Start With Contracting Sprites

In mid-air, there were dozens of light balls floating around.

Under the envelopment of the Fire God Soldier's red light, all the transparent balls of light were dyed with a layer of red.

"It's a common fire-element unique skill—Flame Shield."

Usually, the Flame Shield could only be applied to himself, but the Fire God Soldier could easily attach it to the light ball, adding dozens at once.

The strength of a soon-to-be monarch rank could be noticed evidently.

Liu Ren, who specialized in fire-elements, looked and exclaimed.

He then glanced at the Flaming Spiritcrow and asked, "Can your Flaming Crow use Flame Shield on others?"

In any case, his Master Tortoise couldn't.

When Su Hao heard this, he pondered for a moment. "Flaming Spiritcrow never uses Flame Shield…"

"Squawk ~!"

The Flaming Spiritcrow flapped its wings, indicating that this crow only carried a blade in its life, and not a shield.

...

In the spacious and huge examination hall.

Strong winds blew at the facilities inside the two walls.

The dozens of light balls in the air floated rapidly as if they were thrown into a washing machine.

Some hit the ceiling more than ten meters high and bounced back.

Instructor Sun Gaoang pointed at the light balls of different colors, pale red, orange, scarlet red, and said,

"The depth of the light ball's color represents that its defense is different."

"A pale red ball of light can be broken with just the power of an advanced entry-level. An orange ball of light needs to be at the initial stage of elite-level, a scarlet red ball of light…"

He said, "There are a total of 50 light balls. You can assign any sprite to go on stage. You have 30 seconds to attack… Now, go on stage in sequence."

Beside Instructor Sun, a mentor whom Su Hao didn't recognize swept his gaze over.

"Who's Pu Zhiwen?" He urged. "Hurry up, there are still a lot of people behind."

A plain and ugly boy went forward. "My, my sprite is this Giant Cannon Lobster."

The Giant Cannon Lobster, which was as big as a small sedan, stepped forward with its claws. Its hard claws landed on the metal ground, producing "Kuang Kuang" sounds.

It raised its pair of pincers, not in the form of pincers, but like two huge hand cannons, and quietly aimed at the ball of light in front of it.

"I'm ready," the plain and ugly boy said hurriedly.

The nameless instructor picked up the timer and said, "3, 2, 1… Begin!"

In that instant…

On the cannon muzzles of the Giant Cannon Lobster, one, two, three… Countless water bullets the size of basketball appeared.

It blasted towards the balls of light in mid-air one after another.

Bang~!

A pale red ball of light was shattered.

Two water bullets missed.

Another hit the side of the orange ball of light, but it didn't explode, only making the color of the Flame Shield dim a little.

Thirty seconds later…

"Stop!"

The instructor who was keeping track of the time scanned the field. "17 entry-level, 5 intermediate-level, 0 advanced-level, Attack Rating 'C-'."

...

The second person went on stage. His sprite was a Steel-Armored Eagle, a first-stage evolved form, but it was also elite-level. Its wingspan was even longer than the current Flaming Spiritcrow.

It was a flying sprite skilled in close combat.

It directly leaped forward, golden light suffused on its wings as it turned back and forth in mid-air. As it slashed down, it seemed to have a higher hit rate, but its efficiency was poor.

It kept chasing after the balls of light.

The timer instructor took a look. "Entry-level 10, intermediate-level 5, advanced-level 0, evaluated 'D'."

A, B, C, and D, as well as being disqualified, were the five levels of the assessment.

D was only considered passable, so it didn't matter whether it was high, mid, or low.

The boy lowered his head and left.

...

The candidates came one after another.

Sprites that were good at long-range and area-of-effect attacks had an advantage in the attack assessment.

Sprites that were used to close combat and couldn't fly, or were support-type sprites, were undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

But the assessment had always been like this.

Attack, speed, and resistance were to allow students to develop in all aspects.

No sprites that were good at attacking? Didn't they know how to contract and nurture?

When faced with extreme environments and enemies, no one cares what you were good at!

"Next, Liu Ren," shouted the instructor.

A huge Lava Dragon Turtle was summoned. It walked forward slowly like an old man.

A moment later…

Flames covered the sky, stirring up light balls until they shattered.

Thirty seconds later.

"…Rating 'C'."

The two-storey tall Lava Dragon Turtle continued to walk back slowly. Then, it was carried out of the examination hall by a certain instructor's sprite—it occupied too much space.

Big Face Liu's grades were considered average.

Over the course of the semester, the vast majority of students each cultivated an elite-level sprite, and only a few sprites failed to break through.

They rarely disqualified.

There were only two at Lakeview Court where Su Hao was.

And the one with the highest rating was only a C+.

"I'm just a little short of the one with the highest score," Liu Ren said smugly.

Being too arrogant was not good for the body.

For the sake of his good friend, Su Hao had no choice but to remind him, "It's not my turn yet."

Liu Ren,"…"

Those who seemed to be favored by the instructors were placed at the back.

Liu Ren saw a few who had pretty good battle results, but it wasn't their turn yet.

...

The assessment continued. The floor below opened, and light balls flew out to supplement it.

The Fire God Soldier continued to use its shield.

Then, the tool-man instructor spoke.

"Next, Bai Hongzhen."

A figure in white stepped out of the crowd.

Su Hao looked over. That person also looked over… He found him a little familiar.

"Oh, it's that Sprite Trainer with Ice Six Tails."

But the one following behind Bai Hongzhen was no longer the tiny Ice Six Tails, but a sprite more than a meter tall with nine fluffy white tails fluttering wantonly behind it.

Polar Nine Tails!

Its gaze also swept over. When it saw the Reverie Butterfly above Su Hao's head that had yet to evolve, it shook its head and walked forward step by step.

"Gurgle~"

Butterfly asked, was it being looked down on?

...

The Polar Nine Tails walked gracefully to the front. A misty white frost gradually rose on its body, and sparkling light flickered at the tips of its nine long tails.

At the instructor's command, the Polar Nine Tails suddenly dashed forward. Its nine tails waved, directly raising a frost storm!

The power made many candidates involuntarily bring their sprites back, afraid of being affected.

A frost storm howled, enveloping a large area of the arena in front.

Countless sharp icicles shot out in all directions, and pale red light balls gradually dimmed and shattered.

With the help of the frost that filled the sky, the Polar Nine Tails condensed ice blades around its body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, it slashed towards those balls of light with deeper colors.

Amidst rumbling sounds, balls of light exploded one after another.

A moment later…

"20 entry-level, 20 intermediate-level, and 4 advanced-level, evaluated 'B+'!"

At this moment…

On the examination area field where the ice storm gradually dissipated, there were only six scarlet red light balls left, sparse.

Seeing this scene, the candidates present were in an uproar.

Too strong!

Although Bai Hongzhen was already an elite-level big boss at the start of school, after a semester, they discovered that not only did the gap not narrow, it even widened. They felt bitter in their hearts.

Big boss is indeed your big boss at the end of the day.

They looked at Bai Hongzhen, at that graceful and powerful Polar Nine Tails.

Bai Hongzhen also looked back, his eyes staring straight at Su Hao.

His lips moved slightly.

He was challenging.

After Bai Hongzhen, there were only three people left.

The two people in front of Su Hao had respectively achieved 'B' and 'B-' grades.

The last person…

"Next, Su Hao."

A voice sounded.

Not only did the instructors look over, the other candidates also turned their heads almost simultaneously and stared at him.

Su Hao had completed what was impossible in the challenge segment of the school term.

There wasn't much news about this person in the past semester.

They wanted to know whether the legend of a generation had fallen, or whether he was still… dazzling.

"Please choose your sprite."

...

All four sprites from Su Hao's family were present.

The Flaming Spiritcrow tilted its head and stared at its wings.

The Water Unicorn Beast raised its hooves, lowered them, raised them, and lowered them.

The Electric Bear with the 'tablet' prop.

And occupying the high Throne… and the Butterfly on top of Su Hao's head.

"Who's up?"

Su Hao looked at Butterfly and Crow.

In terms of attack strength, of course the Flaming Spiritcrow was stronger, not just a little stronger.

But Butterfly also had its advantages.

"Gurgle~!"

Butterfly glanced at the flirtatious slut that was Polar Nine Tails. It called.

It took the initiative to ask to go on stage?!!

Su Hao expressed that he had no objections.

It was just an attack assessment. There was no need to use the Flaming Spiritcrow's "Sun Form".

The dazed crow that wanted to go out to battle made a "squawk" sound, but didn't dare to have any objections.

...

"It's actually that Reverie Butterfly, not the Flaming Spiritcrow?"

Bai Hongzhen took in this scene and shook his head slightly.

In the past, Reverie Butterfly was Su Hao's trump card… But Reverie Butterfly was a completely new evolution type. It lacked a follow-up pathway, and its future was very uncertain…

Not to mention a sprite skilled in illusion.

He felt that Su Hao's choice was very unwise.

...

Butterfly flapped its wings and flew forward, the three orbs spinning around its body.

"Are you ready?" asked the instructor.

"Gurgle~!"

The instructor's gaze was still on Su Hao.

"Gurgle ~!" it called again.

"Oh, I'm ready," Su Hao translated.

"Then 3, 2, 1… Begin!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Butterfly's big eyes glowed.

In that instant…

The light balls that were blown about by the strong wind in mid-air froze.

It threw out the Energy Ball.

Five shots per second.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Five to six light balls were shattered, but the shock wave produced by the explosion also made the other light balls shake continuously.

Butterfly looked and felt that it wasn't too good.

The highest-level scarlet red light ball had very high defense… The Energy Ball needed to accumulate power to break through.

There was no time.

It changed its tactics.

Under the meticulous control of Psychic power, all the remaining light balls seemed to be held by large hands, neatly lined up.

The color changed from light to dark.

"Its control ability is pretty good," commented Instructor Sun Gaoang.

Psychic power was not a unique skill, but a type of ability produced by the combination of spiritual force and spirit power released by sprites.

But it was difficult to control.

The second was pure Psychic power, which was very weak.

That was why experts developed Psychic Shield and Psychic Shock, these two basic unique skills of the Psychic element.

It wasn't that there weren't any Psychic sprites among the students at Lakeview Court, but their sprites couldn't do it.

They couldn't arrange it so neatly.

"And Reverie Butterfly clearly doesn't have any Psychic attributes, right? Its Psychic power can actually withstand the shock wave of the explosion!!!"

Someone saw it.

One of the balls of light was near the explosion point of the Energy Ball. The orange halo on it had faded a lot, but that ball of light only shook a little before it was fixed again.

It didn't make sense!

It wasn't a sprite either!

"But even if it's lined up in a straight line, its attack power must be high enough, and Reverie Butterfly…"

At this moment…

After the ball of light was arranged into a straight line, but Butterfly still didn't throw out the Energy Ball.

It stretched its hands forward, and the three orbs flew in front of it, arranged in a triangle.

Emerald green halos spread out from the three orbs, and green threads connected the orbs together, forming a triangular frame.

Then, the triangular frame rotated clockwise, slowly, faster and faster.

At the same time…

The triangular frame faced the side of the examination area, and countless green light dots converged.

Unique skill: Wood Spirit Shock Wave!

Advanced wood-element unique skill!

After accumulating power for two to three seconds, a solid emerald green light beam blasted out from the triangular rack in front of Butterfly.

It was dazzling.

It bombarded the row of light balls.

Boom!!!

The bright green light beam directly blasted through the light balls. Circles of smoke clouds exploded, and the aftershock spread.

The Wood Spirit Shock Wave broke through all the pale red, orange light balls and two scarlet red light balls before it exhausted its power and dissipated.

At this moment, the aftershock that spread out stirred up a storm. Butterfly's Psychic power couldn't be maintained anymore, and the remaining light balls scattered everywhere.

It wasn't in a hurry. It waited for another two to three seconds. After the aftershock weakened slightly, it controlled the remaining light balls with its Psychic power and continued to line them up.

Wood Spirit Shock Wave!

They lined up!

Wood Spirit Shock Wave!

Three times in a row, all the light balls were blasted into nothingness.

Bai Hongzhen and the others were stunned.

"There's such a move?"

But thinking about it carefully, even if they saw it, could they replicate it?

No!

Especially those three orbs… unique skills? Profound meanings? Or what?

They didn't know at all!

Giant Su still got it, Giant Su!

Only Polar Nine Tails made a few "Oooo" sounds, a little unconvinced.

Bai Hongzhen took a look. "Alright, after the final exam is over, I'll bring you to challenge Su Hao."

...

"20 entry-level, 20 intermediate-level, and 10 advanced-level, evaluated A."

The instructor said.

Butterfly was a little angry when it heard that it wasn't A+, but when it saw the angry look in the eyes of that Polar Nine Tails, it was happy.

The joy of sprites came so simply, and not dull.

...

The second assessment tested speed and dodging ability.

Su Hao and the other students followed their instructors to another venue.

As far as the eye could see, a transparent and winding snake-shaped passage appeared in front.

"This snake passage is 200 meters long. Not only is gravity set up inside, there are also restrictions on various extreme, poor weather conditions…"

As Instructor Sun spoke, that passage was opened.

Buzzing sounds rang. Flames spread in some places, ice and snow mixed in others, and wind was blowing so hard like they were blades…

There was also an invisible gravity influence.

"Let your sprite break through the Snake Passage, and the score will be based on the time taken. In addition, marks will be deducted according to their degree of injury."

Su Hao and the other students weren't unfamiliar with Snake Passage.

It was one of the commonly seen training facilities at Whale Island University.

However, whether it was difficult or not depended on which level of difficulty the instructor had set.

Especially…

The trump cards of many people were weak in terms of speed. It was not easy to take on the battle.

It was completely different from the previous assessment!

They weren't confident.

Liu Ren was one of them. His Lava Dragon Turtle couldn't even enter the Snake Passage's entrance.

"This is discrimination against large-sized sprites! I refuse to accept this!"

"So, what are you going to do? Let the Giant Tide Frog go?"

"No, I want to let Flaming Bat take it on."

Liu Ren was referring to his third sprite. It had also been cultivated to advanced entry-level and was approaching its limit.

"Although my Giant Tide Frog is elite-level, it's still not nimble enough in the Snake Passage. Why don't I use the Flaming Bat to try? At most, it will just be disqualified!"

"In any case, the final tabulation is the total score. It wouldn't be a big problem if it doesn't qualify for one assessment… No way."

He still sounded a little weak.

Then, he asked, "Old Su, which one are you going to let take this segment on?"

"Yeah, which one should I?"

Su Hao touched his chin and looked at the sprites in front of him.

Butterfly, Flaming Spiritcrow, and Water Unicorn Beast were all sprites that were good at speed and extremely agile.

Even if it was the Electric Bear, its speed wasn't slow when it leaped with the Meat Bouncing Thunder Ball.

It was just too weak.

"Howl?"

The Electric Bear, which was hugging the tablet, kept feeling that someone was calling it. It looked up and then lowered its head again, continuing to stare at the tablet.

Su Hao sighed when he saw it.

This bear was hopeless.

He could get Butterfly to supervise the other sprites, but the Electric Bear… Su Hao kept feeling that if the two sprites got together, they would gang up on him.

"So, which one are you sending?"

"Yeah, which one is better? Sometimes, having too many options is also a problem."

Su Hao looked up at the sky… the ceiling.

He sighed.

Making a choice was really difficult.

(Two chapters in one, one more chapter later)