(Hydra Star System- Planet Sinetera)

(Sector R-098 - Island 020)

Sophie leaned against a nearby tree and let out a small sigh of contentment.

Just two more days and then she could return to the main campus and spend some well-deserved time with her darling princess.

After the general midterm exam that all students in the year had to participate in, there would be additional exams based on the major chosen.

Sophie's double specialization in poison and combat beast cultivation meant that she would have two more exams to go.

Maybe it was her breakthrough to the qi tide stage but despite a night of nonstop hunting, she was still feeling energetic.

The hunger gnawing away at her soul had long been sated with the blood and flesh of hundreds of unlucky animals.

Breakthroughs usually required that the cultivator needed to eat some hearty meals afterwards, but Sophie knew that her hunger was abnormal.

Just how many had she killed and eaten?

Sophie had no idea as the events of the night had just been a blur of violence.

The two suns were shinning brightly in the sky and Sophie felt the harsh light slowly begin to warm up her body.

"God, I need to shower," Sophie muttered as she looked down at her uniform.

She was caked from head to toe in blood that had now dried up and felt quite sticky.

Sophie would be the first to admit that she wasn't easily grossed out, but this feeling was not a good one.

Despite covering the entire area of the forest zone, Sophie still had not come across any rivers or streams, so the only options left were to either head to the lake zone or return to the beach.

Well, the instructors had warned the students not to go into the ocean, so Sophie decided that the lake was the better option.

God knows what monstrosities lurked beneath the murky depths of the sea.

Whistling cheerfully, Sophie casually strolled through the forest and headed towards the lake located in the northern region of the island.

The once lush and untamed forest was now completely different after the hunting that occurred the previous night.

Tell tale signs of violence like blood splatters on the trunks of the trees, broken branches and the thick scent of death that permeated the air.

The background hum of insects, or the small rustling from animals scurrying through the underbrush had disappeared.

There was now only an unnatural stillness and quiet.

Sophie could have easily activated her movement technique and rushed towards the lake, but she wanted to get more familiar with the changes to her body.

Power was addicting.

With every cycle that the ocean of qi made in her dantian, Sophie could feel her strength gradually increasing.

Cultivation was not merely a spiritual journey but rather the act of taking in the energy of the universe to enhance the body on a genetic level.

An ordinary cultivator in the qi tide stage could easily wipe out a squad of qi spirit and body cultivators but Sophie felt as though she was stronger than a typical qi tide cultivator.

It was just a gut feeling but Sophie eagerly looked forward to heading to the arena once the midterms finished.

Testing out her strength in a duel would be the perfect opportunity to see how powerful she had become.

To encourage students to participate in combat, there was a ranking list of the top fighters for each year.

Those on the list could enjoy additional benefits and monetary rewards given out by the university.

The Arena was the avenue to judge the combat skills, but freshmen were not allowed to use it until after the first midterms.

Therefore the first years ranking list had yet to be set.

Sophie was determined to take the number one spot for herself.

Even without using a movement technique, it only took around forty minutes to reach the crystal-clear lake.

The sunlight bounced off its blue surface and briefly dazzled Sophie until her eyes adjusted a few seconds later.

She could see schools of fish-like lizards cheerfully swimming through the aquatic plants growing on the lake floor.

Cree! Cree!

Massive skeletal creatures flew in the sky above the lake but occasionally swooped down to pick up a lizard in their mouths.

They would circle around the lake three times and then drop the lizard in a certain spot.

The little lizard would then disappear into the waiting jaw of an enormous serpent coiled in the deeper parts of the lake.

These flying creatures were mostly composed of bone with a dark blue fire glowing slightly in the middle of their chest region.

How exactly they were flying remained a mystery, but Sophie suspected it might be a psychic ability.

With the harsh sunlight beating down and the hot temperature of daytime, Sophie was not afraid of catching a chill.

She eagerly approached the shoreline of the lake and dived into the inviting water.

The tiny aquatic lizards swam away in fear as the hybrid girl joyfully splashed around.

The first thing Sophie did was scrub the filth off her body using her nails and some sand. It took awhile but eventually the stains disappeared.

Try as she might, Sophie could not get rid of the dried blood stuck in her hair and with no shampoo or conditioner...

It looked like she was going to be suffering for a bit longer.

All the commotion the hybrid girl was making did not go unnoticed. As more blood and flesh fell into the water, several eyes stared hungrily at the foolish prey.

Rustle! Rustle!

Suddenly every eye that was watching Sophie turned to another direction and gazed in horror as the true king of the lake declared its sovereignty.

Dark green tendrils slowly crept across the floor of the lake as a massive plant-like body moved with a surprisingly high speed.

The creature's roots had long taken hold of the soft soil and its unique ability to terraform any domain to suite its needs meant that it could travel with ease.

Blooming red flowers were hidden within the depths of its green tendrils and they swayed gently from side to side with hypnotic motions.

Pierce!

All aquatic life in its path were stabbed by the pointed thorns hidden in its greenery.

These unfortunate victims were drained of their biomass in a matter of seconds.

This particular creature had almost been removed from the exam due to its dangerous nature, but a review showed that the barrier would activate before the student died.

Only small animals would be killed instantly while larger prey would be digested over a few hours giving ample time for the student to be rescued.

Not every island would have the exact same flora and fauna so students would just have to be lucky to avoid having this demon in their testing site.

Sophie froze for a moment as her danger instinct flared up and goosebumps formed along the sides of her arms.

There was a threat nearby.