Xu Changsheng returned to his seat, facing the envious and admiring gazes of his classmates. He had just lied that he was an A-level talent—not to compete with Gu Siyuan, but because he had his own plans.
An SSS-level talent was simply too shocking, even to the point of being unprecedented. Xu Changsheng could not imagine how desperate the high-level beasts would become to assassinate him if it were revealed that the first beastmaster with SSS-level talent had appeared among the human race.
He had to strangle this potential threat in the cradle. This was not without precedent!
Fierce beasts were by no means without wisdom. They did not only know how to kill. Among them even existed things like "genius assassination lists."
And in the Huaxia Federation where Xu Changsheng lived, there were geniuses who died every year in such assassinations.
This forced Xu Changsheng to be cautious. He dared not risk his life testing the consequences. Yet if he followed the teacher's suggestion and claimed to have no talent at all—that would be far too foolish!
In the world of beast control, talent was everything and strength was respected. Good talent meant more resources and special care.
If Xu Changsheng said he had no awakening talent, then many precious resources would forever be out of his reach. He was not so stupid.
Therefore, he chose to claim A-level talent as a cover.
This way, he could still carry the identity of an absolute genius, enjoying the protection of the school and government. At the same time, he would not be too ostentatious, nor spread fear among the beast forces, nor be included on their assassination lists.
Everything was perfectly calculated.
"Changsheng, I knew you could do it!" When Xu Changsheng returned to his original seat, Lin Hang immediately said with excitement.
The unhappiness caused by Gu Siyuan's earlier provocation was swept away.
Xu Changsheng smiled slightly and looked at Lin Hang intently. Instantly, all kinds of information about Lin Hang appeared before his eyes.
---
Name: Lin Hang
Talent: Super Speed Enhancement
Ability – Overspeed Enhancement: During battle, the beast's speed doubles, entering an overspeed state. After this state ends, the beast falls into weakness.
Rank: Black Iron, Level 11
Contracted Beast: None
---
The more Xu Changsheng read, the more shocked he became.
His SSS-level talent, the [Eye of the World], could not only see through all evolutionary routes of beast tamers—it could also detect detailed information about everyone!
Especially the specific roles of beast-taming talents.
What a terrifying ability!
In this world, a person's beast-taming talent was their greatest secret.
The awakening crystal could only reveal the grade of a talent. It could not even detect its general direction, let alone such detailed descriptions as Xu Changsheng now saw.
With this ability, Xu Changsheng could be fully prepared in advance to deal with the unique abilities of various enemies.
It could be said that before any battle even began, Xu Changsheng had already won half of it.
And this was only one of the many abilities of the [Eye of the World]…
---
Soon, the talent awakening ceremony ended. The teacher in charge clapped his hands and said loudly:
"Since everyone has awakened, let's now open up a beast-taming space right here!"
Hearing this, all the students sat down on the spot and began to sense the beast-taming power in their bodies.
In this world, everyone had a certain amount of beast-taming power within them.
The awakening of talent purified this power, allowing the beast tamer to open up a larger beast-taming space and contract more beasts.
The larger the beast-taming space, the greater its unique effects.
Therefore, a beast tamer with talent and one without talent were two entirely different concepts!
Xu Changsheng also sat cross-legged. Naturally, he did not need to work hard to open up a beast-taming space himself.
When he awakened his talent earlier, the beast-taming space had already been opened automatically. Now he simply had the chance to explore it.
Xu Changsheng held his breath and concentrated his mind.
Soon, he sensed the beast-taming space within him.
"How could it be so big?!"
With just one glance, Xu Changsheng felt as though he was about to explode from shock.
His beast-taming space was actually a small island, covering an area of at least seven or eight square kilometers!
Around the island stretched an endless sea. Above it was blue sky and white clouds. Dense vegetation grew everywhere, full of vitality.
There were even ordinary animals living and foraging in the forests.
This was not merely a beast-taming space—it was a complete island ecosystem!
Normally, the beast-taming space opened by a beastmaster without talent was only the size of a bed.
The spaces of awakened talents were larger, perhaps the size of a room. With higher talents, maybe a house.
But none could compare to Xu Changsheng's—an island!
"Too terrifying…" Xu Changsheng sighed silently in his heart.
He recalled that in historical records, there had once been an owner of an SSS-level talent.
That absolute powerhouse had swept across an entire era.
And yet, even his beast-taming space had only been the size of a stadium.
"This must be related to the unknown energy that invaded me," Xu Changsheng speculated inwardly.
His gaze then turned toward the pond in the center of the island.
That must be the so-called Myth Blood Pool.
It wasn't very large, only a dozen or so square meters in area. Its water shimmered gold-red.
The moment Xu Changsheng looked at it, a wave of desolation and ferocity surged into his heart.
It was as though the pool did not contain water, but the blood of countless mythical beasts.
He could even hear their unwilling and furious roars.
"Hmph."
Xu Changsheng's consciousness stood firmly before the blood pool and snorted coldly. The originally calm island suddenly stirred with strong winds, suppressing all those roars.
What a joke! This was Xu Changsheng's beast-taming space. Could unconscious drops of beast blood still dare act arrogantly here?
Here, he was the absolute master!
Looking at the Myth Blood Pool that exuded rich vitality, Xu Changsheng now eagerly anticipated his first beast contract.
Once strengthened by this pool, how powerful would his beast become?
---
While Xu Changsheng was exploring his own beast-taming space, the others were also opening theirs.
"Changsheng, my beast-taming space is so big—an entire room about 20 square meters!" Lin Hang said excitedly after seeing Xu Changsheng open his eyes.
Then he asked, "What about you? Yours must be much bigger than mine, right?"
Xu Changsheng hesitated, then casually replied: "Oh, it's only… a few billion."
"Of course! You're an A-level beastmaster, so your beast-taming space should definitely be bigger than mine. That's normal." Lin Hang nodded without doubt.
At that moment, the teacher interrupted their conversation:
"Students who did not awaken any talent may now go to the beast training ground to select their preferred beasts."
"Students who have awakened talents, follow me."
He then led Xu Changsheng and the others away.
The students left behind could only watch them enviously.
Those without talents could only choose the lowest-level Black Iron beasts. With bad luck, they might never break through Black Iron in their entire lives.
Even the more fortunate ones might only reach early Silver at best, and never take another half step forward.
This was the cruel gap that talent created.
Falling behind by one step meant falling behind step by step.