Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

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A minister, a big shot... Qiao Sang smiled and greeted him:

"Hello, Minister Zhou."

"I watched the entire national championship from the audience." Minister Zhou said, unable to hide his smile.

"A 15-year-old winning the high school senior division championship, this is the first time in the history of the National Campus Beast Mastering League! You’ve really brought honor to our Yuhua region."

Hearing the praise, Qiao Sang was about to respond modestly when Liu Yao spoke up: "Let's not just stand here. Let's find a seat and talk while we eat."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Sang's first instinct was to refuse.

Having a meal with leaders? What a hassle…

Of course, she couldn't say that out loud. So, she obediently followed the vice principal and Minister Zhou to a window-side table.

"This is my first time seeing a Blazing Star Canine up close." Minister Zhou said, glancing at Yabao, who was drinking milk.

"It looks quite imposing."

"Yap."

Yabao understood the compliment and gave a bark, as if to say, Good eye.

After chatting for a while, Minister Zhou suddenly thought of something and turned to Liu Yao.

"I recall that you're in charge of the research project on the latest evolution of Fire Fang Dogs, right?"

Since Minister Zhou oversaw education, he wasn’t particularly familiar with research matters. He only knew about it because Qiao Sang’s pet beast happened to be a Blazing Star Canine, and Liu Yao was her school’s vice principal.

Liu Yao nodded.

"Yes, that's me."

Minister Zhou spoke earnestly: "This kind of research takes time. Qiao Sang will be preparing for the college entrance exams soon. It’s best if she can focus on her studies for now. The research can wait."

Qiao Sang was utterly confused.

College entrance exams? Who’s taking the college entrance exams?!

Liu Yao replied solemnly, "I understand. Our research is still stuck at the Flame Hound stage. Even if we complete the first phase of evolution research, it’ll be after the college entrance exams. Any collaboration with the Blazing Star Canine will happen later, so it won’t interfere with Qiao Sang’s studies."

Minister Zhou took a sip of his drink.

"That’s good to hear."

Wait, wait, wait! What are you two talking about? College entrance exams?!

Qiao Sang was stunned for a while before cautiously asking: "Isn't the college entrance exam for third-year students?"

Minister Zhou looked surprised.

"Your teacher didn’t tell you? Minister Yan from the Zhongkong region said that as long as you didn’t use Ghost Ring Phantom’s space movement ability to remove opponents from the battlefield and still placed in the top two of the national league, you would qualify for the interstellar exchange student program and be allowed to take the college entrance exam early, just like the third-year students."

Liu Yao also looked at her.

"Teacher Sun should have mentioned it to you."

Memories flooded back into Qiao Sang’s mind like a fast-forwarding movie reel.

Her expression suddenly cleared up.

She remembered! At the time, she had been excited about it. But then she had thrown herself into preparing for the national championship and completely forgotten.

No wonder Minister Yan had told her good luck on the college entrance exam during the award ceremony…

College entrance exams… So she really had to take them now?!

Wait, I never agreed to this! Sure, graduating early sounds great, but there are only a few months left until the exams. With my grades, how am I supposed to get into a top university…

Qiao Sang’s mind was in chaos.

On one hand, there was the temptation of early graduation.

On the other, there was the harsh reality of her less-than-stellar academic abilities.

Take the exams? Don’t take the exams? Take them? Don’t take them…?

Qiao Sang took a deep breath, looked at Minister Zhou, and asked, "If my college entrance exam scores aren’t good, can I retake it next year?"

Minister Zhou chuckled.

"Of course. You’re only a first-year student, and you’ve already won first place in the national campus senior-level beast mastering championship. It would be a shame if you couldn’t get into your dream school just because of cultural subject scores. Naturally, you can retake it next year."

Oh, so I can retake it if I fail? That solves the problem.

Qiao Sang felt relieved.

Minister Zhou then asked, "Have you thought about which university you want to apply to?"

Qiao Sang shook her head.

"No."

She had been too focused on the championship to think about anything else.

Minister Zhou’s eyes lit up. He opened his briefcase and pulled out several documents, placing them in front of Qiao Sang.

"These are introductions to some of Yuhua’s top universities, along with past special admission test subjects. They might help you choose."

Whoa, they think this highly of me? They're showing me top university materials right away…

Qiao Sang quickly accepted them.

"Thank you, Minister Zhou."

Top universities, the institutions at the pinnacle of Dragon's Nation education system, were reserved for the nation’s best students.

Qiao Sang’s championship win had qualified her to take the D-rank beast-tamer exam. Passing that would allow her to apply for special admission to top universities.

But even in the special admissions process, her competitors would be students who had at least won first place in their province.

Compared to her national championship title, that didn’t seem too intimidating. However, the number of special admission slots was limited.

While she had no pressure regarding the beast-taming test, she still had to compete against third-year students in cultural subjects, which was definitely a challenge.

Qiao Sang flipped through the documents until her gaze settled on Yuhua University’s information.

Seeing this, Minister Zhou nodded in understanding.

"You might consider Yuhua University. They have a separate, easier cultural test for special admissions. If you pass, you won’t need to take the college entrance exam."

"Of course, their beast-taming test is much harder, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem for you."

No college entrance exams… This school sounds great…

Qiao Sang was tempted.

Minister Zhou continued to chat, giving overviews of several well-known universities in Yuhua.

After he left, Liu Yao, who had been mostly silent, finally spoke.

"I suggest you aim for one of the top universities in Zhongkong or Xingdao University in Chongdao."

Qiao Sang hesitated.

"Wouldn’t it be even harder to get into a top school outside Yuhua?"

Since each region had different beast species, varying education levels, and distinct exam formats, every region set its own entrance exam. The best universities in Zhongkong and Chongdao were far more competitive than those in Yuhua.

Liu Yao looked at her and asked, "Are you planning to stay in Yuhua forever?"

Qiao Sang immediately answered, "Of course not."

"Then you should go to a better university. Yuhua’s schools are good, but they aren’t even ranked in the national top ten."

Liu Yao spoke seriously: "Your beast-taming talent is the greatest I’ve ever seen. You deserve a better future. If you don’t aim for the absolute best universities, it would be a waste of your potential."

"I have no doubt you’ll pass any beast-taming test. As for cultural subjects…"

Liu Yao paused before continuing, "If you don’t pass this year, you can retake it next year. If you don’t pass next year, you can try again the year after. You have three chances at the college entrance exam. Since you want to explore a wider world, why not set your sights higher?"

Qiao Sang’s spirit soared.

That’s right! My goal is to compete in the Interstellar Cup. A mere university, why wouldn’t I dare to aim higher?!

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