That evening, in the open space between several dormitory buildings.

Thanks to the combined efforts of over 300 teachers and students, along with the newly joined members and their Silver Lotus Woods, all the mud that had accumulated in the hallways and around the buildings had been cleared away.

This was supposed to be the time for the short meeting Dean Wu had planned, but at this moment, everyone was standing before small mountains of piled-up mud, their faces filled with pleasant surprise. They watched as their Silver Lotus Woods, rooted in the sludge, bathed in a green glow of Spiritual Energy.

"What a blessing in disguise... To think the mud left behind by the flood would be so rich in Energy, enough to accelerate the Silver Lotus Woods’ growth." Dean Wu watched the scene excitedly, his expression lacking its usual composure.

"It’s likely that the leeches and various Soul Beast corpses in the mud were broken apart during the cleanup process. They mixed with the soil, creating this energy-rich sludge," Teacher Lü Xiuning analyzed from the side.

"It’s not just the leeches. The soil after the heavy rain was also hiding those black worms that contain a certain amount of Spiritual Power. I collected over fifty of them this afternoon while cleaning up."

Han Ning lifted a bag of long-dead black worm carcasses and tossed it into the mud.

The black worms weren’t as densely populated as the leeches. He had searched the entire dormitory area and only found about fifty, but it was still a pleasant surprise.

Each black worm provided 0.1 Spiritual Energy, totaling just over 5 points.

As for the leeches, there were thousands upon thousands of them. The putrid sludge, filled with the remains of various creatures, was the perfect breeding ground for them.

They weren’t Soul Beasts, but they contained a faint amount of Energy and could also nourish the Silver Lotus Woods. They were essentially the unsung heroes responsible for strengthening everyone’s Silver Lotus Woods.

Consequently, everyone’s attitude toward them had changed.

From initial disgust to a state of near-ecstasy upon finding them now.

As long as one prepared in advance, nothing was easier to deal with than the leeches.

In just one afternoon, Han Ning had gathered over 60 points of Energy, while Yin Yi and Egg Pancake had killed more than 6,000 leeches.

The others had their own gains as well.

Although there were many piles of mud, there were just as many Silver Lotus Woods. Under Dean Wu’s expectant gaze, two more people’s Silver Lotus Woods successfully broke through to the Fourth Mutation stage.

Despite the foul, decaying environment, a faint aura of Life constantly lingered in the air.

"You could say they are ’emerging from the mud, yet unstained; washed by clear ripples, yet not beguiling’." His roommate, Lin Tianhe, stood beside Han Ning, shaking his head as he showed off his erudition.

His Silver Lotus Wood was also rooted in a pile of mud, slowly accumulating Energy for its Fourth Mutation.

This session of collective Energy absorption and breakthroughs lasted for about an hour.

Only when the collected mud could no longer provide any more Energy for the Silver Lotus Woods did everyone finally disperse.

...

That night, in a temporary meeting room on the 5th floor of Building A.

It was called a meeting room, but in reality, it was just a partitioned-off space in a relatively wide section of the 5th-floor hallway.

Han Ning and over thirty other teachers and students were gathered there.

Dean Wu cleared his throat gently and said, "Plans can’t keep up with changes. I was thinking of spending a week having everyone collect mud rich with Soul Beast remains. We’ll try to raise the strength of most of the Silver Lotus Woods first, and then organize a team to explore outside. What are your thoughts?"

Lü Xiuning offered his opinion. "There’s no problem with increasing our strength, but I’ve noticed that the Energy from the mud has a sharply diminished effect on Silver Lotus Woods that have reached the Fourth Mutation. Dean Wu, could we perhaps have the exploration and strengthening efforts run concurrently?"

"Teacher Lü, are you suggesting that the students whose Silver Lotus Woods have reached the Fourth Mutation go out to explore, while the others remain within the academy grounds to focus on strengthening their own?" Liu Yueming asked for confirmation.

Lü Xiuning nodded. "Yes. Clearing out the scattered Soul Beasts and leeches hiding in the mud isn’t very dangerous, so there’s no need for our more powerful personnel to waste time on it. Besides, didn’t Han Ning say that for a Silver Lotus Wood to evolve, it must devour a Soul Beast Crystal Stone with an Attribute? You won’t find any Crystal Stones in the mud."

Han Ning had reached this conclusion—that Silver Lotus Woods needed Attribute Crystal Stones to evolve—based on the information displayed on the panel when Yin Yi evolved.

Evolution required increasing a Soul Beast’s Elemental Affinity. To gain Elemental Affinity, one had to hunt stronger Soul Beasts, devour their Soul Crystals, and obtain Elemental Energy.

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to evolve relying on ordinary nutrients alone.

"Dean Wu, don’t forget, the Insect-men can command Soul Beasts that are just as strong as Yin Yi. Pitting a Fourth Mutation Silver Lotus Wood against them is like throwing an egg at a rock. We must cultivate a few more evolved Soul Beasts in the shortest time possible if we want to have any real means of self-preservation," Lü Xiuning added.

"Xiuning has a point." Dean Wu’s fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop. He pondered for a few seconds before speaking slowly. "Alright, how about this: we’ll give everyone three days. Our processing center still needs to be cleaned out. We’ll use these three days to strengthen everyone as much as possible. After that, we’ll select a group of the strongest individuals to go out and explore."

"Okay... I have no problem with that." Liu Yueming nodded in agreement.

"I agree."

"..."

Hearing Dean Wu’s words, the crowd nodded one after another.

...

For the next few days, Han Ning didn’t go anywhere. He worked alongside the other teachers and students, clearing the areas around the dormitories and the path to the processing center.

On the first day, they cleared more mud from the dormitory area. They also managed to find some usable gasoline and diesel fuel inside the flooded cars that had been tossed about by the floodwaters and left overturned on the roadside. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Car gas tanks are very well-sealed and have a certain degree of pressure resistance. Even the smell of gasoline can’t easily escape, let alone water getting in.

The car batteries, however, were completely ruined.

On the second and third days, they cleared the road to the processing center. It was a massive undertaking that took a full two days.

Unfortunately, the electronic components of the most expensive piece of equipment in the processing center, a multi-function CNC machine, were completely submerged. Under the current conditions, the probability of repairing it was practically zero.

Fortunately, the other machines—those that were more mechanically driven and had simpler electronic circuits—still had a chance of being repaired.

Over these three days, the biggest beneficiaries were everyone’s Silver Lotus Woods... and Han Ning.

By absorbing the Energy from scattered black worms and leeches, he obtained a total of 10 Spiritual Energy and over 200 Energy.

Han Ning learned from Dean Wu that 16 people’s Silver Lotus Woods had now successfully broken through to the Fourth Mutation, and there were over 100 that had reached the third mutation!

「Three days later, in the morning.」

A fully equipped Han Ning, Lü Xiuning, Luo Chen, and Lin Tianhe gathered on the first floor of Building A.

After confirming that nothing had been forgotten, Lü Xiuning clapped his companions firmly on the shoulder and said in a low, serious voice,

"Let’s move out! Target: the northern part of the academy and the wilderness beyond!"