Chapter 44: Hunter Examination (Part-2)

Lin Fang lived enough to understand that associating with powerful people is a gamble. Because your lives will be in their hands. They can either turn you powerful or destroy you on a whim. If not for Li Chengfeng’s sincerity in giving him the Amulet of Velmura to protect him from other spirit masters, he wouldn’t have associated with the Zero Guild either.

And right now, he was quite nervous as hell, walking to her. The wolf’s piercing gaze that locked onto Lin Fang as he approached them didn’t help either.

As the girl silently placed a hand on the wolf’s head, the wolf retracted its growl and sat down like an obedient dog while her eyes met Lin Fang’s.

She looked at him… then at the tiny Direwolf perched lazily on his head like a plush toy. Her gaze flicked down to the number in his hand. As she gave a nod, Lin Fang scratched his head, chuckling awkwardly. “Uh… hi. Looks like we’re on the same team.”

The girl gave a slight nod in acknowledgment but said nothing else. Then her gaze drifted off again, as if the conversation was already over.

Lin Fang stood there for a second, unsure of what to say. Black snuggled closer against Lin Fang’s head, staring warily down at the silver wolf. The latter doesn’t seem bothered by his presence or anything. It just sat like a good boy.

Ten minutes passed. Still, no one else approached them. Lin Fang stood quietly beside Leng Xuenyi and her black wolf.

However, around them, quiet whispers buzzed through the air like gnats.

Some candidates were openly staring now at the Direwolf cub on Lin Fang’s shoulder, and the aloof girl beside him.

“Poor guy… no third teammate.”

“Well, there are only 50 applicants taking this exam. It is obvious that there will be a team with only two candidates.”

“But in a way, He’s lucky. He gets carried by her. Just stay out of the way and let the ice queen handle everything.”

“As if. Group evaluation means contribution matters. That Lord-tier wolf will do all the work, and the scoring system will give him a big fat zero. He will never get to Trial 4.”

“Hey, hey. Isn’t that Leng Xuenyi? She’s already an A-class Hunter. Why is she here?”

“Didn’t you hear? Her license got suspended two months ago. Some teammate died on a dungeon raid… people say she let it happen on purpose in order to get to the Boss.”

“You serious?”

“Dead serious. She is the type to use subordinates as shields or cannon fodder if it gets her to the villain. People like her should just be behind bars.”

“This Lin Fang guy’s screwed. Isn’t he?” “Yep”

Meanwhile, Lin Fang kept his composure. He didn’t need the whispers to tell him how out of place he looked—tiny cub, no third teammate, partnered with the girl who could kill someone with a glare alone.

Still, he took a breath and tried to bridge the silence. “I’m Lin Fang,” he said, turning slightly toward her after several moments of silence. “This is Black, my partner.”

He gestured to the small Direwolf, who was sleepily blinking with one eye open on his head. “I know it doesn’t look like it,” Lin Fang continued, “but Black’s stronger than most monsters here. I just wanted you to know… I won’t hold you back.”

Leng Xuenyi gave him a glance, but her expression didn’t change a bit as she replied flatly. “I don’t care.”

Lin Fang blinked in surprise. ’Well, that was direct.’

Still, he said nothing more. It’s not like it is out of his expectations anyway. He had met people like her before, strong, focused, and unwilling to waste energy on someone they assumed would be deadweight.

But what others assumed didn’t matter. He clenched his fists and waited.

Five more minutes passed.

Then…

Feng Xiu’s voice rang out from the center podium once again.

“All applicants, remain still. You will now be teleported to your assigned trial locations. You have one minute to prepare.”

All murmurs died instantly as Feng Xiu’s reminder echoed in their ears.

Everyone braced themselves.

Lin Fang exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing as he tightened the grin on Black, stirring it up. Black clutched his hair again in sleepy protest.

A few seconds later, a faint glow appeared at their feet, bursting out a pillar of light over each group.

Lin Fang, Black, Leng Xuenyi, and her wolf also disappeared like others, leaving behind only Feng Xiu and the staff members around soon enough in the room.

Feng Xiu smirked, placing his hands in his pockets. “These idiots who brought rental beasts think they can become hunters with some external help? And there will be quite a surprise for them in Trial 4.”

Meanwhile, Lin Fang and Leng Xuenyi reappeared inside what looked like a stark, sealed room, enclosed on all sides. There aren’t any doors or even windows either.

But at the far end of the room, a reinforced steel cage was seen. And inside, there was a reddish ape with long limbs and thick forearms, which slammed its fists into its chest with a guttural roar as soon as the cage hissed open.

Lin Fang instantly activated his inspection skill, scanning its ability.

Species: Red River Ape

Grade: Rare

Level: 17

Element: Earth

Lin Fang’s eyes narrowed. “Rare grade… but only Level 17. Same as those second-stage Skeleton soldiers I faced after Emberwood golem, back in the dungeon raid,” he muttered.

But he barely had time to process anything as Xuenyi took action as soon as she saw the monster step out of the cage.

“Go, Fenrir.”

As soon as those two words escaped her mouth, the black wolf lunged forward with a burst of speed. Black lightning crackled across its fur as it became a blur, vanishing from Lin Fang’s vision for a split second.

And then…

SPLURCH.

The Red River Ape staggered.

A massive, gaping hole now occupied where its abdomen used to be. Its roar cut off mid-sound as its body went limp and dropped to the floor with a wet thud. Blood pooled fast across the floor.

“Wha…” Lin Fang couldn’t help but just blankly gaze at Fenrir, which was now calmly walking back to Leng Xuenyi’s side, smeared with blood on its jet-black fur.

Leng Xuenyi didn’t even look at the corpse. She simply closed her eyes and waited in silence with her hands tucked behind her back.

Lin Fang swallowed his saliva and slightly stepped away from this stranger. Just then, a deep mechanical hum reverberated through the chamber, and the ceiling above them split open.

Another cage descended on metal chains, screeching slightly with friction. Inside was a similar but larger and more muscular Red River Ape. Its fur was a darker shade of red.

Red River Ape

Level: 26

Grade: Rare

Element: Earth

*

The cage hit the ground. The door hissed open one more time.

*Graaaa*

The second ape roared louder than the first, slamming the ground with such force that small cracks spread from the impact.

Lin Fang took a nervous half-step forward to contribute, but once again, he didn’t even get the chance to raise as Xuenyi spoke in the same tone. “Go.”

WHOOSH.

Another hole. Another corpse. This time, the body slammed against the wall before collapsing in a limp heap.

The chamber grew still, again.

Before Lin Fang could process the speed of Fenrir’s movements, a third cage was already descending.

Monster: Red River Ape

Level: 37

Grade: Epic

Element: Earth

Lin Fang stiffened. “Epic grade, Commander tier?”

Black, in his arms, has also stirred a bit but remained calm, nuzzling comfortably like nothing unusual was happening. It was as if the little Direwolf had no plans to take action at all.

*Graaaa*

The Ape let out a ground-shaking roar with its killing intent spreading like a wave across the chamber. Its body was at least three meters tall, its arms thicker than tree trunks.

It pounded its chest and cracked the floor beneath its feet.

Leng Xuenyi didn’t blink, this time either.

“Go.”

Fenrir shot out once again. It was silent, swift, and deadly. The monster tried to react. It even raised a guard with its arms.

But it didn’t matter.

A loud boom echoed as Fenrir collided and passed through it, and a massive hole appeared, splitting the ape’s chest in half. It toppled with a thunderous crash, dead instantly.

“What the…”

Lin Fang stood frozen. “Is this the strength of a Lord Tier monster?”

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