Most of the students at Holy Water Middle School were boarding students, while a few, like Qiao Sang, who were outsiders, entered through the north gate instead of the south gate used by regular students.
The north gate was tightly shut, and the security guard had not yet arrived for work.
For the nth time, Qiao Sang checked the time.
8:52.
Only 28 minutes remained until the gathering time for the special admission exam at Holy Water Middle School, which was at 9:20.
Besides Qiao Sang and her Fire Tooth Dog, the area in front of the large north gate was deserted, not even a passerby in sight.
With a yawn escaping her lips, Qiao Sang thought to herself, If I had known, I would have stayed in bed a little longer and not come out so early...
8:58.
Eight black dots appeared in the distance and gradually approached the north gate, stirring up dust from the ground.
Qiao Sang blinked her sleepiness away and focused.
It was eight Black-beak Sparrows, each about 2 meters tall. Their beaks were as black as their feathers, and they sported a pair of striking curled tails, making them easy to identify.
From among the eight Black-beak Sparrows descended six boys and two girls, all looking around the same age as her.
"Hello, it will be a total of 8000 Alliance Coins," said one of the men who was perched on a Black-beak Sparrow's back.
"We signed up for the group purchase price," replied a girl with bobbed hair and a red headband, looking anxious.
The man exchanged glances with his companion, silently asking if this was true.
His companion nodded, "Yes, we did sign up for the group price."
"Then it's 7222 Alliance Coins," the man said.
"Can you give us a better deal? If we call you back later, it would be worth it," the tallest of the six boys inquired.
"Let's settle this payment first," the man replied without directly answering.
Naturally, the payment was made after that.
Once the money was exchanged, the tallest boy asked again, "What kind of discount can we get if we call you back later?"
"None," the man responded.
"What?" The tall boy looked confused.
"I said no discount," the man repeated firmly.
Everyone remained silent, exchanging glances amongst themselves...
As the group finished their discussion and transaction, Qiao Sang had already entered Holy Water Middle School with her Fire Tooth Dog.
At exactly 9:00, the uncle at the security post came out and opened the gate.
He had arrived right on time...
Following the route provided on Holy Water Middle School's official website, Qiao Sang reached the third venue.
Only four teachers were present, seeming unconcerned about this special admission competition, especially compared to how serious the staff at Hanggang Sixth Beastmaster Middle School seemed.
"Excuse me, I am here for the exam," Qiao Sang walked over and said.
"Identity card," replied Sun Boyi in a terse manner.
Qiao Sang took out her identity card and handed it over.
"Qiao Sang, from Wencheng Middle School?" Sun Boyi lowered his head to check her identification.
"Yes," Qiao Sang confirmed.
Sun Boyi marked a check next to her name on the paper, saying, "Go sit over there for now. We will start once everyone is here," and handed back her identity card.
As Qiao Sang settled down, Qin Wen remarked with interest, "This girl has contracted a Fire Tooth Dog."
"Those who awaken by themselves always think highly of themselves. Isn't it common for the first contracted beasts to be the more difficult types? The fellow who got a direct admission to our school this time, Lu You, contracted a Small Devil Dragon," Zheng Guoping commented indifferently.
Qin Wen rolled her eyes internally.
Was it really the same thing? The temperament of a Small Devil Dragon was much better than a Fire Tooth Dog, but its high price made it hard for anyone to contract.
One was contracted based on courage while the other required wealth—how could they be compared?
However, Zheng Guoping was known to be difficult to argue with, and she didn't want to waste her time debating him.
A few minutes later, the group that had arrived on the Black-beak Sparrows outside the north gate entered the venue and queued to verify their identities.
The first to confirm was the bob-haired girl with the red headband who looked around before coming over to sit next to Qiao Sang.
"You're also here for the exam. Why didn't you come over with us?" she asked casually, glancing at the Fire Tooth Dog beside Qiao Sang.
A rival, indeed.
Qiao Sang was taken aback, "Why should I come with you? Do I know you?"
The bob-haired girl looked surprised, "Didn't you see the message in the group?"
Qiao Sang was even more confused, "What group? What message?"
"The group that all special admission students were required to join, as stated on the Holy Water Middle School special admission website," the girl explained. "We agreed on a time to meet at the street corner of Oujie and come together, didn't we?"
After a moment of silence, Qiao Sang replied, "I didn't join..."
The girl looked stunned, "Wait a minute, there are nine special admission students in the group. If it's not you, then who could it be?"
Initially, someone had said in the group that the experts would always be the last to arrive, and soon everyone chimed in, agreeing to arrive last.
Li Yang, the tallest boy among them, then suggested they gather together to come as a group before the exam.
Since all those in the group were self-awakened, and there were five special admission spots from Holy Water Middle School, it made sense to get to know each other beforehand.
They ultimately agreed to Li Yang's proposal.
Now, with only one minute left until 9:20, and noticing that the girl next to her was part of the nine, everything should have been perfectly aligned.
Could this special admission have ten people instead?
Just as the bob-haired girl was about to say something, a chilling cry suddenly echoed from behind.
Turning around, they spotted a four-legged flying beast in the air about three to four meters high, its body mostly blue with gray-black wings and a thick shell covering its entirety.
It was a Boundhawk, a high-level beast.
Zheng Guoping furrowed his brows at the sight of the Boundhawk. Holy Water Middle School did not permit outside beasts to enter, and just as he stepped forward to stop it, a figure jumped down from its back.
"Dad, you can go ahead first," the youth who had jumped down said, waving his hand.
The man on the Boundhawk nodded, and the creature took off into the sky.
"Teacher, I'm not late, am I?" the youth asked, approaching the teachers.
"Lu Liangye, right? You're the last one. You timed it well; if you had taken another two seconds, you would have been late," Zheng Guoping taunted.
Lu Liangye simply smiled without replying, his gaze absentmindedly drifting toward the other candidates.
Except for Qiao Sang, everyone understood his meaning.
What did that indicate? Experts always came in last!
Everyone thought: How infuriating! He got us!
Sun Boyi clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention, saying, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the exam."
"Everyone knows the rules of the exam, but I'll repeat them anyway."
"There are ten of you, paired into groups of two. The five winners will take a break first, while the five who lost will compete to decide one winner. Together with the five original winners, that will make six."
"These six will be divided into three groups. The winners will get the top three positions, and the three who lost will compete again to eliminate one, leaving the remaining five to secure special admission spots at Holy Water Middle School."
Got it.
In simpler terms, it was all about luck.
If you faced a tough opponent when paired up first, you could only acknowledge your misfortune. After all, four out of the five who lost at the start would be eliminated.
"To ensure fairness, we'll draw lots to determine the pairings. There are two slips for each of numbers 1 to 5. Those who draw the same number will automatically pair up," Qin Wen explained as she took out a wooden box.
Before long, everyone had drawn their slips.
"Let's start with number 1. Who drew number 1?" Qin Wen asked.
"It's me," Lu Liangye raised an eyebrow, revealing the slip in his hand.
"Who is the other number 1?" Qin Wen continued her inquiry.
At this moment, a pure white hand raised from the side.
"Me."
It was Qiao Sang.
(End of Chapter)