"Uh..."
Looking at the raging scarecrow and the drooping-headed little tree spirit that seemed exhausted and asleep, he was at a loss for words.
But after thinking about it, it was more important to go back and participate in the course selection.
Looking at the little tree spirit's current state, it probably wasn't suitable to be tormented further.
After all, the scarecrow could track it down, and he could just come back in a few days to repay it properly.
The thick fog had already faded even more than before, so he grabbed the scarecrow and returned the way he came.
After he and the scarecrow had completely left, a sneaky figure appeared in front of the little royal meditation tree.
It was indeed in a deep sleep at the moment, so it didn't notice anything.
And this person was none other than Chang Shoushang.
"How peculiar, I've heard the principal is obsessed with tea."
"Why isn't he concerned at all about what that kid Li Pu did?"
He looked up around him, and the shadows of Principal Tea and the female assistant were long gone from the trees.
"If the principal doesn't care, then perhaps I..."
Looking back at the little royal meditation tree, Chang Shoushang was tempted.
He recognized this little tree spirit because after the competition began, the senior sister had specifically instructed them about it.
They'd even been shown a photo back then, with a warning that this was a magical beast the principal kept, and under no circumstances should they have any ill intentions.
But after what just happened, Chang Shoushang felt the senior sister might have been making a fuss over nothing.
Perhaps the principal didn't care about this mere C-level magical beast at all.
Otherwise, how could Li Pu and the scarecrow continuously torment it, and they remained indifferent?
But while the principal might not value a C-level magical beast, Chang Shoushang certainly did.
His summoned beast, the Bite Flower, was currently only E+ level, barely missing the mark to reach D level.
The materials of this C-level plant-type magical beast could undoubtedly become a great supplement for the Bite Flower.
Of course, since this was the principal's beast, he couldn't possibly kill it outright.
But taking a leaf should be okay, right?
He could take it to those life department folks for processing, and it could surely become suitable fertilizer for the Bite Flower.
"Just one, I'm taking just one, okay?"
With these words in mind, Chang Shoushang gently reached towards the crown of the little royal meditation tree.
Thud!
However, the next second he was ambushed from behind, everything went black, and he fell to the ground, completely unconscious.
The female assistant who had somehow landed silently, looked expressionlessly at the fallen fellow.
"What's happened to students these days, they sure are bold."
She said this while rubbing her wrist.
She didn't hold back her strength earlier; this guy's back of the head might hurt for a few days.
...
Course selection competition, at the finish line.
It was a grassy hilltop without trees, and at the top were single-person tents arranged in a circle.
Each tent represented a course selection mentor.
New students simply had to come to the hilltop, enter a tent, and choose their mentor to complete the course selection.
When a mentor's spots were full, the tent would be dismantled, indicating that no more students were being accepted.
Ms. Bai stood in front of her tent, hands behind her back.
Though she was over fifty years old, she was well-maintained, looking hardly a day over forty on the outside.
Teachers at the school were divided into seven department heads according to the type of summoned beasts.
Not every department head would teach the "Summoner Skills" course.
For example, in Li Pu's cohort, only two department heads were involved in the course.
Ms. Bai was one of them and also the person in charge of this course selection competition.
Moreover, the "Blink" skill she taught had always been the most popular course selection over the years.
Only this year, she felt somewhat disappointed.
At this point, there were usually at least seven or eight new students reaching the end.
But now, not a single person was here.
This led Ms. Bai to think she could soon confidently deliver the classic line upon meeting the freshmen: You are the worst batch of students I've ever taught.
[Ring ring...]
Just then, her phone suddenly rang.
"Hello."
Seeing the caller ID, Ms. Bai switched to speakerphone.
[Bad news, Ms. Bai!]
A worried female student's voice came through.
Rapidly, she explained the situation.
[All the plant-type magical beasts in the forest have suddenly run amok!]
[So far, the cause is unknown!]
[Every new student has been attacked, severely slowing the competition's progress!]
[And even we seniors are almost out of manpower for rescue!]
[Please, Ms. Bai, send help!]
"Alright, I understand."
With Ms. Bai's response, the call was immediately disconnected, indicating the seriousness of the situation.
"Magical beasts running amok?"
She hesitated for a second, furrowing her brow.
Though the magical beasts in the southern forest were weak, even if they went wild, they wouldn't easily pose a life threat to the freshmen.
But just in case something unexpected happened, after all, in terms of numbers, they far outnumbered the freshmen.
Thinking of this, Ms. Bai knew this was not something that could be delayed.
If any freshman encountered severe bodily harm, she wouldn't be able to justify it to the principal.
Support must be dispatched immediately to resolve this unexpected situation, which should not have been part of the competition content, for the students.
The best candidate for this task would be teachers skilled in speed or area attacks.
Unfortunately, she was not among them.
By her assessment, seven or eight teachers would be ideal candidates.
The competition covered a vast area, and there were many new students; even with them gathering together and considering the teachers' superior abilities, at least five or six teachers should be sent out for safety.
So Ms. Bai quickened her pace and approached her tent.
In fact, there was an unspoken rule about how these tents were set up.
That was to encamp clockwise based on an estimated popularity.
This meant that the next tent belonged to a teacher from the Wind Chasing department, who also taught "Blink."
The Wind Chasing summoned beasts were mostly adept at speed, making this teacher undoubtedly a good candidate for rescue.
As for the tent before hers, it was...
"Ms. Bai, it's tiring wandering outside. Why not come in and take a seat?"
A lazy voice came through the tent's fabric curtain.
"Forget it."
Ms. Bai softly shook her head.
By rights, this new teacher should also be quite suitable for rescue.
Besides, she'd heard he was a very powerful battle-oriented summoner, but his laissez-faire attitude was too blatant, and entrusting him with the task might not be reassuring.
In less than two minutes after that, the decisive Ms. Bai had gathered the suitable teachers for rescue.
After a bit of explanation, though everyone was puzzled, they were efficient and cooperative.
Nobody asked extra questions, and they set off together.
"Huh?"
But right as these teachers were leaving the hilltop, one of them let out a slight exclamation.
Because he saw a limping freshman walking up the hilltop.
"Seems like it's not too serious this time, as a freshman has already arrived."
"Is he the top rank in this course selection?"
"Stop staring and hurry up;"
"That's right, even if he's the top rank, he's bound to choose Ms. Bai, it's not like it'll be our turn."
"Really envious of Ms. Bai, such a good student will be taken under her wing."
However, these teachers didn't know that what they were seeing was not just the top rank but also the cause of this chaos.
...
...