Chapter 31: Tricked by Him

Most of the students at Sacred Water High School lived on campus, with a few who lived off-campus entering through the school's south gate. However, outsiders like Qiao Sang, who were not from the school, all entered through the north gate.

The north gate was tightly closed, and the security guard in the booth had not yet arrived for work.

Qiao Sang checked the time for the nth time.

8:52.

There were only 28 minutes left until the 9:20 assembly time for the special admission exam at Sacred Water High School.

The vast entrance of the north gate was empty except for Qiao Sang and Huoyagou, with no passersby in sight.

Qiao Sang couldn't resist yawning, feeling drowsy.

If only she had known, she would have stayed in bed a bit longer and not come so early...

8:58.

Eight black dots appeared in the sky, moving closer and soon landed at the entrance of the north gate, stirring up the dust on the ground.

Qiao Sang struggled to open her sleepy eyes.

They were eight Black-billed Magpies, each about two meters tall.

Their beaks and feathers were entirely black, and they had beautiful black curled tails, making them easily recognizable.

Six men and two women descended from the eight Black-billed Magpies, all looking to be around her age.

"Hello, that's 8,000 Alliance Coins in total," one of the men on the back of a Black-billed Magpie said.

"We signed up for the group rate," a girl with a bob cut and a red headband said hurriedly.

The man glanced at his companion for confirmation.

His companion nodded and said, "Yes, they signed up for the group rate."

"Then it's 7,222 Alliance Coins," the man said.

"Can you give us a bit more of a discount? We can call you again later if we need to," the tallest of the six men asked.

"Pay for this time first," the man replied without a direct answer.

Since the matter was already this far, they naturally paid first.

After paying, the tallest man asked again, "How much of a discount can we get if we call you later?"

"No discount," the man answered.

"What?" the tallest man was taken aback.

"No discount," the man repeated.

Everyone: "..."

...

While this group was chatting and transacting, Qiao Sang had already entered Sacred Water High School with Huoyagou.

At 9:00, the security guard came out from the school and opened the gate.

He was literally just on time for his shift...

Following the route provided on the Sacred Water High School website, Qiao Sang arrived at Venue 3.

There were only four teachers at the venue, and compared to Hanggang Sixth Imperial Beast High School, it seemed they didn't take this special admission exam very seriously.

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

"ID card," Sun Boyi said succinctly.

Qiao Sang took out her ID card and handed it over.

"Qiao Sang, from Wencheng Junior High?" Sun Boyi confirmed, checking the ID card and information.

"Um-hum," Qiao Sang replied.

Sun Boyi marked a check next to Qiao Sang's name on the paper and said, "Go sit over there, we'll start when everyone is here," returning the ID card.

When Qiao Sang moved to the side, Qin Wen said with interest, "This girl has actually contracted a Huoyagou."

"Self-awakened people are all full of themselves. Isn't it common for them to contract hard-to-control pet beasts as their first one? The one who was recommended to our school, Lu You, even contracted a small Qilong," Zheng Guoping said dismissively.

Qin Wen rolled her eyes inwardly.

How could they be the same?

A small Qilong is much more docile than a Huoyagou, but it's just too expensive for most people to contract because it's a dragon-type pet beast.

One contracted a Huoyagou through courage, while the other contracted a small Qilong through money. How could they be the same?

However, Zheng Guoping was not easy to talk to and could get angry easily, so she didn't bother arguing with him.

A few minutes later, the group that had descended from the Black-billed Magpies at the north gate entered the venue and lined up to verify their identities.

The first to finish verification, the girl with the bob cut and red headband, looked around and then sat down next to Qiao Sang, saying casually, "You're also here for the exam, why didn't you come with us?"

She subtly glanced at Huoyagou beside Qiao Sang.

A formidable opponent.

Qiao Sang was taken aback, "Why should I come with you? Do I know you?"

The girl with the bob cut was surprised, "Didn't you see the message in the group?"

Qiao Sang was even more confused, "What group? What message?"

"The group for all the special admission students on the Sacred Water High School website. Didn't we agree to meet at the Ou Jie Street intersection and come together?"

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment and then said, "I didn't join..."

The girl with the bob cut: "..."

"That's not right. There are 9 people in the group, if you're not one of them, who else could it be?" the girl with the bob cut asked, puzzled.

Initially, someone in the group said that experts always make their grand entrance last, and one by one, they all said they would be the last to arrive.

Li Yang, the tallest of the men, later suggested that they all gather and come together just before the exam.

Everyone in the group was self-awakened.

With 5 special admission spots at Sacred Water High School, they might end up in the same school, so it was natural for them to want to get to know each other and build good relationships.

So they all agreed to Li Yang's proposal.

Now, with only 1 minute left until 9:20, including this girl, there were exactly nine people, which should be all of them.

Could there be 10 people for this special admission?

Just as the girl with the bob cut was about to say something, a startling cry came from behind them.

Turning around, they saw a flying pet beast with four legs, a long and slender tail, mostly blue body, gray-black wings, and a thick, armored shell, hovering about 3 to 4 meters above the ground.

It was a Ji Jia Ying, a high-level pet beast.

Zheng Guoping frowned, as Sacred Water High School did not allow outside pet beasts to enter. Just as he was about to step forward to stop it, a figure jumped off the Ji Jia Ying's back.

"Dad, you go ahead," the boy who jumped down said, waving his hand.

The man on the Ji Jia Ying's back nodded, and then the Ji Jia Ying flew away.

"Teacher, am I not late?" the boy asked as he approached the group of teachers.

"Lu Liangye, right? You're the last one. You're just in time. If you had been two seconds later, you would have been late," Zheng Guoping said sarcastically.

Lu Liangye smiled without a word, his eyes unconsciously scanning the other candidates.

Everyone except Qiao Sang understood his meaning.

What do you think? Experts always make their grand entrance last!

Everyone: "..."

Annoying! He tricked us!

Sun Boyi clapped his hands to gather everyone and said, "Everyone is here, let's start the exam."

"Do you all know the rules? I'll repeat them just in case."

"Ten people, two by two. The five winners will rest, and the five losers will compete to determine one winner, making a total of six people."

"These six people will be divided into three groups, with the winners of each group taking the top three spots. The three losers will compete again to eliminate one, and the remaining five will gain the special admission qualification to Sacred Water High School."

Got it.

In other words, it's all about luck.

If you happen to face a strong opponent in the first round, you can only blame your bad luck.

After all, four out of the five who lose in the first round will be eliminated.

"To ensure fairness, we will draw lots. There are two of each number from 1 to 5. Those who draw the same number will form a group," Qin Wen said, holding up a wooden box.

Everyone quickly drew their lots.

"Let's start with number 1. Who drew number 1?" Qin Wen asked.

"It's me," Lu Liangye said, raising an eyebrow and showing his slip of paper.

"Who else drew number 1?" Qin Wen continued.

At that moment, a pale hand raised beside them.

"It's me."

It was Qiao Sang.