Chapter 110: Chapter 104: The Silly Puppy Doesn’t Have Another Big Brother, Does He...?

"Mm."

Although he was still heavy-hearted, Su Zhi forced a smile.

"I really do feel a lot better, thank you."

"I went to all that trouble cleaning up for you, and all I get is a ’thank you’?"

"Th-Then, what do you want...?"

Seeing Su Zhi’s nervous expression, the girl gave a mischievous smile and pulled the door open.

"Forget it. It’s not like you have anything to give me anyway. Just take a walk with me."

"Ah, well..."

"Let’s go!"

·

Outside the venue, in the small plaza.

Su Zhi followed Shao Ya, walking along the edge of the tournament’s exclusive event area.

Su Zhi let his gaze wander aimlessly.

After working non-stop through high-intensity matches for days, this was the first time he’d been able to pull himself away from the frantic pace and experience another world.

The entire city was on holiday for the tournament. For the past few days, the small mountain city had returned to a rare, pure tranquility.

The roads were no longer clogged with traffic, and the commercial office buildings were no longer brightly lit.

The night was gentle, and the evening breeze whispered secrets of summer in his ear.

The girl walked just ahead and to his right. Her azure eyes were brighter than the stars. Her brilliant white hair danced in the wind, occasionally brushing against his forearm and making it itch.

Su Zhi’s mind began to wander.

’If it weren’t for the city tournament, would I have been a part of this nightscape too?’

’I would have continued training with Yu Bao at our own pace, reflected on a few matches, eaten something good, and finally closed my eyes amidst laughter to end the day.’

"*PANT, PANT~*"

Yu Bao trotted along, following right behind Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue, with a look of resignation, silently permitted the little tagalong’s presence.

’He was so down in the dumps back in the room, but the moment he got outside, he was fully revived.’

’I’m so jealous of silly little dogs his age. So carefree, without a worry in the world.’

"WOOF! WOOF!"

"Mroow..."

’Don’t bother your big bro, go play by yourself...’

Yu Bao saw the disgusted look on his big bro Xiaoyue’s face, and his eyes darted around.

Then, looking thoughtful, he put some distance between himself and Xiaoyue.

When Xiaoyue saw Yu Bao was no longer following him, he was delighted and quickly ran off with a *Bling Bling*.

But after taking two steps, he felt a little uneasy.

’Why’d the silly little dog suddenly stop following me? Was I too cold to him?’

’He doesn’t... have another big bro on the side, does he?!’

At this terrifying possibility, the Cultivation Cat frowned.

’No matter what, the silly little dog’s big bro can only be me, Xiaoyue!’

So, Xiaoyue slowly walked over to Yu Bao and, with the dignity of a big bro, gave his fur a lick.

"Mreow."

’You have to stick close to your big bro when we’re outside. What if you get lost?’

"Woof!" Yu Bao nodded, showing he understood.

The moment Xiaoyue turned his back, a triumphant look flashed in Yu Bao’s eyes.

’Big bro, gotcha!’

Before they knew it, the two humans and two pets had walked to the small plaza in front of the battle arena.

"Su Zhi, do you remember what you said when I first asked you about the city tournament?"

Shao Ya said casually as she walked.

"You said, ’I haven’t thought about it. I just want to enjoy the process of competing.’ That’s actually a great mindset to have."

"But... because of some things that have happened recently, I’ve changed my mind."

Su Zhi lowered his head.

"Now I want to win. Very badly."

"So, compared to back then, you’ve become a whole new person. You have a new goal.

"Feeling pressure is normal. It’s a sign of progress. But you also have to learn to adjust your mindset so it doesn’t crush you."

The girl tilted her head and gave him a gentle smile.

"You’re already doing great. Every step you take from now on is progress. Don’t think about how far you can go in the end; think about how to take the next step well. Don’t you agree?"

Su Zhi suddenly felt his eyes sting, but it was still controllable.

He nodded, trying his best to smile. "Thank you."

"Don’t get the wrong idea! It’s not like I’m trying to comfort you!"

Shao Ya shook her fist at him.

"I just think that if my opponent tomorrow isn’t in top form, it won’t be satisfying even if I win. The you right now is perfect for me to crush!"

"Then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I’m determined to win tomorrow’s match."

Su Zhi looked at his deskmate, a smile in his eyes.

"Please give it your all. Because I’ll be giving it my all, too!"

"Fine! We’ll see who crushes who!"

The girl gave a mischievous wink and suddenly broke into a jog.

"I’m heading back! Leaving you guys behind!"

"Mreow."

"Leaving Xiaoyue behind, too!"

"Mrow..."

Su Zhi watched her brilliant white hair, fluttering in the wind, grow distant. He waved goodbye, calling out, "See you in the arena!"

Shao Ya ran to a spot under a streetlight and suddenly turned around, her youthful, beautiful face instantly illuminated.

"See you in the arena~!"

...

...

「The long night receded, and the sky brightened.」

The semi-finals were scheduled for the morning, allowing the contestants to get plenty of rest before the finals the next afternoon.

On the second floor of the battle arena, in a room directly facing the stage, Lu Dongjie started his livestream.

"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to livestream channel 09801! We’re about to begin the Huai City Tournament High School Division Group A semi-finals. I’m your commentator for this channel, Lu Dongjie!"

[Frost Shadow Qtm: First!]

[Su Zhi’s Doggy: Damn it, there’s always some troll trying to steal my spot!]

[Golden Rare: LMAO, how’d you become God Su’s dog? Poor Dandan just got NTR’d.]

[Viewer 38128: To all the newcomers, Su Zhi is an independent contestant. His skills are total garbage. Just mindlessly bet on his opponent and you’ll be fine.]

[Annihilation: Yep, totally. He’s just been lucky.]

[Viewer 987662: Screw you, you think we don’t watch the matches or something?]

[Viewer 909813: This whole channel is full of Sitting and Forgetting Dao trolls.]

[Jade Balance 001: Huh? How come I don’t see the ’A Scum White Hair’ girl today?]

[Day after Day: Person above me, that ’girl’ could be some gross dude picking his toes...]

Seeing the bullet comments as lively as ever, Lu Dongjie couldn’t help but smile.

The commentator ratings from last night were out—his audience retention, number of valid bullet comments, and new viewer growth were all number one. He had been named the best commentator of this year’s city tournament!

And it was all thanks to Su Zhi.

’Su Zhi! You’re my god!!!’

"The Group A semi-finals are about to begin! Now walking out of the contestant tunnel is the tournament’s number one seed, from Huai City First Middle School, Shao Ya! Her opponent, independent contestant Su Zhi, will be appearing shortly!

"The prize giveaway is now open! Leave your predictions in the bullet comments, and if you guess correctly, you’ll have a chance to win a ten-billion-yuan red envelope subsidized by the Common Defense Alliance!"

[Frost Shadow Qtm: Those legs, that face, that white hair... I’m sorry, God Su! I’m switching sides!]

[Golden Rare: Oh no! It’s the feeling of my heart skipping a beat!]

[Day after Day: Don’t. She could probably twist your heads off...]

[Annihilation: All in on God Su! I want to see God Su slay the maiden to prove his Dao!!!]

[Su Zhi’s Doggy: But she’s the number one seed... I feel like God Su’s chances of winning are pretty low.]

[Viewer 38128: I’ve seen Shao Ya’s previous matches. She’s super consistent. This is gonna be a real close call for God Su...]

...

Three minutes until the match.

Su Zhi stood in the contestant waiting area, gazing at the arena straight ahead.

After last night, he and Shao Ya hadn’t seen each other again. Right up until the match, neither of them had reached out to the other, not even by message.

Their promise to meet in the semi-finals had been fulfilled.

Those words, "See you in the arena," seemed to be a shared, unspoken understanding between them.

’In that case, let’s do this!’

"Yu Bao, get ready to go."

"Woof."

The Tamer and Pet shared a smile and walked out of the contestant tunnel together.

A tide of applause and cheers washed over them. As the biggest dark horse of the city tournament, Su Zhi had already attracted a wave of attention.

Yet he calmly stepped into the arena, just as he had in the first round when no one had paid him any mind.

"We meet again."

"Mm."

Su Zhi looked at the girl on the other side of the center line.

She had her hair up in a high ponytail. Compared to when it was down, it gave her less of a gentle grace and more of a heroic spirit.

"*Tap.*"

Their two fists bumped directly over the center line.

The boy and girl looked at each other, smiled, and said no more.

Across the center line, Xiaoyue also gave Yu Bao’s fur one last lick.

Then, the two pairs of Tamers and Pets each stepped back.

The two Pet Beasts got ready on the wings of the arena, and the two Beast Tamers took their positions in the command zones.

The match light turned from blue to green.

The match began!

·

·

Checking in for week one of updating 10,000 words daily!