"So you're my junior." Discovering he was a new student, the senior working part-time became considerably more courteous. She smiled and said, "Do you plan to go in and look around by yourself, or do you want to designate a pet to fight?"

In this Botanical Garden there were many elite pets that were nearly invincible among their peers. Students wanting combat training could even designate certain pets within the garden to fight, though of course, they could also go in and take their chances at random.

"I'll go in and look around by myself." Shi Jin broke into a smile.

"All right then, be careful. Most of the pets in the Botanical Garden were released here by upperclassmen, and they're quite fierce," the senior warned.

"Understood." Shi Jin nodded.

It was the upperclassmen's pets he was after; the wild ones he considered too weak.

"Can you go in by yourself?" Since Shi Jin was a new student, the part-time senior asked one more question.

"No problem." Taking the directional needle from the senior's hand, Shi Jin reassured her.

This little directional needle gadget could guide Shi Jin into the combat zone of the Botanical Garden and help him find his way and leave. Beyond that, navigating with the software on the Ancient Capital University's official website also worked, but it wasn't as convenient or precise as this.

...

After registering, Shi Jin entered the Botanical Garden.

As Shi Jin went in, a senior in front of a computer gave a laborious stretch. To think he'd have to work before the term even started.

For the stability of the Botanical Garden and to prevent conflicts among the released pets, surveillance was everywhere throughout the garden. His job was to spot unstable factors, and among them, students coming here for combat training could also count as unstable factors that required attention.

He looked at the screen. By now, Shi Jin had already followed the directional needle into the combat zone.

In the combat zone, there were basically no savage beasts below the extraordinary level; all were exceptionally fierce and battle-hardened. Soon, this senior was stunned.

Because Shi Jin had just entered and had already run into an extraordinary-level Rampant Wood Lizard.

This was a half-meter-long lizard whose entire body was composed of wood matter. Though it looked like an animal, it was indeed plant-type life—in essence, it was wood.

"A wild Rampant Wood Lizard..." The senior's expression was still fairly calm, but what unsettled him was that, in the picture, upon seeing this Rampant Wood Lizard, Shi Jin had no intention of summoning a pet???

In the picture, Shi Jin and the Rampant Wood Lizard simply stared each other down...

"Combat power of only 5... no, a piece of trash with an energy value of just 599?" Seeing the Rampant Wood Lizard's energy value through the invisible-lens illustrated guide, Shi Jin sighed inwardly. This was way too weak.

A beast of that caliber—one sweet puff from the Ginseng Baby would be enough to knock it clean out. There was no point in fighting it at all.

"Hello there. How about a PK? You and me. But let's set three rules first—you're not allowed to use any skills."

Yet Shi Yu had already issued the challenge to the Violent Wood Lizard through telepathy.

Ginseng Baby: ???

Weren't we supposed to let me do the fighting???

The Violent Wood Lizard was stunned too: ???

It had been living here for quite a while now, and never in all that time had it heard such a bizarre request.

The Violent Wood Lizard might have a bad-tempered name, but in truth they were excellent gardeners—their droppings made first-rate fertilizer—which was why the botanical garden kept so many of them roaming free.

Even so, that didn't mean the Violent Wood Lizard had no fighting ability.

"Hee!!! (You said it. Don't regret it.)" After a moment's silence, the Violent Wood Lizard chose to grant Shi Ying's wish.

It leaped straight over, lunging at Shi Jin. It had no intention of hurting Shi Ying—daring to harm a human would make it tonight's dinner for the kings and commanders of the botanical garden. It only meant to bowl Shi Jin over and show him a thing or two.

However...

The Violent Wood Lizard had barely launched itself at Qi when, before it even made contact, it felt a blow of unparalleled force slam into its belly. With a "boom," it was hammered clean out of the air, crashing into a distant tree.

Where it had stood, Shi Jin flexed his slightly sore fist and looked toward the Violent Wood Lizard.

"Again!" Shi Xu said.

As expected of him—his physique was already not much inferior to that of extraordinary-level fierce beasts. Against a creature like the Violent Wood Lizard, which didn't specialize in physical toughness, he could actually come out on top??

If he reached the current level cap, he might well be able to trade blows with extraordinary creatures that used skills!

At that moment, the Violent Wood Lizard, sent flying by a single punch, scrambled dizzily to its feet. It stared at the human before it with a look as if it had seen a ghost.

The punch hadn't done it much injury, but it still hurt, and after some thought, it concluded this fight was unwinnable—far too frustrating.

"Hee!!! (Fight my ass. I can't hurt you, and you've got all that strength—are you even human?)" The Violent Wood Lizard swore furiously, turned, and stalked off, pausing to drop a pile of dung on the spot as a gesture of contempt.

Inside the botanical garden, it didn't matter how beasts fought—so long as none died. But beastmasters must never be harmed. That was the rule.

Shi Jin: "..."

Seeing the Violent Wood Lizard bolt, Shi Qi fell silent. In the garden's main hall, the senior student watching the monitors was stunned as well.

"Holy shit."

What the hell was with this student? What major was he from, and what was he even doing here? Had he come to train himself or to train his beast? If you want to train yourself, go to the battle tower like a good boy.