They had the Soldier Ants to thank. Without seeing that colossal, sky-blocking mushroom in the mountain range, it would have been nearly impossible for them to get their bearings.

"The bottom-left corner... This means the teachers and students who went south and east will have a hard time pinpointing the specific terrain. Plus, the Insect-men probably don’t operate outside the map’s area. Otherwise, why would they be carrying a map..."

Lü Xiuning muttered to himself, "Of course, that possibility can’t be ruled out. We’ll go with the most probable theory for now."

"In that case, the Insect-men’s area of activity is likely somewhere to the northwest." Lü Xiuning’s finger slid westward across the map.

His fingertip moved past the mountain range, pointing to the northwest of the swamp where the academy was supposedly located—a patch of terrain that resembled a grassland or a forest.

"There are no labels here. But precisely because there are no labels, it might just be the least dangerous area."

"No guarantees, but it’s certainly a possibility." Lü Xiuning pulled his finger back, looked at the others beside him, and made a decision.

"There’s no point in going forward. It’s too dangerous. Let’s go back first, explain what we’ve encountered to Dean Wu, and then decide what to do."

"Alright." The other three nodded.

Han Ning turned his head, looked at Xiaohong lying beside them, and waved. Regardless of whether it understood, he said, "Xiaohong, we’re leaving now. See you around."

Having discovered a cave so rich in the Fire Element, he was sure he would be back here often in the future. This wouldn’t be their last meeting.

The group quickly packed their bags. Led by Xiaohong, they said goodbye to the Ant Queen inside the cave and headed back the way they came.

After passing through the giant earthworm’s tunnel, Yin Yi carried the group and their Soul Beasts, flying straight up until they soon reached the place where they had fought the mushroom-heads.

They first flew up to survey their surroundings and leave a marker. After retrieving their discarded items and confirming their direction, they set off, marking the path as they went. Several hours later, they finally returned to the foot of the mountain.

...

The night was as black as ink.

It was late at night when Han Ning and his group returned to the academy.

They identified themselves to the students on guard duty, then returned to their respective dorms for a short rest.

They had left yesterday morning and returned in the small hours of today. Though it had been less than a day, it felt like three or four, leaving them mentally and physically exhausted.

Back in his dorm, Han Ning played with his two little companions, Yin Yi and Egg Pancake, for a while before falling into a deep sleep.

「The next morning, in a small conference room in Building A.」

"...And that’s more or less what happened." The four of them, Han Ning included, sat in their chairs and recounted the previous day’s exploration to Dean Wu and several other teachers who sat before them.

"Dean Wu, I’d like to change our exploration direction. We should head further north from the academy’s West Gate," Lü Xiuning said, stating his plan after taking a sip of tea.

"What an unexpected experience..." Dean Wu said, looking quite surprised at the group’s Tree Spirits or Wood Demons.

"The west is the direction Yue Ming and his team are exploring. They only left a day ago and should have left markers along the way. It shouldn’t take you too long to catch up to them."

"I originally wanted to let you rest for a day before setting out again, but considering the urgency of the situation, I can only ask you to push yourselves."

Dean Wu sighed softly. It was clear he was very worried about the teachers and students going out to explore.

"Dean Wu, never mind that. We originally thought the north was the most likely direction to find the Insect-men, but our speculation was wrong. Yue Ming’s team is very likely in danger. We have to get there as soon as possible."

Lü Xiuning stood up as he spoke.

...

After restocking on supplies at the academy, Han Ning and the other three headed straight for the West Gate without delay.

Before setting out, all the explorers had agreed to leave commonly known markers along their routes. This way, if any team didn’t return for a long time, others could follow the markers to find and rescue them.

On the map, the area from the west to the northwest was a region with no text labels. The four of them decided to first rendezvous with Teacher Liu Yueming and his team, and then consider which direction to explore.

It was also Han Ning’s first time going to the West Gate.

Just like the other directions, outside the West Gate was a seemingly endless swamp.

After a quick scan, Han Ning spotted a branch stuck crookedly in the ground about 100 meters away, with a loop made of cloth scraps tied to it. He suggested,

"Should we just fly over at a low altitude? Teacher Liu’s team has already passed this way, which means it shouldn’t be too dangerous."

"Okay. Let’s have Yin Yi carry the other three Soul Beasts below everything else. That way, if we’re suddenly attacked, they can counterattack immediately and we won’t get hurt," Lü Xiuning added.

"Alright, Yin Yi, let’s begin."

Han Ning patted Yin Yi’s cheek and smiled at it.

"Ling~"

Yin Yi skillfully shot out its vines, wrapped them around the four humans and Egg Pancake, and suspended them just below its body.

The other three Tree Spirits or Wood Demons were positioned below them, ready to counterattack at a moment’s notice.

Yin Yi could now shoot out over a dozen tough, flexible vines whose length it could control freely. With over 20 points in Power and Physical Strength, carrying a few people and Soul Beasts was not a problem.

To avoid being attacked by distant Soul Beasts, Yin Yi flew only 10 meters above the ground.

A pair of emerald-green leaves on its back fluttered in the wind as it carried the group, flying deeper into the swamp.

An endless expanse of mud pits and aquatic plants passed by below.

Han Ning carefully observed the ground, directing Yin Yi to follow the trail of markers—branches or stones placed every 100 to 200 meters.

Traveling by air was unbelievably fast.

Soon, nearly a hundred kilometers passed by in a flash.

Ahead, the vegetation grew denser, and a strange grassland covered in blood-red blades of grass gradually came into view.

It was less a grassland and more a "forest."

Every blade of grass here was at least 3 meters tall, like small trees standing in their way.

Below the grass, the dried-out corpses of several insects came into Han Ning’s view.

"Something’s up. Let’s go down and take a look."

Han Ning signaled for Yin Yi to land in front of one of the insect corpses.

It was a large, pale-red mantis, about 1 meter tall.

Its insectoid body had been blown apart by some unknown force, its fragmented remains scattered across the ground.

"It looks a bit like the explosive effect from a Silver Thorn."

Han Ning scanned the ground.

A faint, coppery smell wafted to his nose.

Then, his gaze sharpened.

Between the blades of grass, he saw a few bright yellow shell casings and faint traces of blood.

Crimson droplets of blood were spattered here and there on the soil and blades of grass, giving off a faint, coppery scent.

"Blood? Fresh, red blood... could it be from Teacher Liu’s team?" Lin Tianhe bent down, ducked between the blades of grass, and touched a finger to a bloodstain before bringing it to his nose to smell.