Tentacle Monster (Individual Type). Combat tier: Near-Heavyweight. Individual evolutionary stage: Mature Stage (Lv0.623, Activity Value 0.738H) Individual Talent: One-Star (1.184H) Description...

The Huoxue updated quickly. The Tentacle Monster's entry was added — but not before a substantial internal debate among the Research Institute's editorial team.

The sticking point was the Tentacle Monster's Talent ceiling: One-Star at 1.184H, actually lower than the Dog-Croc's One-Star at 1.264H, and lower still than the demoted Spike King's 1.358H. For a creature classified near-Heavyweight, the numbers were hard to justify on Talent alone.

The debate crystallized into a classification question: should near-Heavyweight designation be determined by Talent, by combat capability, or by something more specific? And if combat capability, was that measured in the creature's optimal environment or in baseline conditions?

The team settled on a framework that resolved all the pending cases at once. Colony-type evolved beasts would be assessed purely on combat output. Individual-type evolved beasts would be assessed on two criteria together: Talent reaching One-Star or above, plus demonstrated destructive capability in their primary combat environment — what they called "home ground combat effectiveness."

Under this framework: the Giant Condor's aerial advantage made it decisively threatening to humans — qualified. The Violent Ape King's direct combat power and mass — qualified. The Spike King's rolled defensive form was effectively unkillable by conventional means — qualified. The Tentacle Monster's underground performance was categorically dominant — qualified. The Dog-Croc's ground capability combined with its underwater advantage, which made it effectively unanswerable in aquatic environments — qualified and promoted.

The Spike King returned to near-Heavyweight. The Dog-Croc received a small upward reclassification.

The Huoxue: Evolved Beasts Volume now read clearly:

Super-Heavyweight: Disaster Locust swarm, Dragon Hornets, Iron-Eater. Three known.

Heavyweight: Violent Great Ape colony, Pox Fly swarm, Bloodthirsty Mosquito swarm, Swiftclaw Leopard, Golden Jiao. Seven known.

Near-Heavyweight: Violent Ape King, Giant Condor, Tentacle Monster, Spike King, Dog-Croc. Five known.

Lightweight: Violent Great Apes (mid-size), White Bone Beetle colony, Terror Rat colony, Giant Stag colony, Giant Salamander Monitor, and others.

Featherweight: Violent Great Apes (small), Bull Demon King, Venom Duke, Sharp Eagle, Dragon Hornet individual, Furious…