"Are you saying that the Spirit Beasts in the Secret Realm have been polluted by Demonic Qi?" Lin Guang asked.

"Yes." Principal Liu nodded solemnly, "Spirit Beasts tainted by Demonic Qi will degenerate into Magical Beasts, not only increasing their desire to attack, but also significantly enhancing their combat power depending on the degree of contamination. They cannot be treated with textbook experience. The entire Secret Realm is divided into twenty-one smaller areas: nine Green, seven Blue, and five Purple. The task is to hunt as many Magical Beasts as possible and 'survive' in the Secret Realm for seven days. This is the content of this unified exam."

"That hardly seems something to frown about, since everyone is facing the same situation, it doesn't actually increase the difficulty."

Lin Guang continued to ask, "Has a new rule been added this year? Is it the 'competitive' one you mentioned earlier?"

Hunting Magical Beasts is indeed more difficult than previous years, but it's the same for everyone, not enough to make Principal Liu frown.

"You really can't be fooled."

Principal Liu sighed lightly, becoming serious: "This year, the Education Department added a new rule: If you eliminate other candidates, you can obtain one-tenth of their score. Additionally, you can engage in score bets, the winner takes all."

"As you know, the scores for the final exam not only determine ranking but can also be exchanged for many precious resources in Great Xia. Some of these would even make Four or Five-Star Spirit Masters envious, so you can imagine the temptation for students. I suspect that there will be many more people applying for the Purple Level this year, and perhaps some might even team up for hunting."

Teaming up can mean not just hunting Spirit Beasts, but candidates too are targets.

Then, Principal Liu sighed again: "Unfortunately, I originally planned to give you the Tier Two No. 25 Potential Series Potion as a meeting gift like before, even if I had to pay out of my pocket, I would have accepted it. But this year, I've already borrowed once from my old friend at the Military Pharmaceutical Research, and while money isn't the problem, personal favors need balancing, and it's awkward to ask again."

"If you can't wait for next year's quota, then you'll have to rely on yourself to strive for it. As per convention, it should be on the redemption list."

Lin Guang shook his head: "It's nothing, this Spiritual Artifact is of great help to me. However... I do not intend to bring it into the field."

Principal Liu was a bit surprised: "Oh? Have you already made a plan?"

"Yes, I decided temporarily after hearing about the Demon Qi Secret Realm... I'll choose the Running Shoes and the Red Lotus Gloves."

For the final exam, two Spiritual Artifacts not exceeding the Spirit Master's own tier can be carried. Generally, mobility-type Spiritual Artifacts (like Running Shoes) are a must, and the other one depends on personal needs.

In Principal Liu's understanding, the enemies faced in the Purple Level exams are usually not ones where Lin Guang's Explosion Fist could make much difference, hence the probability of intervention was low, and the Red Lotus Gloves gifted by Doctor Kaiwen wouldn't serve much use.

On the other hand, Lisa's level is relatively low, and her defense is weak, which is why she was given the Defensive Spiritual Artifact.

Yet, Lin Guang insisted on choosing the Red Lotus Gloves to enter the field, naturally having his own reasons.

Principal Liu stopped trying to persuade him, saying instead: "The admission ticket will be issued in a few days, but it's been confirmed that you are assigned to the Purple A1 area."

As per the rules over the years, the difficulty between areas of the same color is relatively close, but the closer the sequence number to the front, the more dangerous it is, and conversely, the easier it is to gain points; the Purple A1 area is the most dangerous and rewarding venue for this exam.

"Although the area each candidate enters is assigned by the Education Department, over the years, elites from the three major families and some confident family elites are always arranged to the Purple A1 area, so it clearly isn't completely random."

"You're just unlucky to be placed here. Although this year's candidates from the three major families don't represent the strongest in decades, they are at least top five level. Once inside the Secret Realm, make sure not to engage in conflicts with them."

"Just try your best to perform well, it's said that this year's Purple test field may have Truemen watching, and if you can gain their appreciation, your future path will be much smoother."

With that, Principal Liu pushed a stack of materials on the table towards Lin Guang. Lin Guang looked at them carefully; apart from information on some initial double Blue-quality geniuses, there was also intel on the representatives from the three major families.

Huai Shouren, Purple Talent [Power of Water], sequence number 888, Contracted Spirit Beasts are two Blue Elite Level Water Attribute Spirit Beasts, both just into Tier Two.

Wang Pingdong, Purple Talent [Master of Rivers], sequence 796, the usual enhancement is slightly inferior to [Power of Water], but if the Contracted Spirit Beast has 'leader' qualities, the enhancement will significantly improve. These are two Blue Elite Level Water Attribute Spirit Beasts, seemingly a few levels higher than Huai Shouren's.

Jiang Xinyue, Purple Talent [Dragon Dominator], sequence number 676; besides having a top-ranked talent, her Spiritual Power and various Attributes are higher too. This type is akin to [Master of Rivers], only expanded from Water Attribute Spirit Beasts to all Dragon-type Spirit Beasts.

Her strength is also the highest among the three, owning a Purple Legendary Level Dragon-type Spirit Beast at the initial stage, Purple plus Dragon-type are supposed to be quite difficult to cultivate, yet it has reached Tier Two.

Looking at these so-called 'strong opponents' in the same exam hall, for some reason, Lin Guang showed a gentle smile on his face.

Unlucky?

But he felt... he was very lucky indeed.

Seeing the smile on Lin Guang's lips, Principal Liu seemed to understand his thoughts, sighing deeply: "Lin Guang, I know you have a certain arrogance in your heart, which young genius doesn't? Moreover, you're a genius among geniuses who achieved higher-tier challenges, but it's the same for them too."

"Aside from talents and Spirit Beast configuration, each one of them is endowed with family [Inheritance], a very key point that differentiates families from civilians and shouldn't be underestimated."

Lin Guang nodded, smiling: "Rest assured, Principal, I know my limits."

Liu Feifan immediately realized he hadn't fully listened, let out a light sigh.

Truth be told, all four are Two-Star Spirit Masters, but the talents from the three major families have been consuming various foundation-building potions and elixirs since childhood. Even though Lin Guang's Spiritual Power is quite strong, optimistically estimating, it's on par with theirs, and compared to Jiang Xinyue with a more advanced Talent Sequence, he might even fall short.

The gap in contracted partner levels, coupled with the Blue Talent's enhancement, is vastly behind the Purple, and family heirs almost all learn [Inheritance] from a young age...

Even though Doctor Kaiwen seems to have taken serious steps to train Lin Guang recently, Principal Liu isn't too optimistic about Lin Guang's chances of victory—after all, the time-frame is too short to close the gap.

Wait, why does this statement feel familiar?

At this thought, the advisory words on Liu Feifan's lips suddenly halted and were swallowed back down.

After discussing some insights about the joint exam with Lin Guang, Principal Liu finally let him go back.

Leaving the principal's office, Lin Guang looked at Lisa, who seemed a bit nervous, and patted her head. "What's up, feeling a bit pressured?"

"Mmm..." Lisa gently moved her head. "I'm afraid I might hold the big brothers and sisters back."

"Don't think like that. With Vishdair leading at the front, the enemy won't easily break through to the rear. Your skills also complement her well for cover and control. Your roles are different, and besides, you're all partners, there's no such thing as dragging others down."

"Mmm..."

In Lisa's golden-green eyes, there was a fleeting hint of worry, which Lin Guang didn't notice due to the angle. He just thought she seemed a bit tense since massages can only relieve physical fatigue, and the intense training of the past month had kept her nerves on edge.

…

At night, Lin Guang's phone suddenly rang.

He picked it up and saw it was a message from Wang Dawei, raising an eyebrow.

Wang Dawei: [Hey Guang.]

Lin Guang: [?]

Wang Dawei: [Do you think with my and Big Bird's strength, there'd be any issue trying for Purple Level?]

Lin Guang: […Did you already impulsively register for the Purple difficulty?]

Wang Dawei: [Haha, indeed I have.]

Lin Guang: [Kid, you're invincible.]

Lin Guang sighed and started typing on the screen, ready to tell him to obediently go back to the Blue Zone.

After the joint exam's specific rules are announced, there is one opportunity to change the exam difficulty.

For those with dual Green setups, entering the Purple area is just asking for trouble—after all, more than half the main enemies in the Purple area have Blue Potential, with an average Level nearly at Tier Two, and the battle power and attack willingness boosted by Demonic Qi can't be underestimated.

Wang Dawei is currently only Level 15, though the White Phoenix Parrot is slightly better. Recently, his family has been receiving resource investments from Professor Hu Tuzhi with no expense spared, having reached Level 19, nearing Tier Two, with decent combat power, yet it's still not enough. Rushing in is too risky.

His strength is enough to enjoy himself in the Blue Zone, and there's no need to take such risks. After all, with Wang Dawei's temperament, he mostly wants to go in for a photo opportunity or something, just to show off later.

However, the next moment, Wang Dawei sent over a screenshot from the Education Bureau's website.

On the admission ticket, it blatantly displayed the Purple A1 area.

The same location as Lin Guang.

Lin Guang's typing hand suddenly stopped, frowning slightly.

Why him too?

Wang Dawei: [Don't think I'm too reckless, mainly because Hu Tuzhi said Big Bird needs to evolve and requires fighting spirit, best if evolved through combat.]

Wang Dawei: [I want to take a chance.]

Lin Guang thought for a moment.

Calculating the timing indeed seemed about right.

The optimal time for Spirit Beasts to evolve from Green to Blue Potential was around Level 20, while Blue to Purple Potential was a bit over Level 30.

If below that level, it's not accumulated enough; beyond it, its level is too high, life level is also high, and breaking the shackles becomes more difficult, risking issues.

Lin Guang: [Originally, I would've told you to change it, but consider yourself lucky, sharing the same test site as me. If something happens, I might think of a way.]

Wang Dawei: [Oh, awesome, that's something, I'm definitely hanging on to you.]

Lin Guang: [By the way, it's not just you.]

Lin Guang operated his phone a bit, creating a small private group and pulling in Lv Rui and Wang Dawei from their class group.

After all, she also chose the Purple Level exam after careful consideration, ending up in the Purple A1 area like Wang Dawei.

This was getting a bit subtle.

As far as he knew, the only students from the first year of the Experimental School who signed up for the Purple test site were the three of them, all placed in A1.

There were only five areas for the Purple Level, so while the chance of three landing in the same test site wasn't high, it wasn't too low either. Still, Lin Guang couldn't shake the feeling of some human intervention.

Could someone have manipulated things?

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