Under the night sky, the plane landed smoothly.
Passengers disembarked, stepping out into the open.
Qiao Sang, Tang Yi, and Qiu Zhuo merged into the bustling crowd, leaving the airport.
This time, instead of calling a taxi, Qiu Zhuo formed a seal with his hands and summoned the Peering Wave Eagle.
The three of them mounted the eagle and soared into the sky.
Below them, the city lights shimmered, and beasts, either carrying people or flying solo, moved about like a river of motion.
Without the interference of rampaging wild beasts, Qiao Sang found the traffic much faster than before.
Suddenly, Tang Yi asked, "Teacher, I heard that Central Hollow University has an exclusive secret realm. Is that true?"
An exclusive secret realm? Qiao Sang's ears perked up instinctively.
"If you had taken the entrance exam on Blue Star, the secret realm assessment would have been conducted in the secret realm owned by our school."
"Secret realms can be exclusive?" Qiao Sang couldn't hold back her curiosity.
Tang Yi looked at her in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected her to be unaware of this.
Qiu Zhuo, however, didn’t mind and explained, "Owning an exclusive secret realm requires meeting many conditions. Central Hollow University went through great efforts to acquire one. Apart from us, some noble families and organizations also have their own secret realms."
"These secret realms contain not only resources but also beasts that don’t exist in the public market. Some family-specific beasts are unattainable by outsiders because they can only be found within the family’s exclusive secret realm."
At this point, Qiu Zhuo seemed to recall something and turned to Qiao Sang,
"I remember that this year's champion of the National Campus Beast Mastering League received a key to Secret Realm No. 16 as a prize."
Wait, Secret Realm No. 16? Why does that sound so familiar...?
Qiao Sang was momentarily stunned.
She recalled that the championship prizes included a gold trophy and a white cylindrical crystal pendant strung on a cord. For more chapters visit nοvelfire.net
During the award ceremony, the officials had explained its purpose: An entry key to a certain secret realm.
But at the time, she had been too caught up in the excitement of her victory to pay close attention.
Thinking back now, she realized they had mentioned Secret Realm No. 16.
Secret Realm No. 16... why does that ring a bell...?
Qiao Sang dug through her memories, rewinding past events in her mind.
Suddenly, an image surfaced
The Mystic Auction House!
The Qingning Compass!
That’s right! Qingning is in Secret Realm No. 16!
Damn! Not only does this secret realm open only once every thirty years, but it's also exclusive?!
That means that even if she waited for two more years until the next opening, without the championship prize, the nine billion credits she had spent would have been wasted!
Qiao Sang fell into silence, processing the realization.
If the secret realm was exclusive, and yet the auction house had still sold the Qingning Compass...
Had they never considered that an uninformed rich fool like her might end up buying it?
Feeling somewhat bitter, Qiao Sang asked, "If Secret Realm No. 16 is exclusive, how did its key end up being auctioned?"
Qiu Zhuo patiently explained, "Exclusivity means that the realm has been officially granted to its owner for exclusive use. Once acquired, how it's used is entirely up to them. For example, Central Hollow University holds many of its courses within our exclusive secret realm, so every student has the opportunity to enter."
"For noble families, their secret realms are strictly reserved for their own members."
"And then, there are certain exclusive secret realms that release a few external entry permits each year. These are used to exchange for rare resources or to build relationships with influential figures."
"Secret Realm No. 16 belongs to the Beast-Taming Rune Center. Since it only opens once every thirty years, its accumulated resources are incredibly valuable. With less than two years until the next opening, the government likely obtained entry permits as an incentive for the championship prize."
Qiao Sang had to admit, it was a well-thought-out reward.
Qiu Zhuo continued sharing insights about secret realms.
Between bits of casual conversation, they soon arrived at Sainan High School.
Qiao Sang dismounted the Peering Wave Eagle, then suddenly turned to ask, "Teacher, if I don’t get into Central Hollow University, would I still have a chance to battle you again?"
Qu Zhuo paused for a moment, then chuckled.
"You should have more confidence in yourself."
Back in her dorm room, Qiao Sang flopped onto her soft bed.
Yabao yawned, lay down on the floor, and fell asleep within a minute.
Lubao walked out into the living room to begin training.
Little Treasure, who had just planned to scroll through his phone for a while, clenched his teeth and followed suit.
Qiao Sang turned her head and saw Gangbao feeding extra-spicy chili peppers to Chan Chan Stone.
She stared for a couple of seconds before hesitantly saying, "Gangbao, why do I feel like you have even fewer feathers now?"
Gangbao didn't pause in feeding Chan Chan Stone and responded nonchalantly, saying that she had plucked a few heself.
Qiao Sang's brow twitched.
"Why are you plucking your feathers?"
Gangbao didn't hide the reason.
She had been inspired by the opponent from Yabao’s battle earlier and wanted to try mimicking her technique.
Qiao Sang didn’t even need the name, it was obvious that Gangbao meant Steel-Slashing Monkey.
Wait, do you think its move was cool because it actually looked good, or just because it won against Yabao...?
Holding back a sigh, Qiao Sang said, "It's fine to experiment, but don't pluck too many feathers. Your defense depends a lot on them. If you really want to try, just pull one and use it repeatedly for practice."
Gangbao's eyes lit up, finding this method very reasonable.
Having a beast eager to learn was a good thing, so Qiao Sang had no intention of stopping her.
Now that the entrance exam was over, she needed to get back into her previous study rhythm.
With her beasts all self-motivated, she could focus more on her studies without worrying about them.
Determined, Qiao Sang suddenly sat up, moved to her desk, and opened her textbook.
An all-nighter! No sleep! Just studying!
Meanwhile, outside the darkened window-
A shadowy beast, black as coal and resembling a rock, perched on a tree branch, staring at Chan Chan Stone, who was being fed chili peppers.
Its eyes glistened with silent tears.
Under the glow of the Healing Light, Qiao Sang’s dark circles completely vanished.
After a quick wash, a hearty breakfast, and changing into her uniform, she took Yabao and the others to the familiar open-air training ground.
Then, she turned to look at Little Treasure.
Before she could say anything, Little Treasure gave her an I understand look and vanished from sight.
Sensing where Little Treasure had gone, Qiao Sang knew he had reached his training destination.
Growing up already, so much more self-sufficient now... Qiao Sang mused before heading toward the classroom.