76: Into the Jungle

He created a thin mist in front of him, all formed from the Qi within his body. The mist quickly settled and solidified into a thin, circular, floating object.

However, this was not the end. This was merely the base of the brand, and he needed to add more to it. He tried to create new parts while keeping what he had made before intact, but he failed.

“Sigh, even with multiple brains, I can’t master all the different parts simultaneously,” he muttered to himself. At least, it wasn’t a waste of effort. He was slowly getting the hang of it.

“Alright, everyone. Please follow me,” the examiner walked into the classroom and called everyone out. On their way out, every book that had been distributed was collected back.

They were led out of different rooms and arrived outdoors. The forest was right in front of them. Many of them had taken the exam before, so they were used to it. Perhaps even looking forward to the next part.

Ning still didn’t know what the exam was exactly. Based on the book they gave, he was confident he generally knew what the exam entailed. Being led out only reinforced that idea.

“The next exam is simple. Use the Ascending Mist Brand we taught you to bring back a tamed beast from the forest. Your ranking will be based on the ranking of your newly tamed beast, regardless of its cultivation level.”

“So, we recommend you choose younger, immature beasts,” the examiner said. He then looked up at the sky and said, “You must bring back a tamed beast before the sun reaches its highest point. Any cheating will result in immediate disqualification and a ban from any future exams.”

“Now, go!” Before the examiner even finished speaking, half the people were already near the gate, and Ning also left quickly; he needed to find a monster to tame.

“Shouldn’t I first learn how to properly make the brand before going to find those monsters?” he thought. He looked around to see if anyone else was doing that in the forest, but there was no one there.

“I doubt those who returned don’t even need to learn the technique again,” he thought, then started trying to create the brand.

The first time, he failed. He made them too hastily and ended up not making the part that would make it a whole brand. Now he would take his time.

Qi once again left his body, turning into the mist that slowly formed a circle and solidified into the base of the brand. He began to draw out more Qi, adding to the brand.

He stared intently at the brand in front of him, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. After 5 minutes of intense concentration, he finally made one.

As Ning watched it in awe, a white, misty brand with a blue halo floated in front of him. However, this was not all of the mist. Since the mist was originally composed of Qi, Ning didn't even know what its function was, but he could discern that it had one.

“So, I’m supposed to put this on a monster, right?” Ning thought. It was time to find one. He started walking deeper into the jungle, but any monsters he found were too low-ranked.

“They probably took all the good ones in the previous exams,” he thought. Nevertheless, this was still a vast forest, so he didn’t lose hope. He saw a group of examinees already branding low-ranked monsters, so he just shook his head.

“Don’t they remember these are bad guys?” he thought. However, he forgot one fact: not all ranked monsters could be found in the forest, especially after so many years.

Being ignorant about the City, he was at a disadvantage. The City information he had purchased only gave him information about the City itself, not the surrounding forest or land.

The outskirts of the forest were inhabited by low-cultivation monsters, so Ning didn't go to the forest where he had encountered the praying mantis a few days ago.

Finally, after walking a short distance, he stumbled upon a small, rabbit-like monster with two huge whiskers on either side of its face.

This was a monster of average rank in his memory. However, he didn't know what this rabbit was, so he directly used the second level of Qi Cultivation Analysis.

Qi Condensation First Realm - Whisker Hare.