C38 Gao Shu!

The six Lord-grade fiend beasts were confined to six distinct locations, necessitating some travel time to reach them.

Yet, Zhou Mu felt no urgency. The Freshmen Ranking Competition spanned a full 24 hours, affording him ample time to hunt them down at his leisure.

"Zhou, level with me, are you unbeatable?" Hai Ming asked abruptly, his face etched with seriousness.

The recent battle had left him astounded. A Lord-grade fiend beast, just like that, dead? And not just one, but two at the same time?

Such prowess might even surpass that of the senior students in their fourth year.

Zhou Mu was merely a freshman. What would the next four years hold for him?

Would he be so formidable upon graduation that he could bring his teachers to tears?

"I'm only invincible among the new students. The upperclassmen are still formidable; there are some I can't beat," Zhou Mu replied.

His mind wandered to something white, soft, large, round, and tender...

Ugh! His thoughts had drifted to the detestable Demolishor and Zhao Qianqian!

That wild woman had been excessively harsh; he still ached from their encounter.

But on reflection, how had her spirit animal achieved Lord-grade status?

To forge a contract with a spirit animal, one needed a physique capable of withstanding the corrosive assimilation of its bloodline.

An ordinary grade required five points, elite grade twenty, and chief grade a hundred.

The Lord grade demanded a staggering six hundred points of physical attribute.

One would have to emulate Zhou Mu, who after signing a contract, sought ways to enhance his spirit animal's grade. This not only protected him from the bloodline's erosion but also bestowed substantial benefits.

The conundrum, however, was that a spirit animal's quality was predetermined at birth. How had Zhao Qianqian managed it?

Possessed she some arcane method to elevate her spirit animal's grade? Or perhaps she utilized a rare spiritual elixir?

Zhou Mu was deeply curious, yet his thoughts quickly shifted.

The transformations he had undergone likely didn't escape the notice of certain individuals.

The fact that no one had approached him about it suggested they might be conducting clandestine investigations or had been intercepted.

The principal was well aware of Zhao Qianqian's capabilities, yet showed no sign of surprise. Clearly, a Lord-grade spirit animal was not enough to pique her interest, and the secrets that lay behind it seemed to be an open book to her.

In such a scenario, the truth came to light.

The quality of a spirit animal could indeed be enhanced, but only a select few knew the secret method. Zhou Mu surmised that this technique likely required immense power or a high status. The challenge was either incredibly difficult or the criteria were exceedingly stringent. It was so tough that only a level ten Animal Whisperer could manage it, and the conditions so strict that typical factions couldn't hope to fulfill them.

"But then again, what's that got to do with me? I'm just a quiet, good-looking guy!" Zhou Mu pushed his musings aside and pressed on.

The Illusion Mirror's map was expansive, teeming with newcomers. Despite the Brightsmiths and the Beast Tide claiming the lives of many, over ten thousand had made it through. With such a crowd, clashes were bound to happen, which was all part of the contest.

There were only six Lord-tier fiend beasts and fifty leaders. The elites were more numerous, with a count exceeding three hundred. The rest were a variety of ordinary fiend beasts. No one except Zhou Mu dared to challenge the Lord-tier fiend beasts. The leaders were formidable, but with the right coordination and strategy, there was a sliver of opportunity.

The elite fiend beasts were hotspots for fierce battles. In less than two hours since the competition began, hundreds of newcomers had already perished at the hands of others. The skirmishes grew more brutal as time went on. With positioning devices up for grabs, the endgame often saw several strong teams banding together to eliminate obstacles before turning on each other. This pattern was typical of past competitions, but with Zhou Mu in the mix, the outcome was less predictable.

For the current batch of newcomers, the two Lord-tier spirit animals were insurmountable obstacles. Having lived two lifetimes, Zhou Mu had anticipated this. He sought out the tyrant beasts partly to avert such scenarios. If all the tyrant beasts were eliminated, then an influx of leaders would be meaningless.

And as for the newcomers bonding with spirit animals? That was laughable. The odds of them securing a leader, let alone a Lord, were next to none. The third Lord was a tree, an exceptionally rare plant-type fiend beast.

The third lord was a tree, an exceptionally rare plant-based fiend beast. Its defenses were formidable, its attacks were fearsome, and its speed was breathtaking. Its sole vulnerability was its inability to move.

"Zhou Mu, what is this?" Hai Ming, encountering such an entity for the first time, couldn't contain his curiosity.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a tall tree," Zhou Mu responded.

"A tall tree?"

"Yes, a tall tree—because it's covered with people!" Zhou Mu spoke with conviction, having been hung from such a tree numerous times himself.

In his past life, Zhou Mu had no one to lean on. The adversity he faced in his youth drove him to work harder than his peers. Yet often, hard work didn't measure up to natural talent. Life could deceive you, teammates might betray you, and women could lead you astray, but high mathematics was unforgiving. No matter the effort, it remained elusive.

The towering tree ahead stood about ten meters high, its branches lush and robust. Countless bodies hung from the twigs, swaying with the breeze, seemingly writhing in struggle. Outside this place, Zhou Mu might have felt a pang of compassion and sought to rescue them, to see if they still had a chance at life. But here? No such luck.

All present were soul projections; upon death, they dissolved into starlight and vanished. Corpses? Nothing but bait.

"I'll give it a shot!" Hai Ming declared, sensing something amiss.

He gently patted the old hen's back, prompting it to squat and lay an egg. "Here goes!"

With a full swing of his arm, Hai Ming hurled the egg toward the nearest body. The white egg traced an arc through the air, rapidly closing in on the tree. In a flash, the "person" that appeared to be alive suddenly burst apart, transforming into a gaping maw that devoured the egg whole.

"Damn, that's revolting!" Hai Ming grimaced, his face contorted in disgust.

The supposed corpses were, in reality, organs akin to those of a Venus flytrap—disguised as humans, but revealing gaping mouths lined with razor-sharp teeth upon opening. A bite from one could mean no escape, even for a leader. A single mouth wasn't much of a challenge, but with at least two hundred such deceivers adorning the tree, the situation was dire.

The tree was covered in bodies, easily two hundred of them. Without any means to attack from a distance, it was a death sentence for anyone who approached.

"Your move!" Zhou Mu signaled to Goldie with a knowing glance.

"Golden Essence Sword Qi!" In a flash of brilliant white, a razor-sharp sword of light formed and lunged fiercely at the flower, piercing it straight through.

"Oops, right in the flower's heart!" Goldie quipped, nearly causing Zhou Mu to choke on his spit.

Really? Stabbed in the flower's heart? Is a little seriousness too much to ask for?

"Keep talking like that, and everyone will start thinking I'm some lecherous old man!" Zhou Mu retorted, annoyed. Goldie's careless words were tarnishing his noble image.

"Are you saying you're not?" Goldie cocked his head, his gaze dripping with scorn.

Zhou Mu was left at a loss for words.

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