Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Is the Dumb Puppy a Duck?

In the afternoon, Su Zhi and Yu Bao took a bus to the municipal battle arena.

Viewed from high above, it resembled a giant silver bowl. The "rim of the bowl" was covered in sapphire-blue glass, with several smaller, separate "bowls" above it—these were the more upscale, independent arenas.

Most of the arenas were inside the "giant bowl," packed more tightly together and not as well-equipped.

This place was way bigger than the pitiful, shabby little arena at school.

Su Zhi stood at the entrance, gazing up at the structure.

Before he was a Beast Tamer, he had visited as a tourist with his parents. But after enrolling in Beast Taming High School, he’d hardly come at all.

After all, the arena fees were steep—two to three hundred per hour, enough to cover Su Zhi’s cafeteria meals for two weeks.

Staring at the ink-green ticket in his hand, Su Zhi fell silent for a moment.

He glanced over and saw Yu Bao doing the same, frozen on the spot and staring blankly.

"Still hung up on Forest Reconstruction?" Su Zhi chuckled.

Yu Bao nodded, its eyes full of longing.

"Buddy, it’s good to be ambitious."

Su Zhi’s smile turned wry. "But you really can’t learn that Skill..."

"Woof..." Yu Bao’s gaze turned pitiful.

"Wanzi learning Hardening was an exception! Besides, it’s reasonable for a Cyan Cloud Group to become a bit more bull-headed."

Su Zhi pinched the bridge of his nose. "But for an Earth Element beast like you to want to learn a Wood Element Repair Skill... that’s just ridiculous."

’He has a point...’ The little dog sighed, finally lowering its head.

"Don’t worry, we still have our custom Skill path. I’ve almost finished tweaking it, so we’ll be on the right track soon."

"Woof!" Yu Bao perked up again.

"Besides, Xiaoyue is coming all this way to play with you this afternoon. We have to be on our A-game. We can’t have him laughing at us."

"WOOF!!"

’That’s right! I’ll defeat Xiaoyue!’

Su Zhi nodded in satisfaction and led Yu Bao into the venue.

It was a weekday, so the battle arena was relatively quiet and empty. Only a few pairs of what looked like high-level pros were running drills with each other.

Even Professional Beast Tamers only came to get a match in when they had free time; it wasn’t like they were available 24/7.

"Hello, we have a reservation," Su Zhi said at the front desk.

The owner didn’t seem to be around, just an on-duty attendant who was busy scrolling through videos on his phone.

Interrupted, the attendant looked Su Zhi up and down with a hint of annoyance. "High schooler?"

"Yeah," Su Zhi nodded.

The attendant asked, "Then why aren’t you in school?"

"I’m suspended. Just came to practice on my own today," Su Zhi answered honestly.

"If you’re a high school student, you need to register your information."

The attendant tossed the arena key to Su Zhi, already mentally labeling him a "delinquent."

He’d been through high school himself; students didn’t get suspended unless they’d committed some major screw-up.

This Su Zhi kid, with his slacker vibe, didn’t look like a diligent student at all. And look at that pathetic little dog of his—he was probably at the bottom of his class.

Compared to someone like Fang Yuan, who thrashed him from time to time, this kid was nothing! It was like comparing the heavens to the earth.

’What’s the point of a guy like him even coming here? It’s a complete waste of money.’

’His poor parents, raising a good-for-nothing son like that...’

Su Zhi ignored the attendant’s stare, having no interest in speculating on his thoughts. He took the key with a calm, composed expression.

Just as he was about to head in, a bright, cheerful voice called out from behind him:

"Hey! Long time no see!"

"You’re here?" Su Zhi replied, turning around.

The girl wasn’t in her school uniform. Instead, she wore a light blue dress that left her shapely calves exposed.

Her high-top canvas shoes made her legs look even more slender, while her white ankle socks offered a glimpse of youthful, fair skin.

Xiaoyue followed behind her, an expression that clearly said, "Oh, my foolish little brother," written all over its face.

"Did you go all the way home just to change?"

"We took the day off. Why would I still wear my uniform?"

Shao Ya bounced lightly to Su Zhi’s side and held out her ticket. "Arena 7, please!"

"Ah, of course!" The attendant, looking somewhat star-struck, handed the key to Shao Ya.

He’d heard the owner mention her. This was Shao Ya, General Shao’s daughter! He never thought he’d have the good fortune to see her in person!

’And she’s even prettier than in her pictures...’

After the two had left, the attendant smacked his forehead in regret.

’I should have asked for an autograph!’

’Whatever, I’ll ask them when they’re finished.’

The afternoon was dead anyway. The attendant propped his chin on his hand, bored, and watched as Su Zhi and Shao Ya chatted while walking onto the arena platform.

’Is this Su Zhi kid Shao Ya’s boyfriend?’

’Such an outstanding girl, but her boyfriend is so pathetic. Is he a kept man?’

’What gives him the right...?’

The attendant felt a pang of jealousy, then sighed in frustration a moment later.

Even though he felt he had Su Zhi beat in every way—

—he had to admit, when it came to looks, the guy was in a league of his own.

’General Shao’s daughter is young and accomplished. She’ll never be short on money. Maybe she doesn’t care about a boyfriend’s abilities and just wants someone with a pretty face?’

’The genius, white-haired heroine and the useless, pretty-boy puppy... Hmm.’

The attendant’s interest waned considerably.

’Looks like this won’t be a serious battle,’ he thought. ’Probably just a couple’s playful squabble. It won’t get intense.’

·

"*Sniff, sniff!*" (Big bro, big bro! Long time no see!)

"Meeowr..." (It’s only been a day...)

Seeing Yu Bao still full of energy despite being disciplined, Xiaoyue pouted with a sense of resignation.

It seriously suspected the dumb dog’s morale stat was locked.

"Yu Bao seems to be in high spirits,"

Shao Ya said with a light smile, shaking her fists. "You better go all out. We didn’t take the day off just to fool around and call it a day!"

"Right, you too!"

The moment the arena lights shifted from red to blue, Su Zhi’s focus sharpened. The lazy, indifferent look in his eyes vanished instantly.

Seeing Yu Bao’s reaction, Xiaoyue arched its back slightly, its pupils narrowing.

Although it had agreed to go easy on the silly pup, Xiaoyue could sense that Yu Bao had already entered a state of complete battle focus.

This was a friendly match, but neither side would be holding back.

The lights turned from blue to green as the outer Energy Barrier finished forming.

The battle began!

"SWOOSH—"

Xiaoyue’s pupils turned light green. A vibrant green aura rippled around its body, coalescing into countless leaves that swarmed toward Yu Bao like a tidal wave.

Wood High Level Extraordinary Skill, Flying Leaf Storm!

The move was visually impressive, yet its power was controllable, making it perfect for an exhibition match.

’The silly pup will either dodge with Desert Concealment or counter with Sandstorm,’ Xiaoyue thought. ’Yellow Earth Wall’s Defense Power is too low to block this.’

Either way, Xiaoyue planned to follow up with Vine Fury to maintain the offensive.

’It’s a spar, after all. I still have to put up a real fight.’

’Then, near the end, I’ll just fake an opening and lose... Huh?’

Watching as swirling sand rose up before Yu Bao and formed a round shield, Xiaoyue’s face took on the expression of a shocked-cat meme.

’What the hell is that? A sand version of Flowing Shield?’

’Is that dumb pup a duck?!’

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