Fang Yu stepped forward and said politely,
"Hello."
"Hello!" Mu Nujiao replied.
"Hello, Expert!" An Ying greeted enthusiastically.
Fang Yu: "..."
What kind of title was that? So awkward.
Zhou You coughed lightly and explained, "An Ying knows about your background and what happened during the Earth Holy Spring competition."
"Alright, let's each introduce ourselves," Zhou You quickly changed the subject, clearly unwilling to dwell on past battles.
"I'm a Basic-Tier Level Three Fire Element mage. I've mastered Fire Burst – Rupture."
"I'm a Basic-Tier Level Three Ice Element mage. I've mastered Ice Spread – Enshroud," the round-faced girl, An Ying, said.
After speaking, she glanced at Fang Yu.
After all, compared to him, her recently achieved Basic-Tier Level Three cultivation seemed hardly worth mentioning.
She had come this time to observe him and see whether he could be recruited into her family.
"I'm a Basic-Tier Level Two Plant Element mage. I've mastered Vines – Lashing," Mu Nujiao said.
The Plant Element.
When casting, several vines resembling serpents would appear. She could freely control the vines she created, restraining prey caught within them.
"I'm a Mid-Tier mage. I've mastered Mid-Tier Ice magic. My second element, Space, has also reached Basic-Tier Level Three."
Fang Yu followed with his introduction.
He did not reveal too much.
When he finished speaking, the other three fell silent.
Because that level of cultivation simply did not match theirs at all.
"For a grassroots mage, that's way too outrageous," An Ying couldn't help saying.
Fang Yu thought it was fine. After all, Mu Nujiao was a year younger than him and would successfully break through next year as well.
If they knew his true situation, they would probably have their entire worldview shattered.
"Go register the mission first," Zhou You said.
"We'll depart at nine sharp."
At nine in the morning, the four of them boarded a plane on schedule, heading toward the rural areas around Bingyuan County.
Their destination was Xuefeng Village, a relatively underdeveloped town.
Agriculture was its main industry, which made the presence of Earth Burrowing Rats especially troublesome.
On the plane, once they had some downtime, the four of them seated in front and back rows, couldn't help but chat again. Zhou You spoke first.
"I forgot to ask yesterday. I looked into it—Fang Yu, you graduated early but didn't participate in this year's National Magic Assessment. Does that mean you didn't enroll in an Academy?"
Didn't enroll?
An Ying and Mu Nujiao, seated in front, seemed to hear another explosive piece of news.
Not entering an Academy, was he planning to develop independently?
"Yeah. I plan to cultivate at home for another year and enroll next year. I'll have a better grasp of things then," Fang Yu replied calmly.
If he enrolled this year, he wouldn't achieve the effect of overwhelming the entire field.
Next year? Who knew what level he would reach by then? When it came to resource competitions, wouldn't it be effortless?
The other three fell silent.
Did he hear what he just said?
And he still didn't feel confident?
After arriving in Bingyuan County, it took them over two more hours before they finally reached Xuefeng Village.
After getting off at a bus stop near the village committee office, they were quickly received by the staff.
Although the four of them were not a professional mage team, as long as they were here to eliminate Earth Burrowing Rats, Xuefeng Village welcomed them warmly.
Due to limited time, they skipped pleasantries and headed straight for the heavily infested areas, the farmland and forest zones.
Standing before the endless stretch of farmland and woodland, Fang Yu and the others fell briefly silent.
Where to even begin?
In truth, the less intelligent and weaker Earth Burrowing Rats had already been eliminated by farmers using poison and traps.
The ones remaining were higher-level, more cunning individuals.
These Earth Burrowing Rats were elusive, adept at hiding, and relatively strong in combat, very difficult to exterminate.
"I'll search first," Fang Yu suggested.
In such a complex environment, locking onto Earth Burrowing Rats would require his Spiritual Will.
"Alright," the three replied in unison.
As Fang Yu finished speaking, his Spiritual Will spread outward, scanning the surroundings.
Moments later.
"Found one," Fang Yu said.
While the others waited, Fang Yu had already locked onto a target.
In a corner of the farmland, a giant rat about thirty centimeters long, hairless and with a body resembling compacted earth and stone, was sneakily picking red fruit.
"Where is it?"
"Over there."
Fang Yu pointed ahead, and the other three followed his gaze.
"Judging by its size, it's just an ordinary Servant-level creature, and it's alone, so the threat isn't high. The difficult part is how to kill it before it reacts and uses Earth Escape to flee!" Zhou You said.
"The books say Earth Burrowing Rats are extremely vigilant. Compared to sound and light, they're more sensitive to temperature. Once we get close, our body heat will likely alert it…"
Mu Nujiao suggested, "I'll use my plant magic, Vine: Bind to disguise the vines as plants and approach it first, see if I can restrain it directly.
"But I'm not sure whether the conjured vines can affect its earthen shell. When the time comes, you follow up."
The other three agreed with the strategy. At Mu Nujiao's command, her vines began disguising themselves as ordinary plants, slowly crawling along the ground.
The vines truly looked like natural vegetation—after all, they were plants to begin with. The Earth Burrowing Rat didn't notice anything unusual. In its eyes, such plants were merely food.
A skilled hunter often appears in the form of prey.
At the same time, Fang Yu and An Ying were already preparing to strike.
Only Zhou You remained standing there, somewhat at a loss. He widened his eyes and stared ahead.
He wanted to join the fight, but he was afraid his flames would burn the vines and ruin the battlefield, allowing the Earth Burrowing Rat to escape.
All he could do was shake his head and sigh.
Very soon the vines reached the Earth Burrowing Rat. They extended outward, locking onto their target!
Swish!
The vines lashed out with a deadly bind. However, any Earth Burrowing Rat that had survived and grown in such an environment was no simple creature. At the critical moment, it sensed the danger, dropped the fruit in fright, and bolted.
Whoosh!
It turned and ran at astonishing speed, successfully evading the attack.
When Earth Burrowing Rats come out to forage, they usually dig an escape tunnel in advance rather than relying on instant Earth Escape.
Using Earth Escape on the spot isn't particularly fast and makes them easy to catch. A prepared emergency route is far more reliable.
After the failed strike, Mu Nujiao abandoned stealth. More vines burst from the ground, shooting toward the Earth Burrowing Rat to restrict its movement and slow it down.
At the same moment, Fang Yu and An Ying had already unleashed their full power.
"Run? Do you think you can get away?"
An Ying shouted as violent frost scattered across the ground, surging toward the Earth Burrowing Rat. Given enough time, she could freeze this entire field.
Even if the Earth Burrowing Rat managed to burrow underground, there was still a chance it would be frozen.
Of course, the best-case scenario was freezing it before it reached the tunnel entrance.
However, An Ying was still a step too slow.
The Earth Burrowing Rat successfully reached the tunnel.
Just as it rejoiced and prepared to dive in, Fang Yu's magic, far faster in activation than An Ying's descended.
"Telekinesis: Void Claw!"
Boom!
Spatial energy surged. A massive boulder was ripped from the earth, blasting through the air. In an instant, it surpassed the spreading frost and caught up to the Earth Burrowing Rat.
The next moment, the boulder crashed down, slamming directly onto the tunnel entrance the Earth Burrowing Rat was about to enter.
Like a gigantic slab of steel falling from the sky, it struck with tremendous force. A violent shockwave rose along with a cloud of dust, and the ground was smashed into a huge crater by Fang Yu's spell.
With his spiritual sense and explosive magical power, he had located the tunnel entrance before the vines or frost could.
The Earth Burrowing Rat froze in place.
Where's my home?
"Ah—ah!!"
Moments later, it was swiftly bound by the vines.
But everyone's attention was now on the massive crater Fang Yu had created.
The power of the Space Element…
Like a falling object from great height, the other three felt their scalps tingle. Looking at Fang Yu, they couldn't help but think that with him around, they might as well go challenge entire groups of Earth Burrowing Rats directly.
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