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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

n4th of January, after New Year’s Day.

nIn the lecture hall of the classroom building, students of the four classes all sat quietly in their seats.

nOn the podium, Old Gu, with his shiny scalp, was talking about joint combat practice.

n“…To respond to the latest call from the Union and to improve the combat level of the new generation of Sprite Trainers, this year’s college entrance examination will reflect the reform’s new direction. Therefore, we, together with Yunhua University Affiliated High School and Yunhua First High, have organized a simulation exercise. This is so that you will not be caught off guard during the college entrance examination.

n“The location will be in a primordial forest area in our province and will be scouted beforehand by the schools’ members. The exercise will be held in one week’s time, and you need to prepare your own clothes and daily necessities.

n“I emphasize that although it is only just a simulation of actual combat and not life-threatening, hardship and injuries are nevertheless inevitable.”

nOld Gu’s eyes swept around. “Now, I am asking if there is anyone who does not wish to participate? This joint examination will not count toward the final grade.”

nThe lecture hall was silent.

nThere wasn’t anyone who thought of withdrawing.

nWhile this joint examination could be avoided, one could not avoid the college entrance examination.

nEvery student in the Sprite stream wanted to enter Sprite Universities. With so much money and effort invested, how could they withdraw from such an insignificant hardship?

nEven if there were one or two fearful people in the lecture hall who wanted to withdraw, they had no choice but to keep quiet under this atmosphere.

nOld Gu didn’t really want to persuade them to withdraw. He nodded in satisfaction when he saw that no one withdrew.

n“The joint examination is not easy, but correspondingly, the rewards are far better.”

nHe paused. “For first place, the reward is a Heart of Attributes. On top of that, one million resource credits.

n“For second and third place, the reward is a Heart of Secondary Attributes and 800,000 resource credits.

n“From fourth to tenth place, the reward is ten units of elemental essences and 500,000 resource credits.”

n“From eleventh to hundredth place, there are also 100,000 resource credits as reward.”

nFrom time to time, when Old Gu was speaking, he looked at Su Hao, who was sitting in the back row.

nSu Hao was the only one from First High who could make it to the top ten.

nThere was no need for Old Gu to emphasize that.

nWhen Su Hao heard the rewards, his eyes beamed.

nHe knew what the Heart of Attributes was—an extremely precious spiritual item.

nSu Hao did not know where these spiritual items came from, but they were probably not products from Sea-Blue Star.

nHe only cared that the Heart of Attributes could greatly increase a sprite’s potential.

nIt was an item that might come to you by luck and not by searching for it.

nEven for the Heart of Secondary Attributes, some people would offer millions of dollars to buy them, and there would not be any sellers.

nThis was what he saw on the Union Forum some time ago.

nThe elemental essences were much inferior. They were only required during the sprite’s evolution and could be purchased as long as one had money.

nSu Hao’s mind was filled with images of Heart of Attributes. Even the million-level resource rewards were ignored.

nIn the lecture hall, the students were all excited.

nEven if many of them understood that their chances were slim, but what if…

nThe top 100 had a reward of 100,000 resource credits!

nOnly Liu Ren chuckled and was totally uninterested. “Stingy!”

n…

nThe next day, Father Su had already driven Su Hao to the school gate before it was eight.

nSu Hao alighted with a suitcase. He turned around and said, “Go back.”

n“Don’t worry. When I went to Yunhua City to take the Sprite Cultivator qualification exam, weren’t you fine with that?”

n“That’s different.” Mother Su said, “You have to survive in the wild, how can I not worry!”

n“It’s not surviving in the wild, it’s just a joint combat practice in the wild…”

nSu Hao leaked a word last night, and the situation had become like this.

nIf it weren’t for school regulations, which prevented parents from accompanying their kids, Su Hao was very sure that his parents would have tagged along.

nLike the Su family, many parents were sending their children off at the school gate. Their cars had caused a bit of congestion.

nNear the gate, there were also eight buses.

nThere were groups of students around, as well as teachers of the Sprite stream such as Old Gu, Old Chen, and some school leaders that he did not recognize.

nThere was also someone that he recognized, Pan Jingshan, from the Association of Sprite Trainers.

nSu Hao was thinking whether to say hello when he saw Pan Jingshan beckoning to him.

n“Uncle Pan.”

nPan Jingshan smiled. “I heard Boss Xiong say that you are getting more and more unpredictable.”

nNext to Pan Jingshan, there was a middle-aged man with an extraordinary aura. He turned his head and said, “You are the ‘Su Hao’ mentioned by Tian Ba.”

nSu Hao was stunned before realizing that Tian Ba was probably the name of Coach Xiong.

nHis name was indeed… imposing.

nHe repeatedly nodded as a form of respect.

nPan Jingshan made an introduction. “This is the Deputy President of An City’s Association of Sprite Trainers, Luo Jinghong. He is an elite Sprite Trainer like Boss Xiong. Deputy President Luo, Big Boss Xiong, and I will attend this joint examination.”

nUncle Pan’s words made Su Hao a little confused.

nHow was the joint examination connected to the Association of Sprite Trainers?

nThe deputy president was also a high-ranking figure in An City.

nHe did not think too much over this.

nAfter a couple of words, Su Hao left.

nIt was time to set off…

nMore than 100 students and sprites poured into the eight buses.

nAfter Su Hao put his luggage away, he chose a seat at random and sat down with Silkworm Baby and Little Fire Crow by his side.

nThere were also Little Stone Elephants, Vine Snakes, Little Ground Wolves, and other larger sprites inside the bus. However, the bus was not crowded.

nThere were areas reserved for sprites.

nSoon, the buses started their engines and slowly left An City First High.

nThere was an older Sprite Trainer, who was also a director of the Association of Sprite Trainers on the bus. Old Chen was not on the same bus as Su Hao but on another.

nNext to the older Sprite Trainer was a Six-Winged Flying Silkworm. It was about the same size as Silkworm Baby, but the green pattern on its back was darker in color and more complex. Also, it had three pairs of wings, which were as thin as cicada wings.

nIt was flying and patrolling around, calming down the few sprites that were suffering from anxiety from their first-ever bus trip.

nThe older Sprite Trainer clapped his hands, attracting everyone’s attention.

nHe said, “Our destination is the Battle Preparation Village near the primordial forest area. The trip there will take about four or five hours. When you get there, you will rest in the Battle Preparation Village for a day. Tomorrow, the rules will be officially announced, and you will enter the primitive forest area to begin your joint examination.

n“First, let me talk about the general situation of the primordial forest area.

n“The primordial forest area is an area covering more than 200 square kilometers, in which contains a very large number of wild sprites…”

nHe paused, and as expected, he saw eyes filled with surprise and disbelief.

nHe snorted. “The sprites in the primordial area are different from those you saw in the Sprite Care House!

n“These are mostly adult sprites, and they are aggressive. Forget about contracting them. Under the threat from these sprites, the first thing you have to do is to rely on your sprites to survive…”

nThe convoy traveled quickly on the highway. Except for a short break in a service area, they did not stop at all.

nBefore noon, the buses got off the highway and entered a quieter road.

nGradually, they were unable to see any vehicles on the road, only dense forests on both sides as they passed through one tunnel after another.

nHalfway, they passed through a place that looked like a checkpoint.

nSu Hao saw the soldiers with rifles and Sprite Trainers with sprites.

nThe convoy continued moving.

nAfter an unknown amount of time had passed, Su Hao, who was half-asleep, heard something.

n“Get ready to alight. We have arrived at the Battle Preparation Village.”

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