"Captain, I don't think we can get anywhere by just wandering around the forest like headless flies," Xu Yu said, wiping the sweat from his brow and panting.

Qian Yuelong frowned slightly, tilted her head back, and the dense foliage formed a green canopy that completely blocked out the sky. As they went deeper into the Sunset Forest, there were almost no gaps in the path, and they could only judge the time by the light scattered through the forest.

As a glimmer of light flashed in Qian Yuelong's eyes, the dense shade and veins of the branches and leaves became nothing in her eyes, leaving only overlapping or intersecting green outlines.

A gray-blue sky came into view. Logically speaking, it was only past noon, when the sun should be at its strongest. There were few bright clouds in the sky, so it would either be cloudy in the afternoon or it would rain.

"This is definitely not a solution," Qian Yuelong murmured, looking at the sky.

The former is fine, but the latter is quite annoying.

It's really annoying that she doesn't know if the "rainy day event trigger buff" is still active.

Qu Yuanyi, who had been silently following the seven, spoke up: "Hunting for spirit rings is a very time-consuming process. Even if you find a spirit beast, it's hard to find one that suits you, so you have to keep looking for the next one. And during this time, spirit beasts won't just stand still and wait for human spirit masters to find them."

“Your strength is still too weak. Even if you, Qian Yuelong, can release your spiritual power to detect the surrounding spiritual energy, the soul beasts that are suitable for you must be soul beasts that are over three thousand years old. The longer a soul beast’s cultivation is, the more sensitive it becomes to spiritual power or the aura of released soul power. Unless you can achieve a level of spiritual power that is subtle and imperceptible, you may alert the enemy.”

It nourishes things silently.

Hu Liena, who was deliberately cultivating her spiritual power, was somewhat dejected.

These five words are still too far away for her.

Keep in mind that she is still in the exploratory stage.

The next stage is to use external mental energy for detection.

Yan twisted his neck, making a stiff "cracking" sound. "How about we rest for a while before continuing the search?"

Qian Yuelong gently inhaled the lingering, elegant fragrance and sighed, "Actually, there's another way. However, I need your soul skill to assist me, Xu Yu." She hadn't originally planned to use it.

But wandering aimlessly in the forest without encountering any spirit beasts isn't a good thing either.

Wei Ming's eyes flickered slightly, and he and the others turned their heads to look at Xu Yu.

Xu Yu pointed blankly at himself: "Huh? Me?"

Qian Yuelong nodded, then solemnly lied, "After mastering the domain last time, I accidentally discovered during my secluded cultivation that the domain resonated with my martial soul, the Floating World Golden Lotus, making the Floating World Golden Lotus exceptionally compatible with plants. It can even summon a type of vine with very strong vitality, making these vines my 'eyes'."

In fact, she doesn't need Xu Yu's assistance to activate the "Blooming Dream" passive skill, but she still needs to find someone to cover it up.

Xu Yu's eyes lit up. "My second soul skill happens to expand the range of a soul master's soul skill! If it works, we'll essentially have a map! Captain, if we succeed, will your domain's ability alert the soul beasts?"

"I can't guarantee this," Qian Yuelong hesitated, recalling how the first time she wore "Blooming Flowers Like a Dream" had alarmed Qian Daoliu. "This is the first time I've officially used it."

Seeing this, Xu Yu quickly comforted them, "It's alright, it's alright. Even if they're scared away, they'll just be back to square one. At worst, we can chase after one of the soul beasts in the direction it fled. We'll eventually encounter other soul beasts, which is much better than not encountering any at all. What do you think?"

An excited Xu Yu turned his head, wanting his teammates to agree, but he saw that they were all looking at Qian Yuelong with strange eyes.

Qian Yuelong looked back nonchalantly, her eyes filled with innocence.

Confused, Xu Yu asked, "Why are you all making those faces?"

Sun Chuantao's eyelids twitched, and he looked at Xu Yu, who was completely bewildered, with an indescribable expression.

Zhang Ping uttered with difficulty what the others were thinking: "Last time, the domain master who shook the entire academy, was it you?"

ah?

Xu Yu froze, then his expression changed drastically. His eyes widened suddenly, and he pointed tremblingly at Qian Yuelong, who had an angelic appearance and looked harmless and delicate. His voice was filled with grief and indignation: "Ah! So it was you! The culprit who made me rip my clothes in front of Xiao Hong!"

Who is Xiao Hong?

Qian Yuelong's focus veered off course, but she quickly regained her composure. Meeting the strange gazes of the three teachers and the stiff expressions of her companions, she smiled and said, "You don't need to look at me like that. Since we're all team members, shouldn't we sometimes trust each other?"

The truth will eventually come out. Even if she manages to keep it a secret now, she will still use the Divine Realm in the future, and people will find out.

Why not sell it to them? It would be a way of testing them.

Sun Chuantao looked at Qian Yuelong, who had given them the whole story, with a complicated expression, and said with difficulty, "How can you be so sure that we can always be partners on the same team?"

Although we escaped the elite class spot challenge this time, the inter-class team battles won't eliminate anyone.

But who can be sure that they won't be defeated by other students and drop out of the elite class in the next bi-monthly elite class competition?

Qian Yuelong's smile widened slightly: "Unfortunately, I am someone who cherishes the moment. And I believe that everyone who has worked so hard in their cultivation will definitely not lose to anyone."

Sun Chuantao fell silent, Zhang Ping pursed her lips, and even Xu Yu, who seemed a bit oblivious, looked at Qian Yuelong, who trusted them, with a complicated expression.

Yan mumbled something under his breath, but his pronunciation was so unclear that even Xie Yue, who was standing next to him, couldn't hear him clearly.

Hu Liena, who had just come to her senses, smiled slightly and hummed in agreement, breaking the silence: "Our opponents won't stand still, but we are improving ourselves. I believe we can maintain our current ranking and stay in the top seven. Also, even if Yue Long's domain skill alerted other soul beasts, it doesn't matter. We can just look for them again. Today is only the first day."

With Hu Liena smoothing things over, the heavy atmosphere among the team gradually dissipated as they chimed in with their own words of agreement.

Wei Ming and his two companions, who were observing the changing atmosphere of the team, watched this scene with upturned lips, delighted to see it.

"Alright, then I'll begin." Qian Yuelong summoned the Floating World Golden Lotus and looked at Xu Yu.

Xu Yu also released his martial spirit, a golden scepter. The scepter, radiating brilliance, fell to the ground, and a second yellow halo rose up.

"Second Soul Skill, Light of Support!"

—A side note—

If there are no drafts saved up, it means that if there is no update by 7:30 pm, or if a leave notice is not posted before 11:50 pm, then an update is possible.

(Whispering) Mo Li has always been a latecomer.