Chapter 11: Holy Water Middle School

Qiao Sang was heartbroken.

So this is why you suddenly attacked the television!

She lifted Firefang’s head, preparing to give it a good lecture.

"Click." The door opened.

Qiao Sang slowly turned her head and offered a stiff smile. "Mom, you're back."

"Jiu!"

The Fat Pigeon immediately went to its mother and rubbed against her affectionately.

Mother looked at the wreckage in the living room for a few seconds, then tilted her head toward Qiao Sang and asked kindly, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Qiao Sang immediately hoisted Firefang up to block herself. "It was all its doing!"

Firefang blinked its innocent, large eyes.

Mother stared at Firefang for a moment and said, "It’s coming out of your allowance."

Qiao Sang looked at her with resentment.

"Do you have any objections?" Mother asked.

"No," Qiao Sang replied, going against her conscience.

Her monthly allowance was only 1,000 Alliance coins, and the television cost at least 4,000. Losing four months of allowance all at once—of course she had objections.

"I went to your school today," Mother said, walking over to sit on the single sofa nearby. The Fat Pigeon followed her.

"Was there something up?" Qiao Sang asked.

Fang Sisi had mentioned something about this in the message she sent earlier.

Mother didn't answer the question, instead asking, "Is there any high school you want to attend?"

Qiao Sang was slightly stunned. She thought for a moment and said, "Hanggang No. 6 Beast Taming High School."

The No. 6 Beast Taming High School wasn't the sixth-ranked school in Hanggang City; that was just its name. Its actual strength ranked somewhere in the middle among all the beast taming high schools in the city.

She chose it simply because it was close to home.

Given Qiao Sang's previous grades, she definitely wouldn't have been able to get into such a school, but since she had awakened her brain domain on her own, she could at least try through the special admission track.

Mother took a brochure out of her bag and placed it in front of Qiao Sang. "I think you should try applying to this school."

Qiao Sang picked it up, took a look, and her eyelid twitched.

"Hanggang Holy Water High School?"

Mother kept a straight face. "Yes."

"Mom, aren't you overestimating me a bit too much?" Qiao Sang said helplessly.

She set the brochure down on the coffee table.

Holy Water High School was ranked first out of the 108 beast taming high schools in Hanggang City and second in the entire Zhejiang-Sea Province. With a matriculation rate as high as 98.73%, it was one of the top elite schools.

The students who could get into this school were naturally the cream of the crop in Hanggang City.

If there were still half a year until the high school entrance exam, Qiao Sang would be willing to put in the effort. But counting today, there were only 19 days left. It was completely impossible to get in.

Since that was the case, why waste time trying to apply for their special admission?

Qiao Sang didn't understand. Even if she had awakened on her own, wasn't her mother's expectation a bit too unrealistic?

Mother looked at Qiao Sang and said calmly, "Apply. You don't have to get in. As long as you try your best, I won't deduct your allowance."

Qiao Sang picked up the brochure from the coffee table and said, "What allowance? It’s not about the money; I just want to give it a try."

Mother’s mouth twitched. "Then go apply online right now."

"You got it." Qiao Sang scooped up Firefang and left.

Ye Xiangting watched her daughter’s retreating back with a smile in her eyes, but when she thought about what had happened at school that afternoon, her expression darkened again.

...

Qiao Sang went to her room, turned on her computer, and applied to both Hanggang No. 6 Beast Taming High School and Holy Water High School.

The two schools had vastly different rankings, and their requirements for special admission were also different.

Qiao Sang focused mainly on the "Self-Awakened" special admission category.

The conditions for Hanggang No. 6 were relatively simple: upload proof of self-awakening online, and after the audit passed, the school would lower the required entrance exam score based on the level of brain domain development.

A 5% brain domain development would lower the minimum score by 100 points, and 6% would lower it by 200 points.

Last year, the minimum score for Hanggang City was 332. If Qiao Sang could reach 6% development, she would only need to score 132 on the entrance exam to be admitted.

Based on Qiao Sang's current grades, that shouldn't be a problem.

As for Holy Water High School, it was more troublesome. They only accepted five special admission students who had awakened on their own. After the application audit, candidates had to participate in a pet beast battle at a designated time and place.

Students who placed second through fifth would need to score 50 points above the minimum entrance exam threshold to be admitted.

The first-place student had slightly more lenient conditions—they only needed to meet the minimum threshold for Hanggang City.

Although self-awakened individuals were one in ten thousand, if you gathered everyone in the entire Zhejiang-Sea Province, there were still about 40 or 50 of them a year.

Excluding those who were recommended or chose other schools, Holy Water High School usually had over a dozen applicants who had awakened on their own. After all, it was the number one school in Hanggang City; it had that much prestige.

Qiao Sang checked the date: the special admission exam for Holy Water High School was on June 10th, one week before the entrance exam—in other words, 12 days away.

A pet beast battle, huh?

Qiao Sang pondered for a while. Everyone participating in the special admission would be people who had just awakened this year, and their pets would all be beginner-level. Since she had contracted a fire-type pet, she wasn't without an advantage.

Thinking of Firefang, Qiao Sang paused, then shifted her consciousness into the Beast Taming Codex.

【Name: Firefang】 【Attribute: Fire】 【Level: Beginner (115/1000) +】 【Skills: Bite (Entry 73/100) +, Tackle (Proficient 135/500) +, Fire Fang (Entry 2/100) +, Ember (Entry 3/100)】 【Points: 0】

Qiao Sang withdrew her consciousness and looked at Firefang with a strange expression.

You got so scared watching TV that you learned the Ember skill?!

Is 4,000 Alliance coins worth a new skill?

Come to think of it, it’s actually quite a bargain...

A pet's potential is limited. You can't tell if a pet has good aptitude just by looking at its appearance. Pets with good aptitude learn skills and awaken again much faster than ordinary ones.

If you were unlucky enough to contract a pet with mediocre aptitude, you might not even learn a single skill in a year.

Qiao Sang looked at Firefang and fell into deep thought.

Her Firefang had good aptitude. Should she take it to watch a horror movie next time?

Firefang shivered involuntarily. Why did it suddenly feel a bit cold?

...

...

22:12 at night.

The night was deep and quiet, and everything was still.

Qiao Sang lay on her bed, hands behind her head, a sense of eagerness deep in her eyes. After tossing and turning for a long time, she sat up and looked at Firefang, who was still wide awake beside her.

Firefang had been stared at for a long time and looked confused.

"Ya?"

Qiao Sang whispered softly, "I don't blame you for what happened this morning. Do you want to watch TV again?"

Firefang remembered the morning’s events and knew it had been wrong; the things inside the screen wouldn't actually come out.

"Ya."

It nodded, indicating it wanted to watch.

Qiao Sang picked up her phone from the bedside, searched for the most popular horror movie, and placed it in front of Firefang.

Firefang watched with rapt attention.

In a forest surrounded by thick fog, a girl in white was walking. Through the girl's perspective, a vague black shadow could be seen floating in the air...

Qiao Sang didn't watch along with it. She kept her right hand on the phone, observing Firefang's reactions, ready to pull it away at any moment.

(End of chapter)