Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 115 - 114: The March Monthly Exam
Gu Ming made some minor revisions and resubmitted it to the Four-star periodical, *Flood Dragon Monthly Report*.
The next day, Gu Ming arrived at school. The written scores for the monthly exam had been graded.
The exam covered multiple subjects and was quite long. Grading the papers was also a great test of the teachers’ Spiritual Techniques.
Of course, the teachers at Qing Lake High School were naturally no slouches.
In short, all the students’ papers were graded overnight, and the scores had been updated within each class, though they hadn’t been compiled into a grade-wide ranking yet.
In reality, after receiving the score statistics for their own students, the homeroom teachers already had a good idea of the situation.
Even if they didn’t know the grade-wide rankings, they could ask the teachers from the neighboring classes to inquire about the written scores of their top students. That way, they could figure out the highest score on this exam.
After making her inquiries, Homeroom Teacher Ling Jun’s expression remained unchanged.
As expected, the top student was from Class 2. They had already distinguished themselves in the Three-dimensional Split Test and had also easily scored 300 points on yesterday’s written exam, ranking first in the entire grade.
Gu Ming’s written score was 295, five points short, which was a bit of a pity.
Looking at the written scores alone, it was clear that many students had put in extra effort, hiring professional tutors for their theory lessons.
Like Gu Ming, many others had scored around 290, so his written score was no longer in a league of its own.
Actually, Ling Jun had considered tutoring Gu Ming. Private tutoring would allow her to hint at the direction of the monthly exam questions, enabling a student to make rapid progress. A student already close to a perfect score would have a high chance of achieving one.
However, Gu Ming hadn’t taken that path, which meant letting other students get ahead.
Some might wonder if it’s against the rules for a school teacher to privately reveal the direction of the monthly exam.
In truth, the impact isn’t that significant. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
This is because during regular review sessions, teachers will also point out in class which sections require special focus, as they will all be on the test.
After-school tutoring is just a more refined form of guidance.
Besides, the school is also quite accurate at predicting the focus of the college entrance exams; otherwise, so many parents wouldn’t send their children to Qing Lake High School.
To get back on track.
Today was the comprehensive exam for combat and cultivation.
This exam tested both combat abilities and a Beastmaster’s cultivation skills.
Of course, it was fine if you were completely clueless about cultivation.
After all, students who could master both subjects were few and far between, even on a national level.
In other words, students who excelled at combat just needed to focus on the combat portion.
Students from the Cultivation Element simply needed to focus on solving the cultivation problems.
The teacher led everyone to the athletic field. The school’s back mountain area would serve as the examination grounds.
At this point, all the third-year high school students had gathered at the edge of the field. The proctoring teachers had already gone to the back mountain to maintain the Barrier, and various Four- and Five-star Pet Beasts were patrolling the forest.
Students were allowed to fight while competing for medicinal herbs, but they couldn’t deal lethal blows.
All they had to do was severely injure the opponent’s Pet Beast or fight until it surrendered.
As for medical support, the Beastmasters in the school infirmary could treat some of the less severe injuries.
It was worth noting one thing.
The school’s Healing Element Pet Beast was a Four-star Level White Dew Elf, and treating Zero-star Level Pet Beasts was relatively easy for it.
This was because for a Four-star to heal a Zero-star, it was quite effortless, and the Mana cost was a mere drop in the bucket.
However, treating a Four-star Pet Beast would be much more difficult. Correspondingly, the cost of the various precious medicinal ingredients required to treat a Four-star Pet Beast would also increase.
However, the students’ Pet Beasts generally weren’t as high as Three- or Four-star Level, so the treatment costs were still within a range that most could barely afford.
Of course, it was best not to get injured at all if it could be helped.
The prescriptions written by the infirmary’s Beastmasters weren’t free.
Simple healing Skills might be free, but if Spirit Medicine was required, the students had to pay for it.
Therefore, the monthly exams in the second half of the semester were, in reality, also an economic battle.
Students from less affluent backgrounds would generally choose to focus on the cultivation questions.
This way, they wouldn’t have to worry about their Pet Beasts getting injured in battle and facing exorbitant treatment fees.
As for the Beastmasters who excelled at combat, they naturally had to be prepared to pay a hefty medical bill if their Pet Beasts were severely injured.
In this tense and exciting competitive atmosphere, Gu Ming followed his homeroom teacher to the foot of the back mountain and listened as she announced today’s monthly exam questions.
Teacher Ling stood at the foot of the back mountain, surrounded by several specially made metal cages and petri dishes.
At her command, three Profound Iron Cages and a Transparent Crystal Cover were placed before the students.
In the cage on the left, a coiled Purple Marrow Vine’s leaf veins glowed with a strange bluish-purple hue.
The gelatinous mucus seeping from the vine’s tip refracted the faint morning light, revealing faint black patterns. It looked as if it were lacking some kind of nutrient.
Inside the Transparent Crystal Cover on the right, a Jade Water Turtle was irritably scratching at the barrier with its front claws.
A searing, crimson glow could be faintly seen between the gaps in its scales, and an abnormal fire poison seemed to be raging within its body.
Standing in the crowd, Gu Ming stroked the small Grass Element Spirit Beast, Cyan Treasure, which was perched on his neck, a hint of focus in his eyes.
Suddenly, a system notification flashed across his retinas, displaying some basic information about these Pet Beasts and Spirit Medicines.
Evidently, the system had once again distorted his perception, identifying the current medicinal herbs and Spirit Beasts as items from a future timeline.
As a result, what the system "saw" was different from what he was seeing.
Snow Soul Ginseng. It once grew symbiotically with a fire-aspected substance, causing an imbalance of yin and yang within it. Red spots have appeared on its milky-white rhizome, and its fine ice scales have begun to fall off.
As the fifty-year-old Old Deng that you are, you quickly realize that this is a Spirit Plant you encountered during your travels with Ah Chai.
To cure it, you need to find "Cold Heart Grass," which grows in cold, damp, and gloomy places. Use its juice to harmonize the yin and yang within the Snow Soul Ginseng and restore it to normal...
Flowing Light Sparrow...
Gu Ming nodded. He hadn’t expected the system to also provide the solution.
’However, the Spirit Medicine in front of me is clearly not a Snow Soul Ginseng, but a Purple Marrow Vine.’
’The other Pet Beast that looks injured and poisoned isn’t a Flowing Light Sparrow either. It’s a Jade Water Turtle, a Water Element Pet, clearly afflicted by fire poison. Its Mana is being severely suppressed by the fire poison, causing symptoms of incompatibility.’
Gu Ming only needed a quick glance to recall the key review topics his cultivation teacher had pointed out yesterday. The exam questions for today were indeed in that textbook.
’As a Combat Element Beastmaster, I don’t need to figure out these difficult formulation procedures. I just have to listen to the teacher’s prompt, head into the mountains to gather the herbs, and compete against the other Pet Beasts who are also after them.’
’Of course, if I finish gathering the herbs and still have energy left, I could gather other ingredients to formulate a solution and solve the problem. That way, I could earn double the points.’
