"What? She''s one of the Shanhai Ten?!""No way! We get to see one of the legendary Shanhai Ten right off the bat?""Hey, hey, hey! Did you guys catch the important part? She said she''s the third seat! Top three among the Ten!"


    Such whispers rippled through the crowd of thousands.


    Shabulu looked around blankly, then turned naively to Ouyang Yuan for help: "Yuan-zai, what are the Shanhai Ten again?"


    Bai Wushang pricked up his ears as well. Because he''d switched academies last minute, his research wasn''t very thorough, and there were things he only partially understood.


    Ouyang Yuan rolled his eyes. Seeing his three companions staring at him eagerly, he could only sigh resignedly:"Shanhai Academy has a Heroes Ranking List, recording the fifty strongest Masters in the academy. Those outstanding enough to climb into the top ten are called the Shanhai Ten, and each has their own title."


    "Are they very powerful?" Shabulu scratched his head.


    "More than just powerful!" Ouyang Yuan sounded somewhat exasperated, as if disappointed by Shabulu''s lack of understanding, his tone quickening slightly:"The status of the Shanhai Ten in the academy even surpasses ordinary instructors! After all, ordinary instructors'' combat power is only around the Early Complete Form level. The higher-ranked among the Ten might even have Mid or Late Complete Form combat power, capable of crushing countless instructors!""Furthermore, the Shanhai Ten Committee, composed of the Shanhai Ten, is a special executive body directly under the Dean. Based on their seat ranking, they enjoy various privileges, increasing with rank, and can even influence many aspects of the academy''s operations!""To some extent, the will of the Shanhai Ten represents the will of the academy, understand?"


    Ouyang Yuan finished in one breath, then gazed up at the woman in the golden dress on the platform with a look of admiration, murmuring: "Tsk tsk, that stunning figure, that noble and elegant aura... what kind of peerless beauty is hidden beneath that mask..."


    "Scree— Scree—"Above the stone pillar, the Wyvern suddenly raised its head and let out two cries. The sound wasn''t loud, but it radiated outwards like sound waves, carrying a terrifying pressure that seemed to press down on the soul, stunning everyone into silence. Instantly, it was deathly quiet.


    "Dragon''s Might?!"Bai Wushang''s heart tightened. At the same time, he felt Yinhe in his chest awaken, poking its head out to peek outside.


    "This freshman trial will be entirely under my charge. I hope everyone listens carefully and doesn''t interrupt. Any questions should be saved for the end. Please don''t be disobedient, okay? Otherwise..."Xia Wanlong casually patted the Wyvern''s wing. The Wyvern understood instantly, snorted heavily, raised its head, and glared fiercely at the crowd, giving off a strong "whoever dares cause trouble, prepare to die" vibe.


    Xia Wanlong nodded with satisfaction, opened the holographic screen on her wrist, swiped a few times, and began the official announcement:"The core theme of this freshman trial revolves around just one thing—contracting a pet beast!""I know you''ve all become official Masters now. You must be feeling very excited, eager to have your first pet beast partner. I can understand that, and the academy understands your feelings even better! Therefore! The academy has prepared the Secret Realm ''Sea Island'' specifically to provide everyone with an opportunity to contract a pet beast.""In the Secret Realm ''Sea Island'', the total number of transcendent creature species exceeds fifty thousand. There are common types found everywhere in wild forests, as well as particularly rare and precious varieties seldom seen in the world. Whether it''s Demon Beasts, Demons, Ghosts, Bone Race, Insect Race... In short, it will definitely satisfy your needs!"


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    It had to be said, Xia Wanlong''s voice was quite pleasant, and her control over the rhythm and intonation while speaking was excellent. She instantly captured everyone''s anticipation, making them listen very attentively.


    "However, you''ve probably heard about the academy''s founding principle: all resources here are only available to the most outstanding individuals. As for the failures, we don''t want them! This trial is not just for everyone to subdue pet beasts; it''s also a survival game. Anyone who doesn''t meet the passing line in the trial will be directly expelled by the academy, with absolutely no exceptions!""Next, I will announce the specific details of the trial:


    【This trial will adopt a grouping format. The 2578 freshmen present will be randomly divided equally into 26 groups and deployed into twenty-six independent areas of the Secret Realm ''Sea Island''.Everything trialists encounter in the secret realm, whether it''s treasures, old herbs, or transcendent creatures, can be freely hunted and obtained as long as you have the ability. The academy imposes few restrictions.Cooperation is permitted in principle during the trial, and competition is also encouraged. However, causing disability or death is strictly forbidden. Violators will not only be directly expelled but will also face questioning from the academy''s upper echelons. Consequences are your own responsibility.The trial duration is 15 days. Every student is required to travel light, forbidden from carrying any protective gear, potions, storage rings, and other auxiliary items. Additionally, all wristwatch functions will be temporarily disabled.Before entering the secret realm, the academy will provide each trialist with a dimensional backpack containing replacement clothes, an elite dagger, a special sachet, and a distress talisman.The special sachet will protect the trialist from unprovoked attacks by transcendent creatures for the first 5 days; the distress talisman can be crushed in moments of crisis, automatically forming a barrier to protect the physical body.Note: After using the distress talisman, the trial immediately terminates, and an instructor will directly escort the trialist out of the secret realm.Before termination, if a pet beast contract has already been completed, the minimum passing standard for the trial is met, considered passing the assessment; if no contract has been completed yet, the trial is failed, resulting in direct expulsion.Perfect clear participants who successfully contract a pet beast and survive for the full 15 days until the trial ends will receive an additional reward from the academy: 10 points of Secret Energy each!】"


    "Alright, that concludes the detailed explanation of the trial provided by the academy. We will now move to the Q&A session. Please raise your hand if you have a question."Xia Wanlong leisurely played with a strand of her hair, her tone light but unquestionable:"Remember, think carefully before asking. I will only answer three questions!"


    Hands shot up sporadically throughout the crowd; even Ouyang Yuan eagerly raised his.


    "You over there, the short one with glasses and yellow hair, what''s your question?"Xia Wanlong pointed casually at a freshman.


    The pointed-at yellow-haired boy looked around, confirmed it was him, somewhat disbelievingly, and stammered:"Se... Secret Energy is... what is it?"


    Xia Wanlong''s jade hand playing with her hair froze. Even her voice instantly turned ice-cold:"I already said, think before you ask! This question, I believe at least half of the two thousand-plus freshmen present could answer for you. You wasted a precious question opportunity!"Xia Wanlong''s gaze seemed piercing, fixing firmly on the yellow-haired boy as she stated bluntly:"If my perception isn''t wrong, your initial soul power is merely Early Spiritualist Level. For you, even completing the pet beast contract will be quite difficult. Yet you''re asking about the reward for a perfect clear? Aren''t you aiming a bit too high?"