How about improving the food?

"Hm? Do you two have a problem with something?" Cao Xiaochun smiled when he noticed the odd expressions on their faces.

"No, Boss, where did you get that huge monster? Aren't you a Gu Master?"

If he hadn't personally seen Cao Xiaochun awaken as a Gu Master during the class-change ceremony, Hong Jianjun would have thought he was some powerful Spirit Tamer. After all, in all the records on Gu Masters from the past three hundred years, what Gu Master had ever been able to command a creature that could so easily wipe out an entire clan?

"You mean Xiao Qiang?"

"He's a Gu controlled by a Gu Master."

"Any creature controlled by a Gu Master can be called a Gu!"

Cao Xiaochun did not mind Hong Jianjun's question. These things would have to be revealed sooner or later anyway, so he had no intention of hiding them.

"In another five minutes, once the poison mist clears, we can go in. The poisoned Frost Tigers may still have their outer defenses, but you can stab straight through their eyes. That'll make killing them easy."

The only reason he had poisoned them unconscious before finishing them off was that if Xiao Qiang increased the dose of its poison mist, all that would be left inside would be a field of white bones. This entire clan probably would not even leave scraps behind.

But to show the unity of their team, Cao Xiaochun had not chosen to do that.

A Gu Master's abilities seemed to exist solely for slaughter. Holding back in a spar or showing mercy seemed harder than simply killing the opponent outright. That was why Cao Xiaochun did not like teaming up with others.

If Zhou Yuanlong had not suddenly jumped out to provoke him, this exam would probably have become another one of Cao Xiaochun's personal slaughter sprees.

"Ribbit!"

After waiting for quite a while, the three slowly approached the cave once Xiao Qiang gave another warning.

The cave entrance was enormous, at least four meters high and roughly ten meters deep. As they walked in, the three of them killed the Frost Tigers lying on the ground.

Although the tigers still clung to faint traces of life, their eyes had turned completely black. Even without Cao Xiaochun and the others finishing them off, they likely would not survive the night.

[Cao Xiaochun, Black Iron Rank]

[Lv. 5 (260/600)]

Strength: 30

Speed: 37

Spirit: 146

When Xiao Qiang drove its scorpion tail into the brain of the last Frost Tiger, Cao Xiaochun successfully reached level 5 as well.

This was an exceptionally large clan, with nearly fifty Ice Tigers in total. Even Li Hanyi had reached level 5. Hong Jianjun had moved too slowly and received a smaller share, so although he had not reached level 5, his experience bar was nearly half full.

Hong Jianjun had no complaints about this at all. Instead, he felt fortunate that he had managed to grit his teeth and hold on earlier. Pan Yuanyuan had only been gone for such a short time, yet they had already received such a pleasant surprise.

This was only the first day. He believed that as long as he held tightly to this powerful backer, reaching level 5 by the end of the exam would be no problem at all.

After casually clearing away the surrounding mess, Hong Jianjun took the initiative to gather firewood inside the cave and threw the poisonous Ice Twin Tigers outside. Though their bodies would disappear, it would not happen immediately—they still had to wait for the refresh.

Naturally, they could not live together with a pile of corpses.

They had no idea when the blizzard outside would stop, so they would have to stay in here for quite some time.

Surprisingly, not a single piece of equipment had dropped from such a huge clan. Logically speaking, the odds of that were far too low.

Still, none of the three cared much. After all, many things depended on luck and opportunity.

"Boss, that Frost Tiger by the entrance should still be edible, right? How about we improve our meals a little?"

After lighting the fire, Hong Jianjun immediately came over, staring at Cao Xiaochun with shining eyes.

The supplies provided by the school consisted only of compressed rations and canned food. Honestly, those two things could at most sustain the body's energy needs; as for the taste, it was beyond description. So Hong Jianjun had set his sights on the tigers.

Although nearly all the tigers had been poisoned, one had not. The tiger killed in Killer Bee Gu's sneak attack had never come into contact with Xiao Qiang's poison mist.

"The neurotoxin from Killer Bee Gu disappears after exposure to high heat, so it can be eaten."

Cao Xiaochun understood what the fat man meant. Since they had a better option, he had no reason to choose compressed rations.

"Great, Boss! Then we're having tiger meat tonight. I'll let you taste the skills of my Chef class!"

Hong Jianjun's face bloomed like a chrysanthemum. The way he addressed Cao Xiaochun had already changed. He had originally thought there was only one powerful backer in the team, but it turned out both of them were experts. He was growing more and more excited for the adventures ahead.

"Can you tell me what's so remarkable about your class?"

While Hong Jianjun busied himself nearby, Li Hanyi sat beside the fire with her chin propped on her hand, looking at Cao Xiaochun with puzzlement in her eyes.

"You can think of it as a mutated Spirit Tamer class. Spirit Tamers fight through their pets, while Gu Masters control Gu. As for what exactly a Gu is, that's too troublesome to explain. If I really got into it, I probably couldn't finish in three days and three nights."

Cao Xiaochun tossed another piece of firewood into the flames. He did not mind Li Hanyi's question and gave her a simple explanation.

Though Li Hanyi did not fully understand after listening to him, she still nodded.

"Come to think of it, that makes sense. In three hundred years, when has there ever been a weak hidden class? As for an anomaly like the Gu Master, perhaps no one ever found the right direction."

"Congratulations on uncovering the true nature of this class."

Perhaps because she was usually so unsmiling, Cao Xiaochun found that the sudden softness of Li Hanyi's smile gave this icy beauty a faintly alluring charm.

"Maybe I was just a little luckier."

Hong Jianjun truly deserved to be someone who had awakened the Chef class. He had clearly come prepared from the moment they entered. Though he only had a few simple seasonings, with the support of his class, he managed to roast the massive tiger leg to perfection. Even Li Hanyi could not help but praise it after taking a bite.

"Roar!"

As the three ate and rested, deep tiger roars suddenly came from the pile of rocks behind Li Hanyi, startling them all.

Cao Xiaochun instantly rose to inspect their surroundings. They had already surveyed the area earlier—there should not have been any stragglers left in this cave, and that flat pile of rocks could not possibly hide a massive tiger.

Cao Xiaochun exchanged a glance with Li Hanyi, and the two slowly approached the rock pile. Listening to the faint tiger cries within, Li Hanyi directed the Succubus to use the whip in her hand to sweep aside the stones on top!

Whoosh!

Boom!

The instant the stones were whipped away, twelve pure-white tiger cubs appeared before the three of them!