I looked at the door and realised that the beaming, red light from the door had moved from the first circle to the middle one. From what the person in the crowd had pointed at, it only comes to say that that signifies the second stage.
I mouthed the number on the door, "Nineteen."
"It seems like Princess Lu Peng has begun the stage of beast identification!" someone else screamed in my ears.
I turned to look at the person in disgust. It was Princess Feng Wu.
She snorted, seeing my raised nose and corked brow.
Just then, the door of the Beast Tamers Examination Hall was pushed open, recklessly.
'Jiya!'
I turned around like everyone else.
"Where's my girlfriend?" A young man's voice sounded behind me.
Turning around, I saw a pair of searching eyes, and a pair of horns poking into the air over his head.
"It's Young Master Jaiden!" someone whispered in suppressed agitation amongst the crowd.
I noticed he had a 1-star Beast Tamer emblem pinned on his chest.
It was none other than the rude dude who had prevented me from seeing the Acorn Master, earlier.
"She's in there."
Princess Chang Fei pointed at the door.
"What's the hurry, didn't she say she'd wait till I arrived before commencing with the examination?"
The two princesses looked at me, simultaneously, before turning their heads back at Jaiden, as though that was the best answer.
"Hey, I remember you." Jaiden looked at me with furrowed brows before looking at Chang Fei and Feng Wu for some explanation.
"Lu Peng had to agree to a duel with her to vindicate both the dignity of herself and the Beast Hall."
"Agree to a duel? Vindicate both the dignity of herself and the Beast Hall? What do these mean?"
"It's like this..."
Feng Wu stepped forward and began explaining everything that'd happened since the moment they stepped into the Main Hall.
Unlike what they'd expected from the narration, Jaiden burst into a hearty laughter. For ten twenty seconds straight.
"Interesting.... If she loses to the duel, tell her I said we're off!"
"What?" Just as the princesses were perplexed of how they ought to respond, the door made a jolting sound, and the light beam moved from the middle circle to the last circle.
Just like everyone thought, a voice announced, "She just accomplished the second stage with 43 points!"
"She's arrived the third stage!"
"43 points? Don't you think it's too sub-par to achieve 75 points in the end?"
"There's some sense there, but... we just have to keep watching on."
"You're right! Let's watch how many she's able to get in this final stage of impartation of knowledge."
People began to talk in loud whispers, once again.
The points began to count up.
'44'
'45'
'46'
* * *
Just when everyone was hurling praises on Lu Peng, the numbers finally came to a halt at 69.
"FAILURE!" A loud, mechanical voice declared.
The mouths of everyone hung ajar in disbelief. The hall suddenly fell so silent that one could catch the sound of a falling feather, at. After burning three hours, it just had to end in futility!
I myself was perplexed.
"As expected of the number one career of the Phantom Dynasty," I muttered underneath my breath.
To think about it, if just anybody could become a beast tamer, won't the career have become a casualty and lost its mouth in the continent?
I could not help but gulp down my saliva. If someone who had been preparing all the while for this examination, despite being a princess who had no lack in preparatory materials, could fail this badly, just how would I fare.
'Jiya!'
While I was still in thoughts, a pale-faced girl walked out from the examination hall.
Of course, it was none other than Lu Peng.
Immediately she stepped out, her first attention was on me, then on everyone else.
The attendant of before ran over to meet her.
"I'm sorry, Eighth Princess, but you've lost the trial. With such impressive results, it shouldn't be difficult for you to pass on second trial!"
If looks could kill, believe me, the attendant would have been rolling in the pool of her own blood.
"You couldn't even accomplish a simple trial! When I challenge the 1-star Beast Tamer Examination, you know how may points I got on first trial? 81 points! Pray she doesn't win, or we're — you and I — are off!"
Before Lu Peng could even say a single word after coming out of the trail, Jaiden's voice boomed across the room.
"I..." Seeing the hostile eyes of her boyfriend, she immediately shot me a menacing look, but I couldn't be too bored to return the favour.
Unbothered, I said to the attendant who was still within reach, "It's my turn."