Beast Taming: Starting from Transmigration and Starting with a Cheat Code

"You've come back just in time! The academy recently released a notice about an exchange program with Azure Dragon Academy. I heard the terms and conditions are quite good!"

"Yes, yes, and in the Culinary Domain Competition these past few days, a really strong newcomer has emerged. He's quite young, and many senior students aren't even his match. His name is something like He...He...He Fuke, and I heard he's from Canglong Academy!"

Qin Ming and Zeng Guian looked at each other in bewilderment.

The academy seems to have been quite lively these past few days while they were away.

The two stood in front of the bulletin board, listening to the conversations of the people around them.

The wind at the end of October was already chilly, making the papers on the bulletin board rustle slightly.

Qin Ming raised his hand to press down the corner that had been blown up by the wind, his gaze sweeping over the red-headed document—Recruitment of exchange students for Azure Dragon Academy, deadline in three days.

The terms and conditions were indeed very attractive, including full subsidies and the opportunity to enter the secret realm of the Azure Dragon Academy.

"Qin Ming, what do you think?" Zeng Guian leaned over and nudged him with his shoulder.

With Zeng Gui'an's current strength, he could naturally go whenever he wanted, but he preferred to go with his friend. Over this period of time, he had already gotten used to asking Qin Ming for his opinion on everything.

Qin Ming hesitated for a moment, then looked away from the announcement.

"Let me take another look," he said thoughtfully. "The resources mentioned here that offer opportunities to try are quite tempting, and it would be great to broaden one's horizons. But, Little Fatty's business base is here, and he can't leave it for now."

He put it tactfully, but Zeng Guian understood.

Xiao Pang's catering business has now become a golden brand in the catering industry of colleges and universities in Shanghai, with people queuing up every day from the cafeteria window to the dormitory building.

Xiao Pang is the only supplier, and he's been making a fortune in dividends. If he leaves, this business will end, which would be such a shame.

There's something Qin Ming didn't mention: Cangxuan's mentor along the way, Saint Deer, is also here.

Although he has been busy lately, he still occasionally takes the time to come and offer guidance, and sometimes even leaks some insider information about the academy's higher-ups, which always warms people's hearts.

Furthermore, it would be quite troublesome if Huo Lin returned halfway and found that he was nowhere to be found.

Although there had been no news and he knew that breakthroughs for high-level spirit beasts took a long time, Qin Ming had a strange premonition that Huo Lin wouldn't make him wait too long.

"Fine, if you're not going, then I won't go either," Zeng Guian replied nonchalantly, casually folding GG into a paper airplane and throwing it away.

Qin Ming chuckled: "Can't you have a little more of your own opinion?"

"Your own opinion?" Zeng Guian blinked. "My own opinion is to follow reliable people. Don't I trust you?"

Qin Ming was amused by his serious yet twisted reasoning, and the two chatted idly as they turned and left the bulletin board.

Unbeknownst to them, several pairs of eyes in the crowd had been following them.

……

"Report! Something terrible has happened!"

At the temporary base of the Canglong Academy exchange team, a thin boy rushed in, panting and covered in sweat.

Sun Yu was sitting at his desk reviewing documents. Hearing this, he didn't even look up, calmly taking a sip of tea: "Can't you calm down? Is there anything worse than Chef Huang not being able to return, the special catering supply being cut off, the exchange program about to expire, and still no news from Qin Ming?"

He's been so bombarded with bad news these past few days that he's become numb, his mentality as steady as an old dog.

The man, catching his breath, leaned on the table for support: "Qin Ming is back!"

The good news came so suddenly that Sun Yu's hand trembled, spilling half of his tea, but he didn't bother to wipe it up. "Great! Where is he?"

The visitor swallowed hard. "But he's not interested in our proposal for an exchange!"

Sun Yu was stunned.

Hearing this, Zhao Lie paused, looked up, and asked, "What do you mean? What do you mean by 'not interested'?"

"Well... he glanced at the notice, told the person next to him that he wasn't going, and that person said he wouldn't go either, and then the two of them left."

Zhao Lie: ...

Sun Yu: ...

An eerie silence fell over the room.

To be fair, such inter-school exchanges are a rare opportunity for mutual learning and growth for students from both sides. In fact, the more geographically distant the exchange, the more diverse the differences in their experiences and insights they gain.

If it weren't for the complicated exchange procedures and the difficulty in ensuring safety, many academies would be willing to maintain a long-term relationship simply because it benefits students on both sides.

So as soon as this news came out, all the students in the entire Magic City Academy have been discussing it these past few days, and they're all scrambling to get a spot.

Why is Qin Ming acting so unpredictably?

Sun Yu slowly sat down and rubbed his temples: "Don't be too discouraged. Maybe the mysterious supplier isn't Qin Ming? We're just speculating."

He himself didn't quite believe what he said.

Zhao Lie remained silent for a moment, just as he was about to speak, when there was another commotion in the room.

Another voice boomed in the message group, followed by someone rushing in, holding a communicator and shouting: "Meal schedule update! Special catering services resume today, and a new surprise—the Five-Colored Mantis Shrimp!"

A loud clattering sound of tables and chairs colliding startled several people, who stood up abruptly.

Zhao Lie frowned, pulled out his terminal, stared at the message for a full ten seconds, then looked up, his gaze sharp. "Closely monitor Qin Ming's movements, including the movements of his spirit beasts!"

"yes!"

"I'll go talk to my advisor again," Zhao Lie said, already taking a step forward, "to see if we can improve their compensation in a targeted way. Special catering and Chef Huang are both very important; we need to think of another way."

He took a few steps, then stopped and looked back at Sun Yu: "You continue your investigation as well. I need solid evidence."

Sun Yu nodded and watched Zhao Lie leave.

"Let's go," Sun Yu said to the person next to him, "to the cafeteria. I want to see what this Five-Colored Mantis Shrimp is all about."

He paused, then added, "And while we're at it, let's see if we can run into someone."

At this moment, Qin Ming and Zeng Guian were already sitting in a small private room in the back kitchen of the cafeteria, with two steaming hot dishes in front of them.

"Such wonderful spiritual food, and we can eat it so often, who cares about any kind of exchange? I wouldn't go even if you begged me!" Zeng Guian exclaimed sincerely.

"After all, we haven't reached that level yet; chefs won't be exchanging ideas with us."

"I heard that at the top-level competitions, you can apply to have specialists dispatched. That gives me another reason to strive to become stronger!"

Qin Ming's lips twitched. "Eat your food, and don't attract attention when you go out!"

Zeng Gui'an was still lost in thought when Qin Ming stopped talking and his gaze drifted unconsciously to the window.

In the distance, the gates of the Magic City Academy were wide open, with students coming and going.

Further away, there are rows of buildings and distant, faintly visible mountain shadows.

Huo Lin, when are you coming back?

He silently asked himself the question.

Meanwhile, deep in the distant mountains, a beam of fire pierced the sky, startling all the birds flying across the mountain.