"Old Xia, what's wrong? Is there something unusual?"
The Heavenly King surnamed Wu's first reaction was that a terrorist had appeared, and he immediately grew excited.
He turned to look.
Then he heard the Flame Heavenly King say, "No, it's not that. I just spotted a very interesting examinee."
The other big shots heard this and also looked over.
Screen A34 was displayed on the main screen of the command center.
It looked like footage taken from a high-altitude drone.
Not very clear.
But the big shots inside could still make it out.
It was a Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle.
Its emerald-green vines danced, each dozens of meters long, sweeping around like giant green pythons.
Large trees were snapped in half, boulders were smashed to pieces.
Dust flew everywhere.
Within the vast net woven by countless vines, a tiny figure fluttered gracefully.
One of the big shots' eyes lit up.
"That composed dodging posture..."
He also saw, in the distance, an examinee riding a mount and a spirit flying in the air.
Neither was intervening in the battle.
The big shot understood.
"Is he training his spirit?
"How interesting, this examinee. While others are desperately scrambling for points, he's using wild spirits as sparring partners."
"It's more than that."
The Flame Heavenly King, Xia Yanghua, said.
He stared at the screen, noticing subtle inconsistencies in the Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle's movements.
"This Dream Butterfly is casting illusions while enduring its attacks.
"And what's more, it's succeeding.
"At an entry-level strength, it's managed to hypnotize an elite-level spirit... that's no small feat."
Before long.
The Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle's swinging vines gradually veered off course.
Its bulky body also began moving step by step outward.
As if chasing some target.
But it was only lashing at air.
Instead, it actively released the Dream Butterfly from its vine net.
The Heavenly King surnamed Wu clicked his tongue in amazement.
"From every angle, this Dream Butterfly is incredibly strong, toying with an elite-level Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle in the palm of its hand... Is it really just entry-level?
"Old Xia, which family or school is he a disciple of? I noticed the spirit incorporated a decent Wind Mastery technique into its dance."
"His name is Su Hao. He comes from an ordinary family."
The Heavenly King Wu whipped his head around, stunned.
...
"Good, just like that."
In the distance.
Su Hao rode the Water Qilin Beast, which stood on the rooftop of a dilapidated building, gazing into the distance.
He couldn't see clearly himself.
The specific battle details were relayed in real-time by the Fire Crow.
"Caw, caw caw~"
It called out.
Su Hao nodded slightly.
The Dream Butterfly had successfully misdirected the Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle's perception, making it swing its vines at empty air.
But the little one hadn't achieved this as easily as it looked.
At the start,
the Fire Crow had assisted, buying the Dream Butterfly a bit of time.
It planted a seed of illusion.
Then gradually amplified the illusion's influence.
Later, when the Dream Butterfly danced gracefully within the net of dozens of vines, the Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle was already being affected.
This allowed the little one to hypnotize it more calmly.
"Using Nightmare Eye to drag a target into an illusion is fast, but it's easy to detect.
"But if I just plant an illusion seed first, then deepen the effect with Dream Weaving and Phantom Sound, it's much more covert."
Of course, after a while, the Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle still broke free from the illusion.
It let out a furious roar.
Unable to find the Dream Butterfly, its vines lashed out as if venting anger, ravaging the surroundings.
Booming sounds echoed continuously.
Su Hao patted the Fire Crow. "Elite-level sparring partners are hard to come by. We need to make full use of this Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle. Now it's your turn."
Fire Crow: "(⊙x⊙;)"
But the Ten-Thousand Vine Turtle is going berserk, caw!
...
After resting for a night.
The next day, at the break of dawn, Su Hao led his three spirits out of their temporary shelter.
"Next, you need to learn group hypnosis."
The Dream Butterfly and Fire Crow left, expending considerable effort to lure six entry-level advanced spirits.
They managed to keep them in check thanks to a new use of the Dream Butterfly's Phantom Sound.
— Provocation.
Commonly known as aggro.
The several entry-level advanced spirits, blinded by rage, were completely unaware of the vast gap between them.
They charged in wildly.
Su Hao had the Fire Crow step back.
Leaving room for the Dream Butterfly to perform.
"Gu no~ no~ no~???~??~??~"
"Gu no no~ no no~????~????~"
It had already used Nightmare Eye to implant illusion seeds.
Under the improved Phantom Sound, the frenzied attacking spirits gradually calmed down.
Their expressions shifted from anger to serenity.
They just stood there, not attacking.
Suddenly,
a Clay Monster roared, pounding its own head, then charged at the Dream Butterfly.
Whoosh—
The Clay Monster froze, then fell forward from inertia.
A flash of flame vanished in an instant.
The Fire Crow sheathed its blade.
Its extended black feathers didn't shatter completely but dissipated piece by piece, with most of the released spiritual energy being absorbed back into its body.
This was a new insight it had gained after a day of slashing with its Flame One-Slash Slash Slash.
Not only was drawing and sheathing faster, but it also conserved energy.
With so many sparring partners to go all out against, both spirits progressed rapidly.
A day's training equaled ten days or half a month of usual effort—also thanks to prior accumulation.
Hmm...
Su Hao looked at the Water Qilin Beast.
It had made progress too.
For instance, it ran much more steadily.
Its speed was faster, its stamina more enduring.
And, he could now signal it to crouch with just a glance.
That was a huge step forward.
Su Hao was very satisfied.
...
Central area of the island.
Abandoned farm.
Two youths in dark brown combat suits walked out.
"An examinee rested here."
He patted the Earthquake Wolf beside him. "Chase them down, no problem?"
"Awoo~!"
"They're nearby, looks like we're in for some fun again."
The youth grinned, looking at the other person.
It was a Spirit Master with a Tyrant Bear.
"You scared off that last examinee. Now it's my turn."
"Fine, I'll keep watch."
The assault team members on the island always worked in pairs.
Not that they both needed to act together.
One would play the villain to intimidate and test the examinee's adaptability.
The other would oversee things to prevent accidents.
For example,
driving away other approaching examinees to create a one-on-one situation.
The two gave chase.
Before long, they spotted a battle in the distance.
A figure on horseback.
And two flying spirits.
That was the hallmark of a certain examinee—no one else on the island had anything similar.
"Oh ho!" The Earthquake Wolf's Spirit Master laughed. "Finally found someone more interesting to play with!"
"Stay serious," the more composed one said. "Our goal is to test their level and push their potential. Don't overdo it—too much is as bad as too little."
"Relax, bro," the youth said. "That examinee is one of the top three. Even if he sees my Earthquake Wolf, he might not choose to run...
"Too bad..." He chuckled. "My Earthquake Wolf isn't like those wild spirits.
"If he mistakes it for a wild elite-level and gets burned, don't blame me."
One of them hid.
The other stepped forward, and the Earthquake Wolf lunged with a bit of noise.
At that moment...
The Dream Butterfly puffed out its cheeks.
It took out the fun little experiment with an energy ball.
A bit unhappy.
Su Hao heard its warning and turned to look.
The figure behind the Earthquake Wolf made no attempt to hide.
His outfit and the graffiti on his combat suit gave Su Hao a very direct impression.
— Not a good person.
Su Hao frowned.
He patted the Water Qilin Beast's head.
Whatever the situation, playing it safe first was never wrong.