Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 299 - 290: Working Emperor

"Gu Ming, Lu You, I look forward to seeing you on campus. Haha."

"Oh, by the way, if you have time during the summer break, you can come to the university to complete your registration."

"I can get you early access to the library with honors privileges. You’ll be able to read any book you want, except for the ones on the fourth floor and above. The only catch is you can’t check them out."

Teacher Huang, the admissions officer from Wenquxing University, beamed as he shook hands with Gu Ming and Lu You. Then he turned and, one by one, shook the ’hands’ or patted the heads of Cyan Treasure, Ah Kun, and Mouse Treasure.

Then, in front of everyone, he produced a full year’s worth of cultivation resources for the three Pet Beasts and handed them over to Gu Ming. He was really pulling out all the stops.

The cultivation resources for the three Pet Beasts’ second year would be distributed the following year.

How they would be collected, whether the amount would increase if the Pet Beasts underwent Evolution, or if some middleman would skim off the top—that all remained to be seen.

Gu Ming had seen plenty of university students online complaining about being short-changed when the school distributed resources.

Even a top-tier institution like Wenquxing University wasn’t immune to such issues.

As a private university, the competition there was incredibly fierce.

Only when a student produced truly outstanding results, forcing the university to take them seriously, would those looking to get a cut back off.

Simply put, whether Gu Ming could claim the resources befitting a national champion next year would depend entirely on his overall performance during his freshman year.

If his performance slipped, he couldn’t blame others for chipping away at his benefits and holding him down.

Wenquxing University had no place for the weak, and it certainly didn’t have students who would crumble after facing a little pressure.

’Just look at the Gu Ming from the other timeline the system described. He had to take out loans just to rent Pet Beasts for his job, turning himself into a complete wreck.’

’It got so bad that his family went bankrupt and had to go back to farming, and both his parents died from illness. It was an unbelievably tragic end.’

Gu Ming would not let himself walk down that path.

Seeing Gu Ming and Lu You sign the champion’s contract with Wenquxing University, the other teachers sighed, shook their heads, and departed.

Only the admissions officer from Shifangyu University remained, tenaciously gripping Gu Ming’s hand and saying:

"If things don’t work out for you at Wenquxing University, or if you face suppression, you can come to Shifangyu University anytime. Our doors will always be open for Ah Kun."

This teacher had his eye on Ah Kun’s Talent and Great Dao Foundation.

Frankly, the Grouper Fish’s current strength was already on par with a Two-star Fish King.

And yet, it was just a simple Grouper Fish.

After a few more pleasantries, the teacher from Shifangyu University also departed.

Teacher Zhou from the Royal Academy wore a cold expression. He let out a low scoff but didn’t utter any threats. He just shot Gu Ming a cold look before turning to leave.

His glare seemed to say, ’Blind fool. Daring to refuse the Thirteenth Prince’s invitation? Clearly an idiot who doesn’t know how to secure resources for your family.’

Gu Ming pretended he hadn’t seen it.

There was no need for him to pick a fight with someone from the Prince’s faction. The Gu Family couldn’t withstand that kind of trouble.

The suit-clad, taciturn Ruan Jingtian lingered for a moment. He conversed silently with Ruan Jing using his Divine Sense, then nodded at Gu Ming with a smile before leaving.

Gu Ming turned his attention to Manager Ruan.

"I found that job you were asking about."

"The Ruan Family’s Cultivation Method Company in the Zhou Capital has several openings: a Cultivation Technique testing position, an apprentice Cultivation Method Designer role, a tutoring job for the reigning national champion, a Green Treasure Breathing Technique coach, and so on..."

Manager Ruan listed off a series of jobs. Gu Ming realized most of them were related to the Ruan Family’s Cultivation Method Company in the Capital.

Even the part-time tutoring gig would be officially under the Ruan Family’s Cultivation Method Company, which meant a guaranteed base monthly salary plus commission.

As the freshly-minted national champion, he was a hot commodity on the market.

Any family with a high school senior preparing for the college entrance exams would be desperate to hire him.

Just by leveraging his title, he could command a base monthly salary starting at 50,000.

According to Manager Ruan’s estimates, if he could teach for two or three hours a day, he could make several hundred thousand in commission alone.

If he were willing to offer around-the-clock tutoring, that number could easily double or even triple. The Zhou Capital was full of wealthy people who would pay, but it wasn’t worth sacrificing Gu Ming’s own future for.

’That’s so much!’

Lu You, standing nearby, was stunned when she heard the numbers.

’If he did that for a year, wouldn’t he make tens of millions?’

The thought made Lu You’s eyes go wide in shock.

Even with so many students learning her Earth Shifting Technique, she honestly hadn’t earned anywhere near that kind of money.

Her personal savings were more than enough to raise Mouse Treasure, but supporting a second Pet Beast would be a strain.

Once she started university, she’d have to figure out how to get scholarships or find a part-time job.

Unlike Gu Ming, she couldn’t rely on her family for financial support.

Her parents knew she was the Champion Scholar’s sole assistant. ’By that logic, she’s practically the runner-up, right?’

They’d heard that top universities were fighting to recruit her, waiving tuition and cultivation fees, practically throwing money at her.

Her whole family was counting on her to bring her earnings home.

This was her parents’ line of thinking:

The family’s finances were already tight, and they still had to enroll her younger brother in all sorts of early-start Beastmaster training classes.

And those prep classes were getting more and more expensive.

Ever since their family became well-known, her parents felt incredibly proud when they chatted with the neighbors. But with no actual money to back it up, their bragging felt hollow.

Besides, Lu You wouldn’t need to pay for her own education.

So why not use the money to help out at home and repay her parents for raising her?

What’s more, when they chatted with other parents after work, the conversation would inevitably turn to their children’s early education, and their competitive spirit would flare up.

They saw other people’s kids, only a few years old, already cramming for Beastmaster prep courses, learning all about different Pet Beasts and cultivating an interest in the powerful ones.