Is This How You Take an Exam?!

A hundred meters forward, and the Red-tailed Fox appeared before Zhou Lu.

It walked elegantly on the path covered in red leaves, its fur smooth and beautiful, its red tail swaying, sweeping fallen leaves off itself onto the ground.

This was the Red-tailed Fox's normal state. When it entered combat mode, red, high-temperature flames would appear on its tail, and its eyes would turn red.

The Red-tailed Fox was a very alert species.

Zhou Lu could only advance cautiously, dodging behind rocks when the Red-tailed Fox turned to avoid its line of sight.

The distribution of these rocks was also detailed in the setting collection. When Zhou Lu was preparing for the exam, he had already decided which rocks he could hide behind to approach the Red-tailed Fox faster and more stealthily.

Like everyone else's exam, Zhou Lu's actions in the simulated secret realm were also being broadcast on a large screen for all waiting students to see.

Some students who had failed their exams didn't rush to leave but stayed to watch Zhou Lu's exam.

They looked forward to Zhou Lu's failure more than anyone else. It was as if if Zhou Lu failed, then their own failures wouldn't seem so bad.

See, even the genius who got full marks didn't pass, so it's probably normal that I didn't pass, right?

"To actually let his Spirit Pet act separately from himself? So young." In the quiet hall, someone muttered.

This sentence was actually the sentiment of many.

In the secret realm, they wished they could be with their Spirit Pets at all times. Who would let their Spirit Pet act alone and sneak over themselves like Zhou Lu?

Moreover, how did he plan to lure the Red-tailed Fox out of the Red Leaf Forest?

When Zhou Lu reached the edge of the Red Leaf Forest, everyone held their breath.

But Zhou Lu didn't rush to execute his plan; he was waiting.

Huohuo didn't have any skills yet to accelerate its vines.

Considering the Red-tailed Fox's charge skill could instantly close the distance between them, Zhou Lu needed to give Huohuo enough time to use its [Earth Escape] skill to lay enough pre-buried cuttings on the flat ground between the forest and the lake.

Time was almost up.

Zhou Lu estimated the time and then took a lighter out of his pocket.

Wait! Why did he have a lighter!

The moment Zhou Lu took out the lighter, everyone watching the exam was stunned.

What was this kid planning to do? Light a cigarette for the Red-tailed Fox with a lighter?

Then they saw Zhou Lu use the lighter to ignite the fallen leaves not far away.

The leaves of the Red Leaf Maple tree instantly caught fire.

The next second, with the leaves Zhou Lu ignited as the center, a surging flame rapidly spread outwards.

Boom!

The leaves of the Red Leaf Maple tree were rich in oil and had a structure that made them extremely flammable. When piled up and ignited, they created an effect like igniting catkins.

The surging flames directly ignited all the fallen leaves in the Red Leaf Forest. The flames climbed up the trees, and in a short while, the entire Red Leaf Forest was set ablaze.

No...

Was this guy planning to burn the Red-tailed Fox to death?

Using fire to burn a fire-element Spirit Beast, wasn't that a bit too wishful thinking?

Were these the only two people who got full marks in this combat preliminary exam?

"Pfft."

For a moment, someone couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

This laugh seemed incredibly infectious, directly triggering everyone's laughter.

Some people were even taking out their phones to post on the forum.

[Help! Someone's trying to burn a fire-element Spirit Beast to death during the exploration permit exam!]

In reality, burning a fire-element Spirit Beast to death wasn't entirely impossible, but it required one's own Spirit Pet to have an absolute crushing advantage in strength over the enemy.

In any case, such a thing was absolutely impossible in the exploration permit exam.

Did they really think that legends like the "Ten Mile Slope Sword God" could still exist in this era?

Zhou Lu was unaware of the commotion outside the venue. Looking at the raging fire before him, he couldn't help but complain inwardly: these Red Leaf Maple trees seemed even more exaggerated than the information he had found; they burned so quickly.

As a fire-element Spirit Beast, the Red-tailed Fox was naturally unaffected by the sudden inferno.

It walked with light steps, strolling through the flames.

This environment even made it feel a bit more comfortable.

It's just that...

The sky was filled with maple leaves burning into ashes, and black ash fell from the sky.

The ash rained down everywhere, and the Red-tailed Fox was naturally covered in it.

So dirty! So dirty! So dirty!

The Red-tailed Fox showed an expression of disgust.

Even wild Red-tailed Foxes are known for being clean among Spirit Beasts, let alone Spirit Pets.

Looking at the dirt on its body, the Red-tailed Fox shook itself in annoyance.

Although it was useful, it was quickly covered by new ashes.

It had to leave this place quickly.

The Red-tailed Fox looked in Zhou Lu's direction.

Spirit Beasts could sense the presence of humans from a mile away.

The moment the Red-tailed Fox locked onto him, Zhou Lu's hair stood on end, and he tightly gripped Huohuo's vines.

But the Red-tailed Fox merely glanced at Zhou Lu before turning its head and heading towards the lakeside.

It didn't have time to deal with this human right now.

It needed to wash itself by the lake quickly.

So dirty! So dirty! So dirty!

Thinking this, the Red-tailed Fox quickened its pace and rushed towards the lake.

As the Red-tailed Fox rushed out of Redleaf Forest and towards the lake, the laughter in the hall abruptly stopped.

This wasn't an exaggeration.

Someone had genuinely choked from the sudden shift in emotion from mockery to astonishment.

And more people were shocked and confused.

Wait, what? How did setting a fire force out the Red-tailed Fox? Are fire-type Spirit Beasts really afraid of fire?

The Red-tailed Fox rushed to the lake and cautiously prepared to clean its fur with water.

As a fire-type Spirit Beast, it ultimately disliked water, and it was still in the middle of an exam...

"Huohuo!" As the Red-tailed Fox hesitated, Zhou Lu decisively shouted.

Huohuo's actions were a step ahead of Zhou Lu's command.

Countless vines extended from Huohuo's pre-planted cuttings by the lake, coiling around the Red-tailed Fox.

The Red-tailed Fox stumbled and was directly dragged into the lake by Huohuo.

Boom!

Scorching flames erupted from the Red-tailed Fox's tail, directly burning through Huohuo's vines.

The Red-tailed Fox scrambled out of the water, roaring furiously at Huohuo.

But what greeted it were Huohuo's vines coated in slime.

The Red-tailed Fox attempted to repeat its previous tactic, using flames to burn the vines, but to its shock, the vines showed no signs of damage even under the high heat.

The Sticky Baby's slime had effectively protected Huohuo's vines.

Rub the fox! Rub the fox!

Seeing that it had caught the beautiful fox, Huohuo immediately became excited and quickly used its learned skills to wrap up the fox.

The Red-tailed Fox had never endured such humiliation; it opened its mouth, intending to use a skill to give Huohuo a barbecue.

Huh? What is this can?

The Red-tailed Fox saw Huohuo pull out a steel can from its flowerpot.

Hiss—!

Huohuo opened the fire extinguisher and sprayed it directly into the Red-tailed Fox's face.

The new generation of Sticky Baby fire extinguishers was highly effective, extinguishing not only the fire in the Red-tailed Fox's mouth but also the fire on its tail.

What? Why can you use a fire extinguisher during an exam!

Seeing this, everyone was dumbfounded.

Who takes an exam like this?

Second update... Seeking follow-up reads today with three updates!