Aside from Su Hao, many of the other spirit trainers were already exhausted after finishing their day's work. Most of them scrolled through their phones for a bit before crawling into their tents to sleep—the primitive zone had signal, and it was even 5G! Occasionally, Professor Meng would give a lecture, which was the moment the other spirit trainers looked forward to the most. This made Su Hao feel a bit embarrassed.
Fortunately, Professor Meng wasn't around tonight, apparently still out collecting data, which made his departure seem less... conspicuous.
"Ready?" Brother Zhong walked over carrying a backpack.
"Yeah." Su Hao mentally checked his secret weapons. No matter what attribute of spirit he encountered, he was confident he could lure it away. Well... if it was something too rare or bizarre, that still wouldn't work.
"Can I come watch? I won't contract any spirits." Tang Xin timidly raised her hand. She had never seen how spirits were contracted in the wild before and had heard it wasn't that easy.
Su Hao looked at Brother Zhong.
Zhong Yunrui nodded. "Fine, it's not that dangerous anyway, as long as you follow instructions."
"Mm-hmm."
...
Brother Zhong's Elephant General led the way ahead, smashing through obstacles like fallen trees and jagged rocks with a single hammer blow to clear the path. Brother Huo's spirit was a Raging Flame Bull, the final form of the Red-Horned Cow. Two blazing flames burned on its crimson curved horns, lighting up the surroundings brightly. Flames occasionally shot out of its wide nostrils, making Tang Xin, who wanted to get a closer look but was scared, keep her distance.
"What type of spirit are you looking to contract, Brother Zhong?" Su Hao asked.
"Me? I'm thinking of contracting a spirit good at long-range attacks, preferably one that can fly."
"Then you could consider water or ice types... I remember there's a lake a few kilometers to the east."
During the previous days of work, Su Hao had noted many spirits commonly seen in the primitive zone, like Ginseng Dolls, Ganoderma Lucidum, and Snow-Treading Deer. In the early nights, when they were still on the outskirts of the Changbai Mountain primitive zone, he had also left the camp to search nearby but hadn't found anything satisfactory.
"Snow-Treading Deer can be ridden and run fast, but its durability is limited, and... I haven't found any particularly outstanding individuals. Blue Water Frogs... after evolution, they're huge and strong, but their backs are too slippery to ride. Still, if I could raise one to the level of King Zhou's Tide Frog King, riding wouldn't matter anyway."
Su Hao was leaning toward water types. They were common but practical. In the wild, there was no worry about water shortage, and many water-type spirits had water control abilities, making them great for defense and transport. Su Hao remembered that during the joint exam, Bing Ning's Little Conch had controlled water currents like ropes to bind and rescue her. That was a special technique, not sustainable, but it showed how useful water control could be.
They left the snowy forest and arrived at the lakeside. The bright moonlight spilled down, opening up the view. This month, the ice on the lake had already melted, and wild spirits could occasionally be seen leaping out of the water, splashing droplets.
"Those are Sickle Crabs, tank-type spirits. Their final form, Giant Armor Crab, is pretty good too," Zhong Yunrui said.
But Su Hao shook his head. The Giant Armor Crab had too many spikes on its shell; if he sat on it, well... it would be too painful. He looked around. Brother Zhong and Brother Huo, both elite-level spirit masters, were also searching for their targets.
Suddenly—
Boom!
A bolt of lightning lit up the sky in the distance. Zhong Yunrui's sharp eyes spotted several Electric Tail Bats flying through the air, sparks of electricity trailing from their tails.
"Those are rare lightning-type spirits!"
The bats were still a good distance from the lake where they stood, but the crackling electric light from their tails made them stand out in the darkness. Both Zhong Yunrui and Huo Lixue were tempted.
In the distance, another thick pillar of lightning struck down from the sky.
"Something's off—that doesn't seem like natural lightning."
"It's lightning released by a spirit!"
Just then, as several bolts of lightning fell, the night sky lit up again. Su Hao and the others could see clearly. Under the lightning, a massive spirit with wings brimming with endless electric light soared through the air. The spirit's figure flickered and vanished in an instant, followed by a rumbling sound from beyond the mountain.
Zhong Yunrui swallowed hard. "That's a Purple Lightning Wing. It must be one of the particularly strong ones in the primitive zone. I heard it was captured by some king-level spirit master over a decade ago."
"I think we should forget about the Electric Tail Bats," he said. The Electric Tail Bat's evolved form was the Sonic Wing Dragon, and its final form was the Purple Lightning Wing. They were related!
Huo Lixue nodded. "This spirit can stay in the primitive zone, meaning it's not a big threat... but only as long as we don't provoke it. Want to go after the Electric Tail Bats?" He shook his head. "Besides, lightning-type spirits are狂暴, and the contract success rate is low anyway. Let's just get out of here."
Both men had plenty of experience exploring new worlds and knew what was worth doing and what wasn't. There were countless chances to contract spirits, but only one life. Lightning-type spirits might have a rare attribute and strong combat power, but taking risks wasn't worth it.
Su Hao didn't say anything either. Lightning types were good, but not what he was looking for.
They circled the lake, searching. Su Hao occasionally opened his panel. As long as it was within the panel map's range, no matter how well a spirit hid, its icon couldn't be concealed.
"Over there is a nest of Snow Wool Dogs, and there are a few Snow-Treading Deer... Hey, Brother Zhong, there are some One-Eyed Fish over there."
"One-Eyed Fish, huh..."
Zhong Yunrui looked in the direction Su Hao pointed. Several strange-looking fish, each with only one eye and about the length of two palms together, swam around, occasionally leaping out of the water and flopping on the shore. They hopped and hopped, splashing a few drops before falling back into the lake.
"Among those One-Eyed Fish, there's one with a red fin. That one's pretty good—better than the others in several aspects..."
Zhong Yunrui was indeed tempted. One-Eyed Fish were very weak in combat, and their evolved form, "Three-Eyed Fish," was also average. But their final form, "Six-Eyed Flying Fish," was a different story. It was like a complete turnaround. Not only was it strong in combat, but it could also fly, with speed comparable to wind-type spirits, and it excelled at long-range attacks—perfectly meeting Zhong Yunrui's requirements. The only downside was that the first two forms were weak, making them unsuitable for beginners. But for an experienced elite like Zhong Yunrui, that wasn't a problem.
"Impressive!" He gave a thumbs-up. "You spotted the perfect spirit for me in one glance."
He strode to the shore, took out a portable fishing rod and special bait, prepared it, and cast it with force. The hook landed precisely near the red-finned One-Eyed Fish. The fish, attracted by the unique scent, lunged and bit the hook. At the same time, Zhong Yunrui pulled his arm up sharply, yanking the fish onto the shore, where it hit the ground, dazed. Before it could escape back into the water, the Elephant General stepped forward, its aura making the One-Eyed Fish tremble and freeze. Zhong Yunrui lit some kind of "soul-fog incense," took out "water-type delicacy jade powder," mixed it with a drop of his blood, and stuffed it into the still-dazed fish's mouth.
A moment later—
"Done!"
Feeling the contract connection in his soul, Zhong Yunrui let out a long sigh. He extinguished the unburned "soul-fog incense" and put it away, a look of reluctance on his face.