Inside the room, Gu Ming looked toward his father at the crack in the door, then at the Black and White Long-Armed Ape behind him.

Gu Ming got out of bed, spread his legs into a horse stance, slightly lowered his center of gravity, and clenched his fist.

In his Sea of Consciousness, a sword of Divine Sense plunged into its center, stirring up a thousand layers of waves. This pushed his spiritual world to its peak activity, and in response, the six Health Sword Arrays activated.

At that moment, ripples of Spiritual Power spread throughout his body. Gu Ming felt as if he had transformed into a sharp sword. As he threw a punch, it was like a blade being unsheathed, stirring up a gale of sword wind.

As the Health Sword Array vibrated, Gu Ming’s Divine Sense swept through his body. He quickly sensed the vague silhouette of a butterfly within his Sea of Consciousness.

Furthermore, a translucent, blurry, ape-like phantom appeared behind him.

The presence of both was extremely faint, as if they were just figments of Gu Ming’s imagination—simultaneously there and not there.

’Those must be the two remnant souls the system mentioned.’

Outside the door.

The three of them sensed Gu Ming testing his new technique, his hand like a sharp sword. They all stepped back to give him space.

An invisible Divine Sense attack passed through the door, taking the form of a sharp sword. It allowed all three to feel the strength of Gu Ming’s nascent Divine Sense.

"He had already cultivated a pseudo-Divine Sense before. Now that his true Divine Sense has taken shape, it’s already in the form of a sword. Its strength is comparable to that of a Three-star Beastmaster," Mrs. Gu said with admiration.

As she spoke, the Hidden Mist Butterfly flew forward. Without using any techniques, it took the full force of its young master’s Divine Sense attack with its body.

The Five-star Hidden Mist Butterfly’s body swayed slightly. After taking the sword blow, its consciousness felt as if it had been stabbed, and a searing pain shot through its mind. A huge fissure tore open its Sea of Consciousness, parting a vast amount of seawater.

However, the Hidden Mist Butterfly just shifted its form and instantly healed the injury in its Sea of Consciousness. After all, with its Five-star strength, it wasn’t so easily harmed by Gu Ming.

"So, how strong is little Ming’s sword?"

"Hmm, my previous assessment was off. It’s not quite at the Three-star level yet, but it should be at the peak of a Two-star’s Divine Sense strength," Mrs. Gu said after closing her eyes to analyze it for a moment, then opening them again.

Inside the room.

Gu Ming let out a long breath, feeling a bit drained.

After using the Ultimate Thought, Gu Ming saw that the Sword-shaped Divine Sense in his Sea of Consciousness had not vanished. Instead, it had turned into a dull, lightless sword.

It hovered in the center of his Sea of Consciousness, able to recover over time with rest or be restored with spiritual supplements.

This was the vessel for his Divine Sense.

As things stood, he could use it once per day. It could strike into an enemy Beastmaster’s or Pet Beast’s mind and cause a Spiritual Shock.

Against a One-star Beastmaster, this move was an invincible Bottom Card Technique.

Only Beastmasters who had cultivated their own Divine Sense would have any defense against this move.

In the upcoming midterm exam, it was highly likely that Gu Ming would be the only one with Divine Sense, giving him a unique advantage.

Just then, the three people from outside knocked and entered, smiling.

"Son, you broke through?"

"You just broke through. Don’t go using your Divine Sense to attack right away. Look how drained you are. Quick, drink this Spirit-Restoring Milk."

"Sit down. Let me check your condition."

The three of them came in, each speaking at once, all concerned about Gu Ming.

Gu Ming didn’t refuse. He drank the milk and let his father touch his head.

Gu Daguo let out a soft "hmph" as his Divine Sense swept into his son’s body, sensing minor tears in some of his muscles.

That punch was not simple. The feeling that his body had transformed into a sharp sword was no illusion.

It was just that Gu Ming’s strength was insufficient, and his Spiritual Power wasn’t up to par, so he could only manage a simple attack.

"Do you know how to make your Divine Sense leave your body yet? I’ll teach you," said Mr. Gu.

Gu Ming felt he already knew how, but he still wanted to see how his father used Divine Sense.

And so, within his Sea of Consciousness, he saw his father’s Divine Sense move. It was an illusory strand of ape fur, flowing everywhere inside his body along with his blood.

"I can’t use it right now." Gu Ming shook his head, unable to use it the way his father did.

He had just used the Sword of Spiritual Sense. The consumption was immense, and he no longer had the spare energy to mobilize his Divine Sense.

"See that? I’m moving a light, wispy strand of ape fur, not the main body of my Divine Sense. Your Divine Sense has condensed into a sword shape. You can keep the sword still and move the Sword Qi, just like this..."

His father guided him patiently. Although he didn’t possess a teacher’s ability to instruct with the Sound of the Great Dao, he used his Divine Sense every day and naturally picked up some common, practical little tricks.

Gu Ming fell into thought. ’So, a Beastmaster doesn’t need to move the main body of their Divine Sense. They can use "Sword Qi" to probe their body as well.’

Gu Ming put his thought into action immediately. He used his will to lightly vibrate the Sword Body, generating Sword Qi.

This Sword Qi wasn’t sharp at all; it had a sort of mellow quality to it. It originated from his Sea of Consciousness and flowed through his body, circulating throughout with his Blood Qi.

Following his father’s lead the whole way, he didn’t use much effort. He borrowed momentum from here and there, slowly completing one full probe.

The time for one full Circulation of probing took about two minutes.

Gu Ming finished assessing his body’s condition and found that the Sword Qi hadn’t dissipated yet; it could continue to roam. His eyes lit up. He felt he had really learned something.

However, the moment he sent the Sword Qi outside his body, it was instantly consumed. It couldn’t last long like it did inside him.

"This..." Gu Ming’s face showed a hint of regret.

"Haha, don’t be discouraged. Sending Divine Sense out of the body is very draining. The fact that you can already condense a Sword-shaped Divine Sense is better than many Three-star Beastmasters. It’s just that it has just formed and hasn’t accumulated enough substance yet."

Gu Daguo patted his son’s shoulder with an expression that said, ’Don’t lose heart, you can still get stronger slowly.’

In reality, the form of Gu Ming’s Divine Sense had already far exceeded the expectations of the three adults. When ordinary Beastmasters first condense their Divine Sense, it has no form to speak of. They typically grow a fruit on a Cyan Pine tree in their Sea of Consciousness to use. Once a fruit is used, it’s gone, and it takes time to slowly recover.

But Gu Ming was different. He had achieved it all in one step, skipping the Cyan Pine fruit stage and condensing a power of Divine Sense that was uniquely his own.

This was a genuine late-stage method for cultivating Divine Sense. The more it was nurtured, the more profound it would become. By the time he reached university, Gu Ming’s spiritual strength would be two or three times better than other university students.

This also meant that during his university years, Gu Ming could contract a third Pet Beast much earlier than his peers.

"With your current Divine Sense strength, if you rest up, you could contract Ah Kun tomorrow. But the midterm exam is tomorrow, so you probably won’t have time," Mrs. Gu said, shaking her head after her own Divine Sense took a look inside him.

For it to happen right at the time of the midterm exam was certainly a bit unexpected.

Everyone had thought he would wait until after the midterms to contract his second Pet Beast.

But he managed to do it the day before the exam started.

Hearing this, Ah Kun, in its Fish Tank, suddenly thrashed its head and looked toward the group of people.

He was a little anxious, but at the same time, he didn’t dare to be too eager. Instead, he suppressed his joy, secretly glanced at his master, and cheered for him in his heart.

’Will Master choose me as his second Pet Beast?’

Ah Kun was full of anticipation, but also a little afraid of not being chosen.

After all, there were countless Pet Beasts in the world better than him.

For a moment, Ah Kun was once again caught in his inferiority complex.

...

"If I wanted to, could I form the contract after a day of rest?"

Just as Ah Kun lowered his head, he suddenly heard Gu Ming’s clear voice.

This sent a tremor through Ah Kun’s entire body. He raised his head again to look at Gu Ming.

It saw a pair of bright eyes, looking at him with open and honest intent.

Tears couldn’t help but stream from Ah Kun’s fish eyes.

’SOB, SOB! Master is too good to me.’

’Originally, there wasn’t enough time to form the contract. He has the exam tomorrow, and he still has school and training today.’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’Master is actually willing to sacrifice a day of training time to recover his energy and form a contract with me.’

"Son, I know you’re eager, but one more day won’t make a difference, right?" Mr. Gu looked troubled. He didn’t want Gu Ming to do this; it was a complete waste of time.

Admittedly, if Gu Ming rested well, he could indeed speed up his recovery time. He would definitely be able to contract his second Pet Beast by tomorrow morning.

But contracting a Pet Beast also consumes Spiritual Power.

With all this back and forth, wouldn’t he still be drained for the exam tomorrow?

This is a province-wide joint midterm exam! It’s not something to be trifled with.

Mr. Gu wanted to stop Gu Ming, but Gu Ming had already made up his mind and refused with a shake of his head.

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa, I’ve already told Ah Kun. The spot for my second Pet Beast is reserved for him."

"During the last monthly exam, I wasn’t able to bring him along to experience the examination hall. That was already a huge regret."

"This time, the venue for the province-wide joint exam can hold hundreds of thousands of people. An event of this scale is something you don’t get to see many times in your life. I want to take Cyan Treasure and Ah Kun to the exam together."

"Even if it has no combat ability?"

"Yes, even if it can’t be of any use."

"Ah Kun, you want to go too, don’t you!" Gu Ming said loudly.

Everyone turned in unison to look at the Fish Tank.

In the Fish Tank, Ah Kun, tears streaming down, clumsily shook his head at Gu Ming.

He felt his master’s resolve. The fervent response moved him to tears.

But he also knew he couldn’t agree. He couldn’t affect his master’s condition for the exam.

Forming a contract also consumes Spiritual Power.

At that moment, Cyan Treasure came forward and flicked its forked tongue.

’Ah Kun, if you’re worried that Master will lose, there’s no need.’

’Because I am confident that I can protect Master and be invincible.’

’Don’t you want to see the examination hall?’

’And Master doesn’t want to see you miss out on this grand event either.’

Hearing the persuasion of his big brother, Cyan Treasure, Ah Kun finally couldn’t hold back anymore. His headshake turned into a nod.

Gu Ming nodded, sensing Ah Kun’s enthusiasm.

He was also eager to be contracted, eager to accompany Gu Ming onto the battlefield.

"Alright! Tomorrow, we go to the examination hall together!"