Chapter 730: The Imperial Class

Qiao Sang went viral.

The moment her interview video was posted in the journalism section of the school’s official website, all chat groups related to Yulianton University exploded.

Everyone was talking about this super freshman who had become the center of attention lately.

What was once only a topic within the Beast Taming department had now spread across all departments.

[Three general-level pet beasts? At only 16?! Holy crap! Is she the daughter of the heavens or what?!]

[I give up. I made it into Yulianton University and still feel the gap between people like her and me.]

[As someone from Blue Star’s Dragon Nation, let me explain: Among Qiao Sang’s three general-level pet beasts, Fire Qilu is a completely new form she bred herself, the first of its kind. Normally, Ghost Ring Kings are only Ghost-type, but hers is a color variant and has mutated to include Psychic-type traits. But the most important part is this, her latest evolution, Ice Aipalu, is an endangered beast! An endangered beast!!!]

[Aren’t endangered pet beasts usually only contractable by experts in specific research fields?]

[I don’t know about that, but her Ice Aipalu is definitely endangered, you almost never see them in the wild.]

[I just noticed something terrifying, Qiao Sang’s fourth pet beast is the newest evolved form of our Chaosu Star’s Steel Falcon.]

[You mean the one reported last time, Steel Guardian Falcon, that evolved through emotional bonds?]

[Exactly.]

[Oh my god! The person who triggered Steel Falcon’s bond evolution was Qiao Sang?!]

[Back then, Steel Guardian Falcon temporarily evolved during the freshman assessment, so now its next form doesn’t even need further study. It’s clearly a bond evolution, as long as it has enough energy, it can evolve.]

[Unreal! She managed to get Steel Falcon to evolve through bond evolution twice in a row! That pet is notoriously hard to handle.]

[Just saying, isn’t the real issue here that Yulianton University rejected Prodigy Qiao’s application?]

[I love our school, but even I can’t wrap my head around that one.]

[She got rejected by Yulianton but was accepted by the Imperial Beast University. Honestly, it’s laughable.]

[Someone should investigate the admissions office, maybe they’re biased toward folks from Blue Star.]

In a spacious, luxurious office, a giant holographic screen displayed the students’ chat messages.

The messages kept scrolling, all questioning the university’s admissions office.

An elderly man in a black suit, white hair, sagging cheeks, deep wrinkles, but a powerfully built frame sat at the head of the table, staring blankly at the screen.

This was Yulianton University’s president, Muhan Jackman, and he had convened this meeting himself.

All the deans from every department were present, no exceptions.

Seated around the conference table, they occasionally glanced at Gilbert, whose face was extremely dark. Everyone knew he was likely the main target of this meeting.

No one knew what else the president might say beyond holding him accountable.

While the deans pondered this, President Muhan asked:

“Why didn’t Qiao Sang’s application get approved?”

Here it comes...

The deans exchanged silent glances, each catching a hint of schadenfreude in the others' eyes.

Heh, all just waiting to see me fall...

Gilbert sneered inwardly, kept his expression calm, and replied evenly: “It was a group decision. Qiao Sang’s academic foundation was too weak, she didn’t meet our admission standards.”

No sooner had he spoken than the once-silent room erupted: “She’s only 16! And with all the competitions she participated in, she barely had time for proper classes, aren’t your standards too high?”

“She’s 16 and already has the mental capacity to contract four pet beasts, two of which are entirely new forms she bred herself. Who cares about her academic foundation at that point?”

“Three general-level beasts! And after coming to Chaosu Star, she evolved Steel Falcon into a brand new form in such a short time. If your Beast Taming department rejected someone like her, I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“Too bad she didn’t apply to our Breeding Department, I would’ve accepted her in a heartbeat.”

Gilbert regretted it a thousand times over, but with everyone eager to see him humiliated, he refused to admit fault.

Fuming, he said: “When Qiao Sang first applied, the report we received didn’t show a single general-level pet beast!”

The room fell silent for a moment, then the assault resumed: “My god! It's only been a few months since applications closed, and she’s already raised three general-level beasts. You still didn’t accept her?”

“At that age, with over 30% brain domain activation, that alone proves her talent.”

“Even those folks at the Imperial Beast University could recognize her potential. Why couldn’t you?”

Gilbert’s face darkened further.

At this moment, President Muhan slowly spoke: “I have an idea.”

The room quieted again. All eyes turned to the head seat, even Gilbert’s.

“What’s done is done. Since Qiao Sang is now at our school, I don’t care how you do it, find a way to keep her here.”

The dean of the Coordination department hesitated: “That doesn’t really fall under our domain, does it?”

Muhan glanced at her: “I want Qiao Sang to stay at our university, I don’t care which department she’s in.”

The deans’ expressions shifted, deep in thought.

The dean of the Architecture Academy cleared his throat and said: “I saw Qiao Sang’s interview, she mentioned her goal is to compete in the Interstellar Cup. A student with such ambitions likely won’t consider other departments.”

No one minded poaching talent across departments, but putting someone like Qiao Sang, whose beast-taming talent was monstrous, into a different academy would be a waste.

President Muhan stated calmly: “Give Qiao Sang time. If nothing goes wrong, with her talent, she will definitely compete in the Interstellar Cup. She’s a candidate, no matter what department she joins, I will place her into the Imperial Class.”

As soon as he said this, the room stirred.

The Imperial Class, personally founded by Muhan 300 years ago, was established to train world-class beast taming geniuses.

In other words, those in the Imperial Class were the crème de la crème. Being accepted meant you already had one foot in the circles of the elite.

Because of its high bar, only around 700 students had been admitted in its entire history.

Though small in number, many of them qualified for Interstellar Cup preliminaries, with some even advancing to later stages and achieving worldwide fame.

The Coordination Department's dean looked surprised: “I remember the Imperial Class only takes students who’ve already passed at least B- or A-level Professional Beast Tamer certifications.”

Muhan replied coolly: “I said she’s a candidate for the Interstellar Cup.”

The Breeding Department dean’s eyes gleamed: “So if she joins the Imperial Class, she’ll still be registered under whichever department she chooses?”

Muhan nodded: “Correct.”

The deans’ expressions shifted again, and this time, no one exchanged glances.

Everyone understood what it meant to enter the Imperial Class, and what kind of future that promised.

With Qiao Sang’s talent, once she entered the Imperial Class and gained access to its resources, barring any accidents, her participation in the Interstellar Cup preliminaries would be almost guaranteed.

If their department produced a student who placed in the Interstellar Cup...

The deans’ minds began racing.