Including Han Ning, a total of 18 people in the academy had a Silver Lotus Wood that had broken through to Entry Level IV, which was above the Fourth Mutation.

The reason Han Ning’s team only had four people was due to a shortage of personnel. However, since Yin Yi’s strength far surpassed that of other Silver Lotus Woods, an extra person or two wouldn’t have made much difference anyway.

Within the team, each person had a specific role.

Han Ning was the strongest, which went without saying. He and his two Soul Beasts were tasked with protecting the group and killing any hostile Soul Beasts.

Teacher Lü Xiuning, with his extensive knowledge and life experience, served as the drone pilot, communications officer, and map analyst.

Luo Chen was the second strongest on the team. Tall and sturdy, he enjoyed cycling and exploring during his time off, giving him a fair amount of wilderness survival experience. When danger arose, he could also help shoulder some of the burden.

The final member was Lin Tianhe. His Silver Lotus Wood hadn’t even reached Entry Level IV. He had joined the team for two reasons.

First, the kid had volunteered. Over the past few days, he had consulted with the doctors from the Mao Bear Country to learn some basic first-aid, allowing him to serve as the team’s medic.

Most of the people in the academy who knew first aid weren’t very strong. Lin Tianhe was considered the strongest of the bunch.

Although Yin Yi could perform Healing and mend wounds, having someone who knew first aid would still be extremely convenient for things like broken bones, drowning, or sudden suffocation.

Take a fracture, for example. The bone had to be set correctly before being treated. It would be a disaster if a Healing Soul Technique was used directly and the bone fused together crookedly.

Though... Han Ning was highly skeptical of his roommate’s cram-session bone-setting skills.

Second, although Lin Tianhe’s Silver Lotus Wood hadn’t reached Entry Level IV, it had absorbed nutrients from the silt and was extremely close to a breakthrough. Han Ning planned to help it achieve that breakthrough during their exploration.

The other teams were mostly configured in a similar fashion.

Everyone had made extensive preparations for the expedition.

Han Ning and his team members had each packed a full five days’ worth of water and food.

First-aid kits, communication devices, a drone, photocopies of the beast-hide map, firearms... they had a full range of supplies.

The walkie-talkies only had a range of two to three kilometers, but if something were to happen within that small radius, they would allow for immediate communication.

Apparently, the communications expert, Rajkica, was already gathering materials around the academy to build a radio transmission base.

Once the radio transmission base was complete, they could use something akin to the telegraphs of a century ago for long-distance communication.

But that wouldn’t be accomplished anytime soon.

The four of them exited through the north gate of the dormitory area. They hadn’t gone more than a hundred meters before their path was blocked by a carpet of colorful vegetation.

Before them lay a vibrant, verdant landscape.

The Silver Lotus Wood from the wasteland, seeds from the landscaping belts, and other unidentifiable common plants had absorbed the rich nutrients in the silt and begun a Frenzied Growth.

In the mere three days since the floodwaters receded, these seeds had taken root in the silt, sprouted, and broken through the soil, growing into small blades of grass several to a dozen centimeters tall.

The surfaces of cars half-buried in the silt were now crawling with greenery.

From a distance, it looked like a ruined world after the fall of civilization.

In reality, however, only a few days had passed.

As the plants absorbed the moisture and Energy from the silt, the ground had gradually transformed into dry, brittle earth. A single step would cause it to crumble into dry clods of mud.

Under the protection of Yin Yi and the four Silver Lotus Woods, the team pushed aside the obstructive blades of grass, their feet sinking unevenly into the cracked earth as they advanced toward the northern part of the campus.

"Teacher Lü," Lin Tianhe asked curiously, crushing the earth underfoot with each step, "if all this vegetation has covered the ground in just a few days, how come there isn’t much growing in the swamps outside the academy?"

Lü Xiuning, carefully scanning the tall grass for any dangerous Soul Beasts, answered casually,

"It could be that the swamps are too waterlogged, which would affect plant respiration. Or maybe the water has a high salt content, or the soil has no nutrients. Of course, this is all based on my understanding of how things work on Blue Star. We shouldn’t be surprised if something happens that defies our current knowledge."

"So without nutrients, won’t they all wither and die soon?"

"Probably," Luo Chen chimed in. He was holding a fire axe, which he used to casually clear the weeds near their path, making it easier to see what might be hiding in the grass. "Silver Lotus Wood may be weak, but they’re still Soul Beasts. They know how to hunt creatures weaker than themselves to get nutrients."

A palm-sized little Guardian sat quietly on his shoulder, its gaze fixed on Egg Pancake, who was walking beside Han Ning.

Han Ning glanced at the yellow Swamp Guardian on Luo Chen’s shoulder and smiled. "When was this little one born? It’s pretty quiet."

"About four days ago. I’ve been feeding it leech carcasses for the past few days, and it’s growing like a weed."

Luo Chen chuckled, then his gaze fell on Egg Pancake next to Han Ning. He said with a hint of envy,

"Of course, it’s nowhere near as big as your Swamp Guardian."

"It can eat the black leeches?" The thought of the leeches’ dark bodies made Han Ning’s stomach turn.

"Guardians love to eat insects, and leeches are basically insects, so it’s a natural part of their diet." Luo Chen noticed his little Guardian was still staring at Egg Pancake and smiled. "Go on, go play with your big brother."

"CHIRP~"

The little Guardian showed a surprising amount of Spirituality. It zipped off Luo Chen’s shoulder and ran over to Egg Pancake, cautiously eyeing the big brother it had just met.

"CHIRP?"

Egg Pancake, who had been diligently scanning the surroundings, turned its head. Seeing the little creature more than ten times its junior in size, it let out a happy chirp and lifted the smaller Guardian onto its own head. The two Guardians then walked on ahead, heads held high with remarkably similar expressions.

Watching the large and small Guardians, Luo Chen continued, "Oh, by the way, Han Ning, I wanted to ask you something. How do you form a contract with a second Soul Beast? I’ve been trying to form one with Yellow Spirit, but I keep failing... Is it because my Spiritual Power is too low? How do I increase it?"

With a soft sigh, he added, "Without the contract, I feel like something’s missing. It’s hard for me to sense Yellow Spirit’s presence, and it doesn’t seem very attached to me. I can only raise it like a pet for now."

"Yellow Spirit? Why not Yellow Eyebrow King? That sounds way more badass," Lin Tianhe joked as he sidled up.

"I was going to call it Yellow Eyebrow King, but I was worried it wouldn’t be able to live up to the name, so I changed it to Yellow Spirit."

Han Ning explained, "Well, there are two ways. The first is to evolve your Silver Lotus Wood. The Energy from the evolution will feed back into your Body and give your Spiritual Power a major boost. The second is to drink the pungent liquid from an Insect-man, but that comes with certain risks."

As they spoke, the four of them ventured deeper into the northern part of the campus.

A large building, its walls covered in pale yellow mud stains, came into view.