56: Chapter 56 Restless Hearts

A Pet Beast's breakthrough is different from a human's.

The initiative for breaking through a bottleneck lies with the pet itself, so to a certain extent, it is uncontrollable.

There are many Beast Tamers who find themselves stuck at a certain realm.

Qin Ce's Nine-Star Insight could see the key information for a breakthrough, but the materials mentioned were difficult to obtain given his current isolated situation.

As for Jiang Ruowei, she had already crossed this hurdle.

This was the biggest gap between the two sides.

No!

However, it wasn't just Jiang Ruowei; if students from other squads also happened to upgrade to Bronze Rank...

The possibility of them catching up to him would also greatly increase!

...

"No wonder..." Qin Ce murmured.

No wonder the competition in the Elite Class was so brutal.

Just the start of the graduation season had brought about so many variables.

Plus the temptation of the newly added resources.

Those squads he had suppressed through various means before were likely starting to get restless.

...

It was just as Qin Ce had anticipated.

On his way from the dormitory to the training base...

As the news spread, everyone lost the heart to do missions today; the entire senior base was filled with discussions about the start of the graduation season.

Members of every squad gathered together, excitedly and longingly re-planning their squad's development path. Those three-star missions and rewards had ignited everyone's ambition.

Occasionally, the looks they cast at Qin Ce even contained a hint of provocation and defiance!

"This proof of the lone wolf! 1,800 points! With our Elite Class strength, as long as we break through to Bronze Rank, taking on a mid-level Bronze one-on-one won't be a big problem. If that's the case, our total points could directly enter the top three!"

"Beast Swarm Dispersal gives 2,400? That high?"

"Supposedly, it's because the City Lord's daughter is among this year's graduates, so the difficulty was intentionally increased. That Silver hunt is the same."

"Still, I think... if our team can have three people break through to Bronze Rank, we could continuously lure monsters out to kill when facing a Bronze beast swarm. It wouldn't be impossible to complete the mission!"

"Leapfrog hunting is a bit of an exaggeration. Silver Rank! Even if our whole team combined, we wouldn't be enough to fill the gaps between its teeth, right?"

"Exploration missions are safer, but they take too long, and unknown areas also contain Gold Rank fierce beasts. The risk is..."

"However, while it's hard for us... it should be even harder for Qin Ce!"

"These three-star missions—forget about him being at Black Iron Peak—even if he breaks through to Bronze now, what missions can he complete besides proof of the lone wolf and Beast Egg Refining? Don't forget, graduating requires completing at least three three-star missions."

"Doesn't that mean our chance to turn the tables has come?"

"Forget missions; if one of us breaks through to Bronze Rank first, we can suppress Qin Ce! When the time comes, I'll even snatch his fierce beasts to vent my anger!"

...

These words didn't even quiet down when they saw Qin Ce.

However, this slight change in attitude was a minor matter.

More importantly, the news Qin Ce heard next at the training ground was even more fatal!

When Qin Ce entered the base training ground...

Not only the 12 squads from the Elite Class but also many training squads from other ordinary classes had appeared one after another.

Because the missions on the team badges had changed, all squads needed to come to the training base to adjust their mission permissions.

Many students from the ordinary classes came just to see Jiang Ruowei, who had upgraded to Bronze Rank, and to greet her to make themselves known.

This made the training base extremely lively, with various topics being discussed. Students from the ordinary classes were also curious, inquiring about the situation in the Elite Class.

What most people were concerned about was seeing how this sudden turn of events would affect the final rankings of the Elite Class.

This inevitably brought up Qin Ce, who was ranked second.

"Senior Jiang is too strong! Bronze Rank in the middle of senior year... we'd be lucky to even touch the threshold of Bronze by graduation!"

"This is what you call a true genius... certain people who climbed to second place through luck and schemes should show their true colors now, right?"

"Haha, you're talking about Qin Ce, right? ...Indeed, Qin Ce has no chance."

A familiar voice came from the left; it was Zhao Rui from the Gale Squad.

He was gathered with several other squad leaders, his face wearing a sneer that had finally been released after being suppressed for months.

"As long as Senior Jiang completes three three-star graduation missions, she can apply for Early Graduation. Once Senior Jiang graduates, the ranking for the first squad in the Elite Class will be permanently locked. By then, even if Qin Ce completes more missions and gets more points, it'll be useless."

"Exactly," the leader of the Mountain Squad sneered with his arms crossed. "A solo team sprinting for first? You're dreaming. We were just letting him have his way before; did he really think he was someone important?"

"It's fine now. Senior Jiang is Bronze Rank, and the Starlight Squad members are all at Black Iron Peak with excellent coordination. Someone still wants to snatch first? Better think about how not to be left too far behind first."

"Tsk tsk, before, some people were talking about a 'Civilian Miracle' and how taking first could establish some new noble family. In reality, he's just a buffoon... Heh."

The laughter was grating.

Qin Ce didn't stop as he walked past, nor did his expression change.

He simply walked through those gloating gazes and stood by an old locust tree at the edge of the training ground, leaning against the trunk.

He didn't actually care about these taunts.

However, certain words caught his attention.

Early Graduation!

Ranking Lock!

What did that mean?

Because Qin Ce had skipped from freshman year directly to senior year, he didn't understand some of the senior graduation rules.

He previously only knew that Jiang Ruowei's breakthrough to Bronze would create a gap in strength, making it extremely difficult for him to catch up.

But what did Early Graduation and Ranking Lock mean?

Did it mean that when a graduate completes three three-star missions, they meet the conditions to apply for Early Graduation?

And once that squad graduates, if their points are in first place, the top ranking for the year will be permanently locked?

In other words, if Jiang Ruowei is in first place then, the top spot will always belong to her?

Just then, the discussion from over there reached him again.

"Do you think Qin Ce still has a chance?"

"A chance? His only chance now is to take on three-star missions alongside Jiang Ruowei, complete them faster than her, and have more points than her at the same time."

"But is that possible? Qin Ce's Pet Beast hasn't reached Bronze yet, and his team is just one person. Jiang Ruowei has a full nine-person elite squad that has coordinated for three whole years."

"And don't forget, Jiang Ruowei is the City Lord's daughter. When she takes on missions, would she lack intelligence? Would she lack support?"

"Qin Ce is bound to lose!"

...