50: Chapter 50 I'll fucking swear!
Junior Cultivator Exam Hall Two.
The sudden burst of evolution instantly plunged everyone into a world of blinding white. It was as if a "Little Boy" bomb had been dropped into their hearts; everyone was blown away.
"My god..."
"This—this light! Something's not right!"
"My teacher has a Senior title, and I've seen his evolutions before, but they can't compare to this at all!"
"Such extreme light, so pure and flawless, such intoxicating light... this is simply art! Who exactly is this person?"
"..."
The Interns looked like they had seen a ghost, exclaiming, "Are you kidding me? Didn't he come from a technical school?"
The bottle in Zeng Huohuo's hand fell onto the table with a "clatter." Stunned beyond measure, she shouted, "How incredible!"
As for the Hard-Soled Proctor... oh wait, the white light was too strong, and nothing could be seen clearly.
The dazzling white light flickered. Those in a hurry fumbled in the dark—no, fumbled in the light—to find a pair of sunglasses to put on so they could continue working, while those who weren't in a rush waited quietly for the result.
Finally, after one last bright flash, the evolution ended.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Li Yu—or more accurately, at the Yellow Mountain Beetle beside Li Yu.
The Yellow Mountain Beetle had completely changed its appearance.
Its earthy yellow scales had turned into a translucent, glass-like texture that refracted strands of light, giving it a somewhat dreamlike appearance. Its claws had also become glass-like, allowing the internal structure of the claws to be seen.
Its size was smaller than before, but no one looked down on it because of that.
The intense light alone was enough to prove its excellence, let alone... how could it possibly be weaker than a Yellow Mountain Beetle?
The Yellow Mountain Beetle opened its eyes and felt the surging, powerful energy within its body; the entire beetle was stunned.
It looked at its claws, then turned its head to look at its back, instantly mesmerized by its own sparkling scales, its two small eyes twinkling.
Immediately, it looked at Li Yu and let out an excited cry.
It seemed to be asking—is this me? Is this really me? I...
"Congratulations, the evolution was a success." Li Yu nodded.
With its suspicions confirmed, the Yellow Mountain Beetle was excited beyond measure.
Evolution!
This was its master's obsession, and its own obsession as well.
Now that it had evolved, it was stronger, and its master wouldn't look down on it anymore!
Only... would its master still want it?
With a flick of its tail, it opened the glass cover and scurried up Li Yu's pants onto his back, resting its two front claws on his shoulders and rubbing its cheek against him.
There was no earthy smell; instead, the little fellow emitted a strange fragrance after evolving, like nectar or fruit.
Li Yu checked its attributes.
[Monster Name]: Spirit Probing Armor
[Monster Quality]: Excellent (S)
[Monster Level]: black iron Level 9
[Monster Attribute]: Special
[Monster Talents]: Spirit Probing and Treasure Hunting, Glazed Hard Armor
[Monster Introduction]: A mysterious treasure-hunting beast with an extremely keen sense for spiritual energy. Even treasures buried deep underground cannot escape its detection. This is the first of its kind to evolve from a Yellow Mountain Beetle.
A flash of surprise crossed Li Yu's eyes, and he also breathed a sigh of relief.
The surprise was because, according to the introduction, the Spirit Probing Armor was a pure treasure-hunting beast. Although its combat power wasn't high, its value certainly wouldn't be low.
The sigh of relief was because the breeding was finally completed perfectly.
Even if the practical part only accounted for forty percent of the Junior Cultivator exam, as long as he got those full forty percent and answered a few questions correctly on the written exam, then this junior certification should be in the bag.
"He succeeded?"
"Without a doubt, he succeeded. What kind of beast is this? I've never seen it before."
"Could it be a new species?"
"Damn, I really want to see its attributes."
The others craned their necks, wishing they could squeeze in front of Li Yu to see the evolved beast. Fortunately, the Spirit Probing Armor's attributes were soon finished being scanned by the machine and were automatically projected onto the large screen.
After seeing the attributes, everyone fell into a petrified state, followed by a massive uproar.
The Interns from Bright Moon Company were dumbfounded.
They had thought Li Yu was someone with connections, or that even if he had some ability, he wouldn't be much better than them.
They never expected this.
Independent Breeding, S-rank! And looking at the reactions of the people around them, it seemed to be a new species!
Hiss—
Those exaggerated rumors were true!
"Oh my sweet heavens!" Zeng Huohuo's eyes widened and her mouth hung open as her gaze darted back and forth between Li Yu and the screen.
Is this really a newcomer?
Or is it some big shot who walked into the wrong venue?
To think that she, Zeng Huohuo, an eccentric in the Breeding World, a genius breeder girl who drove her teachers crazy seven or eight times a month, a disruptive force in the Breeding World, and the Cthulhu of the beast world...
Actually felt her own insignificance at this moment.
At this moment, Zeng Huohuo viewed Li Yu as her imaginary rival, and her mind conjured up thousands of fated duels in a love-hate relationship between them.
Just as everyone was looking at Li Yu with shock, envy, and jealousy, and while Zeng Huohuo was imagining their duel scenarios...
The Hard-Soled Proctor glanced at Li Yu and said indifferently:
"Examinee Li Yu, you have lost your qualification for the exam."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent.
Everyone looked at the Hard-Soled Proctor with bewildered expressions.
Li Yu seemed to have anticipated this. There was no anger or surprise on his face; he just looked at the proctor with a hint of confusion. "I successfully bred the beast, yet you say I've lost my qualification. What's the reason?"
Everyone turned their gaze back to the Hard-Soled Proctor. Not just the examinees, but even the other Invigilators cast questioning looks his way.
The Hard-Soled Proctor unhurriedly walked to Li Yu's workstation, crouched down, fumbled on the floor for a moment, and pulled out a crumpled ball of paper.
Immediately following that, he looked toward an examinee next to Li Yu.
That person immediately showed an awkward smile and said, "Li Yu, I didn't expect the Invigilator to find it after all. It's really not that I didn't want to help you."
What?!
What the hell is this?
The other examinees widened their eyes in complete confusion.
Li Yu was the first to complete the breeding, and with an amazing S-rank evaluation at that. How could someone like him need help from others?
Especially help from someone who hadn't even finished their own breeding and was slower than him?
Besides!
That damn note hadn't even been opened!
However, several Interns from Bright Moon Company exchanged glances, excitement dancing on their faces.
It's here!
It's starting!
Li Yu looked at the boy who had spoken and said expressionlessly, "Who are you? I don't know you."
"Tsk tsk, don't be like that. You clearly asked me to pass you a note because you were afraid you couldn't handle it. But brother, since we've been caught, let's just own up to it," the person said with a grin.
The materials on his table hadn't been touched, and he hadn't performed any operations on the beast he was paired with. He didn't look like he was there for the exam at all.
The Hard-Soled Proctor opened the note, glanced at it twice, and said, "The evolution path for a Yellow Mountain Beetle... Hmph! The evidence is undeniable. Do you still want to quibble?"
He glared at Li Yu and held up the note with a face full of "righteousness."
"Li Yu cheated on the exam. His current results are void. Other examinees continue the exam. No whispering to one another, and no helping other examinees!"
After speaking, he rolled up the note, stuffed it into his pocket, and walked straight away.
The others looked at each other, and one word came to mind.
Rigged!
Suddenly, a headset whistled through the air and slammed into the Hard-Soled Proctor's head.
An excited voice rang out.
"I'll poke your lungs! You Puk Gai! You Ham Ka Chan!"
Zeng Huohuo's eyes were spitting fire and her nostrils were smoking; she looked like a cat with its fur standing on end.