Today is the enrollment season for the Summoner Academy. All the academy's mentors have returned from their missions in various places to select promising new talents.
At this moment, the selection plaza of the Summoner Academy is also a sea of people. Everyone who has awakened their summoning talent is here waiting for selection.
The entire process has a total of 5 stages. The more stages one passes, the more likely they are to be chosen by a powerful mentor.
Even if only one stage is passed, one can become a summoner, but the probability of being assigned to a mentor will be relatively low.
However, if one fails to pass any stage, they can only be regretfully eliminated.
Mo Ran arrived a bit late, so she was at the back of the crowd.
The people around were all excitedly discussing the upcoming stages.
"I heard that last year the first stage was to have summoners stand on the back of their summoned beasts for an hour!"
"What kind of competition is that? If the summoned beast is small, wouldn't it be a guaranteed loss?"
"Exactly. The combat power of summoned beasts is directly proportional to their size. Do you really think a summoned puppy can be more powerful than someone's Rampage Tiger?!"
"Moreover, standing on a pet's back tests the pet's loyalty and stability. If the pet has loyalty issues or an unstable temperament, it won't be able to endure for an hour."
"Oh! So the first stage is to eliminate summoned beasts that are weak or have personality flaws?"
"But the exams get harder every year. We don't know what it will be like this year!"
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound rang out, and the entire venue immediately fell silent.
Then, a fiery red bird with a wingspan of over ten meters streaked across the sky, leaving a huge shadow on the ground.
"This is Chi Yu, one of the Ten Great Summoning Divine Beasts!"
Someone shouted.
Following that, exclamations and praise erupted from the crowd.
Chi Yu circled in the air for a moment, then slowly descended to the center of the field.
The crowd on the ground parted, creating an open space.
Then, a distinguished man leaped down from Chi Yu, causing another wave of screams from the girls around.
"It's Young Master Tang Yu from the Tang family, a renowned summoning lineage. I didn't expect his talent to be so strong that he directly summoned the divine beast Chi Yu!"
"It looks like he's a shoo-in for first place in this selection!"
"He's handsome, strong, and from a good family. He's just too perfect!"
The crowd whispered amongst themselves.
Mo Ran looked at Tang Yu and couldn't help but smile slightly. She gently stroked the small spider on her shoulder and said softly,
"Be patient. That's his summoned beast. Although I also feel like it looks delicious... doing that is too impolite!"
"Alright, alright, I know. Little Chen, when we find a suitable opportunity, we'll roast it!"
"Chirp chirp!"
The small spider on Mo Ran's shoulder chirped twice.
Xiao Chenchen was a new type of spider that Mo Ran had painstakingly created during Zhang Chen's absence.
Because she had been reborn, she had forgotten that Royd was also created by him.
However, this time, Mo Ran, having inherited all of Queen Shira's spider populations and reaching a new level after absorbing Zhang Chen's meteor energy, had created it.
And she named it Xiao Chenchen.
Xiao Chenchen could freely change its size, possessed the combined abilities of all spider populations, and could even transform into any spider within the population for a short period.
"Okay, yours won't have chili, but I want a lot of chili on mine. It tastes better with chili!"
Mo Ran muttered.
"Chirp chirp!"
Xiao Chenchen crawled on Mo Ran's shoulder for a while, then burrowed into her clothes and hid.
"Now, the competition time has arrived. The first task requires everyone to cross the Withered Forest within 2 hours. On the other side of the forest, there will be staff to guide you to the next stage of the selection."
"Please note that because this selection is taking place in the wild, there is a risk of monster attacks. Therefore, we advise those participating with a mindset of luck or just giving it a try to act within their capabilities."
"The academy will not be responsible for any injuries or casualties!"
The academy's dean announced loudly from the podium.
Upon hearing the words "Withered Forest," the atmosphere of the previously lively crowd instantly cooled down considerably.
That area was outside the city, and low-level monsters had already appeared. Even merchant caravans passing through there required summoner escorts.
These participants were all trainee summoners. If they encountered monsters, it would essentially be a matter of nine deaths out of ten.
Some timid students, or those who knew they were not strong enough, voluntarily withdrew from the selection.
This immediately reduced the number of competitors by three to five hundred.
However, there were still people who were hopeful and prepared to try.
After all, there were over a thousand people participating in the challenge. How could their luck be so bad as to definitely encounter a monster?
As a colorful smoke bomb exploded in the sky, the challenge officially began!
Simultaneously, the timer started its countdown!
Whoosh!
In an instant, various summoned beasts appeared around the numerous summoners.
The Withered Forest was a full thirty kilometers long. If one were to cross it on foot, even without monsters, it would be impossible to complete it within the allotted time.
Therefore, it was necessary to rely on the speed of summoned beasts to cross quickly. This, in itself, implicitly covered last year's assessment item.
Summoned warhorses, summoned night blade leopards, summoned fire pythons, summoned giant centipedes...
There was a wide variety.
Of course, there were also some who overestimated themselves, like summoning giant snails or giant caterpillars...
The movement speed of these summoned creatures was not even as fast as running on their own...
These summoners could only watch as others sped past them, anxiously waiting there.
Those summoners with flying abilities were fortunate. They directly rode their mounts and flew over, bypassing the threat of monsters in the forest.
"Little Chenchen, jump mode!"
Mo Ran reached into her clothes and pulled out Little Chenchen, throwing it onto the ground.
Bang!
The moment it landed, Xiao Chenchen transformed into a car-sized creature with eight strong and powerful short legs.
"Chirp chirp!"
Mo Ran climbed onto it, using silk threads to create a seatbelt and secure herself. She smiled and said,
"Let's go, let's have some fun!"
Bang!
Xiao Chenchen's eight legs exerted a slight force, and the entire spider took off...
At this moment, Tang Yu, flying in the sky, looked down disdainfully at the challengers scrambling to start below, a trace of arrogance on his face.
"A bunch of commoner summoners from low-born families. Competing with you people truly sullies my noble status."
"I hope that through this challenge, you will recognize the gap between commoners and nobles."
Whoosh!
Just as he finished speaking, he felt a black shadow fly past him at high speed...