Within five days, Die Xiaodie had completed her small goal, proving that Su Hao's plan was flawless and perfectly suited to the spirit itself. Over the next ten days, she trained and cultivated using the upgraded plan. During this time, Su Hao purchased a large number of resources and poured them all into Die Xiaodie. In just fifteen days, he spent 8,000 credits! Su Hao was spending money like crazy, but only at the Transcendent level could he afford to splurge like this, allowing the various treasures he exchanged to be fully absorbed! By today, Die Xiaodie had completed her early development after evolution.
Early in the morning, Su Hao arrived at the garden in front of the villa. Looking around, many of the once-lush flowers and plants had withered. That was because, without the nourishment of wood-element spiritual energy and the limited nutrients in the soil, the thriving plants couldn't sustain themselves, and most had withered away, making the entire garden look even more desolate. Su Hao also found it depressing. Thinking that Die Xiaodie no longer needed to experiment on innocent plants, he sent a message to the dormitory aunt via his wristband. Then he stopped worrying about it.
He turned his gaze to the five spirits in front of him, all brimming with energy. "Today, we're going to do something serious—challenge the second and third levels of the Real Illusion Realm. Do you have confidence?" "Ooooh~!" Big Fatty Bear stood upright, raising both paws high, acting as the first bootlicking bear. Er Ha Lin followed suit, recalling how it had been tormented by the illusion realm spirits countless times. It raised its head high and let out a loud "Xilu—" cry. "Gu nuo~" "Fu... fu yi~" Die Xiaodie and the gentle, radiant Hui Ye Ling chimed in agreement. Then there was silence for several seconds.
Su Hao looked at the dazed-headed crow, which was spacing out, and used the gaze of a spirit master. Stare— "Ya?" The dazed-headed crow tilted its head, then quickly flapped its wings, producing a crisp "pa pa pa pa pa" sound. "Alright, let's go!"
...
At the training camp area, the Crystal Tower. Su Hao arrived early and happened to find an empty spot. He took out his student card and slapped it down with great bravado. "Give me ten hours in the Real Illusion Realm." The staff member looked up at him, then down, then up again. He hesitated, stopped, hesitated again, and finally spoke, "Student, for the safety and health of your spirits, it's generally not recommended to stay in the illusion realm for more than three hours. The maximum allowed is five hours—it's a rule." Su Hao: "..." Fine. He was an easygoing person after all.
...
Inside the spacious crystal room, thick fog enveloped everything. In the blink of an eye, they were back on the vast grassland. "Xiao Die, what do you think?" After her breakthrough, she had been busy improving her basic attributes and was here for the first time. Immediately, her two antennae, resembling cowlicks, began to sway. She extended her perception. Her body had returned to its normal size. Her eyes were closed, and her spiritual power spread out, using illusion elements to extend to the surroundings. "Gu nuo~" She shook her head slightly. Then she manipulated the ping-pong-ball-sized orb to smash into the ground. Boom~! Dust filled the air. The area hit quickly cracked and visibly collapsed... but no fog appeared. "It seems the level of the Crystal Tower Illusion Realm is much higher than the Mirage Dragon Illusion Realm. "Even Die Xiaodie can only sense something off; she's still far from cracking it."
On the grassland, the spirits warmed up. Su Hao took the opportunity to glance at their stats again. Currently: Die Xiaodie had reclaimed the top spot. As a newly Transcendent-level spirit, she was the team's combat powerhouse, beauty queen, support specialist, primary scout, and second researcher... The dazed-headed crow held steady in second place, at the Elite-level limit, slightly improved from the start of the semester, with a few more seconds of "Solar Stance" duration. Big Fatty Bear and Er Ha Lin were temporarily unranked. For one, Big Fatty Bear had high talent and was progressing rapidly, now at the mid-to-high Elite level, with its lightning element also countering Er Ha Lin. Er Ha Lin was tough to beat. But on the other hand, Er Ha Lin was his mount, with a special bloodline and high future potential, its role extending beyond combat. In terms of development, based on the perfect cultivation plan, it would reach the Elite-level limit in another half month or a month. It was hard to say who was stronger. "Fu yi fu yi~" Hui Ye Ling, however, remained firmly at the bottom.
After warming up, the spirits were in great shape. Seeing this, Su Hao mounted Er Ha Lin and began the challenge. Two voices echoed in his mind. "Please select a level: Level 1, Level 2." Last time, he had failed at Level 2. Su Hao chose Level 2. In just a moment, "Gu nuo~!" Die Xiaodie grew serious, fluttering her butterfly wings and flying to the front. She sensed the enemy's appearance. A Transcendent-level Earthshaking Wolf: 1. And 9 Elite-level limit minions. Soon, they appeared in Su Hao's view, forming a semicircle and closing in. He sat on the horse, motionless, like a general facing a vast army without changing expression... ahem! Then, Die Xiaodie flew forward. Her eyes glowed faintly. Spiritual power judgment: Total domination! The leading Earthshaking Wolf suddenly stumbled. Its eyes grew cloudy, and it began wildly biting and clawing at the air. Sharp earth spikes erupted from the grassland, and a heavy gravity seemed to crush the air itself. But... It all hit nothing. Missed! Missed several times! The massive Earthshaking Wolf panted, the ground around it a mess of cracks, while wounds suddenly appeared on its body, one after another. Faintly, threads could be seen in the air, zipping past at incredible speed. Then disappearing. It was the "Silk Spit" technique, a sharpened version. Under Die Xiaodie's illusion, reality-blurring abilities, and the enhancement of the Mirage Pearl, it turned into invisible blades. After just over a minute, the Transcendent-level Earthshaking Wolf fell. Meanwhile, The other Elite-level Earthshaking Wolves and Ram Immortals were frozen in place, trapped in illusions. After Die Xiaodie dealt with the leading wolf, her illusions took effect, and one by one, the spirits fell with a "plop, plop." "Done, way too easy! "As expected of a spirit I raised." Su Hao sat on Er Ha Lin, not moving an inch the entire time. And the enemies all fell. Ah, loneliness.
...
The ten fallen spirits dissolved into particles of light and disappeared after a few minutes. At the same time, The illusion realm's prompt sounded. Level 3 began. Su Hao sat up straight and looked ahead with his naked eyes. There were only three spirits. A stone giant over eight meters tall. A Pure Jade Lotus radiating brilliance. And a muscular, imposing Boxing Kangaroo. They were all taller, stronger, and more imposing than common Elite-level spirits. Three Transcendent-level spirits! One attacker, one defender, one support. They formed a triangular battle formation! Advancing step by step. Boom! Boom! Boom! With each step, the stone giant caused the ground to tremble, sending out layers of shockwaves rolling toward them. The Pure Jade Lotus scattered light, enveloping each spirit in a hazy glow. Resisting the invasion of external spiritual power. "Gu nuo~!" "OK, we'll hold off the Pure Jade Lotus." Die Xiaodie flew forward, scattering countless pink particles. At the same time, her illusions enveloped the area. She didn't choose direct control but instead stirred the emotions of the enemy spirits, especially the Boxing Kangaroo, which was the vanguard. In just a moment, the Boxing Kangaroo's eyes turned bloodshot. It was as if it had lost twenty consecutive matches in the Spirit League and been verbally abused by a polite opponent. It roared, its legs swelling as it explosively charged forward. With a boom, a ring of air spread out, and the Boxing Kangaroo's figure turned into a straight line, appearing before Die Xiaodie in an instant. It punched, retracted, and punched again... In just one second, it threw dozens of punches, raining down on Die Xiaodie's delicate body. Her small form exploded directly, scattering countless glowing butterflies that flew in all directions, only to be shattered by the Boxing Kangaroo. It kept punching, its bright yellow fists blasting craters into the surrounding grass. Even after the butterflies were gone, it continued punching. As if it had gone mad. Hundreds of meters away, the Pure Jade Lotus began to spin, a beam of light shooting into the sky... Suddenly, an even brighter light appeared. Technique: "Polar Day"! Hui Ye Ling emitted a blinding radiance, which had no lethal effect on them but disrupted the Pure Jade Lotus's support abilities, which relied on the beam of light. Everything before them turned blazing white! The next moment, A hazy maze phantom enveloped the area, completely isolating the stone giant, which had poor resistance to illusions. Meanwhile, Su Hao led the other spirits to surround the Pure Jade Lotus. Above, Under the Solar Stance, the dazed-headed crow delivered its strongest slash. To the left, the Electric Bear transformed into a massive ball of lightning, charging in with a reckless collision. Er Ha Lin also "xilu~ed," gathering several water dragons to snatch a bit of assist. Hui Ye Ling: "Fu~ fu yi~" In just three minutes... The Boxing Kangaroo fell. Another three minutes, and the stone giant fell. In the final three minutes, the dazed-headed crow could barely maintain its Fire Feather Stance, and the Pure Jade Lotus across from it looked equally battered. Die Xiaodie fluttered over, countless illusory threads appearing. Mirage energy infused them, turning them real. Under the control of illusion elements and spiritual power, she yanked hard. She claimed the final kill. Die Xiaodie: 3-0-0. Dazed-headed crow: 0-0-1. Big Fatty Bear: Same as above. Er Ha Lin: Same as above. Su Hao: Same as above. Hui Ye Ling: 0-0-0. Die Xiaodie earned the MVP, carrying her teammates to ultimate victory. "Gu nuo~" Her body shrank, and she flew wearily to Su Hao's head, sinking down...
...
"Your time in the illusion realm was 56 minutes. The remaining time has been returned to your card." Su Hao took his student card, thanked the staff, and turned to leave. The Die Xiaodie lying on his head was no longer tired; the consumption in the Real Illusion Realm had no effect on reality. She was wide-eyed, recalling the gains from the battle just now. Su Hao sighed again, "Awesome." "Too bad the school's research on the Crystal Tower is limited, only developing the challenge mode. There's no personal practice mode, battle mode, endless mode, crystal-spending mode, high-level experience mode, and so on." Otherwise, he wouldn't have left after just 56 minutes. It was still early. Su Hao stood outside the Crystal Tower, gazing at the clear blue sky, deep in thought... "Junior Su Hao!" He snapped back to reality and turned to look. Calling him was a senior with long black hair and a tall, slender figure. She had a face worth 85+, so after a moment of recollection, he remembered which senior from the training camp she was. "Senior Tan." "Junior, are you here to watch the school team's practice too?" Seeing his (dazed) cute and handsome face, Senior Tan's cheeks flushed slightly. She explained, "It just so happens that today, the main and substitute players of the school team are having a team battle drill before the league..." She checked the time and invited, "It's about to start. Junior, let's go together."