"Mmm~ mmm mmm~!" The Flower Vine Spirit waved its vines, which had sprouted blossoms. "You say you don't recognize most of the materials, so..." Lin Xueguang looked into the distance. Su Hao's Dream Butterfly had already selected its materials and was flying back. At this moment, most people had just stepped onto the platform. What exactly was off? He couldn't help but sink into thought. ... For the evolution of the Scythe Crab, the metal-forged shell was an essential material. Plenty were prepared on the shelves—any Spirit Tamer, or even an ordinary person with some knowledge, would understand. "Most students' evolution plans are still too rigid." A master Spirit Tamer spoke up. Another nodded, "Though they seem to have picked materials beyond the essentials, it's all rote copying. They have no idea how to selectively add or reduce materials based on the specific condition and development level of the spirit! "In my view, over 95% of them are unqualified!" "Don't be so harsh; they're still young, and experience takes time to build... I think Li Hongzhuo from Dragon Kingdom isn't bad. That paper he published a year ago had some merit, and his foundation is solid. Within a minute or two, he had a concrete plan... Huh!" The speaking master Spirit Tamer looked toward one of the platforms. Setting up the evolution site was actually a spirit. "He's directing the spirit to set it up, and... he's also specially treating the materials." ... "Two near, three far, four in the middle." Su Hao waved the diagram in his hand. He'd just drawn it, clearly marking where each material needed to be placed. He was also passing on experience to Little Butterfly, "The placement of materials is very particular. The closer they are to the spirit, the easier the spirituality is absorbed..." "Also, the Iron Bamboo Leaves need to be crushed with telekinesis, then the powder evenly sprinkled over the metal shell. This lets the Scythe Crab better fuse the spirituality of both materials during absorption..." Su Hao spoke step by step. Having Little Butterfly as an assistant really made things much easier. Telekinesis grinding was more effective than many instruments, saving him a lot of effort. This Little Butterfly truly had the makings of a master. "From now on, you're a mature Spirit-Taming Butterfly." Little Butterfly: "???" But after a moment's thought, it figured that since spirits already had ID cards, getting a Spirit Tamer qualification to draw a monthly fixed subsidy should be... pretty normal, right? It asked, "Guno?" Su Hao paused, pondered for a while, "That idea... not bad." ... Su Hao's Little Butterfly set up the evolution site in thirty seconds. Just looking at the setup technique, it was more meticulous than when Little Guy and the Ember Crow evolved. The materials couldn't compare, though. They were all ordinary stuff, with the most valuable being the three attribute essences. Su Hao opened the box containing the Water Essence, and under the Dream Butterfly's telekinetic control, it was directly poured into the Scythe Crab's mouth. The next moment, he didn't need to instruct anymore. The Scythe Crab instinctively began circulating the spiritual power in its body. Water-blue threads formed outside its body, wrapping it into a cocoon of light. Inside the light cocoon, the Scythe Crab was using all its strength to absorb the spirituality of the surrounding materials. "Someone's spirit is starting to evolve!" "So fast?!" Many contestants grew anxious. It was like taking an exam—your paper was only half done, and someone else had already handed theirs in and left. That feeling made it impossible to stay calm! Three minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes passed. Spiritual energy surged within the Water Pavilion, as the spirits absorbed the energy released from the spirit jades. Looking around, there were light blue cocoons of various sizes. A spectacular sight. About twenty minutes later... Bang~ The first few cocoons to start evolving burst open one after another. Su Hao looked over. The Scythe Crab, about the size of a schoolbag, had completely transformed. It had evolved into a Blade Armor Crab, about the size of a 22-inch suitcase laid flat. Its gaze toward Su Hao had become very affectionate. A single finger could lure it away. But he rejected it on principle. "Overall, it's still an underdeveloped Blade Armor Crab, but the improvement isn't small. It's broken through to the entry level, and its spiritual power has risen to 112 points." From 100 to 112, it seemed like a very trivial increase, but actually... It really was quite trivial. After all, it was limited by the materials. Being able to boost it by 12 points in one go was already the limit of what Su Hao could achieve. To go higher, he'd have to use intelligence points from the panel to unlock the perfect evolution plan for the Scythe Crab. That would be too wasteful. No need. "After all, I'm not that far off from the panel." ... Inside the Water Pavilion, light blue cocoons shattered one after another, revealing the spirits within. Some were delighted. Others were disappointed. "Breakthrough failed." "Impossible, how could it fail? I've completed dozens of evolutions for Little Conch—how could it fail?!" "My setup was definitely fine. It must be that spirit's fault. What kind of problem spirits did the organizers provide!" The contestants representing their schools in the Spirit Taming Cup had basic competence. Out of over a hundred spirits evolving, none failed, but very few broke through to the entry level. The ratio was less than 10%. The spirits' underdevelopment was one reason. Material limitations were another. But still... The gap was clear. Su Hao had Little Butterfly fly higher and used "Spirit Bond: Shared Vision" to observe the surroundings. It didn't take long to find the other members of Whale Island University. Things looked a bit worrying. Only he, Lin Xueguang, and the freckled girl had succeeded in getting their spirits to break through to entry level. As for Dragon Capital University, another prestigious school, all five contestants had succeeded. "This Spirit Taming Cup format... I feel like I can't carry the team." Su Hao pondered. At that moment, a staff member with a megaphone shouted for all contestants to bring their spirits to the testing point. There, rows of ordinary move power testers were set up. The Blade Armor Crab charged up and fired a few moves. "112 dangs!" "111 dangs!" "112 dangs!" "Score: Excellent!" the staff member beside it recorded. There were also spirits that hadn't broken through to entry level, their moves hitting the target with no power at all. "55 dangs!" "Score: Pass!" Pass, Average, Good, Excellent—these were the four ratings for the regular rounds. Scores ranged from 1 to 4 points. Most teams from ordinary universities had total team scores of only 5 to 7 points. Whale Island University's team scored 15 points. But Dragon Capital University scored 19 points, just one point shy of a perfect score. "Not bad, barely second place." In the afternoon round. The regular round theme was "Jade Powder Set," requiring contestants to mix jade powder and feed it to their spirits, with scoring based on how much spiritual power the spirits recovered within the time limit. Whale Island University's team scored 16 points, one more than in the morning. And Dragon Capital University still scored 19 points. After two regular rounds, Dragon Capital University held the top spot with a commanding 38 points. Whale Island University was second with 31 points. Ink Dragon University was third with 29 points. Flamingo University was fourth with 28 points. Green Mountain Spirit University was fifth with 28 points. ... Su Hao silently mourned for Flamingo University for half a second. But then he thought about how he couldn't carry his teammates, so he mourned for himself for three seconds. Team scores seemed to affect the prize money! "Guno~" The Dream Butterfly also hung its head. It really wanted to replace one of the team members and compete. "This score is already pretty good." Master Yao said with a smile. He was very satisfied. Especially with Su Hao, who was even more outstanding than he'd expected. With a year or two of study under him, Su Hao could fully become a senior Spirit Tamer capable of standing on his own and running a lab. That was the biggest gain from the Spirit Taming Cup! He noticed Su Hao seemed a bit down and comforted him, "Dragon Capital University's Spirit Taming standards have always been the top in the country. Losing to them is normal. But you're still young, only a freshman. You still have chances to surpass them in the next cup, or the one after." As for tomorrow's "Debate Round," Master Yao didn't mention it. The questions in the debate round were too advanced. Even among students, it was hard for senior Spirit Tamers to participate. Some outstanding teams might symbolically grab 2 to 3 points. Overtaking Dragon Capital University? Impossible. Su Hao knew that too. He sighed along with Little Butterfly. 'Both regular round themes were things I'm good at, and I still couldn't carry the team. Never mind tomorrow—if I can even understand it, that'll be good enough.'