Qiao Sang was filled with frustration and regret.

"So this is why you suddenly attacked the TV?"

She lifted Fire Fang Dog's head, ready to give him a proper scolding.

Just then, there was a click as the door opened.

Qiao Sang slowly turned her head and forced a stiff smile.

"Mom, you're back."

"Coo!"

The family's fat dove immediately flew over to Qiao Sang's mother, rubbing against her affectionately.

Her mother looked at the mess in the living room, remaining silent for a few seconds before turning her gaze towards Qiao Sang with a gentle expression.

"Is there something you'd like to explain?"

Qiao Sang quickly raised Fire Fang Dog to shield herself.

"It was all his doing!"

Fire Fang Dog blinked his innocent, wide eyes.

Her mother locked eyes with Fire Fang Dog for a moment, then said, "I'll deduct it from your allowance."

Qiao Sang stared at her mother with a look of grievance.

"Do you have any objections?" Her mother asked.

"No," Qiao Sang answered, going against her conscience.

She certainly had objections. Her monthly allowance was only 1,000 Alliance Coins, and the TV cost at least 4,000.

Losing four months' worth of allowance all at once—of course she had objections.

Her mother walked over and sat down on a single-seater sofa, with the fat dove following close behind.

"Is something wrong?" Qiao Sang asked.

Fang Sisi had mentioned something about this in her message.

Her mother didn’t answer that question directly, instead asking, "Do you have any high schools you're interested in attending?"

Qiao Sang paused, then thought for a moment before saying, "Hanggang Sixth Royal Beast Academy."

The Sixth Royal Beast Academy wasn’t actually ranked sixth among the high schools in Hanggang; it was just named that way.

In terms of overall strength, it was considered a mid-tier school among all the Royal Beast high schools in Hanggang.

Her choice was purely because it was close to home.

Given her previous academic performance, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to get into a school like this, but now that she had awakened her powers independently, she could try for a special admission.

Her mother pulled a brochure out of her bag and placed it in front of Qiao Sang.

"I think you should consider applying to this school."

Qiao Sang picked it up and glanced at it, her eye twitching. "Hanggang Shengshui High School?"

Her mother remained calm.

"Yes."

"Mom, aren't you overestimating me?" Qiao Sang said helplessly, placing the brochure back on the coffee table.

Shengshui High School was the top-ranked Royal Beast high school in Hanggang, and second in the entire Zhejiang Sea Province, with an acceptance rate as high as 98.73%. It was one of the most prestigious schools around.

Naturally, only the best students in Hanggang could get into this school.

If there were still six months left before the entrance exams, Qiao Sang might have been willing to work hard, but with only 19 days left, there was no way she could get in.

So why waste time trying to pass the special admission test?

Qiao Sang couldn’t understand. Even though she had awakened her powers independently, wasn't her mother’s expectation of her a bit unrealistic?

Her mother looked at Qiao Sang calmly and said, "You don’t need to get in; just give it your best shot, and I won’t deduct your allowance."

Qiao Sang picked up the brochure again and said, "Who cares about the allowance? I just want to give it a try."

Her mother’s lips twitched.

"Then go ahead and sign up online."

"Sure thing," Qiao Sang said, picking up Fire Fang Dog as she headed out.

As she watched her daughter’s retreating figure, Ye Xiangting’s eyes gleamed with amusement, but when she recalled what had happened at the school that afternoon, her expression darkened.

Qiao Sang went to her room, opened her computer, and signed up for both Hanggang Sixth Royal Beast Academy and Shengshui High School.

The two schools had vastly different rankings, and their special admission requirements were equally different.

Qiao Sang focused on the section for independent awakening.

The conditions for Hanggang Sixth Royal Beast Academy were relatively simple.

Once she submitted proof of her independent awakening online and it passed the review, her exam score could be adjusted based on the development level of her brain domain.

With 5% brain domain development, she could have 100 points deducted from the minimum passing score for the Hanggang entrance exam; with 6% development, 200 points could be deducted.

Last year, the minimum passing score in Hanggang was 332. If Qiao Sang could develop her brain domain to 6%, she would only need to score 132 points on the entrance exam to be specially admitted.

Given Qiao Sang’s current grades, this didn’t seem like a big problem.

As for Shengshui High School, it was more complicated. The special admission for independent awakeners only accepted five students.

After passing the registration review, they would have to participate in a pet beast battle at a specified time and place.

Students who ranked second to fifth would need to score 50 points higher than the minimum passing score to be admitted.

The first-place winner had it a bit easier—they only needed to meet the minimum passing score for Hanggang.

Although independent awakeners were extremely rare, when considering the entire Zhejiang Sea Province, there were still about 40 or 50 each year.

After excluding those who were guaranteed admission or chose other schools' special admissions, there were always about a dozen who applied to Shengshui High School each year.

After all, it was the top-ranked school in Hanggang, with a reputation to match.

Qiao Sang noted that the special admission exam for Shengshui School was scheduled for June 10th, a week before the entrance exam—just 12 days away.

A pet beast battle, huh?

Qiao Sang thought for a moment. The participants in the special admission would all be people who had just awakened this year, and their pet beasts would also be beginner-level.

She had contracted a fire-type pet beast, so she wasn’t entirely without an advantage.

Thinking of Fire Fang Dog, Qiao Sang hesitated for a moment, then directed her consciousness into the Beast Tamer Codex.

Name: Fire Fang Dog

Attribute: Fire

Level: Beginner (115/1000) +

Skills: Bite (Beginner 73/100) +, Charge (Intermediate 135/500) +, Fire Fang (Beginner 2/100) +, Ember (Beginner 3/100)

Points: 0

Qiao Sang exited the manual, looking at Fire Fang Dog with a strange expression.

"Did watching TV scare you into learning the Ember skill?"

4,000 Alliance Coins in exchange for a skill—was it worth it?

Actually, it was pretty worth it…

A pet beast's potential was limited. Just by looking at its appearance, it was impossible to tell if it had good aptitude.

A pet beast with good aptitude would learn skills and awaken new abilities much faster than ordinary ones.

If someone were unlucky enough to contract a pet beast with mediocre aptitude, they might not even be able to learn a single skill in a year.

Qiao Sang looked at Fire Fang Dog, lost in thought.

Her Fire Fang Dog seemed to have decent aptitude. Should she take him to watch a horror movie next time?

Fire Fang Dog shivered involuntarily. Why did it suddenly feel cold?

10:12 PM.

The night was quiet and still.

Qiao Sang lay in bed, her hands under her head, a look of anticipation gleaming in her eyes.

After tossing and turning for a while, she finally sat up and looked at the still wide-awake Fire Fang Dog beside her.

Fire Fang Dog, having been stared at for quite a while, looked puzzled.

"Yap?"

Qiao Sang whispered softly, "I don't blame you for what happened this morning. Do you want to watch TV again?"

Fire Fang Dog remembered the incident from the morning and knew he had done something wrong. The things on the screen wouldn't come out, after all.

"Yip." He nodded, indicating that he wanted to watch.

Qiao Sang picked up her phone from the bedside and searched for the latest popular horror movie, placing it in front of Fire Fang Dog

Fire Fang Dog watched intently.

In a fog-shrouded forest, a young girl dressed in white was walking. From her perspective, a faint black shadow floated in the air…

Qiao Sang didn’t watch along with him. Instead, she placed her right hand on the phone, observing Fire Fang Dog’s reaction and ready to intervene at any moment.