On the other side, Principal Liu and the principals and responsible persons of various schools also arrived at the building outside the ruins.
In the lobby on the first floor of the building, a giant screen displayed the names of students who had passed the trials and those who had been eliminated.
It was also possible to select and watch the real-time footage of a student undergoing the trial.
After the Hexi ruins were deciphered, they were modified by a legendary beast tamer and equipped with the mechanical life-form, the Eye of the Ruins.
The Eye of the Ruins could monitor the situation of all students participating in the trial and could also teleport eliminated students out of the ruin space.
Zheng Dong's name was prominently displayed in the first position.
"Heh heh, this kid is not bad, passing three levels in ten minutes!" Principal Liu said with a smile of satisfaction.
At this moment, a frail middle-aged man patted Principal Liu's shoulder.
Principal Liu turned to look at the man and said:
"Oh, it's Principal Ma. You came in person this year?"
"Heh heh, I came to see that our First High School has produced a genius. I want to see how many levels he can pass!" said the middle-aged Principal Ma.
Anhe District First Beast Taming High School had always suppressed Principal Liu's Second Beast Taming High School. Seeing Principal Ma's smug expression, he felt a surge of annoyance.
Therefore, Principal Liu also said proudly:
"Our school also has a genius this year. Look, he passed three levels in ten minutes!"
Principal Ma immediately looked at the big screen.
He saw Zheng Dong pass another level, taking less than three minutes, and his mouth widened in surprise.
Seeing this, Principal Liu became even more smug.
"Principal Ma, what is the name of your school's genius, and what is his rank? Why don't I see him?"
Principal Ma frowned. He didn't want to be outdone by Principal Liu, so he quickly regained his composure and said calmly:
"His name is Tan Xiong. He hasn't entered the ruins yet. If he enters, your first place will definitely have to be ceded!"
Principal Liu immediately became displeased.
"Principal Ma, how about we bet on who is stronger between them?"
Principal Ma was also a stubborn person and agreed without thinking: "Alright, whoever loses will give the winner a Level 5 resource!"
Principal Ma was very confident in Tan Xiong and wanted to bet a Level 5 resource right away because Tan Xiong's beast-taming talent was elemental coordination, and his contracted beast was a lightning spirit.
Seeing Principal Ma's confidence, Principal Liu's momentum weakened slightly.
However, he could still afford a Level 5 resource.
"Alright, no problem!"
Not long after, Tan Xiong, whom Principal Ma had mentioned, also entered the ruins. His strength was very good, and he passed three levels in less than eight minutes.
This made Principal Ma extremely happy and even more smug.
"Principal Liu, you'll have to spend money this time!"
Meanwhile, Zheng Dong seemed to be stuck on the seventh level, and after seven or eight minutes, he still hadn't passed.
Principal Liu became a little anxious and directly asked the Eye of the Ruins to display the footage of Zheng Dong undergoing the trial.
He saw that facing Zheng Dong were two transcendent-level Earth Bears, half of their bodies stuck in the mud, and the more they struggled, the deeper they sank.
The Earth Bears were nearly three meters tall and weighed over two tons. It was unimaginable that they were powerless against the Treasure Hunting Mouse.
The most important thing was that the Treasure Hunting Mouse beside Zheng Dong seemed to have done nothing!
Principal Liu was stunned.
Principal Ma was dumbfounded.
"What... what... what's going on?"
The principals of other schools also focused their attention on the big screen, their faces full of surprise.
At this moment, the Eye of the Ruins provided the answer, and two lines of text popped up on the screen.
[Master-level Mud Skill has been stacked 36 times!]
[Master-level Shadow Control Skill has been stacked 36 times!]
It was better not to give an answer, but this answer made people even more confused.
Principal Ma couldn't help but ask:
"Stop beating around the bush, just tell me what's going on."
"Zheng Dong's Treasure Hunting Mouse has mastered the perfect-level Shadow Clone, creating 72 clones. These clones used Mud and Shadow Control skills on the Earth Bears respectively!"
Principal Ma's head was a little dizzy.
Perfect-level Shadow Clone?!
Let alone transcendent-level, even commander-level and lord-level beasts rarely mastered it.
You don't think I'm easy to fool, do you!
Principal Ma showed an expression of disbelief, unable to believe the Eye of the Ruins.
Even though he knew the Eye of the Ruins wouldn't lie to him.
The principals of other schools also opened their mouths in surprise.
Then, a bald principal asked a crucial question.
"But why haven't we seen any of these clones?"
Immediately, a contemptuous emoji popped up on the big screen.
"The Treasure Hunting Mouse's clones either used the superb-level Earth Evasion skill to burrow underground or used the superb-level Shadow Transformation skill, making them difficult to detect!"
At this moment, Principal Ma couldn't help but curse:
"Holy crap, how many skills does this Treasure Hunting Mouse have? Can it train them all?"
In Principal Ma's opinion, a Treasure Hunting Mouse that could cultivate Shadow Clone to the perfect level wouldn't have much time to cultivate other skills.
But the Eye of the Ruins gave him another shocking answer.
"According to my statistics, the Treasure Hunting Mouse has used 10 skills so far, among which Hardening, Earth Evasion, and Shadow Transformation skills have all reached the superb level. It has a high chance of passing the tenth level."
Principal Ma was shocked speechless for a long time.
This is outrageous. What kind of Treasure Hunting Mouse is this, it's simply a monster! Was it trained by humans? He was more inclined to believe that this Treasure Hunting Mouse was extraordinary in itself.
In fact, Zheng Dong was not stuck on the seventh level, but was training the Treasure Hunting Mouse's combat experience, wanting to use low-level skills to wear down the two Earth Bears.
The continuous stacking of the Mud skill was far more terrifying than swamps and quicksand, and its depth exceeded seven meters, enough to completely trap the two Earth Bears.
Moreover, the continuous stacking of the Shadow Control skill made the two Earth Bears unable to break free from the restraint, and they were also unable to use their skills, only able to be trapped in frustration.
At first, Little Zi did not condense so many clones. As the two Earth Bears continuously resisted and tried to break free, it kept increasing the number of clones.
These two Earth Bears were not as simple as they looked. Their strength was also very strong, only half a step away from the commander level.
However, these clones were enough to suppress them now.
Afterward, Principal Liu gently patted Principal Ma's shoulder.
"Old Ma, isn't it just a Level 5 resource? Are you afraid of losing?"
Principal Ma immediately jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and shouted, "Who says I lost! Tan Xiong is not inferior to him, and he's about to reach the seventh level! Besides, the eighth level is not easy to pass. Who wins and who loses is still uncertain!"
The difficulty of the eighth level was harder than the sum of the previous seven levels.
As the two Earth Bears were completely submerged in the mud, Zheng Dong obtained another 3 Ethereal Stones, and then he was teleported to a valley.
Wolf howls echoed in the valley, and soon, giant jungle wolves surrounded Zheng Dong, their pairs of green eyes staring directly at him and Little Zi.
In the jungle wolf pack, the leader was five jungle wolves with strength close to the commander level. Behind them were over thirty transcendent-level jungle wolves and over a hundred awakened-level jungle wolves. These jungle wolves were enough to challenge transcendent creatures of the commander level.
Even ordinary commander-level transcendent creatures would actively avoid them when they saw them.
Facing the numerous jungle wolves, Zheng Dong used the Intelligent Beast Encyclopedia to scan one of the largest jungle wolves.
[Name] Jungle Wolf
[Attribute] Metal
[Species Level] High Commander
[Growth Level] Transcendent
[Energy Value] 412
The energy value far exceeded Little Zi's, and it seemed difficult to deal with.
Principal Liu immediately showed a worried expression.
Principal Ma smiled and reached out to pat Principal Liu's shoulder, saying:
"Old Liu, I admit this Treasure Hunting Mouse is powerful, but no matter how powerful it is, it's still just a Treasure Hunting Mouse. Can it fly to heaven? It has passed seven levels consecutively. I don't believe it can handle these jungle wolves!"
The other principals and school officials also nodded.
Even if other beasts were used, by the eighth level, their consumption would be very high, let alone a Treasure Hunting Mouse.
Principal Liu's mouth twitched violently, and he remained silent. He looked at the screen, hoping Zheng Dong could create a miracle.
Indeed, Little Zi's consumption was also very high, but it was continuously replenishing natural energy, and its energy value remained around 260.
Last night, after obtaining the inheritance bead of the super-tier skill Earth Vein Resonance from Tu Qionglan, Zheng Dong had Little Zi accept the inheritance and cultivate Earth Vein Resonance for a whole night, taking eight hours to learn it and reach the beginner level.
Super-tier skills were more difficult to learn than high-tier skills.
However, the effect of beginner-level Earth Vein Resonance was even better than master-level high-tier skills.
Therefore, Little Zi easily condensed 72 clones again.
These clones blocked in front of all the jungle wolves and attacked them with skills like Booby Trap and Shattering Gold Claws.
The clones cooperated tacitly. Although their numbers were not as many as the jungle wolves, they could hold off the jungle wolves for a while.
Moreover, awakened-level jungle wolves did not pose much of a threat to the clones.
At this point, if Zheng Dong made a move and condensed more clones, he could completely win.
However, Little Zi indicated that it was completely fine.
"Squeak squeak, let these jungle wolves see the might of the future King of Treasure Hunting!"
After Little Zi recovered some of its consumed energy using Earth Vein Resonance, it set its sights on the largest wolf king in the jungle wolf pack.
This wolf king had also been looking for an opportunity to break through the clones' defense and attack Little Zi's main body.
It used skills like Rending Claws, Sharp Gold Arrow, Violent Bite, and Burning Gold Power to continuously attack Little Zi's clones, and it also used the Steel Body skill for defense.
In this way, Earth Spikes and Shadow Arrows found it difficult to injure it.
However, it was still unable to resist Booby Trap and Shattering Gold Claws.
The Booby Trap skills used by the clones, which condensed strange bombs, also injured it.
Before long, Little Zi found an opportunity, used the Shadow Transformation skill to approach the wolf king, and then used Shattering Gold Claws to directly shatter the wolf king's head.
Master-level Shattering Gold Claws could unleash five times Little Zi's own strength, which was enough to kill the wolf king.
After one strike, Little Zi's consumption was also very high. It returned to Zheng Dong's side, used Earth Vein Resonance to recover energy, and then attacked the next jungle wolf.
As long as the five jungle wolves with strength close to the commander level were dealt with, this level would basically be stable.
This also gave Principal Liu hope.
"Hahaha, Earth Vein Resonance! As expected of our school's genius!" Principal Liu exclaimed excitedly.
Although he didn't know when Zheng Dong had taught the Treasure Hunting Mouse Earth Vein Resonance, it didn't stop him from showing off in front of Principal Ma.
Principal Ma's mouth opened, but he swallowed the words back.
He wanted to say that a Treasure Hunting Mouse couldn't learn a super-tier skill, but the facts were right in front of him, and he had no choice but to admit it.
Monster! How could this Treasure Hunting Mouse know so many skills? And their proficiency was so high!
Principal Ma and the others were now very curious about Zheng Dong's beast-taming talent.
However, Zheng Dong had not helped at all from beginning to end.
Although relying on Little Zi alone took more time, it also trained Little Zi's combat ability.
After another ten minutes, Zheng Dong passed the eighth level and obtained 24 Ethereal Stones, which was more than the sum of the previous seven levels.
Next was the ninth level.
This time, Zheng Dong was not directly teleported to the next level, but was given half an hour to rest.
On the other side, Tan Xiong also reached the eighth level. He was facing a group of Red-Spotted Lightning Snakes.
The Red-Spotted Lightning Snakes were not afraid of lightning and had strong resistance to it. This made Tan Xiong's lightning spirit very stifled.
Before long, Tan Xiong regrettably failed.
Immediately, Principal Ma lost face and prepared to leave.
Principal Liu quickly grabbed Principal Ma.
"Old Ma, why are you in such a hurry? Zheng Dong hasn't finished yet. What do you think, can he pass the tenth level?"
Seeing Principal Liu's smug expression, Principal Ma felt uncomfortable.
Therefore, Principal Ma's words were not pleasant.
"Old Liu, I don't think I need to watch anymore. He's struggling to pass the eighth level. It's a pipe dream for him to pass the tenth level. Don't be wishful thinking!"
This time, it did not anger Principal Liu. Zheng Dong had passed the eighth level and defeated Tan Xiong, so he had also won against Principal Ma. This was the first time in many years.
So, he said with a happy smile:
"Hahaha, Old Ma, I think you're just jealous. Where do you see that he's struggling? Zheng Dong hasn't even used his beast-taming talent yet! How about we increase the stakes? If Zheng Dong passes the tenth level, you'll give me a Level 6 resource. If he doesn't, we won't take the Level 5 resource you lost."
Facing Principal Liu's proposal, Principal Ma did not want to show weakness in front of the many principals. He gritted his teeth and said:
"Alright, don't regret it if you lose later!"
"Heh heh, just don't go back on your word!" Principal Liu said with a smile.
Soon, Zheng Dong began the ninth level trial.
This time, he was teleported to a pine forest, and in front of him appeared a commander-level Earth Burst Bear and five transcendent-level Earth Bears.
[Name] Earth Burst Bear
[Attribute] Earth, Metal, Fire
[Species Level] High General
[Growth Level] Commander
[Energy Value] 1254
This Earth Burst Bear had only recently evolved, so its energy value was not very high, but it still far exceeded Little Zi's.
Seeing this, Principal Ma became interested. Let's see how you win.
Principal Liu's brow furrowed slightly. The ninth level was more difficult than he had expected.
Those five transcendent-level Earth Bears were all close to commander-level strength, even stronger than the five jungle wolves in the eighth level.
Zheng Dong, please don't disappoint me.
Zheng Dong was not afraid. He felt that with his and Little Zi's cooperation, they could slowly wear down these bears.