C15 The Celebrity of the School.

Zou Xinrui's response was swift, and she eagerly said, "Brother Xie Yang, I want to exchange contact information with you too."

She was shyer than Moo Shuqin, her cheeks flushing red as she spoke.

Eventually, Xie Yang swapped contact details with both of them.

Once the Apprentice Assessment concluded, the group didn't linger. They found a nearby spot for lunch.

Throughout the meal, Moo Shuqin and Zou Xinrui were particularly attentive, passing Xie Yang water and serving him food.

Bai Tian felt a twinge of jealousy.

She had witnessed other girls fawning over Xie Yang before.

He was undeniably handsome and quite popular with the ladies.

Previously, Bai Tian had been indifferent to the attention he received from other girls, but now, she found herself inexplicably irked.

As evening fell, Xie Yang and Bai Tian made their way back to where they were staying.

At the doorstep, as Xie Yang fished for his keys, he advised, "Get some rest early. We need to head back to school to register tomorrow."

Bai Tian gave him a look, hesitated as if she wanted to speak, but ultimately, she simply nodded in acquiescence.

Unaware of her conflicted expression, Xie Yang unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Settling onto the living room sofa, he promptly accessed his personal panel:

Name: Xie Yang

Constitution: 5.0 / Soul: 8.8

Level: Apprentice

Soul Power: 880/880

Soul Technique: None

Pet: Ice Crystal Soul

Achievement Points: 203

He had already expended the Soul Crystal earned from achieving the Apprentice Beastmaster milestone, boosting his Soul Strength to 8.8.

Additionally, he had accrued 200 achievement points.

"The Ice Crystal Soul's Growth Point is at 84%," he noted. "That means it needs just 80 more achievement points to level up."

Xie Yang pondered for a moment, opting not to max out the Growth Point just yet.

He had an experiment in mind.

In the real world, pets could evolve through combat.

To put it in system terms, a pet could enhance its Growth Point through battle.

Xie Yang was curious to see how much his pet could advance with the system's assistance.

If the results were promising, he could save a significant amount of achievement points for future use, such as unlocking his pet's skills and enhancing its physical and soul attributes.

"Let's unlock those two new skills first," Xie Yang said as he accessed the Pet panel and scanned the skill list.

Ice Shield: A defensive skill. With this skill, the pet can manipulate the ice element to create a shield that defends against attacks from any direction. Unlocking this skill requires 60% Growth Points and 50 achievement points.

Frost Nova: An area-of-effect damage skill. It rapidly compresses a vast amount of ice element in a designated area before releasing it in a burst of explosive ice damage. Unlocking this skill requires 80% Growth Points and 100 achievement points.

To unlock both skills, he would need to spend 150 achievement points. Without hesitation, Xie Yang unlocked them.

Name: Ice Crystal Soul

Type: Ice

Level: Third Rank, First Layer

Growth Points: 84%

Skills: Ice Awl, Ice Breathing, Extreme Ice Chain, Ice Shield, Frost Nova

On the Queen's Route, its next evolutionary form is the Snow Girl. Evolution Requirements: 100% Growth Points, 20 middle-rank Ice Element Essences, and 1 Heart of Ice.

"I'll hold onto the remaining 50 achievement points for now," he decided.

"The Growth Point is already at 84%, so it shouldn't take long to reach the full 100%."

"Now, I need to figure out how to acquire the necessary evolution materials," Xie Yang mused, massaging his temples with a hint of concern.

He had already researched the cost of these materials online. A single middle-rank Ice Element Essence was priced at 20,000 credit points. For 20, he would need a total of 400,000 credit points. The Heart of Ice was even pricier, valued at 150,000 credit points each. To secure the Ice Crystal Soul's evolution materials, he'd need no less than 550,000 credit points. Yet, his savings didn't even come close to 50,000 credit points.

"Purchasing a new pet will also require a hefty sum," he noted.

Pet prices were highly volatile, with the cost varying dramatically based on potential and rank. The price of a pet of the same rank could differ by more than tenfold. For instance, a Level E, second-rank pet could set him back around 100,000 credit points.

A second-rank B-class pet with multiple evolutionary stages could fetch around a million credit points.

With his system, Xie Yang could zero in on pets with hidden evolutionary paths and lower ratings.

He didn't need that much money.

Yet, he was still short by hundreds of thousands of credit points.

All in all, he was nearly a million credit points short.

For Xie Yang, who had just over a hundred thousand credit points not too long ago, a million was a staggering amount.

"This is just the beginning, as an apprentice Beastmaster. In the future, I'll need even more money, and my expenses will only grow."

Xie Yang let out a sigh.

Luckily, despite their significant expenses, Beastmasters had a strong earning potential.

Xie Yang had a plan in place for this.

"Tomorrow, I'll make time to take on a bounty mission from the Beastmaster Association!"

Beastmasters at the apprentice level or higher could take on bounty missions from the association. Completing these missions would earn them a tidy sum.

The more challenging the mission, the greater the reward.

Even the lowest-level missions could net them tens of thousands of credit points.

It was one of the quickest ways for a Beastmaster to make money.

After pondering for a moment, Xie Yang had a plan.

He summoned his Ice Crystal Soul and played with it for a bit. Then he got ready for bed, preparing to rest.

The next morning, Bai Tian knocked on Xie Yang's door, waking him up and taking him to the Bai family home for breakfast.

Bai Nanxian and his wife had heard from Bai Tian the night before about Xie Yang's advancement to apprentice Beastmaster.

They were thrilled that he had passed such a challenging assessment.

Mrs. Bai had prepared a lavish breakfast to celebrate his achievement.

As they headed out to school, Bai Tian grumbled that Xie Yang seemed more like their son.

"We're celebrating for you too. We both passed the Apprentice Assessment."

"It was only after hearing about your success that my mom decided to cook up a feast," Bai Tian added.

They bantered back and forth, soon arriving at Lakeshell High.

Stepping through the school gates, Xie Yang sensed something was off.

Usually, when he and Bai Tian arrived together, they drew plenty of stares, but most were directed at Bai Tian.

After all, she was renowned as the stunning genius of Lakeshell High.

But today was an exception.

Xie Yang sharply observed that the majority of gazes were fixed on him.

Numerous students in his vicinity were buzzing about him.

He could faintly make out their conversations.

"Look, Xie Yang is here!"

"Is that the genius who aced the superior grade assessment?"

"Incredible, he actually conquered the superior grade challenge!"

"I never imagined our school was home to such an impressive figure!"

"He's pretty good-looking. Let's go ask for his contact info."

"I wouldn't dare. Bai Tian is right there next to him!"

Xie Yang felt a sense of resignation.

The news had traveled at lightning speed.

Within a single day, it had become the talk of the entire school!