At the edge of the island. Su Hao set foot on solid ground. The transport plane had already flown away. He looked toward the jungle ahead. For now, he hadn't spotted any spirits yet. He opened his backpack to check again. "If I ration the food inside, it can last about two days..." But rationing was out of the question. The practical exam was physically demanding—how could he work without eating his fill? "According to the exam instructions, there might be food and other supplies in some buildings on the island..." Like tissues, Su Hao thought, were essential. Couldn't do without them. But unlike the joint exam, where supplies were placed in conspicuous towers. On this island, where the supplies were hidden could only be found by searching bit by bit. "Anyway, let's start scouting first." Su Hao walked forward. After two steps, he remembered he had a mount now. He waved at the Water Qilin, not even needing eye contact, and directly said, "Sit." The Water Qilin nodded with a "whinny," bending its front legs slightly to crouch. Strangely, it looked like a dog. Cough... Su Hao quickly shook off that unreliable thought. Riding a horse was elegant, but riding a dog was... He leaped up, straddling its back. It was ice-cold. A bit chilly. Sitting too long might be uncomfortable. Su Hao considered. He'd need to get a saddle, with thick, padded cushions. He guided the Water Qilin toward the jungle. He didn't have it fly. It could tread on air, but not for long. Unless necessary, Su Hao wanted to conserve the Water Qilin's stamina. "Blaze Crow, fly higher and scout—look for buildings and wild spirits." "Caw—" The Blaze Crow nodded, spreading its wings to take flight. The Dream Butterfly perched on Su Hao's head, expanding its senses. Staying alert to the surroundings. Little Water's combat power was limited; if wild spirits showed up, clumsy Su Hao's safety would still depend on her, gu-no~! ... The Blaze Crow flew in the air. It saw that the jungle below wasn't very large. Not far ahead was an abandoned road. Some wrecked vehicles were clustered there. It also spotted spirits. An entry-level Stone Fiend. This Stone Fiend was made of large rocks forming its head, torso, arms, and legs. It looked short, fat, and round. But it was actually nearly two meters tall, just wide. The Stone Fiend was curious about the wrecked cars; it swung its arm to pound them, producing a thumping sound... The Stone Fiend immediately backed off warily. It hid behind another wrecked car. 'That's a dumb Stone Fiend.' The Blaze Crow thought for four or five seconds, then concluded. It turned its head to look around. Besides the Stone Fiend, there were a few other entry-level spirits. Not too close. Further away, it could faintly see the outlines of buildings. And then...? The Blaze Crow tried to think. What would the boss do? It thought for another forty or fifty seconds. Then, the Stone Fiend on the ground spotted it, letting out a warning growl. The Blaze Crow figured this wasn't good. The master told it to scout—getting caught would be bad, right? It thought for a moment. No answer came. But instinct took over as it dove down. Its black wings spread wide. Faintly glowing red. The Stone Fiend roared, grabbing nearby rubble and throwing broken vehicle parts. But it only saw a dark blur flash by. The next moment, a sharp pain shot through its body. The Stone Fiend's vision went dark, and it collapsed unconscious. Thud— ... In the jungle. The Water Qilin moved at a decent speed. It either leaped over obstacles in its path or blasted them away with water bullets. Su Hao's legs dangled in the air, his arms wrapped around the Water Qilin's neck. Though his riding posture was a bit awkward, it was safe. Stable. "This is what a Spirit Master should be!" "Back then, trekking over mountains on foot—that was no job for a human." "But why hasn't the Blaze Crow come back yet? I just told it to scout!" Thanks to the contract link, he could vaguely sense the spirits' states. So he knew the Blaze Crow wasn't dead. Only when he emerged from the jungle and the view opened up did Su Hao see a small dot flying in from the horizon. "Caw caw~" "Caw caw~" The Blaze Crow was showing off. It had completed its mission perfectly. "Hmm, northwest, there's a building with a chimney... Northeast, there's also a faint cluster of buildings. "Wait, you also took out a few spirits that were interfering with the scout?" Su Hao fell into thought. The question was: how could a few spirits that couldn't fly and lacked ranged attacks interfere with the agile, fast-flying Blaze Crow? ... "Caw—" The Blaze Crow landed on his hand. It was a bit heavy. Su Hao flicked his hand, letting it fly off to rest elsewhere. He guided the Water Qilin forward. A Ground Wolf appeared in sight. "An entry-level intermediate—lucky." The Ground Wolf saw the three spirits and immediately turned to flee without hesitation. It was fast. Its gray-brown figure blurred as it darted over twenty meters. But a jade-green energy ball struck from behind, hitting it precisely. With a boom, the Ground Wolf was blasted several meters away, whimpering as it collapsed. "Search it!" Su Hao poked the Dream Butterfly. "Gu-no~" The little one reluctantly agreed. Psychic energy formed a hand, flipping the Ground Wolf over until it found a marker embedded in its body. It picked up the loot and floated it over. "Intermediate badge." Su Hao put it in his bag. Inside were already several beginner badges. There weren't many surveillance cameras on the island. The scoring method was to defeat wild spirits and retrieve badges from them. So... Though there were many spirits, those defeated later couldn't earn points. That pushed candidates not to dawdle. To get a high score, they had to compete and fight. Especially in the beginner and intermediate zones, where there were more people. Competition was fierce. Candidates with entry-level high or near-high spirits mostly chose the advanced zone. "Based on what I've found so far, the closer to the island's center, the higher the spirits' levels." Su Hao guessed. The exam team had deliberately placed them that way. So weaker candidates could avoid elite-level spirits to some extent. But spirits were living things. They moved on their own. If luck turned bad and they ran into one... "Hey, lucky me." From the side, on the rooftop of an abandoned building, a few Strength Apes spotted them. They hooted and jumped down. They crashed onto the already cracked road, shattering the ground and sinking it. The Strength Apes coordinated well, surrounding Su Hao and his three spirits. "Two entry-level high, three entry-level intermediate." Su Hao looked at them, a smile growing on his face. A minute later. Boom! The Blaze Crow stood with one foot on a fallen Strength Ape. Its wing, like a blade, rested on another Strength Ape's neck. The Dream Butterfly blasted one away with a ball. It was happily playing with the other two. Then, a figure dashed out from a street corner. Two spirits flanked him. A Two-Headed Hound. A Flame Bat. Both spewing flames. Looking fierce. "Who stole my prey!" The candidate, who had just used the Flame Bat to scout and spotted high-score prey, roared as he rushed over. As long as the badges weren't taken, he could still snatch them! He closed in quickly. Then he thought the distant figure looked familiar. At that moment, Boom! Boom! Two explosions rang out. Two basketball-sized energy balls blasted forth, kicking up a cloud of dust. Through the dust, the Strength Ape's two-meter-tall body was flung away, landing heavily. One of them landed not far from him. The candidate glanced at it. Swallowed his saliva, and very wisely backed off a few steps, "Yours, all yours—I'm... just a passerby."