Exam Difficulty

"Class Monitor." After Liang Quan left, Li Yi saw Xu Wuhu's displeased expression and quickly approached him.

Xu Wuhu waved his hand at Li Yi, "It's nothing. Just focus on the exam, he wouldn't dare to tamper too much during the test."

The combat preliminary exam, as the most important test in university, was a turning point in many people's lives. Because of this, even though it was an academy-level exam, it often attracted the attention of many influential figures.

Especially since Xin'an Beast Taming Academy was one of the earliest beast taming academies.

Although Liang Quan was the legitimate son of the Liang family from Xinyue, he wouldn't dare to make overtly targeted moves during the combat preliminary exam.

However, Zhou Lu had already prepared himself for the first round of the exam to be very difficult.

Huohuo, cradled in his arms, was excitedly swaying its leaves and looking around, seeing so many people for the first time.

Li Yi looked at the crowded plaza filled with students and said with a smile, "This might be the most students we've seen since our freshman orientation ceremony."

All the students had been preparing for the combat preliminary exam, and since Zhou Lu didn't live in the student dorms, he hadn't met many classmates.

And after the combat preliminary exam, a batch of students would inevitably be ruthlessly eliminated.

To be honest, although the combat preliminary exam received the most attention, it was the easiest of the university's six beast taming exams. After all, it was the only exam that allowed team-ups, offering the possibility of passing by relying on stronger teammates.

Xu Wuhu had told Zhou Lu that because the combat preliminary exam had a scoring standard, geniuses would often specifically seek out students with poorer grades to team up with, so they could appear more outstanding and receive better scores.

The Class Monitor was quite straightforward. Although he intended to help Zhou Lu and Li Yi pass the exam by teaming up with them, he also genuinely planned to catch people's eyes and achieve a high score during the exam.

"Because of this exam, my older brother will be coming to spectate," Xu Wuhu said, looking up towards the VIP seating area.

Li Yi listened and gave a thumbs-up, "Don't worry, Class Monitor, we'll definitely make you the brightest star in the whole venue!"

As they were speaking, the combat preliminary exam began.

Zhou Lu and the others were in the third group to compete. Although it was a bit early, at least they could observe Liang Quan's combat style through the first two matches.

The exam venue was set up as a swamp – an absolute home ground for Mud Monsters.

This was also the standard practice for this type of exam. Generally, the more open the exam, the more advantageous the venue would be for the examiner.

In fact, the combat preliminary exam wasn't the most exaggerated one.

The Exploration Permit exam was. The Explorer Association clearly stated that the Exploration Permit exam required Beast Tamers to engage in combat against elemental disadvantages.

In Secret Realm exploration, if you can't defeat wild Spirit Beasts with elemental disadvantages, you are unqualified.

As they spoke, the first match had already begun.

In the center of the vast swamp was a platform cast from concrete, with a red orb placed in its center. This was the "clearance item" that the examinees had to try their best to snatch.

Liang Quan sat on the platform with a stern expression, the red orb behind him.

According to the exam rules, examinees were considered to have passed if they snatched the orb or defeated the examiner. If the examiner used a second Spirit Beast during the exam, it was also considered a defeat by the examinee.

The moment the three examinees landed, the seemingly solid ground beneath their feet suddenly turned into a swamp.

Except for one examinee who quickly reacted and mounted their flying Spirit Beast, the Hunting Eagle, the other two were swallowed by the swamp before they could even summon their Spirit Beasts.

"To be slack-witted when you know it's a battlefield is unacceptable," Liang Quan's cold voice echoed from the center. "You didn't think this was a cricket fight, did you? Once you step onto this examination ground, both Spirit Beasts and Beast Tamers can become targets."

"Cricket fight" was a derogatory term used by explorers, such as those in the Pioneer Army and exploration teams, for beast taming competitions.

The sole remaining examinee, despite narrowly escaping, couldn't help but show fear upon witnessing this scene.

The moment Liang Quan finished speaking, a gigantic, hideous giant surged from the mud.

Its entire body was covered in viscous mud, and the falling mud formed numerous holes on its body, resembling giant, greedy mouths.

Ugly, terrifying.

With the advantage of the swamp, the three-meter-tall Mud Monster exuded immense pressure.

The examinee intended to flee, but the Mud Monster instantly expanded, transforming into an overwhelming expanse of mud that swallowed both the examinee and his Spirit Beast.

All the examinees present, as well as the freshman observers, were stunned.

"Wait, is this combat preliminary exam really this terrifying?!"

"With Liang Quan doing this, the difficulty of this exam will be raised."

It wasn't just the students who felt the same way; even Principal Wu Sicheng couldn't watch any longer. He frowned and looked at the Director of Academic Affairs beside him.

Director of Academic Affairs Meng Daoxuan chuckled, "Beast Taming is a very dangerous profession. In future Secret Realm explorations, a slight mistake can lead to death. By increasing the exam's difficulty a little and eliminating students without talent, aren't we also looking out for their future safety?"

Wu Sicheng gave Meng Daoxuan a deep look, "I recall you also came from a mountain village by passing the beast taming exam, Teacher Meng."

"Ah, yes," Meng Daoxuan replied.

Wu Sicheng pointed at the exam grounds, his face instantly turning stern, "Then do you think students from ordinary families, after contracting a Spirit Beast for just three months, can train their Spirit Beasts to a level sufficient to pass this kind of exam?"

"This... nowadays..."

"Don't say 'nowadays,' Teacher Meng," Wu Sicheng interrupted Meng Daoxuan. "I'll only ask you this: if it were you, who had just become a Beast Tamer, could you pass an assessment with the difficulty Liang Quan set!"

Wu Sicheng had some things he couldn't say explicitly. Meng Daoxuan's setup was clearly intended to eliminate students who lacked family resources.

This trend was already escalating.

But some things, you can see through, but you can't say them out loud.

"Lower the difficulty for the remaining two rounds of the exam," Wu Sicheng said, his tone commanding, no longer questioning Meng Daoxuan.

Meng Daoxuan looked up sharply, exclaiming in surprise, "But there's never been a precedent for this before!"

The initial combat assessment, with its first round of publicly disclosed information, was typically the simplest. The subsequent two rounds of random combat would be more difficult.

This arrangement was designed to distribute the difficulty reasonably, thereby filtering out truly outstanding Beast Tamer students.

It was clear that the latter two rounds of the assessment, as set by Meng Daoxuan, were slightly more challenging than Liang Quan's stage.

Wu Sicheng stared coldly at Meng Daoxuan, "The first round of the assessment being at this difficulty also has no precedent. Meng Daoxuan, this exam is being observed by others."

Seeking collection! Seeking follow-up reads!