Free Web NovelChapter 102: Chapter 98: A Familiar Opponent
A home in the suburbs.
Today was a day off for the competition, so Fang Lihua had the rare luxury of waking up naturally.
In recent years, he’d felt like his life was going nowhere:
His non-Alliance Member status meant further promotion was a distant dream.
His stagnant position at the school had grown tedious.
His relationship with his son had hit rock bottom, with almost no communication...
But Fang Lihua wasn’t concerned about any of that. As long as Fang Yuan became a Master Level Beast Tamer, everything would turn out fine.
He didn’t care what friends Fang Yuan made, what hobbies he had, or even who he liked...
All that mattered was that his son followed the plan, won the championship, and proceeded one step at a time.
Fang Lihua had failed to awaken a Beast Taming Space, so he understood how hard it was for a non-Beast Tamer to climb the social ladder. Aside from a few rare paths, like writing a viral web novel, there was basically no way to get ahead. ƒreewebɳovel.com
That was why he demanded Fang Yuan follow his plan to the letter. There could be absolutely no mistakes!
After telling his wife to make breakfast and taking a phone call, Fang Lihua ambled into his study and turned on his computer.
The call was from an old classmate in the Common Defense Alliance, warning him that the Holy Order Alliance might be launching a disciplinary review against him soon and that he should be careful.
Fang Lihua was unconcerned.
’These reviews happen once or twice a year; I’m used to them. Unless someone is really out to get me, it’s all just for show. I can just muddle through it.’
’Out to get me?’
’What a joke. I haven’t offended anyone I shouldn’t have.’
’Watching the matches is more important, anyway.’
Fang Lihua made a cup of coffee and browsed the live streams of the tournament.
He never actually watched Fang Yuan’s matches. A quick glance to confirm the win was enough before he moved on to something else.
He didn’t care *how* Fang Yuan won, only that he *did* win the championship.
Fang Lihua randomly picked Ring 007 and opened the stream.
And then...
He witnessed a one-sided massacre that lasted two and a half seconds.
And when he shifted his trembling gaze to the victorious contestant...
SPLASH—
An entire cup of coffee, down to the last drop, soaked his lap.
·
As a dumbfounded Xu Mingzhi stared, Su Zhi calmly left the arena.
No reaction, no celebration of his victory. He said nothing, yet it felt like he had said everything.
It was as if this hadn’t been the City League tournament, but just another one of Su Zhi’s casual daily training sessions.
"Yu Bao, let’s go. We still haven’t had breakfast."
"WOOF!"
The mention of food made Yu Bao’s eyes light up, and he trotted Bling Bling after Su Zhi.
Of course, being a polite Dog, he didn’t forget to offer his opponent a polite smile: ⌓‿⌓
’Putting the results aside, you did a great job!’
CRACK—
Xu Mingzhi shattered.
In the live stream for Ring 7, after a wave of question marks flooded the chat, the entire comment section exploded—
[Butterfly Fan Bone: ...That’s it?]
[Jade Balance 001: What happened? I just sat down and it’s already over (brain not responding)]
[Annihilation: That’s right! Sandstorm! I watched the slow-mo, that Yu Dian Dog blasted the Cyan Armor Spider over with a Sandstorm!]
[Frost Shadow Qtm: Can Yu Dian Dogs even learn that Skill?? Isn’t their fighting style close-range combat???]
[Annihilation: Are you just looking for trouble? Just say if he won or not!]
[Golden Rare: Damn! I bet everything on that guy from No. 3 High!]
[Dandan’s Pitiful Dog Sauce: Damn! Me too!!!]
[Little Gummy Bear]: /covers mouth and laughs
In front of his screen, Lu Dongjie stealthily pulled out his phone. Seeing the words "Bet Successful" pop up on the app, he couldn’t help but smile.
At the same time, he started to tear up a little.
’Even after all that injustice, God Su still came to the City League... and he was even assigned to the ring I’m commentating.’
’I have to go all out and give the best commentary for his next matches!’
[Frost Shadow Qtm: Does the host know something? Why does he look so happy?]
[Golden Rare: Damn! I remember you bet on the Yu Dian Dog to win, didn’t you!]
"Ahem."
Lu Dongjie quickly closed the Pet Beast betting app, his expression turning solemn.
"I’ll say it again: stay away from the trap of Pet Beast betting and embrace a healthy lifestyle. We must all work together to maintain good order in the stream.
"As for Su Zhi, I do know him—he’s a junior from my school, a dark horse who’s come out of nowhere! I had the honor of interviewing him before he became this strong.
"He made it to the top four in the qualifiers, but in order to strengthen the overall level of the City League team, the school administration transferred his spot to another student."
After all, with so many prying eyes in the live stream, Lu Dongjie was just repeating the official line from No. 1 High’s documents, without injecting any of his personal feelings.
Even so, the sharp-eyed audience quickly figured out what had really happened:
[Annihilation: Heh, and here I thought the ’model high school’ was so great. Turns out it’s the same old crap as No. 3 High.]
[Frost Shadow Qtm: Sigh, I feel that.]
[Viewer 114514: The hell you do, guy above me. You were knocked out in the first round. I’m the one who carried you off the stage...]
[Golden Rare: Reminds me of a dark joke. Two equally matched Envoy’s Pets are competing for a tournament spot. One excels at brawling, the other at attrition. In the end, the school gave the spot to the one with more money~]
[Dandan’s Pitiful Dog Sauce: Sigh, when my class was recommending someone for the City League spot, a student whose Pet Beast was weaker than mine got picked, and I didn’t.]
[Little Gummy Bear: So Su Zhi chose to compete as an independent?]
"I believe so. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"I had the honor of interviewing God Su. He gives off a vibe that he doesn’t care about anything, but once he decides to do something, you see him become more committed than anyone else.
"So, even after losing his qualification to compete as a student from No. 1 High, God Su didn’t give up.
"Now, God Su is standing in this ring on his own terms! He doesn’t have his alma mater or his classmates—he only has his friends!"
As Lu Dongjie spoke, he couldn’t help but get a little emotional.
’Damn, I really am the Vice-Head of the New Media Department. I’m so good at this.’
"I’m so happy to see God Su competing. I will do my best to commentate every one of his matches from now on, win or lose.
"According to the schedule, Su Zhi will head to Ring 035 this afternoon for his second-round match.
"There will be two live streams for Ring 035 at that time. Please be sure to tune into stream 03501—that’s my stream! If God Su wins, I’ll be able to continue commentating for him!"
[Frost Shadow Qtm: Damn, I’m hyped. I’m following all of Su Zhi’s matches from now on!]
[Annihilation: Following +1]
[Jade Balance 001: Following! Following!]
[Golden Rare: Next time, let’s all say Su Zhi sucks to trick the newcomers into betting on his opponent.]
[Dandan’s Pitiful Dog Sauce: Dude, why are you so dirty...]
...
...
The lunch break was short.
No one rushed to get together, since they all had their own opponents to defeat in the afternoon.
"Yu Bao, even though we won this morning’s battle, we can’t let our guard down."
Right before the next match, Su Zhi advised, "If our Sandstorm hadn’t knocked over the Cyan Armor Spider in one hit, we would have had to face its ferocious assault."
"Woof."
Yu Bao was a little frustrated.
He had actually been prepared for a long battle. He really hadn’t expected the spider to be so weak that one blast was enough to take it out.
"Haha, the Cyan Armor Spider’s Defense Power really isn’t that great."
Su Zhi ruffled Yu Bao’s head and thought for a moment, resting his chin on his hand.
"Our next few opponents probably won’t be too difficult. I’ve seen some famous champions in international arenas. When they face weaker opponents, they don’t necessarily go for a quick and easy win.
"If it’s a weaker opponent with unique characteristics, they’ll actually have their Pet Beast deliberately challenge the opponent’s strengths to identify and shore up their own weaknesses during the match."
"Woof..." Yu Bao had a realization.
’So you can do it like that!’
"Thinking more about how to overcome different situations is also good for our stat allocation!
"Look, you one-shotted the opponent with a single Sandstorm, but there was no thought process involved. You don’t actually gain much from that."
"Woof!"
Yu Bao nodded.
’I get it! From now on, I’ll integrate thinking and training into my battles!’
"Good, keep it up!"
A smile couldn’t help but appear in Su Zhi’s eyes as he and Yu Bao walked toward the ring together.
However, his next opponent seemed a bit familiar...
·
·
Day five of updating 10,000 words daily.
I really don’t want to write these crappy 2,000-word Chapters anymore... Starting tomorrow, I’m officially switching to three big Chapters! Two 3,000-word Chapters and one 4,000-word Chapter, which should be a more satisfying read.
The three Chapters will be updated at 11:45 AM, 12:00 PM, and 12:15 PM, respectively~
