Fang Yuan said calmly, "This is a rule at the Shanda University Affiliated School: if a Pet Beast sustains an injury that affects its training and doesn’t recover in time, or if it isn’t replaced in time, causing the student to fail to meet their training attendance quota three times, they’ll be expelled or sent back to their original school."
’Remember what I told you before? There’s no room for sentimentality on the Beast Taming Dao, only the constant drive to become stronger. This is the reality of the Beast Taming Realm.’
"So, do you regret it?" Su Zhi asked him.
"No regrets."
Fang Yuan glanced at Lilith on his shoulder, her pale pink eyes reflected in his own. He pursed his lips slightly.
"’After all... your ’twisted logic’ convinced me.’"
Su Zhi covered his mouth to hide a chuckle. He said nothing more, simply tilting the umbrella in his hand a little further in the girl’s direction.
A few moments later, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the Huichun Alliance General Hospital.
The Cui Feng and Huichun Alliances’ territories were adjacent, even sharing a direct-access passage. The Flying Shadow Alliance was set up similarly, located right next to the Cui Feng Alliance and therefore bordering the Huichun Alliance.
Su Zhi had been a little confused at first, but after learning about the different functions of each alliance, he understood the reasoning behind this layout.
"Well, I’m heading in."
Fang Yuan stopped at the hospital entrance. After a moment’s pause, he added, "Thanks for coming with me."
"Don’t mention it!"
Su Zhi and Shao Ya both tilted their heads, but one went left and the other right. THUNK! Their heads bumped together, and they both cried out, "Ouch!"
Fang Yuan looked away, trying to hide the laugh he was holding back.
Just before entering the hospital, Fang Yuan seemed to remember something and stopped.
"Oh, right. For the two-on-two sparring match this afternoon, if you end up against Chen Xinghao, be extra careful."
"His Pet Beast is a Thunder Qilin Beast. It’s incredibly strong and doesn’t know how to hold back. He encourages its behavior and gets a kick out of it."
"He’s extremely hostile toward Beast Tamers from small cities. Nearly all the transfer students at the Shanda University Affiliated School have been targeted by him. Your performance this morning probably caught his eye. Win or lose, just remember to protect yourself and don’t get hurt."
"’Chen Xinghao... Thunder Qilin Beast...’" Su Zhi nodded. "Okay, I got it!"
After waving goodbye to Fang Yuan, the two of them went to the Huichun Alliance’s nearby cafeteria.
Shao Ya saved a table while they both went to order their food. Just as they returned and were about to dig in, Su Zhi’s phone buzzed. A new message had appeared in the summer camp group chat.
"’Well, what do you know. Fang Yuan called it.’"
Seeing the newly released bracket for the 2v2 battles, Su Zhi couldn’t help but laugh.
He and Xu Jianzhi would be representing the Flying Shadow Alliance in the doubles match. Their opponents were none other than Gao Yuxiang and the very same Chen Xinghao that Fang Yuan had just warned him about.
"Don’t chicken out, Su Baby!"
Shao Ya snatched a piece of his braised pork and said encouragingly, "Just get it done!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Su Zhi looked at Yu Bao. "But safety comes first. Even if we can’t win, you have to look out for yourself. We can’t have a repeat of what happened with Leo, you hear?"
"Woof!" Yu Bao nuzzled against Su Zhi’s leg as if to reassure him.
"Trust in Yu Bao!"
Shao Ya snatched another piece of braised pork and looked at Su Zhi. "Oh, right! Don’t forget about tonight—"
"I know, I know. You’ve only been reminding me for the past three days."
Su Zhi smiled gently. "I’ll be at the garden on time. I wouldn’t miss the ’surprise’ you’ve prepared for anything."
"Good, as long as you know~" Shao Ya snatched yet another piece of braised pork.
She went to snatch another, but this time Su Zhi blocked her with his chopsticks.
"I’ve had enough of you."
In one swift move, Su Zhi licked every single remaining piece of braised pork. A relieved smirk spread across his face. "Let’s see you eat them now!"
The girl, however, didn’t even bat an eye. She picked up a licked piece of pork, put it in her mouth right in front of him, and began to chew it slowly.
Her jewel-like, azure eyes blinked as she gave Su Zhi a mischievous look.
Su Zhi’s face instantly flushed, and he whipped his head away.
"Why are you such a weirdo!"
"Doesn’t Su Baby want me to eat it? Then I’ll just give it back to Su Baby~"
"Hey! Don’t you spit that in my bowl! I’m not eating your spit!!!"
·
「Afternoon. Cui Feng Alliance Battle Hall.」
The hall opened at two o’clock sharp. By two-thirty, the spectator stands were already packed.
With a word from the announcer, the afternoon’s event officially began—this time, it was a 2v2 team tournament!
"Representing the Flying Shadow Alliance: Su Zhi and his Pet Beast, the Yu Dian Farm Dog! Xu Jianzhi and his Pet Beast, the Stone Armor Rhinoceros! Representing the Purity Abyss Alliance..."
"That’s us. Let’s get ready to go."
"Yeah. Let’s do this!"
Su Zhi and Xu Jianzhi clapped each other on the shoulder and walked onto the battle stage.
A familiar face stood on the opposite side of the stage: Gao Yuxiang. He wore black-rimmed glasses and had a scholarly air, but when he saw Su Zhi, the corner of his mouth twitched, and his expression soured.
Upon seeing that country dog again, the Azure Wave Claw shrank behind Gao Yuxiang, recalling some rather unpleasant memories.
Yu Bao plopped down and flashed a bright, sunny smile:
⌓‿⌓
’Please carry me, senpai! I’m just a noob!’
Azure Wave Claw: (╬Ò皿Ó)
’Noob, my ass!’
The person beside Gao Yuxiang, however, was even more striking.
He was tall and had a messy shock of hair, with a single streak in the center dyed a fiery crimson.
His expression wasn’t so much arrogant as it was one of absolute self-confidence. Just by standing on the stage, he gave off an aura that seemed to say, "Of course he’ll win."
His Pet Beast was just as striking: limbs with clearly defined musculature, a crimson mane, and golden accents and claws... Every single element drew the eye to the Thunder Qilin Beast.
When all these elements came together in perfect harmony, they created an image of magnificent, domineering beauty.
Compared to the slender Azure Wave Claw, the nearly two-meter-tall Thunder Qilin Beast was far more visually intimidating, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Even after evolving, Yu Bao still looked like an insignificant little speck in front of the Thunder Qilin Beast.
Its sharp, crimson-and-gold-flecked eyes were so intense that no Pet Beast dared to meet its gaze.
[Pet Beast: Jin Lin (Thunder Qilin Beast)]
[Attribute: Electric Element]
[Race: Low Level Commander]
[Real-time Energy Value: 2803]
Seeing the Thunder Qilin Beast’s scan data, Su Zhi, optimist though he was, couldn’t help but frown.
’Even without having evolved, its Energy Value is a cut above the evolved Yu Bao’s. This is the bloodline advantage of a Low Level Commander Race.’
’This is not going to be an easy fight.’
’And if Fang Yuan’s warning was true, he and Yu Bao would have to be incredibly careful!’
After scanning Yu Bao, Chen Xinghao laughed and turned to Gao Yuxiang. "His Real-time Energy Value isn’t half bad. Add a bit of good luck to that, and it’s no wonder he managed to knock you down."
"’Just be careful you don’t choke,’" Gao Yuxiang muttered, pushing up his glasses.
"’Nothing to worry about. It’s just some country dog from a backwater city. Even evolved, it’s still a mutt.’"
Chen Xinghao shrugged, not bothering to lower his voice.
Next came the pre-match formalities.
Su Zhi shook hands with Gao Yuxiang and then offered his hand to Chen Xinghao. Chen Xinghao didn’t take it.
Chen Xinghao looked down at Su Zhi, his expression one of open contempt and disdain.
"Sorry, I don’t shake hands with country mutts from backwater cities. My apologies."
"It’s fine. Self-awareness is a valuable trait, after all."
Su Zhi smiled brightly. "After all, we country mutts don’t like stepping in shit, either."
"You motherf—!" Chen Xinghao’s blood pressure spiked.
Seeing Su Zhi was unfazed, he turned his glare to Su Zhi’s Pet Beast.
Yu Bao sat obediently by Su Zhi’s side. When it noticed Chen Xinghao staring, it put on a graceful and dignified smile:
⌓‿⌓
’Pardon me, but I eat specially formulated pet food, not shit!~’
Veins suddenly bulged on Chen Xinghao’s arm.
The preparatory Race Bell rang, and the match light turned from red to blue as the energy barrier around the stage began to materialize.
Just then, the furious Chen Xinghao suddenly became calm, his gaze turning placid.
"Let’s have a good fight," he said with a smile, before turning with Gao Yuxiang to walk to their command posts on the other side.
"Careful. I’ve got a bad feeling about this guy," Xu Jianzhi whispered.
Meanwhile, the thick-hided Black Wood adjusted its stance, moving to position itself between Yu Bao and the Thunder Qilin Beast.
"I feel it. You be careful too."
Su Zhi tensed up, his focus absolute as he tried to maintain maximum Pet Synchronization with Yu Bao.
"DING."
The match light switched from blue to green, and the Race Bell sounded.
"WHOOSH!"
Across from Yu Bao and Black Wood, a swift figure shot toward them like a lightning bolt.
·
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