2781 Time Has Passed

Thankfully, North Wangda Forest possessed a transfer talisman matrix at its exit, for without it, even if they summoned spiritual beasts and raced towards the city gate, they likely wouldn’t have made it in such a short span of time.

Deep in thought, the young man named Nine Qin contemplated the situation.

Duan Yue and his group of rather inconsiderate companions hadn’t bothered to wait for him to depart together. Ninth Qin finally emerged from North Wangda Forest nearly four hours after Qiao Mu’s group.

This was largely due to Qiao Mu and her comrades leading the way, ensuring a smooth journey for him; otherwise, time would have surely run out today.

/The timeframe was undeniably tight!/

Wiping away his perspiration, Ninth Qin hurriedly caught up with Duan Yue and the others. He called out, “Hey, fellow students, please wait for me!”

“As we’re all part of the same group, let’s depart together!” The youth pursued them with an overly familiar demeanor. Observing that no one paid him much attention, he felt no embarrassment and continued running alongside the group.

Qiao Mu and her friends paid little heed to whether he followed or not. It was inconceivable that they would obstruct other students on the path leading to the main academy’s street.

By this time, it was already quite late, and night was on the brink of descending upon them.

From a distance, everyone could spot a few onlookers scattered across the main academy’s plaza. However, only two or three test-takers remained.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the group. The fact that there were still ongoing tests indicated that they hadn’t missed the deadline.

Little Fatty confidently approached the table arranged in the plaza and informed a middle-aged mentor, “Hello there! We’ve come for the test!”

The middle-aged mentor furrowed his brows and glanced up at him with nonchalance. “You’re testing at this hour? Some students are truly presumptuous. Do they believe that mentors must sit here 24 hours a day, waiting for you to arrive at any moment?”

“If you don’t give much importance to this entrance exam, what brought you to Tempest City?” Little Fatty was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the middle-aged mentor to react so strongly to his first sentence.

/What could he have done wrong?/

“No, Mentor, something unexpected happened on our way here!”

“Time management is within your control. You should consider potential uncertainties during your journey,” the middle-aged mentor coldly remarked. “You rushed to Tempest City at this hour? Are you still focused on the entrance exam? It seems like you don’t take this exam seriously.”

“I…” Little Fatty stumbled over his words under the stern reprimand. He scratched his cheek and fiddled with his ear in nervousness. “That’s not it, Mentor. We…”

“What’s going on?” A calm voice interjected from the side.

Both Little Fatty and the middle-aged mentor turned to see a distinguished man with a bald head approaching.

When the middle-aged mentor saw this individual, he immediately stood up with deep respect and greeted him with a hand cupped in a bow. “Director Qi.”

Qi Duo nodded casually and cast his gaze over Little Fatty and his companions. “Our testing period has already concluded. You’ve arrived too late.”

Upon hearing this, Ninth Qin grew anxious and pushed forward to exclaim, “What? The invitation letter states that the testing period is today, March 15th, but it doesn’t specify when it ends! Why are you saying we’re late?”

Little Fatty quickly nodded in agreement. He felt that this young man’s words made perfect sense. “Exactly! This mentor, we entered before the city gate closed! We haven’t missed the testing period.”