...

...

"Excuse me, please let me through. Don’t take my picture..."

"It’s not what you think, it was really just a gesture between opponents..."

On the way to the spectator stands, Su Zhi was swarmed by a pack of cameras, covering his head and begging for mercy.

Some people were yelling "99," others were shouting "Draw your sword!" and some were even yelling at Shao Ya to draw her sword...

Walking ahead, Shao Ya turned back, covering her mouth with her hand as she chuckled lightly. "What’s there to be shy about? Weren’t you pretty brave just now?"

Su Zhi lowered his head without a word, his face filled with regret.

’I’m so stupid, I really am.’

He’d gotten carried away and hadn’t thought it through, because having a good cry in her arms had felt really, really good.

It was only after he finished crying that he realized more than half the city’s audience was watching...

The level of social suicide was probably equivalent to his parents discovering he wrote romance novels and then posting them on their social media feeds.

"All right, the class president’s semi-final match is about to start. Let’s hurry."

"Okay."

The girl changed the subject, and they both fell into a tacit silence.

Xiaoyue followed beside Shao Ya.

Meanwhile, Yu Bao was nestled in Su Zhi’s arms, fast asleep on his back with all four paws in the air.

In today’s semi-final, both Yu Bao and Xiaoyue had given it their all. The intensity was on a completely different level compared to that time at the battle stadium.

Because of this, they’d earned quite a few Points—0.07 in one go!

This was the most Points Yu Bao had gained in a single instance since the qualifying matches.

Normally, Su Zhi would have just dumped them into Intelligence, Agility, and Perception.

But after today’s battle, Su Zhi understood that allocating Points appropriately mid-fight was also a form of strategy.

He would be facing an even stronger opponent tomorrow, so he decided it would be better to wait for Yu Bao to wake up and ask for his opinion.

"Woof..."

Yu Bao smacked his lips and stretched his four paws out in every direction. He was probably dreaming about something delicious again; his sleep-talking sounded like he was saying "oden."

So, Su Zhi moved his finger to Yu Bao’s mouth.

Yu Bao’s nose twitched. Su Zhi then saw him taste it with his small, pink tongue, feeling a rough, slick sensation on his fingertip.

’Yummy...’ Yu Bao’s eyes curved into crescents, and the corners of his mouth turned up.

Seeing the little guy smile, Su Zhi couldn’t help but smile himself.

’Yu Bao’s the one who had it tougher, really.’

’When he wakes up, I’ll take him to eat oden again!’

Shao Ya grabbed him by the collar. "Where are you wandering off to? The seats are over here."

"Ah, I was lost in thought."

"Don’t wander off, okay? I’m going to buy some water."

"I know..."

Su Zhi shook his head and chuckled. He sat down where Shao Ya directed him. ’This is bad,’ he thought. ’I’m getting way too used to Shao Ya acting like my mom...’

Shao Ya was about to leave when she glanced at the arena below and froze.

Su Zhi asked curiously, "What’s wrong?"

"The class president’s match is starting!"

"This soon?"

Su Zhi quickly stood up too, joining her to lean over the edge of the stands.

...

...

In the unlit contestants’ waiting room—

"I know Su Zhi has advanced. You don’t need to specifically inform me."

Fang Yuan said flatly.

"It doesn’t matter. I will defeat him head-on in the final-round arena. I’m hanging up."

Then, without waiting for his father on the other end to say anything more, Fang Yuan pressed the red "end call" button.

"Get ready to go on."

Fang Yuan said without turning his head.

The entire time, White Flame Battle Spirit 004 floated silently behind him, its light pink eyes fixed on the ground, never looking elsewhere.

Hearing the command, 004 followed behind Fang Yuan, as silent as ever.

·

"On my left is the tournament’s number four seed, Liu Yuhang from Huai City First Middle School.

"On my right is the tournament’s number two seed, Fang Yuan from Huai City Second Middle School..."

In the arena, the head referee made the routine pre-match announcements. Fang Yuan sized up Liu Yuhang and Xue Li.

"Su Zhi’s classmate?" he asked expressionlessly.

"Yeah. You’re Fang Yuan, right? I know you’re very strong."

Liu Yuhang’s gaze turned serious as he extended his right hand. "But I’m still going to give it my all!"

Fang Yuan did not accept his handshake, nor did he spare a glance for the Hao Waterfowl, proactively ending the already brief exchange.

Fang Yuan had already reviewed his opponent’s information before the match—he was certainly qualified for the semi-finals, but that was about it.

Fang Yuan’s goal was the championship.

An opponent he was about to defeat held no value for him to get acquainted with.

The match lights turned from red to blue, and the outer Energy Barrier began to form...

Fang Yuan took his position in the command zone, his gaze falling upon Liu Yuhang.

After having his handshake rejected, Liu Yuhang showed no sign of embarrassment. He clenched his hand into a fist and calmly walked to the command zone on the opposite side.

The two Beast Tamers were ready, their gazes never meeting.

But on either side of the central axis, the two Pet Beasts were already locked onto each other.

...

...

[Pet Beast: Xue Li (Hao Waterfowl)

Attribute: Water

Race: High Level Extraordinary

Real-time Energy Value: 930]

...

[Pet Beast: 004 (White Flame Battle Spirit)

Attribute: Fire, Telekinesis, Fighting

Race: Low Level Elite

Real-time Energy Value: 1302]

"Can the class president win?" Su Zhi’s brow furrowed as he looked at the scan results on his phone.

Xue Li had a certain Attribute advantage against the White Flame Battle Spirit, and Liu Yuhang also had the Ocean Affinity Beast Taming Talent, but the White Flame Battle Spirit was a Multi-attribute Pet Beast, so the restraining Effect wasn’t significant.

And the gap between their Real-time Energy Values was quite large!

"It’s not impossible for a Pet Beast with a lower Energy Value to defeat one with a higher Energy Value, as long as the strategy is sound..."

The girl frowned, but her voice lacked conviction.

Come-from-behind victories usually happen when the side with the lower Energy Value has a significant advantage in other areas. But their opponent was Fang Yuan, a formidable rival who had steamrolled his way to the quarterfinals.

Shao Ya fretted for a long time before finally stomping her foot, deciding not to think about it anymore.

"Anyway, go class president! Go!"

"He can’t hear you shouting from here..."