you.”
Upon hearing Bai Qi’s response, Lu Qing frowned.
How could the founder of rune evolution possibly claim that he had little knowledge of runes? If he did not want to share his knowledge, he should have said so directly. Why concoct such an absurd excuse?
“In that case, I’m sorry for bothering you.”
Rejected by Bai Qi on such a flippant pretext, she decided not to press on. She turned around and was about to leave when a young woman in sports attire suddenly emerged from the crowd. Giving Bai Qi a once-over, she said, “Hey you’re Bai Qi, huh? You are pretty cute. I can see why Qing’er keeps mentioning you all the time.”
Upon hearing Zhou Yan’s words, Bai Qi was taken aback. The surrounding onlookers were instantly up his throat, showering him with hostile glances.
It’s rare to see a beauty or two in the Special Training Program, and this guy has already snagged one?
Deserves to die!
Zhou Yan, stop your nonsense or I’ll sew your mouth shut.”
Looking at Zhou Yan’s snide face, Lu Qing wasn’t even slightly abashed. She pushed up her glasses and spoke calmly.
“Uh, forgetit.”
Chagrined, Zhou Yan broke into a smile. Noticing the hostile glances of the Beast Masters around her, her eyes widened. Hands on hips, she shouted at them, “What are you looking at? You want to fight?!”
At this, some of the knowledgeable Beast Masters turned away, daring not to look anymore. Those who didn’t know any better noticed that Zhou Yan was not to be messed with and also averted their gaze.
“Holy shit, she’s fierce.”
Witnessing Zhou Yan scare off so many Beast Masters with just one sentence, Bai Qi was in awe. Just when he was about to inquire about her from Bai Qiucha he noticed that she had discreetly slipped away.
“Bai Qiucha, where are you going?”
Bai Qi’s words stopped Bai Qiucha in her tracks. Zhou Yan also immediately noticed Bai Qiucha’s presence, quickly dashed over to her.
Xiao Bai, you’re here too? Come, accompany your sister in a fight. I’ve been itching for a bout for ages.”
Bai Qiucha turned around stiffly and grinned at Zhou Yan awkwardly, “Sister Yan, it’s you, huh?”
Duh, if not me then who? Wait…you’ve reached the fourth stage?”
Zhou Yan swiftly noticed the four rune marks on Bai Qiucha’s hand, a gleam in her eyes.
“Great! Now I won’t have to hold back when I fight you.”
At Zhou Yan’s words, a bitter look crossed Bai Qiucha’s face.
Oh, Sister Yan, I have something to discuss with a friend. Can I fight with you another time?”
“Friend? Which friend?”
Zhou Yan scanned the surrounding, asking back. Only then did Bai Qiucha realize that Bai Qi had disappeared, and the Beast Masters who knew what was going on had quickly left the danger zone, except for Gu Shan who was still standing there, frozen.
“You mean him? That’s perfect. I don’t like one-on-one fights anyway. We’ll just have a two-on-one.”
With that, Zhou Yan dragged Bai Qiucha and Gu Shan towards the battlefield on the side.
Only after they had left did Bai Qi appear again, easing his breath discreetly as he watched them leaving.
He definitely didn’t want to mess with someone Bai Qiucha-who was always itching to fight him—was apparently wary of. He pitied Gu Shan, though, who was drawn into the fight for no reason at all.
Well, he thought, let’s observe three seconds of silence in their honor.