Chapter 1: Not Her Fault
Chapter 1: Not Her Fault
Hanggang City, Zhehai Province.
Wencheng Junior High School, Class 3-7.
"This time, everyone has made visible progress in the mock exam. Especially Qin Shou, who scored second in the entire grade, just two points away from a perfect score. Everyone should learn from him."
"Most of you have done well, but a few students who don't strive for improvement have scored zero, dragging the class average down."
"I won't name anyone, but I hope this student will reflect on their actions. There are only 21 days left until the high school entrance exam. With such a score, you won't even get into an ordinary vocational high school, let alone Beastmaster High School."
The balding homeroom teacher's gaze swept over to the third row from the back, by the window. There, a girl with a ponytail sat up straight, her back rigid, looking like a model student.
His lips twitched involuntarily. What a pretense! I'm talking about you!
Qiao Sang, of course, knew the teacher was referring to her, but she couldn't help it. After all, she wasn't the original Qiao Sang from this world.
She had only just arrived two days ago and hadn't even adapted yet when the mock exam came around.
But it was just a junior high school mock exam. She wasn't afraid. In her past life, she had been a top student, having attended a prestigious 985 university.
However, when she saw the test paper, she was completely stumped.
[What does the human brain domain awakening form?]
[What extraordinary creatures are attracted to the Heart Scale, and what effects does it have?]
[What is the final evolved form of the Stink Eel?]
[Which planets have humans already colonized?]
What kind of questions are these?!
In the end, she had no choice but to guess on the multiple-choice questions, fill in random answers for the fill-in-the-blanks, and leave the essay questions blank.
Over the past two days, Qiao Sang had adapted to her new body, and the memories of her original host had flooded her mind. She now had a general understanding of this world.
This was a world where taming beasts was the norm. After humans discovered their ability to tame beasts, it had been 3205 million years, and a mature system for taming beasts had been established.
Although it was called the Beastmaster Era, not everyone could tame beasts. When humans turned 15, their brain domains could be awakened through magnetic wave stimulation to form a Beastmaster Codex.
This Beastmaster Codex served as a bond and a space, perfectly connecting humans with extraordinary creatures.
If a person's brain domain couldn't awaken by the age of 15, they were unlikely to have any connection with taming beasts for the rest of their life.
Despite the Beastmaster Era having developed for millions of years, humans still couldn't guarantee that everyone would awaken their Beastmaster Codex.
For example, last year, only 73% of the students taking the high school entrance exam were able to awaken their Beastmaster Codex, while 27% failed to do so. Even if some of these students were academic geniuses, they were still destined to be unable to attend Beastmaster High School.
Those who couldn't tame beasts were doomed to mediocrity, spending their entire lives in the lower echelons of society.
In such a practical world, you might not even be able to get a job as a bricklayer if you couldn't tame beasts.
Who would hire a human to carry hundreds or even thousands of kilograms of bricks by hand when extraordinary creatures could do it more efficiently?
The same applied to serving dishes in restaurants. Even if the pay was several times higher, restaurants preferred to hire extraordinary creatures to attract more customers.
In this world, where the old social norms no longer applied, Qiao Sang, as a junior high school student approaching the high school entrance exam, was extremely anxious!
In the past, knowledge changed destiny, but now, taming beasts changed life.
Although she had the memories of her original host, the host was a poor student!
Her grades had consistently been among the bottom three in the class. She had improved slightly in last month's mock exam, ranking fourth from the bottom.
But that was only because the student who usually ranked fourth had missed two exams due to diarrhea.
With the high school entrance exam just 21 days away, Qiao Sang didn't expect to get into a key high school. She was grateful just to be able to attend any high school.
Qiao Sang listened attentively to the teacher, took notes, and continued studying even after class, demonstrating the same determination she had shown when preparing for the college entrance exam in her past life.
"Qiao Sang, the zero you got is yours, right?" her desk mate, Fang Sisi, leaned over and whispered.
It wasn't a question but a confirmation. Although the teacher hadn't named anyone, who else would openly take notes on a zero-scored test paper, not even bothering to cover the score?
Qiao Sang nodded.
In her memory, Fang Sisi was a good friend. They often ate and played together.
The main reason for their close relationship was that Fang Sisi was also a poor student.
Fang Sisi had taken the place of the student who usually ranked fourth from the bottom due to diarrhea, becoming the new fourth from the bottom.
"Wow, you even wrote answers for the multiple-choice questions, and you still got zero points. That's as hard as getting a perfect score!" Fang Sisi raised a thumb in admiration.
Qiao Sang was speechless. Could she be blamed for that? It was the "three short, one long, choose the long" strategy that failed her!
"What did you score?" Qiao Sang asked.
"263, 98 points higher than last time", Fang Sisi said proudly.
Truly a poor student, even with two extra exams, she only scored 98 points more.
But Qiao Sang only thought this to herself. After all, they were both poor students, so it was best not to hurt each other.
"You did well."
Qiao Sang wasn't lying. Although her desk mate's score was still low, compared to her usual 200-point level, it was clear that she had made progress.
"Of course, my mom has been watching me closely lately..."
Before she could finish, the student in front of Fang Sisi turned around and said nervously, "Is it true that Dai Shushu from Class 9 has been recommended to Litan Beastmaster High School?"
Fang Sisi sighed, "If everyone is saying it, it must be true."
Qiao Sang was flipping through her textbook.
The Dai Shushu they were talking about was the top student in the grade for the mock exam. As the top student, being guaranteed a spot in high school wasn't a big deal to her. What was most important to her right now was to study and memorize the knowledge points.
"I heard she got the guaranteed spot because of a Spontaneous Awakening", a classmate in front of Qiao Sang turned around and joined the discussion.
This got Qiao Sang's attention, and she raised her head.
Beastmaster High School recruited future Beastmasters, and the ability to awaken the brain domain was naturally the top priority. Those who could successfully Spontaneous Awakening often achieved more in the future compared to those who awakened through magnetic wave stimulation.
The first generation of Beastmasters, who awoke 30 million years ago, all did so through Spontaneous Awakening. At that time, Beastmasters made up only 0.01% of the population, making them absolute rarities.
It wasn't until 2563 years ago that a researcher named Chen Leshen discovered that the human brain domain could be awakened through magnetic wave stimulation, which led to the true beginning of the Beastmaster Era.
However, those who could successfully Spontaneous Awakening were still the cream of the crop.
"Spontaneous Awakening?" Fang Sisi fell into deep thought. "Do you think it's still not too late for me to latch onto her coattails?"
The classmate in front of Fang Sisi shook her head, "Forget it. Once someone gets a guaranteed spot, they won't stay at school. If you knew you could get into high school, would you still come to school?"
Fang Sisi nodded in agreement.
"If I Spontaneous Awakening, would I still get a guaranteed spot even if my academic scores were failing?" Qiao Sang took a deep breath, her expression serious.
This question drew the attention of the three girls.
"Don't talk about failing. Even if you scored zero, some schools would still take you", the classmate in front of Qiao Sang teased.
"Stop dreaming. Those who can Spontaneous Awakening are always top students, not failures like you", Fang Sisi patted Qiao Sang's shoulder. "I had a similar dream a few days ago."
Qiao Sang lowered her head, saying nothing.
The three girls thought she was discouraged and stopped discussing Spontaneous Awakening.
Little did they know, Qiao Sang was struggling to hold back a burst of laughter.
Spontaneous Awakening!
She had successfully Spontaneous Awakening right after she came to this world!
At the time, she didn't know what it was and thought it was some kind of lucky break. Later, when her memories merged, she realized it was the Beastmaster Codex that would awaken at age 15.
Since most people would awaken at 15, she didn't think much of it. She never imagined the difference would be so significant!
No wonder the original Qiao Sang, being a failure, didn't understand the difference between Spontaneous Awakening and magnetic wave stimulation when their memories merged.
...
...
Without the pressure of the middle school exam, Qiao Sang felt much more relaxed while studying. She no longer just memorized facts by rote.
[The Deep Fur Turtle belongs to the Earth attribute, commonly found in desert regions. It has black eye rings and is not a good swimmer.]
A turtle that can't swim?
If you can't swim, why are you a turtle?
Why is a turtle an Earth attribute instead of a Water attribute?
[The Steelheart Rat should avoid rain because its body can rust, and it prefers sunlight.]
Why would an extraordinary creature rust?
If its attribute is steel, and it rusts like steel when it gets wet, why does it like sunlight?
Isn't it afraid of oxidizing and rusting?
The more common knowledge she encountered, the more she wanted to comment on it.
But because of this, Qiao Sang found studying these things interesting rather than painful. She didn't need to force herself to memorize them; they just stuck in her mind.
Soon, school was over.
Qiao Sang was packing her things when a girl with black-rimmed glasses approached her, "Qiao Sang, the teacher wants you to go to the office."
Qiao Sang was taken aback, "I see."
The girl with glasses was named Ma Xiao, the Class Study Commissioner. She found it normal for the teacher to call Qiao Sang to the office.
Being the third-to-last student in the class was a common occurrence for the original Qiao Sang.
The current Qiao Sang, however, found it very unusual.
Especially when the teacher's spittle sprayed onto her face.
"What's wrong with you! It's almost the middle school exam, and you perform like this! How do you explain this to yourself? How do you explain this to your parents!"
Qiao Sang stepped back silently, "Te...acher, calm down."
Phew, almost called her 'old lady'...
"Calm down! How can I calm down! I've taught so many students, and I've never seen anyone as bad as you!" The teacher intensified her attack.
As a top student in her previous life, Qiao Sang had never experienced such treatment. She stepped back again, "There's a reason for my poor performance."
The teacher glared at her, "What reason?"
"Actually, I just Spontaneous Awakening, and my brain hasn't caught up yet."
At this moment, Qiao Sang felt a bit proud of her quick thinking.
"Hmph." The teacher sneered, "It seems I've been too lenient with you."
Qiao Sang was puzzled, what does this have to do with being lenient?
The teacher took out a contact book from her drawer, opened it, and dialed a number.
Soon, the call connected.
"Is this Qiao Sang's parent? I'm Qiao Sang's teacher. Could you come to school right now?"
Qiao Sang: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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