June 1st.
The familiar specialized transport truck pulled up inside a high school.
A crowd of students had already gathered at the base of the teaching building.
Some wore the school uniform of this school, others wore uniforms from different schools.
But compared to the second-stage exam, there were fewer examinees.
In theory,
Even with poor results in the first and second stages, one could still participate in the third-stage practical exam.
But students whose scores clearly offered no hope for a Spirit University, except for those who had already prepared to retake the year, had all given up on the Spirit Exam.
They switched to the regular college entrance exam.
Though, without investing time in review, they were unlikely to achieve good results there either.
Departure time was approaching.
Teachers from each class held lists, confirming the examinees for the practical exam one by one.
Almost everyone was present.
Only one person was missing.
"Why isn't Old Su here yet?"
Liu Ren looked around.
He paced anxiously.
Head teacher Old Chen walked over and asked, "Do you have any other way to contact Su Hao?"
Liu Ren shook his head. "I just called his phone; it's off."
"Teacher Chen, if Su Hao can't make it, then he won't..."
If Old Su couldn't get into Whale Island University, who would he cling to for support?!
Old Chen frowned slightly.
"He should be arranging the evolution of his Water Spirit Steed."
"Don't worry. Su Hao knows the time of the practical exam. We're leaving early now. Even if he misses this, he has other ways to get there."
As the most outstanding student of Ancheng's current cohort, and even since the founding of the Spirit Department,
The Ancheng officials were counting on Su Hao to bring them glory, so they could show off in front of other cities!
There was no way he'd miss it.
If he still hadn't shown up by the day before the exam, Old Chen figured the Ancheng officials could track him down through records like his train tickets to find the new world region he was in.
So, it wasn't a big problem.
"As for you three, since you've chosen the advanced exam zone, you must be careful and cautious. Remember, don't rush in recklessly."
The scoring method for the practical exam was similar to the joint exam.
Beginner Entry, Beginner Intermediate, Beginner Advanced... defeating them gave different points.
And the gap was significant.
The practical exam encouraged examinees to seek out and defeat stronger spirits as much as possible.
Choosing the intermediate zone was safe.
But the zone only had very few Beginner Advanced spirits and a small number of Beginner Intermediate ones.
It was hard to rack up points.
The logic was the same as leveling up in a game.
Low-level zones were safe, but gave little experience, and there was competition for kills.
High-level zones required some risk, but as long as you could handle it, you'd definitely get more experience.
"You need to avoid the very few Elite-level spirits in the zone. For Beginner Advanced spirits, try to fight them when they're alone."
Liu Ren and the other two both nodded.
Over the past few days,
Their main spirits had all reached Beginner Advanced.
That was their confidence in choosing the advanced zone.
As they spoke,
One group of examinees and their spirits boarded the specialized transport trucks. Several vehicles slowly drove out of the campus.
These were the examinees heading to the beginner zone.
The exam sites were randomly selected, roughly forest environments, swamp environments, and so on—there was more than one beginner zone.
"Time's up. Get ready to depart."
Teaching Director Old Gu got on the vehicle and said to Old Chen, "Teacher Chen, the advanced zone is in your hands."
Old Chen made an "OK" gesture.
Liu Ren called out to his Lava Turtle and walked toward the black transport truck.
Suddenly,
Clop! Clop!
The sound of hooves came.
Liu Ren looked back but saw nothing.
"Look in the sky! There's a horse flying!"
Li Songting shouted.
Liu Ren looked up.
Under the blazing sun, a figure was rapidly approaching.
"That's..."
He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight, his eyes widening.
A warhorse, surrounded by swirling water mist, its scales refracting dazzling light under the sun.
Visible clumps of cold air clung to its hooves.
The warhorse galloped forward, leaving a trail of crystalline frost in its wake, as if tracing a faint bridge of ice across the sky.
Above the ice bridge,
A red-black crow spread its wings and flew, scattering tiny sparks of fire.
Gusts of wind blew.
Frost and sparks created a dreamlike play of light and shadow.
Beneath the light and shadow was a figure riding on the horse's back.
He was riding a warhorse that stepped on empty air!
"Holy crap! Old Su!"
Liu Ren was so stunned he could only blurt out the simplest exclamation.
The warhorse landed.
The rider dismounted in one leap, his legs trembling almost imperceptibly.
But his voice was full of vigor.
"Student Su Hao, reporting in."
...
Sitting in the specialized transport truck, Su Hao was relieved he had made it in time.
He certainly hadn't ridden all the way here.
He had only ridden his Water Kirin Beast from the high-speed rail station, half-galloping, half-showing off, to the school.
Leaving behind a mysterious legend.
As soon as he got on the vehicle, he immediately borrowed a power bank from Liu Ren.
Why?
Because he wanted to scroll through his phone.
And the Dream Butterfly also wanted to play with the phone.
It put the poor phone under too much strain.
Su Hao was already considering whether he could lend the little guy some money to buy its own phone.
The interest could be a bit lower, right?
"Su Hao, your mare... no, your horse can fly?!"
Liu Ren had some knowledge too.
Only the final form, the Cloud Water Dragon Horse, could step on air.
But...
He saw Su Hao about to speak and instinctively knew what he would say.
"Talent, I get it."
"Good nurturing, I get that too."
Liu Ren had already learned to answer before Su Hao could speak. What could Su Hao say?
He could only shout "666" and give him a thumbs up.
...
Inside the vehicle, besides the driver and Old Chen, there were only Su Hao and the other three examinees.
The only four from Ancheng who had chosen the advanced zone.
Their discussion naturally revolved around the upcoming practical exam.
"Based on current intel, um..." Gu Lingyao looked at her Spring Spirit. "Any intel, Lingling?"
The Spring Spirit covered its face with its hands.
It was having a tough time.
"Woo-moo~ Woo-moo woo-moo!"
"Oh, right," she said. "Our exam zone is on an isolated island. Besides forests and mountains, there are also roads, bridges, abandoned factories, residential areas, and other terrain. So, what do you all think?"
She looked at Li Songting.
Li Songting was fist-bumping with his Endurance Dog. It was clear asking him was pointless.
She looked at Liu Ren.
Liu Ren was leaning against his Lava Turtle, his words filled with phrases like "smash it," "go for it," and "charge in."
She looked at Su Hao.
Su Hao thought seriously for a long moment, then tentatively asked, "Go full rampage?"
Gu Lingyao: "..."
...
The specialized transport truck drove along the highway, the scenery on both sides rapidly receding.
Their destination was a small town by the sea.
That was the departure point for all examinees in the advanced zone.
There, they would board transport planes and be dropped off at various spots on the isolated island.
On the way,
Su Hao heard that the written exam scores had come out. He used his phone with full signal to check his own score.
"How much?" Liu Ren craned his neck to ask.
"Um..." Su Hao looked at the scores for each subject. Roughly...
"21 points."
He added, "That's the total of all the points deducted across every subject."
Liu Ren: "..."
Li Songting: "..."
Former top student Gu Lingyao: "..."
Amidst a series of "..."s, the vehicle arrived at the destination after several hours of driving.
The door slowly opened.
Fresh air poured into the vehicle.
Old Chen shouted, "Everyone, get off."