Zhou Fan handled the Demon Tiger with one hand.
The livestream chat erupted with cries of "Holy shit!"
His Emotion Points shot up.
Sure enough, sometimes the viewers' suggestions made for better entertainment than anything the streamer could rack his brains to come up with.
Just then, Zhou Fan keenly picked up a rustling sound from the bushes behind him.
He turned and saw a lion with a single horn on its head emerge.
A Unicorn Lion!
First Tier, 3 stars!
And it wasn't alone.
Three more Unicorn Lions emerged behind it!
They were all First Tier, 3 stars!
The four Unicorn Lions had set their sights on Zhou Fan, their eyes brimming with hunger for their prey.
"Holy shit! Four First Tier, 3-star Mutant Beasts?"
"Run, dude!"
"Get out of there!"
"Is the streamer going to survive this?"
The viewers instantly went wild.
Four First Tier, 3-star Mutant Beasts!
This was no joke.
[Surprise +1] [Nervousness +1] [Fear +1] [Worry +1]
Zhou Fan instantly felt immense pressure too.
"Guys, something's come up. I'm signing off."
"If there's a next time and I get the chance, I'll stream again."
He put his phone away.
Four First Tier, 3-star Mutant Beasts!
This was no laughing matter.
The slightest lapse could get him torn to pieces.
He had to stay alive before he could worry about entertaining his viewers.
Every viewer in the livestream...
...saw the feed cut out.
[The streamer has something to deal with and has signed off. See you next time~]
Something really had come up.
Whether there would be a next time was another matter.
Zhou Fan faced the four Unicorn Lions alone.
They were all First Tier, 3 stars.
His earlier battles with the other Mutant Beasts must have alerted these Unicorn Lions.
Mutant Beasts were everywhere in a place like this. Any disturbance could draw more of them.
That was why Espers hunting here usually moved immediately after a fight rather than lingering in one spot.
Zhou Fan had been busy streaming, so he had stayed in the same place a little too long and been discovered by these Mutant Beasts.
"Looks like I'm putting on a Fast and Furious show today."
"Roar!"
The Mutant Beasts lunged at him.
"Fire Release: Dust Concealment Technique!"
Zhou Fan decisively formed Hand Seals with both hands, pursed his lips, and spat out scorching dust that spread over a wide area.
The searing heat burned the Unicorn Lions and forced them to retreat.
They might have been First Tier, 3 stars, but that didn't mean they were immune to burns.
By the time the Unicorn Lions recovered, Zhou Fan was nowhere to be seen.
Just as they thought he had taken the opportunity to flee...
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
An enormous, meteor-like fireball descended from the sky with terrifying force and exploded among the Unicorn Lions.
The blast's fiery wave knocked two Unicorn Lions to the ground on the spot.
Run?
That wasn't Zhou Fan's style.
Since these spirit beasts had come to deliver experience right to his doorstep, why would he turn them down?
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Zhou Fan flickered in front of the nearest Unicorn Lion.
It reacted quickly, immediately opening its bloody maw to bite down on him.
"Sharingan!"
His Sharingan spun, allowing Zhou Fan to see its every move clearly.
He sidestepped the bite, drove his long blade precisely into its throat, then yanked it sideways, brutally slicing its throat open.
"Roar!"
The second Unicorn Lion lunged at him and swiped viciously with a paw.
Zhou Fan immediately raised both arms to block, but he was still sent flying.
The tremendous force left his arms aching.
The other Unicorn Lions charged toward him.
Zhou Fan quickly recovered, formed Hand Seals, and slammed a palm onto the ground.
"Fire Style: Great Flame Arrow!"
Three pillars of flame erupted from the ground in succession, launching two Unicorn Lions into the air.
Only one Unicorn Lion remained.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
Zhou Fan took control of it with genjutsu.
The Sharingan-the stern father of Mutant Beasts!
Genjutsu was just too useful.
Aside from the tiny minority of Mutant Beasts that possessed genjutsu themselves, most had little resistance to it.
The beast caught in his genjutsu posed no threat, and Zhou Fan killed it with a single strike.
"Looks like I still had the upper hand."
The battle was over.
Zhou Fan dug out all the spirit beasts' Crystal Cores, then retreated.
If he didn't leave and a few more spirit beasts showed up, he wouldn't be able to handle them.
He would have to pay more attention to the time and surroundings during his next stream.
Still, today's livestream had yielded excellent returns.
Zhou Fan had earned over four thousand Emotion Points while streaming.
After he ended the stream, his Emotion Points didn't stop coming in. Instead, they kept increasing.
Before the stream ended, the viewers had seen several First Tier, 3-star Mutant Beasts surround Zhou Fan.
That was even more dangerous than his one-against-six challenge.
So even after the stream ended, plenty of people were still keeping an eye on him.
Another two thousand-plus Emotion Points trickled in.
After returning home...
Zhou Fan didn't start another stream. Instead, he posted an update on his account.
It read, "Your streamer is still alive."
He attached a photo of the Mutant Beasts' corpses as his victory screen.
Plenty of fans immediately flocked to the comments.
"Holy shit! He actually survived?"
"I thought we'd never see him again."
"When's your next stream?"
[Shock +1] [Shock +1]
Zhou Fan didn't reply. He let them discuss it among themselves.
He had nearly met his end today.
Xinghai University.
The dormitory building.
"He didn't actually get eaten by Mutant Beasts, did he?"
Only after returning to her dorm did Xia Qingran open her phone.
She had been watching Zhou Fan's stream all afternoon, but it had ended when things suddenly went wrong.
She was quite concerned about what had happened to him.
"I only just started taking an interest in you. Don't go dying on me already."
Xia Qingran opened Zhou Fan's account and saw his latest update.
"He won? He's got some skills!"
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Then her interest in Zhou Fan grew even stronger.
"Looks like he really does have some ability. He survived being surrounded by four First Tier, 3-star Mutant Beasts."
"He's a student over in Tianhai City, and he's in the Southern District too."
"So he should be taking this year's college entrance exam in the Southern District."
"I'm actually starting to look forward to seeing how he does in the exam."
Xia Qingran's face lit up with excitement.
"Let's see what kind of results he can get."
After eating dinner and taking a shower...
Zhou Fan took out all the Crystal Cores he had collected that day and absorbed them.
He had collected over a dozen Crystal Cores in total, including four First Tier, 3-star Crystal Cores.
The Spiritual Energy within them flowed steadily into him.
Once he had drained all the energy from every Crystal Core...
Zhou Fan finally broke through!
First Tier, 4 stars!
"I finally broke through to First Tier, 4 stars!"
Fighting Mutant Beasts was the fastest way to improve his combat strength.
Especially evenly matched battles where both sides fought with their lives on the line.
Many people made breakthroughs after surviving a brush with death in battle.
Combined with the considerable Spiritual Energy provided by over a dozen Crystal Cores, it had allowed Zhou Fan to break through successfully!
After gaining a level...
Zhou Fan felt his strength increase another notch, and all the fatigue in his body vanished.
If he had to fight several First Tier, 3-star Mutant Beasts now...
It would definitely be much easier!
Before you continue