Most of Saint Water High School's students lived on campus. The few who lived off campus used the school's south gate, while outsiders like Qiao Sang who were not students of the school had to use the north gate.
The north gate was tightly shut, and the guard in the security booth had not started work yet.
Qiao Sang checked the time for the nth time.
8:52.
There were only twenty-eight minutes left until the 9:20 assembly time for Saint Water High School's Special Enrollment Exam.
The huge entrance to the north gate was completely empty except for Qiao Sang and Fire Fang Dog—not even a passerby was in sight.
Unable to suppress her sleepiness, Qiao Sang yawned.
I should've stayed in bed longer instead of coming this early...
8:58.
Eight black dots appeared on the horizon and drew closer. Moments later, they landed at the north gate, kicking up dust from the ground.
Qiao Sang forced her drowsy eyes open.
They were eight Black Beak Sparrows, each around two meters in size.
Their beaks were as black as their feathers, and they had a pair of beautiful black curled tail feathers, making them easy to identify.
Six boys and two girls, all seemingly around her age, climbed down from the eight Black Beak Sparrows one after another.
"Hello, that'll be 8,000 Alliance Coins in total," said a man riding one of the Black Beak Sparrows.
"We booked the group rate," said a girl with a bob haircut and a red headband urgently.
The man glanced at his companion beside him, asking with his eyes whether that was true.
His companion nodded. "They did book the group rate."
"Then it's 7,222 Alliance Coins," the man said.
"Could you give us a little more of a discount? We can call you again when we head back later," asked the tallest of the six boys.
"Pay for this trip first," the man replied without answering directly.
Since he had put it that way, they naturally paid first.
After the payment was made, the tallest boy asked again, "How much of a discount can we get if we call you later?"
"No discount," the man answered.
"What?" The tallest boy was stunned.
"No discount," the man repeated.
Everyone: "..."
While the group was chatting and settling the payment, Qiao Sang had already entered Saint Water High School with Fire Fang Dog.
At exactly nine o'clock, the uncle working as the gate guard came out from the school and opened the gate.
He was practically clocking in at the last possible second...
Following the route provided on Saint Water High School's official website, Qiao Sang arrived at Venue Number Three.
There were only four teachers at the venue. Compared to Hanggang No. 6 Pet Beast Middle School, Saint Water High School seemed rather unconcerned about this Special Enrollment Exam.
"Teacher, I'm here for the exam," Qiao Sang said as she walked over.
"Identity Card." Sun Boyi was brief and to the point.
Qiao Sang took out her Identity Card and handed it over.
"Qiao Sang, from Wencheng Middle School?" Sun Boyi lowered his head and checked the card against the information.
"Yeah," Qiao Sang replied.
Sun Boyi checked off Qiao Sang's name on the paper. "Go sit over there first. We'll begin once everyone is here." He returned her Identity Card after speaking.
Once Qiao Sang moved to the side, Qin Wen remarked with interest, "That girl actually contracted a Fire Fang Dog."
"People who awaken on their own always think highly of themselves. Isn't it common for them to contract hard-to-handle Pet Beasts as their first? Lu You, the one admitted to our school through recommendation this time, even contracted a Little Horned Dragon," Zheng Guoping said dismissively.
Qin Wen rolled her eyes inwardly.
How is that the same?
Little Horned Dragons had much better temperaments than Fire Fang Dogs. It was only because they were Dragon-type Pet Beasts that they were too expensive for most people to contract.
One had contracted a Fire Fang Dog through sheer courage, while the other had contracted a Little Horned Dragon with money. How were those the same?
Still, Zheng Guoping was difficult to talk to and blew up at the slightest provocation, so she could not be bothered arguing with him.
A few minutes later, the people who had gotten off the Black Beak Sparrows outside the north gate entered the venue and lined up to have their identities verified.
After the bob-haired girl with the headband was the first to finish verifying her identity, she looked around, then came over and sat beside Qiao Sang. Familiar as if they already knew each other, she asked, "You're here for the exam too, right? Why didn't you come with us?"
She discreetly glanced at Fire Fang Dog beside her.
A formidable rival.
Qiao Sang was baffled. "Why would 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 Enrollment students were supposed to join through the official Saint Water High School Special Enrollment page," the bob-haired girl explained. "Didn't we agree in the group to meet at Oujie Street Intersection and come here together?"
Qiao Sang was silent for a moment. "I didn't join..."
The bob-haired girl: "..."
"That can't be right. There were nine Special Enrollment students in the group. If the remaining person isn't you, then who is it?" the bob-haired girl asked in confusion.
Back in the group, someone had said that experts always made their entrance last. After that, one after another, everyone said they wanted to arrive last.
Li Yang, the tallest of the boys, had later stepped forward and suggested that everyone gather together and arrive shortly before the exam.
Everyone in the group had awakened on their own.
Saint Water High School had five Special Enrollment slots this time. They might end up attending the same school in the future, so naturally no one objected to getting to know one another and building good relationships beforehand.
So everyone agreed to Li Yang's proposal.
There was only one minute left until 9:20. With the girl in front of her, there were exactly nine people. Everyone should have been here.
Could there be ten people taking the Special Enrollment Exam this time?
Just as the bob-haired girl was about to say something, a chilling cry suddenly sounded from behind them.
They turned around to see a Flying Type Pet Beast hovering three or four meters above the ground. It had four limbs, a long tapering tail, a mostly blue body, grayish-black wings, and thick armor covering its entire body.
It was a Jiejia Eagle, an Advanced Pet Beast.
Zheng Guoping frowned deeply at the sight of the Jiejia Eagle. Saint Water High School did not allow outside Pet Beasts to enter. He was just about to step forward and stop it when he saw a figure jump down from the Jiejia Eagle's back.
"You can go now, dad," said the boy who had jumped down, waving his hand.
The man riding on the Jiejia Eagle nodded, and the Jiejia Eagle immediately flew away.
"Teacher, I'm not late, am I?" the boy asked as he walked up to the teachers.
"Lu Liangye, right? You were the last one. Your timing was pretty good. If you'd taken another two seconds, you would've been late," Zheng Guoping mocked.
Lu Liangye merely smiled without speaking, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward the other candidates.
Other than Qiao Sang, everyone understood what he meant.
See? Experts always make their entrance last!
Everyone: "..."
Damn it! He really got to show off!
After Sun Boyi clapped his hands to gather everyone together, he said, "Everyone's here, so let's begin the exam."
"You all know the rules, right? I'll go over them again."
"There are ten people, divided into pairs. The five winners will rest first. The five losers will compete again to determine one winner, making six people in total together with the original five winners."
"These six people will be divided into three pairs. The winners will take the top three places, while the three losers will compete again and one person will be eliminated. The remaining five will obtain Special Enrollment qualification for Saint Water High School."
Got it.
Put simply, it came down to luck.
If they were paired with a strong opponent right from the start, they could only count themselves unlucky.
After all, four out of the five initial losers would be eliminated.
"To ensure fairness, we'll draw lots. There are two slips each for Numbers One through Five in here. Those who draw the same number will automatically form a pair," Qin Wen said, taking out a wooden box.
Soon, everyone had drawn their lots.
"We'll start with Number One. Who drew Number One?" Qin Wen asked.
"It's me." Lu Liangye raised his brows and held up the slip in his hand.
"Who has the other Number One?" Qin Wen continued.
At that moment, a pale hand rose from the side.
"Me."
It was Qiao Sang.
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