Inside the classroom of the Shadow World's Demon Academy.
The unique, gloomy atmosphere seemed to slow time itself, making every second feel like eternity frozen in amber.
The red tablecloth stood out starkly under the dim light—a deep, saturated red, absurd yet brimming with artistic flair.
Within this room, light and shadow, brightness and gloom, stillness and motion all shifted with rhythmic precision.
Clearly, the examination had already begun.
Lanqi knew that after entering a Shadow World, the most critical step was observing and understanding one's situation and current circumstances.
Shadow Worlds generally adhered to internal logic.
Barring errors or failures on the challengers' part, unwinnable dead ends and hopeless predicaments would not appear.
Lanqi's emerald-green eyes sharply scanned the room's surroundings, the faint lamplight flickering in his pupils.
Though he kept his movements as discreet as possible, he quickly noticed several students misbehaving.
Their darting eyes and occasional subtle turns of the head all betrayed their intentions to cheat.
Suddenly, a raspy voice cut through the heavy, suffocating silence.
"There will only be one warning. Anyone caught whispering will be deemed cheating on the spot."
It came from the proctor patrolling the room, erupting across the classroom like the low roar of a lion.
The demon examinees who had been thinking of sneaking a peek were instantly scared out of their wits by the cold reprimand.
Those who had nearly been singled out buried their heads, frantically refocusing all their attention onto their test papers. Terror and nervous tension covered their faces, while beads of sweat trembled on their foreheads like dew on leaves, threatening to slide off at any moment.
Even if they appeared terrifying and grotesque themselves, the vast difference in strength between them and the demon proctor was obvious at a glance.
Afterward, the proctor resumed his orderly patrol.
Yet as he turned his head, a sinister smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth, like a long-caged beast hungry for slaughter, glaring past the bars and waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.
"..."
Lanqi silently took it all in.
A demon student's strength was actually quite easy to gauge.
Their mana intensity wasn't absurd—most were around Tier 2 or Tier 3, much like Lanqi and Hyperion.
A demon proctor capable of terrifying them to this extent was likely higher than Tier 4.
In all probability, he was Tier 5.
With two terrifying Tier 5 demons overseeing the hall, relying on brute force to clear this initial exam room and move on to other areas was entirely out of the question.
However, Lanqi also spotted a piece of good news—
Hyperion sat to his left.
Only a single empty seat separated the two of them.
The setup felt hardly any different from how they used to sit in the back row of the School of Sages before skipping class.
It was as if an overwhelming fear of death had dragged them right back into a school classroom.
Hyperion's appearance hadn't changed, aside from gaining a few demonic traits.
This reassured Lanqi that his own appearance hadn't altered much either, as Hyperion had clearly recognized him during their brief eye contact.
Yet for reasons Lanqi couldn't fathom, Hyperion—ordinarily calm and rational—looked exceptionally pale right now.
Moreover, when their eyes met a moment ago, the way she averted her gaze suggested she was terribly afraid of him seeing her in this demonic form.
"..."
Lanqi lowered his head for the time being, examining the items on the desk before him.
The parchment exam paper bore the academy crest at the top, stamped in the shape of a grotesque demon head with two eyes burning like flames, seemingly glaring at him from another world.
Beside it sat an ink bottle carved from magic crystal, its rim inlaid with mithril. The pitch-black ink inside rested completely still, as though bound in place by dense, heavy mana.
The quill's feathers were pitch-black, and its razor-sharp nib gleamed with a metallic sheen. Unfamiliar patterns were etched along its shaft, reflecting a chilling crimson hue.
It looked remarkably like an antique toolset for crafting magic scrolls.
Sure enough, this was an exam on [Demon Magic Script]. An examinee's answers were not merely written, but inscribed just like crafting a magic scroll.
Lanqi skipped straight to the final, high-value problem.
Because he couldn't answer any of the earlier ones.
[Question 10 (12 points): Write the magical formulas used when processing rare materials to achieve each of the following effects:]
[1. Cause a demonic beast to rapidly shed sharp fur]
[2. Alter the color of a demonic beast's fur or hide]
[3. Slightly harden or soften a demonic beast's fur]
After a quick scan of the entire test paper, Lanqi couldn't help but draw a deep breath.
He truly couldn't answer a single sub-question.
Lanqi realized that strange as demon magic was, it genuinely held substance, touching upon formulaic principles that human magic script could never replicate.
For instance, these three practical spells simply did not exist in modern human magic.
He was finally certain that these questions were never meant for humans. Even Talia might not know the ancient demon spells on this paper; after such an immense span of time, many civilizations suffered disruptions and lost arts across all races.
Yet his inability to answer did nothing to dampen his spirits.
It was as if he had discovered a new continent. His grip on the parchment exam paper tightened, an uncontrollable excitement shining in his eyes.
The three spells described at the end of the test—he desperately wanted to learn them!
If the exam featured them, the academy was bound to teach them somewhere.
These ancient demon spells worked on beasts. Suppose a master of magic engineering who was well-versed in both demon and human magic improved upon them with cutting-edge modern techniques...
Could they be adapted into versions that worked on humans?
Lanqi fell into deep contemplation.
His heart burned with an intense thirst for knowledge!
His mind was already picturing hosting an autumn product launch—
In daily life, one often noticed people with unflattering hairstyles and even felt the urge to help them fix them.
Evidently, this was a friendly impulse born of a desire to help others, as well as a noble pursuit of bringing subjective and objective aesthetics into harmony.
Under such circumstances, a "spell to modify another person's hairstyle" would become exceptionally practical.
As an artist, Lanqi felt it was utterly imperative to master a spell that was theoretically achievable.
He also had to consider that this might be his only chance in this lifetime—to secretly learn the ancient demon magic described on the test, bring it back to the real world, and study new practical spells alongside Talia!
Which meant he had to clear this exam as quickly as possible!
For now, catching a moment when both proctors faced away from his line of sight, Lanqi glanced at Hyperion again.
For reasons unknown, she was in remarkably poor shape, looking as though she was merely hanging on by sheer will.
He had no real opportunity to communicate with her at the moment.
He figured he would just have to wait until they cleared this exam room together before asking if she was all right.
In that case, this time, it all came down to his own maneuvering!
Chapter 46