Outside the main entrance of the inpatient department, there were quite a few people participating in the test. However, there were many service channels in Ancient Pine Tower City's Demon Spirit Bureau, so there wasn't a long queue.
Li Mengnan, nicknamed "Tough Guy," also known as "Long-Legged Monk"!
She spotted a test point with only three people in line, and with long strides, charged straight ahead.
The kids made way for her along the path, and Li Mengnan's vibrant demeanor might even make someone mistakenly think she was going to the podium to receive an award...
Du Yu had a milk bag in his mouth, drinking as he curiously observed his surroundings.
The age range during adolescence was quite broad, and besides high school students like Li Mengnan, Du Yu also saw some elementary school students.
For example, the little girl in front of Li Mengnan at that moment in the queue, was she even 10 years old? Such a tiny thing, only reaching Li Mengnan's waist.
If she could awaken at such a young age, she truly needed to be prioritized for nurturing; her starting point was years ahead of others!
"Demon Pet!" Li Mengnan seemed to have discovered something, and couldn't contain her excitement as she whispered to Du Yu.
Du Yu slightly tilted his head, following Li Mengnan's gesture, looking towards the corner of the building.
There were also children queuing on the side of the building, but at the corner, staff were setting up a cordon, seemingly suggesting that tests here were required to unlock the map on the side of the inpatient department.
"Fire, Earth, Wood attributes," came the voice of a staff member from the front of the line, "Go over there."
"Awesome!" a boy cheered as he dragged his dad, who had accompanied him in the line, and ran off.
In a mere two minutes, the three people at the front of the line had successfully passed the test. As it was finally her turn, Li Mengnan felt a bit nervous.
"Come, place your hand on the Attribute Stone." The man behind the square table wore a blue uniform, smiling and nodding to Li Mengnan.
"I... I, you go first, I'm not ready yet!" Li Mengnan suddenly turned, grabbed Du Yu by the shoulder, and pushed him to the table.
Du Yu, with the empty crushed milk bag in his mouth, looked at Li Mengnan in surprise.
Tough guy retreating? That's unusual.
Li Mengnan's face turned slightly red, and she glared at Du Yu: "Hurry up, I want to see."
Du Yu didn't hesitate and reached forward, pressing his hand on the Attribute Stone.
The Attribute Stone was about the size of a basketball, crystal clear, and with its irregular polyhedral shape, it emitted a strange luster under the sunlight, appearing remarkably beautiful.
Once Du Yu placed his hand on the Attribute Stone...
In an instant, the originally transparent Attribute Stone was dyed a blazing red hue.
Red!
Light red, orange-red, crimson, deep red...
In just a few seconds, the colors in the Attribute Stone grew increasingly intense, almost turning purplish-red!
"Wow!" the uniformed man looked surprised, glanced at Du Yu, then at the intensely red and beautiful Attribute Stone, "Pure Fire?"
A Demon Tamer with a single attribute is extremely rare, but it is merely rare, not valuable.
In this world, there are a total of six attributes: Wind, Fire, Water, Thunder, Earth, Wood. When Demon Tamers awaken, the vast majority activate between 2 to 6 attributes.
Thus, the uniformed man was surprised, but not amazed.
"The Demon Breath grade is definitely enough; you are a Demon Tamer, specifically a Fire Demon Tamer, and have fully awakened."
The man looked Du Yu up and down and asked, "How do you feel, is your body adapting well?"
Du Yu thought of the "Eye of Burning Sun," but he didn't dare reveal too much information.
However, with Mr. Li Hong and Li Mengnan both present, Du Yu couldn't ignore the changes within himself, or it wouldn't make sense.
After pausing briefly, Du Yu removed the milk bag from his mouth and said, "Earlier my body was scorching hot, now it has stabilized. By the way, before awakening, my eyes weren't as bright as they are now."
"Feeling scorching hot in the body is quite normal, many children experience it; it's a necessary part of your awakening process. You mentioned there's some change in your eyes, is there any discomfort?"
Du Yu shook his head repeatedly: "No, no feeling at all."
The uniformed man smiled and nodded: "Then that's fine. You know, Demon Tamers have transcended the realm of ordinary people, and Spirit, Essence, and Qi are on a different level.
After awakening, it's quite normal to have some changes in your aura; as long as it doesn't interfere with your daily life, you needn't worry."
Upon hearing this, Du Yu nodded.
The uniformed man inquired: "Looking at your age, are you a high school student?"
Du Yu immediately nodded: "Just graduated from the third year of high school, finished my college entrance exam yesterday."
"Just graduated, great!" The uniformed man took out a square stamp and marked Du Yu's hand with it, "Go queue at line 12 on the side of the inpatient department!"
"Okay." Du Yu wanted to witness Li Mengnan's test result, but the staff on the other side was already gesturing for him.
He stepped forward, and just as he reached the corner, he heard Li Mengnan's loud cheer, "Yay~!"
"Hehe." Du Yu couldn't help but chuckle; there was no need to watch, Long-Legged Monk had made it.
Under the staff's guidance, Du Yu unlocked the map on the side of the inpatient department. It was clear that the people in line here were sorted by different age groups.
At table 12, there was only one person. When Du Yu arrived, he happened to see the person thanking profusely, leaving with an adorable orange little pig in his arms...
What?
Is this the officially designated beginner Fire-type Demon Pet of Ancient Pine Tower City—Little Orange Pig?
"Hello, I am Zhang Qing, a teacher from Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy's admissions office." The woman behind the table gestured, dressed in a white ladies' suit, with a very gentle smile on her face.
Though she introduced herself as a teacher, at that moment, she really seemed like a saleswoman.
Beside her chair and under the table were many large wooden boxes. Du Yu, with his keen eyesight, could see the little Demon Beast playing inside through the ventilation holes.
Moreover, two wooden boards behind teacher Zhang Qing were covered with various weapons, which made Du Yu click his tongue in surprise.
"Let me see your hand."
Du Yu extended his hand, letting Zhang Qing check the red stamp mark.
"Hmm, Demon Tamer, what attributes do you have?"
"Fire."
Zhang Qing: "And what else?"
Du Yu: "Only fire, pure fire."
Zhang Qing's face was momentarily stunned, and after the surprise, a trace of pity appeared on her face.
Being a Fire Demon Tamer means you can only contract with Demon Beasts that have the Fire Attribute.
Zhang Qing adjusted her state and asked with a smile, "How did you do on the college entrance exam? Do you have confidence in getting into your dream university?"
Du Yu: "..."
Feeling slightly awkward, Du Yu turned his head towards the sound of footsteps behind him and happened to see Li Mengnan queue up behind him.
Li Mengnan slightly raised her head, pointed at Du Yu with her chin, and showed a smug little expression: "I'm a Wind, Thunder, and Fire, a Three-element Demon Tamer~"
Zhang Qing called back Du Yu's attention: "Classmate, since you have the aptitude to become a Demon Tamer, have you considered joining the Demon Spirit Academy?"
Du Yu: "I'm really interested in the Demon Spirit Academy, it's just that I..."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Du Yu looked awkward, speaking softly: "I don't have money to pay for the tuition."
Zhang Qing's face was stunned, not expecting to get such an answer from a young boy. She immediately spoke: "Our tuition is free."
Du Yu asked further: "Then how much is the cost for room and board per term?"
He mainly wanted to calculate whether he could earn enough by working a few months.
Zhang Qing looked at the plainly dressed Du Yu and realized that this child probably came from a particularly difficult family background.
She patiently explained: "Everything is free, rest assured.
Additionally, joining the Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy does not necessarily mean you have to attend classes on campus."
Du Yu: "Huh?"
Just coming into this world, Du Yu had some knowledge points about Demon Beasts related to the college entrance exams in his mind, but he didn't understand the teaching methods of the Demon Spirit Academies.
Zhang Qing: "You awoke after graduating from high school, and for students of your age group, we have a specialized training system.
We will conduct a three-day training session for you to give you a preliminary understanding of the role of a Demon Tamer.
After the training period, we will have an entrance exam, and if you pass, you'll become an external student of the Ancient Pine Tower Demon Spirit Academy."
Du Yu was a bit confused, are there external students?
"Auditing students?"
Zhang Qing shook her head with a smile, knowing that this child from a poor family probably never had any understanding of the Demon Spirit Academy.
Being poor is indeed a terrible disease, it even makes kids afraid to dream.
Zhang Qing's voice became gentler: "No, not auditing students.
After passing the exam, we will give you an external student identification, and with this document, you can go to surrounding Exotic Realms for training.
We will give you a year of training time, and as long as you meet the requirements, after a year, you can choose to enter the academy for further study, or, with the academy's recommendation, join another Demon Spirit department for an internship.
There are many choices and much flexibility, no need to worry.
However, all these are for the future; the premise is that you pass the first round of exams to become an external student of the Demon Spirit Academy."
Du Yu silently nodded.
Zhang Qing was a shrewd person, hitting the key: "As long as you work hard and are excellent enough, during the phase of being an external student, you can freely take on various tasks.
Most of these tasks come with monetary and material rewards. They can improve your living conditions and assist you in your cultivation."
Upon hearing this, Du Yu's eyes lit up!
It would be understandable if others' eyes lit up, but if Du Yu's eyes lit up... for a middle-aged female teacher, it was absolutely overwhelming!
Seeing this child finally have a bit of light on his face, a trace of a dream that an ordinary boy should have, Zhang Qing couldn't help but smile.
She continued: "Discuss it with your family. Even if you fail the assessment, at least you will receive three days of free training, which will be very helpful for you."
Du Yu readily nodded and said: "Okay, I'll participate."
"First, discuss it with your family, no rush."
Du Yu instinctively turned his head, glanced at Li Mengnan with a complex expression behind him, then turned to look at Teacher Zhang Qing: "I can decide on my own, I have no one to discuss it with."
Zhang Qing then realized, this child wasn't just from a poor family, he didn't have any family at all?
"Then..." Zhang Qing stammered, "In that case, first choose a Demon Pet, and then pick a Demon Soldier a bit later. All these are provided by the school for free."
While speaking, Zhang Qing picked up a large wooden box from her feet and gently placed it on the table: "These are carefully selected good seedlings by the school, perfect for beginner taming, able to accompany you through your life."
As the wooden box was opened, two types of Demon Pets came into Du Yu's view.
On the left was a pile of little orange pigs, while on the right was a pile of little orange foxes.
The little orange pigs on the left were sleeping soundly, one lying close to another, with all four short legs resting on the back of the pig in front, entirely uninterested in what was happening around them.
Oh my, a box full of little five-flavor roast pork~
Such a silly and cute bunch, extremely adorable.
Du Yu couldn't help but extend his finger, gently poking the butt of a little orange pig; it was incredibly bouncy~
"Left."
Du Yu's finger paused as Little Fen Yang's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Left side."
Du Yu secretly rejoiced, isn't this pure cheating?
Although he himself couldn't tell, how could the Ancient Golden Crow Race not discern which Demon Pet had better aptitude?
His hand moved to the left until he touched the third little orange pig from the left that was sleeping, and Little Fen Yang's voice came again: "This one, good."
Du Yu immediately picked up the little orange pig, carefully examining it in front of him, what's so good about it?
It seems no different from the other little orange pigs?
Little Fen Yang's soft voice emerged again: "Chubby, hmm~ lots of meat."
Du Yu: ???
Could it be that there's a possibility we're choosing a companion rather than selecting food?