Yuling Village, Water Pavilion.
It was the venue for the first "regular match."
The Yuling Cup had less influence than the university league, and some ordinary精灵 universities didn’t even offer majors in精灵 cultivation. So not all universities sent teams to participate.
At that moment, in the various waiting areas of the Water Pavilion, over thirty teams from universities across Dragon Country were waiting. Master Yao and other team-leading mentors sat in the guest seats. On the elevated platform, the评审团 judges sat, watching below.
In the waiting area, Su Hao sat patiently beneath a sign reading "Whale Island University." The other four sat in seats to his left and right: Lin Xueguang, the freckled girl, the tall, thin boy, and the slightly plump girl.
The two had originally been substitutes but were swapped in because they were better at cultivating and evolving water-type精灵. Still, they were a bit nervous.
"Senior, senior, so many masters are watching. I feel like my hands and feet won’t obey me."
"Yeah, yeah, if our chosen plan fails and wastes the精灵’s potential, will we get called out for criticism?"
Used to burying themselves in research, these cultivation students felt out of their element in a big setting like this. Lin Xueguang, attending the Yuling Cup for the second time, was used to it and not nervous, but he didn’t know how to comfort them. He could only look at Su Hao, who seemed unfazed.
The freckled girl scooted closer and asked, "Su Hao, why are you so calm?"
Before Su Hao could answer, the butterfly on his head fluttered its wings and turned to look, staring warily. The freckled girl froze mid-motion.
Su Hao subtly kept his distance, thought for a moment, and said, "The masters don’t seem scary, do they? They’re all quite kind and approachable seniors."
The天王s were too. Some had even had their embarrassing pasts exposed, making them seem less dignified. But he couldn’t say that.
After a moment’s thought, he offered a suggestion. "If you’re nervous, you can have your精灵 act as assistants to help you fetch materials and set up the evolution场地."
The freckled girl: "???"
Lin Xueguang also had a question mark. "Can精灵 help set up the场地? I only know that highly intelligent精灵 like Dr. Wolf can serve as assistants after special training... but that requires专门 training first."
Is that so?
Su Hao looked at the butterfly. "Given精灵’s intelligence, isn’t that basic? Does it need special training? I don’t think so. Mine never had any special training."
Lin Xueguang looked at Su Hao, then at the dream butterfly, and fell into thought. Could it be that they didn’t understand精灵 well enough? There was no way a dream butterfly Su Hao had raised for just over a year could do something his flower vine demon, raised for four or five years, couldn’t. Maybe... he should give it a try later?
---
Not long after, batches of精灵 were led into the Water Pavilion’s main entrance. Small conches, sickle crabs, one-eyed fish, small water crocodiles, river shrimp, bubble squids, white-headed turtles... all water-type, in their initial forms.
"It looks like the examiners want to test whether we can push the精灵 into the入门 level while evolving them," Lin Xueguang said.
The tall, thin boy was puzzled. "Isn’t it simple to have a精灵 break through while evolving? Everyone here can do it, and even a slightly stronger初级 cultivator could, right?"
"That’s for well-cultivated精灵," Su Hao said, gesturing with his chin toward the distance. "These精灵 here have灵力 values stable at 100–101, already at the未入门 limit. Their development potential is low, making it harder to break into入门. So, evolving them isn’t hard, but using the opportunity to push them through in one go is... well, not hard either."
The tall, thin boy: "..."
No, it really is hard. Compared to精灵 with灵力 over 130, getting these to break through is like the gap between normal and hell difficulty—a brand-new challenge he’d never faced. What now? Panic!
"Don’t panic," Su Hao said. "The problem’s big enough that plenty of people won’t manage it. You won’t be the only one."
The tall, thin boy: "..."
Was that comfort? Was it?
---
At that moment, over a hundred water-type精灵 were led—or rather, herded—into fixed positions on circular platforms. Su Hao observed with his panel and noticed some had owners—volunteer精灵, offered to the Yuling Cup as competition subjects. Their evolution results might not be great, but they were free—a standard set of evolution materials cost at least thirty to fifty thousand. These精灵, belonging to御灵使s who had lost much of their potential, weren’t wealthy. They couldn’t afford skilled cultivators. Being chosen by the Yuling Cup was lucky.
Others, Su Hao noted from their origins, were wild精灵 caught from原始 zones. They looked agitated and uneasy, only kept in line by a超凡-level six-eyed flying fish above, forcing them to move forward.
Each circular platform in the aquarium was numbered. A computer would randomly match them to determine which精灵 Su Hao and the other participants would handle.
"Begin matching!" a judge’s voice came through the speakers.
On the central screen of the Water Pavilion, countless headshots appeared, with numbers below them rapidly changing. Soon, the numbers on the screen froze. Everyone’s phones vibrated.
"I’m number 22, assigned a small conch," the freckled girl said, holding her lotus bud, then looked at Su Hao.
Su Hao glanced at his phone. "Number 13, assigned a sickle crab."
---
Inside the Water Pavilion, Su Hao walked along a muddy path to his target platform. He observed that the platform was inlaid with spirit jade. "The organizers are really splurging to ensure充足灵气," he thought.
He looked over at a large shelf nearby, filled with countless materials—common ones and oddities alike. Similar shelves dotted the Water Pavilion. "Everyone can take three portions of属性 essence, but no limits on other materials."
Su Hao glanced at the sickle crab. It was wild, and as he approached, it raised its sickle-like claws, snorting and showing off its strength.
"Calm it down."
"Gu nuo~"
The butterfly gave it a look. Instantly, the sickle crab shuddered, spinning in place as if losing its mind. "It’s not beyond saving, is it, gu nuo?" The butterfly felt a bit guilty and glanced at Su Hao, who seemed lost in thought.
A few seconds later. "Iron bamboo leaves 0.5kg, water grain pearls 0.5kg, one set of metal carapace, frozen spirit water 2kg... Go fetch these materials."
The butterfly: "Gu nuo~"
This lazy Su Hao! It fluttered its wings, flew to the shelf, and quickly scanned it from all angles. Recognizing every material, it recalled Su Hao’s list and used its telekinesis to grab the needed items. In a flash, each item floated up, hovering around it as it flew back to Su Hao. The whole process took just over ten seconds. Fast.
On another platform, Lin Xueguang, a高级 cultivator, observed his assigned精灵 and quickly devised a plan. He spread his fingers and summoned his flower vine demon, an elite-level peak精灵. He listed material names and pointed to the distant shelf. "Run fast and find everything I need."
The flower vine demon stared blankly at him and slowly formed a question mark.