"Huh?"

When he got home, Su Zhi was surprised to find the living room lights on.

Not only that, but Wang Sujuan and Su Mao were also wide awake, sitting side-by-side on the sofa with their hands tucked, staring at him.

"What’s all this?" Su Zhi asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Woof."

Yu Bao thought it was fun how they were sitting in a row, so he went Bling Bling over and sat down between them.

"Xiaoshu, your father and I heard about the foul play you encountered in the qualifying tournament."

After exchanging a long look with Wang Sujuan, Su Mao carefully began to ask, "So what do you plan to do now... huh??"

Su Mao’s eyes widened when he saw what Su Zhi had taken out.

"Um, actually, I already got a wildcard spot..."

After hearing Su Zhi’s explanation, the couple let out a long sigh of relief.

"That’s my boy, Xiaoshu!" Wang Sujuan slapped Su Zhi hard on the shoulder. "When you find a powerful backer, you hold on tight!"

"That’s right, Xiaoshu!" Su Mao also slapped his shoulder hard. "Even if you don’t have one, you should still try to force a connection! If you fail, you lose nothing. If you succeed, you hit the jackpot! It’s the same principle as asking for Chapter shout-outs!"

"Go on, get out of here. Stop poisoning Xiaoshu with that web novel nonsense of yours."

"Huh? How is it poison? This is my wisdom..."

The couple started bickering again.

Seeing no way to get a word in, Su Zhi shook his head and chuckled. He plucked Yu Bao, who was squeezed between the two, out of the middle and held him. "Well, we’re going to go train now."

"Okay, good luck in the competition the day after tomorrow!"

His parents stopped arguing and said in unison.

After confirming that Su Zhi had gone into his bedroom and closed the door, the couple exchanged a look, their expressions turning subtle.

"...Should we tell Xiaoshu that the behind-the-scenes big shot who dealt with Fang Lihua was actually his old man?"

"Better not."

Wang Sujuan said expressionlessly, "What kind of big shot are you? You’re just a pitiful father who used his body to keep his son from being bullied."

"Why does that sound so wrong?? I just agreed to release more Chapters..."

As he spoke, the salted-fish, middle-aged wordsmith suddenly choked up.

He recalled something a reader from the Holy Order Alliance had said to him in a private message a few days ago:

[My dear author, you wouldn’t want your son to be bullied at school, now would you?]

It was the story of a weak, helpless father who humiliatingly signed an agreement to release more Chapters...

「In the bedroom.」

"Yu Bao? Time for bed."

Su Zhi had already made the bed and was just waiting for Yu Bao to crawl in.

But Yu Bao didn’t move. He hugged the Thick Earth Core and the Earth Vein Thought, staring wistfully out the window.

"Yu Bao?"

Su Zhi reminded him, "Even if you want to absorb the resources, it’s most effective to do it while you sleep."

Yu Bao’s body suddenly shuddered violently.

He turned his head back and leaned against Su Zhi’s chest as teardrops the size of beans rolled down his face one by one.

"Are you still thinking about what happened today?"

Su Zhi didn’t act overly worried, simply holding Yu Bao gently.

"It’s already been resolved. We have our spot in the competition now, and the bad guys will be punished soon."

"Wuu wuu." Yu Bao still sounded aggrieved.

’He remembered being looked down on by his classmates and criticized by his teachers. He remembered the disdainful looks from his opponents when he stepped into the ring. He just wanted to walk his own path, but he was always being questioned and looked down upon by others.’

"That’s why we have to make our opponents understand how strong we are. We have to show them that the path we’ve chosen isn’t wrong."

Su Zhi smiled gently and wiped away Yu Bao’s tears.

’He understood that today’s events were just the fuse. All the grievances Yu Bao had suffered in the past had just exploded at once.’

"It’s okay to cry. Everyone has moments of weakness. But the moment we step into that ring, we are indomitable Warriors. We will never retreat, and we will never back down!

"Anyone who questions us, we’ll smash their heads in!

"If everyone questions us, we’ll smash all their heads in and take the championship!

"What do you say, Yu Bao?"

"...Woof!"

Yu Bao nodded vigorously, his button-like black eyes shining once more through a blur of tears.

A smile crept into Su Zhi’s eyes. "Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll go compete with your big brother Xiaoyue."

"Zzzzz..."

At the thought of seeing big brother Xiaoyue again in the morning, Yu Bao’s head tilted to the side, and he fell asleep on the spot...

·

「In an apartment building in the suburbs.」

A middle-aged man in a suit returned home, his face as gloomy as ever. He casually tossed his briefcase onto the sofa and began to change his shoes.

A plain-looking, middle-aged woman emerged silently from the kitchen and put his briefcase away for him. "You’re back? Why are you so quiet..."

"What’s there to talk about?" Fang Lihua shot her an impatient glare.

The woman lowered her head silently, just as she always did.

Fang Lihua then walked into the dining room. Fang Yuan was eating. He glanced up as his father entered but said nothing.

Fang Lihua didn’t say anything either, just sat down and waited for his noodles.

It was a rare moment when the family of three was together, yet the dining table was shrouded in an oppressive silence.

Compared to a certain family of three living in Wudu New Village, this place didn’t feel like a home, but merely a house for people to live in.

"I don’t want to eat. I’m already full of anger."

After the woman served the noodles, Fang Lihua picked at them with his chopsticks for a moment before pushing the bowl away.

Fang Yuan said in a low voice, "Why didn’t you just say you weren’t going to eat in the first place?"

"Mind your own damn business. Eat your food, and when you’re done, go train."

Fang Lihua waved his hand dismissively.

The woman carefully took the bowl away and asked, a little curious, "Did something happen at school?"

"It was all because of that Su Zhi."

Fang Lihua leaned back in his chair and let out a weary, irritated sigh.

"Dammit, his homeroom teacher nearly came at me."

Fang Yuan abruptly stopped his chopsticks.

"...What happened to Su Zhi?"

He looked up, his voice trembling slightly.

"I found a way to disqualify him, of course. He won’t be competing against you in the city tournament."

Fang Lihua nonchalantly lit a cigarette. "Perform well, and bring me back that championship. Got it?"

BANG!

Fang Yuan slammed the table and shot to his feet, his clenched fists trembling.

"All you care about is the championship! Tell me, what’s the point of a championship like this?

"Eliminating a strong competitor through dirty, underhanded tricks—is that the kind of championship you want?"

Fang Yuan roared.

SLAP—

A rush of air swept past, and a bright red handprint appeared on Fang Yuan’s face.

As a Beast Tamer, he was fully capable of dodging it.

"How dare you fucking yell at me? You think your wings have grown tough, huh?!"

Fang Lihua shook his right hand, his eyes wide with fury. "Why do you think I go to all this trouble? I’m paving the way for you!"

Fang Yuan clutched the burning sting on his face but let out a cold laugh.

"If you really believed in me, why would you be worried about Su Zhi being a threat? You’re the one who’s afraid."

"That’s right, Su Zhi is a threat to you, and I am afraid of him."

Fang Lihua jabbed a finger at the table. "Getting rid of him so you can win the championship—that’s the whole point of everything I’ve done!"

"I’m not afraid."

Fang Yuan threw down those three words and left the table.

"Hey? Xiaoyuan!"

"Don’t fucking bother with him. I’ve been spoiling him too much day after day."

"No, but Xiaoyuan is also..."

"You fucking say one more word for him! You killjoy! Do you think he’d be like this if it weren’t for you?"

...

...

Fang Yuan crouched against his door, his father’s rebukes and his mother’s sorrowful cries piercing through the walls of his small bedroom.

Fang Yuan took a deep breath, pushing aside the excess emotions.

A faint white Beast Taming Light Array lit up.

"Time to train."

Fang Yuan said calmly, looking at the 004 that had appeared before him.

·

·