Most of the students at Shengshui High School live on campus. Those who live off-campus usually enter through the South Gate, while outsiders like Qiao Sang have to use the North Gate.

The North Gate was firmly shut, and the guard in the security room hadn’t started his shift yet.

Qiao Sang checked the time for the nth time.

8:52 AM.

Only 28 minutes left until the special entrance exam at Shengshui High School begins at 9:20 AM.

The vast entrance to the North Gate was deserted, except for Qiao Sang and her Fire fang Dog.

She couldn't help but yawn out of boredom.

Had she known, she would’ve stayed in bed a little longer instead of arriving so early...

8:58 AM.

Eight black dots appeared on the horizon, growing larger as they approached, until they landed in front of the North Gate, stirring up the dust on the ground.

Qiao Sang forced her sleepy eyes to stay open.

They were eight Blackbeak Sparrows, each about two meters in size.

Their beaks were as black as their feathers, and they had a distinctive pair of black curled tails, making them easy to identify.

From the backs of the Blackbeak Sparrows, six men and two women dismounted, all around the same age as Qiao Sang.

“That’ll be 8,000 Alliance Coins." Said the man who had ridden one of the Blackbeak Sparrows.

“We signed up for the group rate.” A girl with a bob haircut and a red headband hurriedly reminded him.

The man glanced at his companion for confirmation with a questioning look.

His companion nodded. “Yes, they did book the group rate.”

“Then it’s 7,222 Alliance Coins.” The man said.

“Can’t you give us a better discount? We might call you for a ride back later.” The tallest of the six boys asked.

“Pay for this trip first.” The man replied without addressing the question directly.

The group had no choice but to hand over the money.

After the payment was made, the tall boy asked again, “So, how much of a discount will you give us if we call you again later?”

“None.” The man replied.

“What?” The tall boy was stunned.

“No discount.” The man repeated.

Everyone else: ...

While the group was busy chatting and making their transaction, Qiao Sang had already entered Shengshui High School with her Fire fang Dog.

At exactly 9:00 AM, the guard uncle came out of the school and opened the gate.

Talk about punctual...

Following the route provided on Shengshui High School’s official website, Qiao Sang made her way to Field 3.

There were only four teachers on the field, and compared to the Hanggang Sixth Beastmaster High School, they didn’t seem to take this special recruitment exam very seriously.

“Teacher, I’m here for the exam." Qiao Sang said as she approached.

“ID card.” Sun Boyi replied curtly.

Qiao Sang handed over her ID card.

“Qiao Sang, from Wencheng Middle School?” Sun Boyi confirmed the details on the card.

“Yes.” Qiao Sang replied.

Sun Boyi checked off Qiao Sang’s name on his list and handed back the ID card.

“Go sit over there. We’ll start once everyone arrives.”

After Qiao Sang had taken a seat, Qin Wen remarked with interest.

“That girl has contracted with a Fire fang Dog.”

“People who awaken their powers on their own often think they’re invincible. It’s not uncommon for their first contracted beast to be something difficult to handle. Didn’t Lu You, who got a direct admission to our school, also contract a little Horned Dragon?” Zheng Guoping retorted dismissively.

Qin Wen rolled her eyes inwardly.

How could they be the same?

The Horned Dragon has a much better temperament than a Fire fang Dog. It’s just that as a dragon-type beast, it’s too expensive for most people to afford a contract with.

One contracted a Fire fang Dog out of bravery, while the other used money to contract a Horned Dragon. How are they the same?

But Zheng Guoping was not the kind of person who took arguments well. He’d explode at the slightest provocation, so Qin Wen didn’t bother to argue with him.

A few minutes later, the group that had arrived on the Blackbeak Sparrows entered the field and queued up to verify their identities.

After verifying her ID, the girl with the red headband scanned the surroundings, then sat down next to Qiao Sang, saying in a familiar tone, “You’re here for the exam too? Why didn’t you come with us?”

She subtly glanced at the Fire fang Dog beside Qiao Sang.

A strong competitor…

Qiao Sang was puzzled.

“Why would I come with you? Do I know you?”

The girl with the red headband was surprised.

“Didn’t you see the message in the group?”

Qiao Sang was even more puzzled. “What group? What message?”

“The group you’re supposed to join through the special admissions page on Shengshui High School’s website.” The girl explained.

“We agreed to meet at the Oujie Street intersection and come together.”

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment before replying, “I didn’t join…”

The girl with the red headband: “…”

“That’s strange. There are nine people in the group for special admissions. If you’re not one of them, then who else could it be?” The girl wondered aloud.

Earlier, someone in the group had joked that the experts always showed up last. Then everyone started claiming they would be the last to arrive.

Li Yang, the tallest boy, had finally suggested that they all gather together and arrive just in time for the exam.

Everyone in the group had awakened their powers on their own.

There were only five spots available in this special recruitment. In the future, they could all end up at the same school, so it made sense to get to know each other and build good relationships early on.

So, everyone agreed to Li Yang’s proposal.

Now there was only one minute left until 9:20 AM, and with the addition of this girl, they should have had all nine people.

Could there be a tenth candidate in this special recruitment?

Just as the girl was about to say something, a startling screech echoed from behind them.

She turned around to see a four-legged, long-tailed creature with a mostly blue body, gray-black wings, and a thick shell covering most of its body hovering 3 or 4 meters above the ground.

It was a Scaled Kite Eagle, a high-level beast.

Zheng Guoping frowned at the sight of the Scaled Kite Eagle. Shengshui High School didn’t allow outside beasts on the campus, and he was about to intervene when he saw a figure jump down from the eagle’s back.

“Dad, you can go now.” The boy who had jumped down said, waving his hand.

The man riding the Scaled Kite Eagle nodded and then flew off.

“Teacher, I’m not late, am I?” The boy walked up to the teachers and asked.

“Lu Liangye, right? You’re the last one. You cut it pretty close—another two seconds and you’d be late.” Zheng Guoping mocked.

Lu Liangye smiled without responding, his gaze casually sweeping over the other candidates.

Everyone except Qiao Sang understood the look in his eyes.

What do you think? Experts always show up last!

Everyone else: “…”

Damn it! He outdid us all!

Sun Boyi clapped his hands to gather everyone around and said, “Now that everyone’s here, we’ll start the exam.”

“You should all know the rules by now, but I’ll go over them again.”

“There are ten of you, and you’ll be paired off in five groups. The five winners will get to rest while the five losers will compete again. The winner of that round will join the five initial winners, making six people in total.”

“These six will then be divided into three groups. The winners of those matches will take the top three spots, while the three losers will compete once more to eliminate one person. The remaining five will earn a spot in our Shengshui High School’s special recruitment.”

Got it.

In other words, it all comes down to luck.

If you get matched against a strong opponent in the first round, you’re out of luck.

After all, four of the five losers will be eliminated.

“To keep things fair, we’ll draw lots. There are two slips each for numbers 1 through 5. Those who draw the same number will automatically be paired up,” Qin Wen said as she took out a wooden box.

Soon, everyone had drawn their lots.

“We’ll start with Number 1. Who drew Number 1?” Qin Wen asked.

“It’s me,” Lu Liangye said, raising an eyebrow as he revealed his slip of paper.

“And who else drew Number 1?” Qin Wen continued.

A pale hand was raised from the side.

“Me.”

It was Qiao Sang.