149: A sudden gift

After answering the system's questions, Luo Chen's consciousness withdrew from the Illusion World.

The moment he opened his eyes, he was startled by the two figures beside him.

Unbeknownst to him, Tang Ce, the chief examiner who was still on the podium, and one of the judges had come to his side.

The judge next to Tang Ce, whom Luo Chen didn't recognize, was now excitedly saying something to Tang Ce.

Tang Ce, on the other hand, had a gloomy expression and reluctantly took out a shimmering object, handing it to the judge.

Luo Chen was a bit confused about the situation, and since the competition was over, he decided to bypass the two important figures and leave from the other side.

However, as Luo Chen was sneaking away, he was noticed by the judge, who had been distracted but was still paying attention to him.

"That kid named Luo Chen, wait a moment."

The moment the words left his mouth, the judge's figure arrived in front of Luo Chen even faster than his voice.

A man with a face full of wrinkles from smiling suddenly appeared in front of him, and Luo Chen subconsciously stopped his steps, while looking at the judge with a wary expression.

"Is there something you need, sir?"

Seeing the young man's guarded expression, the judge's eyes widened.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do I look like a bad guy?"

Although Luo Chen really wanted to nod, the person opposite him was a judge after all, so he wouldn't harm him here.

Shaking his head slightly, Luo Chen said in a weak voice:

"No."

Upon receiving this answer, the judge's furious expression returned to a peaceful and calm State.

Do important figures also exist who wear their emotions on their sleeves?

Just as Luo Chen was pondering this question, he saw two items floating towards him from the elder opposite him.

One was a fist-sized stone with colorful spiritual light flowing over its surface.

The other was a seven-leaved, pagoda-like grassy plant growing in a flowerpot.

Luo Chen didn't recognize these two items, but he could feel the abundant spiritual energy contained within them, which was much richer than that of a third-tier spiritual item.

He realized that these were given to him by the somewhat eccentric-looking judge opposite him; otherwise, they wouldn't just stop in front of him merely to show off, right?

Besides, he didn't even recognize these two things, so if it was just for showing off, they had chosen the wrong person.

Luo Chen tilted his body, bypassing the two spiritual items that blocked his view, and looked at the judge with a puzzled expression,

"Sir, this is?"

The judge smiled, his eyes almost forming a slit, and he casually said to Luo Chen:

"Take them. These are for you. As for the reason, consider it a reward for discovering a new Evolution Path today."

Luo Chen was a bit bewildered, but he wasn't someone who could readily accept gifts from others, so he quickly refused,

"That was just for my own competition, sir. I cannot accept these two items from you."

Facing such an important figure, calling himself a student shouldn't be a problem, right? The capable are teachers.

At this, the judge's face visibly became unhappy again.

"Just take them when I tell you to; why so much nonsense? If you want the real reason, it's because you helped me win a bet just now. These two items were the stakes, and I'm in a good mood today, so I'm giving them to you.

Besides, they're not precious to me."

Hearing the judge's words, Tang Ce's expression behind Luo Chen suddenly became strange.

He really wanted to grab the judge by the neck and make him repeat what he just said. If he dared to say they weren't precious again, he would immediately strangle him.

Luo Chen was naturally unaware of Tang Ce's rich inner turmoil. His attention was on the fact that he had helped the judge win a bet, but Luo Chen didn't ask what kind of bet it was.

He still adhered to another law: curiosity kills the cat. So he firmly suppressed his curiosity.

And looking at the important figure opposite him, with his attitude that he wouldn't let him go if he didn't accept these two items,

He finally, with a somewhat hesitant expression, took the two spiritual items into his hands.

"Then I'll keep them for now. If you need them, sir, you can take them back from me at any time."

Putting the spiritual items into his storage space, Luo Chen tentatively asked, "Sir, it's getting late, so I'll take my leave now?"

This time, the judge did not stop him but waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

Luo Chen said goodbye and left in another direction. As he passed by the judge, he seemed to hear a faint sigh.

Then a sentence, as if having experienced many vicissitudes, echoed in Luo Chen's mind,

"Remember to always keep your initial intention."

Luo Chen quietly glanced at the judge's back, his heart somewhat unable to fathom the meaning of his words.

"Brother, over here."

Luo Yang and Ban Mo were waiting for Luo Chen by the side of the platform. Luo Yang, in particular, was vigorously waving his arms in his direction, shouting at the top of his lungs, as if afraid Luo Chen wouldn't notice him.

Luo Chen lightly jumped, floating over from the air at a not-so-fast speed.

"Stop shouting."

The first thing Luo Chen did when he reached Luo Yang was to press down on his restless arm and stop his loud voice.

It was really too embarrassing. Thankfully, Ban Mo was more reserved and didn't act like Luo Yang; otherwise, he wouldn't have wanted to come over.

"Let's go, let's go."

Luo Chen led the two, trying his best to ignore the constant discussions around them.

"Is he the first place in this competition?"

"Luo Chen from Qingyang City?"

"Sigh, now our Liuguang City is disgraced. We actually let someone from the Lower City take first place, and the score difference is so large. How will we catch up in the next rounds?"

Tang Ce slowly walked to the judge's side, "You're really willing to part with it. A fourth-tier spiritual item you painstakingly found, and you just gave it to him like that."

"There's nothing to be unwilling about," the judge turned to Tang Ce, "Don't you think he particularly resembles someone?"

Tang Ce suddenly fell silent. After a while, he said, as if unsure:

"Are you talking about the teacher?"

...Back at the hotel, after Luo Chen sent Luo Yang and Ban Mo back to their respective rooms,

This hotel was large enough, with a ceiling height of over ten meters, perhaps to facilitate guests' beasts going out for a walk.

Now, Ban Mo's beast, the Darkspawn · Shadowbat, was crouching in the center of the lobby, its small eyes looking at Luo Chen with a somewhat pitiful expression. Luo Chen easily understood the emotion contained within: a fear of the unknown.

Hiss, its fighting performance before seemed very brave. Could it actually be a little princess inside? The contrast is a bit big, huh.

Although Luo Chen was standing and the Darkspawn · Shadowbat was crouching, Luo Chen still had to look up to see its facial expression.

Luo Chen patted its wing reassuringly, "Don't panic, the Evolution process will be quick."

Luo Chen took out the materials he had prepared long ago. After all, he was a member of his hunting team, so Luo Chen naturally chose the most precious materials for him.

race: Darkspawn · Shadowbat

Rank: Spirit Beast Nine-Star

Type: Dark

State: Cautious, Curious

Aptitude: Excellent

Skill: 1. Shadow (Profound-tier): Darkspawn · Shadowbat likes to stay in the shadows. In dark environments, its speed and attack strength gain a bonus.

2. Shadow Strike (Earth-tier)... 3. Stored Power Strike (Profound-tier)... 4. Shadow Erosion (Earth-tier)... 5. Shadow Chains (Profound-tier)... Evolution Path: 1. Darkspawn · Shadowbat → Darkspawn · Shadowbat King

2. Darkspawn · Shadowbat → Netherfiend Bloodwing Bat.

3. Darkspawn · Shadowbat → Sky Profound Myriad Spirit Bat