Lin Guang calmly met the other's gaze, with a flicker of intense dark golden light passing through his eyes.

In the next moment, two forces of Spiritual Power clashed in the air, dissipating into nothingness. Only the more perceptive students between the two faintly sensed something, suspiciously glancing around but finding nothing.

The gaze from dozens of meters away might have been imperceptible to ordinary students, but for Lin Guang and Huai Shouren, it was enough to convey their intense, gunpowder-laden emotions.

After a long while, with a loud whistle, all the students around closed their mouths and fell into complete silence.

Lin Guang thought for a moment and hooked out a necklace from his neck with his finger. It was a black Jade Token engraved with the Profound Dragon totem of the Great Xia, serving as the examination admission artifact for this unified exam. It was also a Spiritual Artifact, infused with the power of two Tier Six Spiritual Artifacts. Although the power could only last for seven days, it was enough to withstand Tier Four attacks and would teleport the student out of the Secret Realm upon activation.

Moreover, it had the functions of checking scores and the score leaderboard.

In the next moment, a profound, unstoppable Spiritual Power swept over Lin Guang, only to touch lightly and then retreat.

This was a Spiritual Skill, [Wide Area Exploration], yet it was released by a Beast King, aimed at detecting the number of Spiritual Artifacts carried by students, whether they had a Jade Token, and if there were any unauthorized Spatial Spiritual Artifacts.

In this world where individual power reigned supreme, no one dared to play tricks and risk disqualification from the exam.

A moment later, brown backpacks flew over from afar, landing in the hands of the students. This was a high-tier application of the Spiritual Skill [Telekinesis], also orchestrated by the Beast King.

To have a Beast King handle such trivial matters for the weak was unimaginable in those unstable small nations still troubled by beast tides.

A True Man above Six-Star there could be considered a god-like figure with almighty power, life levels were vastly different, controlling the power of life and death, and civilians had no such thing as human rights.

Yet, in the Great Xia where even ordinary Holy Beasts had to bow and join the system, it seemed quite normal.

Lin Guang opened and inspected the contents, finding various tools for wilderness survival, along with some water and high-energy food containing trace Spiritual Materials and Ethereal Crystal fragments.

He calculated in his mind—these supplies would last the three of them at most two or three days, otherwise, they'd have to fight on empty stomachs.

Humanoid Spirit Beasts were like this, and beast-formed Spirit Beasts were even harder to manage. Furthermore, the Secret Realm was polluted by Demonic Qi, making normal food acquisition impossible.

Therefore, for most people, there were only two methods to ensure their Spirit Beasts had sufficient Combat Power: one was to snatch from other students, and the other was to find the supply boxes placed in the Secret Realm by the education bureau. By scanning the Jade Token, they could be opened to find more abundant food and water.

In Lin Guang's exam venue, opening a supply box even came with a significant score reward.

This was a special benefit of the Purple Level exam, further encouraging student competition. As long as they "survived" for seven days inside, they could earn a "basic income" score that most Blue Level exam takers couldn't get.

Soon, the detection and distribution work was completed.

With a series of clear and long cries, three gigantic shadows appeared on the ground, projected from the sky.

There they were, three enormous whales, each tens of meters long, descending from the clouds like floating islands, their skin a light blue, reflecting the clear sea water of the sky, smooth and warm. The fins on their backs were soft and rounded, without sharp edges. The whale whiskers moved autonomously in the air, and their black eyes conveyed a gentle, untroubled look.

This was the [Island Sky Whale], a blue elite-level Spirit Beast with a rare Spatial Attribute, housing a space larger than its body. Initially just a small island, as the Island Sky Whale ingests Earth Attribute Spiritual Materials, the land inside continues to expand, capable of accommodating a considerable number of people or objects. It's a Spirit Beast favored by many multinational companies and even the military.

The Island Sky Whale slowly descended, opened its massive mouth towards the students below, and took a deep inhale, sweeping the students into its mouth like small fish and shrimp.

Soon, it was Lin Guang's area's turn, and he relaxed his control over his body—or rather, he couldn't resist—and was instantly sucked into the whale's mouth.

After a brief darkness, light returned before his eyes.

Underfoot was firm ground, and overhead, the artificial sun within the space cast out bright light. There was the sound of waves hitting the shore in the distance, and a salty sea breeze on his nose. If not for the tense atmosphere looming in the air, this might have seemed like a vacation paradise.

Lin Guang turned to look around, continuously seeing students being swallowed by the Island Sky Whale, yet he didn't spot Wang Dawei or Lv Rui. He decided to close his eyes and continued meditating.

The surrounding clamor could not disturb him, idle gossip was like a gentle breeze brushing past.

Though he held a System, Lin Guang had never let it make him complacent.

Several hours later, a long whale cry resounded.

This signaled that the Island Sky Whale had reached the destination and the exam was about to begin.

Lin Guang opened his eyes, and soon after, the ground beneath him began to emit a faint purple glow.

This was a Spirit Rune Array engraved by the education bureau into the ground, designed to directly teleport students into a spatial rift. The pre-arranged Teleportation Array would sense information from the Jade Token and cast students into their corresponding examination halls.

Though landing spots were random, there was certainly no relatively dangerous Spirit Beast within the surrounding area, nor would two examinees find themselves awkwardly landing together.

The surrounding students continuously transformed into beams of light and disappeared, and soon it was Lin Guang's turn.

The dizzying sensation of traversing space assaulted him once more. When Lin Guang opened his eyes, the scene before him had changed dramatically.

He found himself standing on a vast plain.

Although the light was dim, it did not affect Lin Guang's exceptional vision to clearly see the surroundings.

Beneath his feet, there was no vegetation. All that stretched out before his eyes was a barren land, cracked as if slashed by countless blades. In the distance, massive mountain ranges rose up, and at the foot of the mountains, he could vaguely see a hazy shadow, seemingly an abandoned town.

And nearby, only a few withered ancient trees stood solitary on the ground, twisted in shape, with branches clawing at the sky like talons.

The air was filled with a thin black mist, almost omnipresent. Scattered around were countless corroded armor and weapon fragments, among which lay many mostly intact, shattered and pale skeletons.

Judging by the form of the armor and the shape of the bones, these corpses, although humanoid, were quite distinct from humans, resembling more closely what might be called "lizardmen."

Lin Guang immediately looked up at the sky.

The dim sky was covered with thick gray clouds, through which he could barely glimpse a massive blood moon, hanging high in the sky like a crimson eye coldly watching the earth.

He observed the blood moon for a moment, then raised his hand. With a flash of light, Vishdair and Lisa appeared beside him.

Little Lisa's ears twitched nervously, and she instinctively summoned her magic staff, gripping it tightly with both hands as she huddled next to Lin Guang, clearly alert.

However, Vishdair did not react as much. She carelessly stepped on a fully rusted suit of armor nearby, making a visor with her hand as she looked around.

"Wow, it's pretty scary, just like on TV."

She took a few breaths of the air here, then pinched her nose and fanned the air, making a face that showed some discomfort: "This place smells like too many people died here."

Hearing this, Lin Guang extended his hand, closed his eyes slightly, and used his spiritual power to perceive carefully.

This black mist seemed to be the so-called demonic qi. As soon as his spiritual power extended outside, it sent back an unsettling feeling.

The sensation was hard to describe, like decayed flesh melting in the air, spreading a thick, rancid scent.

Lin Guang's expression remained unchanged, but he slightly raised an eyebrow: "Pretty much like what the textbooks say."

In its true form, demonic qi negatively impacts any normal life, gradually corroding vital signs. Even though the demonic qi in this secret realm was a low-density remnant after deep purification, its traits remained, requiring a Spirit Master to use spiritual power to counter its influence.

For an ordinary Two-star Spirit Master, just standing there might mean facing mental pressure; before using such an Ethereum Charging array connected to the external world, one had to seriously consider if bearing such mental pressure in this situation was worth it.

But for Lin Guang and Vishdair at that moment, given their spiritual resistance, it was barely an influence apart from being nauseating.

Lin Guang patted Lisa's little head: "How are you feeling? If you feel uncomfortable, you can go back first."

Lisa shook her head and perked up: "No need! I can do it!"

"Alright, alright."

Vishdair tilted her head: "So, what should we do now?"

"Let's walk around a bit and see if we can find anything."

"Are we starting the hunt now?"

Vishdair seemed to get a bit excited, perhaps equating points with some precious ingredient in her head.

Lin Guang formed hand signs with both hands, as ethereal fluctuations and spiritual power fluctuations gradually spread out—he was using various spirit patterns to check their effects—while he said, "Don't let your guard down. We have to stay here for seven days; finding food and water takes priority."

"It would be too ironic if we weren't defeated by the enemy but lost combat power from hunger and had to leave."

Hearing this, Vishdair raised her right hand, put an arm around Lin Guang from behind, rested her chin on his shoulder, her expression slightly discontented, while her slender black-red tail tip poked at his waist: "Are you trying to teach me, a veteran mercenary active for over ten years, survival experience on the battlefield?"

The soft sensation against his back made Lin Guang pause for a moment, then he flicked a red tendril edging near his face: "Proper mercenaries don't spend weekends lounging on the couch with chips and cola."

"...Nag!"

Watching the two bickering, Lisa also unconsciously relaxed her tightly clenched little hands.

However, at that moment.

It was as if their conversation had disturbed something; the surrounding black mist began to flow silently.

Suddenly, one of the skeleton's hands...or claws twitched slightly.

As if giving a command.

The next moment, dozens of skeletons around Lin Guang and Vishdair began to creak, as if awakened by some unknown force, wobbling as they started to rise.

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