Seeing the flower mature, the humanoid’s eyes gleamed with greed. It plucked the bloom and swallowed it whole.

Before long, vein‑like lines spread across its four wings, pulsing with the throb of life.

At the same time, its body grew stronger:

Muscles rose—brimming with explosive power.

After it left—a pitch‑black worm crawled from the soil onto a husk‑dry corpse.

It extended a needle‑like mouthpart, pierced the corpse’s brow and sucked the remnant spiritual power from the skull.

As the worm drank deep—the humanoid flew back and spotted it.

With a thought, it sent vines lashing at the worm to kill it and feed it to the plant.

But at the instant the vines were about to strike, they froze in midair—then reversed, whipping toward the humanoid instead.

The worm had projected spiritual power and wrested control of the vines, twisting the situation in a heartbeat.

The scene in the void faded after this—replaced by four prompts:

[You have successfully unlocked the Wood Sprite Compendium and gained the biological attribute—Forest Lord]

[Forest Lord: You can expend spiritual power to control nearby plants.]

[You have successfully unlocked the Nine‑Turn Soul Bug Compendium and gained the biological attribute—Advanced Spirit]

[Advanced Spirit: Your spiritual power is greatly enhanced.]

‘Forest Lord—control plants? Advanced Spirit—fortify spiritual power?’

The two attributes were clearly a set and they were mage‑type attributes.

At that thought, Lin Zichen couldn’t help a twinge of dread.

The reason he had just killed the masked man six ranks above him without injury—aside from his own monstrous strength—was that the masked man was a mage‑type gene fuser with a rather weak physique.

Otherwise, never mind a clean, cross‑rank kill—he might have been the one to die.

Still, luck is part of strength. Nothing more to say.

Whoosh—suddenly, a swift tearing of air sounded nearby.

Lin Zichen’s heart tightened. He used the Eye of the Sky at once, scanning toward the sound.

What he saw startled him.

It was Instructor Lu Tianrong!

Across the way, Lu Tianrong spotted him and accelerated, aiming to link up.

Lin Zichen’s heart clenched. He burst forth with vitality and sped away from Lu Tianrong, refusing to let him approach.

He suspected Lu Tianrong was a human collaborator.

Earlier, when he faced the masked man head‑on, Lu Tianrong hadn’t appeared.

Just now, when he faced the hunched elder, Lu Tianrong hadn’t appeared either.

But the moment he regained his freedom and was about to flee—Lu Tianrong appeared.

‘If that wasn’t a collaborator, what was it? 99.999% percent a collaborator!’

Lin Zichen was cautious.

With the maxim do no harm, but guard against others in mind, he slapped the collaborator label on Lu Tianrong at once.

He flared his vitality and ran so fast his legs blurred, keeping Lu Tianrong away.

But heaven didn’t heed his wish.

Lu Tianrong’s speed was several times his own.

In under half a minute, he caught up and drew alongside.

“Zichen! It’s me! Instructor Lu—Lu Tianrong!”

As he closed, Lu Tianrong shouted to Lin Zichen less than ten meters away.

He was heavily transformed from over‑activating beast genes—a mouth full of huge, sharp fangs; a pair of fur‑covered arms behind him; his whole body bloody—a fearsome, savage sight.

“Instructor Lu, what’s going on with you?”

Lin Zichen was nervous inside, though he didn’t show it—only a trace of puzzlement.

Lu Tianrong’s Biological Level was Advanced Rank Six.

And he wasn’t badly injured.

While Lin Zichen’s strength, at best, was around Advanced Rank Four.

If Lu Tianrong were truly a collaborator, things looked grim for Lin Zichen.

It was hard not to be nervous.

Unaware of his worry, Lu Tianrong quickly explained, “While fighting the masked man who could control vines, I had to over‑activate the beast genes in my body to beat him. After over‑activating, I was stronger than he was. But—unfortunately, my methods couldn’t match his. He trapped me with vines and I couldn’t get free. Luckily, Principal Yuan spotted me just now and casually sliced the vines with a water blade. Otherwise I’d still be stuck.”

Hearing this, Lin Zichen chose to believe him.

With Lu Tianrong’s strength, if he wanted to take Lin Zichen down, he could do it easily—there was no need to spin stories.

“Where are the others? Why are you alone?” Lu Tianrong asked.

“We were chased by the badly wounded masked man,” Lin Zichen said, “I knew I was his target, so I lured him away by myself to let the others escape. They should be back at the bus now.”

“I see.”

Lu Tianrong nodded, then asked, “And the masked man?”

“I killed him,” Lin Zichen said flatly.

Lu Tianrong’s eyes went wide—utter disbelief.

Lin Zichen added, “He was gravely injured and much weakened. I killed him with a sneak attack.”

“I see.”

Lu Tianrong nodded again, “I’d injured him badly. He was probably below Advanced rank by then. If you ambushed him, you could win.”

He went on, “And the branch leader at Ordinary Rank Nine Peak—she’s dead too?”

“Mm. Dead.”

Lu Tianrong nodded and didn’t probe.

He assumed the trainees had ganged up and killed her.

“Instructor, are you alright?” Lin Zichen asked.

“I’m fine,” Lu Tianrong smiled, “There’s a trend toward mutation, but if I get back to the military district in time for treatment, there won’t be a problem.”

“Instructor, the Ninth Elder fighting Principal Yuan now—what’s his background?” Lin Zichen asked.

“The Ninth Elder is from the Divine Plant Cult—one of its elders,” Lu Tianrong replied.

“There are nine elders in the Divine Plant Cult, all Rare‑Tier powerhouses. The Ninth Elder handles personnel within the cult. They say he’s nearly two hundred years old. Many big figures now crossed paths with him when they were young. Not willingly—he schemed, threatened and lured them. Rumor has it Principal Yuan was once threatened by him in her youth. Thanks to her great clan and her own strength, he failed.”

“I see,” Lin Zichen said, “If the cult’s nine elders are all Rare‑Tier, then what about their leader—is he Epic‑Tier?”

“I don’t know,” Lu Tianrong shook his head, “The cult leader has never shown his face. But I’d guess Epic‑Tier. Otherwise, he couldn’t have gathered so many followers and built such a large cult.”

Epic‑Tier—a tier that could withstand a nuclear strike.

Lin Zichen felt that level terribly far away.

* * *

A minute later—the two finally burst out of the forest and saw the bus parked by the road.

They also saw Shen Qinghan and the others.

Because of the floral toxin, they had moved very slowly and had only just emerged from the forest themselves, about to board and leave.

“Xiao Chen!”

The moment she saw him, Shen Qinghan ran to him and threw herself into his arms, tears of joy in her eyes.

“I was so scared,” she sobbed, “Scared I’d never see you again. Let’s never be apart again, okay? Not a single step.”

“Mm. We won’t be apart,” Lin Zichen said, patting her head to comfort her.

Ma Xiwei walked up, “Why are you covered in blood? Are you hurt?”

Before Lin Zichen could answer, she handed him a small bottle. “I have a Great Rejuvenation Pill. Take it.”

She remembered that he had saved her earlier. Now she wanted to repay him.

Lin Zichen was about to refuse when Shen Qinghan let go, checking him over anxiously.

“Xiao Chen, you’re covered in blood—where are you hurt? Is it serious?”

At first glance she had only cried with joy; she hadn’t noticed the blood.

Now, prompted by Ma Xiwei, she realized and felt ashamed—that she had been clumsy, less attentive than an outsider, unworthy of a fiancée.

“I’m fine,” Lin Zichen said, holding her hand, “Stop checking. None of it is mine.”

“Really?” Shen Qinghan looked up.

She suspected a kindly lie to spare her worry.

“Really. I’m not lying,” he said, then looked to Ma Xiwei and smiled, “Thanks, but I’m uninjured. No need for the pill.”

“It’s fine. Keep it, use it when you need it,” Ma Xiwei said, stuffing the bottle into his hand before turning away, tactful enough not to intrude.

She didn’t like owing favors; if she owed one and could repay it on the spot, she would.

Lin Zichen glanced at the bottle, then pocketed it without overthinking it.

“We’re all here! Let’s get on the bus and go! This place is dangerous! The Divine Plant Cult sent a Rare‑Tier powerhouse. He’s facing off with Principal Yuan right now. If we stay, we could be caught in the crossfire.”

Gritting through the pain of mutation, Lu Tianrong shouted to everyone.

With time, he felt the beast within growing stronger. He wanted to reach the nearest hospital as soon as possible—to avoid permanent damage that could have been prevented.

Everyone was shocked.

‘The cult had sent a Rare‑Tier powerhouse? Was that necessary? And Principal Yuan was here? Where were the military district troops?’

Questions filled their hearts—but they knew now wasn’t the time to dwell.

The urgent task was to board quickly and leave.

One by one, they climbed aboard and waited for Lu Tianrong to drive off.

When everyone was aboard and the engine was already running—a graceful figure suddenly appeared before the bus.

A fox‑eared girl.

Without warning, like a specter, she appeared out of nowhere in the blink of an eye.