My Card Beast Taming Game

When Zhou Chen and the others arrived, they could see many people wearing first-year school uniforms maintaining order.

He had previously thought these people were upperclassmen who hadn't received their second-year school uniforms yet, but now he realized they belonged to the early batch of students who had already entered Shen Du Academy.

Participating in this type of activity will help them get into the student council later.

Of course, the school doesn't make them work for free; they always get rewards.

Reporting point.

"Old Zhou! Old Zhou!"

Xing Keji had arranged to meet him here, and he waved excitedly from a distance. The two had been chatting quite a bit these past few days.

But when he saw Lu Qingning and the others beside him, Xing Keji was slightly taken aback, and slowly lowered his waving hand.

"Old Xing."

Zhou Chen stepped forward to greet him, and the one-horned Chow Chow in his arms chimed in, "Yo! Young man!"

Lu Qingning and Han Baobao greeted them, some calmly and others warmly.

"Hello, hello..."

Xing Keji responded somewhat awkwardly, then stepped forward, hooked his arm around Zhou Chen's shoulder, pulled him aside, and whispered, "What's going on?"

"What's going on? Didn't I tell you I came with a friend?"

He said innocently.

Xing Keji said speechlessly, "But you didn't tell me your friend was a girl!"

Zhou Chen: "What's wrong with women? Do you hate women?"

"That's not it..."

Xing Keji glanced back at Lu Qingning and the others, and continued, "Are you really related to Lu Qingning?"

"Neighbor."

Zhou Chen no longer needs Lu Qingning's cousin's connections.

Xing Keji gave him a deep look, her eyes filled with jealousy and heartache.

How can someone be so lucky?

Envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"I'm not going to argue with you anymore, when can we go in?"

Zhou Chen glanced into the distance. Compared to the entrance to the secret realm outside, the entrance to the secret realm of the Divine Capital Academy was a bit strange; it was an unusually huge archway.

The area opposite the archway was shrouded in mist, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Xing Keji said, "Don't rush, we're waiting for everyone to report and be assigned to their groups."

Who is in the group?

Zhou Chen sensed something was off and asked, "Isn't it supposed to be free team formation?"

Xing Keji shook his head regretfully and said, "That was last year's rule. This year, the groups are randomly assigned. We'll have to wait until the reporting is finished."

Hearing this, Lu Qingning, who was standing nearby, asked, "Random? Where did you hear that from?"

"I... I heard it from the teacher in charge of reporting."

Xing Keji answered in a flustered manner.

He appeared quite nervous when facing Lu Qingning, but this nervousness wasn't due to the presence of a pretty girl; rather, it seemed to stem from something that made him wary.

This gesture surprised Zhou Chen a bit. Was it really necessary?

Of course it is!

As a member of the upper echelons of the card master circle in Fengcheng, Xing Keji had long heard of Lu Qingning's fearsome reputation, and could even say that he had "personally experienced" it.

Just because a member of the Five Famous Families Association in Fengcheng, whom his brother knew, offended Lu Qingning, his whole family disappeared the next day!

That's right, he disappeared in Maple City along with the father of the other party's intermediate card master.

From that moment on, Xing Keji understood that some people were not to be trifled with.

Later, when he was almost framed by Pan Yi, upon learning the news, he disregarded the occasion and immediately ran to explain to Zhou Chen.

But he adjusted very quickly.

After all, this is no longer Maple City, but the Divine Capital Academy.

Besides, he knows Zhou Chen, and Zhou Chen knows Lu Qingning. Surely he won't just disappear into thin air like that?

While Xing Keji was lost in thought,

Lu Qingning frowned and said, "They actually changed the rules at the last minute!"

The secret realm test naturally does not allow candidates to fight alone. Even small secret realms require two people to team up, so how could they allow candidates to enter alone?

Furthermore, teamwork skills are also one of the test points in the Secret Realm test.

The Secret Realm Academy is dedicated to cultivating well-coordinated teams capable of consistently hunting high-level monsters and even Secret Realm Lords; lone heroes are not within their scope of consideration.

The basic requirement for the Secret Realm Exam is five people. In the past, the Divine Capital Academy allowed candidates to form teams freely, but for some reason, the rules have been changed this year.

Han Baobao said, "Then Xiaomei won't be able to benefit from Zhou Chen's fame?"

In order to get a high score, they deliberately helped each other practice their teamwork, but their plan ended up going down the drain.

Mei Xian calmly replied, "It's alright, it's all the same."

It wasn't that she was confident in herself, but rather that she understood that fate is something that will bring what is meant to be, and there's no need to force what isn't meant to be.

As for Shen Du Yuan, she felt that it was enough that she had been there and had given her all.

If you really can't get in, there's nothing you can do about it.

Lu Qingning comforted her, "Don't panic, being randomly grouped doesn't necessarily mean you won't be together!"

A dozen minutes later.

The text message confirming the team formation was sent to the candidates' phones, showing them their teammates' exam numbers and names.

Zhou Chen and Xing Keji were very lucky to be on the same team.

"Great!"

Xing Keji beamed with joy, while Lu Qingning and Han Baobao were filled with regret. Mei Xian also felt somewhat disappointed, but she hid it well.

The Chow Chow with a unicorn horn said, "Zhou Chen, your monster-hunting skills must be pretty good, right?"

Zhou Chen said, "It's alright."

"is it?"

The Chow Chow recalled Zhou Chen's fighting style and realized he was clearly an experienced adventurer from the secret realm.

It then said, "Although you don't really need it, I'll still tell you a trick: the key to getting a high score in the Secret Realm Exam is not to be too 'isolated'."

Don't make it too toxic?

Zhou Chen didn't understand at first, but Xing Keji explained, "It just means more teamwork, hey! It's simple, let's work together more!"

A serious voice came from ahead as they were talking.

"Quiet down!"

An invisible sense of oppression descended, and the noisy students in the square quickly fell silent.

"Make way in the middle! Those who hear your name and exam number, come to the entrance of the secret realm!" the person who spoke earlier said again.

All the candidates obediently did as instructed, spreading out to both sides to make way for the archway.

Then, the people at the front began to call out their numbers one by one.

Mei Xian's turn came a little early, and Lu Qingning and Han Baobao cheered her on, saying, "You can do it, Xiao Mei!"

"Focus on your own work! Don't let your temporary teammates affect you!"

"Go, Sister Mei!"

Zhou Chen shouted along.

About ten minutes after Mei Xian left, most of the people in the square had left before it was Zhou Chen and Xing Keji's turn.

"You shouldn't be able to go in, right?"

He looked down and asked the one-horned Chow Chow.

The unicorn chow chow said matter-of-factly, "Isn't that for sure? The people at the Secret Realm Academy are all old-fashioned men, second only to our Array Domain Academy."

Zhou Chen: "?"

What do you mean by "second only to our Array Domain Academy"?

He didn't have time to ask any further questions. He said goodbye to Lu Qingning and Han Baobao and came to the entrance of the secret realm with Xing Keji.

A massive white jade archway came into view, wide and tall enough to accommodate ten large trucks. The wisps of smoke rising from inside the gate resembled the boundary of a secret realm.

Zhou Chen silently observed his temporary teammates, two women and one man, whose strength was unknown.

The outward differences between apprentice, junior, and even intermediate card masters are very small. It is difficult to judge their level without taking out a spirit card.

Guided by the instructions, the five entered the secret realm and disappeared into the mist.

In the blink of an eye, the fog gradually thinned, and another scene of a hidden paradise came into Zhou Chen's view.

Chapter 134: Azure Wind Secret Realm (18/104)

Outpost of the Secret Realm.

Unlike the towns Zhou Chen had seen outside, this outpost was rather simple and small.

The reason is not hard to understand.

For students and faculty of Shen Du Academy, the Secret Realm can be entered and exited at will by swiping their student cards or staff cards, without the need for prior application or approval.

Of course, to cater to the needs of some students who are too lazy to go in and out, the outpost also has accommodation.

"Medium-sized secret realm..."

Zhou Chen surveyed the surrounding environment.

The secret realm arranged by Shen Du Academy for the examinees is called Cangfeng Secret Realm. It is a grassland landscape and produces a large number of monsters with various sky attributes. They are generally characterized by fast attack speed and high speed.

He had done most of his homework before coming, and now he was just ready to put it to good use.

Looking into the distance, he saw a group of examinees driving away from the gate of the outpost.

The rules for the Secret Realm Exam are slightly more complex than those for the Arena Exam.

Starting from the moment they leave the outpost, the team of candidates has a total of eight hours to hunt down as many monsters as possible and earn points.

During the event, candidates are only allowed to summon one spirit card; summoning a second one is not permitted.

The scoring rules are as follows:

Kill points: 1 point for a Bronze-rank monster, 3 points for a Silver-rank monster, and 50 points for a Gold-rank monster.

Material Scoring: One point is awarded for completely extracting two valuable materials from a Bronze-rank monster, three points are awarded for materials from a Silver-rank monster, and thirty points are awarded for materials from a Gold-rank monster.

Spirit Card Points: A Bronze-rank Spirit Card is worth 5 points, a Silver-rank Spirit Card is worth 10 points, and a Gold-rank Monster Spirit Card is worth 100 points.

The total score earned by the five-person team will be distributed among each student after the exam based on their performance and contributions, preventing anyone from slacking off and still getting points.

To be honest, Zhou Chen didn't feel that the scoring rules restricted individual competitions in any way. Could it be that the points for monsters that the examinee defeated or the points for spirit cards that they created would be given to others based on their performance?

Surely not?

Zhou Chen, who was used to fighting alone in dungeons, had no idea that very few people in the world could do what he did and single-handedly annihilate hordes of monsters.

Not to mention the exaggerated 70% card production rate.

At this moment, one of the male teammates spoke up, "Everyone, we're all in the same boat now, how about we introduce ourselves?"

He placed his hand on his chest and said gently, "Let me start. My name is Gu Xiaobo, I'm from Jizhou, a junior card master, and my specialty is the Lava Giant, a damage-absorbing card."

Upon hearing this, Xing Keji immediately replied, "Xing Keji is from Yuzhou. He is a novice card master and specializes in the Spirit Card, which is the Heroic Armor for the damage output position."

The remaining two girls took turns speaking: "Qin Yulan, from Nanzhou Island, a junior card master, and a damage dealer named Zhenming Stork."