Free Web NovelChapter 34: Chapter 34: Exchange Competition
Monday morning—
After breakfast, Su Zhi took Yu Bao to school.
The door to the building across from them happened to open, and a girl with white hair and blue eyes poked her head out. "Hey! What a coincidence."
"Yeah, what a coincidence," Su Zhi said, waving back and pretending he didn’t know she’d been lying in wait.
After greeting Shao Ya, Su Zhi was about to tell Yu Bao to go say hi to Xiaoyue.
But when he looked down, he found that Yu Bao had already gone Bling Bling-ing over.
"WOOF!" (Good morning, Big Brother Xiaoyue!)
"(ᗜ˰ᗜ)" Xiaoyue was still sulking and didn’t respond, warning Yu Bao with his eyes not to come any closer.
Yu Bao had always been an obedient little brother, skilled at reading the room.
This time, however, Yu Bao completely ignored his big brother’s warning and kept running toward him.
Xiaoyue’s feline face instantly darkened.
’So, he’s grown a backbone, has he? Daring to disobey his big brother.’
’I’m going to set the pecking order straight today!’
"WHOOSH—"
While still some distance away, Yu Bao’s body suddenly dissolved into a gust of sand and wind.
Xiaoyue wasn’t surprised. He had already learned from his master that the silly little dog had learned Desert Concealment.
’It’s just a Flash Skill, that’s all.’
’Once he gets close and reappears, I’ll serve him a Cat Cat Fist!’
And then...
Xiaoyue was stunned to find his paw swiped at empty air.
Yu Bao had leaped in front of Xiaoyue in his Desert Concealment form, then doubled back a short distance after Xiaoyue’s miss before finally reappearing.
"PANT, PANT~"
Seeing his big brother’s jaw hanging slightly open, Yu Bao wagged his tail excitedly.
’Yay! I tricked Big Brother!’
Shao Ya blinked in surprise. "Yu Bao’s Desert Concealment is already Tier Two? Didn’t he just learn it the day before yesterday?"
"Er, yeah," Su Zhi said, tucking his hands into his pockets.
"Yu Bao has been practicing really diligently. He accidentally reached Tier Two."
’So you didn’t even know...?’
"Yu Bao is amazing!"
Shao Ya smiled radiantly and ruffled Yu Bao’s head. Yu Bao grinned, squinting his eyes in satisfaction.
After enjoying the petting, Yu Bao ran back to Su Zhi’s side, and the two Envoy-Pet duos continued on their way.
Su Zhi quietly asked via his Beast Taming Space:
"Didn’t you practice Desert Concealment yesterday morning?"
"Woof." (No, because Sis was there.)
"Why can’t you practice when she’s around?"
"Woof woof." (This way, I have an information advantage, so I can show off in front of Big Brother.)
Su Zhi: "..."
’Such a loyal, honest, and obedient little brother.’
...
...
At 11:50, the Skill training class for Class 1410 was nearing its end.
This was the class with the most hours at Beast Taming High School.
The school would send Pet Beast training tasks to each student’s dedicated Beast Tamer device and then periodically assess their progress.
This progress was only for reference and didn’t count toward the Pet Beast Ranking.
However, the students generally trained their Pet Beasts by the book. After all, if no tasks were assigned, most of them would feel completely lost...
—with the exception of Su and Yu.
While everyone else was supervising their Pet Beasts’ training, Su Zhi sat under a large pagoda tree at the edge of the field, holding his phone, his forehead beaded with sweat.
Nearby, Yu Bao was using its Earth Force Field to levitate a cobblestone, its little head tilted, seemingly up to something.
Su Zhi pressed the send button.
[Senior Brother Piao has received "Yu Bao’s Specialized Skill Path 3.13"]
He looked up, and a shock of white hair entered his vision.
Shao Ya poked her head over. "Oh? Chatting with your little sweetheart?"
"?"
Su Zhi waved his hand dismissively. "Shoo, shoo, I’m busy with important business."
Shao Ya didn’t leave. Her azure eyes blinked as she watched curiously.
[Senior Brother Piao]: /thumbsup
[Senior Brother Piao]: Fixed a few bugs
’Yes!’ Su Zhi thought, clenching his fists in excitement.
[Senior Brother Piao]: Created even more bugs
"Fuck."
"PFFFT-HAHAHA!" Shao Ya couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing beside him, practically doubling over.
Su Zhi bit his lip, looking completely dejected.
’I’m already this miserable, and this mean woman is still laughing at me.’
"Don’t cry, Tree-bao~ Ahahaha!"
Shao Ya patted Su Zhi’s head. "So this is what you’ve been busy with these past two days?"
Su Zhi sighed. "I’ve revised it so many times, but I can never get it past Senior Brother."
"Don’t worry, at least you’re making progress each time... Er."
Recalling Senior Brother Piao’s recent reply, Shao Ya stuck out her tongue.
"Maybe there’s a problem with your line of thinking? If so, you can’t rush it. Just take your time."
"Mmm..." freёweɓnovel.com
"I don’t think you need to completely abandon the official syllabus. The Skill combinations in the syllabus are the optimal solutions summarized by many Trainers, so there’s definitely something worth learning from them."
Su Zhi laughed. "You’re starting to sound a bit like Bald Zhou."
"What do you mean, bald? Teacher Zhou has hair, okay? At least, he’s got the Mediterranean look."
"Forget it. With the little hair he has left, it probably won’t last a few more years anyway..."
Suddenly, a Mediterranean-style head poked out from behind the pagoda tree. "So this is where you were, Su Zhi."
"Ah."
Su Zhi stared blankly as he turned around. "Um, you actually have quite a lot of hair..."
"Cut the crap. Check the Joyful Beast Taming app. I’ve sent you the form for the exchange tournament. Fill it out."
"Huh?"
Su Zhi opened the app and, sure enough, saw the registration form sent privately by Old Ban.
"The tournament starts next Monday?"
Su Zhi was a little confused. "Isn’t that a bit tight? Why are we only being notified now?"
Zhou Shengfa said blankly, "The notice was sent out last Monday night."
"...Oh."
"So, from the looks of it, students from other schools are coming to visit No. 1 High, and each class from our side sends one person for a friendly match with them?"
Zhou Shengfa nodded. "Correct. You can think of it as a ’pissing contest’ between schools."
"No. 1 High is the strongest high school in Huai City... at least on the surface. So, other schools send exchange students to visit every year."
"In the past, the exchange tournament was more of an exhibition match, because the outcome was basically a foregone conclusion."
"But things have been different these past two years. More and more students from other schools are studying abroad on exchange, so the tournament has become more competitive, with wins and losses on both sides."
"Although the city league is technically higher-level, the exchange tournament led by our school gets a ton of media attention every year. After all, it’s a direct clash between No. 1 High and the other schools."
"?"
Su Zhi suddenly realized something. "Then if I lose, wouldn’t that be a disgrace to No. 1 High?"
"Correct."
"Then why pick me..."
Su Zhi asked, confused, "Xiaoyue is stronger than Yu Bao. By all rights, Shao Ya should be the one to go."
"For your sake."
Zhou Shengfa’s gaze was unwavering.
"Xiaoyue and Xue Li are both Pet Beasts making steady progress. Their training is by-the-book, stable and reliable. Xiaoyue might be learning a more diverse set of skills, but that’s only on the premise that he’s already mastered all the standard syllabus skills."
"But you and Yu Bao are different. You’re using a custom training method."
"You need as much real combat experience as possible. Only with the support of extensive practical experience can you test and correct your own path."
"To be honest, I don’t approve of this ’aiming high but having little to show for it’ approach... but since you’re determined to do it, then see it through to the end."
"The ready-made path is here, and the unknown path is also here. Su Zhi, which one will you choose?"
Su Zhi smiled. "I didn’t expect someone your age to say something so chuuni..."
"I’m only forty. I’m just a little short on hair."
Seeing the form Su Zhi sent back, Zhou Shengfa rubbed his head and turned to walk back to the academic building.
"Class is over in three minutes. You two should hurry to the cafeteria."
"Goodbye, Teacher!"
On the way to the cafeteria, Su Zhi suddenly thought of Fang Yuan, whom he had briefly met on Sunday.
’Speaking of which, is it possible I’ll see him at the exchange tournament?’
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Thank you all for your tremendous support! We got a trial recommendation thirty to forty thousand words earlier than the last book! I’ll keep writing my best! Please continue to support me!
