28: Chapter 28 Metamorphosis and Grade Skip

But this time, without Qin Ce having to say a word, the classmates he had saved, especially Wang Xuan, immediately stepped forward and excitedly described the entire thrilling process to everyone—from being chased by the pack of Wolf Spiders, to Qin Ce descending from the sky to fight the spider pack alone, to the appearance of the Wolf Spider King, the counterattack in a desperate situation, and finally that earth-shattering "Wind Blade from the Sky" one-hit kill!

Their words were earnest and the details were vivid, leaving no room for anyone to disbelieve them.

"At the time, we all told Qin Ce to go first, but he insisted on staying behind!"

"If it weren't for Qin Ce, we all would have died there!"

"That final strike was commanded by Qin Ce from an extreme altitude using Qingluan; it was so shocking!"

At this moment, the instructors arrived upon hearing the news.

Instructor Lei pushed through the crowd, and when he saw the two severed halves of the corpse on the ground, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Scythe Wolf Spider King... and it's a mutated species..." He crouched down to examine the cracks on the carapace, sucking in a cold breath, "Severed in one strike! What a sharp attack!"

He stood up and looked at Qin Ce, who was being supported, "Kid, did you really kill it?"

"Yes," Qin Ce replied calmly, "But it was mainly thanks to Qingluan."

This was, of course, a modest statement. But Instructor Lei did not dwell on it, simply patting him on the shoulder, "Good kid! A Black Iron killing a Bronze, and a mutated lord at that; this achievement is enough for you to brag about for a lifetime!"

Other instructors also gathered around to examine the carcass, clicking their tongues in wonder.

"The carapace hardness is close to mid-grade bronze; this defense..."

"Looking at this cut, it should be a wind-element skill, but the power is ridiculously high."

"What breed is Qin Ce's Pet Beast exactly? Isn't it too overpowered?"

An administrative instructor thought of another matter and whispered to Instructor Lei, "Old Lei, I remember the military department reported a few days ago that a Bronze Rank magical beast might have infiltrated the training area, telling us to be careful... Could this be it?"

Instructor Lei's expression darkened, "It's possible. Notify everyone; starting tomorrow, all hunting activities for students are suspended. We need to conduct a thorough cleanup of the entire training area!"

He turned to Qin Ce, his tone serious, "Qin Ce, where did you find this Wolf Spider King? Are there any others of its kind?"

"About ten kilometers to the southeast, there is an underground nest," Qin Ce reported truthfully, "When we went in, there were over thirty ordinary Wolf Spiders inside, all Black Iron Mid-grade. This Wolf Spider King came out last."

"More than thirty..." Instructor Lei's brows were tightly locked, "This scale is not normal. It seems they migrated here recently."

He immediately ordered, "Team One, Team Two, depart immediately and go check that nest! Team Three, escort the injured students to the infirmary!"

The instructors acted quickly.

Qin Ce and the other injured students were sent to the infirmary—which was actually just a slightly larger wooden cabin with a military medic accompanying the team inside.

The military medic examined Qin Ce's leg injury and said in surprise, "The wound is very deep, almost reaching the bone. But strangely, the bleeding has already stopped, and the muscle tissue is healing rapidly... Your constitution is quite special."

Qin Ce's heart stirred. This must be the energy fed back after Qingluan absorbed the mutated Spider Silk Bone Tendon, plus the enhancement to his constitution brought by the increase in his Beast Tamer level.

"Perhaps it's because Qingluan's power is special," he explained vaguely.

The military medic did not ask further, cleaning his wound, applying medicine, and bandaging it, before going to attend to the other students.

After his wound was treated, Qin Ce was arranged into a separate resting room. He sat on the bed, closing his eyes to sense Qingluan in the tattoo space.

The little one was still sleeping, but its aura was steadily strengthening. A dark golden halo flowed within its body, and its bones emitted faint "cracking" sounds, as it was undergoing a Reborn change.

Qin Ce waited patiently.

About two hours later, a system prompt sounded in his mind:

[Qingluan has finished absorbing the mutated essence]

[Potential increased: Low-grade Scorching Sun → Low-grade Transcendence]

[Awakened new talent: Spider Silk Bone Tendon (Bright Moon Level)]

[Learned new skills: Spider-Web Wind Blade (Intermediate), Tethering Wind Blade (Intermediate)]

Transcendence Level potential!

Qin Ce was ecstatic.

There are twelve tiers of potential from Black Iron to Immortal, with every three tiers being a major hurdle, though the basic Black Iron stage doesn't count. Therefore, Bronze, Silver, and Gold are Warrior Level; Starlight, Bright Moon, and Scorching Sun are Hero Level; Transcendence, Epic, and Legendary are Overlord Level; Mythic and Immortal are mythic-grade.

Transcendence Level means that Qingluan has already stepped into the threshold of "top-tier Pet Beast" and is destined to become an overlord of a region in the future!

At the same time, Qingluan's defense has greatly increased, and it has also integrated a faint metal element.

What surprised Qin Ce even more was that the talent column added "Spider Silk Bone Tendon" with Bright Moon Level quality! The skills also added "Tethering Wind Blade" and "Spider-Web Wind Blade"!

[Tethering Wind Blade]: Can subtly manipulate the flight path and direction change of released Wind Blades within a certain range of mental power, like pulling threads, weird and unpredictable.

[Spider-Web Wind Blade]: Releases special net-like Wind Blades. After touching the enemy, the Wind Blades automatically converge to attack, and after dissipating, they form a wind-element binding cyclone, briefly immobilizing the enemy.

These two newly added skills directly raised the flexibility and control of Qingluan's attacks to a new height. Spider-Web Wind Blade made up for the lack of area control and sustained damage, while Tethering Wind Blade made the attack trajectory of the Wind Blades even more treacherous and unpredictable, making them impossible to guard against!

Qin Ce's tactical means were thus raised to another level.

And as Qingluan grew and mutated, Qin Ce could clearly feel that the energy fed back by Qingluan was not only purer but also had a peculiar kind of "resilience". This "resilience" was also simultaneously and quietly transforming his bones, muscles, and even skin, making them lighter and tougher, while the defense of his muscles and skin was also subtly increasing.

This intense change made Qin Ce feel a bit impatient to see what Qingluan looked like now.

But just at this moment, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Teacher Sun pushed the door open and walked in.

"Qin Ce, how are you feeling?" The homeroom teacher's face carried concern.

"I'm fine, the wound isn't deep," Qin Ce replied.

Teacher Sun sat down by his bed, was silent for a moment, and then suddenly smiled: "You kid, you always manage to surprise me. On the first day of school, you threw over thirty people, got first in the written exam, and now you've gone and done a Black Iron killing a Bronze..."

He shook his head, sighing with emotion: "I just talked to the instructors. Instructor Lei said that your achievement is enough to meet the graduation standard."

Qin Ce was stunned: "Graduation standard?"

"The graduation standard of the First Academy is to promote to Bronze Rank, or complete three kills of Bronze Rank ferocious beasts," Teacher Sun explained, "Although your level hasn't reached it yet, you have already completed one cross-rank kill, and it was the most difficult mutated lord."

He looked at Qin Ce, complex emotions flashing in his eyes: "Qin Ce, have you ever thought about... skipping grades?"