Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 116 - 115: Another Cause of Illness

"Listen up, students taking the Combat Element exam."

"There are one hundred bottles of ’Heart Like Still Water Ice Lotus Dew’ buried in the back mountain. For every vial of Ice Lotus Dew you bring me, you’ll get one hundred points, up to a maximum of two hundred points."

"Defeating a Pet Beast earns five points, with a cap of two hundred points."

"If you kill a Pet Beast, your monthly exam score will be zeroed out, invalidated, and you will have to pay compensation."

"One more thing. Combat Beastmasters who proactively protect others will also receive bonus points. The amount isn’t fixed and will be recorded on-site by a proctor, up to a maximum of one hundred points."

"Today’s exam has a maximum score of four hundred points. Any points earned beyond that will not be counted."

"All right, those of you here for combat, head into the mountain."

After he finished speaking, the top-ranking students from the third-year, class one, set off one after another.

Gu Ming, however, was in no hurry to move. Hearing the teacher’s rules for the monthly exam, an idea sparked in his mind.

’There are bonus points for protecting others, too. This rule is an extra accommodation for the Cultivation Element Beastmasters.’

After all, Cultivation Element Beastmasters weren’t skilled in combat. If a Combat Beastmaster mercilessly dragged them into a fight, it would surely be a one-sided slaughter.

That was why the exam included points for protection.

Although it was only a hundred points, it was still something he could work with.

"For the students taking the Cultivation Element exam, it’s alright if you don’t understand the questions here. In the back mountain, there are also a small number of injured High-star Spirit Beasts or Spirit Medicines in abnormal states."

"Those are all hidden test questions. If you know how to solve them, you can concoct a remedy and administer treatment."

"After succeeding, bring them to me to be scored. For each hidden cultivation task you complete, points will be awarded based on the difficulty and the degree of your treatment, up to a cap of two hundred points."

"Additionally, just as the Combat Element has protection points, your Cultivation Element has treatment points. By concocting medicine and treating and alleviating the injuries of Pet Beasts on site, you can also earn points. However, this requires a proctor to score you on-site, and it’s also capped at one hundred points."

After he finished, the students remaining on the scene burst into an uproar.

Someone raised their hand and asked, "Teacher, but many of our Pet Beasts aren’t Healing Element Pet Beasts."

"That’s right. Which is why there aren’t many points to be gained in this area."

"Everyone, this is just a monthly exam. The difficulty and number of tasks will increase for the midterm exam. By then, there will also be better medicinal herbs in the back mountain, which will improve the effectiveness of treatments."

"Any other questions? If not, start thinking about which herbs you’ll gather on the mountain."

Finally, the remaining Cultivation Element students began to move, heading toward the mountain. In those few minutes, they had already thought of their solutions. Now it was time to enter the mountain and gather herbs.

But the rule about bonus points for healing echoed in Gu Ming’s mind.

It was true that one could raise a Low-star Healing Pet Beast; quite a few Cultivation Element students chose this path.

It was just that this path had very low potential.

The market mostly offered Healing Pets with only One or Two-star Level potential, and their prices were exorbitant.

High-star Potential Healing Element Pet Beasts were even more expensive and were rarely for sale.

Even if a common person managed to find a wild High-star Potential Healing Pet in some forgotten corner, the major families controlled the core medicinal herbs required for the Evolution paths of High-star Healing Pets, making Evolution impossible.

Having such a rule in the college entrance exam was actually quite advantageous for those major families.

’Still, it’s just the college entrance exam,’ Gu Ming thought.

Most participants had Zero-star or One-star Pets, with a rare few having Two-star Pets. By sheer numbers, they could barely manage to earn the healing points. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

As Gu Ming pondered this, he wasn’t thinking about having Cyan Treasure learn Healing Skills. Instead, he thought of Ma Tianba’s healing ability, which made him a little envious.

’If only he had offspring, I’d love to pluck a strand of ’Ma’s hair.’ ’

Behind him, Wang Teng, seeing that Gu Ming hadn’t left yet, assumed he was taking the cultivation route. He walked over and said in a low voice,

"Going for the Purple Marrow Vine is the safer bet. Its requirements seem relatively easy to meet. It shouldn’t be hard to find the corresponding Spirit Medicine in the back mountain."

Wang Teng’s Pet Beast was a Dumb Flower with Four-star Potential. It was still at the Zero-star Level and hadn’t evolved yet. As a Grass Element Pet, it possessed a strong Grass Element Perception Power, making it very convenient for searching the mountain for herbs.

Besides, Gu Ming’s Little Cyan Snake had already reached the One-star Level.

In the Three-dimensional Split Test, Cyan Treasure had displayed a decent Power Attribute.

Among the many Pet Beasts of ordinary people, the Little Cyan Snake could hold its own in a fight.

Wang Teng subconsciously wanted to team up with Gu Ming so they could watch each other’s backs.

The monthly exam didn’t forbid students from forming teams, but forming an overly large group wasn’t a good idea either.

For now, the monthly exam didn’t have a point-deduction system. However, the midterm and college entrance exams would have one. For example, students who grouped up to farm points would have points deducted by the proctors, with severe cases resulting in a score of zero.

As for now, because the school’s manpower and "pet-power" were limited, it was impossible to monitor every corner, making the deduction system difficult to implement.

The midterm exam would be hosted by a provincial-level entity and held in a large venue simulating the college entrance exam. There would be High-star Level monitoring Pet Beasts watching over everything, which would allow for a strict point-deduction system to be enforced.

Gu Ming nodded slightly, but his gaze was fixed on the Jade Water Turtle.

Seeing the Jade Water Turtle, he recalled the contents of the textbook he had studied yesterday, and the treatment formula for fire poison quickly surfaced in his mind.

He had a faint feeling that the medicine required by the Jade Water Turtle seemed far too simple and straightforward.

’Perhaps there’s a bigger problem hidden here, and everyone just left too quickly to look closely.’

"Aren’t you going yet?" Wang Teng asked, tugging on Gu Ming.

"No rush. I want to take another look at this Jade Water Turtle," Gu Ming said.

Nearby, Teacher Ling’s expression remained neutral, but upon seeing Gu Ming’s cautious behavior, he nodded inwardly, a flash of appreciation on his face.

The other students cast surprised glances his way. After all, the Jade Water Turtle’s condition seemed simple, and the required herbs were obvious at a glance.

People continued up the mountain one by one. Only a few students, inspired by Gu Ming, started up the path only to suddenly turn back and stand by to observe the Jade Water Turtle.

Wang Teng stopped as well. He had been anxious to head up the mountain, but seeing that Gu Ming wasn’t moving, he didn’t move either.

Don’t ask why. The reason was simply that he trusted Gu Ming.

He didn’t know why, but seeing Gu Ming’s calm and composed demeanor, he couldn’t help but trust him.

’This Jade Water Turtle...’

Wang Teng moved closer to observe, using his Dumb Flower to sense a strange trace of Grass Attribute Power inside the Jade Water Turtle.

Meanwhile, on Gu Ming’s end,

With a thought, the Cyan Pine Skill in his mind activated. Invisible Old Deng wellness ripples spread out, extending toward the Jade Water Turtle.

Soon, he perceived the injuries inside the Jade Water Turtle, and they were far more than just fire poison.

Within the heart he was observing, there was clearly something that looked like a black, spiky ball, pulsing with a powerful Life Force.

He quickly realized that the true cause of the Jade Water Turtle’s critical condition was something else entirely.

The students who had gone straight up the mountain had probably thought this matter was too simple.

’If even a standard question is this difficult, I can’t imagine how hard the hidden ones will be.’

Gu Ming strode quickly toward the back mountain.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw that the students who had chosen the Purple Marrow Vine had already begun their search along familiar paths—the common herb-gathering routes.

Gu Ming sensed the scents drifting through the forest and silently headed toward a different mountain path. Wang Teng followed behind him; it seemed he too had discovered the hidden cause of the illness through his Dumb Flower.