I Have a Golden Crow-Chapter 653 - 461 Aristocratic Family Member?_2

Lin Shiwei nodded and didn't insist on going along.

But the girl had no idea that the Bottomless Pit Du Yu talked about was nothing like what she imagined.

Du Yu wasn't going to floors 1–10.

Not that kind of Bottomless Battlefield where soldiers carefully select and arrange Cold Beasts.

Du Yu wasn't even going to the off-limits floors 11–20!

He was heading to a true life-and-death battleground: below the 20th floor of the Bottomless Pit.

But to keep the girl from worrying, Du Yu didn't mention any of this.

Otherwise, knowing Lin Shiwei's personality, she would most likely have tagged along.

After all, below the 11th floor, there's no soldiers protecting Demon Tamers anymore.

Du Yu looked at Li Mengnan: "What about you, going home to see your parents?"

Li Mengnan shook her head. "It's already late December, it's just about time for final exams.

I'd better, uh... better not hang around in front of my mom."

Du Yu: "..."

Lin Shiwei couldn't help laughing, smiling at the girl.

The two were completely cut off from the world of ordinary people,

they had honestly never considered what high school homeroom teachers would be like during certain times or moods.

Li Mengnan blushed a little. "Send me back to the Sea Realm, I'll go to the Wind Chime Tree."

Du Yu flipped his wrist. "Okay."

Lin Shiwei suddenly spoke up: "I'm staying here."

Du Yu: "Huh?"

Lin Shiwei: "Cancan can't get into my Acupoint Home, so I'll keep it company for a while."

"Oh." Du Yu nodded, and the Mountain and Sea Bell flared to life.

First, he sent Li Mengnan back to the Sea Realm, then returned to the 16th floor—Prince Du's Mansion.

Standing in the dining room again, the house was clean and tidy.

Not a trace of dishes left in the sink, probably washed and put away by "Nanny Ye."

"Xiaoye?" Du Yu walked quickly out of the dining room. "Where's my phone?"

Sensing its master's return, a golden leaf stem poked out from the kitchen, paused midair, then turned back toward the living room.

Du Yu scratched his head. "You've got so many leaves, you can greet me with one while looking for my phone with another."

The Golden Leaf paused again when it heard this.

It kind of… makes sense?

Du Yu watched the "dopey" Golden Leaf approach and patted the golden leaf with a grin.

Off to the side, another leaf stem rolled up his phone and handed it to him.

Du Yu had wanted to send a text to notify Master Qing and Senior Brother Fu he was out of retreat.

But unexpectedly, there were quite a few unread messages on his phone.

Some from the Bookstore, some from the school, and some from Liu Juncai and Lin Shihao, whom he hadn't heard from in a while.

Because of Du Yu's "trait" of never replying to messages, Lin Shihao gave up after trying a few times.

Liu Juncai was the same.

But right now, both had sent messages at once, and they were about the same thing: the end-of-term joint exams.

Du Yu gave a small sigh: "Whoa~"

January 6th, Seven Provinces and One City Joint Exam?

Well, damn~

That's a lot of regions joining in, huh?

"Congrats to Student Du Yu for achieving first place in the last Four Provinces Joint Exam. Here is the notice..."

As Du Yu read the official notification message from the Great Xia Bookstore, his expression grew weirder and weirder.

The previous joint exam's four provinces were all listed: Guandong, Shandai, Hening, Shaohai.

This time, three more provinces and one city were added.

Great Xia's two northernmost provinces—Grassland Province and Icefield Province—were in.

Also, Shaohai Province's neighbor—Heji Province.

And, wrapped inside Heji Province, the Great Xia Capital City—Great Xia City.

"Tsk." Du Yu looked at the message. Folks from Capital City are joining too?

These people never join any joint exams.

As the capital of Great Xia Kingdom, they've always done their own thing…

Don't for a second think they're keeping their doors shut to protect themselves.

From a Demon Taming angle, the reason Xiadu City keeps to itself is actually to let the other provinces have a fairer assessment.

The might of Great Xia Kingdom was beyond question.

And Great Xia City, as the nation's capital, has Demon Taming Families with serious heritage!

After Little Fen Yang scattered Endless Thousand Paper Cranes over the Great Xia Capital City…

some powerful Paper Crane Disciples, stacked with unlimited resources, could be real tyrants.

No exaggeration: once the Capital City's students join in, the entire exam's level will jump a notch!

Of course, Du Yu and those Paper Crane Disciples aren't even playing the same game~

Including Li Mengnan and Lin Shiwei beside him,

They're also way up there, enjoying all the cultivation resources while looking down at all other disciples.

How should I put it.

Shouldn't hold back if it's time to crush them, right?

Looks like it's time to give these elite city brats a serious lesson…

On that note, since Capital City folks are coming,

Is there still any point in Hening Province… uh, coming at all?

Du Yu opened the Bookstore's official website and looked at the joint exam notice.

And then he felt not so great.

Li Mengnan actually didn't make the cut?!

She didn't qualify for this exam because she didn't make the top 5…

This top 5 must be taken from the big ranking, then sorted by each province's top 5 students.

Shaohai Province gets just 5 slots: Du Yu, Lin Shiwei, Liu Juncai, Lin Shihao, Liu Junxing.

Icefield 4 people, Shandai 3, Guandong 3, Grassland 3, Hening 2 people.

And Great Xia Capital City? A full 10 participants.

If we're talking special privileges, that shouldn't be it.

After all, the people of Great Xia watch Paper Crane Disciples' growth closely, with so many eyes on them.

As an official authority, the Great Xia Bookstore naturally has to put on a feast for everyone.

If they pulled shady tricks, snuck in connections, or inserted someone into the contest by backdoor means, it would be exposed quickly enough.

The big families aren't stupid. You'd never let your family's trash get publicly executed in front of the whole country…

So, the Capital City getting 10 slots obviously means those people are just that strong!

"Ha~" Du Yu made a weird nasal sound, exited the webpage, and replied to his old teammates one by one.

Handing his phone to the Golden Leaf, Du Yu walked straight to his bedroom.

Who'd have thought, just as he was about to change clothes, the phone rang.

Seeing the caller on the screen, Du Yu answered.

On the other end came a cold female voice: "Long time no see, old comrade."

"So, how've you been lately?" Du Yu put it on speaker and casually took the gray jacket from the Golden Leaf.

Liu Juncai laughed. "Pretty good, I'm about to advance to Great Demon Tamer·Minor Achievement Stage.

There's still half a month before the exam. I should make it."

Du Yu pulled on his jacket. "Impressive, working hard at cultivation."

Liu Juncai chuckled. "Of course, gotta hustle or I'll get left behind. How about you?"

Du Yu: "Me? I've already hit Great Success."

Liu Juncai: "..."

I'm only about to advance, haven't even made it yet!

I'm still in the Initial Stage, and you're already Great Success?

We were all just Third Level·Demon Tamers during the last test!

It's only been five months, and you…

Liu Juncai said gloomily, "Were you cultivating wrapped up in the Twin Trees or something?"

"Hehe." Du Yu chuckled. "Your call is perfectly timed. I just advanced, not even half an hour ago."

Liu Juncai quickly adjusted her attitude and teased, "The stronger you are, the better. I get to hang onto your coattails again."

Du Yu thought of Liu Juncai's cold beauty as she made lighthearted jokes…

Kinda has its own charm?

Guess the goddess isn't really averse to humor—

She just doesn't like joking with you…

Du Yu chimed in, "Let's work hard together, both of us."

Liu Juncai: "Those Capital City people, don't underestimate them. In terms of individual strength, they may not match you.

But their Demon Pets are extremely strong~"

Demon Pets?

Really that strong?

Du Yu curled his lips. With my Celestial Cyan Porcelain, can anyone really survive?

I can barely survive it myself!

No reply for a while, so Liu Juncai checked, "Du Yu?"

"Oh, I'm here," Du Yu came back to his senses. "Don't worry! Whatever monsters come, we'll just fight 'em!"

"Hehe~" Liu Juncai covered her mouth and laughed softly.

Before she called, she'd been worried.

But knowing Du Yu's strength, the girl was now full of confidence!

After her chuckle, Liu Juncai's words held a trace of apology: "This time, I'm going to really study the rules.

I won't make the same mistake as last time."

"As long as we learn from our mistakes, that's all the Bookstore wants." Du Yu comforted her, though his mind was already spinning up some ideas.

Having the Capital City elites joining in might actually be a good thing?

The Great Xia Bookstore probably wants everyone to work together and complete a mission!

Hearing Du Yu's reassurance, Liu Juncai felt a warm glow inside. "So, see you in half a month?"

Du Yu: "Mmhm."

Hanging up, Du Yu's thoughts grew more and more lively.

The Four Provinces Joint Exam earned me a Divine Artifact·Ice-Colored Jade Marrow Bow!

This time it's the Seven Provinces and One City Joint Exam, with even the Capital City joining!

This prize,

ought to be sky-high, right?!