The first exam was still ongoing. She lost count of the time. May watched the people entering.

  It seems that the first exam had already claimed many victims. I thought more people would make it.

  The test did not seem difficult, and in fact it was not.

  Although no one will admit it, it was designed to weed out the non-Sect members, the poor children who thought they would have a chance. Most of those who passed were children of cultivators.

  She looked at her two friends, both of whom were crying. They were just children so it wasn't that strange. In fact, they were not the only ones in bad moods.

  "Hey May! You made it! Congratulations!!! I knew you were the best!"

  Suddenly she heard a male voice.

  "You scared me. Can you please not shout into my ear?"

  "Oh forgive me, I didn't mean to. I was just happy to see you."

  Him again. Could he please finally piss off.

  He was a boy who confessed his love for her some time ago. He looked quite extraordinary, so she remembered him.

  She had a dilemma. On the one hand, she had a suspicion that he might have unique physiques, given his unusual appearance, so she preferred not to be too harsh on him, just in case.

  However. He is so annoying!

  She tried to be nice; however, he came to her house a few more times since that day. He even asked her father for her hand! What a joke.

  To make matters worse, I can't even remember what he is called....

  "Sorry, but I wanted to rest."

  "Oh, okay. I understand; after all, your rest comes first. Anyway, if you ever feel like talking... I’m here. Always have been. And always will be."

  "Okay...?"

  I hate him so fucking much. Just die!

  She really wasn't able to stand him. The worst part was his cringy lines. Every time she heard his voice she felt like slitting her wrists.

  She let out a long exhale through her nose.

  That boy’s entire existence is a heavenly test. And I’m about to fail it.

  She tried to ignore him as much as she could. She glanced from time to time at her two new “friends.” They were visibly shaken. They already knew that their childhood friend had died. They were young, but not stupid. May didn’t say anything. She simply sat far from them in silence. Words would do no any good.

  She sighed and stood up. She decided to look around. She noticed people who apparently came from better circumstances. Children of cultivators from the capital, Rotira. A few appeared to be wealthy, while others bore more European features. These individuals were the descendants of mages who fled after the Silent Destruction.

  There were also people outside the sect—rich merchants' children who wanted to buy their children into the sect, children of mages, children of loose cultivators, and others. It was worth taking them in even though they weren't part of the sect.

  However, she also noticed a small group. They were different from the rest. Villagers, beggars and the poor. By some miracle, they managed to pass through. However, it was a rare.

  As long as one knew how to read, it was theoretically possible to pass it even without being in the first stage of Qi Refinement. In theory, it could also be passed by selecting a random door. However, picking ten doors correctly blindly was quite an accomplishment. Luck is also part of cultivation,- is a popular saying among cultivators.

  "And now the second stage begins. Please follow me."

  Finally, the next stage has begun. The number of people decreased significantly.

  Without a word, they began to follow the mystery woman.

  It is worth recalling that the Sect's terrain was extremely mountainous. So it was not surprising that the next stage was to climb one of the mountains.

  “So does that mean we just have to climb to the top to pass this phase?” One of the boys inquired.

  The mountain was quite large, but it was neither steep nor looked too dangerous.

  "Yes. You have time before the sun goes down. Attacking others is not allowed. Besides, everyone who reaches the top passes."

  It is certainly not that simple.

  “Sounds easy.” The girl said. For some reason they both stood next to her. They probably really wanted to make friends. They had just lost a companion and she didn't want to be his “replacement.”

  “We should stick together!” Said the boy and grabbed May's arm.

  She immediately pulled out of his grasp.

  I wonder if they will slow me down. True, they managed to pass the first exam, but their friend died, so I'm not sure about their skills. I'm not a babysitter, if they slow me down I might be harmed myself.

  She decided to be honest.

  "Don't take offense against me, but I have to ask. What level of cultivation are you at? I know that some people treat it as a secret, but if our levels are unequal, it could be a risk for both you and me."

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  "Wait a minute? Are you implying something?" The boy seemed agitated by her words.

  "Calm down. She has valid doubts. After all, Liu... But don't worry. I'm on the late second stage of Qi Refinement."

  "Hey, you shouldn't just reveal that to strangers! Are you crazy?"

  “She's not a stranger.”

  I am. She is naive. But still not bad. Late second stage... Although she would not be considered a genius, it's still a good result. She should have no problem to get to B class.

  "Ugh! Okay, I don't like it, but so be it. I'm not so talented, but I'm still doing better than that miserable Liu... He only barely reached the first stage a month ago..."

  What, the first stage a month ago? Are these guys stupid? It's hard to even call it a lack of talent anymore... It already falls more under the anti-talent. What did they think would happen?

  "Hey, don't make such a face! Maybe Liu didn't have talent, but he worked harder than me or Senlin."

  Even so, it hardly made a difference in the face of the test.

  "In any case, I'm a slightly more talented person. I'm at the Early second stage of Qi Refinement. Is that enough for you?"

  Although it was much worse than the girl, he should still be able to get in. Although it may have seemed that there was not much difference between the early and late second stage - here it mattered.

  My sister when she took the exam was at a similar level....

  Nonetheless, she got into Class D. She was still considered talented, so the boy wasn't so bad.

  “If you don't have a problem with it, could you also be willing to say about your level?” The girl asked.

  “Exactly!” Shouted the boy, clearly annoyed.

  "Sure. I'm on stage 3 of the late Qi Refinement."

  “Wait, what?” The boy lost his breath.

  The girl covered her mouth with her hands. Apparently she was in shock.

  The 3rd stage itself was amazing, and the late stage? It was something extremely rare. Genius. (Of course, this only applied to the Eastern Outer Court).

  "You... You're joking, right?" he asked, blinking rapidly. "You're... what?" He didn't know what to say. "And you're already at late Stage 3?"

  "Yes. Yes I am."

  Every year, there were at most a few children at this level in the Eastern Outer Court. They were given priority treatment.

  Out of thousands of people, they found one of these geniuses! They were shocked.

  “That's... Amazing. I didn't expect that. I knew you were good, but not THAT good.”

  She sighed. The screams of these two attracted the attention of the other people. She could hear quiet whispers all around her.

  Fuck, I didn't want to draw attention to myself. At least not now.

  After joining the academy, she would have stood out anyway, given her level. However, she did not feel safe yet. In the academy, she would be protected, but out here, she was still not an official member of the sect.

  There's no point crying over spilt milk. What's done is done.

  “Please don't shout like that in the future,” she said shortly.

  The two looked around and immediately felt embarrassed. They seemed to understand what had happened.

  “I'm sorry,” said the boy.

  “It's okay. Let's just go. There's no reason to waste time here.”

  From that moment on, she noticed that they treated her differently. While they had been friendly toward her even when they did not know who she was, now they were clearly trying to curry favor with her. People always gravitate toward the powerful.

  They began climbing the mountain. The path was marked, so finding the right way wasn't difficult. However, the task couldn't be that simple, May knew there had to be a catch.

  They were children, but thanks to their cultivation, their endurance was not inferior to that of adults.

  They walked for about an hour, and the wind began to grow stronger. May had to slow down a little—the other two were walking more slowly than her. She didn't mind, as she had no intention of walking in front anyway.

  Some children ran first, thinking that being first at the top would give them some advantage. Perhaps they were right, but it was also risky. She decided that slowing down was wiser.

  “It's terribly quiet.”

  Damn it! Red Flag right here!

  “Help! AAAGHAAGH”

  They heard a scream.

  “Come on, someone's in trouble!” The boy wanted to rush to the location of the scream as quickly as possible. However, May grabbed him by the arm.

  “No! We don't know what's going on. It's better to be careful.”

  “But what if—”

  “She's right. Our safety is the priority.” The girl agreed with her.

  The boy clearly didn't agree, but he nodded in approval.

  The scream finally stopped. Slowly and carefully, they continued on their way. They didn't say a word.

  Finally, she noticed someone she knew.

  Seriously. Him again.

  It was her intrusive acquaintance.

  “May! Be careful—”

  She quickly covered his mouth with her hand.

  “Are you fucking crazy?” she said quietly.

  She immediately noticed the beast with the body and tail of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle. It looked like something straight out of The Witcher 3. A huge beast several meters tall. She had just seen it gouging out the internal organs of some kid's body. And THAT IDIOT had just started screaming at the sight of her. Fortunately, the griffin didn't notice them.

  “I... I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. But this beast... I don't know what to do.”

  “May, is he your friend?”

  “He... He's from the same town as me.”

  “Oh yes, we're friends!” he cried out.

  Really? He had only confessed his love to me once, and after I rejected him, I mostly avoided him. But if that is his definition of friendship, then I will let him live in his fantasy.

  “Anyway... Does anybody of you know what kind of beast it is?”

  “No.”

  “I've never seen anything like it.”

  “It's a griffin. The body of a lion, the head of an eagle.” May said finally. Being fantasy reader in Earth finally became something useful.

  Suddenly, they heard a scream.

  “Fuck.” She said in english. The scream was so piercing that her earthly tongue slipped out.

  One of the children was still alive, and the monster was playing with him. It ate him piece by piece, while he was still alive. Like a child who first bites off the legs of a gingerbread man and eats him while laughing happily.

  What a disgusting monster! It knows exactly what it's doing. What do we do now?

  There was a cliff on both sides, it seemed to be the only way.

  “May, how do you know the name of this beast? Never mind. Do you know how we can move on?” asked the boy who was in love with her, whose name she still couldn't remember.

  She knew the name of this beast from games such as The Witcher, but she knew nothing else. Nothing that could help them. They are powerless against this creature in combat.

  But we have to keep going... I guess I have no choice. Minnie?

  “I've been waiting for this moment. What do you need?” she said with a laugh. How annoying.

  How much does information about this monster cost?

  “It depends on how much information you want.”

  “Just the basics, and how we can avoid it.”

  “I'll gather only the most important information... Okay, I have something that will help you for only 250 mu.”

  That's expensive. But I have no choice, I'll take it.

  That's all? For that much money?

  “I gave you a few options. If you want, for ten thousand I can give you information worth over a hundred thousand pages about griffins.”

  Well, at least I realized something.

  The solution was right in front of her, she didn't have to buy anything, but she only understood that now. Sometimes the obvious things are the least obvious.