The cave was not large; Lin Mo and the others had to stoop low to squeeze inside.
This made Lin Mo think of the massive bodies of the Golden Armored Savage Bear and the Light-Chasing Leopard outside.
If they wanted to enter, they would have to break open the entrance.
Inside the cave stood three Hundred Life Flowers.
Their emerald-green stems radiated vigorous vitality.
Their seven snow-white petals were pure and delicate, as though even the slightest touch would harm them.
At the center of the petals, the crimson stamen was especially vivid, carrying an allure that made one want to swallow it after just one glance.
Lin Mo reached out to pick one.
"Wait, it's not time yet."
Lin Dabao immediately stopped Lin Mo.
"No wonder those two Mutant Beasts outside didn't forcefully pick them. The Hundred Life Flowers truly haven't fully matured yet.
"If you pick them now, their effects will be cut in half."
"Oh?" After hearing Lin Dabao's explanation, Lin Mo understood.
Rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures like these had not been explained in detail during class.
For one thing, such things were rare to begin with and almost never appeared on the market.
The Medicinal Materials Martial Artists usually used for Tendon Refining were several other kinds.
Their effects were worlds apart from those of the Hundred Life Flower.
Secondly, there was simply no point in teaching about Hundred Life Flowers in high school.
The threshold for becoming a Martial Artist alone was already an insurmountable barrier for most ordinary people.
Let alone reaching the level of a Sixth-grade Martial Artist.
Therefore, such rare items were rarely discussed in class.
"Also, when picking Rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures like these, you need jade containers to preserve them. Otherwise, if they're removed from the soil and not properly stored, they'll immediately become half-ruined goods or even complete waste. That would be a heartbreaking waste of heaven's gifts.
"So whenever you head out to hunt beasts or complete missions, you must carry some jade storage containers with you."
Lin Dabao turned into an old scholar at that moment, explaining everything in detail.
"I couldn't tell you knew so much. Damn, impressive." Lin Mo smiled at Lin Dabao.
"Of course! People call me Know-it-all for a reason."
Hearing Lin Mo's praise, Lin Dabao could not help but tilt his head back smugly.
"Look at you showing off. After talking for so long, did you even bring any jadeware?"
At that moment, Xiao Ya shot Lin Dabao a sidelong glance.
"Uh, well... I really didn't bring any."
"..." Lin Mo immediately rolled his eyes.
So this guy had gone on and on, yet he had not brought a single thing. What the hell kind of unreliable nonsense was that?
"Here!" Xiao Ya glared at Lin Dabao, then took three long Jade Boxes from the backpack on her back and handed them to Lin Mo.
"Thanks." Lin Mo did not stand on ceremony and took them directly.
"The Hundred Life Flowers will mature soon. At most, it'll be within an hour. Let's wait here for a while."
"Alright. As for how these three Hundred Life Flowers should be divided..."
"What division? They're all yours. If you hadn't killed those two Fifth-grade Mutant Beasts, we wouldn't have gotten these Hundred Life Flowers."
Before Lin Mo could finish, Xiao Ya spoke directly.
"This..."
Lin Mo was taken aback. He had not expected Xiao Ya to be so straightforward.
"Enough with that. Xiao Ya is right. The Hundred Life Flowers are yours. You did all the work, while we didn't do anything. I'm already more than satisfied just getting the Light-Chasing Leopard's Beast Core."
Liu Peipei, standing to the side, also said with a smile.
Lin Mo looked at Liu Peipei, then at Chen Jia and Lin Dabao. Seeing the two of them nod repeatedly as well, he could not help but smile.
They had known one another for such a short time, yet they could be like this. Not bad!
If it had been someone else, who knew how green-eyed they would have become at the sight of the Hundred Life Flowers.
These were the finest materials for Sixth-grade Martial Artists to refine their tendons with.
Meanwhile, amid the hills on the other side.
"Brother Hao, where are we going next?"
Huo Zihao sat to one side, wiping the bloodstains from his hands.
His teammates were sorting through the spoils.
To their right, five Mutant Beasts lay in pools of blood.
"Rest for a while, then head south. It's close to the river there. If we wait there, we should be able to harvest quite a few Mutant Beasts."
Huo Zihao thought for a moment before speaking.
There were three rivers in the Star Beast Forest, and they were also where these Mutant Beasts drank.
Waiting there was easier than searching through the forest all the way.
Mutant Beasts were like humans—water was a necessity, and they had to drink every day.
Just then, a rustling sound came from the woods on the left.
"Stay alert!"
Huo Zihao instantly stood up and drew his weapon.
The others also stopped what they were doing, picked up their weapons, and looked toward the dense forest.
A few breaths later, ten figures entered their sight.
The red-haired youth at the front was especially eye-catching.
"Brother Chen?"
Seeing the newcomers, Huo Zihao froze for a moment. He then put away his weapon and walked over to greet them.
"Oh? Huo Zihao?"
When the red-haired youth saw Huo Zihao, he was initially startled. His eyes shifted as though he were pondering something.
However, a faint smile soon appeared on the red-haired youth's face as he responded.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. I thought only people from our Southern Province were taking the assessment here."
"Haha, how could that be? This is the Elite Camp. Naturally, students from every province gather here."
Huo Zihao glanced at the people behind Brother Chen. They all looked unfamiliar, but he did not ask any questions and instead looked back at Brother Chen.
"Come, brothers, let me introduce you. This is my good big brother, Ning Province's No. 1—Lu Chen, a Fourth-grade Awakened!"
"What? Fourth-grade?" Hearing Huo Zihao's words, all his teammates were shocked.
This time, the students selected for the Elite Camp were all eighteen years old.
At that age, becoming an Awakened and reaching the realm of a Third-grade Martial Artist was already an exceedingly harsh requirement.
Yet now, there was actually a Fourth-grade Martial Artist of the same age. It truly left them stunned.
After all, among all the geniuses in Southern Province this time, not a single one had reached Fourth-grade.
"Hello, Brother Chen!"
The next second, these people tactfully called out in greeting.
"Hehe, hello." Red Hair responded with a smile that did not reach his eyes, while a trace of disdain flashed through his gaze.
The nine people behind him stood there expressionlessly, turning a deaf ear to everything happening here.
What puzzled everyone was that the way those nine looked at them felt extremely strange, as though there were a hint of killing intent in their eyes.
"Huo Zihao, are there any outstanding geniuses in your Southern Province this time?"
Red Hair asked with a faint smile.
"Geniuses? Our Brother Hao is one! His Blood Qi Value is already 800 calories. Among us, he's at the very top."
"That's right. Brother Hao is unquestionably one of Southern Province's most outstanding geniuses this time."
Huo Zihao's teammates instantly began fawning over him.
Yet they did not notice that as they spoke, the look in Red Hair Lu Chen's eyes as he watched Huo Zihao had changed.
"Don't listen to their nonsense. I'm only average. I can't compare to Brother Chen at all."
Huo Zihao was unusually humble. "But..."
Suddenly, he changed the subject.
"But what?" Lu Chen smiled at him, while his right hand reached for the curved blade at his waist.
The nine people behind him also reached for their weapons while Huo Zihao and the others were not paying attention, their expressions growing increasingly savage.
Before you continue