Soon, they began to retreat.

After retreating more than 20 kilometers, they reached the edge of where the level 3 Fierce Beasts were active.

Even though they had arrived here, they were still not at ease, so they retreated another 10 kilometers before daring to set up camp again.

In Xu Yi’s camp, Qin Fan was the first to wake up.

When he woke up, it was already past 10 in the morning.

He saw Xu Yi outside, skillfully controlling a flying spear, so he walked over.

After observing for a moment, Qin Fan said, "Xu Yi, there were many deaths and eliminations today, right? I heard a series of prompts in my sleep."

Xu Yi retrieved his spear and replied, "Yes, 15 died and 17 were eliminated. They must have encountered an attack by level 3 Fierce Beasts, and not just one."

Qin Fan’s expression changed and he said, "So many... this is the most we’ve seen in over a hundred days. Level 3 Fierce Beasts are indeed terrifying."

Xu Yi agreed with this and said, "Level 3 Fierce Beasts are indeed different from level 2. Likewise, level 4 would be much stronger than level 3."

Qin Fan nodded, saying nothing further.

This issue can only be resolved by continually getting stronger; everything else is meaningless.

"Slept so well, haven’t had such a restful sleep in a long time." Wang Jin walked out of the tent and couldn’t help but stretch and twist her slender waist.

The others also gradually woke up.

Even though everyone went to sleep very late last night, they all slept very well.

"Let’s pack up the tents first and have lunch before we continue advancing," Xu Yi arranged.

Hearing Xu Yi’s words, Qin Fan became a bit worried, "Xu Yi, so many people died, should we still go deeper? What if we encounter level 4 Fierce Beasts?"

Lu Ke was slightly stunned and curiously asked, "So many people died, when did this happen?"

Xu Yi met Lu Ke’s gaze and explained, "Around 6 o’clock in the morning. Li Kang’s camp was attacked by several level 3 Fierce Beasts, resulting in 15 deaths and 17 eliminations."

"What?" Wang Jin exclaimed and then said with some terror, "This... this is too many, why so many sacrifices..."

The others said nothing, but their expressions were very serious.

Level 3 Fierce Beasts are really too strong. If more than two had attacked them last night, perhaps someone in their team would have been sacrificed too. Unless Xu Yi could come back immediately.

Therefore, going deeper is indeed more dangerous.

"The only way to increase our strength is to continue moving forward; there are no other options. In the next hundred days, it’s uncertain if we’ll end up near level 5 or even level 7, 8 Fierce Beasts," Xu Yi thought danger was ever-present. If one desires comfort, they might as well give up.

Day 300, 400, 500 - each of these stages will undoubtedly become increasingly dangerous.

Su Yan frowned and said defiantly, "If we’re only level 5, how could we be sent near level 7 or 8 Fierce Beasts? Wouldn’t that be sending us to our deaths?"

"The Spirit Race doesn’t care about our lives. If we fail, there will be other civilizations to challenge these 500 days. Whoever completes it can claim this planet. So, apart from fighting desperately, there’s no other way," Xu Yi thought Su Yan was being naive for the first time.

They had been challenging for almost 150 days. How could she not see this yet?

"Fight or give up and go home; the choice is simple," Zhou Mo said before heading off to pack the tent. He chose to continue fighting.

Return?

Return to being an ordinary student?

No, he didn’t want to live that kind of life.

Therefore, he decided to follow Xu Yi.

Lu Ke said nothing and directly returned to the tent to pack.

Others also started packing because they clearly understood that Xu Yi was right. The Spirit Race would not protect them just because they were weak.

If that were the case, they might as well have handed the Spirit Blue Star over to humanity directly - there would be no need to challenge a 500-day survival.

The person cooking also began to get busy.

After half an hour, everyone was having lunch: boiled potatoes with giant cabbages and meat soup. It was quite a sumptuous meal.

Other teams certainly didn’t have such a meal.

After a hearty meal, everyone mounted their rides.

The level 3 Fierce Beast Xu Yi tamed was placed on the back of the Black Qilin, being carried along.

Along the way, Xu Yi naturally kept identifying some plants, so their speed wasn’t very fast.

However, Lu Ke and the others were used to it. They could also train on the rides’ backs.

Everyone noticed Xu Yi suddenly speeding up toward a certain spot and immediately focused their attention on Xu Yi.

"Bananas, are those bananas? They’re so big," Liu Li pointed at a dozen banana-like plants in the distance and shouted before speeding up to follow Xu Yi.

The others also increased their speed.

Xu Yi had already cut down a large bunch of ’bananas.’

These ’bananas’ were very large, about as thick as Xu Yi’s forearm, and appeared to weigh three to five pounds each.

Xu Yi had already peeled one open, and a fragrant aroma wafted out.

Taking a bite, Xu Yi quickly chewed and happily said, "They really are bananas, with a great taste and high sweetness."

The others jumped off their rides and picked off the large bananas to taste.

"This one banana is enough for a meal. It’s really huge. If these could be our staple food, that would be great. There must be several thousand pounds here, right?" Lu Ke said, squinting her eyes. The taste of these bananas was indeed great, with a glutinous texture and an enticing fragrance.

Su Yan ate part of one and then said, "Actually, some countries do use bananas as a staple food. A few of my senior brothers have gone to such countries to provide support."

Wang Jin raised her hand excitedly and said, "I’ve heard that too. There are quite a few variations: fried, soup, grilled, fried, etc. Unfortunately, I’ve never got the chance to try them."

Having eaten a large piece, Xu Yi said, "Those bananas probably aren’t very sweet, so they’re more suitable as a staple. These are sweeter than the bananas we consider fruit, so they’re only good for dessert, aren’t they?"

Lu Yao agreed with Xu Yi and said, "Indeed, once or twice is fine, but eating more would definitely get tiring."

Qin Fan took a bite of the banana and suggested, "No matter what, it’s always a good idea to pick and store them. If we really run out of food, these giant bananas could sustain us for a while."

Xu Yi nodded and said, "Okay, but we don’t need to pick them all - taking half is enough."

Half would still be five to six hundred pounds; if they really run out of food, it would last them for a while.