It was called a spirit spring, but it was really just a well.
According to King Zhou, this spirit spring could absorb spiritual energy and convert it into a special kind of spring water.
Drinking this water could slightly enhance a spirit's spiritual power.
"This spirit spring isn't that precious; it only works on beginner-level spirits," he added. "Many of your spirits are at their spiritual power limit right now, but once they break through, the spring's effects can still take hold."
Per King Zhou's explanation, the spring's uniqueness lay in the fact that once the water left the well, its effects quickly faded.
To enjoy the spring's benefits, you had to bring your spirit there in person.
Of course, drinking too much was useless.
Any treasure worked best the first time.
King Zhou glanced at the dozen or so spirits near the spring and instructed the Tidecaller Spirit, "Give each spirit a mouthful of the spring water."
Instantly,
Clear water with a faint shimmer of white particles bubbled up.
A dozen streams of water were controlled and poured into each spirit's mouth.
"Gulp—"
The Silkworm Baby, caught off guard, opened its mouth, then quickly shut it, afraid to waste a single drop.
"Alright, we can head back now," King Zhou said.
The group of newbies was stunned.
So... no ceremony?
But in Su Hao's eyes,
The Silkworm Baby's spiritual power value was rising.
The spirit spring was far less precious than the Attribute Core, but the newly broken-through Silkworm Baby still had potential to tap.
Spiritual power grew to around 215.
The Little Fire Crow's increase was even more noticeable.
From under 110 spiritual power to 130... this was because Su Hao had built a solid foundation for the Little Fire Crow.
...
After spending about two hours in the new world, Su Hao and the others left under King Zhou's guidance.
Surprisingly, the exit inspection was stricter than the entry one.
They even specifically checked the "pile of treasures" the Silkworm Baby had dug up. There was no issue, but it taught Su Hao some rules.
For example,
Items under twenty kilograms were free to carry.
But anything over twenty kilograms required a "cross-border fee."
The same applied to bringing things from Blue Star.
...
The next day,
At nine in the morning, the weather was overcast.
A line of buses, like a long dragon, drove away from the entrance of the training village.
The five-school joint exam had come to an end.
Inside the bus, many students chattered about the exam and training experiences. The hardships they recalled now felt fulfilling and proud.
They were people who had survived in the wilderness!
Compared to when they arrived, everyone's demeanor was completely different.
The spirits, having undergone the baptism of field battles, now carried a hint of ferocity, no longer just cute pets.
They were battle partners.
"Su the Great, you were awesome this time, winning the championship for our Ancheng No. 1 High. Getting into a top spirit school is a sure thing now."
"Yeah, yeah, Su the Boss, I thought it was weird when you weren't on the initial seed player list. With your strength, how could that be? Sure enough, you proved yourself with your record, slapping the faces of the affiliated high school and No. 1 High, and those who made the seed list."
Su Hao: "..."
What could he say?
He had nothing to say.
Su Hao closed his eyes to rest, and the panel map appeared in his mind.
The map moved with him as the center, its range not too large.
But since he was on the bus now, traveling a long distance from the training village back to Ancheng, he was exploring whether any spirit plants that could be marked on the map might appear on Blue Star.
"Looks like... something's showing up!"
Su Hao's spirits lifted.
On the map, small dots appeared on the left and right sides of the road ahead. As the bus moved forward, the dots quickly grew larger.
Su Hao saw clearly.
They weren't special items.
They were spirits.
"Wild spirits? Or other Spirit Masters' spirits?"
Su Hao looked out the window.
The trees on both sides of the road were lush. According to the map, the spirits were hidden in the woods ahead.
Hidden?
Su Hao suddenly felt something was off.
Suddenly,
The bus ahead let out a harsh screech as it braked urgently.
The bus Su Hao was on also slammed on the brakes, the body shaking violently.
Inside the bus, countless students screamed in panic. Thankfully, everyone was wearing seatbelts, so no one was thrown off.
But their minds went blank.
"What's going on?"
"Why did we brake suddenly? Did we crash?"
They were in chaos. Some spirits that hadn't been secured crashed into the front, their eyes spinning in circles.
Su Hao couldn't see what was happening ahead, but a bad feeling suddenly crept over him.
At the front of the bus, the older Spirit Master with the Six-Winged Flying Silkworm stood up and unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Don't panic!" he shouted. "Everyone, watch your surroundings. Get off the bus in an orderly fashion, but don't stray too far..."
Before he could finish, a blazing fire tornado burst from the woods on the right, charging straight at the stopped bus.
"Cut it open!"
The Six-Winged Flying Silkworm turned into a blur, smashing through the bus window. Its wings vibrated, releasing a golden thread that sliced the massive fire tornado in two, sending sparks flying everywhere.
After cutting the fire tornado, the Six-Winged Flying Silkworm was about to charge into the woods.
At that moment,
A golden energy ball flew out from the woods on the left.
The older Spirit Master's eyes widened in fury.
If a metal-element energy ball exploded inside the bus, the shrapnel damage from the blast could kill many students in an instant!
Because after leaving the training village, the Spirit Master bracelets borrowed for the exam had been returned.
Otherwise,
The bracelets' power could have protected the students, blocking the energy ball's explosion.
The Six-Winged Flying Silkworm quickly turned back.
But it was too late.
There was still a bus in between, so even using Rice Bullet Barrage to intercept was impossible.
Just then,
The older Spirit Master heard a calm, steady voice.
"Silkworm Baby, energy ball!"
A goose-yellow spirit smashed through the window, a basketball-sized green orb suddenly forming in its mouth, shooting out with a whoosh.
Boom!
The golden and green energy balls collided in midair. The violent explosion sent shockwaves rippling out, shattering all the windows on the left side of the bus with a crack.
Su Hao braced himself and jumped out through the broken window.
His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
He spotted the culprit blocking the buses ahead.
A row of sharp stone spikes had pierced through the road.
A final evolution of a small rolling stone, a stone giant over four meters tall, emerged from the woods. It raised its arm to smash the bus, but was intercepted by a summoned Tyrant Bear.
Around the other buses of Ancheng No. 1 High, unfamiliar spirits also appeared.
At that moment,
The Silkworm Baby, also out of the bus, had already fired a second energy ball at lightning speed, exploding in the woods with a boom.
A Golden Roar Lion leaped out from the woods, with a figure sitting on its back.
Its face was filled with killing intent.
It locked onto Su Hao.
---
**Explanation of Yesterday's Plot**
① Some readers said the protagonist reacted faster than the veteran Spirit Master during the ambush.
First, the protagonist sensed something off through the map, but he still wasn't faster than the veteran Spirit Master. The Six-Winged Flying Silkworm handled the fire tornado.
But during the ambush, the fire tornado came from the woods on the right side of the bus. After it was neutralized, the energy ball appeared from the left side of the bus... This wasn't mentioned in the text, but the enemy timed the attacks to catch the Spirit Master on the bus off guard.
How could a Six-Winged Flying Silkworm on the right side of the bus intercept an energy ball on the left? Going around would be absolutely too late.
The protagonist was inside the bus at the time, right by the window.
The Silkworm Baby only needed to break the window and fire an energy ball—with its ability to fire four per second, it had enough time to form one.
② Energy issue.
Before breaking through, the Silkworm Baby could already match the beginner-level White Seal, only slightly weaker in energy intensity. And the White Seal belonged to a high school genius, so even freshly broken through, it wasn't the weakest beginner-level.
Compared to then, the Silkworm Baby's spiritual power exceeded 200, and after breaking through, its strength grew significantly. Even against veteran beginner-levels (intermediate, advanced), it wouldn't be far behind.
Of course, I haven't described beginner, intermediate, and advanced much before—that's my fault.
Beginner (low, mid, high), Elite, Master... so the gap between the three beginner levels isn't huge.
More details will be added later.
③ The older Spirit Master isn't Elite level.
Silkworm Baby → Six-Winged Flying Silkworm → Golden Winged Celestial Silkworm. The older Spirit Master's spirit hasn't reached its final evolution yet.
Not many people might know this, but in the departure chapter earlier, it was mentioned that the only Elite-level escorts on the bus were Instructor Xiong and the vice president of Ancheng Guild.
Neither was on the protagonist's bus.
This was actually a setup—why a vice president would tag along was because the higher-ups knew security wasn't stable.
The reason will be explained later.
Finally, finally, finally, the author reads the comments on the previous day's chapter before writing every day, but there are too few comments to even copy book reviews (?_?).
I'm so struggling...
Back to writing now.