"What a freak!" Holding on to both his tamed beast and the monster's corpse he just bought, Hayen uttered.

'To trade away the admission token to the celestial sect just for some scraps,' Hayen shook his head before dropping the idea of thinking about that stranger. Not only was he dressed in some kind of high-class furs, not only was he capable of punching the demonic boar to death… He still had the guts to claim some unfortunate events that happened to him!

'No point thinking about it.' Focusing on the small forest path before him, the young cultivator continued to guide his beast through the wilderness. Just a few moments later, a sudden growl came from his right, before a huge cat suddenly pounced on a tree right beside the man.

"The hell?!" Instantly pulling the fur of his tamed monster to guide it away, Hayen's breathing accelerated to some insane degree as his heart threatened to pounce out of his chest. "Aina? What are you doing here?" Glancing at the exhausted face of the girl sitting atop her imposing, golden panther, Hayen mind instantly exploded.

'Dang, I didn't expect… But knowing her, she would…' startled by the appearance of the girl, Hayen went into panic mode. With the strict morals and sharp eyes of this girl, the entire ruse regarding the beast would be quickly uncovered and his entire plan spoiled! 'We are already so far into the examination… If they disapprove of this beast, I won't be able to get in.'

Hayen's thoughts suddenly clarified.

'Fuck!' Cursing his misfortune, Hayen sent a mental order to his tamed beast. His eyes filled with a strange determination, making his face look crazed. Then, his tamed bear suddenly swung its huge paw right against the relaxed body of the golden panther.

"WHA?!" As startled as both the girl and the beast were, at least the girl's companion managed to react in a timely manner. Unsurprisingly though, the sneak attack still managed to land.

"ROAR!" With the sharp fangs of the huge monster scratching the hind leg of the panther, the wounded beast released a pained groan.

"Silia!" Screaming from the bottom of her lungs, Aina pushed her body forward, as if wanting to shield the monster from the next attack. But rather than pushing on with the attacks, Hayen pressed his beast to back out.

"I'm really sorry, I really didn't want to do this!" Screaming over the distance his bear already put between the two of them, Hayen clenched his jaws. "Your panther is only lightly injured, but you won't be able to catch up to me now. Once I become the Gloryhouse sect disciple, I will make sure to pass a proper medication to you!" For Hayen, the stakes were just too high. 'After all those years,' pushing his beast into a mad run, Hayen closed his ears, ignoring the desperate calls of his former partner. 'I'm not going to just let go of this opportunity!' Steeling his heart, the young cultivator clenched his jaws once again.

Pushing his beast to the limit, it didn't take long before Hayen neared the border of the forest. Thanks to the ages-long tradition of curbing the land out of the forest's occupation, the outskirts of the woodlands only had some sparse, mostly decorative vegetation. Rushing through the scenic place, Hayen managed to reach the camp in a matter of minutes. But that didn't mean the distance he covered was short.

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'Unless she rides her panther despite its injury… Yeah, she won't be able to make it.' Just a single thought at what he did to his teammate put Hayen in a foul mood. 'I guess this is the burden that people of success need to carry.' Turning his guilty conscience into a thought of the glory that awaited him, Hayen rushed to the counting office set upright in the middle of the camp.

"Uff, I still made it!" Given how this was the last day of the examination, no one really knew when the flag atop the counting office would be lowered, announcing the end of the bi-yearly examination.

"Look who just made it back, welcome back!" Noticing the appearance of his clanmate, Leen stood up from his makeshift couch. Despite wearing the marks of the Gloryhouse sect on his robes, he was still relaxing in the middle of the camp.

The sight of his older friend finally forced Hayen's mind to acknowledge that he finally managed to fulfill his greatest dream. All the tension from the entire week that he spent in that dangerous forest finally dissipated. With his entire complexion improving, Hayen smiled at his senior.

"Thanks for the welcome, senior, but I need to hurry up to the counting office. I don't want to miss the mark!" Bowing to the slightly older man, Hayen smiled before rushing forward. Thanks to a relatively short queue, Hayen's turn came in just a few moments. After all, if this exam was so easy to allow for long queues of those capable of passing, Hayen wouldn't struggle so much to score it!

Moving forward to go through the procedures, Hayen pulled the corpse of the beast from the top of his tamed bear. Clearly struggling to do so, he then pulled it by its hind legs towards a huge blanket on which the assessment was taking place.

Noticing his movements, one of the assistant teachers from the sect approached, sending a quick glance at the corpse of the beast.

"Third? No, fourth grade. Quite weak at that." Just by looking at the corpse, the middle-aged man managed to gauge the strength of the monster. Scribbling several words in a small notepad hanging on a leather strap from his neck, he glanced at the young cultivator a few times before clasping the notebook closed and smiling to Hayen.

"Congratulations, you have passed the exam. Go and claim your identification token in the logistic tent." Looking at the face of the examiner, Hayen only barely managed to hold back his tears. Tears of happiness and relief. Holding his emotions off, the young man bowed deeply before taking his tamed bear with him and leaving the examination area. Noticing the clear signs of happiness on his junior's face even from such a huge distance, Leen rushed to bring out more drinks. Having his fellow clansmen in the sect, was truly a great occasion to celebrate.

At the same time as the young cultivator was leaving the area, the examiner that took care of him a moment earlier suddenly frowned. Taking a look at his notes once again, he stared at the back of the leaving man.

"Strange…" His lips trembled slightly before his attention was pulled by another lucky exam attender. Before he could invite the lucky fellow to get closer, a voice suddenly entered his mind.

"Leave it. I will look into the situation." Slightly turning his head around, the middle-aged man cast a quick glance at one of the two proper teachers assigned to the local examination. While the young lady Samira wasn't the one in charge, her deeply-rooted connections still made her someone to be wary of.

"Yes, senior!" Accepting the order, the middle-aged man no longer bothered himself with the topic. Whatever the outcome of the situation would be, he would no longer be responsible for it.

"Next!"