Before the massive white sphere of light stood a Radiant Spirit.
It radiated a blinding brilliance that made it difficult to look at directly.
Hovering in the air like a sovereign, every move it made brought indescribable pressure to the bald man and his group.
The bald man glanced at the frail youth, whose condition was unknown, then fixed his gaze on the enormous light-element crystal. His eyes flickered with fervor and hesitation, but after a moment, he suppressed his greed and patted the Forest Griffin beneath him...
Retreat!
The Forest Griffin let out a roar, flapped its brown wings, and flew toward a wider gap below.
But another Spirit Tamer, riding a Wind-Chasing Pegasus, saw the Radiant Spirit King transform into light to chase the bald man. Gritting his teeth, he sent the Wind-Chasing Pegasus straight toward the massive crystal.
"Whinny~!"
The Wind-Chasing Pegasus closed in within a few breaths. The man on its back shook out his tactical backpack, emptying its contents, then swiftly covered the massive crystal with it.
A look of ecstasy spread across his face, but the joy lasted less than half a moment...
The enormous light-element crystal erupted with an even more dazzling, blinding radiance.
The heat generated by the brilliance incinerated the entire tactical backpack. A protective light shield appeared around the man, rippling with layers of rings.
His Wind-Chasing Pegasus was also scorched, its white wings now marked with charred streaks.
At that moment,
The enraged Radiant Spirit King returned. It clasped its hands together, and a dazzling, scorching white sun materialized. The entire valley seemed to be engulfed in a sea of white.
After a while, the area around the light-element crystal was cleared.
The Radiant Spirit King’s chest heaved as it caught its breath, then it shot off again, pursuing the other intruders.
Inside the Radiant Domain.
A group of light orbs huddled in a corner, bouncing up and down.
A few Light Pigeons cooed as they fluttered about.
Explosions and shouts rang out continuously.
Dust filled the air.
No one noticed a figure quietly approaching.
Su Hao glanced at the map, confirmed there were no hidden powerful spirits nearby...
"Go for it!" he said, then added, "Control your strength."
"Gu nuo~"
Die Xiaodie launched several energy spheres, which exploded with a boom. The power left by the Radiant Spirit King on the surface of the massive light-element crystal surged again.
The brilliance was dazzling.
But that power was like water without a source. After Die Xiaodie blasted it a dozen times, she used telekinesis to probe and neutralize the remaining force.
"Gu nuo~!"
She said it was done.
Su Hao rode Erha Lin closer, slipped a tactical backpack over it, and snatched it away!
It was a bit hot, and a protective barrier had already appeared.
But the power was weak, and his soul energy drained slowly.
"Retreat!"
One horse, one person, and one butterfly swiftly flew upward toward the valley's opening.
...
The Radiant Spirit King returned from the gap below.
By now, the sounds of battle within the valley had diminished. The light-type spirits had gained the upper hand.
The spirits of the exploration team were either dead or had been summoned outside.
The Transcendent-level Radiant Spirit waved a hand, conjuring a gust of wind to clear the surrounding dust. Like a king, it surveyed its domain, especially its most precious treasure...
It suddenly froze.
Where the hell is my massive light-element crystal?!!!
The Radiant Spirit King stood stunned, then furious. The patterns on its body blazed with blinding light, and waves of pressure radiated outward as its gaze swept around.
It spotted the distant figure above the valley.
"Eee—!!!"
It charged upward.
...
Flying out through the narrow top opening, Su Hao quickly directed the Water Scale Beast to descend.
But before they reached the ground, he heard a sharp, furious screech.
A blazing white streak cut through the air, rapidly growing larger in his field of vision.
Lin the Runner couldn’t outrun the Radiant Spirit King.
Su Hao had expected this. Radiant Spirits were naturally fast, excelling in linear sprints among their peers, especially this Transcendent-level one.
He had anticipated the possibility of being caught when he made his move.
And he had thoroughly studied the Radiant Spirit King’s combat power!
‘Fire Crow!’
He called out through the contract.
The Fire Crow, already waiting outside the valley, let out a sharp cry.
"Caw—"
Rolling flames erupted, and within the thick fog, a dazzling crimson sun suddenly rose.
From that sun, a crescent-shaped, crimson blade of light, over ten meters long, slashed out!
The Fire Crow, having gathered its strength, unleashed its full power.
The scorching flames evaporated the air, thinning the dense fog.
The blade flashed and appeared before the Radiant Spirit King.
It clearly sensed the danger. Its light wings stiffened as it thrust its hands forward, twisting sharply. Rings of blinding light formed and collided with the flame blade.
Boom~!
Flames exploded, light blazed.
Shockwaves swept outward.
The blazing white figure burst through, raising a hand to fire countless brilliant beams straight into the crimson sun.
"The Fire Crow is injured," Su Hao noted, looking back.
A white and a red light intertwined in the sky.
Occasionally, lightning flashed, and green energy spheres exploded.
He didn’t linger. Hugging the Water Scale Beast’s neck, he lowered his body as they landed and plunged into the forest.
"Radiant Spirits excel at linear sprints... Go left! Head for rough terrain!" he said.
Behind him, the Radiant Spirit King, having shaken off the three spirits’ pursuit, gave chase.
From time to time, Su Hao glimpsed beams shooting past, landing near him—some piercing massive trees requiring several people to encircle, others exploding.
He rode the Water Scale Beast, racing on and on...
Gradually, the sounds behind him faded.
Su Hao opened the panel map and quickly scanned it.
No Radiant Spirit icon.
He sighed in relief and immediately spread his fingers. One, two marks appeared.
Die Xiaodie materialized.
Then the Electric Bear, and finally, a crow radiating intense heat and light appeared.
As soon as it emerged, it quickly retracted its flames, shedding its "Blazing Sun Form."
Among the three spirits, the Fire Crow had been the main combatant, tangling with the Radiant Spirit King, and it looked the worst for wear.
Many of its dark red feathers had fallen off, and its chest was covered in wounds torn by fine light beams.
Yet it still held its head high, letting out a proud "Caw."
It claimed it had also injured that Radiant Spirit.
"Yeah, you’re the chubbiest," Su Hao said.
After a moment, he added, "You’re all the chubbiest."
He said this to the other three spirits, then kept his eyes on the panel, not daring to relax.
Die Xiaodie used telekinesis to retrieve a healing spray and briefly treated the injuries. Then Su Hao’s group headed toward the island’s exit.
Along the way, he used the panel map to avoid troublesome, clustered wild spirits.
After over a hundred minutes, they finally reached a cliff.
Looking out, the azure lake shimmered like a gem under the sunlight.
"I remember Thousand Peaks Island is to the east," he said.
But he couldn’t see it, only faintly making out a few small islands. The distance between the three large islands was immense.
Su Hao looked down at the tattered tactical backpack and frowned.
The wind blew, and his heart seemed to cool.
To be honest, snatching the massive light-element crystal had been... a bit impulsive.
The outcome was good, but looking back, he still felt a slight chill.
And a bit of exhilaration.
"But how do I handle such a huge light-element crystal?
"It might be worth dozens or hundreds of attribute cores.
"If I take it back to Jingzhou City, I could sell it, but I’m worried about trouble on the way..."
Back in the city, laws applied, so there was no risk of loot being stolen—especially since he had backing.
It was just...
The loot was a bit too valuable.
Selling it would make others envious.
"And if, by chance, I run into bandits on the road...
"Would other spirits sense or detect such a large light-element crystal? That’s also a problem."
Headache!
He felt the risk of traveling with the crystal was too high.
"Unless... I call for backup!"
The image of Senior Brother Wu appeared in Su Hao’s mind.
He trusted Wu’s character.
As a Heavenly King-level powerhouse, a light-element crystal probably wasn’t a big deal to him.
"The discovery of the Radiant Domain is a huge contribution. I can’t handle it alone anyway. It’s best to submit it to the school and share the benefits...
"I’ll cut the crystal in half, give one to Senior Brother Wu, and ask him to handle the rest."
Su Hao considered himself easily satisfied—mainly because the crystal had tempted him first.
Ahem!
He made his decision.
He buried the tactical backpack containing the massive light-element crystal deep underground and erased all traces.
Die Xiaodie raised her hand, volunteering to stay and guard it.
"Alright," Su Hao said. "I’ll leave the Electric Bear too. Hide yourselves, just keep an eye on the burial spot."
...
The Dragon Court Lake area—at least the air—was safe.
Su Hao rode the Water Scale Beast, with the Fire Crow circling nearby.
They made it to Thousand Peaks Island without incident. By then, Erha Lin, who had been flying for a long time, was exhausted, its tongue hanging out.
"Xilu~~~"
Su Hao found the instructor stationed at the camp and contacted Heavenly King Wu.
He explained the situation.
"No problem, just an elemental crystal. Even if it’s big, it’s still a crystal," Wu said.
The puppet ship took off again. Twenty minutes later, Su Hao and Wu arrived at Misty Island.
They found the burial spot. The puppet’s powerful telekinesis dug in, sending dirt flying everywhere...
Soon, the tattered tactical backpack was lifted by telekinesis.
Light streamed through the backpack’s tears.
"Looks like a pretty big elemental crystal. Your luck is decent, just a bit worse than mine on my first field trip," Wu said, smoothing his hair, lost in memory.
But he didn’t notice the puppet’s eyes had turned into ←_←.
Then,
The backpack was opened. Telekinesis grabbed the light-element crystal and slowly pulled it out.
Wu was still reminiscing, "...Back then, I was... I was..."
His eyes stung from the brightness. He looked up, and his eyes nearly popped out.
"Holy crap!"
Wu couldn’t help it. He turned and asked, "This is the ‘somewhat big’ light-element crystal you mentioned?"
Su Hao nodded.
"Do you know that normal elemental crystals are only fist-sized?!"
Su Hao nodded.
"Then... couldn’t you have used a better description!"
Su Hao looked innocent.
Hadn’t he been clear enough? Maybe... not.
Well, no big deal.
"Such a big one, guarded by just a weak Transcendent-level?"
Even Wu felt envious.
He had to admit, Su Hao’s luck was a bit better than his!!
"If I didn’t have a light-type spirit, I’d be tempted by something this big."
"Is it really that... valuable?"
"You don’t understand. When an elemental crystal exceeds a certain size, its value increases tenfold or a hundredfold.
"To put it simply, a crystal like this, if absorbed by a suitable light-type quasi-monarch spirit, has a decent chance of breaking through to monarch level, birthing a Heavenly King-level Spirit Tamer!"
When Senior Brother Wu said this, Su Hao gasped... in the hot air.
He quickly said, "Please help me sell it, Senior Brother. I only want half. I’ll also submit the Radiant Domain to the school."
Wu frowned. "I’m a Heavenly King; I don’t need your scraps."
He snorted. "You don’t need me to sell it. Sell it to the school. They can easily handle a crystal this big, and you’ll get plenty of cultivation resources.
"Of course, something this big can’t be measured by value alone. Selling it outright would be a loss."
But Su Hao understood.
If he didn’t sell it, he couldn’t fully utilize the big light orb. It would be wasted in his hands.
Better to exchange it for the resources he needed.
"Let’s check out the Radiant Domain," Wu said. "Light-type spirits are also valuable. With this exploration, you won’t have to worry about cultivation costs for your four years of university. It’s enough to raise two or three Transcendent-level spirits."
As he spoke, his telekinesis enveloped them.
The puppet ship lifted everyone and the spirits, flying low over the island.
Thick fog limited visibility, making exploration difficult.
That was also why Misty Island had the most rare materials.
The puppet ship flew for about an hour or two before Su Hao suddenly shouted, "Stop!"
He wasn’t pretending it was hard to find.
It really was hard to find.
He saw the cute light-type spirit icons appear on the panel, confirming the location.
Su Hao stared ahead, pretending to observe the surroundings. After a moment...
"Left."
"Upper left."
"Right, a bit to the right."
"Straight ahead."
"Fly higher. I see it, right there!"
In the thick fog, an unremarkable peak came into view.
If Su Hao hadn’t said anything, Wu would never have imagined the peak held a hidden world.
They flew in through the top opening.
By now,
Without the massive light-element crystal, the entire Radiant Domain had dimmed, though many smaller crystals still emitted light.
As the two and the spirits appeared, the valley’s spirits took notice.
The Radiant Spirit King saw that person.
That crow!
That treasure!
Its eyes instantly... reddened.
It screeched and charged straight at them.
Then stopped mid-air.
Su Hao saw fine threads fly from the puppet’s hands, and the Transcendent-level Radiant Spirit was instantly immobilized.
The might of a monarch-level spirit was overwhelming...
They descended slowly.
The other light-type spirits around trembled under the monarch’s pressure.
"There must be over a hundred light-type spirits. And this place itself is special. Even without the massive crystal, it can continue to produce spirits...
"It’s highly valuable. Your contribution is enormous," Wu said, scanning the area.
Su Hao looked at the spirits and asked, "How are these spirits usually handled?"
Wu replied, "Based on their strength, they’ll be sent to different controlled zones. Specialists will ‘educate’ them. Those that can be contracted will be prioritized. Those that can’t will be offered to various labs..."
The Alliance’s public stance was harmonious coexistence between humans and spirits, but in reality, humans prioritized themselves.
Because humans ruled the world.
Without labs studying various spirits, the Spirit Tamer Alliance wouldn’t be as glorious as it is today.
The Alliance also mandated humane treatment of spirits during research.
"What about that Radiant Spirit? The lab can’t control it, can they?"
"It?" Wu glanced at it.
The Radiant Spirit struggled for a long time but couldn’t move. Gradually, it calmed down.
Obedient.jpg
"High-level spirits are intelligent but also simple. It might be angry now, but with good food and care, getting it to cooperate with research won’t be hard."
Su Hao glanced at it, thinking physical deterrence was key.
He also mentioned to Wu that he wanted a few Moonlight Hares and Light-Praying Butterflies for his lab later.
"I’ll make sure to mention it. You’re also looking to contract a light-type spirit, right?" Wu said with a smile. "Want to pick now, or wait until they’re ‘educated’ in the controlled zone?"
"I want to try now."
Su Hao mainly wanted to find spirits with good talent and mark them.
But he hadn’t decided whether to contract a Light Orb, Moon Laurel Rabbit, or Glow Bug.
Moon Laurel Rabbits and Glow Bugs were the initial forms of Moonlight Hares and Light-Praying Butterflies.
Su Hao clicked on each initial-form spirit, carefully browsing their information.
He even crouched in front of them to observe.
This startled a few Light Orbs, which bounced away like startled deer, smacking into the rock wall, flattening like dough, then sliding down.
"Huh..."
Su Hao suddenly froze.
He saw that one Light Orb had three evolution paths under its evolution options: "①, ②, ③"!
‘Not bloodline evolution, but clearly, only some Light Orbs have this third path.’
Su Hao guessed that some Light Orbs might lose the potential to evolve during development.
So the panel had crossed it out.
He looked.
[Spirit: Light Orb]
[Evolution Paths: ① → Dawn Spirit (Light) → Radiant Spirit (Light); ② → Dusk Spirit (Light) → Dark Star Spirit (Dark); ③ → ‘A Dark Silhouette’ (Unlock with 10 Intel Points) → ‘A Dark Silhouette’ (Unlock conditions not met)]
Without hesitation, he used 1 Intel Point to unlock a brief description of the evolved form.
His eyes widened.
—
Fill-in-the-blank: 1. Please answer, the name of the Light Orb’s third path spirit form: First evolution: _______ (Light/Dark) Second evolution: _______ (Light/Dark)