Yu Bao and Shan Bao sat side-by-side, watching the show. Seeing Su Zhi get put in his place, Yu Bao broke into a cheeky grin.

Shan Bao laughed along with Yu Bao. Imitating a Wise One is a sign of wisdom.

“Um, on a more serious note!”

Liu Yuhang glanced at his phone and raised his hand. “I just got a message from Old Ban. The national competition is coming up, and Shanda University Affiliated School wants to discuss the details with us. We’re having a video conference tomorrow. Old Ban will be there too.”

Shao Ya pouted, her delicate brows furrowing. “Discuss what? What kind of tricks are they up to now…”

“It’s probably about the team competition roster. We’re from two different schools, so we’ll definitely need to coordinate how to rotate members.”

Su Zhi put down his rice bowl. “But they’re a traditional powerhouse school with more say in things. They’re bound to be aggressive. We can’t show any weakness.”

Shao Ya clenched her fist. “We don’t start trouble, but we’re not afraid of it either. If they dare to get pushy, then we don’t have to be polite.”

Liu Yuhang nodded in agreement. “Exactly! They’re just the losers from the qualifiers!”

“When it comes to resource allocation, every party is bound to be assertive. It has nothing to do with personal character or integrity. Your Teacher Zhou will probably be even more assertive when the time comes.”

Su Mao smiled, his tone earnest. “It’s right to be neither arrogant nor subservient, but in the end, both your teams are representing Shanyou Province. It would be best if you could bury the hatchet and work together as one.”

The three kids all nodded.

Wang Sujuan, however, remained expressionless. “You’ve never fought Shanda University Affiliated School, yet here you are playing peacemaker. If Xiaoshu actually gets bullied, I’m siding with family, not reason. It’s like how I’d back you up even when other authors flame you.”

“Boo hoo, I knew you cared about me, Juanjuan…”

“But there’s no defending how often you go on hiatus. Maybe I’ll join them in flaming you next time.”

“…I’ll get back to writing.”

Su Mao returned to his room to continue rushing his draft. After all, he hadn’t even managed to write a single chapter.

Liu Yuhang and Shao Ya cleared the dishes and stood by the door to say their goodbyes.

“Thank you for your hospitality, sir and ma’am! We’ll be heading back now!”

“Take care, kids~”

“Goodbye, Brother Shu!” “Goodbye, Su Baby!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Su Zhi saw the two of them off, mulling over the news they had just discussed. He found himself looking forward to what would happen.

‘Huh? Wait, where did Wu Bao go…’

‘I think it’s in the garage? Why’d it head for the garage as soon as we got back…’

·

「The next day.」

During the morning reading period, the three of them went to the conference room on the sixth floor of the administration building. Zhou Shengfa had already been waiting for some time.

This was where the school leadership and teachers held their meetings. Su Zhi glanced at a corner, having heard that his homeroom teacher had once become utterly furious in this very room, confronting the former principal over an unjust punishment given to him.

In the blink of an eye, everything had changed. The day had come when he, too, entered the most prestigious conference room in all of First Middle School as a participant.

This was the first time in nearly a decade that a student had used Huai City First Middle School’s main conference room.

The last time a team, led by Peng Kai, had made it to the national competition was ten years ago.

Zhou Shengfa looked Su Zhi up and down and nodded. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Feels like you’ve gotten taller.”

“Mhm,” Su Zhi replied. “You’ve changed quite a bit too!”

“Huh?”

“You’ve clearly got less hair.”

Zhou Shengfa: “Damn.”

They all started laughing. Zhou Shengfa clapped Su Zhi’s shoulder and let out a long sigh. “It’s good that you’re back safe and sound.”

Besides Old Ban, there were many other familiar faces worth seeing again.

For example, Katie.

As soon as the three of them entered the conference room, Katie naturally walked over to Liu Yuhang’s side, stopping just short of linking arms with him. Su Zhi and Shao Ya both shared a knowing smile, understanding the situation but saying nothing.

And then there was Fang Yuan.

Although he wasn’t from Huai City First Middle School, the teachers there were all very familiar with him because Fang Lihua was the former principal. The reputations of the father and son were starkly different; Fang Yuan was well-liked by the First Middle School teachers. Even Principal Yan Shouzheng himself had said that if Fang Yuan were his student, he would have definitely won gold in the city league. Now that he was a member of the team competition, First Middle School had long since started treating him as one of their own.

And then there was…

“My friend, Su Zhi! It has been long. I have missed you dearly!”

“I haven’t missed you one bit! Get away from me!”

The moment he met Cao Mingyu’s intense gaze, Su Zhi broke out in goosebumps.

‘Dammit, didn’t they say he was away traveling?’

‘Why couldn’t he have traveled for a few more days!’

While dodging, Su Zhi caught sight of a new Pet Beast following beside Cao Mingyu. He let out a curious “Huh?” and stopped moving.

[Pet Beast: Loulou (Burning Sand Spirit) Attribute: Earth, Fire, Gold Race: Low Level Elite Real-time Energy Value: 1145]

Cao Mingyu noticed Su Zhi’s stunned expression and a slight smile touched his lips. He snapped his fingers. A light green Beast Taming Light Array appeared and recalled the Burning Sand Spirit.

“Your Beast Taming Space is Tier Three now, too?”

Su Zhi asked curiously, “But I don’t think Breeding Bases have Pet Beasts like the Burning Sand Spirit, do they? A wild Pet Beast like that isn’t suitable for captivity.”

Cao Mingyu lifted his chin proudly. “That’s because Loulou is a wild Exotic Beast I encountered during my travels in the Southern Border of the Talal Desert and the Dou Shui Mountain Range. He witnessed me training Cotton and was so deeply captivated by my personal charisma that he willingly chose me as his Beast Tamer.”

“Lou!”

Loulou popped out of the Light Array again, did a flip near Cao Mingyu, and manually added a flame effect.

Su Zhi: “…”

‘Like master, like Pet Beast. That saying really is true.’ He took a sharp breath. ‘But I’m a perfectly normal person, so why is Yu Bao so bizarre…’

After they finished catching up, they sat in a row as instructed by Zhou Shengfa. Zhou Shengfa, meanwhile, walked over to the multimedia console and quickly tapped on the keyboard.

A moment later, the projection device cast a beam of light toward the empty seats opposite them.

A row of holographic images formed, revealing the team from Shanda University Affiliated School.

Chen Xinghao, Wang Haokun, and a few others were all familiar faces from the qualifiers.

Besides the students, sitting next to Chen Xinghao was a square-jawed teacher in a Beast Taming coach’s uniform, whose hairline was a perfect match for Zhou Shengfa’s.

Unlike Zhou Shengfa, who had a goofy sort of honesty beneath his serious exterior, this teacher gave off the impression of being purely strict.

Su Zhi had heard about him from Zhou Shengfa—his name was Lei Ji. He was a former high-ranking Alliance Member of the Boya Alliance, one of Shanda University Affiliated School’s Gold Medal Teachers, the homeroom teacher for both Chen Xinghao and Wang Haokun, and a legendary teacher who had accumulated countless honors.

For this team competition, Lei Ji was also serving as the coach for Shanda University Affiliated School’s A-team.

“Long time no see, Old Lei.”

Zhou Shengfa said with a smiling wave, “The last time we saw each other was at the university’s teacher appreciation banquet, right? After you went to the Alliance Headquarters, we lost touch.”

“Hmph.”

Lei Ji just grunted, not even bothering to look at him directly.

“Let’s not waste time. Get straight to business.”

“Alright.”

Zhou Shengfa nodded as if he didn’t mind. “For this team competition, our two schools are jointly representing Shanyou Province. We believe that under these circumstances, only by working together and uniting as one can we go further in the national arena.”

“In the spirit of mutual cooperation and a win-win outcome, we would like to propose the following…”

“Sorry, Teacher Zhou, but I believe your side may have some misunderstandings. Allow me to correct them.”

Lei Ji waved his hand dismissively, a contemptuous look in his eyes. “I’ve looked at Huai City First Middle School’s recent college acceptance rate. Even including second-tier universities, it’s only 75%. Do you know what the acceptance rate for top-tier universities is at Shanda University Affiliated School? 96.6%.”

Zhou Shengfa looked at him calmly. “So what are you implying, Teacher Lei? We’re teammates now. You might as well speak plainly.”

Lei Ji crossed his legs.

“My point is, a school like Huai City First Middle School has never been in a position to be ‘working together’ with us. The strength of our two sides simply isn’t comparable.”

“Shanda University Affiliated School has a more complete and scientific system for logistics, teaching, and training. Our team is bound to go much further. Having a teammate like Huai City First Middle School, on the other hand, is just a liability.”

“Therefore, my proposal is this: during the point-based tournament stage, our schools can take turns competing. But when we get to the elimination stage, if we face an opponent that was in last year’s top sixteen, you should leave it to our school to handle.”

“This is the most scientific and foolproof approach, and it is the most sincere suggestion our school can offer you, coming from a position of strength. This way, we can guarantee a good ranking for Shanyou Province, while also making it look like you actually contributed, so you don’t get raked over the coals by the media…”

“Sorry, Teacher Lei, but please allow me to remind you of a few things as well.”

Su Zhi suddenly stood up. He looked at the stunned expression on Lei Ji’s face and spoke coldly.

“We are the champions of the qualifiers. You are not qualified to say you’re speaking to us from a ‘position of strength.’ You weren’t then, and you aren’t now.”

“The only reason we’re discussing cooperation is because both our schools are representing Shanyou Province, and we should be united against competitors from other provinces. It does not mean we consider ourselves humbler or weaker than you.”

“The prerequisite for a dialogue is equality. I hope, Teacher Lei, that you can first get your own position straight.”

Lei Ji’s brows knitted together, his expression turning visibly sour.

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