---
Li Weiyang had only recently awakened her "Eye of Insight" ability, so she could only view the basic attributes of pet beasts.
At her current level, she was unable to see the beasts' potential or qualifications.
However, potential wasn't fixed. Especially for infant-stage beasts, with enough resources, their potential could be significantly improved.
According to the knowledge Ye Bai had acquired, pet beasts are currently ranked from Level 1 to Level 9.
Each level consists of ten sub-levels.
Beyond the ninth level lies a higher realm, but Ye Bai hadn't yet encountered or learned about it due to his current level of exposure.
To him, a third-level beast already represented the pinnacle of combat capability.
For example, their head teacher, Zhang Lingxue, was a Beastmaster with a third-level, eighth-stage beast.
Had she not spent so much time on research, she would've already advanced to the fourth level.
Li Weiyang put on a sweet smile and approached Ye Bai, flashing her neatly aligned teeth as she greeted the little snowball.
She adopted a warm and approachable demeanor—her usual act.
Unfortunately, the two little snowballs continued clinging to Ye Bai, completely ignoring her.
[○｀Д○]
Angry JPG.
Li Weiyang looked visibly disheartened and said nothing.
Looking at the little snowball, she felt it was within reach—yet a thousand miles away.
Ye Bai: What a strong "green tea" aura.
"Ye Bai, you can't hog Little Snowball all to yourself. Show some compassion. You should let the class monitor have a chance too," someone said, siding with Li Weiyang.
These were the self-proclaimed righteous students—clingy admirers who never missed a chance to defend her.
Ye Bai, however, remained as indifferent as Little Snowball and didn't even spare a glance at He Qingyuan, causing his expression to stiffen.
He Qingyuan: "So you're just going to ignore your classmates now?"
"Too good to even talk to us?"
His nagging made the surrounding students frown in annoyance.
Trying to reclaim his dignity, He Qingyuan puffed out his chest and proudly pointed at his pet, the Boxing Rabbit.
"Take a look! This is the Boxing Rabbit I hand-picked. Isn't he impressive?"
"Boxing Rabbit, greet your classmates!"
As the name suggests, the Boxing Rabbit was a chubby rabbit about half a meter tall, with big red eyes and a goofy overbite.
Its front paws resembled fists, giving it its name.
The Boxing Rabbit was notorious for its bad temper—irritable and unpredictable. When its red eyes flared up, it would often ignore commands and attack recklessly.
It was a bully by nature: it mocked weaker pets and cowered before stronger ones. Because of this, it was often referred to as the "Rogue Rabbit."
Since He Qingyuan had only recently formed a bond with it, the Boxing Rabbit didn't really respect or obey him.
As everyone watched, the rabbit yawned lazily, plopped onto the ground, and started scratching itself without a care in the world.
This embarrassed He Qingyuan even more, and his face turned crimson—whether from rage or humiliation, no one could tell.
Then he remembered the ruby carrots he had bought using three months' worth of pocket money.
Ruby carrots were a rare, nutrient-rich pet food known for their juiciness and sweet flavor. Little Snowball's nose was actually made from them—these carrots were a renewable resource.
As soon as He Qingyuan pulled one out, the Boxing Rabbit immediately perked up and snatched it away.
It was about the size of a thumb, only two centimeters long, but it gleamed like a ruby.
The rabbit gobbled it down in seconds, licking its lips in satisfaction, and made a showy clicking sound by clenching its fists.
Then, without warning, the Boxing Rabbit jumped and punched a decorative stone on the ground.
Crack!—the stone shattered instantly.
Just as He Qingyuan basked in the moment, Ye Bai finally responded.
He Qingyuan: "What's the matter, Ye Bai? Scared? You'd better apologize to Li Weiyang or your head's going to end up harder than that rock!"
Ye Bai's expression twitched. He had seen people dig their own graves before, but never this enthusiastically.
He glanced at Li Weiyang, who looked like she was enjoying the show.
To be honest, she had never liked Ye Bai's aloof attitude. She was hoping this would be the moment she finally saw him humbled.
Although she was somewhat wary of Ye Bai—possibly due to the intimidating aura he carried as a so-called "study god"—she was still curious to test his limits.
Ye Bai calmly turned to the nearby staff member. "Excuse me, teacher. He just destroyed the plants and decorations in the secret realm. That's against the rules and should be punished."
Everyone around was stunned.
Even Li Weiyang and He Qingyuan were caught off guard.
Random student: "Ye Bai, you're still the best."
The staff member recalled that destruction of public property in the secret realm was indeed a punishable offense. He nodded.
"You've violated the rules, student. You'll be penalized ten points."
He took He Qingyuan's name and issued a fine.
He Qingyuan's face went dark like ink, his mind racing with things he dared not say aloud.
Just then, a shadow came barreling in like a cannonball and slammed into the Boxing Rabbit, sending it flying into a nearby fountain with a loud splash.
He Qingyuan: "Boxing Rabbit!!"
Everyone turned to look. The culprit was a snow-white silkworm with a jade-like body—clearly different from ordinary ones.
It was slightly larger than typical shapeshifting silkworms and bolted around in panic.
A group of staff with nets gave chase, shouting, "Stop! Variety Silkworm!"
Suddenly, the ground cracked, and a mole-like beast with a steel drill on its nose emerged, eyes fixed on the silkworm.
Trapped, the desperate silkworm looked around until its gaze fell on Ye Bai.
It leapt directly into his arms.
Ye Bai felt like a 20-kilogram "pig" had landed on him.
Startled, Little Snowball burst into snowflakes and scattered.
Ye Bai studied the silkworm. Though it looked silly, its eyes sparkled with intelligence.
Sunlight reflected off its jade-white body, and Ye Bai noticed a strange glow on its forehead.
Thanks to the data from his intelligence system, Ye Bai realized that this wasn't an ordinary shapeshifting silkworm.
It was a Thousand-Change Silkworm—a legendary variant so rare that only one exists among millions of its kind.
Its silk was as valuable as gold—one ounce of silk worth one ounce of gold.
Owning it was like having a hen that laid golden eggs.
To Ye Bai, this wasn't a silkworm—it was a shortcut to unimaginable wealth.
As the silkworm's forehead emitted white light, it tried to initiate a contract with Ye Bai.
At that moment, the team leader of the staff arrived.
"Sorry, student, but may we take back the silkworm in your hands?"
"It's not one of the secret realm's bred beasts. It's wild, dangerous, and uncontrollable."
"You've just awakened your talent. Signing with such a creature could be risky."
"It has a bad temper and always steals food from other pets. After numerous complaints, we set a trap to catch and remove it."
"But it escaped and accidentally ended up in your hands."
Li Weiyang even stepped in, urging Ye Bai to hand it over. She didn't like him, but she knew not to push things too far—Ye Bai wasn't someone to underestimate.
But Ye Bai quietly bit his finger and tapped it to the silkworm's forehead while no one was looking.
A burst of white light enveloped them both.
A blood-red rune appeared on the silkworm's forehead, linking them in contract.
A bead also materialized in the pet space groove inside Ye Bai's mind.
Hungry. So hungry.
Ye Bai could feel the silkworm's intense hunger—an almost burning sensation in his chest.