Late at night—

An old man in a black trench coat pushed open the doors of the Battle Hall.

He had slightly curly, long gray hair, and his light brown eyes, framed by his bangs, gave him a distinctive air.

The corners of his mouth were turned up in a habitual, gentle smile, yet he also gave off an impression that he was not someone to be trifled with.

This was Yan Dingyi, the current Hall Master of the Huai City Battle Hall, a committee member of the Huai City Alliance, and a distant relative of Yan Shouzheng, the vice-principal of No. 1 High.

The sparring partner dozing at the front desk hurriedly sat up straight. "Hall Master Yan! You’re back!"

"It’s alright, Xiaoliu. Stay seated."

Yan Dingyi leaned his head forward and asked curiously, "Did you change your pants?"

"Ah, uh..."

The sparring partner lowered his head, his eyes darting away. "I just felt like changing them on a whim, so I did..."

’If the Hall Master found out two high school students had shocked me into that state, my career as a sparring partner would be over.’

"Haha, that’s great! Changing even without a reason—that’s youth for you!"

Yan Dingyi habitually walked behind the front desk, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and casually browsed the video recordings.

"Were there any exciting battles this afternoon? The matches at Fengyun Arena were so bland, I almost fell asleep watching."

"Personally, I think the match in Arena 7 was brilliant. It was just two students, but it’s worth a watch..."

Seeing the Hall Master holding the teacup, the sparring partner subconsciously felt a chill run down his pants. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Um, maybe you should finish your tea first?"

"No need. I enjoy sipping my tea while I watch a match."

Full of interest, Yan Dingyi clicked on the recording for Arena 7—

Then his eyes went wide, and he froze as if he were a still frame himself.

The battle on the screen progressed with one climax after another, filled with things he couldn’t comprehend but found utterly mind-blowing...

"SPLASH"

The moment he saw Yu Bao’s Stand-In turn the tables and counter-kill Xiaoyue, not a single drop of Yan Dingyi’s tea was left; it had all spilled onto his crotch.

...

...

「The next morning—」

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

"SQUEAK!"

Yu Bao trained as usual, with Wanzi’s help.

Seeing as Yu Bao could now outlast Wanzi to a win, Liu Junpo had increased the difficulty: Wanzi would now ban two of Yu Bao’s Skills, and then they would train.

It’s common for opponents to specifically target certain Skills.

Only by reducing its reliance on specific Skills could a Pet Beast become truly well-rounded and powerful.

Of course, Wanzi banned Yu Bao’s Sand Shadow Concealment.

Without its Positional Skill, Yu Bao struggled to run, needing to use a combination of Skills like Earth Force Field and Yellow Earth Wall to constantly obstruct Wanzi, just to get a chance to create a Sand Shadow Guard and escape.

Watching the two Pet Beasts play a game of cat and mouse, Liu Junpo suddenly frowned.

"This isn’t working."

"Yeah, Yu Bao really isn’t performing well with its Skills restricted..."

"I’m not talking about that. Yu Bao is actually doing very well in that regard."

Liu Junpo rubbed his temples, a headache coming on. "It’s combat experience. It always comes down to combat experience."

"Yu Bao has been fighting Wanzi for a long time; it’s already figured out some of Wanzi’s patterns. It’s hard for it to learn anything new by fighting Wanzi anymore."

"But in the city league tournament, you’ll most likely be facing unfamiliar Pet Beasts. Even if they’re trained according to a standard syllabus, their trainers might still devise a variety of tactics."

"You’re suspended right now, so it’s hard for you to find a variety of strong opponents to pressure you... er, though of course, there weren’t many strong opponents for you before you were suspended either."

"For others who follow standard tactics, it’s more or less fine. But you’re on a custom path. You rely heavily on a massive amount of practical combat."

Su Zhi asked, "Don’t you have another Pet Beast?"

"Oh, she’s a Quasi-Three-star now. You want me to call her out to crush a noob for you?"

"...Never mind."

Su Zhi frowned. "This is really a problem... Are there any places where one can get a lot of combat experience?"

"First, let’s rule out the Battle Hall. Not only is it expensive, but there’s hardly anyone there on a normal day," Liu Junpo said, shaking his head.

Su Zhi was thoughtful. "Then... are there any, say, underground matches?"

"Don’t go! A lot of those shady matches... there’s no telling what could happen to you!"

Liu Junpo interrupted Su Zhi, his tone sharp.

Realizing he’d lost his composure, he quickly cleared his throat with a couple of coughs.

"However, when I was at Shanda University, I heard a classmate mention the Fengyun Arena. It’s also an underground competition, but it’s relatively legitimate. I heard that people from the Common Defense Alliance even secretly supervise it."

Cao Mingyu said excitedly, "Are you guys going? I know the free trade zone."

"?!" Su Zhi whipped his head around to see a face that filled his entire field of vision.

Su Zhi recoiled. "When did you get here?!"

Cao Mingyu’s voice was deep and dramatic. "I came only to see you before the morning sun."

Liu Junpo, seemingly understanding something, clapped Su Zhi on the shoulder with a comical expression. "You’re playing some wild games, little bro!"

’What the fuck...’ Su Zhi wanted to say something, but he saw that Cao Mingyu was already offering him a bottle of lemon-flavored Mizone with both hands.

"It was abrupt of me to show up so suddenly! Please, senior, have a drink!"

"Aha, you’re too kind~"

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

In one minute and fifty-four seconds, Cao Mingyu and Liu Junpo had successfully become good buddies.

Of course, this time Cao Mingyu didn’t forget to bring some small snacks for Yu Bao either.

Su Zhi stared at the sky, wondering if there was something wrong with the world.

"Whatever... You said you know about the underground matches? Spill the details."

"That’s exactly why I came looking for you."

Cao Mingyu wasn’t as goofy as he seemed. He began to explain patiently:

"There are many underground competitions, and the most relatively legitimate and influential one is the ’Fengyun Arena’. It’s found in major cities all over the world, and even in some smaller cities like Huai City."

"These matches are underground in name only. In reality, many big shots frequent them, and their influence is no less than the Super Series and Circuit Series organized by the Common Defense Alliance."

"I suggest you try the Fengyun Arena. It’s the most reliable among the various underground circuits, though of course, it’s still a far cry from a proper, official tournament."

"That does sound pretty good."

Su Zhi was tempted.

Anytime, anywhere, just fight whenever you want. Even if it wasn’t exactly by the book, it seemed bearable.

"But, would it be unsafe for students like us to go in?"

"If you really want to go, I’ll go with you."

At this, Liu Junpo smiled. "Aside from the big-name experts I can’t afford to provoke, in a small place like Huai City, I can pretty much do as I please."

"Fengyun Arena... that’s the same name my classmate mentioned back then. It should be reliable."

Liu Junpo nodded. "Xiaoyu, can you take us there?"

"Of course!" Cao Mingyu gave a reliable smile.

·

And so, that afternoon, under Cao Mingyu’s guidance, Su Zhi and Liu Junpo arrived in front of a manhole cover—

Cao Mingyu looked left and right, and after confirming no one was around, he yanked the cover open. "Quick, don’t let the city patrol see."

Su Zhi climbed down, cursing and muttering, "This is the entrance you were talking about?!"

"Of course an underground competition is underground!"

"Son of a... Ugh."

Su Zhi bit back his words, allowing himself to be tricked by Cao Mingyu into going down the manhole.

What surprised him slightly, however, was that this manhole didn’t have the unbearable stench of a sewer.

The further down he went, the brighter it became—a warm, yellow light diffused from the walls into the tunnel.

"This is it."

Cao Mingyu casually found a door and pulled it open.

Warm yellow light burst forth, and the scene before them opened up dramatically.

Su Zhi jumped through the doorway onto a platform, blinking in disbelief.

·

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