245: Chapter 237 Countdown to Harvest

Of course, this "nothing more than this" was merely Xu Yan's personal evaluation and did not affect the value of the "wild" spiritual beast before him. Whether for research or for exchanging resources, it could bring Xu Yan significant gains.

The slight feeling of loss born from the fact that his first encounter with a wild spiritual beast turned out to be unsuitable for him quickly vanished after he calculated the benefits and resources he could obtain from it.

He casually placed various restrictions on the flames, sealing it into a crimson crystal to temporarily suppress its consciousness and growth, and then stored it in the Shadowlight Realm along with that seed.

The difference was that the crimson crystal was placed in the Earth Bear's former treasury for safekeeping, while the seed was personally planted by Mikhail in the volcano that Zhu Yan had previously generated to raise the ingredients captured by Chi Ming and the others.

As soon as the seed was planted, with the help of Mikhail's exquisite planting techniques, the Power of Earth Harmony, and the vast energy contained within the seed itself, it quickly took root, sprouted, and grew the moment it touched the ground.

In just a few hours, the once-empty volcanic magma chamber was filled with chili plants.

Indeed, when Xu Yan touched the seed and received the words 'anger' and 'plant,' the first thing he thought of was 'Cherry Bomb' from a certain game. Thus, this spiritual plant seed became the Wrath/Calm Chili. It relied on its spiciness to increase, calm, or harmonize anger.

Regarding this result, besides sighing at the divine power of Myriad Affinity, Xu Yan was also extremely satisfied.

After all, within the beast-taming system, anger was not a niche school of thought.

Whether it was used to cultivate spiritual beasts with names containing 'wrath,' 'violent,' or 'fury,' or to let spiritual beasts practice emotion-based skills, it could achieve excellent results. Even without special processing, such high-level, high-yield, and effective spiritual plants would never lack a market.

After satisfactorily collecting the loot dropped by the 'dungeon boss,' Xu Yan took the two spiritual beasts for a turn around the magma chamber. He almost completely stripped the volcano of the high-quality fire-attribute ores and volcanic essence accumulated over many years before slowly leaving the volcano.

By the time Xu Yan emerged from the volcano with Chi Ming and Qing Lan, it was the evening of the sixth day since everyone entered the secret realm. In one more day, this secret realm expedition would end.

He looked up at the Mechanical Fortress in the sky, which had been charging for six consecutive days and was now fully powered with all weapons deployed. With a thought, nine virtual screens in a dark state appeared before him.

Xu Yan didn't have to wait long; the figures of the School Team members soon appeared one after another on the nine screens.

Unlike Xu Yan's nearly 'glitched' way of clearing the stage, among the remaining nine, only Lin Heng and Chen Ling had successfully 'cleared' it like he had. The other seven were either currently in a fierce battle with a 'final boss' or preparing to face one in the final boss area.

However, regardless of whether they were busy or free, after receiving Xu Yan's communication request, almost all of them connected at the first moment they could spare a hand.

Looking at the seven who had not yet cleared their stages, Xu Yan spoke directly, asking if they needed him to provide any off-field support. After Xu Yan spoke, Lin Heng and Chen Ling also expressed their willingness to help.

The other seven unanimously declined the offer of help from Xu Yan's trio.

Of course, while declining, they didn't completely shut the door, stating they would try to solve it themselves first. If the battle wasn't finished by the time the competition was nearly over, they would then choose to seek help from Xu Yan and the others.

Xu Yan nodded, told them to call out directly if they needed anything, and then hung up the communication to stop interfering with their battles.

As for Lin Heng and Chen Ling, Xu Yan also asked them whether they planned to continue exploring nearby or gather directly. Both indicated they had no intention of further exploration.

In response, Xu Yan had Wuxiang activate the recovery device. Using the positioning from the bracelets on their hands, three pillars of light descended from the Mechanical Fortress, bringing the three of them, including Xu Yan, directly into the mechanical stronghold in the sky.

Looking at the two who were curiously surveying their surroundings, Xu Yan waved his hand and gave them partial control permissions for the mechanical stronghold along with various game resources, letting them pass the time themselves. Then, he turned on the mechanical stronghold's broadcast.

Subsequently, a mechanical voice appeared in the ears of all living beings in the secret realm.

"Clearing the map begins in twelve hours."

Simultaneously with the voice, a countdown of 12:00:00 appeared on the mechanical stronghold, visible from any position or perspective just by looking up.

Hearing the voice and seeing the ticking countdown, the faces of some participants attending the University League for the first time changed. They clearly became tense, and their coordination with their spiritual beasts became somewhat frantic.

In contrast, the old veterans who had participated in the University League more than once sighed, "The Third Academy is quite generous with the time this time! In the past, they would have started even before the seventh day."

Of course, while making such comments, it didn't stop them from silently accelerating their combat and resource collection. Unlike the panicked newcomers, the movements and coordination of these veterans were much more stable.

Not only the participants from other colleges, but the other seven from the Third Academy also heard this mechanical voice.

At the same time, they understood that this mechanical voice was not just for the other participants, but for them as well.

If they couldn't finish their current 'dungeons' before the countdown ended, Xu Yan's trio would intervene directly. With this realization, the seven also sped up their actions significantly.

Thus, while Xu Yan and the others 'monitored' the entire secret realm, eating, drinking, or playing games, the countdown ticked away.

During this period, the other seven did not fail their titles as members of the Eight Great Academies. They completed their respective 'dungeons' one after another and returned to the Mechanical Fortress under Wuxiang's guidance, giving Xu Yan's trio no chance to provide off-field support.

As the countdown in the sky dwindled and finally reached 00:00:00, Xu Yan's pre-set commands triggered immediately, giving the participants in the secret realm no more time.

At the same time, various weapons that had long finished charging and preheating were activated. Diverse attacks shot out, arriving almost instantly, falling toward the locations of all participants in the secret realm.