Li Yi stepped forward, bent down to pick up his glasses, and stared at the crack on the lens in silence for over ten seconds. Then, with a fake smile, he asked, "Whose pet just touched my glasses?"
Qiao Sang: "..."
What was bound to happen had finally happened... Qiao Sang took a deep breath, pressed both hands against the desk to stand up, and admitted, "Mine."
Li Yi narrowed his eyes at the girl sitting in the corner. She looked somewhat familiar, but he wasn't sure. After putting on his glasses and taking a closer look, he froze instantly.
Good grief, isn't this the student that the Vice Principal, Qin Wen, Luo Qian, and Zheng Guoping had all mentioned to him at once, like a string of firecrackers?!
He remembered that on the eve of the school opening, the Vice Principal had contacted him, saying there was a student named Qiao Sang in the class, and if he saw her playing with her phone, he should just turn a blind eye.
Qin Wen had called him to say that if a freshman named Qiao Sang couldn't get her academic scores up, he shouldn't put pressure on her or force her, as her focus might be entirely on beast-taming combat training.
Luo Qian, on the other hand, had told him to subtly mention the benefits of coordination competitions to Qiao Sang.
As for Zheng Guoping...
Li Yi clearly remembered the scene.
Early in the morning, Zheng Guoping had specifically come to his office, patted him on the shoulder, and sighed, "With Qiao Sang in your class, you've hit the jackpot, kid."
Jackpot? What jackpot? Sacrificing a pair of glasses on the first day of school?
Li Yi pondered for a long time before speaking, "Why did you think of sitting at the back of the classroom? Aren't you afraid you won't be able to see the front clearly?"
Qiao Sang: "???"
...
September 1st had always been a day the returning students looked forward to, because there was always drama to watch.
And many freshmen who already knew the customs of Shengshui Middle School were also waiting for the moment they could become the center of attention for the entire school.
The school team's strength demonstration segment.
To put it nicely, it was a chance to showcase one's strength; to put it bluntly, it was a chance to make a fool of oneself.
With so many people from the whole school watching, one wrong move and you'd be the talk of the campus until graduation, and you might even lose your "eligibility" for early romance.
Everyone had just become beast tamers; why were you chosen for the school team while I wasn't? Many freshmen harbored this thought in their hearts.
The Shengshui Pavilion was the largest competition venue in Shengshui Middle School.
Usually, any grand competitions or activities held by the school took place here.
The circular, tiered spectator stands were packed with people; teachers and students from the entire school were gathered together.
In various classes, many students were discussing the upcoming opening ceremony.
"Did you hear? Apparently, you can go up and challenge the school team members later. If you win, can you directly replace the loser and join the team?"
"Where did you hear that?"
"My cousin. She has a friend who is a senior at our school; she's the one who told me."
"No way, how would they challenge? If everyone went up one by one in a gauntlet match, the school team would definitely lose."
"I heard there's a school doctor waiting backstage, so they recover after every battle."
"Forget it, there's no hope for me. I contracted a Cotton Segment Worm."
"..."
"I spent a lot of money to get inside information. There are three incredibly powerful figures in this year's school team." In the stands, a boy with mushroom-cut hair held a document and spoke solemnly to the classmates crowding around him: "First is Wang Jihang. He contracted a Bubble Bell, a psychic-type pet, you know how that goes."
"Second is Lu You. This guy's family has 'money-power.' He contracted a Small Pachycephalosaurus. I don't need to tell you how terrifying Dragon-type pets are. If you want to win, don't pick him."
"Finally, there's a girl named Qiao Sang, who contracted a Fire-Fang Dog." At this point, the mushroom-cut boy lowered his voice: "According to reliable sources, the latest evolution of the Fire-Fang Dog, the Flame-Listening Hound, which caused a huge stir in our city recently, is her pet."
"No way!" The boy to the right gasped: "Isn't she the same age as us? She only became a beast tamer two months ago, right?"
"Others awaken spontaneously; she might have awakened earlier than two months ago," the mushroom-cut boy said.
"That's just freakish," the boy on the right lamented. "Our school is awesome; such a talent is studying here."
Just then, the boy on the left, who hadn't spoken, asked in a raspy voice, "How many Flame-Listening Hounds are there in our city now?"
The mushroom-cut boy looked at him speechlessly. "How many do you think? In our whole city—no, I should say in the entire world—there is currently only this one Flame-Listening Hound."
Wang Yiding was stunned. He thought the girl who helped him find the Crown-Cat last time just looked about his age; he never imagined she actually was the same age...
"If you want to win, don't pick those three." The mushroom-cut boy paused and smiled. "But if you want to get famous in school, wait until the students in front of you drain their pets' endurance before going up. Except for Qiao Sang's Flame-Listening Hound, you might have a slight chance of winning against the other two."
Long-term battles didn't just depend on a pet's energy and stamina, but also their endurance.
Endurance referred to a pet's ability to sustain combat over a long period—essentially, the ability to resist fatigue.
A pet's energy and stamina could be restored with healing skills or recovery fluids, but endurance could not.
Pets with weak willpower would be riddled with openings once their endurance was exhausted.
...
"Hello everyone. First, on behalf of the school leadership, I would like to express my warm congratulations and sincere welcome to the first-year students entering our school." A man wearing a white shirt, about 1.8 meters tall, with a scholarly aura and looking to be around 24 years old, stepped onto the stage to give a speech.
"Welcome to becoming an honorable beast tamer, but this is only the beginning! The world is finite, but the quest of a beast tamer is infinite!"
Behind the backstage curtain, all the special admission students were peeking through a small gap in the curtain.
Qiao Sang looked at the man speaking on stage and asked hesitantly, "Is our principal this young?"
"He's not young," Lu You smiled. "Guess how old he is?"
Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said, "26?"
"Wrong," Lu You said.
"36?"
"Guess bolder, think bigger."
"96."
Lu You: "..."
"I told you to guess bigger, not to guess until he's dead," Lu You said helplessly. "He's 48 this year. He became a D-rank beast tamer at 20. Because he received feedback from his pet when he was young, he ages slower."
Qiao Sang was greatly shocked.
Previously, her circle was small—either at school or at home. She had only read online that beast tamers who received feedback from their pets could maintain eternal youth, making middle-aged and elderly people look like youths. This was her first time seeing a living example in reality.
Of course, she might have encountered such people on the street, but she wouldn't know if they didn't tell her.
"Are you nervous?" Lu You suddenly asked, looking at the thousands of students sitting outside the gap.
"Nervous!" Beside him, Wang Jihang clutched his heart and said, "I feel like my heart rate is probably 180 right now."
"Who asked you?" Lu You turned to him speechlessly. "I was asking Qiao Sang."
Wang Jihang: "..."
Qiao Sang paused for a moment, then said excitedly, "Nervous? How is that possible? I can't wait to get out there."
What she was waiting for wasn't just the battle, but the points!
(End of Chapter)