Animal-eared Girl Era: Start by Forming a Contract with an SSS-Class School Belle

The worldview was pretty solid, full of positive energy. Liu Ya scored Xiao Ye's character—a hundred being perfect—at about sixty for now.

Liu Ya really wanted to know how strong Xiao Ye's sense of responsibility was.

Loving your country and protecting your home, those were clear signs of responsibility.

If someone just used others and tossed them aside when they were of no value, always chasing benefits and abandoning the useless, that person was a classic egotist. You could never say they had any sense of responsibility.

That was why Liu Ya wanted to test Xiao Ye's sense of responsibility in particular.

At that moment, Xiao Ye and Nangong Siyao both received a message.

They opened it and saw that it was from the class instructor of the Chosen Ones class.

[Tomorrow's class will be taught by the instructor, focusing on the Chosen Ones Ranking and how the ranking system works. All students must attend.]

Liu Ya leaned close to Xiao Ye, her expression thoughtful as she said, "Freshmen usually don't get introduced to the Chosen Ones Ranking this early. I wonder what your instructor's up to, doing it so soon."

She was so close, Xiao Ye could clearly feel her breathing and her unique scent.

He looked down and realized he couldn't see his own feet.

*That saying 'look down and can't see your toes'—that's the mark of true beauty on earth.*

Liu Ya, Yun Bing, and Nangong Siyao were all those kinds of breathtaking beauties.

Liu Ya noticed Xiao Ye's gaze and let out a soft humph.

Time flew by, and it was soon the next morning.

Ten minutes before class, all the Contractor prodigies in the Chosen Ones class had arrived.

This included Xiao Ye, Nangong Siyao, and Cheng Bingxi.

The instructor and Liu Ya, in her beast-eared girl form, were there, too.

Maybe it was because the Chosen Ones class was special, but even before class started, the two instructors jumped right into the lesson.

"The Chosen Ones Ranking is a leaderboard of all the Contractor students' overall strength at Kunpeng Academy, from number one to number 1,200."

"That's right, all Contractors from freshmen to seniors are on the list."

"But the lower your grade, the lower your ranking is on the list."

"The top 300 Chosen Ones are mostly seniors, 300 to 600 are mostly juniors... And you freshmen, you're at the tail end: from rank 900 to 1,200."

The Contractor prodigies looked a little speechless, muttering among themselves.

"What kind of Chosen Ones Ranking is this? Seniors are older, obviously their realm is higher, so they get the top spots."

"Exactly, they should actually split the list by year, so each grade has its own ranking."

"Yeah, or rank people by potential and talent, not just by strength or realm!"

These youthful Contractor prodigies were all griping about how unfair the list was.

Back in high school, they'd been top dogs. Here, being dumped behind rank 900 felt unbearable.

Xiao Ye shook his head. *These kids still hadn't seen how brutal the end times truly were.*

Hearing the disdain of the others, and seeing Xiao Ye shake his head, the two instructors exchanged glances, their eyes flashing as they barked out:

"Quiet!"

In every student's ears, it felt like a bomb had gone off, thunderous and deafening. Instantly, the classroom fell silent.

The male instructor glanced at Xiao Ye with a smile, saying, "Xiao Ye, what do you think about the Chosen Ones Ranking?" For character sheets and glossaries, visit MV|LEMPYR.

Xiao Ye gave a calm smile and said,

"I think the rules for the Chosen Ones Ranking are very appropriate."

"Oh?" The male instructor's eyes lit up, "How so?"

The other prodigies stared at Xiao Ye doubtfully. The ranking system obviously wasn't in their favor. As Chosen Ones, who could tolerate being placed behind rank 900?

Xiao Ye explained, "This is the end times, the age of Summoned Beasts, where strength rules. The weak are ants, reduced to followers. Only the strong have a voice."

"Geniuses—only those who grow up are real geniuses. Otherwise, you're just a corpse."

"So I think it makes sense that the Chosen Ones Ranking is based on overall strength."

Silence.

Hearing this, the Contractor prodigies went utterly quiet, stunned by Xiao Ye's words.

The end times—strength was everything.

Only the strong had a voice.

The weak could only serve as lackeys.

*That was the truest portrait of the end times.*

"Clap, clap, clap!" The cat-eared lady Liu Ya started clapping, the other prodigies followed, and the classroom exploded with thunderous applause, waves upon waves resounding.

When the applause died down, both instructors said, "Well said!"

"So do you all still think the Chosen Ones Ranking is unfair?" The instructor swept his gaze around the room.

The Contractor prodigies all agreed at once, "It's fair."

"Yeah, strength is everything. This ranking system fits the times."

"It's right. We were the narrow-minded ones."

"Yeah, so what if we wait three years and then take the number one spot ourselves? After all, we're the top students among freshmen!"

The instructor's eyes narrowed, and then he raised his hand with a wave. Instantly, a leaderboard appeared on the virtual screen at the front of the room.

[Chosen Ones Ranking]

[1. Holy Golden Demon Lion, Grandmaster Ten-Star, Senior Chosen Ones: Li Dan, Shi Shi]

[2. Armored Demon Crocodile, Grandmaster Nine-Star, Senior Chosen Ones, Gu Hai, Zhang Mei]

[3. Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, Grandmaster Seven-Star, Freshman Chosen Ones: Xiao Ye, Cheng Bingxi]

[...]

[900. Dark Night Ghost Wolf, Seventh Stage, Freshman Chosen Ones: Bai Junhao, Mo Zhqing]

[...]

[1,200. Mirage Disc, Third Stage, Freshman Chosen Ones: Hong Wei, Zhang Ya]

As they looked down from top to bottom, suddenly some Contractor prodigies gasped.

"Whoa! Isn't that Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi from our class in third place?"

"Looks like it, yeah. It says they're freshman Chosen Ones."

"Damn, Xiao Ye and them are Grandmaster Seven-Star already? I'm barely Third Stage!"

"I'm at rank 900 and just at Seventh Stage."

All eyes in the class turned to Xiao Ye and Cheng Bingxi, shock and awe filling everyone's hearts.

The two instructors smiled. Their main purpose for this class had been to set a role model for these proud and arrogant prodigies.

To help them see there was always someone better, always new heights to reach.

Liu Ya's beautiful eyes glinted with amusement. She understood exactly what the instructors were aiming for.

Just then, the instructor waved his hand again, and the virtual screen changed. This time it showed a massive steppe landscape.

A Golden Divine Dragon and a Two-tailed White Fox used their Talent Skills to control the Beast Tide, letting other Summoned Beasts take out the Demon Beasts.

Xiao Ye cocked his brow. *Wasn't this from his national entrance exam?*

The instructor's voice rang out,

"Xiao Ye, Nangong Siyao, and Cheng Bingxi, three top scorers in the exam, single-handedly lifted the composite ranking of their base city from dead last to ninth in the nation."

"There are ten Super Base Cities nationwide. That low-level Wilderness Base City even surpassed one of them!"

The prodigies all stared with wide eyes.

No one had expected the top scorers to have come from a low-level base city!

From rock bottom to ninth nationwide—just how many Demon Beasts did they kill?

The instructor continued, "That's not the point. The point is, if you see how those three top scorers leveraged their own strengths to help other students from their base city achieve better results, that's how the whole base city jumped to ninth overall!"

"That's the meaning of camaraderie—a sense of responsibility. Learn from them, everyone!"

The video clip on the virtual screen showed the Golden Divine Dragon and the Two-tailed White Fox controlling the Beast Tide, while other examinees slew Demon Beasts.

Behind everyone, the beast-eared girl Liu Ya let out a delighted shout,

"Yes, this is exactly what it means to care for your classmates, to have a real sense of responsibility toward the city that raised you!"

Xiao Ye stared at her in astonishment. *Why was she shouting so loud? And why did she look so genuinely delighted, so happy?*