In the classroom of the Shadow World's Demon Academy.

The unique dim atmosphere seemed to slow down time, each second like eternity frozen in amber.

The red tablecloth stood out in the faint light, a deep and full red, absurd yet full of artistic sense.

In this classroom, light and shadow, brightness and darkness, stillness and movement, changed in an orderly and rhythmic manner.

Clearly, the exam had already begun.

Lanqi knew that after coming to the Shadow World, the most important thing was to observe and understand his situation and current state.

The Shadow World often possessed a certain logic.

Unless the challenger made an operational error or failed, there would be no inescapable or unsolvable situation.

Lanqi's emerald green eyes keenly swept the environment of the classroom, the faint light dancing in his pupils.

Although he tried to minimize his movements, he quickly noticed the unruly behavior of several students.

Their flickering eyes, the occasional slight turn of their heads, all indicated their intention to cheat.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice cut through the silent and oppressive space.

"Only one warning will be given. Anyone caught whispering will be considered cheating."

It was the voice of the proctor patrolling the examination hall, like the low roar of a lion, exploding in the classroom.

The demon examinees who had been trying to peek immediately turned pale with fright at this cold warning.

Those demon examinees who were almost caught quickly lowered their heads, temporarily focusing all their attention on their papers, their faces filled with terror and tension, the sweat on their foreheads like dew drops on leaves, trembling, ready to fall at any moment.

Even though they themselves looked quite hideous and terrifying, under the deterrence of the demon proctor, it was clear who was stronger and who was weaker.

After that.

The proctor resumed his orderly patrol.

But when the demon proctor turned his head, the corners of his mouth revealed an undisguised ferocious smile, like a wild beast that had been imprisoned for a long time, eager to kill, staring at the cage, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

"..."

Lanqi silently took all of this in.

The strength of the demon students was actually easy to judge.

Their magic intensity was not exaggerated, mostly at the second and third rank, similar to Lanqi's Hyperion.

The demon proctor who could scare them like this was probably more than fourth rank.

Most likely fifth rank.

So there were two terrifying fifth-rank demons. To pass this initial demon exam and go to other places, brute force was definitely not an option.

However, Lanqi also discovered some good news—

Hyperion was sitting to his left.

There was only one empty seat between them.

This feeling was not much different from when they skipped class and sat in the back row of the Sage Academy.

They felt as if they had been pulled back to the school classroom from beyond the fear of death.

Hyperion's appearance had not changed, except for the addition of some demon features.

This made Lanqi sure that his own appearance had not changed much either, because Hyperion had recognized him during their brief eye contact.

It was just that Lanqi didn't know why, but Hyperion, who was always calm and rational, looked very bad at the moment.

Moreover, in their earlier eye contact, Hyperion's dodging gaze seemed as if she was afraid of him seeing her in this demonic form.

"..."

So Lanqi temporarily lowered his head and looked at the things on the table in front of him.

The parchment exam paper with the school emblem on top, like a ferocious demon's head printed on it, its two eyes burning like flames, as if looking at him from another world.

And the ink bottle made of magic crystal, with mithril inlaid around the mouth, was filled with ink as black as night, motionless, as if containing a heavy magic power that had been fixed.

The quill's feather part was black, and the sharp nib gleamed with a metallic luster, with unknown patterns engraved on the handle, reflecting a cold, deep red.

It looked like a set of vintage magic scroll making tools.

As expected, it was an exam on [Demon Magic Script]. The examinees' answers were both writing and engraving, like making magic scrolls.

He directly looked at the final question.

Because he couldn't answer any of the previous ones.

[Question 10 (12 points): Please write down the magic formulas that can be used when processing precious materials, which can achieve the following effects:]

[1. Allow magical beasts to quickly shed their sharp fur]

[2. Allow the color of magical beast fur to change]

[3. Allow magical beast fur to harden or soften slightly]

After briefly browsing the entire exam paper, Lanqi couldn't help but take a deep breath.

He really couldn't write a single part of it.

Lanqi discovered that demon magic, although strange, did have something to it, because it involved some formula principles that human magic script could not achieve.

For example, these three types of life magic simply did not exist in human magic in the mortal world.

He was finally convinced that these questions were not for humans to do. Even Talia might not know the ancient demon clan spells on this paper. The era difference was too long, and many civilizations of various races would experience fragmentation and disappearance.

However, Lanqi wouldn't return it just because he didn't know how to do it.

He seemed to have discovered a new continent, and gradually grasped the parchment exam paper tightly, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.

He really wanted to learn the three magic spells written at the end of the exam paper!

Since these types of magic existed in the exam questions, it meant that there must be somewhere in the school that also taught these types of magic.

These ancient demon clan magic spells could be used on livestock. Suppose a magic engineering master who was proficient in both demon magic and human magic improved them with the latest modern technology.

Was it possible to create a version that could also be used on humans?

Lanqi fell into deep thought.

His heart also became eager for knowledge!

Lanqi was now imagining holding a fall new product launch conference in his mind—

In daily life, we often see that other people's hairstyles are not very good-looking, and even have the urge to help others change their hairstyles.

Obviously, this was a friendly feeling of helping others, and also a lofty pursuit of the subjective and objective unity of aesthetics.

Then, "the magic of modifying other people's hairstyles" became very practical.

As an artist, Lanqi felt that it was necessary to master this theoretically possible magic.

He also had to consider whether this was his only opportunity in this life—to secretly learn the ancient demon clan magic written on the exam paper, bring it back to the mortal world, and study practical new magic with Talia!

Then, he must pass this exam as soon as possible!

For the time being, Lanqi took advantage of the moment when both proctors were in his blind spot and looked at Hyperion again.

For an unknown reason, Hyperion's condition was surprisingly bad now, as if she was forcing herself to endure.

He didn't have much of an opportunity to communicate with her for the time being.

He thought to himself that he could only wait until they passed this exam together before asking Hyperion if she was okay.

Since that was the case, this time, it was up to his operation!