Chapter 271: Chapter 263: Stirrings from All Sides

"Heh, Shifangyu University has no sincerity at all."

"Let me break it down for you. That recruiter, Cui, made it sound great with all his pretty words, but he only actually promised development funds for two Pet Beasts."

"What kind of development resources do you even need for a Grouper Fish or a Little Cyan Snake? Even with a mutated bloodline, the cost would be a million yuan at most.

"Compared to the annual development funds for other cubs with High-star Potential, that’s just peanuts.

"And as for the special treatment for being number one in your year—that’s not a resource reserved just for you. Anyone can fight for it, so it doesn’t count as a real perk."

"If you ask me, you should consider our Pennsylvania Royal Geographical College..."

Listening to the first part of the analysis, Gu Ming had to admit it made a lot of sense. The recruiter had a point.

But when he heard "Royal Geographical College," his heart sank, and he started to suspect the man’s intentions.

He generally had a favorable impression of public academies.

But after the teacher from Red Moon University had so blatantly laid his cards on the table, bringing the dirty tricks of the trade out into the open, he realized these Royal Academies might not be for him.

With his system, he was going to a Beast Taming University to learn Beast Taming Techniques and follow the system’s plot—and maybe exploit a few bugs along the way—not to kiss up to the powerful and become someone’s lackey.

After that recruiter’s pitch, several other schools came forward one after another with their own offers.

These included Lanzhou Earth Dragon University, which was suitable for Mouse Treasure, and Ningshen Beast Taming University, a private comprehensive university ranked tenth in the country.

Gu Ming committed the details of each invitation to memory. After the day’s competition events concluded, he followed Teacher Ling through the Golden-Eyed Dragon Gate and returned to his high school.

Back at school, he was naturally met with fervent celebrations and all sorts of invitations to evening parties.

Among them was a party invitation from the local Ruan Family.

As a key partner in the Ruan Family’s Visualization Image business, it would be disrespectful for Gu Ming not to go.

But the competition wasn’t over yet. No matter how tempting the current verbal offers were, they couldn’t compare to the more substantial and sincere invitations he’d receive after finishing the entire thing.

Besides, Lu You was also being flooded with a seemingly endless stream of invitations.

Some people had even started targeting Lu You’s parents, contacting them in an attempt to sign Lu You directly by winning them over.

Lu You was at school with Mouse Treasure, reviewing problems from the competition.

Suddenly, she started getting calls from her family—more than ten of them in the space of half an hour. She was at a loss.

’If I don’t answer, I’ll seem unfilial.’

’But if I do, they’re just going to try and cash in on my future, and I don’t want to define the rest of my life just yet.’

Her family had found out that Lu You had entered the competition and placed extremely well.

Now, a recruiter from one of the top ten Beast Taming Universities in the nation was willing to offer her an incredibly generous "genius contract."

Lu You’s parents knew the amount of resources stipulated in the genius contract, as well as the annual "goodwill" stipend for the family.

They wished they were Lu You herself so they could sign the contract for her on the spot.

However, the university representatives were insistent: they would sign a letter of intent with the family first, but then Lu You herself had to personally sign the soul-binding contract. Otherwise, the genius contract would be invalid.

And that was the source of all the chaotic drama plaguing Lu You that evening.

Even though Lu You knew she could never and would never agree, she couldn’t stop her mind from dwelling on it, making her anxious.

It left her in no mood to study for the competition. Her brow was furrowed, her mind heavy with worry. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Gu Ming, holding the invitation from the Ruan Family, rejected it right in front of her.

"My teammate and I need to study our opponents for the national competition.

"Until the competition is over, we won’t be attending any parties or signing any contracts."

"I’d like to ask the Ruan Family for a favor: help us block these pointless business meetings. In return, I’m willing to give the Ruan Family the partnership for my next Visualization Image."

The Ruan Family had no obligation to do Gu Ming this favor.

These were just business meetings—the kind of lucrative opportunities most Beastmasters dreamed of. Who would be willing to turn them down?

But business was business. Once Gu Ming offered up another, extremely tempting Visualization Image opportunity, the so-called "favor" was no longer a problem.

"May I ask, which Cultivation Technique is it?" they asked.

"It’s the newest Kunpeng Breathing Technique. My thesis on the Tri-Colored Holy Light Cultivation Technique received an S Level rating in the provincial competition. I’ve already submitted it to the Flood Dragon Monthly Report, and it’s scheduled for publication this month. I can let you produce the Visualization Image for this Breathing Technique."

Gu Ming, afraid they wouldn’t grasp the significance, deliberately spelled it out.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the Ruan Family representative’s tone toward Gu Ming immediately softened.

Cultivation Techniques for Low-star Pet Beasts that involved carving an Array into their minds were exceptionally rare.

Aside from Evil Cultivators, Gu Ming was the only one on the market developing them, and he’d even earned the approval of numerous experts. While its long-term safety couldn’t be guaranteed—it was still too new, after all—its professional quality was definitely assured.

"You can rest assured. Tonight and for the next month, no one will disturb you."

Gu Ming picked up on the man’s focus and added, "The key is that Lu You’s family situation is a bit complicated."

"Yes! Understood! I’ll take care of it!" the man replied instantly.

Gu Ming let out a long sigh of relief and hung up.

The Ruan Family was a powerful local clan, with several influential members holding high-ranking government positions.

Mr. Gu had done a background check and knew that the local Ruan Family had blood ties to the Ruan Family of Tian Nan City.

The Tian Nan City Ruan Family was the main branch, while the one in Lanqi City, where Gu Ming lived, was a cadet branch.

Beyond Lanqi City, Ruan Family members could be found in government agencies in every city throughout the province.

Once the background check reached that point, nothing more needed to be said. The Ruan Family’s influence was far beyond anything the Gu Family could match, and the power they could mobilize behind the scenes was greater than Gu Ming had imagined.

Gu Ming hadn’t tried to hide the conversation when he made the call; instead, he’d put it on speakerphone so Lu You could hear everything clearly.

Lu You saw Gu Ming hang up the phone, looking as if she wanted to say something but held back.

A short while later, Lu You received another call from her mother.

Hesitantly, she glanced at Gu Ming, who nodded and gave her an encouraging look.

Lu You took a deep breath. The Sword of Courageous Spiritual Sense within her Sea of Consciousness rippled gently, giving her the courage to face her parents.

She let out a breath, steeled herself. ’No matter what, I’m definitely going to stick with Gu Ming and finish the competition. Let them yell all they want. I’ve already come this far.’ With that mindset, she answered the phone.

The torrent of abuse she expected never came. Her mother had completely shed her usual harsh, cutting tone and was now asking solicitously after her well-being.

"Lu You, dear, are you hungry? Are you taking good care of Mouse Treasure? I heard the national competition is really tough. You have to eat well to have the strength to fight.

"Don’t you worry, everything’s fine at home. Just focus on preparing for the competition and relax. I’ll always support you!"

For some reason, Lu You felt a profound sense of unfamiliarity.

It was as if the person on the other end of the line wasn’t her real mother.

’How could she be saying things like this?’

Just a few minutes ago, her mother had been demanding she get her butt back home and sign the genius contract, relentlessly criticizing her for being thoughtless. She’d complained that Lu You had taken second place in the province without even telling her family, asking if she thought her wings had finally hardened, if she even cared about this family at all.

Lu You hung up the phone and repeatedly looked at the number on her cell. It was indeed her mother’s number.