Ch. 283 - Indeed, a Genius's Radiance Cannot Be Hidden

The group conversed among themselves, and their regard for Chen Shu only grew.

Especially upon learning that he came from no family background whatsoever — that he had reached such heights purely through his own efforts.

It stirred genuine admiration in all of them.

In the modern beast taming profession, the path was essentially a pay-to-win highway. Commoners had virtually no hope of rising to the top.

Soon it was noon.

"Everyone, let's move to the dining room."

The group relocated to the second-floor dining hall, where only the core family members had been invited. Two large tables had been set.

"Xiao Bao, go call your grandfather down."

Ouyang Bao nodded, and soon descended the stairs alongside an elderly man from the third floor.

The old man had an upright bearing. Though his temples were touched with frost, he remained hale and vigorous — clearly a beast tamer himself.

"Oh? And who might this young friend be?"

The old man's gaze was sharp. He spotted Chen Shu among the crowd at once.

"Indeed, a genius's radiance cannot be hidden!"

Chen Shu let out a sigh and said, "Greetings, Old Master! I'm Ouyang Bao's friend."

"Same age as you?!"

Ouyang Xun's expression jolted with surprise. He scrutinized Chen Shu from head to toe.

"Grandpa, Teacher Chen Shu is in my year," Ouyang Bao said quietly.

"Black Iron rank before graduation?! A great talent!"

Ouyang Xun's eyes filled with admiration. He hadn't expected his grandson to be acquainted with someone of this caliber.

"Wait — Chen Shu?!"

As if suddenly remembering something, he studied Chen Shu with an odd expression.

"Black Iron rank?!"

Only then did the others react, their gazes locked squarely on Chen Shu, their hearts reeling with shock.

Black Iron before university — it had been far too many years since China had seen such a thing.

"Is it really that big a deal?"

Ouyang Bao shrugged, utterly baffled.

These days, students at China's Brand-Name Universities were basically all Black Iron rank.

"What do you know?"

Ouyang Xun patted his grandson on the head but didn't elaborate.

Breaking through on one's own versus breaking through with a university's resources — those were not the same thing.

"Everyone, sit, sit!"

The old man laughed and said, "Young friend Chen Shu, sit beside me."

None of the family members had expected the old master to hold Chen Shu in such high regard.

"Your keen eye truly pierces talent!"

Chen Shu bared his teeth in a grin, not the least bit reserved.

The family shared a warm and harmonious meal.

Through it, Chen Shu learned of Ouyang Bao's family background — they were the owners of Tianhua Beast Taming Group.

Tianhua Beast Taming Group had been established for centuries, a top-tier mega-corporation in China. Its sheer scale was staggering.

Lunch concluded.

Chen Shu found himself in a lively conversation with Ouyang Xun, the two of them chatting away like old friends reunited after years apart.

"Little Chen, take this card. Whether you need to sell or purchase anything, you can visit any Tianhua store in the Capital."

Ouyang Xun handed him a gold-colored card.

It wasn't direct money, but Huaxia Academy students frequently ventured into Alternate Dimensions — they'd need to buy necessary resources and offload surplus materials.

The value of this card immediately shot through the roof!

Chen Shu accepted it without any pretense of modesty.

Standing at the villa's entrance, he clasped Ouyang Xun's hands and said, "Many thanks, Old Bro Ouyang!"

With that, he turned and fled without looking back...

"That kid!"

Ouyang Xun shook his head, but there was no anger in it.

Everyone else's expressions froze. Somehow, they had all just become Chen Shu's juniors in the family hierarchy.

"Father, is he really worth this level of regard?"

Ouyang Ao furrowed his brows.

The group's VIP Gold Cards were only issued to major powers or top-tier experts.

A high school senior didn't quite seem qualified.

"I visited the Capital last month. Old Liu was full of praise for him. I see the same promise in him!"

Ouyang Xun explained, admiration clear in his eyes.

"Professor Liu Feng himself thinks highly of him?"

The others paused. They hadn't expected that before even enrolling, Chen Shu had already caught a professor's eye.

"More precisely, he thinks highly of his cunning."

Ouyang Xun chuckled and said, "At the end of the day, it's just a matter of earning a little more or a little less. A VIP Gold Card isn't such a big deal."

He was a beast tamer, but equally a businessman — he wouldn't make a deal at a loss.

The card's function was a modest discount. Though the profit margin would be thinner, building a good relationship with Chen Shu might yield far greater value down the line.

A merchant family, after all — how could they ever come out on the losing end?

...

Chen Shu, for his part, was equally pleased. He understood exactly what the other party was thinking. It was simply a mutually beneficial partnership.

"Talent and strength truly do buy status."

Chen Shu mused with a sigh. If he were just some ordinary beast taming student, the Ouyang family probably wouldn't have spared him a second glance.

He returned to the hotel, took a comfortable shower, and spent a leisurely afternoon.

That evening, Ouyang Bao invited him to dinner again. Chen Shu declined without hesitation.

He'd just finished milking them for all they were worth — what if what awaited him was a good beating instead?

Besides, he had things to do tonight.

At that moment, Chen Shu summoned the Husky inside his hotel room.

"Awooo~~"

The Husky bounced around ceaselessly, brimming with energy.

"Dumb dog, notice anything different?"

Chen Shu asked. He'd completed the System option and his Beast Space had been upgraded — there had to be some additional effects.

"Awo awo!"

The Husky stared at him, making no further movement. Just... staring.

A long moment passed.

"Forget it!"

Chen Shu shook his head. The contract spirit definitely knew what was different about the Beast Space.

But given the Husky's intelligence, expressing it was simply asking too much.

He then used Partial Summoning, and a pair of adorably vacant eyes appeared.

"Little Yellow, anything different?"

"Goo-gii!"

The Golden Slime's eyes remained adorably vacant. Beyond that, no movement, no response.

Chen Shu gazed back and forth — between the adorably vacant eyes and the eyes brimming with "wisdom."

In the end, he let out a sigh.

Though contract spirits couldn't speak, they were supposed to understand his words and could use certain behaviors or actions to answer.

Some contract spirits could even communicate simply with their masters — certain Psychic-type contract spirits, for example.

But the Golden Slime and the Husky? Probably no chance of communication for the rest of their lives.

"If only I could awaken a Psychic-type contract spirit."

Chen Shu sighed and opened his laptop, deciding to do some research himself.

While there were no precedents for Beast Space upgrades, certain special contract spirits came with extraordinarily unique Beast Spaces of their own.

Some Beast Spaces contained mysterious substances that accelerated wound recovery!

Others, when inhabited long-term, could increase a contract spirit's attributes. Some could even reduce the summoning cooldown time.

"Could it be an enhancement in that direction?"

Chen Shu stroked his chin. He recalled the Husky, then waited to summon it again.

However, the cooldown time remained unchanged.

"Looks like it's not about reduced summon cooldown, but some other kind of benefit."

Chen Shu pondered, but with no way to test it at the moment, he could only shelve the matter for now. In any case, it couldn't be anything harmful.

...

Early the next morning.

Chen Shu packed his things and prepared to head to Daxing City's airport.

He dialed Xia Bing's number, wanting to confirm the exact time.

Brr~ brr~ brr~

"No one's picking up?"

Chen Shu raised an eyebrow, unsure what the issue might be.

[1] 天才的光辉无法隐瞒 (tiāncái de guānghuī wúfǎ yǐnmán): "A genius's radiance cannot be hidden." A self-aggrandizing phrase that Chen Shu speaks about himself when Ouyang Xun spots him in the crowd. The comedy comes from the chapter title being a direct quote of Chen Shu's own shameless self-praise — the author elevates the protagonist's narcissistic one-liner to the status of a chapter title, making the reader realize it was Chen Shu himself who declared this, not an omniscient narrator.