The next day morning.
An announcement was made.
"Congratulations to the disciples that are ranked within the top 250. You can proceed to the next round. The rest can return."
The disciples who couldn't make it started venting.
"I lacked only a few points."
"I should have joined another team."
"If only I had an extra day."
It was starting to get loud. So the evaluator shut them off.
"Silence."
"Those who have not reached the second round, get back to your seat."
Soon, 250 disciples stepped out of the arena and went back to their seats.
***
"The strongest beasts are at the peak-evolution realm in the forest. But, we have safety measures in place. So, you don't have to worry much about it."
"The scoring system will be similar to the first round."
"Now let the second round commence."
Everyone rushed toward the forest after the announcement was made.
But, Grim started looking for his brother, and sister.
He was able to spot them after everyone had left. They were also waiting for him.
Grim proposed an idea.
"We should go together from the start. So, we won't have to waste time grouping later."
Both Gu Lan and Ren Dan agreed.
Afterward, they made their way toward the forest.
***
Two hours later.
Grim's team had just arrived.
"We should search for the caves like last time. If we are lucky we might come across bats again."
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Ren Dan commented.
Grim and Gu Lan agreed. It was a better option than wandering aimlessly and hoping to run across the beasts.
They started their pursuit of caves while others were busy running after the beasts.
***
They came across a cave in a few hours. However, it had battle marks at the entrance.
After a close inspection, they concluded that the battle marks were the results of their abilities/skills.
"It is the same cave from the previous round."
Gu Lan said with sadness.
Ren Dan comforted her.
"Don't worry sister. We will look for another one."
Their quest for the cave had resumed again.
However, their enthusiasm died down by the evening because they hadn't found a single cave after the first encounter.
They decided to take a rest at the nearby tree for the night.
But, they were unaware of the cave that was near them.
***
The next morning.
They were surprised to find a cave near them.
"How the hell did we miss it yesterday?"
Gu Lan couldn't believe it.
"It doesn't matter. We should explore it."
Ren Dan entered the cave.
Grim and Gu Lan followed suit.
The cave wasn't as big as the previous one. So, they were able to explore the entire cave in half an hour.
But, their luck had run out since the cave was empty.
Ren Dan punched the wall in frustration.
"Dammit. It's been two days, and we have yet to earn a point."
They could understand his feeling.
***
They were back on the track again.
Their target had changed from finding a cave to hunting anything in sight.
But, luck works in mysterious ways.
Soon, they came across a cave. It had a similar length to the first cave they came across. But, it was two times as wide.
Gu Lan led the team with a fireball in her hand.
They didn't have to go far to come across beasts.
Eeek!
Gu Lan dashed backward.
Grim and Ren checked the cause of the commotion, and it turned out to be a giant spider.
It was five times the size of a tarantula spider, and the poison was dripping from its fangs.
'Water Blade'
Grim sliced the spider into two.
[Congratulations to the host for eliminating a venom spider]
"You have obtained 1800 Evo."
Before Grim could glee, a few more spiders arrived.
'Solar Wave'
He was able to burn all of them. Then, they resumed their journey again.
***
A few hours later.
They arrived at a dead end, and they were assaulted by a pungent smell.
They were familiar with the smell. So, they looked at the ceiling.
Unsurprisingly, the entire ceiling was covered with red dots.
Gu Lan launched a fireball at the ceiling. Then, they fled to the entrance.
***
They made it to the entrance within an hour. Afterward, they formed an offensive line at the entrance.
At first, the strategy seemed to work. But, as time passed on the width of the cave became their weakness.
Their offensive line couldn't cover the entire cave. So, some bats managed to pass through and retaliate.
'Earth shield'
Grim used his ability to create a vertical shield and placed it in the entrance.
The shield was not big enough to cover the entire entrance. But, it was a blessing in disguise.
The shield only left a small space for entry and exit which forced the bats to be congested in a spot.
Now, their area attack had become more effective and deadly.
***
At evening.
Everything was panting.
They were out of Qi and sweating profusely.
Despite their advantage, they were on the brink of collapse due to the sheer number of bats they had to deal with.
They had managed to exterminate 180 entry-evolution realm and 20 mid-evolution realm beasts.
It had earned them a staggering 6600 points, and Grim had earned around 150,000 Evo.
It was a joyful atmosphere on the team. Grim in particular was elated with the numbers.
[Evo points left: 328,750]