"The Insect-men... how are they able to track our position?"

Han Ning glanced at the swarm of insects still some distance behind them and signaled for Yin Yi to descend slightly, using the scattered aquatic plants above the swamp to conceal their trail.

"Six of them, at least over six meters tall... GULP... Teacher Lü, Han Ning, what should we do?"

Lin Tianhe, at his side, took a long, deep breath and swallowed hard, trying to calm his nerves.

"We absolutely cannot let them follow us back to the academy. Otherwise, the weaker teachers and students in the dormitory area will have a hard time fending them off." Lü Xiuning’s expression was grave as he looked at Han Ning.

"Han Ning, you’ve fought the Insect-men before. Tell us their specific characteristics again."

Although Han Ning had already described them during the last meeting, Lü Xiuning was clearly worried that the others hadn’t heard, and wanted him to repeat it.

"I think... we don’t need to be so nervous."

Han Ning had recovered from his initial tension. He was no longer staring intently at the swarm behind them, but said in a low voice,

"I took a quick look. The insects they’re riding aren’t that big. And judging by their flight speed, they’re only a little bit faster than Yin Yi. This means that although there are many of them, their individual strength might not even match Yin Yi’s. They might even be on par with our Tree Spirits and Wood Demons."

The giant insects leading the chase behind them all have wings. If they were truly powerful, their speed would be noticeably different.

And keep in mind, Yin Yi isn’t a Soul Beast that specializes in flight.

"The Insect-men’s physical strength is actually similar to ours. Compared to the large insects, they’re more like Beast Masters—the brains commanding the swarm. So... if we clash with them, we must kill the Insect-men first. Leave the swarm without a commander, and then we can pick them off one by one."

"We have a basic understanding of the Insect-men, but they don’t know us. When the time comes, we’ll find an opportunity. While our Soul Beasts tie down the swarm, we’ll kill them directly with firearms!" Han Ning’s gaze turned icy.

"Their Spiritual Power is no weaker than ours. Didn’t you say before that staring at them for too long or showing hostility would alert them?" Luo Chen frowned.

"They’re not without weaknesses. As long as your Spiritual Power is higher than theirs, you can predict their movements in advance," Han Ning explained.

"Among us, if we’re talking about someone with stronger Spiritual Power than them, it would only be you." Lü Xiuning’s gaze was fixed on Han Ning.

"I can’t be sure if there’s one among the Insect-men who’s stronger than me. But since we’ve already been targeted, we have no other choice but to fight to the death."

Han Ning let out a slow breath and continued,

"Teacher Lü, are we fighting them here, or should we find a more suitable location?"

"Should we lure them to the Mushroom Mountain Range? Let them fight the Mushroom Heads, and we can reap the rewards," Lin Tianhe suggested.

"The Insect-men have lived here for so long that they’ve even drawn detailed maps. You think they don’t know about the powerful group of Mushroom Heads there? I’m certain that if we lead them over, the chances of us getting attacked are higher than them being attacked," Lü Xiuning said calmly, glancing at him.

"Then what do we do?"

"Change course. Have Yin Yi fly toward the East Gate. There’s a forest outside the East Gate that we’ve explored before, so we’re familiar with it. We can use the cover of the trees to fight them guerilla-style."

A glint shone in Lü Xiuning’s eyes.

"Don’t get too close to the academy, but we need to get within a two-kilometer range. I have a walkie-talkie on me. Once we reach our destination, I’ll report the situation to Dean Wu and have him send a group of relatively strong teachers and students to help us."

His gaze swept over the group: "We are not fighting this battle alone!"

"Teacher Lü, Tianhe... how many Wood Type Crystal Stones do you guys have left?" Han Ning suddenly asked.

"Uh... I’m out. I only have Poison Attribute stones, you want them?"

"I only have two left..."

"I have one."

Lin Tianhe and the others rummaged through their bags, each taking out a few Crystal Stones.

"Never mind... Everyone, just feed whatever Crystal Stones you have on hand to your Soul Beasts. Let’s boost their strength as much as possible."

Han Ning shook his head and immediately signaled for Yin Yi to entangle all the Wood Type Soul Beasts running on the ground and fly toward the academy’s East Gate.

Hearing this, the others all took out green, purple, or pale white Crystal Stones from their backpacks and tossed them to their Soul Beasts to consume.

After hearing Han Ning’s analysis on secondary attributes, they had originally planned to hold a small trading market after returning to exchange for more suitable Crystal Stones.

But the situation was urgent now. They couldn’t worry about whether the secondary attributes were a match; strengthening their combat power was the priority.

In an instant, everyone’s Silver Lotus Woods, Tree Spirits, and Wood Demons began to glow with various colors of light.

Han Ning didn’t hesitate either. He directly tossed all his remaining Crystal Stones, big and small—especially the largest Mushroom Head Crystal Stone—to Yin Yi, pushing her and Egg Pancake’s stats straight to their limits.

[Wood Element Affinity +0.3]

[Wood Element Affinity +0.5]

...

[Wood Element Affinity +15]

Previously in the ant cave, after allocating points to Yin Yi and Egg Pancake, he had about 30 Energy left. Then, after absorbing 30 Crystal Stones from the Mushroom Heads, his Energy had increased to over 180 points.

It was worth noting that the largest Mushroom Head Crystal Stone alone had provided them with a whopping 105 points of Energy and 15 points of Wood Element Affinity!

As nearly 200 points of Energy were added, Yin Yi was instantly enveloped in a brilliant green light.

Wood Type Soul Beasts of all sizes were shrouded in light, and everyone’s attention was focused on their own beast.

After maxing out the points, Yin Yi’s stats were:

[

Race: Cuiwei Wood Demon

Gender: Female

Talent: E+

Level: Awakening Level IV (1036/1200)

Talent: None

Acquired Soul Techniques: Healing III (698/700), Emerald Flower Thorns IV (234/1000), Frost Crystal Shield I (23/400)

Power: 23 (Maxed)

Body: 24 (Maxed)

Agility: 23 (Maxed)

Spiritual Energy: 110 (Maxed)

Elemental Affinity (Wood): 102

Ice: 27.2

]

’Her Frost Shield had upgraded... That’s good news,’ Han Ning thought as he scanned the description for Frost Crystal Shield.

[Frost Crystal Shield]: Increased Ice Element Affinity allows for more masterful control over the Ice Element. Compared to Frost Shield, Frost Crystal Shield has a more abundant layer of Ice Element on its surface, increasing its defense.

Bolstered by the abundant Spiritual Energy, Yin Yi’s speed increased slightly, now basically matching the speed of the pursuing swarm. Entangling all the humans and Soul Beasts, she continued to race toward the East Gate.

Nearly a hundred kilometers passed in a flash.

The swarm behind them, however, never fell away, sticking close on their trail.

Seeing a dark forest appear up ahead, Lü Xiuning quickly pulled out his walkie-talkie and said, "Dean Wu, this is Lü Xiuning. We have an emergency situation over here..."