172: Evolution! Sandstorm Crocodile and Cool Breeze Poplar

The several identification certificates enlarged on the crystal display dispelled many people's doubts.

"I'm asking you, what other identification do you need?"

This single sentence made people's blood boil even more.

"Holy crap! Badass!"

"Teacher Xie Ning, go for it! You must teach them a harsh lesson!"

"From now on, I'm not a fan of anyone else but Teacher Xie Ning."

"Haha~ Did you hear what he said? He straight up called Yan Chengze a lapdog. That's so freaking satisfying!"

Yan Chengze naturally heard the students' words from below the stage. His face turned dark, but looking at Xie Ning's certificates, he couldn't find any faults.

"Hmph! Since you're looking for death, let's begin."

As Duan Biqin returned to the waiting area, Yan Chengze shouted, "We invite the contestant from the mentor group, Mentor Duan Jun from the Imperial City Yulong Cultivation Academy, to take the stage!"

The competition adopted a random draw format. Each academy could decide the order of their three contestants, but they could not decide which opponents they would face.

Theoretically, it wouldn't be a three-on-three match between just two academies, but under Yan Chengze's manipulation, all three of Lingnan Academy's matches were against contestants from Yulong Cultivation Academy—the strongest group in this cultivation competition.

Strangely, such an obviously targeted operation was not stopped.

As Yan Chengze finished speaking, amidst sparse applause, a middle-aged male mentor in his thirties with a slightly balding head walked onto the stage. He first nodded to Yan Chengze, then seeing his opponent was just a young man, he was overjoyed.

"The match begins! Please both parties select the Yao Beast you wish to cultivate and collect your respective temporary contract scrolls."

After Yan Chengze finished, rows of cabinets rose from beneath the challenge stage. The low growls of Yao Beasts echoed throughout the arena through the speakers.

Facing each other from a distance, various cultivation machines and a table appeared before the two. A scroll lay on each table, and in the center, there were two egg-like scoring machines.

This scene was somewhat similar to the Flower City Cultivation Association, with the difference being that most of the Yao Beasts in the cages this time were northern species, which were rare in the south.

The students below looked at the Yao Beasts in the cages and then at Yan Chengze, their eyes filled with disdain.

"Isn't this disgusting? They call it a fair match, yet they use Yao Beasts from their own region."

"Yeah, from the very start, we've been put at a disadvantage."

"I hope Mentor Xie Ning can live up to the title. Otherwise, losing the first round would be a huge blow to us."

"Tell me about it..."

Seeing the crowd whispering and hearing their discussions, Ruan Qiong went over to Yan Ruyu's side and asked curiously, "Aren't you worried at all?"

"No, this is nothing to him," Yan Ruyu said.

Ruan Qiong said, "You have quite a lot of confidence in him."

"Don't you as well?"

...On the challenge stage, seeing Duan Jun choose a two-meter-long, earthy-yellow Sandstorm Crocodile, Xie Ning thought for a moment and chose a Chilly Breeze Poplar Willow—an emerald-green poplar willow with two legs.

These two relatively unfamiliar Yao Beasts left the audience below looking confused.

"Is there anyone knowledgeable who can explain how these two Demon Tamers Beasts are?"

"Yeah, are there any erudite 'Yanzus' or 'Yuyans' here? Someone give us a commentary."

Soon, a student wearing gold-rimmed glasses flipped through a book and shouted:

"I found them! Both the Sandstorm Crocodile and the Chilly Breeze Poplar Willow are common Yao Beasts in northern deserts. However, the Sandstorm Crocodile is Excellent High Grade, while the Chilly Breeze Poplar Willow is only Excellent Low Grade. We might lose!"

"Also, the Chilly Breeze Poplar Willow has almost no combat power. That thing is practically just a mobile fan that doesn't need electricity. Dammit, this is a guaranteed loss!"

After those words were spoken, the others immediately broke into an uproar, pointing at Xie Ning and questioning him loudly.

Xie Ning didn't care and instead looked at Duan Jun.

"Let's begin."

With that, the two picked up the temporary contract scrolls on the tables.

Temporary contract scrolls only last for a few hours. They are primarily used during cultivation to temporarily sign a contract with a Yao Beast without occupying the Demon Tamer's mental space.

After signing the contracts, the two began their busy work.

Although the academy's Materials weren't of the highest quality and weren't very rare, they made up for it with sheer quantity and a complete variety.

"10 stalks of Chilly Wind Grass, 5 Deep Jade Mandalas, 2 bottles of Paraquat..."

Xie Ning quickly gathered all the Materials needed for the evolution.

These Materials had only one characteristic—they were highly toxic!

"This... has he given up? Why is he doing this to the Chilly Breeze Poplar Willow?"

"It's over, it's over. What is this guy doing?"

"Could he have been bought off by that lapdog Yan Chengze? He's intentionally here to disgust us."

"Sigh..."

The students below were making a fuss. Similarly, Yan Ruyu couldn't understand these actions either, so she looked at Ruan Qiong.

Ruan Qiong shook her head and looked at the Tomboy Girl.

That Girl thought carefully for a while, then took out paper to calculate. Finally, she slapped the table: "Brilliant! This little punk is amazing!"

*Thump~*

Ruan Qiong gave her a light knock on the head.

Yan Ruyu said, "Watch your language next time."

However, seeing her reaction, Yan Ruyu felt at ease.

On stage, Xie Ning was busy. He naturally heard the questioning and cursing from below, but he ignored it. Instead, he looked at Yan Chengze, who was standing at the edge of the stage acting as a referee with a smug face. A meaningful smile played on the corner of Xie Ning's mouth.

You'll find out soon enough.

Soon, ten minutes passed.

Xie Ning mixed several poisonous herbs in a specific ratio into a deep green medicinal liquid that continuously bubbled and emitted a foul stench. Then he took a small knife and carved a Formation onto the body of the Chilly Breeze Poplar Willow, with a downward-slanting opening chiseled into the center of the Formation.

At this time, Duan Jun from Yulong Academy had already begun the evolution. The Sandstorm Crocodile lay prostrate on the ground, emitting a uniform light of evolution. Its body shape was constantly changing, and bursts of thunderous snoring spread out.

Xie Ning was a bit slower. He waited until the Sandstorm Crocodile's evolution was nearing its end before his own evolution just began.

The dazzling white light of evolution was stained by the evolution fluid, turning into an eerie deep green that illuminated the entire plaza, obscuring many people's vision.

At this moment, it was as if a green sun had fallen from the sky, blinding everyone.

"What's going on? This light!"

"There's hope! With such piercing light, what evolves will definitely be extraordinary. We might win!"

"Teacher Xie, please give it your all! You must win!"

"Is there anyone who isn't blind? Tell me how the match is going!"

Amidst the shouting, the green light vanished. After a moment, everyone regained their senses and looked at the stage.

"Hiss—"

The crowd below sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Whoa! Are these Yao Beasts really the same two from just now?"

Some students also sighed in a daze: "Evolution is truly miraculous. The two Yao Beasts have completely changed their appearance, and their Aura has become much stronger!"

It was no wonder everyone was surprised.

The two Yao Beasts on stage had changed significantly compared to before.

The Sandstorm Crocodile stood upright, four meters tall, and likely six meters long including its tail. From its bulging scales, one could faintly see the muscles beneath, full of power. It had a ferocious face, was salivating, and its tail lashed against the ground with a loud 'crack'.

Looking at the Chilly Breeze Poplar Willow, it had grown to over ten meters tall. The thick trunk had turned dark brown, and the emerald-green willow branches had become long and slender, their color shifting to deep green. It emitted an eerie green mist, and at the tips of the branches, dew formed from the mist dripped down, making a piercing corrosive sound as it hit the ground.

"Good heavens, it's poisonous all over!"

This scene startled many students, though some humorous ones joked:

"If I saw this thing in the wild, any chance of me surviving would be entirely thanks to its kindness."

The people around laughed and then looked at the stage:

"There's hope. This time, our Lingnan Academy might actually win. Haha~"

The students of Lingnan Academy below couldn't help but cheer, their eyes shining with hope. On the other hand, people from other academies looked solemn and whispered among themselves.