Outside the inpatient department doors, there were quite a lot of people taking the test, but there were plenty of processing counters set up by the Ancient Pine Tower City Demon Spirit Bureau—no need to line up for long.
Li Mengnan, styled "Manly Man," known as the Long-legged Recluse!
She locked onto a testing area with only three people in line, striding over in big, dramatic steps like she owned the place.
Along the way, the kids parted to let her through. The way Li Mengnan carried herself, you'd think she was on her way to claim a trophy on the awards stage...
Du Yu had a milk pouch hanging from his mouth, sipping as he curiously sized up his surroundings.
The age range for adolescence was pretty broad here—apart from high schoolers like Li Mengnan, Du Yu also spotted elementary school kids.
For instance, the little girl lining up in front of Li Mengnan right now probably wasn't even ten? She was so tiny her head barely reached Li Mengnan's waist.
If you can awaken at this age... then she definitely deserves special training—they're starting years ahead of the game!
"Demon Pet!" Li Mengnan seemed to spot something, unable to contain her excitement as she leaned over to whisper to Du Yu.
Du Yu tilted his head slightly, following Li Mengnan's gesture to glance toward the building's corner.
There were children lining up along the building's side as well, but at the corner, staff had set up a blockade. It looked like you had to pass the test here to unlock the side area of the inpatient department on the map.
"Fire, Earth, and Wood attributes." The staff's voice came from the front of the line. "Head over there."
"Awesome!" the young boy cheered, grabbing his dad—who was waiting with him in line—and running toward the next station.
In just two minutes, all three people in front of them had completed the test. With her turn finally approaching, Li Mengnan actually felt a little nervous.
"Come on, put your hand on the Attribute Stone." The man behind the folding table, dressed in a blue uniform, gave Li Mengnan a friendly nod.
"I... um, you go first. I'm not ready yet!" Li Mengnan spun around suddenly, grabbing Du Yu's shoulder and shoving him to the table.
Du Yu, empty milk pouch in his mouth, shot Li Mengnan a surprised look.
Manly Man chickened out? That's new.
Li Mengnan's face flushed and she glared at Du Yu again. "Hurry, hurry, let me watch one more round."
Du Yu wasn't the shy type. He reached out and placed his hand squarely on the Attribute Stone.
The Attribute Stone was about the size of a basketball, sparkling and irregularly shaped, its facets glowing with an odd beauty in the sunlight.
But once Du Yu pressed his hand onto the Attribute Stone...
In an instant, the once transparent stone erupted in a fire-red glow.
Red!
Pale red, orange-red, scarlet, deep red...
Within seconds, the color within the Attribute Stone grew deeper and darker—so red it was almost purple!
"Whoa!" The uniformed man looked shocked, glancing at Du Yu and then at the richly red Attribute Stone. "Pure Fire?"
Single-attribute Demon Tamers were extremely rare, but "rare" didn't necessarily mean "valuable."
There were six attributes in this world: Wind, Fire, Water, Thunder, Earth, and Wood. Most Demon Tamers awakened 2-6 attributes when they first awakened.
So the uniformed man was surprised, but not awestruck.
"Your Demon Breath grade definitely qualifies—you're a Demon Tamer. More specifically, a Fire Element Demon Tamer, and you've fully awakened."
The man sized Du Yu up and asked, "How do you feel? Your body adapting okay?"
Du Yu thought of the "Eye of Burning Sun," but didn't dare reveal too much.
But with homeroom teacher Li Hong and Li Mengnan right there, it wasn't like he could play dumb about any changes—otherwise, it'd look suspicious.
After a brief hesitation, Du Yu removed the milk pouch from his mouth and said, "My body was burning up just before, but it's stable now. Oh, and my eyes didn't look this energized before awakening."
The uniformed man nodded, "Feeling overheated is totally normal. A lot of kids get that; it's a necessary part of the awakening process. You said your eyes changed—any discomfort?"
Du Yu shook his head quickly. "No, I feel fine."
The uniformed man smiled and nodded, "Then it's all good. You know, Demon Tamers are no longer ordinary people—their spirit, essence, and qi are on another level.
It's totally normal for your temperament to change after awakening. As long as it doesn't interfere with your life, you don't need to worry."
Hearing this, Du Yu nodded.
The uniformed man asked, "By your age, I'm guessing you're in high school?"
Du Yu nodded, "Just finished senior year—took the college entrance exam yesterday."
"Just graduated? Nice!" The uniformed man produced a square stamp and pressed it onto the back of Du Yu's hand. "Go line up at team 12, on the side of the inpatient department!"
"Okay." Du Yu did want to see Li Mengnan's result, but the staff over there was already waving him over.
He stepped out; right as he turned the corner he heard Li Mengnan shout, "Yayyy~!"
"Heh." Du Yu couldn't help but chuckle. No need to look—Long-legged Recluse must have made it.
Guided by staff, Du Yu unlocked the inpatient department's side map. It was pretty clear the queues here were sorted by age groups.
At table 12, there was only one person ahead. When Du Yu reached it, the guy was already heading off, cradling an adorable orange Little Orange Pig in his arms, repeatedly saying thanks...
What?
Was that the official fire-type starter Demon Pet of Ancient Pine Tower City—Little Orange Pig?
"Hello, I'm Zhang Qing, admissions officer for the Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy." The woman behind the table waved him over, all in a crisp white suit and with a gentle smile on her face.
She called herself a teacher, but at the moment, she looked more like a shopkeeper selling her wares.
Next to her seat and under the table were lots of large wooden crates. With his sharp eyes, Du Yu could see tiny Demon Beasts tumbling and playing behind the ventilation slats.
And behind Zhang Qing were two planks covered in all sorts of weapons—Du Yu couldn't help but be a bit taken aback.
"Let me see your hand."
Du Yu held out the back of his hand for Zhang Qing to check the red team stamp.
"Good, Demon Tamer! What's your attribute?"
"Fire."
Zhang Qing: "Anything else?"
Du Yu: "Just fire. Pure fire."
Zhang Qing froze for a second, and after the surprise passed, there was a hint of sympathy on her face.
Being a Fire Element Demon Tamer meant you could only make contracts with demon beasts with the fire attribute.
Zhang Qing quickly composed herself and smiled, "How did your college entrance exam go? Confident about getting into your dream university?"
Du Yu: "..."
Looking a little embarrassed, Du Yu heard footsteps behind and glanced back, just in time to see Li Mengnan stepping up in line behind him.
Li Mengnan tilted her chin up at Du Yu, wearing an especially smug expression. "I'm wind, thunder, and fire! A three-element Demon Tamer~"
Zhang Qing reclaimed Du Yu's attention. "Since you have the qualifications to be a Demon Tamer, have you considered joining the Demon Spirit Academy?"
Du Yu: "I'd love to go to the Demon Spirit Academy, but I..."
"Hmm? What's up?"
Du Yu looked a bit embarrassed, muttering softly, "I don't have money for tuition."
Zhang Qing was a bit stunned—she hadn't expected that answer from a teenager. She spoke right up, "Our school is tuition free."
Du Yu pressed further, "So how much for room and board and stuff like that each semester?"
He was mainly wondering if he could cover it with a summer or two of part-time work.
Zhang Qing took in Du Yu's plain clothes and figured this kid probably came from a truly struggling background.
She patiently explained, "It's all free, don't worry.
And joining Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy doesn't mean you have to attend regular classes on campus."
Du Yu: "Huh?"
This world was still new to Du Yu. He had some Demon Beast-related knowledge from the exam prep, but wasn't clear on how Demon Spirit Academies actually ran their courses.
Zhang Qing: "Since you awakened right after high school, we have a specific system for your age group.
We'll give you three days of training so you get a basic understanding of what being a Demon Tamer means.
After training, there's an entrance assessment. Pass it, and you become an auxiliary student of Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy."
Du Yu was a little confused—students could be 'auxiliary'?
"Like an auditor?"
Zhang Qing smiled and shook her head. Clearly this poor kid knew nothing about the academy.
Poverty really is a terrible curse—it even stops kids from dreaming.
Zhang Qing's voice softened even more. "No, not an auditor.
If you pass the assessment, we'll issue you an auxiliary student ID. With it, you can head out to the surrounding Exotic Realms for practical training.
We'll give you a year to gain experience. As long as you meet the requirements, after one year, you can either enroll for further study at the academy, or—with our recommendation—take an internship at a different Demon Spirit Department.
You have lots of choices—very flexible. No need to worry about a thing.
But all that comes later; right now, you just need to pass the first round and become an auxiliary student of the Demon Spirit Academy."
Du Yu quietly nodded.
Zhang Qing was sharp; she cut right to the heart of the matter. "As long as you work hard and show enough promise, even in the auxiliary phase, you can pick up various missions.
Most missions come with money and prizes. It'll help your living situation and your cultivation."
Those words made Du Yu's eyes light up!
Someone else's eyes lighting up would be no big deal, but Du Yu's sparkly look… that really did a number on this middle-aged teacher!
Finally seeing a glimmer of hope and the dreams a regular teen should have, Zhang Qing couldn't help but smile.
She went on, "Talk it over with your family. Even if you fail the assessment, you'll still get three days of free training, which will help you a lot."
Du Yu answered briskly, "Okay, I'm in."
"Still, talk to your family first. There's no rush."
Du Yu instinctively turned and glanced at the complicated expression on Li Mengnan's face, then turned back to Zhang Qing. "I can decide for myself. I have no one to discuss with."
Only then did Zhang Qing realize—this kid wasn't just poor. He had no family at all?
"Well then..." Zhang Qing stumbled, "In that case, go ahead and pick a Demon Pet. You can pick out a Demon Soldier in a bit. All of these are free from the school."
As she spoke, Zhang Qing hoisted a large wooden crate onto the table. "These are our best, carefully selected for new trainers—partners that can stick with you for life."
When she opened the box, two kinds of Demon Pets greeted Du Yu.
On the left was a pile of orange Little Orange Pigs; on the right, a heap of orange Little Foxes.
The Little Orange Pigs on the left were sleeping soundly, snuggled up with their tiny limbs draped over the pig in front, utterly oblivious to the world.
Man, a whole box of pork belly~
So chubby and adorable—absolutely irresistible.
Du Yu couldn't help poking the Little Orange Pig on the butt with his finger. So springy!
"Left."
Du Yu's fingers paused—inside his mind, Little Fen Yang's voice suddenly rang out.
"Left side."
Du Yu was secretly thrilled. This is literally a cheat code, right?
Even if he didn't know which was better, wouldn't an Ancient Golden Crow be the perfect judge of Demon Pet potential?
He slid his hand left until he touched the third Little Orange Pig, fast asleep. Little Fen Yang's voice came again, "That one. Good."
Du Yu immediately picked up the Little Orange Pig and looked it over carefully. What's so good about it?
Doesn't look any different from the other Little Orange Pigs?
Little Fen Yang's soft, childlike voice drifted over again, "Chubby. Mmm~ lots of meat."
Du Yu: ???
Like, is it possible that we're picking a companion, not lunch meat?