What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

Since becoming a beast tamer, Lin Chen has seen all sorts of pet beasts.

Some, after being defeated, were intimidated by the powerful strength of the Flameclaw Beast, and felt fear and unease, wanting only to avoid the battle;

There were also stubborn kids like this scorching viper, who, despite being weaker than the Flameclaw Beast, refused to accept defeat and continued to launch attacks.

Normally, Lin Chen would ignore such a stubborn kid.

According to the system's assessment, defeating this injured pet again will not grant experience points.

If the system proactively issues a task, then it's no wonder he's launching another attack.

Lin Chen looked at Songsong Dog, a slight smile playing on his lips: "It's not entirely convinced."

"Mmm?"

The pineapple looked at the scorching viper that was still provoking it despite its serious injuries, its dark eyes filled with doubt.

Why do it this way?

Shouldn't she have sought refuge in Lin Chen's warm embrace after being injured?

The next instant, a fierce glint flashed in the scorching viper's eyes, and its slender body suddenly shot out, carrying a wave of scorching heat, and attacked the pineapple once again.

"Eek!"

The dog's eyes narrowed, and its figure transformed into a white streak of light once more, speeding away.

A moment later,

The badly wounded, scorching viper lay curled up on the ground, while the pineapple dog stood nearby, watching intently.

"hiss!"

Whenever the scorching viper tenses its body in an attempt to attack again, the Squirrel will not hesitate to extend its paw and forcefully slap the viper's body.

clap clap clap!

again and again!

Faced with a clear disparity in strength, the scorching viper was completely unable to react. Its body was repeatedly slapped, and the pain spread throughout its body, causing it to emit mournful hisses.

The voice grew increasingly harsh, and the scorching viper's resistance became increasingly feeble. The pineapple, however, secretly glanced at Lin Chen, its expression tense.

"That's right, that's it."

"You can't be soft on your opponents; you have to push them hard."

But when the dog saw Lin Chen's smiling face and even his constant praise, it began to strike the scorching viper's gradually limp body with increasing force.

Are you convinced?

I'm asking you, do you submit or not!

"hiss......"

Finally, the scorching viper collapsed to the ground, its eyes turning into circles.

It had already given up, but under intense pain, it was simply unable to utter a word.

【Ding! 】

[Current number of subjugated pets: 1]

Lin Chen smiled, then looked at the Songsong dog that was still slapping the snake's head with its paws, and coughed lightly: "Alright, alright, it's given up."

The dog glanced at the scorching viper, which had fallen into a coma. It withdrew its paws and kept its head slightly raised, but when it met Lin Chen's gaze, it quickly lowered its head and walked towards Lin Chen with a reserved gait.

Halfway there, the dog realized that its paws had come into contact with something dirty, so it ran over to the fallen leaves and rubbed them vigorously with its paws until they were clean before returning to Lin Chen's side.

This scene left the Flameclaw Beast dumbfounded.

You naughty little thing, you even noticed such a small detail?

The Flame Claw Beast suddenly recalled that after each time it killed an opponent, it would always touch Lin Chen with its blood-stained claws, and it immediately fell into deep thought.

Should it make changes?

After defeating the scorching viper, a question arose in Lin Chen's mind:

"This scorching viper is worth ten points, but how does the academy record that in real time?"

Along the way, he did not see any technological devices such as cameras or sensors.

Could it be that a pet animal has been secretly observing and recording each student all along?

How many would we need?

He looked up and gazed through the layers of branches and leaves at the pale sky of the secret realm.

Apart from the occasional bird-shaped pet that flies by, there was nothing there.

And deep within that seemingly empty sky, a pair of enormous eyes quietly opened, surveying the entire secret realm without any blind spots.

These eyes have no physical form, no iris or pupil; they are more like a perceptual network woven from pure spiritual power and some special energy field, covering every corner of the secret realm.

Light, sound, energy fluctuations, life force... all information is silently captured, analyzed, and recorded by these eyes.

Outside the secret location, a temporary monitoring center was set up.

This is a spacious room with a huge high-definition projection screen in the center.

The screen was divided into hundreds of images of varying sizes, each clearly displaying the real-time dynamics of different areas and newborns within the secret realm.

In front of the screen, Dean Zhao Honggang stood with his arms crossed, like an iron tower, his deep gaze slowly sweeping over each image.

"As expected of the Eye of the Veil, the clarity and seamless perception are simply perfect."

An elderly professor with glasses and gray hair stroked his beard, looking at the screen with admiration in his eyes: "Isn't using such a strategic pet for monitoring the freshman competition a bit of a waste of its potential?"

The younger technicians beside him smiled and chimed in, "Professor Li is right. But this is also a good opportunity to fully test the stability of the Eye of the Veil in complex secret realm environments. After all, this is the culmination of many years of hard work between our academy and Tiangong Creation Group."

The Eye of the Curtain: Man-made pets created by the Mechanical and Mental factions.

Its original design purpose was for border reconnaissance, monitoring of important areas, and even insight into enemy infiltration operations; it is an absolute military and strategic technology.

Using it to monitor a freshman competition is indeed a luxury.

But as this technician said, it is also an excellent testing ground for real-world applications.

Under the invisible gaze of the Veil Eye, the location and actions of each student in the secret realm are precisely captured and recorded.

Based on a pre-set points algorithm, each student's points are updated and ranked in real time in the background.

Zhao Honggang remained noncommittal about the professors' and technicians' discussion, his attention always focused on the young figures moving through the images.

After watching for a while, he spoke in a deep voice, which echoed in the quiet monitoring room:

"Who are some promising young players to watch this year?"

The male teacher in charge of compiling the new students' information immediately stepped forward, brought up a floating light screen, and quickly reported: "Dean, there are a few outstanding candidates."

"Ye Zhen from the Ye family is the best choice."

The teacher zoomed in on one of the images, revealing a smartly dressed but youthful-looking boy commanding a ferocious sub-dragon pet to cleanly and decisively defeat a second-tier armored rhinoceros.

The battle was highly efficient and swift.

"He was already a junior beast tamer before he enrolled in school. His contracted pet is the Radiant Bone Dragon inherited from the Ye family. He has high skill proficiency and excellent tactical awareness."

Zhao Honggang's gaze lingered for a moment on Ye Zhen's taut, baby-faced expression before he nodded.

"And then there's White Dew."

The teacher switched the screen.

A slender, pale-faced girl appeared on the screen.

She walked alone in the woods, accompanied by a beautiful butterfly whose wings shimmered with the hazy moonlight.

Suddenly, two swift shadow wolves darted out from the bushes to the side.

She didn't even turn her head; only her pale purple eyes moved slightly.

The next moment, the two Swift Shadow Wolves that were pouncing suddenly froze as if they had hit an invisible wall, and then fell to the ground unconscious with a wail. Throughout the whole process, her Moonlight Butterfly did not make any move.

"Her mental strength is inconceivable; she has been confirmed to have mastered multiple mental skills, and her mental power level is estimated to be close to the standard third-tier level. Her pet, the Moonlight Butterfly, has unpredictable abilities, and combined with her mental strength, it is difficult to defend against."

"Bai Lu, is that the child who was born with spiritual power?" Zhao Honggang seemed to have heard the name before, and his tone showed a hint of interest.

"Yes, Dean. Her case is rather special, and the relevant report has been submitted." The teacher nodded in confirmation.

The other teachers were discussing among themselves: "It seems the first place will most likely be decided between the two of them."

"Hmm, this is interesting." Zhao Honggang's gaze lingered for a moment on Bai Lu's empty eyes before shifting away. "Anything else?"

The teacher operated the screen, quickly searching, and soon his finger stopped on a name: "There's also a new student from Qinglan City named Lin Chen. He also broke through to become a beginner Beast Tamer before entering the school."

"Pull it out and take a look," Zhao Honggang ordered.

A corner of the high-definition projection screen quickly switched and zoomed in.

In the scene, Lin Chen is leading the Flameclaw Beast and the PineClaw Dog through the forest.

Zhao Honggang's gaze first fell on Lin Chen, and after a brief look, his brows furrowed slightly as he looked at the two pet beasts beside him.

"Flameclaw Beast and Tsukumi?"

Zhao Honggang's voice carried a hint of doubt: "These two are his contracted pet beasts?"

"Yes, Dean. The data shows that Flameclaw Beast was his initial pet, and Squirrel should be a recent contract."

The teacher reported the facts truthfully, adding, "In addition, there are two other points worth noting regarding this new student."

"First, it only took him forty-four days to go from awakening as a Beast Tamer to breaking through to the beginner level. This speed is second only to Bai Lu among this year's freshmen, but considering his background, it is even more astonishing."

"second."

The teacher paused, his tone slightly uncertain: "Before coming to the academy, he was a temporary assistant at the Qinglan City Anti-Drug Bureau, during which time he received a commendation and a third-class personal medal."

Commendation and Third Class Medal?

Zhao Honggang frowned.

"How did you get it?" he asked curiously.

The teacher shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face: "I'm sorry, Dean. The Qinglan City Anti-Drug Bureau has not provided detailed information regarding the specific reasons for his meritorious service, citing confidentiality."

Zhao Honggang nodded thoughtfully.

He paused for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the boy on the screen.

"Keep an eye on him," Zhao Honggang said slowly.

"Oh, right, Dean," the teacher spoke up again, "there's another new student who just became a junior beast tamer a couple of days ago. He's also from Qinglan City, and he graduated from the same school as Lin Chen."

Zhao Honggang raised an eyebrow slightly and sighed, "Qinglan City again? Such a small city like Qinglan has truly been blessed with outstanding people this year."

"This new student's name is Su Qingyuan," the teacher reported while rapidly operating the control panel.

Soon, the image on one corner of the central screen changed.

In the scene, a beautiful young girl with a high ponytail is directing a Blue Feathered Wind Bird to battle against a second-tier pet.

The entire battle was efficient and calm, with an almost artistic rhythm, and the suffocating fighting pace suppressed the opponent from beginning to end.

The other teachers, who had been whispering among themselves, gradually quieted down, their eyes fixed on the battle on the screen.

"This kid's command is so experienced!"

"His grasp of the battlefield rhythm is simply unbelievable for a freshman!"

Zhao Honggang frowned.

He always felt that the newcomer's fighting posture and aura were very special, giving him the vague feeling that he was facing a beast tamer of the same level.

"Keep a close eye on her," Zhao Honggang finally gave the order.

"With Ye Zhen, Bai Lu, Lin Chen, and Su Qingyuan, it seems that the winner of this year's freshman competition will most likely be one of these four," a senior teacher concluded.

Everyone nodded, turning their attention back to the big screen to watch the four people's movements.

The scene then switched back to the area where Lin Chen was located.

At this moment, he was encountering a new opponent—a first-tier pet beast, the Azure Mantis, with a body entirely emerald green and forelimbs resembling two sharp scythes.

The mantis, hidden among the branches and leaves, suddenly launched an attack, its scythe flashing cold light.

After a fierce battle, the Satsuki quickly overpowered its opponent.

The mantis was knocked to the ground, its sickle-like forelegs hanging limply, clearly suffering a serious injury. It struggled but could not get up immediately.

Logically, the battle should end here, the target should be incapacitated, and points should be awarded.

But the pineapple didn't back down. Instead, it took small steps forward, raised one front paw, and firmly placed it on the thorax and abdominal carapace of the blue-toothed mantis, fixing it to the ground.

The blue-toothed mantis let out a resentful hiss, its scythe-like forelegs trembling as it swung upwards, seemingly making a final struggle.

Snapped!

Almost the instant the scythe was raised, the paw that the pineapple was using to step on it didn't move, but its other front paw slammed down with lightning speed, hitting the blue-toothed mantis squarely on the head.

Are you satisfied?

"hiss!"

The mantis's hissing stopped abruptly, its head tilting to the side, seemingly even more dizzy.

But its tenacious will to live caused its limbs to twitch slightly a few seconds later.

"Smack!" Another claw strike landed on the same spot.

Do you submit?

The Azure Mantis stopped moving completely.

But the pineapple didn't loosen its grip; it just stared at the completely limp praying mantis at its feet with its dark eyes, as if trying to confirm something.

A few seconds later, the Azure Mantis's body twitched very slightly.

Do you submit or not?

"Snapped!"

The third claw landed.

This time, the Azure Mantis remained completely still, falling into a deep coma.

Only then did the dog remove its paw and return to Lin Chen's feet.

Lin Chen, who had been quietly watching the battle from the sidelines, smiled broadly as he looked at the completely unconscious Qingfeng Mantis.

His smile appeared clean and bright in the sunlight filtering through the trees, but it seemed extremely incongruous with the scene just now.

At the same time, the Flameclaw Beast stood with its paws on its hips and grinned menacingly; the Pinedog jumped into Lin Chen's arms, a smile also on its face.

For a moment, both the person and their two pets were beaming with joy, as if tormenting the Blue-Edged Mantis, which had long since lost its ability to fight, brought them pleasure.

"..."

The monitoring room was completely silent.

For a moment, all the teachers were at a loss for how to evaluate it.

Was this freshman too brutal?