Chapter 1: Farewell

Chapter 16: Farewell

“Sister Yun brought food for Zhou Ming again, huh? Did she bring any for me?”

Not far away, a slightly chubby man with squinted eyes came over with a grin.

When he saw the lunchbox in Xiao Yun’s hand, his face immediately lit up as he prepared to freeload a meal.

“Wang Yan, you have the nerve to ask for food? You only show up once in a blue moon. Here—there’s an apple, want it?”

“Of course! Even if it’s just a lump of dirt from Sister Yun, I’d still eat it.”

Looking at the glib Wang Yan, Xiao Yun simply tossed the apple at him, then placed the lunchbox on the desk in front of Zhou Ming.

“Thank you for the trouble, Sister Yun.”

Seeing the neatly arranged utensils and the opened lunchbox, Zhou Ming could only accept Xiao Yun’s kind gesture.

“Just don’t become like Wang Yan, and I won’t regret having a little brother like you.”

Hearing himself being used as a negative example, Wang Yan instantly lost his appetite for the apple. He took a few exaggerated bites, “crunch, crunch,” as if to protest Xiao Yun’s words.

“What? You unhappy I said a few words about you?”

“How would I dare? I just think Sister Yun’s apple is too delicious—you see, I’ve nearly eaten the core!”

Seeing the clownish Wang Yan, Zhou Ming could only smile faintly and start tasting the meal prepared by Sister Yun.

Over the past year, besides Xiao Yun, Zhou Ming had also gotten to know this optimistic young man, Wang Yan.

Wang Yan’s situation was somewhat similar to Zhou Ming’s—both in terms of Beast Taming aptitude.

Through meditation, he could sense his Spiritual Power, but his talent was average, making it difficult to condense a Spiritual Seed. Moreover, since he was also from the outer city, he would most likely live as an ordinary person all his life.

His only hope lay in marriage and children—perhaps one day, his offspring would be blessed with outstanding Beast Taming aptitude, allowing his family to rise to prominence.

However, before Wang Yan had achieved much, his father had already made a decent living and accumulated some modest wealth in recent years.

But now, Wang Yan faced a dilemma. With his father’s earnings, sending him to the Qinshan Beast Tamer University would leave them unable to afford any additional cultivation resources.

Conversely, if they spent the money on meditation resources for him, they wouldn’t be able to send him to the only Beast Tamer university in the Qinshan Base.

Faced with this choice, Wang Yan chose the latter.

With resource support, he would eventually become a Beast Tamer. But if he attended Qinshan Beast Tamer University, he would likely only gain theoretical knowledge and end up as a teacher at an ordinary school.

After all, within the entire Qinshan Base, there were barely a hundred who reached Official Rank as Beast Tamers. He wasn’t foolish enough to gamble away his father’s hard-earned opportunity for a minuscule chance at greatness. Becoming an Apprentice Beast Tamer was already good enough for him.

Thus, Wang Yan had the same plan as Zhou Ming—to study foundational Beast Taming knowledge at the only public library in Qinshan Base.

Thanks to his cheerful nature and their shared study environment, the two gradually became friends.

As for Xiao Yun, Wang Yan got to know her through Zhou Ming.

But as Wang Yan’s family resources began to support his progress, his visits to the library became less frequent—hence why Xiao Yun often used him as a bad example.

When Zhou Ming finished the meal before him, Xiao Yun once again reminded him to eat on time before taking the utensils and leaving.

During lunch hours, the library was usually quiet except for people like Wang Yan chatting with Xiao Yun.

Now, with lunchtime nearly over, more people would soon arrive, and Xiao Yun needed to prepare for her afternoon work.

“Zhou Ming, you know, Sister Yun looks pretty good, and she’s really nice too. The only ‘problem’ is she’s three years older than you.”

“They say when the woman’s three years older, it’s worth a gold brick! You better seize the chance—and don’t forget, Sister Yun’s brother is a top-tier talent. If you latch onto this train, you’ll save yourself years of struggle!”

As Xiao Yun left, Wang Yan grinned teasingly.

“You talk too much.”

Zhou Ming shot him a glance, then shifted his attention to the book before him, “Beast Control Manual.”

“I’m serious, bro, it’s heartfelt advice.”

Seeing that Zhou Ming ignored him, Wang Yan continued to persuade earnestly.

“Someone’s coming to read. If you don’t want to be kicked out, keep talking.”

Zhou Ming knew Wang Yan’s weakness. If his father ever learned he’d been thrown out of the library, he’d break his legs.

Wang Yan had once told him that when his father found out about his slacking off, he got beaten up and threatened with being cut off from his resources if he didn’t shape up.

Otherwise, with his “content with mediocrity” attitude, he’d probably just coast along using his father’s resources to slowly reach Apprentice level.

Seeing that Zhou Ming wasn’t interested in chatting, Wang Yan finally gave up on persuading him.

Perhaps influenced by Zhou Ming, Wang Yan also immersed himself in his book, “On How Beast Tamers Get Rich.” Zhou Ming had no idea where he’d found such a title.

Lost in the sea of knowledge, Zhou Ming only realized it was evening when the sun had already set and he’d finished reading the “Beast Control Manual.”

When he looked up, Wang Yan had already slipped away quietly—though at least he’d had the decency not to disturb Zhou Ming’s study.

“Time to head out and take a look.”

Closing the book, Zhou Ming, who had spent a full year preparing, was ready to move on to his next plan. Beyond filling gaps in his foundational knowledge, he now needed to find a way to enhance his strength.

The Basic Meditation Technique was becoming less effective, almost stagnant.

There were only two solutions left.

One, to supplement it with Beast Tamer resources.

Two, to obtain a better meditation technique.

But neither of those could be found through mere reading in the library—they required him to fight for them himself.

After returning the book at the registry, Zhou Ming walked downstairs.

Seeing that Xiao Yun wasn’t around, he waited by the library entrance.

“Zhou Ming, are you waiting for me?”

Though they sometimes left the library together, Zhou Ming rarely waited for Xiao Yun on purpose—mainly to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

“Sister Yun, I might not come tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yun was surprised, but not entirely unprepared.

“So this is your farewell to me?”

“Even if you stop coming, are you saying you won’t recognize me as your sister anymore?”

After calming her emotions, Xiao Yun spoke half-jokingly.

“How could I?”

Zhou Ming’s gratitude toward Xiao Yun came from the heart.

In this lonely and unfamiliar world, she was one of the few people he could call a true friend—almost like family.

“Remember to call me.”

As the shuttle bus arrived to pick up staff, Xiao Yun waved her phone at him, hinting that they should keep in touch, before jogging toward the vehicle.

As for why there was no farewell dinner—perhaps Xiao Yun didn’t take this as a real parting.

Waving back, Zhou Ming watched her leave with a faint smile.

It seemed he, too, understood Xiao Yun’s thoughts.