Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 395: Chapter 382: Cultivation Course Selection Plan

After being away for over ten days, Gu Ming returned to the university and discovered he had missed sixty classes.

"While you were away, your classmates have already prepared their cultivation plans for the first semester under the teachers’ guidance."

"Right now, you two have missed the most classes. You’ll have to spend time making them up."

"Next is course selection. What you choose will depend on your cultivation plan."

"Normally, this happens after the first week of study. It’s designed to give students a general understanding of all the university’s programs before they begin their customized cultivation."

"Since you went on an expedition right before the course selection period opened, you’ve fallen behind a fair bit. Still, it’s not a big deal. Catching up won’t be difficult."

While speaking with Gu Ming, Counselor Luo was also reviewing the Pet Beast files for him and Lu You.

The files included details on Gu Ming’s newly contracted Pet Beast—a Light and Dark Attribute Mutant Race Cat Demon—and noted the growth in its physical attributes and Spiritual Power.

When he learned that during the ten-day expedition, Gu Ming’s Spiritual Power had surged to the level of a Three-star Beastmaster and that he had even contracted his third Pet Beast, Counselor Luo’s expression was one of satisfaction.

"With such a huge increase in Spiritual Power, taking these ten days off wasn’t a loss after all."

"If other students had this kind of opportunity, they would definitely jump at the chance."

In the counselor’s eyes, increasing a Beastmaster’s Spiritual Power was no easy feat.

The easier path involved taking expensive Spiritual Power supplements and painstakingly practicing Cultivation Techniques daily for gradual growth.

The harder path required spending a fortune to undergo terrifying mental ordeals every day, using torturous methods to repeatedly temper one’s Spiritual Power in simulated battles.

Both were common methods for students to increase their Spiritual Power. Ordinary people didn’t have to get caught up in such a rat race.

But as students of a top university, every moment of their Cultivation Time was squeezed dry. They were either caught in the rat race or focused on self-improvement.

If they didn’t improve at all in a single day, then there was no point in studying at a top university.

Beastmasters who couldn’t keep up might as well transfer to a second-rate Beastmaster Academy, where the academic intensity was lower and they wouldn’t have to worry about being eliminated for poor performance.

He then asked, "You’ve only just returned, so you probably haven’t given it much thought and aren’t ready to set up a customized cultivation plan just yet."

"I could offer some guidance, but since you and Mr. Huo seem to get along so well, you should ask for his advice. He’ll be able to give you some excellent recommendations."

"You can also consult with alumni. They have a wealth of life experience to share."

"I won’t stand in your way. Once you’ve decided, you can come fill out the forms and select your courses."

With that, the counselor handed Gu Ming the registration forms and a list of the university’s available courses, telling him to take them back to review.

It was worth noting something.

While Gu Ming was on his expedition, his class had attended a special guidance session for course selection.

During that session, various influential figures from around the university had come to the Cultivation Technique Class. They introduced the teachers from their respective project teams and used their Divine Sense to scan the entire class. This allowed them to give lightning-fast critiques of each student’s Pet Beasts, pointing out their strengths, weaknesses, and potential future cultivation bottlenecks, as well as offer advice on preparing to contract new Attribute Pet Beasts.

In short, it was a life-planning class of incredibly high value.

The instructors leading the session were Seven-star Beastmasters at a minimum, whose cultivation experience surpassed that of countless experts outside the university.

Gu Ming had missed that life-altering class and could only rely on his personal connections for planning.

It wasn’t unheard of for some students to ignore everyone’s advice and simply choose their courses based on the list alone.

They considered themselves smart enough to surpass the decades of experience others possessed.

Arrogance on that level wasn’t necessarily a deal-breaker. After all, a top university was bound to have a few monstrously talented geniuses who defied all logic.

While others ran a hundred meters, they had already run a thousand. They needed no outside guidance; they were their own best teachers.

For them, the only reason to attend a top university was for the pressure of a competitive environment.

Gu Ming wasn’t that strong yet, and in the Cultivation Technique Class, he hadn’t met such a top-tier genius.

Gu Ming took the materials back with him and carefully studied the course selection list.

Wenquxing University’s philosophy was to push a Pet Beast to its absolute evolutionary limit—and then break through that limit to reach new heights.

Therefore, at Wenquxing University, every cultivation plan was customized. These weren’t generic, one-size-fits-all plans; they were meticulously detailed for each individual Pet Beast, covering everything from diet and training regimens to combat conditioning.

If one had three Pet Beasts, there would be three cultivation plans.

Furthermore, the Beastmaster themself would have their own Spiritual Power cultivation plan.

However, there wasn’t much room for customization in the Beastmaster’s own spiritual cultivation, as most resources were allocated to their Pet Beasts.

After Gu Ming finished reading, he knew he should discuss it with Elder Huo or Teacher Tang.

First, there were the essential courses.

He needed to earn Credit Points, but also establish the primary cultivation focus for his three Pet Beasts this semester.

For example, should he focus on Grass, Water, and Light and Dark Attribute cultivation, or emphasize Cultivation Technique practice, Body Forging, medicinal enhancement, or Combat Techniques?

Next were the electives related to Evolution.

These were courses designed to prepare a Pet Beast to break through to its Three-star Evolution.

And even though they were just preparatory electives, there were a vast number of evolutionary paths to choose from.

For instance, the professors who specialized in Mutant Evolution were divided into several different schools of thought.

Within Mutant Evolution, there were sub-specializations like genetic mutation and bloodline grafting.

There were also fusion evolutions based on organ modification, and atavistic evolutions that traced a bloodline back to its ancient roots.

These choices alone were enough to keep a student pondering for days.

But at a top university, the more time one spent deliberating, the more time one wasted.

Only by making a swift decision could a student convert that time into Cultivation Time and start progressing toward their goals.

That’s precisely why the guidance session existed. An experienced instructor’s judgment could save students a massive amount of time.

Finally, there was a choice between a practical combat course and a nurturing course.

Those skilled in combat chose the practical combat course, while those with a Mastery in nurturing chose the nurturing course.

Even among students in the Cultivation Technique Class, their techniques had different focuses. A distinction had to be made between those who excelled at combat and those who excelled at nurturing.

"I plan to report to Teacher Tang first, and then find Elder Huo. What about you?"

Gu Ming thought for a moment, then told Lu You his reasoning.

This was his line of thinking: ’Elder Huo is definitely a good teacher, and he’s always looking for a chance to poach me for the Array Society.’

’But there’s a certain order to things. I’m already studying under Teacher Tang, and I’ve received a lot of guidance from him.’

’Out of both respect and logic, I should go back to the company first, give Teacher Tang a brief report, ask for his thoughts, and then go consult Elder Huo for planning.’

’By combining both of their perspectives, it’ll be easier to avoid pitfalls, and my plan will be more comprehensive.’

’One is a senior alumnus who graduated from the university long ago, while the other is a current professor.’

’Their ways of thinking both offer excellent reference points, which will give me a more complete view of the courses at a top university and make it easier for me to create the best cultivation plans for my Pet Beasts.’

Lu You didn’t have strong opinions on the matter. Hearing his reasoning, she nodded in agreement.

"I’ll follow your lead."