Start With Contracting Sprites

The Heavenly Kings leaders from many countries used various methods to come above the ruins of the ancient battlefield. Their gazes passed through the thick fog and looked at the outstanding juniors from their own countries.

"Li Jianxuan's will is firm and his mind is strong. In time, he will definitely step into the Heavenly King level, and become an expert among them."

In the sky, the Heavenly King Lie Kong looked at the young man holding the sword. His words carried the joy of seeing an outstanding junior.

He hoped that more powerful comrades would appear in Dragon Nation and the entire Union in the future.

"Su Hao and Lan Qing's performance is also unexpectedly good."

Most of the members of the Dragon Nation team were above 25 years of age. They had been on the battlefield and had a lot of experience fighting against ferocious terrorist organizations like the Dark Society.

Their mind and willpower naturally wouldn't be too bad.

Only Su Hao and Lan Qing were only university students, and only second-year students.

It was hard to say how far their sprites could go, but Heavenly King Lie Kong and the others were initially more worried towards the two of them.

"Looks like we were worried for nothing," said Heavenly King Gong Ling. "Young people nowadays are indeed more outstanding with each generation. Their sprites perform well, their souls show many abnormal phenomenons, and their hearts are also very firm and strong… In time, they might…"

"Reach the crown-level."

"Crown-level?"

"It's just my hope. After all, the birth of every Crown-level Sprite Trainer is talent, hard work, and luck. All of which are essential, especially luck…"

When they started talking about luck, Heavenly King Lie Kong sighed.

"Back then, I was also a genius who fought my way out of the Supernova Cup, but…"

Even though he was already an expert among Heavenly Kings, he still couldn't see the path to the Crown-level.

It was unreachable.

…

Mist shrouded the ancient ruins. Golden Flame raised his foot and crossed an obstacle. There seemed to be a buzzing demonic sound echoing in his mind, but he looked into the distance at the gradually disappearing figures. He still didn't want to stop for a moment. Gritting his teeth, he took another step forward.

The ancient ruins were roughly fan-shaped, and the starting point of the Korean Nation was not far from the Dragon Nation.

After walking only 100 to 200 meters, Golden Flame met a figure that was symbolically engraved in his heart.

"Su Hao!"

The figure was dozens of meters away from him. It wasn't clear in the fog, but Golden Flame was very sure that it was the person who had defeated him time and time again.

The figure didn't stop walking. In his vision, it gradually disappeared into the distance.

Golden Flame clenched his fists and gritted his teeth to clear his mind before continuing forward.

No, he couldn't even see his back!

Thud ~!

Thud ~!

There were some sounds where his feet stepped. The view of the figure's back in his eyes gradually became blurry, and his vision turned black. The demonic sound in his ears kept hitting his head like a huge hammer.

Golden Flame raised its foot and landed again.

It trembled violently, as if it had fallen into a bottomless abyss.

"How can this be?"

In the sky, a Korean Heavenly King's eyes widened.

"Golden Flame should be able to reach the middle at the very least!"

The start, middle, and end.

Starting from the middle, the mental torture of the mind was greatly enhanced… In the eyes of the Korean Heavenly King, Golden Flame, a junior whom he thought highly of, should at least be able to reach the middle.

Being able to reach the middle meant that one's willpower was firm.

Although the mind had nothing to do with whether one could become an expert.

But…

However, the Union had calculated that those who could reach the middle before the age of 30 were very likely to become Heavenly Kings. On the contrary…

"Golden Flame, you're too impatient…"

…

"Strange, why do I feel like I heard someone calling me? Did you guys hear it?"

"Gurgle ~!"

Su Hao turned his head and looked back.

In the misty fog, figures struggled to move forward.

Who was calling him?

"It was probably just his imagination… no, it was an illusion!"

Su Hao's heart skipped a beat. "This ruin is really too powerful. I clearly didn't feel anything, but I actually fell for it unknowingly. I have to be careful!"

He patted his face, summoned the interface, took a few looks, and continued forward.

The mist in front was much thicker.

As Su Hao moved forward, in an instant, the thick mist seemed to surge and roll, turning into a dragon's roar, as if a demon king was looking down at him.

Su Hao stood on the spot for a full… 1.5 seconds!

Only then could he take the second step.

At this moment…

In front of him, Sun Son, Sword God, and the others were also much slower.

Su Hao looked back.

Among the people he knew was Xia. Not far from him, Lan Qing's figure also appeared from afar, about to cross the middle position.

There weren't many people who could see it, but there were quite a lot of sprites.

In terms of resistance, sprites were still stronger.

Well…

He glanced at the interface. "The Big Fat Bear is truly a disappointment."

Apart from the bear, the other sprites were all beside Su Hao, while the Dumb Unicorn was slightly behind.

Butterfly and Dazed Crow still had energy left.

From now on, he probably wouldn't have the energy to pay attention to anything else.

He thought and said to Butterfly and Dazed Crow, "You guys go ahead."

"Gurgle ~!"

"Squawk~!"

…

On the ruins, Su Hao walked forward step by step, but it was as if his body was already buried deep in mud. Every time he raised his foot, he felt increasingly heavy.

Endless thoughts surfaced in his mind, flashing like slides.

The scene in front of him was gradually becoming blurry. He was only relying on his instincts to move forward mechanically.

Step by step…

He didn't know how long he had walked or how far he had walked.

He only felt as if he had crossed mountains and seas, passed through a sea of people, vast and endless.

Finally…

Su Hao stepped on a broken tile. His body became unstable, and he plunged forward…

He reached out to brace for impact and let his body fall.

There was no resentment.

There was no hesitation.

But in an instant, he seemed to wake up.

Not far away, Sun Son, who had also fallen, happened to look over and smile.

It was as if it was saying, "I won."

Their positions weren't too far apart, but indeed, it was the Sun Son, who was a little closer.

However…

Su Hao barely raised his head and glanced into the distance.

Its palm-sized body had already returned to its original state. Its emerald green butterfly wings flapped as it gracefully flew at the front.

It moved ahead, even leaving behind the Fire God Soldier that was emitting porcelain-colored light.

Sun Son took a look and immediately froze.

Unable to hold on any longer, he fainted on the spot.

Bang!

Su Hao leaned on his arm and fell asleep.

…

"Your Dragon Nation's Li Jianxuan has a pretty good heart and will."

At this point, most of the Sprite Trainers had already fallen.

The human who walked the furthest was Li Jianxuan, who was holding a long sword. The young man named Sword God.

"However, what really surprised me was that Butterfly Fairy… If I remember correctly, it's the first Butterfly Fairy in the world. Its current age is… less than three years old?"

"You're right," replied the Heavenly King Lie Kong.

"Impressive."

Just like humans, the more the sprites experienced, the more mature their minds became. Only then could they go further in the mental torture.

Butterfly Fairy, who wasn't even three years old, had a slight advantage as an illusion-element sprite, but…

To have maintained the lead of first place came as a shock to Duke Andre.

The old man looked at Su Hao, who had already fallen unconscious, his eyes filled with admiration.

"To be able to nurture such outstanding sprites, this young man is indeed very impressive."

…

"Gurgle~?"

Butterfly called out in its heart, but it couldn't get a response.

But its instinct told it that the stupid Su Hao shouldn't be in danger.

After thinking about it, it directly used its Psychic power to control the cell phone in his pocket and tagged Ah Yan, Ehfu, and Dumb Unicorn, whose location shouldn't be far from Su Hao's.

No one answered.

After a while, Ah Yan sent a "…". Butterfly was in a daze for a long time before looking at the Dazed Crow flying behind, its Flaming Feather Robe flickering.

Butterfly thought that they probably didn't have the strength to take out their cell phones, gurgle ~!

It continued forward.

At this moment, Butterfly had already landed. Its long boots made of vines and leaves stepped on the messy ground and walked forward with light steps.

Mixed illusions appeared in its mind but were instantly destroyed.

Butterfly looked ahead. Its little face didn't change, only the antennae on its head swayed.

Suddenly,

There was a thud behind him.

It looked back and saw the Dazed Crow dozens of meters away. Dazed Crow couldn't stand it anymore and fell head first.

The Fire God Soldier who was closer to Butterfly and was in second place had also disappeared. The flames on its body were like candles in the wind. One step, two steps, three steps…

After struggling to take a few steps, it finally couldn't stand it anymore and sank into the illusion.

"Gurgle~?"

It seemed like it was the only… sprite left in its field of vision?

It didn't know how much further it was from the end.

Butterfly's little face puffed up as it placed its hands on its hips and sighed.

"It should be reaching its limit…"

A Heavenly King in the sky said. Before he finished speaking, his eyes widened.

In their eyes, Butterfly Fairy, who was originally advancing at turtle speed, suddenly…

One step, two steps, three steps, four steps… It started walking quickly.

It was more than two to three times faster than before!

It moved forward with grace.

It was like walking on flat ground, not affected at all.

Of course, it was impossible for Butterfly to not be affected.

It was more or less affected.

In the misty fog, it seemed to be the only figure left in the world.

Demonic sounds lingered in its ears.

Illusion-like but real visuals kept flashing in front of its eyes.

Butterfly reached out and grabbed the cell phone in its pocket. When it thought of Su Hao, the Dazed Crow, and the others, its footsteps became even more firm. It stepped on the ground and made "Thud ~ Thud" sounds.

It was the only sound in the world.

It sounded like the beating of a human heart.

After some time.

It was as if a long time had passed.

It was also as if it was just a trance and it had only been a short while.

At one point, light appeared, and the hazy mist was left behind.

Thunderous demonic sounds…

The illusions…

They all disappeared in an instant.

When Butterfly recovered from its half-awake state, it realized that it actually…

It had already passed through the ruins.

It had arrived at the opposite side.

Behind it, the ruins were covered in mist.

In front of it was an open space with neatly paved stone slabs. There were a few figures in the open space.

Butterfly recognized a few of them.

Heavenly King Lie Kong, the leader of the Dragon Nation.

The Old Master Duke Andre who was rumored to be very strong.

But at this moment, their expressions seemed a little off.

Their eyes seemed to have bulged out.

Their mouths were so big that they could swallow a cell phone.

Butterfly was very puzzled.

"What are they looking at… gurgle ~?"

…

Across the ancient ruins, at the exit, Duke Andre was silent for a long time.

In his eyes, Butterfly Fairy was very outstanding. The Grand Duke wouldn't find it strange if it maintained the lead and firmly took first place in the Soul Trial.

But…

In second place, the location where the Fire God Soldier fell was only at the far end of the middle section. There was still a long distance to the finishing point.

The Grand Duke originally thought that Butterfly Fairy would fall a few dozen meters ahead of the Fire God Soldier.

Even then, it was already much more impressive than the other genius sprites.

However, Duke Andre, who was in the air at that time, saw Butterfly Fairy continue to move forward with its long boots without any rest. With every step, the pressure exerted by the ancient ruins on its body increased.

Before long, the Butterfly Fairy in his eyes was in a half-awake state, as if it could collapse at any moment.

But this continued…

It continued for ten whole minutes!

It was clearly already at its limit, but it seemed like its limit was constantly increasing.

In the end, when they saw Butterfly Fairy gradually approaching the finishing point, Duke Andre and the Heavenly Kings of Dragon Nation were all excited. They couldn't help but come to the finishing point and wait.

They were looking forward to its arrival.

They hoped that Butterfly Fairy could really take the final step.

But…

When Butterfly Fairy really walked out of the ancient ruins and arrived in front of them, at that moment, it seemed a bit unreal.

Sunlight shone.

The emerald green butterfly flapped its wings lightly, and Butterfly looked as if it had been reborn.

"Gurgle ~ ~"

A pleasant cry echoed in the wind.

…

On the other side of the ancient ruins, outside the fan-shaped entrance.

Sprite Trainers and sprites were being dragged out and thrown out. After that, they woke up and shook their heads.

Su Hao came out earlier than these people.

He walked quickly and fainted quickly.

But when his body was dragged out of the ancient ruins, he naturally woke up from his deep sleep in a short while.

He wasn't sleepy.

There was no fatigue.

It was as if he had had a good sleep and a good dream. When he woke up, his entire spirit and appearance were different.

His mood also became happy.

"Is this the cleansing of the soul? It seems to have purified my soul."

It was more useful for sprites.

On the interface, the spiritual power of the Dazed Crow and the others had all increased slightly, but there were still some benefits that weren't directly reflected in their attributes.

Only after trying it out did he realize…

The Dazed Crow's Fire Crow Slash had become stronger, and there were more slashes. It was hard to explain, but it had a similar charm to the Sword God.

Ehfu, Ah Yan, and the others benefited less.

Big Fat Bear…

"Sob, sob, sob ~"

Its fair and chubby body was squatting with its hands behind its head. Even though it was squatting, it was still two meters tall. The bear seemed pitiful, weak, and looked like it wanted to play its games.

"No way! I've decided to arrange some resistance training for you in the future!"

"Sob ~!"

Ignoring the Big Fat Bear's cries, Su Hao looked towards the thick fog.

It was as if he could see the emerald green figure advancing step by step in the depths.

Until Butterfly rushed out of the ancient ruins.

A Ding-Dong prompt also sounded in Su Hao's ears.

"Ding-Dong, your sprite, 'Butterfly Fairy', has comprehended dream ability from the mental torture."

[Dream ability: Under the mystical state of half-asleep and half-awake, spiritual power, illusion abilities, and invasion ability of dreams have increased greatly.]

[Remarks: This ability is currently unstable.]

"It seems to be a powerful ability? It doesn't matter if it's unstable, I'll just modify it into a secret manual."

"This ancient ruin is pretty awesome. It's just a challenge, but I got so many benefits from it. As expected of the Union, its foundation is indeed different."

"It's just a pity that I could only get the benefits once. If only I could challenge a few more times and get the same benefits every time…"

While Su Hao was thinking, the palm-sized Butterfly in the distance circled around and landed on his head.

"Gurgle, gurgle ~ ~ ~"

…

The matter of Butterfly charging straight out of the finishing point in the ancient ruins didn't cause much of a stir.

Because… not many people knew.

Everyone was still immersed in the comfort of waking up from the illusion. They didn't have any thoughts or abilities to pay attention to others.

Only a small number…

For example, the Sun Son who heard about Butterfly's results.

"How is this possible!"

He was extremely shocked.

The Heavenly King of the Golden Eagle Federation patted his shoulder. "This isn't your fault. It's not that you're not outstanding enough, but that Butterfly Fairy… It…"

After pausing for a while, the Heavenly King seemed to be at a loss of words and couldn't finish his description. He could only console the Sun Son.

"Butterfly Fairy has an advantage in the fifth round of the assessment, but in the next round and the final round of the assessment, you might be able to win a round."

The Heavenly King's words made the Sun Son look up.

He was well aware that the Heavenly King was comforting him. In the ancient ruins, Butterfly Fairy didn't have an advantage over him but its results still left him in the dust.

But…

In tomorrow's assessment, he indeed had a huge advantage.

The advantage in strength.

"I didn't want to, but I… It's not only for me, but also for the Federation. I have to get first place tomorrow and achieve an overwhelming result!"

The final assessment.

Real combat was carried out in a special environment, in the Elemental Lake!