4th of January, after New Year's Day.
In the lecture hall of the classroom building, students of the four classes all sat quietly in their seats.
On the podium, Old Gu, with his shiny scalp, was talking about joint combat practice.
"…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.
"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.
"I emphasize that although it is only just a simulation of actual combat and not life-threatening, hardship and injuries are nevertheless inevitable."
Old 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."
The lecture hall was silent.
There wasn't anyone who thought of withdrawing.
While this joint examination could be avoided, one could not avoid the college entrance examination.
Every 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?
Even 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.
Old Gu didn't really want to persuade them to withdraw. He nodded in satisfaction when he saw that no one withdrew.
"The joint examination is not easy, but correspondingly, the rewards are far better."
He paused. "For first place, the reward is a Heart of Attributes. On top of that, one million resource credits.
"For second and third place, the reward is a Heart of Secondary Attributes and 800,000 resource credits.
"From fourth to tenth place, the reward is ten units of elemental essences and 500,000 resource credits."
"From eleventh to hundredth place, there are also 100,000 resource credits as reward."
From time to time, when Old Gu was speaking, he looked at Su Hao, who was sitting in the back row.
Su Hao was the only one from First High who could make it to the top ten.
There was no need for Old Gu to emphasize that.
When Su Hao heard the rewards, his eyes beamed.
He knew what the Heart of Attributes was—an extremely precious spiritual item.
Su Hao did not know where these spiritual items came from, but they were probably not products from Sea-Blue Star.
He only cared that the Heart of Attributes could greatly increase a sprite's potential.
It was an item that might come to you by luck and not by searching for it.
Even for the Heart of Secondary Attributes, some people would offer millions of dollars to buy them, and there would not be any sellers.
This was what he saw on the Union Forum some time ago.
The elemental essences were much inferior. They were only required during the sprite's evolution and could be purchased as long as one had money.
Su Hao's mind was filled with images of Heart of Attributes. Even the million-level resource rewards were ignored.
In the lecture hall, the students were all excited.
Even if many of them understood that their chances were slim, but what if…
The top 100 had a reward of 100,000 resource credits!
Only Liu Ren chuckled and was totally uninterested. "Stingy!"
…
The next day, Father Su had already driven Su Hao to the school gate before it was eight.
Su Hao alighted with a suitcase. He turned around and said, "Go back."
"Don't worry. When I went to Yunhua City to take the Sprite Cultivator qualification exam, weren't you fine with that?"
"That's different." Mother Su said, "You have to survive in the wild, how can I not worry!"
"It's not surviving in the wild, it's just a joint combat practice in the wild…"
Su Hao leaked a word last night, and the situation had become like this.
If 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.
Like the Su family, many parents were sending their children off at the school gate. Their cars had caused a bit of congestion.
Near the gate, there were also eight buses.
There 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.
There was also someone that he recognized, Pan Jingshan, from the Association of Sprite Trainers.
Su Hao was thinking whether to say hello when he saw Pan Jingshan beckoning to him.
"Uncle Pan."
Pan Jingshan smiled. "I heard Boss Xiong say that you are getting more and more unpredictable."
Next 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."
Su Hao was stunned before realizing that Tian Ba was probably the name of Coach Xiong.
His name was indeed… imposing.
He repeatedly nodded as a form of respect.
Pan 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."
Uncle Pan's words made Su Hao a little confused.
How was the joint examination connected to the Association of Sprite Trainers?
The deputy president was also a high-ranking figure in An City.
He did not think too much over this.
After a couple of words, Su Hao left.
It was time to set off…
More than 100 students and sprites poured into the eight buses.
After 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.
There were also Little Stone Elephants, Vine Snakes, Little Ground Wolves, and other larger sprites inside the bus. However, the bus was not crowded.
There were areas reserved for sprites.
Soon, the buses started their engines and slowly left An City First High.
There 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.
Next 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.
It was flying and patrolling around, calming down the few sprites that were suffering from anxiety from their first-ever bus trip.
The older Sprite Trainer clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention.
He 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.
"First, let me talk about the general situation of the primordial forest area.
"The primordial forest area is an area covering more than 200 square kilometers, in which contains a very large number of wild sprites…"
He paused, and as expected, he saw eyes filled with surprise and disbelief.
He snorted. "The sprites in the primordial area are different from those you saw in the Sprite Care House!
"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…"
The convoy traveled quickly on the highway. Except for a short break in a service area, they did not stop at all.
Before noon, the buses got off the highway and entered a quieter road.
Gradually, they were unable to see any vehicles on the road, only dense forests on both sides as they passed through one tunnel after another.
Halfway, they passed through a place that looked like a checkpoint.
Su Hao saw the soldiers with rifles and Sprite Trainers with sprites.
The convoy continued moving.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Su Hao, who was half-asleep, heard something.
"Get ready to alight. We have arrived at the Battle Preparation Village."