: Let's casually increase the difficulty.

Before Qin Ming could speak, Old Qin waved his hand to interrupt, then answered his own question, "You don't need to tell me, I'll go check the surveillance footage!"

That's true, how could a competition venue like this not have some form of monitoring?

Although the Spirit Martial Continent doesn't have the same level of technological advancement as Earth, Spirit Masters still possess their own unique abilities—

Old Qin took out his phone. "Little Z, retrieve Qin Ming's performance from the last part of the match!"

"Received, retrieving!" A strange object, resembling a pixelated image, appeared and gave a somewhat mechanical response.

Qin Ming felt as if he had seen the building block dolls on Earth come to life, and they could actually transform and disassemble at will!

Please forgive me for using this term to describe Xiao Z, because Qin Ming couldn't tell the other person's gender at all.

Furthermore, its ability to deform and disintegrate at will, as well as its ability to become ethereal, makes it seem less like a proper, living, and intelligent individual.

Qin Ming also secretly began to check the information with his bracelet. Such a unique spirit beast couldn't possibly be unknown!

Sure enough, a search for the corresponding features yielded results.

The so-called Little Z is a semi-artificial spirit beast that has emerged in recent years, born from the iterative computation of complex code.

Their survival depends on machinery, but they are born with the ability to quickly retrieve and process all kinds of data.

Race names are generally determined by code models; consuming open-source code not found in their own database can enhance their strength.

Although they lack strong direct combat capabilities, they possess excellent support abilities. However, due to their limited numbers, they are generally a privilege possessed only by Spirit Masters with strength of Super Spirit Master or higher.

This guy is a real big shot!

Looking at the bracelet's search results for Xiao Z, Qin Ming was once again certain of his guess about the old man's strength.

Yeah, sigh~

What a waste of the words I just organized!

Such an opportunity to show off in front of big shots is rare, so how could I have missed it?

Qin Ming sighed softly, feeling utterly regretful.

Next time, you must seize this opportunity!

Making mistakes is not terrible, but you can't fall into the same pit twice!

Qin Ming actively learned from his experience and summarized his lessons.

……

"Old buddy, come up here and tell me what's going on today?"

Old Qin seemed impatient for Little Z's results, or perhaps he wanted to use his spirit beast's assistance to verify them.

After all, the more powerful a spirit master is, the more they trust only their own spirit beasts.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a huge creature emerged from the mud!

Looking at the previously calm and undisturbed surface of the swamp, Qin Ming was dumbfounded and filled with lingering fear.

There's more to this than meets the eye!

That's a bit much!!

Just by looking at its size, you can tell this spirit beast is extraordinary. :)

While the strength of a spirit beast is not solely determined by its size, a spirit beast that grows to this size, coupled with its corresponding power, is definitely not someone to be trifled with.

Look, the eyes of this spirit beast are almost as big as a person when it opens!

Heavyweight athletes are prohibited from participating!

Although he knew it was an old man's spirit beast and couldn't sense any malice, Qin Ming still unconsciously took a few steps back due to the oppressive feeling brought by its huge size.

As the mud receded, or after stepping back a few paces to get a better view, Qin Ming finally recognized the true identity of the spirit beast before him—

The Mud Rhinoceros is a powerful mythical beast that mostly inhabits swampy terrain.

Good guy!

Qin Ming finally understood where this muddy area came from; it turned out to be where people used to bathe…

In the last century, people could not tell whether the mud rhinoceros preferred to live in swampy terrain and therefore migrated to this area.

It is believed that the mud rhinoceros created this terrain because it preferred muddy areas.

That's right, the mud rhinoceros can secrete special energy from its body, thereby influencing and modifying the surrounding terrain on a small scale.

Although it's described as a small area, if mud rhinoceroses appear in family or group settings,

Or, if a particularly pioneering mud rhinoceros appears, the impact will be far-reaching.

Another theory suggests that the mud rhinoceros's body fluids are unique and can naturally influence and modify the surrounding terrain.

The key is the latter, which has been proven in recent years!

Thinking about this, Qin Ming felt a chill. Thankfully, he hadn't actually been struggling in the mire, otherwise…

vomit~

Furthermore, Qin Ming dared not imagine what it would feel like if a contestant were to become deeply involved and then discover that there was such a huge shock waiting for them inside.

Of course, Qin Ming also realized that this spirit beast was most likely not a trap, but a safety guarantee for the contestants.

However, Qin Ming finds this kind of extreme security protection a bit hard to accept.

"Stop! You're right there, no need to come over." Old Qin waved his hand, sounding both annoyed and conflicted.

Heavy Mud Rhinoceros: ŏ̥̥םŏ̥̥

Qin Ming seemed to see grievance in the other person's huge eyes: What did Niu Niu do wrong? Why do you dislike Niu Niu?

A spirit master who comes when summoned and goes when dismissed is quite annoying!

But with that brief moment when the mud rhinoceros stood up, the mud rippled and surged forward, instantly advancing 10 meters...

Qin Ming was instantly unable to empathize with the mud rhinoceros.

Um, how many meters of swampy ground will the next contestants have to cross?

Qin Ming had moved beyond the low-level pleasure of gloating, because he felt that this competition was extremely unreliable.

The difficulty of each stage of the competition fluctuates too arbitrarily, doesn't it?

No wonder the online descriptions of this event are so abstract; I could never find accurate and reliable information before.

If it weren't for the Spirit Fruit, Qin Ming wouldn't have planned to participate in the competition at the doorstep in the first place. It was just that the information online looked strange and made him feel uncertain.

Previously, Qin Ming thought it was because the schedule was kept secret, or because someone was deliberately causing trouble.

So it turns out everyone is really stirring up trouble like this?

With the increased power of the spirit beast's skills, you can casually alter the terrain and adjust the difficulty of the competition, right?

Qin Ming was speechless.