Chapter 101: Eleventh Advanced Demon Beast?!

Inside the main monitoring room.

As the two-hour examination time gradually drew to a close, the staff members who had initially been glued to every monitor screen finally had a moment to catch their breath.

On one hand, this examination was unlike the previous one; anything could happen in Qingwang Mountain, so throughout the process candidates kept having to abort the exam due to accidents.

Now, with ten minutes left until the exam ends, the number of candidates still taking the test has dropped below 300.

Fewer candidates meant fewer screens to monitor.

On the other hand, and more importantly, the number of demon beasts remaining in Qingwang Mountain is now small.

These demon beasts were deliberately left by the Special Affairs Group for the exam; their limited numbers include not only advanced demon beasts but also ordinary ones.

At this stage, the candidates are much safer, combat opportunities are rare, and there hasn't been a single case of someone aborting the exam for a full ten minutes.

One could say the score rankings are about to be locked in.

Thus, the staff responsible for watching the monitors and tallying scores, while still keeping an eye on the screens, began to chat idly.

"That examinee named Song Ling is really impressive; she's still actively searching for demon beast tracks, even though her score is already nearly 200 points ahead of second place."

"She probably doesn't even know her ranking; she's likely just aiming for first place with all her might." Another monitor operator smiled and said, "The student named Qin Chuan also has a high kill efficiency, it's a shame."

Everyone knows what he's regretting.

If Qin Chuan had detection skills, first place might not necessarily belong to Song Ling.

Against ordinary demon beasts, Qin Chuan's kill efficiency is too high.

Weaker demon beasts don't even require him to draw his blade; entering the Frost Cold's range will freeze them to death in extreme cold, and slightly stronger ones fall to him with a single strike.

Such kill efficiency is unmatched—not even by Song Ling, nor by Chu Zhou, whose thunder‑fire dual‑system output is even more explosive.

"Skills are part of strength too," a scoring staffer chuckled, "Qin Chuan may lack detection ability, but his evasion skill is incredibly rare—I'm jealous just watching him."

That remark resonated with many people.

Although the emerging Supernatural Theory Studies strives to explain everything related to the supernatural with science, some Spirit Beasts possess supernatural abilities that exceed current explanatory limits; these abilities are relatively rare, yet they are yearned for by all supernatural beings.

Qin Chuan's Frost-Seeking Technique clearly belongs to such an ability.

The staff in the main monitoring room were still chatting when a sudden exclamation broke the silence.

"What the hell?!"

Everyone quickly fell silent and turned their gazes toward a certain direction.

All they saw was a young man pointing at a monitor screen, his mouth agape with astonishment.

A nearby staff member glanced at it, his expression shifting as he barked, "What are you staring at? Switch!"

"Oh…" The young man, snapping back to attention, hastily pressed the select button, causing the screen to instantly switch to the conference room's large display.

In the conference room on the other side, the atmosphere was similar to that of the main monitoring room; as the exam neared its end, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Although many candidates had to abort the exam, the Special Affairs Group's pre‑arranged personnel responded promptly, and so far no candidate deaths have occurred.

There were two serious injuries, but the pre‑assigned healing‑type supernatural beings arrived in time and rescued them.

On the large screen, the candidates' battle feeds were still being switched, yet the examinees shown were handling theirs with ease.

During the exam, their combat proficiency was visibly improving.

However, when a monitoring feed suddenly switched onto the screen, the conference room's atmosphere froze in an instant.

"What's going on?" Lan Cheng sprang to his feet, staring in disbelief at the demon beast facing off against Qin Chuan on the screen, his expression priceless—"How could there still be an advanced demon beast in Qingwang Mountain?"

Those ten advanced demon beasts were what the Special Affairs Group left after combing the entire mountain three feet deep; Lan Cheng himself had personally placed only one of them inside!

With such rigorous preparations, there shouldn't have been any that slipped through the net.

Equally astonished was Zhou Zixiu standing behind Lan Cheng.

Because he recognized that demon beast.

Likewise recognizing the demon beast was a short‑haired woman with a strange complexion standing beside Zhou Zixiu.

She glanced at the screen, then at Zhou Zixiu, wanting to speak but hesitating.

The two of them simultaneously recalled a minor matter they had previously overlooked.

On the first day after the Blue Star 2.2 version update, mutated animals began to appear worldwide.

The Special Affairs Group noticed immediately, temporarily locking and shielding the relevant posts on the Dream World Forum while awaiting higher‑level decisions on the next steps.

One of those posts was made by Qin Chuan, who had witnessed a mutated black cat and recorded a video of it.

After contacting Qin Chuan and blocking the post, Zhou Zixiu prepared to personally apprehend the black cat whose coordinates had already been obtained.

But when he arrived at the scene, he came up empty‑handed.

The black cat had vanished without a trace, and even Zhou Zixiu's detection‑type abilities could not pick up its trail.

It was already late at night; to avoid risking an accident in the Dream World from staying up too late, Zhou Zixiu had no choice but to reluctantly give up the search.

Since no further incidents of the mutated black cat harming people occurred, and as mutated animals grew more numerous, leading to manpower shortages in the Special Affairs Group, Zhou Zixiu gradually forgot about the matter.

Until now, he has seen that black cat again.

Although its form has changed considerably from before, Zhou Zixiu can confirm it's definitely the same creature.

He was about to tell Lan Cheng about it, but the Vice Principal of No. 2 Middle School spoke up first.

"Since this is an advanced demon beast, shouldn't it count toward the exam points?" the Vice Principal of No. 2 Middle School exclaimed, his spirits high and his voice a few decibels louder.

Qin Chuan is currently in second place, his exam score trailing Song Ling's first‑place total by 187 points.

This advanced demon beast looks far from weak; if its kill could also be counted toward the score, Qin Chuan would have a chance to surpass Song Ling and become first in this exam.

At that moment, the Vice Principal of No. 2 Middle School felt a surge of delighted surprise, as if fortune had turned.

He never imagined that, after having completely given up hope, there would still be a chance for first place in the exam!

As for whether Qin Chuan would be in danger…

"What a joke—Qin Chuan can easily dispatch a Level 20 Advanced Demon Bear, so this demon cat certainly won't be a match for him!"

"Well…" Lan Cheng nodded, "Alright."

Having an extra Advanced Demon Beast is a dereliction of duty for their Special Affairs Group; we cannot let the examinees foot the bill.

The points for killing an Advanced Demon Beast will definitely be counted.

But the next moment, a somewhat deep and solemn voice rang out.

"I think now is not the time to quibble over whether this demon beast counts for points." Fan Gang's expression was solemn, "This demon beast has the traits of a secondary advancement."

"It is about to reach Level 21."

(End of chapter)