"We don't need to be so formal with each other. By the way, did you sign up for Pearl Academy's Special Recruitment Exam?" Tang Yue asked over the phone.
Song Jie answered with a simple acknowledgment.
"With your talent and cultivation, passing the Special Recruitment Exam should be a sure thing," Tang Yue said.
"Then I'll take that as your good word, Teacher Tang Yue," Song Jie said with a smile.
"I'll be back in Song City before long. Come visit me when you have time," Tang Yue invited him.
They chatted for a little while before Tang Yue, too busy to stay on the phone, hung up.
By then, Song Jie had returned home and was busy tinkering with his Summoning Element.
"I'd better get the seven stars of my Summoning Element under control first!" Song Jie resolved.
Although he now possessed the Summoning Element, he hadn't gained control of its stars, so he couldn't cast Dimensional Summon at all!
If he could cast Dimensional Summon, he'd be able to summon a Summoned Beast from the dimensional space. Then he'd have a Summoned Beast of his own!
The thought filled Song Jie with motivation, and he immediately sat down to cultivate.
He already had Light Magic, so he knew the basics of controlling Novice-level stars like the back of his hand!
That meant he could make twice the progress with half the effort as he worked to control the stars of his Summoning Element!
After several days of cultivation, Song Jie finally received word from Pearl Academy.
"Your exam is the day after tomorrow." The notice meant that he'd clearly passed the screening.
Cultivation was tedious, but only those who could endure the tedium could become stronger!
The Special Recruitment Exam was scheduled for the morning. After breakfast, Song Jie hurried straight to Pearl Academy.
He was now quite familiar with Pearl Academy, so it didn't take long for him to reach its Magic Arena.
It was where students took their magic exams, and quite a few people were already seated there.
Song Jie looked around. There were a dozen or so, all about his age.
He found an empty seat and sat down, waiting for the Special Recruitment Exam to begin.
A row of teachers sat nearby. They were the examiners for this year's test.
"This year's special recruits are pretty impressive. Quite a few of them are already Intermediate Mages," one teacher said with a smile.
The others knew the truth: special recruits who hadn't reached Intermediate Mage would have a hard time passing the exam.
Those who hadn't reached that level were basically just there to make up the numbers.
The standards for special recruitment were high. Students had to stand out in some field, or they'd have little chance of being selected.
On top of that, there were very few special recruitment places. Usually, more than a dozen people competed for just two spots.
The teachers also had to discuss and compare the candidates. If no one met their standards, they'd rather take nobody at all.
That made entering Pearl Academy through special recruitment incredibly difficult—much harder than the college entrance exam.
But for anyone who'd missed the college entrance exam, it was the only way into Pearl Academy.
"Has everyone arrived?" Dean Xiao asked.
"Yes," a male teacher replied as he walked over. He'd just finished calling Song Jie and the others' names.
"Then have them come over for the first part of the exam," Dean Xiao said expressionlessly.
The examiner nodded, then began calling names and sending the candidates in one by one.
The first part of the exam was nothing more than questions about magic and an assessment of their cultivation level.
Several candidates went up first, and Song Jie soon had a general idea of how the first part worked.
"Not bad. You're about to break through to Intermediate Mage, aren't you?" the examiner asked.
The strength of this student's Stardust was already extremely close to the level required for a breakthrough. It was a clear sign that he was about to advance.
"Yes," the student replied with a nod.
When a mage first awakened, they gained a Stardust. It was also the defining feature of a Novice Mage.
After reaching Intermediate Level, the Stardust transformed into a Nebula, which was much larger than before!
High-level Mages had a Star River, while Super Level Mages had a Sea of Stars...
"Very good. Congratulations on passing the first part of the exam," Dean Xiao said.
The student smiled, nodded, and returned to his seat.
Soon, more candidates went up for their exams. Before long, half of them hadn't returned.
Song Jie was last. By the time it was his turn, only eight people remained, including him.
"Not bad, Young Master Liang. You're definitely going to rank first in this first part of the exam," said a fashionably dressed young man, sucking up to him.
He was the most powerful candidate there at the moment, which also meant he had the highest cultivation level!
"I'm only so-so," Bai Liang said, clearly pleased with his lackey's flattery.
The others chimed in as well. Bai Liang was from the Bai Family, one of the four great families of Magic City, so naturally they wanted to curry favor with him.
As for Song Jie, he was dressed very plainly. Sitting among them, he stood out in stark contrast.
However,
Song Jie remained completely unfazed.
"Song Jie!"
The examiner called his name. Song Jie stood and walked toward the testing area.
"Song Jie, Intermediate Mage, from Bo City..." Dean Xiao read Song Jie's information, then looked up at him.
"You're from Bo City? The one that was invaded by Demon Beasts?" a professor suddenly asked, looking at Song Jie.
Everyone across the country knew about what had happened in Bo City. Fortunately, the casualties there had been very low.
"Yes."
Song Jie nodded.
"Were you in Bo City at the time?" a professor asked curiously.
"This is an exam. Don't ask irrelevant questions," Dean Xiao said.
They asked Song Jie a few questions about magic, then had him take the cultivation-level test.
"When did you advance to Intermediate Mage?" Dean Xiao asked.
"Not long ago." Song Jie hadn't been given any time to prepare, so he kept his answer vague.
"If it was recently, he's about average among the students who made it this far," a professor said, clearly unimpressed with Song Jie.
Bo City was only a small town. How could someone from a small town compete with rivals from great families?
"Let's begin the test," Dean Xiao said. He made no further comment and told Song Jie to place his hand on the Star Sensing Stone.
Song Jie noticed that the Star Sensing Stone in front of him was different from the one at Tian Lan Magic High School.
This one was used to test Intermediate Mages.
He placed his hand on it and waited for the Star Sensing Stone to respond.
The seated candidates all looked over, their faces full of anticipation.
They were all from great families, and their cultivation levels had been bought with money.
As for Song Jie, they hadn't taken him seriously. After all, they had the confidence that came with being from a great family.
Dean Xiao and several senior professors watched. Before long, golden light began to appear on the Star Sensing Stone!
"There's so much golden light—and it's so strong!" one professor exclaimed in disbelief.
The professor who'd just dismissed Song Jie furrowed his brow.
The golden light grew brighter and brighter. The examiner standing beside him couldn't even keep his eyes open.
"With cultivation strength like this, he's close to the second level, isn't he?" a professor asked in disbelief.
The others said nothing, which was answer enough.
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