Dazzling sunlight streamed through the skylight. Su Hao raised a hand to shield his eyes, then... stumbled, lost his footing, and fell.
The Silkworm rolled off the top of his head, landing on its back with eight little legs sticking up, letting out an indignant chirp.
*Thump!*
Beside him, a figure appeared, tumbling away as if executing a rolling move.
In no time, the lawn at the entrance was littered with people sitting around, with only Heavenly King Zhou standing off to the side.
Su Hao glanced at the two boys tangled up in a heap nearby, then at the girls sitting in ungraceful poses, before quickly scrambling to his feet.
If someone snapped a photo now, it’d be a goldmine of embarrassing memories.
After standing up, Su Hao stomped the ground a few times, feeling no difference.
Still, his chest felt a bit tight, and he couldn’t figure out why he’d suddenly tripped on flat ground.
“The gravity, climate, and spatial composition of the New World are largely the same as our Blue Star. This has been confirmed through research—we Blue Star humans can survive here without issues.
“But there might be some minor acclimation symptoms. You’ll get used to it.”
“Balance problems? Just walk back and forth at the entrance a few times, and you’ll adapt.”
Su Hao couldn’t help but think this method of adaptation was way too crude.
Only then did he have a chance to look around.
They were inside a massive arena. Through the skylight, he could see the azure sky.
Beneath his feet was a manicured lawn.
In the middle of the lawn was a concrete patch, the opposite of what they’d seen when they first arrived—no sign of the dark, cannon-lined scene from before.
Inside the entrance building,
a burly大叔, who was registering identities, greeted Zhou Weiping with a smile.
“Heavenly King Zhou, bringing in newbies again?
“Heading to the Spirit Spring?”
Heavenly King Zhou nodded and exchanged a few pleasantries.
“With you watching over them, their safety’s no concern. Hope a couple of these kids turn into strong ones.”
“Yeah, the current environment...”
Heavenly King Zhou seemed to think of something and let out a barely perceptible sigh.
...
Walking out of the building that covered the entrance, Su Hao realized this place couldn’t really be called a base anymore—it was more like a small town.
On both sides of the road stood low but sturdy-looking houses. Though rough in appearance, the signs hanging outside suggested this street was a “commercial strip.”
Su Hao spotted shops like “Men’s Herbal Store,” “Granny’s Wonton Noodle House,” “Steam Lobster Bath Center,” and other places he didn’t even know where to start mocking.
There were also familiar ones like the Elf Medical Center and the Green Shade Supermarket, but they were just as shabby.
Further off, he could see a few watchtowers and city walls.
No vehicles were in sight—rumored to be due to the New World’s environment and magnetic fields. But the streets were wide enough to accommodate large-tonnage elves.
Few people passed by, all of them Spirit Masters with their elves. Even some cute, soft, and cuddly-looking elves exuded a menacing aura.
This was the New World.
...
Outside the town,
lay a lush forest, even denser than the primitive zones.
The entire town was built right in the middle of this forest.
Heavenly King Zhou led them to the edge of town and stopped.
He didn’t have the Tide Frog King with him—that overly massive elf had been left behind at the Blue Base.
Instead, he summoned another water-type monarch-level elf—the Tide-Summoning Spring Spirit.
This elf was entirely composed of deep blue water currents, its face blurry, but its figure resembling an elegant woman.
It spread its monarch-level aura, walking ahead, scaring off wild elves from a distance.
“Curious about what the Spirit Spring is?”
Heavenly King Zhou could tell they were bursting with questions. “Though the New World is similar to our Blue Star in many ways, its spiritual energy density is far higher, and the number of elves born here is countless times greater.
“Besides elves, the New World also tends to produce special treasures, like attribute essences, attribute hearts, and Spirit Springs that generate unique waters...”
At this point, several people’s eyes lit up, their gazes darting around eagerly.
The Silkworm, perched on Su Hao’s head, suddenly leaped off, darting toward a strikingly beautiful flower.
“Guno guno~!”
Su Hao rubbed his forehead. “Uh... that’s worthless.”
“Guno?” The Silkworm pointed in another direction.
Heavenly King Zhou smiled and shook his head. “The treasures near the town were all dug up twenty or thirty years ago. The only thing left is that renewable Spirit Spring.
“Of course, you might still stumble across some ordinary cultivation resources.”
The little one couldn’t contain itself anymore.
Su Hao had to look around and then point the Silkworm in a direction.
The pale-yellow figure shot into a patch of grass and pulled out a bright yellow flower.
“That’s... a Mist Flower.”
Heavenly King Zhou looked surprised and couldn’t help glancing back at Su Hao.
It wasn’t a rare treasure, but it had some value.
It could be used to train illusion-type moves.
Heavenly King Zhou recalled that the Silkworm had once used “Intimidate.” It seemed Su Hao’s achievements weren’t accidental.
Being able to identify an obscure, hard-to-recognize spiritual plant like the Mist Flower showed he’d put in far more effort than the average person.
Su Hao thought so too.
He was busy adapting to the crisp, pleasant chime in his mind.
“Intelligence Points +1.”
“Intelligence Points +1.”
“Intelligence Points +1.”
There were so many new things here, all related to elves, constantly feeding him intelligence points.
Su Hao struggled to keep from grinning like a fool.
He stared at the panel. On the nearby map, besides elves, other markers appeared.
Like the Mist Flower.
But there were few.
“If I could explore the New World on my own...”
Su Hao believed he could enjoy the double delight of intelligence points and resources.
Too bad...
That wasn’t possible.
He knew his limits.
The smooth journey so far was because they were close to the town.
And even more so because of Heavenly King Zhou’s Tide-Summoning Spring Spirit.
If there weren’t wild elves that might attack, why would Heavenly King Zhou waste soul power to summon it?
...
The Silkworm... and its little brother, the Fire Crow, clutched a few Mist Flowers in its claws, flapping along.
The pale-yellow figure ran around, occasionally looking back at the appraiser, Su Hao.
Told they were all worthless, the Silkworm could only sigh.
Soon, they reached their destination.
The location of the Spirit Spring.
No Spirit Masters were guarding it, but a sturdy alloy building encased the spring.
When Su Hao and the others arrived, they saw a beginner-level Vine Snake spitting out a barrage of seed bullets, *thump thump* hitting the building’s alloy walls, only knocking off some moss.
The Vine Snake, frustrated at being unable to enter, paced anxiously around the building until it sensed the Tide-Summoning Spring Spirit’s terror, then *whoosh*—darted into the grass and vanished.
Heavenly King Zhou ignored the wild elf. He took out a key, unlocked the door, and waved back:
“All of you, come on in.”