Beast Taming Begins with Inheriting a Legacy.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the rest area of ​​Yulan Middle School was very somber.

After Bai Xiuwen left the stage, all eyes fell on her, and the gazes were not very friendly.

"Bai Xiuwen, you..."

Just as someone was about to speak up in protest, a group of staff members walked over.

The head staff member smiled and said, "Hello, we are the inspection team for this friendly match. Please cooperate with our work."

The expressions of everyone at Yulan Middle School changed!

"Wh...what?"

"Why do we need to be checked? Nothing's wrong with us!"

"Why do we suddenly need to do a checkup? This is so strange!"

In the corner, Bai Xiuwen stood with a cold expression, her gaze sweeping over the panicked faces of the people, and she gave a light sneer.

The staff member maintained a distant smile, but their tone left no room for refusal: "Please cooperate with us and come to the testing room."

Under a combination of pleading and coercion from several staff members, everyone from Yulan Middle School was "invited" to the testing room.

First, everyone's personal belongings were checked.

Then they began checking the physical condition of each contestant's pet and treating any injured pets.

"Please do not leave the central battle arena or disclose any information to others until the test results are available."

After the testing was completed, the staff notified us of something else.

Soon, all the participants in the friendly match received a notice of suspension—the friendly match was temporarily suspended for two days, and all the pets of the participants underwent health checks.

After this notice was issued, the staff of various schools were very puzzled.

In previous friendly matches, there had never been a situation where all participants' pets underwent health checks on short notice, leading to a flurry of speculation among the crowd.

"..."

When Gu Ling received the notification, she was in the medical room with Pei Gang and the others, accompanying the pets that were undergoing treatment.

"Why do you suddenly need a health checkup?"

"This health check came at just the right time. With two days of rest, your pets should be fully recovered." Pei Gang's gaze fell on the Three-Tailed Fire Fox and the Mischievous Ghost.

Despite the fact that Mischievous Ghost generally had the upper hand in the battle against Skeleton Night Hawk, it still suffered considerable injuries. Ghost-type pets are just too fragile, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Although the Three-Tailed Fire Fox won the match, it hasn't fully recovered from the injury it sustained yesterday and is currently resting in its hospital bed.

After spending half an hour in the medical room, Gu Ling and the other two took their pets to the designated area to line up for health checks, while the rest of the students from Nanping No. 1 Middle School had already gone to get their checks done.

After completing a series of health checks according to procedure, on the way back to the hotel, Gu Ling learned from Zhou Mengran that the first school team to undergo health checks was Yulan Middle School.

"...It seems that after Lingling finished the Qiankun Tournament, everyone at Yulan Middle School was taken for a health check."

"Could something have happened to Yulan Middle School?"

"Besides Bai Xiuwen, the pets of the other two official team members today are a bit strange. Could there be any connection between the two?"

Upon arriving at the hotel, Zhou Mengran reminded everyone before getting out of the car, "No matter what happens, try to stay in the hotel for the next two days, minimize going out, and don't discuss this in public, understand?"

"Understood, Teacher Zhou."

"..."

Back at the hotel, the three teachers threw a celebration banquet for Gu Ling and the others.

"No. 1 High School has finally made it to the semifinals!"

"We haven't broken through in years! You guys did a fantastic job, hahaha..."

"..."

At the celebration banquet, Director Wan's smile never disappeared; he kept making phone calls while eating.

Gu Ling listened carefully for a few minutes, and all they talked about was bragging to teachers from other schools that Nanping No. 1 Middle School's team had made it to the top four in the competition.

Among the people here is Director Shang Qichun of Wenli No. 1 Middle School, whom I met on the first day in Hailan City.

……Um.

As long as Director Wan is happy.

I wonder if Director Shang Qichun over there is happy.

At the celebration banquet, Gu Ling also let the mischievous boy eat as much as he wanted.

Seeing the mischievous boy's unrestrained and wild eating habits, the others couldn't help but throw him a few bites every now and then.

The mischievous boy accepted all of them.

After the celebration banquet, it was time to review the match.

As soon as they got back to their hotel room, Gu Ling dragged the mischievous boy over to watch the live replay of the Qiankun Tournament.

Gu Ling rewound the video to the point where the mischievous boy was hit by the Skeleton Night Hawk's [Mental Transfer], and then paused it.

"You little rascal, why were you hit by the mental transfer attack back then? It led to you being hit by psychic attacks again later."

Noticing Gu Ling's somewhat serious expression, the mischievous boy who had been grinning all night couldn't help but restrain himself and sat obediently.

"Hehe~" Because that bird is extremely cunning!

Upon hearing this, Gu Ling glared at the mischievous boy: "Isn't it because you were careless and ran out of the smoke, and even mocked the Skeleton Night Hawk in public without any precautions?"

If the Skeleton Night Hawk had been in better condition at the time, they might have been able to turn the tide.

"You little rascal, remember this—"

"You can't let your guard down until your opponent is completely incapacitated. Even if it begs for mercy or keeps you on the defensive, you can't let your guard down."

The mischievous boy nodded dejectedly: "...Hehehe."

"Overall, this was your first formal competition, and you performed very well. You played beautifully." Gu Ling's expression softened a bit as she looked up and patted the mischievous boy's head.

The mischievous boy cautiously looked up at Gu Ling, his chubby little hands pacing nervously in front of him: "Hehehe?" Really?

Gu Ling smiled and said, "Of course!"

"Meow~" Xian Jiu interrupted amidst her busy gaming session.

Gui Gui behaved quite well today, showing half the charm of me!

"You little rascal, keep up the good work in the upcoming matches."

"Hehe~" The mischievous boy became playful again, patting his chubby little belly incessantly.

……

The health check results came back on the second day of the break.

All school teams went to the central battle arena to retrieve their health check reports.

As Gu Ling entered the central battle arena, he heard a voice coming from the loudspeaker—

"...Most of the contestants from Yulan Middle School violated regulations by using animal performance-enhancing drugs. After joint consultation and discussion by the organizing committee of the Friendship Tournament, Yulan Middle School has been disqualified from participating in the Friendship Tournament for the next five years. Seven contestants from Yulan Middle School, including Ma Cai and Lu Zichuan, have been disqualified from this year's competition, and all their rankings have been voided. They are withdrawn from the competition immediately..."

The broadcast was still playing on a loop. Gu Ling heard that only seven contestants from Yulan Middle School had been disqualified from the competition, and Bai Xiuwen's name was not mentioned.

"So... Bai Xiuwen didn't use any pet stimulants on his pets?" Gu Ling used her phone to search for information about pet stimulants online.

At this point, Yulan Middle School was publicly withdrawn from the competition.

All the contestants who heard the broadcast were talking about it.

"Yulan Middle School is using pet stimulants! No wonder a school that hasn't participated for many years is so strong today..."

"Qingchuan No.1 Middle School is really unlucky. They used to make it to the top four every year, but now they've been eliminated early in the team competition..."

"That Bai Xiuwen is so capable? So there's something fishy going on here..."

"..."

Gu Ling wandered around the central battle arena for most of the time before finally finding Bai Xiuwen at a training ground.

Given the current situation, it's quite remarkable that Bai Xiuwen still has the mood to train.

Gu Ling walked straight over: "Your name isn't on the withdrawal list. Are you still participating in the individual competition?"

Bai Xiuwen has also advanced to the quarterfinals in the individual competition. After the break, the quarterfinals of the individual competition will begin tomorrow.

"I'm withdrawing from the competition," Bai Xiuwen said calmly.

Gu Ling looked surprised: "Withdraw from the competition? Why? Your qualification for the competition wasn't cancelled!"

"It was Yulan Middle School that helped me withdraw from the competition."

Although Bai Xiuwen did not allow the Skeleton Night Hawk to use pet stimulants, she was a contestant from Yulan Middle School, and the competition was a team event, so she was more or less affected.

Gu Ling's gaze fell on the Skeleton Nighthawk. After thinking for two seconds, she asked, "Bai Xiuwen, do you really dislike pet beasts?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiuwen subconsciously frowned.

She'd heard this kind of question far too many times.

"What are you trying to say? Or what do you even know...?"

My parents are dead too.

Bai Xiuwen's voice abruptly stopped.

Gu Ling remained calm and continued, "My second uncle said that they were probably attacked by wild animals, which led to their death in a car accident."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiuwen fell completely silent.

"I don't think you really dislike pets."

If Bai Xiuwen truly dislikes pets and sees them as tools for winning, why doesn't he comply with Yulan Middle School's wishes and use pet stimulants to easily win?

Moreover, although Skull Night Hawk maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far from Bai Xiuwen and did not approach her, the way he looked at Bai Xiuwen was the same kind of feeling that Xian Jiu and Mischievous Ghost had when they looked at him.

Is it dependence? Or perhaps trust?

"If you really hate pets, Skeleton Nighthawk won't compete for you."

Gu Ling casually patted Xian Jiu's head. Xian Jiu was playing a game, and Mao Tong was staring intently at the phone screen. However, when she felt Gu Ling's touch, she instinctively rubbed her head back.

"Meow~" Beastmaster, stop fooling around~ This kitty is about to get a triple kill~

Pets also have feelings and can sense who treats them well and who treats them badly.

Watching Gu Ling and Xian Jiu's interaction, Bai Xiuwen suddenly asked, "Don't you... mind?"

"What do you mind?" Gu Ling asked with a smile.

"People are divided into good and bad. We can't generalize the right or wrong of an individual to the whole group. Just because you've seen one bad person, does that mean you should condemn everyone? Or do you not trust your own judgment in choosing a pet companion?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiuwen was slightly taken aback and subconsciously turned his head to look at the Skull Night Hawk.

Seeing Bai Xiuwen looking at him, the Skeleton Night Hawk responded cheerfully with a "Coo-coo~".

Bai Xiuwen's Skeleton Nighthawk wasn't purchased from a pet hatchery like most people's, and it wasn't raised from the pet egg or cub stage.

Bai Xiuwen picked up the Skull Nighthawk on a cold night after hearing a faint sound coming from a garbage dump.

After the Skull Nightjar recovered from its injuries, Bai Xiuwen wanted to get rid of it.

But the Skeleton Night Hawk refused to leave and kept pestering Bai Xiuwen, eventually becoming Bai Xiuwen's contracted pet.

At this moment, Gu Ling changed the subject: "I had an advantage in the Qiankun Tournament. After all, it was a team competition. My teammates intentionally wore down Skeleton Night Hawk's stamina to give me a better chance of winning."

"Let's have another match next time."

After saying that, Gu Ling extended her right hand toward Bai Xiuwen.

"Okay." Bai Xiuwen came to her senses and extended her right hand as well.

Their right hands clasped together in mid-air.

"Your teammates are all very good; it's just that I'm not as skilled." Bai Xiuwen said calmly, glancing at the Skeleton Night Hawk flying beside her, and pursed her lips slightly.

"Next time... neither Skull Nighthawk nor I will lose."

Gu Ling retorted defiantly, "We are too."

"...Until we meet again, I'm leaving now."

Bai Xiuwen withdrew his hand and calmly raised his arm slightly in the direction of the Skull Night Hawk.

"Coo coo~" The Skull Night Hawk paused for a moment, then carefully landed on Bai Xiuwen's arm and folded its wings.

Good luck in the upcoming matches.

"Yes, I will."

"..."

After parting ways with Gu Ling, Bai Xiuwen stopped training and prepared to return to the hotel to pack her bags and leave Hailan City.

Halfway there, Bai Xiuwen received a phone call.

As soon as Bai Xiuwen answered the call, a cold and disgusted voice came through the other end—

"You don't need to go back to Yulan Middle School. The expulsion notice will be sent to your phone soon..."

"beep--"

After saying that, the other party immediately hung up the phone, giving Bai Xiuwen no chance to react.

Bai Xiuwen put her phone away expressionlessly.

She had expected this result and wasn't surprised at all.

"You were expelled from Yulan Middle School, right? Do you want to study somewhere else?" A somewhat lazy voice came from behind.

Bai Xiuwen looked around warily and then noticed a man standing not far away.

The man was completely covered up, and Bai Xiuwen couldn't recognize him; he seemed like a complete stranger.

"Who are you?"

The man said to himself, "Have you heard of the Aurora Dojo? I can recommend you to finish your studies there, and you can still take the college entrance exam next year."

Aurora Gym is one of the top three Psychic-type gyms in the country. The current gym leader, Su You, is a master-level Beastmaster specializing in Psychic-type Beastmasters.

Aurora Gym is a place that many Beastmasters who specialize in Psychic-type Beastmasters desperately want to get into.

It's hard for Bai Xiuwen not to have heard of him.

"What are your conditions?" Bai Xiuwen felt no joy; instead, she began to speculate about the man's intentions.

The man walked towards Bai Xiuwen and handed her a slip of paper with a number written on it.

"Go back and pack your luggage. You don't need to go back to Yulan County. Just take a bus to the Aurora Dojo, then call this number and tell them your name."

"As for the conditions... study hard and serve the country."

The man patted Bai Xiuwen on the shoulder one last time, then turned and left with his hands in his pockets.

Bai Xiuwen glanced at the number on the note and asked again, "Excuse me, who are you?"

"A kind person~"

The man didn't turn around; he simply waved his hand.

After everyone had completely left, Bai Xiuwen was still a little dazed. She turned to Skeleton Nighthawk and asked, "Skeleton Nighthawk, do you think we should go?"

"Coo coo~" The Skeleton Night Hawk tilted its head.

Seeing this, Bai Xiuwen put the note into his pocket. "Then let's give it a try."

Anyway, besides the Skeleton Night Hawk, she had nothing else to lose.