Chapter 1
The Awakening Ceremony began at eight in the morning.
By eight-ten, Lin Mo had already become the center of attention.
Not because he was special.Because he was weak.“Lin Mo. Step forward.”The examiner's voice echoed across the auditorium.Hundreds of students turned their heads.Lin Mo walked onto the platform.The martial vein testing machine stood in front of him, its silver surface reflecting the cold white lights overhead.He placed his hand on it.The machine hummed.A few seconds passed.Then a line of red text appeared on the screen.MARTIAL VEIN RANK: FThe auditorium went quiet for half a second.Then it exploded.“F-Rank?”“Seriously?”“He was actually tested as F-Rank?”“That's the lowest rank!”Someone laughed.Then another.Soon, whispers spread through the crowd.Lin Mo slowly lowered his hand.His expression did not change.The examiner looked at the result twice before announcing it.“Lin Mo. F-Rank Martial Vein.”A few students looked at him with sympathy.More looked amused.In this world, an Awakening Ceremony could decide a person's future.A high-ranked martial vein meant resources, training, opportunities, and status.An F-Rank martial vein meant almost nothing.Lin Mo stepped away from the machine.He heard laughter behind him.He ignored it.“Next.”He had just taken two steps when the examiner stopped him.“Wait.”Lin Mo turned around.The examiner pointed toward another machine.“Your Beast Taming Space still needs to be tested.”Lin Mo nodded.He walked over.The second machine looked completely different.It was a transparent crystal pillar surrounded by complicated instruments.A student with a high-ranked martial vein had just finished testing.The screen displayed:Beast Taming Space: Earth Rank.The crowd immediately reacted.“Earth Rank!”“That's the second test already.”“She's definitely getting into a major academy.”The girl stepped down from the platform.Then it was Lin Mo's turn.He placed his hand against the crystal.Nothing happened.The crystal remained dark.The examiner frowned.He checked the equipment.Then he tried again.Still nothing.“Activate the detection sequence.”The technician beside him entered several commands.The crystal finally lit up.A faint white glow appeared.Then disappeared.The screen flickered.DETECTION ERROR.The examiner's expression changed.“Run it again.”The machine restarted.Another attempt.Another error.The crowd gradually became quiet.“What happened?”“Is his Beast Taming Space damaged?”“An F-Rank martial vein and a broken Beast Taming Space?”Someone laughed softly.“What kind of luck is that?”Lin Mo stood silently in front of the machine.He looked at the flickering screen.Something felt wrong.Not painful.Just strange.As if something inside his body had awakened.“Lin Mo.”The examiner looked at him.“We can confirm that you possess a Beast Taming Space, but the rank cannot be determined.”The auditorium erupted again.“Can't determine the rank?”“Is that even possible?”“Maybe it's too weak to detect.”The examiner ignored the comments.“Step aside for now. We'll record the result as undetermined.”Lin Mo nodded.He stepped down from the platform.His classmates quickly moved away from him.A moment ago, he had been an ordinary student.Now he was the F-Rank student with an unclassifiable Beast Taming Space.A strange combination.Lin Mo walked toward the exit.Then he stopped.A faint sound came from somewhere inside him.“Woof.”He froze.The sound came again.“Woof.”Lin Mo slowly lowered his head.Nothing was there.His heartbeat quickened.The strange feeling inside his body became clearer.Something was moving.Not inside his Beast Taming Space.Somewhere deeper.A pressure spread through his chest.The air around him suddenly became cold.Lin Mo looked up.Nobody else seemed to notice.A thin black line appeared in front of him.It was only there for an instant.Then it disappeared.His pupils contracted.What was that?Before he could think further, pain shot through his body.Lin Mo staggered.Someone grabbed his shoulder.“Lin Mo?”He pushed the hand away.“I’m fine.”He wasn't.The strange pressure was getting stronger.His vision blurred.For a moment, he heard something that did not sound like a human voice.An ancient growl.Then—Something black crawled out from the shadow beneath his feet.It was a dog.A very small dog.Its fur was thin and messy.One of its legs was twisted.Its right eye was barely open.It looked exhausted.The little black dog raised its head.Looked at Lin Mo.And barked.“Woof.”The entire auditorium went silent.Someone whispered:“Is that his beast?”The examiner stared at the dog.Then checked the instruments.“That's impossible.”The machine showed no normal contract signature.The dog had not appeared from the Beast Taming Space.It had appeared directly beside Lin Mo.The examiner stepped closer.“What kind of beast is this?”Nobody answered.The little black dog swayed on its feet.Then sat down.It looked so weak that someone actually laughed.“That's his beast?”“A crippled black dog?”“Looks like an ordinary stray.”The laughter returned.Lin Mo crouched down.The little dog looked at him.For some reason, Lin Mo felt a strange connection.He could feel its hunger.Its weakness.And something else.Something buried far deeper.The little black dog suddenly opened its mouth.A small Beast Core rolled across the floor and stopped in front of it.Lin Mo stared.Nobody had given the dog anything.The dog lowered its head.It swallowed the Beast Core.For one second, nothing happened.Then—BOOM.A low vibration shook the entire auditorium.The lights flickered.Lin Mo looked toward the ceiling.Far above the city, beyond the clouds, something flashed.A tiny purple crack appeared across the sky.It vanished almost immediately.Nobody in the auditorium noticed.Nobody except Lin Mo.The little black dog collapsed against his shoe.A strange image suddenly appeared in Lin Mo's vision.Not a screen.Not words.Something closer to instinct.Species: UnknownBloodline: UnknownQuality: LegendaryEvolution Potential: UnrestrictedLin Mo's breathing stopped.He stared at the little black dog.The useless beast everyone was laughing at was still lying at his feet.Weak.Lame.Barely alive.But inside Lin Mo's mind, one sentence remained.Evolution Potential: Unrestricted.For the first time that morning, Lin Mo smiled.Very slightly.His future had just changed.
