Since it was still morning, only Chen Yue's mother was home.
Before Chen Yue could speak, his mother was the first to ask,
"Where have you been, child? You didn't come home all night! Do you know how worried your father and I were?"
Scratching his head, Chen Yue glanced at the rows of missed calls on his phone and realized he had indeed left without explaining things properly.
Fortunately, he had already come up with a response. After all, the matter of the secret realm was too extraordinary to explain right now—it would only make his parents worry.
"Mom, I was just out training and lost track of time. I won't do it again."
His mother was suspicious but trusted her son, so she didn't press the issue.
After all, in the world of beast tamers, there wasn't much she could help with. She only hoped Chen Yue would be safe.
"Sigh… Next time at least let your dad and me know if you won't be home, okay?"
"Go clean yourself up. Lunch is almost ready, and I'll reheat last night's leftovers too."
Her gentle reminder didn't annoy Chen Yue—instead, it filled him with warmth.
Everything he had now had not come easily. Thinking of his past life, he cherished this happiness all the more.
"Okay, I'll go now."
He smiled and returned to his room to wash up.
Meanwhile, his mother went back to the kitchen to prepare lunch.
After freshening up, Chen Yue decided to tally up the gains from his recent trip to the secret realm.
He first summoned Bastet and Garuda, then gave them the high-grade food stored in his spatial ring to help boost their strength.
Watching them absorb the treasures and steadily grow, Chen Yue nodded in satisfaction.
He then started calculating his current savings.
The rewards from the secret realm were substantial, but most of it had gone into strengthening his beasts—after all, their power was the top priority.
As for himself, he had just broken through to the Silver Tier, and it wasn't urgent for him to reach Gold Tier right away.
With only a week left until the college entrance exam, Chen Yue felt both pressure and excitement rising in his chest.
After all, this was the turning point for many students to change their fate—especially for beast tamers.
Although only 20% of people awakened as beast tamers each year, the sheer size of the Federation's population meant the actual number was still considerable.
This was especially true in large cities or wealthy families.
Looking at the panels of his two beasts, Chen Yue made a rough assessment.
Based on past exam results, his current strength should place him among the top candidates.
Whether he could get into one of the two elite universities, however, was still uncertain.
Their admission scores increased every year, and the number of accepted students decreased.
So for now, the best thing he could do was to improve his two beasts' strength as much as possible in preparation for the upcoming exam.
"But it's strange… The format for this year's beast tamer entrance exam hasn't been announced yet. Usually, it's revealed by this time, isn't it?"
To make sure he hadn't missed anything, Chen Yue even checked the Federation's official website.
Sure enough, the format hadn't been released yet.
"Hmm? Could something unexpected be happening this year?"
Chen Yue was puzzled but could only shake his head and sigh.
"Whatever happens, I'll just give it my all!"
At that moment, his mother's voice came from outside the door.
"Xiao Yue, come out for lunch!"
Pushing aside all distracting thoughts, Chen Yue happily opened the door and walked out.
"Mom, I forgot to introduce you—this is my new beast, Garuda!"
…
Meanwhile, in the heart of Kyoto, the central chamber where the highest authorities of Great Xia gathered was filled with intense debate.
In the all-white conference room, a large round table stood at the center, surrounded by seven individuals wearing platinum robes.
They varied in age and expression, clearly in the midst of a heated discussion over a proposal.
A middle-aged man with a black buzzcut pounded the table and shouted in a booming voice:
"I firmly oppose removing the written test from the college entrance exam! Absolutely not!"
The others around the table had mixed expressions, though one person chuckled softly.
She had long black hair cascading like a waterfall and wore the same platinum robe. Smiling beautifully, she spoke calmly:
"The times have changed. We now live in an era where strength reigns supreme. Book knowledge alone will only make students worse year after year."
She crossed her arms and sneered at Elder Zhu across the table.
A closer look revealed she was the only woman at the table.
Bang!
The middle-aged man slammed both palms onto the table and growled,
"Hmph! Without even understanding basic knowledge, sending them to the battlefield is just sending them to die!"
Watching the two elders argue, an elderly man with white hair and beard seated in the center sighed lightly.
"Sigh… How about this: in addition to the written and rank assessment, we also add a combat test. How does that sound?"
The two who had been arguing quieted down once the elder spoke. They sat down and said nothing more, silently agreeing to the proposal.
Seeing the room calm down, the elder spoke again.
"Then let's put it to a vote. Raise your hand if you agree; otherwise, abstain. Begin!"
Though elderly, his voice remained strong and clear.
As his words fell, everyone raised their hands—even the buzzcut man and the lone female elder.
"Since it's unanimous, then we'll implement the decision."
He sighed again, a shadow of worry between his brows that wouldn't dissipate.
His concern was obvious, and the others in the room remained silent, letting a heavy stillness settle in.
…
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
The day of the annual college entrance exam had finally arrived—a day for countless students to change their fates.
Chen Yue got up early, ate breakfast, and with the blessings of his parents, headed for the exam site.
Since Yunhai City wasn't a major metropolis, the number of awakened beast tamers was relatively small.
As a result, all successful candidates from various schools were gathered at one location for a centralized exam.
Though the format remained unknown, the date had long been set.
Chen Yue and Zhang Liang arrived together at Yunhai No.1 High School, the exam venue.
"Hey, Yue, what do you think the format of this year's exam will be? It's usually announced early, but this year it's been delayed so much. We still don't know anything even today."
Chen Yue shrugged, unconcerned.
"How should I know? But if you ask me, no matter the format, strength is the most important thing!"
Then he turned to Zhang Liang and asked,
"By the way, how's your strength recently? You'd better stay sharp—don't let me surpass you."
Zhang Liang snorted and grinned,
"Heh, with my dad's investments, my strength has improved rapidly! And thanks to your help evolving my Dark Hound, I'm confident I can make the top ten! Maybe even challenge the top two schools!"
Chen Yue looked at him in surprise, growing curious about Zhang Liang's current power level.
While they were chatting, a stern-looking middle-aged man walked up to the stage.
"I am your chief examiner for this test. My name is Yue Hengzhi. You may call me Examiner Yue."
"I'll keep it short. I'm here to announce this year's college entrance exam content. Listen carefully."
The entire crowd instantly quieted, all attention focused on Yue Hengzhi.