Three words.
It was always the trainees of the special training camp who said that.
But now, the roles were reversed.
Lei Tan walked out of the battle arena in a daze, his mind blank.
He had lost.
But he still couldn’t figure out why, why had he suddenly lost?
He had clearly started with Thunder Prison.
It should have been his domain.
…
On the field.
Die Xiaodie used her telekinesis to lift the big fat bear and push it into a treatment pod.
The pod door closed.
Liquid rose inside, quickly covering the Electric Light Bear.
Su Hao saw the injuries on the big fat bear gradually fade away, and the status displayed on the panel showed it was rapidly recovering.
“You go too.”
He looked at the Fire Crow.
Among the spirits, the Water Scale Beast had been playing the role of… ahem, serving as his important guardian.
Die Xiaodie had only consumed some spiritual energy and was basically unharmed.
But the Fire Crow’s injuries were severe.
It had taken the ‘Raging Thunder’ ultimate move from the Purple Lightning Wing head-on.
Despite the weakening effect of the blazing sun and the protection of its fiery feather coat, it was still covered in wounds.
Its spiritual energy was nearly depleted.
With a hoarse cry, the Fire Crow lay down in the treatment pod.
“Still, this counts as an easy win.
“If we hadn’t exploited the information asymmetry, it wouldn’t have been this simple.”
The Electric Light Bear had manipulated the thunder, creating the perfect opportunity for the Fire Crow.
Die Xiaodie’s Psychic Orb was also a move completely unknown to the others.
On the surface, it was a physical attack.
But in reality, it carried a mental shock.
Catching the Thunder Boar King off guard, it gave it a concussion and interrupted its Thunder Cannon.
With all these setups, they had taken down the opponent’s core spirit in one fell swoop.
Securing the victory.
If they had to do it again, it probably wouldn’t be so easy.
…
“Student Su Hao, congratulations on successfully entering the special training camp.”
The water-element instructor said with a smile, “You’re only a freshman this year, right? Impressive. Work hard, and I hope to see you on the school team soon.”
Freshman!!!
Lei Tan, not far away, froze.
Some who heard it turned their heads, doubting their own ears.
He had only studied at Whale Island University for half a year!
How were they, the upperclassmen who barely made it into the special training camp as juniors or seniors, supposed to live with that? How!
Whether they were trainees of the camp or ordinary students, everyone looked at Su Hao with a mix of shock, doubt, and curiosity.
Curious about his identity.
Curious about his background.
Some also felt his name sounded familiar.
They thought and thought, thought and thought…
“Holy crap!”
“He’s the one who swept through the sophomore elites during the freshman challenge!”
Lei Tan turned around.
He was a sophomore.
He knew quite a bit about that incident.
The sweeping of eight elite sophomores had caused quite a stir on campus.
But what truly amazed people was Su Hao’s strategic ability as a freshman.
Not his strength.
In terms of strength, he was just one of the best freshmen… among them.
“In just one semester, he’s already become this strong.”
…
After the Fire Crow and the big fat bear came out of the treatment pods, Su Hao still didn’t leave.
He continued watching the battles.
High-quality fights weren’t something you could see every day.
Now that he was a member of the special training camp, he felt very relaxed, strolling around with his spirits and enjoying the show.
The special effects were dazzling.
Lei Tan didn’t leave either.
He had lost, but he still had one last chance.
As a challenger, if he could defeat any one of the nine veteran members, he could take their spot.
Su Hao looked at the field.
Lei Tan was battling a senior named Wang or something.
The scene was spectacular, with thunder arcs and flames intertwining.
A few minutes later, Lei Tan was defeated.
“Their strength is about the same, but Lei Tan is clearly not in the right state.”
To Su Hao’s surprise, aside from him, someone else had also succeeded in the challenge.
It was a junior.
His Tyrant Bear stirred up a sandstorm, and countless grains of sand formed a giant hand, choking the life out of an opposing Night Owl.
It clenched tightly!
The sand exploded!
“Transcendent level!”
That junior only summoned his ace Tyrant Bear when he stepped onto the field.
The instructors were all extremely shocked.
Elite level and Transcendent level were the first major hurdles on the path to becoming a powerful spirit master.
There were plenty of Elite-level spirit masters.
Most Whale Island University students were already at Elite level by their first semester of freshman year.
But Master level…
Even by graduation, there weren’t many.
That showed how difficult it was.
“He must have had a lucky break, in the New World.”
Su Hao heard others discussing this.
But whether it was luck or not, that Tyrant Bear still dominated the opposing spirit.
After some effort, it secured the victory.
The one he replaced was a boy in yellow clothes. Su Hao didn’t bother remembering his name.
Like Lei Tan, the yellow-clothed boy could challenge others besides Su Hao and a certain Zhou after losing.
But like Lei Tan, he lost.
Even worse.
“I heard Lei Tan is a sophomore; he still has a chance to return to the camp next semester.
“And that yellow-clothed senior seems to be a senior…”
But what did that have to do with Su Hao?
…
The next day.
Still at the special training camp.
Under the guidance of the water-element instructor, Su Hao and Senior Zhou toured the entire camp area.
Su Hao finally learned that the instructor’s surname was Ma.
Instructor Ma said, “You’re now members of the special training camp, but aside from using the facilities here, your time remains the same as usual—attend the classes you need to, and complete the tasks you must.
“Let me first talk about the camp’s benefits.
“You already know that you get 300 credits a month. If your ranking rises, the credits increase accordingly, but that’s not the main point…”
He paused and said, “In the special training camp, there are two most precious places.
“One is the ‘Real Illusion Realm,’ and the other is the ‘Essence Stele.’”
Instructor Ma pointed ahead, where a building like a crystal tower stood.
It was magnificent and imposing.
“That’s the ‘Real Illusion Realm.’ Everything inside is the same as the outside world—you can get hurt, you can bleed, except you won’t truly die.
“You can fight to your heart’s content there, testing dangerous killing moves.
“You see, the stronger a spirit becomes, the higher the risks and destructiveness of battle.”
Instructor Ma explained.
Both of them were very surprised.
It was too high-tech!
Senior Zhou asked what Su Hao wanted to ask, “Instructor, how exactly was this illusion realm…?”
“How was it created?” He glanced at them. “With our current technological level on Blue Star, we can’t develop a fully realistic illusion realm.
“The crystal tower was a treasure discovered by the principal during an exploration of the New World over a decade ago, and he brought it back.
“Researchers speculate it might be the remnant of a powerful spirit after it returned to nature.
“Besides allowing you to fight without restraint, the ‘Real Illusion Realm’ also has a challenge mode, which is one of the metrics for ranking.”
The trainees of the special training camp were all busy people, so they couldn’t be pulled out for battles every day.
So how was strength measured?
By the challenge results in the ‘Real Illusion Realm’!
Instructor Ma said, “Aside from credits, the higher your ranking, the more benefits you enjoy. For example, the ‘Real Illusion Realm’ and the ‘Essence Stele’—the entire school only has this one place.
“Instructors need to use it, and so do you. What do we do? It depends on the ranking.
“Student Zhou, your Tyrant Bear is already at Transcendent level. As long as you fill in the gaps elsewhere, your ranking can rise quite a bit in a short time.”
Instructor Ma paused and then continued:
“Another metric for ranking is task indicators.
“The school will assign tasks based on your strength and how long you’ve been in the camp, roughly around the Dragon Court Lake area.
“The format is similar to the New World tasks you’ve done before, just harder…”
He trailed off suddenly, looking at Su Hao.
Su Hao looked back at him. “Instructor, my understanding of the New World might be… somewhat limited.”
Instructor Ma: “…”
He had just remembered.
Su Hao was a freshman who hadn’t yet undergone the New World training camp.
And yet he was already a member of the special training camp.
The order was reversed.
What to do?
Urgent, online!