As dusk fell, the freshmen finally all arrived at Thousand Peaks Island on their rafts. Many teams had to cross two or three times before successfully landing—without the instructors continuing to sprinkle powder. The first day was spent logging, choosing campsites, and setting up camp. These were all practical lessons, and Su Hao listened attentively.
For instance, what kind of powder to use to effectively repel wild spirits in different environments and against different spirits. Or how to tell if an unfamiliar area was the territory of a powerful spirit, and so on. The instructors taught as they walked, pointing things out along the way. Su Hao absorbed it all like a sponge, with occasional *ding* sounds of intel points in his ears.
Over the next few days—the second, third, and fourth—Su Hao and the other freshmen were divided into ten teams, each following different instructors to learn. They studied real survival methods in the New World and how to find rare materials. By the fifth day, the ten teams, over a thousand students, gathered again.
King Crow descended from the sky, making a flashy entrance, and said, "Four days of learning—I believe you now have a basic understanding of survival and exploration in the New World. Next comes the moment you've all been waiting for… "The free exploration phase! "Not only that, but as your first trial in the New World, all rare materials you obtain during this exploration will be exempt from cross-realm taxes!"
Su Hao's eyes lit up along with Die Xiaodie's. When leaving the New World and returning to Blue Star, any items carried exceeding 20 kg or valued over 100,000 would incur a cross-realm tax. The tax rate was very high, typically 50% of the item's appraised value! Alternatively, they could sell at a lower price to buyers within the city. Even so, that 50% income was like picking up money for spirit masters! Every year, many elite spirit masters rushed to the New World, some making a fortune, others buried in nameless lands. Compared to them, Su Hao had his own advantage. He had unparalleled "insight"!
He was excited, and so were the others. But soon, King Crow poured cold water on them: "Remember, this is the New World. The mortality rate for rookies like you… well, it's often the highest. "I hope I can still see every one of you when we return."
Free exploration wasn't mandatory for teaming up. After King Crow spoke, interested boys and girls formed their own groups, while many chose to go solo. After all, they were spirit masters. Alone, they were still a team.
Liu Ren didn't approach him, and Su Hao was happy to explore on his own. He was just thinking about where to start when King Crow walked over. "Senior Crow."
King Crow glanced at Die Xiaodie and the others. "Your spirits are well-trained. Interested in exploring a more valuable area?" Su Hao looked puzzled, and King Crow continued.
"Thousand Peaks and Ten Thousand Forests islands have been explored and trained on by many students over the years, leaving little worth digging up. "In contrast, Mist Island, with its unique environment, still holds considerable excavation value. You can find many rare materials and treasures there. Of course, the danger is much higher than on the other two islands."
King Crow paused, then added, "But Mist Island is still within Dragon Court Lake, so powerful wild spirits are generally absent, making it relatively safe… I suggest you go. "On Thousand Peaks Island, you won't get effective training. But even a fledgling must eventually spread its wings and fly."
Su Hao glanced at his panel, hesitated for half a second, and decided… Go for it! As King Crow said, a greenhouse can't grow flowers… Of course, he wasn't about to risk his life. He'd just focus on training his spirits to feel secure.
…
*Whoosh~* Taking the Puppet Controller special flight, Su Hao arrived at Mist Island, closer to the lake's center, in just over twenty minutes from Thousand Peaks Island. Looking around, the island was shrouded in a thin mist, looking magnificent under the sunlight, like a fairyland.
King Crow gave his final advice: "Remember, besides wild spirits, be wary of other explorers too. Always stay vigilant in the wild." With that, he vanished with a *shwoosh*.
"Gunuo~!" Die Xiaodie looked at him. Su Hao knew the little one was impatient, asking if they could start.
"What, you're asking about the split? "Your money is my money—do we really need to be so precise?" "Gunuo (╯°O°)╯(┻━┻" Die Xiaodie didn't want to talk and threw a Two-Ha Lin at him.
Su Hao promptly mounted the Water Scale Beast, squeezed its flanks with his legs, and the horse trotted into the woods.
…
In the forest, the thin mist added an air of mystery. Occasionally, insect chirps could be heard, and glimpses of some spirit's figure flashed in the distance. Die Xiaodie, back here as if returning home, flew around freely. It called to the Fire Crow, searching left and right.
"That's not worth much." "That's too dirty—don't pick it up." Su Hao looked ahead; on the light screen, rare materials that the panel deemed worthy were scattered sparsely. But he'd grown picky. Even if the panel approved, Su Hao would still pick and choose.
"Too bad the panel's map range isn't wide enough." Still, the panel was very useful. Especially for rare materials hidden in rock crevices or underground, barely noticeable—they stood out on the panel.
"Best if I can find a Attribute Heart. "If I can find two or three, that'd be perfect." Su Hao thought that if he could find two fire-type Attribute Hearts and let the Fire Crow swallow them, it might just *pop* and break through to the Transcendent level. But… Just from Mist Island's environment, he knew finding a fire-type Attribute Heart here was… He saw a peach in Die Xiaodie's eyes.
…
Eating, sleeping, collecting rare materials, fighting spirits… The day passed quickly, and night fell. At night, Su Hao played it safe, not continuing to explore. Instead, he found a sheltered spot to set up camp. He laid out a moisture-proof mat, leaned back against the Electric Bear's soft belly, and rested. The Fire Crow perched on a branch a dozen meters high, silent like an emotionless sentinel. Die Xiaodie plugged its phone into a power bank but was frustrated by the lack of internet.
"Gunuo~" It turned to Su Hao and the Electric Bear, asking: Want to play cards? The bear and Su Hao both shook their heads. The horse and crow followed suit. "Gunuo~" Disappointed, Die Xiaodie opened its notepad and started… writing a tutorial. It thought teaching might be more profitable.
Su Hao played on his phone for a while, then stared at the panel again. Around his location, he could still see many rare materials. "Hmm, first find the valuable ones, mark their spots, and pick them up tomorrow morning… unless there's an Attribute Heart." "Oh?" He dragged the map to a distant area and found a group of final-evolution spirits clustered together. Not the same species. Su Hao tapped to check.
"Fifteen elite-level spirits. From the info, they belong to five spirit masters… so it's probably an exploration team." It was common for spirit masters exploring the wild to team up, but… Su Hao noticed that among those spirits, three were at elite-level peak, one was especially strong, and the rest were mostly mid-elite. For an exploration team, that was a very impressive lineup.
"And Mist Island, even if a bit more dangerous than the other two, is still a beginner zone. Why would a high-end team be here?" Su Hao couldn't tell if it was a team of upperclassmen or an outside group. But he had no intention of approaching. Being alone in the wild was safer.
…
A camp a few kilometers from Su Hao. A campfire crackled. Seated around it were three men and two women, all around thirty years old, wearing worn combat suits with tired expressions. Over half a month in the wild had worn them out, especially since their target remained elusive.
"Did you really see many light-type spirits?" A burly bald man with bulging muscles asked the skinny young man, his tone heavy. "I swear, I did!" The skinny man quickly raised his hand. "I was being chased by a few Death Locusts and ran blindly until I saw a place bathed in blinding holy light. I was afraid there might be a powerful spirit inside, so I didn't dare enter… "Give me time—I'll find it for sure."
"You'd better not be lying." The bald man snorted. "If we find rare light-type spirits, we'll all get rich. But if you're lying…" He cracked his neck with a *crack*.