The examiner assigned to Chen Yue was a woman in her thirties with shoulder-length short hair. She spoke in a mechanical tone:
"Please summon your Beast Contract Book."
Chen Yue nodded. With a flash of white light, a silver contract tome covered in runes emerged and floated before him.
"Hmm. Silver-ranked Beastmaster. Recorded. Now summon your beast."
Chen Yue nodded politely. The book's pages flipped, and with another flash, a white beast the size of an adult cat appeared beside him. It had a pair of glowing wings behind it—Buster.
The staff member scanned Buster with a handheld device, and its energy level was instantly displayed on her screen.
"T-This is… a Mature-stage beast!"
Her startled exclamation echoed throughout the venue, catching everyone's attention.
"Mature-stage? Isn't that the kind of result you'd only see in a big city?"
"Yeah! Who is this guy? Never seen him before."
"His name's Chen Yue, I think."
"Blind guess—some prodigy from a major city doing a rural immersion program!"
"Can't be. There are so many noble families, and I've never heard of a major 'Chen' clan."
A flurry of chatter erupted. Even prominent students from Yunhai City's major families turned to look, faces filled with disbelief.
Wu Yong, a well-known prodigy from the Wu family, exclaimed, "What the hell? Is a new powerhouse clan rising in Yunhai?"
Beside him, Situ Mingyu frowned. "I have no idea. We might need the clan to investigate this."
Meanwhile, Han Wenlong stood off to the side, completely absent-minded, as if unaware of what had just happened.
Noticing Han Wenlong's strange behavior, Wu Yong asked curiously, "What's up with Wenlong? Don't tell me that score scared him silly?"
Situ Mingyu rolled her eyes in Han's direction. "Ignore him. He's been like this all morning. Looks like someone in his family died or something."
Han Wenlong ignored them both. In fact, he hadn't even registered their words—because Situ was right. Last night, it was confirmed that his second uncle had died.
At first, everyone thought his uncle was just out partying as usual. After all, it suited the man's character—everyone in Yunhai's upper class knew the second son of the Han family was a troublemaker.
But after enough time passed, people grew suspicious. Despite extensive searching, Han Pojun couldn't be found.
Eventually, all signs pointed to a tragic end.
Most people didn't care, but Han Wenlong was different. He had been close to his uncle since childhood. Compared to his strict father, his reckless second uncle had always doted on him.
"There's no way he was just killed by some random beast."
Han Wenlong clenched his teeth.
"If I find out who did it, I'll never let them go!"
His face was cold as ice, voice squeezed out from between gritted teeth.
Compared to this dramatic scene, things were far more relaxed on Zhang Liang's side.
"Hehe! I told you, my bro isn't ordinary!"
Probably only Zhang Liang could still be smiling so cheerfully.
"Aiya, looks like I need to work even harder now. Can't let Ah Yue outpace me!"
Seemingly having made up his mind, Zhang Liang took out his phone and made a call.
"Hello? Uncle? I agree to your terms. But we do need to renegotiate the conditions…"
Meanwhile, at the front of the test area, Chen Yue ignored the buzz behind him and asked calmly, "May I continue?"
His pleasant smile left the female examiner momentarily stunned. Realizing her slip, she quickly composed herself and nodded.
"My apologies. Please proceed."
Chen Yue nodded again. The book flipped its pages once more, and with a flash of light, Garuda appeared on his other side.
The scanner swept over the beast, and after a few moments, the results appeared.
"Mature-stage beast again? No way! Another one?!"
The crowd erupted once more, even louder than before.
Speculations ran wild—some accused Chen Yue of cheating, others thought he belonged to a hidden clan, or was the illegitimate son of some bigshot.
Chen Yue ignored the nonsense. He turned his gaze to Garuda, now visibly transformed, and activated the "True Eye" to bring up its panel:
Name: Skysoaring Sparrow
Level: Mature Stage – 3%
Potential: Legendary
Attributes: Wind, Flight
Skills: Wind Blade, Storm Impact, Wing Dash, Claw Assault, Swift
Description: A beast with immense potential in wind and aerial attributes. Holds limitless possibilities.
Evolution Path:
Sky-Dome Path – Max Evolution: Legendary Form
Garuda looked completely different from when it was a Gale Sparrow. It had grown from a small bird to the size of an eagle. Its feathers were now a sleek blue-green with a glossy sheen.
Each wing bore two wind-mark engravings, radiating elemental energy. Its tail had also grown longer, ending in glowing teal spots that enhanced its regal and commanding presence.
"Hehe… Riding Garuda as a mount doesn't seem so far off now."
Chen Yue couldn't help but fantasize about soaring through the sky on the majestic beast.
He reflected on the past week's intense effort. To ensure success, he had invested heavily in resources for Garuda's growth.
Thankfully, Garuda hadn't let him down, evolving just in time for the exam.
But his wallet had taken a hit—his unregistered black card now held only a sliver of its former balance.
At least everything needed for this evolution was purchasable on the market—no mystic realm risks this time.
"It was worth it… But damn, I'm broke again. Better start figuring out how to make money."
As he pondered, he failed to notice the gleam in Examiner Yue Hengzhi's eyes.
"At last, Yunhai City has produced a real talent! Who dares say we have no elite youth?"
His satisfaction was clear.
He glanced toward the female examiner, who still looked dazed. Yue Hengzhi cleared his throat, jolting her back to reality.
But then she frowned in distress. How do I even score this…?
Turning to Yue Hengzhi, she asked, "Examiner Yue, um…"
Understanding her dilemma, he gave the answer.
"Give him full marks."
She paused in surprise, then complied.
"Candidate Chen Yue. Beastmaster Rank: Silver. Both beasts: Mature-stage. Final Score: 100 points!"
The announcement ignited a massive stir.
Yun Xianhe muttered, "So you were holding back that much when we fought…"
Everyone discussed different things, but all centered around one person:
Chen Yue.
And everyone had the same thought in their minds—
"This guy… is really about to take off!"