Chapter 51: Chapter 51: There’s Such a Good Thing?

"WHOOSH!"

A churning cloud of sand surged out the window with ferocious power. It shot a good distance away before crashing down.

And Yu Bao, like a true hero, never looked back at the blast. He simply flashed his signature smile.

Su Zhi covered his mouth in pleasant surprise. "Your Sandstorm reached Tier Two?"

A Tier Two Sandstorm is significantly more powerful than a Tier One.

But the most important feature was undoubtedly its ability to break free from the limitation of gathering Energy in its mouth. It could now be launched from any direction around its body!

"PANT, PANT!"

Yu Bao nodded vigorously.

He’d had an epiphany during his recent battle with Cotton.

When Cotton unleashed its Water Bomb, it didn’t gather Energy in its mouth. Instead, it let the Water form directly around its body before firing.

’Maybe I can do that too,’ Yu Bao had thought, and so he gave it a try.

To his surprise, he’d managed to figure out the Tier Two Sandstorm just by thinking about it.

"Great job!" Su Zhi said, ruffling Yu Bao’s head vigorously.

From now on, Yu Bao could even fire on the move, kiting his opponents to death.

Yu Bao’s mouth split into a grin, his tongue flicking in and out. His small, dark eyes held an expectant look.

Su Zhi knew what that meant. ’He’s looking for a reward.’

Yu Bao was the kind of dog that was too proud to ask for a reward outright, but he’d drop all sorts of hints.

If you called him out on it, Yu Bao would just play dumb, trying to charm his way out of it.

Of course, Su Zhi had planned to reward him anyway.

Having such a diligent and low-maintenance Pet Beast was a blessing for a Beast Tamer like him.

Su Zhi looked left and right, saw a three-pack of small sausages on Shao Ya’s desk, and took them.

"Here, Yu Bao."

"Woof?"

’But... aren’t those hers?’

"It’s fine. What’s hers is mine."

"PANT, PANT~" Yu Bao happily devoured the sausages, leaving one for Su Zhi.

A voice drifted eerily from the classroom doorway: "Looks like you two are having a good time."

"Of course we... uh?" Su Zhi stared blankly as he turned around, seeing Yan Shouzheng and Zhou Shengfa with their heads covered in sand.

Yu Bao froze for a moment, then, as if struck dead, zipped back into the Beast Taming Space.

Su Zhi blinked. "Um, the wind’s pretty strong today, huh..."

Su Zhi thought the two teachers would give him a little lecture, but he noticed that both Zhou Shengfa and Yan Shouzheng seemed to be in low spirits.

’Is it because of yesterday’s exhibition match?’

In the silence, Vice Principal Yan Shouzheng waved the paper in his hand, gesturing for Su Zhi to come over.

...

"That’s the long and short of it. The principal disapproves of your refusal to follow the training syllabus. He’s issued a disciplinary notice for violation of conduct."

"You’re suspended for two weeks. During that time, you’re barred from school grounds, you can’t participate in quizzes, and you can’t join any field training..."

Reading the punishments on the disciplinary notice one by one, Yan Shouzheng unknowingly clenched his fists.

He certainly had his reservations about Su Zhi’s methods, but he never denied that the boy was a promising talent.

However, the punishment arranged by the principal through the dean’s office could only be described as outrageous.

Field training was held every two weeks; it was the only way for regular students to acquire resources. Since the Exotic Beast Activity Area barred individuals below the rank of Advanced Beast Tamer, this punishment effectively cut off Su Zhi’s resource supply for the next two weeks.

At the same time, not being allowed to train at school for two weeks would also disrupt the Pet Beast’s training rhythm, learning pace, and so on.

Being barred from quizzes would also cause Su Zhi’s Pet Beast Ranking to drop.

And the day Su Zhi’s suspension was lifted was the exact day of the school’s qualifying trials for the city league.

For an ordinary student, this would just be a slightly severe suspension.

But for Su Zhi, who was about to participate in the city league, two weeks of lost time was fatal.

Yan Shouzheng was extremely dissatisfied with such a punishment, but he lacked the authority to intervene.

’I’ll comfort Su Zhi in a bit, have a heart-to-heart with him, see if I can ease his mood...’ Yan Shouzheng finished reading the notice and looked up, only to freeze on the spot.

Su Zhi had an expression that practically screamed, ’Wait, there’s a deal this good?’

"So, does that mean I can go home now?"

"No... the suspension takes effect at midnight tomorrow."

"Alright, then."

Su Zhi was a little disappointed.

Yan Shouzheng: "..."

"Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back. Goodbye, teacher."

Yan Shouzheng: "..."

The vice principal’s fists clenched.

He suddenly no longer wanted to comfort Su Zhi. He wanted to beat the stuffing out of this little punk!

·

Night.

On the athletic field, Su Zhi and Liu Junpo sat together on the edge of the track.

Before them, on the open grassy field, Yu Bao and Wanzi chased each other in a mock battle. The ground heaved with earthen walls, sank into pits, and billowed with sandstorms. The special effects, so to speak, were cranked to the max.

This was Yu Bao and Wanzi’s tenth sparring match of the evening.

As it turned out, even after awakening a slew of new Skills, Yu Bao still couldn’t make a dent in the thick-skulled Wanzi...

But he could now evade Wanzi’s pursuit with ease!

"Yu Bao’s at a pretty good level now. If he keeps training like this until the city league, he’s a shoo-in for the top four."

Liu Junpo commented, then continued talking about the suspension. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"What’s there to plan? I’ll just take it as it comes. It’s great, not having to go to school. I didn’t want to go in the first place."

Su Zhi laughed. "It’s perfect! Now Yu Bao and I will have plenty of time to set our own schedule!"

"But if you can’t get into the school, how are we supposed to train?"

Su Zhi paused for a second. "Oh, right..."

Seeing his thoughtful expression, Liu Junpo smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry about it. Just give me your address, and I’ll come find you."

"Thanks, Senior Brother Piao!"

Su Zhi’s eyes lit up, then his gaze darted around mischievously. "So... about Yu Bao’s custom Skill path, v5.121..."

"We’re still overhauling it."

"Oh..."

"Don’t rush me. It’s almost done, it’s almost done~"

"You said the same thing back in version 4.12!"

...

The athletic field was both quiet and lively. The unlit dark areas seemed to merge with the night sky.

The sea of stars slowly turned, seeming to ripple in the evening breeze.

Accompanied by Zhou Shengfa, Yan Shouzheng stood at the entrance to the field, quietly watching the Pet Beasts battling fiercely on the grass.

This time, he had watched the entire training process from the very beginning.

"Does Su Zhi’s Pet Beast always train this much every day?" Yan Shouzheng asked softly.

"It’s more than that. I asked Shao Ya, and she said Yu Bao trains hard even after he gets home."

"Even by a rough estimate, their effective training time is about four times the grade average, and their efficiency is even higher. That’s the consensus among the students."

"On top of that, Su Zhi never uses standard tactics in any quiz or sparring match. He always analyzes the results carefully and incorporates what he learns back into his Pet Beast’s training. I’ve only seen that kind of dedication in a handful of top students..."

After saying all this, Zhou Shengfa paused.

"Sir, it’s true that Su Zhi doesn’t like to follow the rules. But when it comes to the path he’s chosen for himself, he works harder than anyone."

Yan Shouzheng nodded without speaking.

Zhou Shengfa secretly noticed that Yan Shouzheng, long known as the school’s strictest teacher, had a rare, gratified smile in his eyes.

"I still can’t say I approve of the boy’s methods... Ah, what does it matter."

Yan Shouzheng chuckled and muttered to himself.

"Let’s go, Shengfa. We should leave. The future belongs to them."

"Oh, oh!"

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