Chapter 8: Luck
“That was close!”
In the dimly lit room, Zhou Ming suddenly opened his eyes, still shaken as he evaluated his reckless actions from moments ago.
He was drenched in sweat from head to toe, unsure whether it was due to excessive spiritual power consumption or simply because he had scared himself.
Zhou Ming, whose knowledge of beast taming was shallow, had thought that guiding a mutation would be a simple task—but after experiencing it firsthand, he realized just how ignorant and rash he had been.
When he used his own spiritual power to guide the Ironthread Snake’s mutation, what he perceived through his spiritual sense was an extremely intricate structure.
Although he had been a poor student, Zhou Ming still possessed some basic biological knowledge—organs, cells, and genes—all combined to form that diagram of scientific profundity.
From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the diagram possessed a mysterious kind of beauty that made one want to explore it endlessly.
Unfortunately, Zhou Ming wasn’t here to admire its wonder.
When the image appeared, his mind went completely blank.
A moment ago, it was just an elementary math test, and now it had suddenly turned into a university-level calculus exam?!
Yet at this point, Zhou Ming had no choice but to bite the bullet—his wallet’s thinness had already decided that he only had one chance.
If he failed, he would have to waste time finding another job and slowly save up the needed capital again.
He didn’t need his Ironthread Snake to become exceptionally powerful; as long as it survived and retained its original strength, that was enough.
This process of guidance felt just like an exam—making mistakes would deduct points, getting answers right would add points, and there was a required number of questions to complete.
If Zhou Ming hadn’t actively guided the mutation, the Ironthread Snake could have relied on its own luck—but since he had already entered the examination room, there was no turning back. Even luck now depended on him, its Beast Tamer.
Aware of his limitations, Zhou Ming gave up on the “essay questions,” hoping to scrape by with the “multiple choice” and “true-or-false” ones.
Fortunately, luck wasn’t too cruel this time. A few simple guidance attempts went smoothly; even the small mistakes he made didn’t affect the overall mutation process.
In the end, the Ironthread Snake’s fangs turned entirely crimson, its venom’s toxicity increased slightly, and the piercing power of its fangs improved dramatically.
Aside from that, its gray-black body turned pitch black, with denser, more metallic-looking scales—its defense received a moderate boost.
Exam result: barely passing. (Purely judging by luck—full marks.)
After calming his racing heartbeat, Zhou Ming wiped the sweat from his face and immediately examined his first official beast.
The Ironthread Snake was still the same size as before; apart from changes in its scale and fang colors, it didn’t look too different from an ordinary one.
“Click.”
Opening the glass tank, Zhou Ming reached his hand inside without a hint of fear that the snake might attack him.
“So this is my beast now?”
The one-foot-long Ironthread Snake rested in Zhou Ming’s palm as its master casually inspected it.
“If the future Ironthread Snakes I command are all of this quality, maybe my strength won’t fall too far behind.”
Apprentice Beast Tamers didn’t differ much from ordinary people in terms of raw power.
When they began to command their own beasts, those beasts would start to nourish their masters in return—but that feedback effect required a long time before showing any significant change.
Moreover, such feedback only strengthened certain physical aspects of the Beast Tamer—it wouldn’t instantly grant them great power.
For example, as Zhou Ming commanded more Ironthread Snakes, his flexibility and resistance to poison would gradually improve, but not by much, unless he underwent specialized training.
Only after advancing to the Official Rank would a Beast Tamer begin to possess transcendent strength.
Take the Beast Knight as an example—a promotion system developed through the unique feedback bond between beast and master.
Through a ritual, the Beast Tamer and their beast would sign a life-and-death contract.
Their lives intertwined; their fates connected.
The Beast Tamer would gain the beast’s innate talents and physical prowess, while the beast would gradually awaken intelligence at higher ranks.
Ferocious Beasts were divided into Low-rank, High-rank, Lord-rank, and Legendary Beast King levels.
Usually, only Lord-rank beasts developed any form of intelligence, while a Beast King possessed intelligence equal to that of a human.
But that was getting ahead of things—for now, Apprentice Beast Tamers weren’t much different from ordinary humans.
As long as Zhou Ming had enough Ironthread Snakes, he could use part of them to entangle an enemy’s beast while personally attacking the opposing Beast Tamer.
That was why he said his overall strength still had room to improve.
However, even if he managed to find enough capable Ironthread Snakes, he still couldn’t avoid the insurmountable barrier of advancing to the Official Rank.
“Money… and knowledge.”
Thinking of what he lacked, Zhou Ming began to understand the despair his predecessor had felt.
If his aptitude had been strong enough, he might have had a chance—but his was only barely passable.
If not for inheriting the Spiritual Seed his predecessor had risked his life to obtain, Zhou Ming might have ended up like that other Zhou Ming.
“Forget it. I’ll sleep first.”
Drained of spiritual power, Zhou Ming set aside his current troubles and decided to get some rest—his body was utterly exhausted.
“Thud.”
Sleep came swiftly. Without even washing up, Zhou Ming collapsed onto the bed in his sweat-soaked clothes and fell asleep within seconds.
Only the Ironthread Snake remained, tilting its little head in confusion. Seeing that its master ignored it, it looked around a few times before slowly crawling onto Zhou Ming’s wrist, coiling itself around him—like a stylish, living bracelet.
This sleep was the most restful Zhou Ming had experienced since arriving in this world. He didn’t wake up until the sun was already high in the sky the next day.
“So hungry…”
From within his dreams, Zhou Ming suddenly sat up in bed.
It wasn’t that he had slept enough—it was that hunger had woken him.
Had it not been for the hunger, he might have slept even longer.
“Snake?”
As his grogginess faded, Zhou Ming remembered his Ironthread Snake.
Feeling the cool sensation around his wrist, he immediately raised his right hand before his eyes.
“Little one, were you standing guard for me?”
Looking at the snake’s tiny head curiously scanning its surroundings, Zhou Ming, on a whim, flicked it lightly on the head.
“From now on, you’ll be No. 1.”
Considering that he possessed thousands of Spiritual Seeds, Zhou Ming wasn’t about to give each beast an individual name.
“Gurgle…”
Just as he was playing with his beast, Zhou Ming’s stomach loudly reminded him it was time to eat. Setting the Ironthread Snake down, he decided to get something to eat.
But before that, he chose to wash up—the sticky sweat and clammy clothes were unbearable to him.
After washing, Zhou Ming felt refreshed. Humming a small tune, he left his room in good spirits.