The number one Beast Taming Hall of the school,
Freshmen from the first year gathered. Liu Feng's expression was calm, as if he were waiting for something.
Just then, his eyebrows twitched.
He saw a figure approaching sneakily, just like a thief.
"Chen Shu!"
Liu Feng spotted Chen Shu at a glance. Some people possess an innate radiance that draws attention instantly.
"Uh... Teacher Liu..."
Chen Shu forced a smile, wondering if he was about to be cremated on the spot...
"Get back to the queue!"
Liu Feng snorted coldly. Thinking that his most promising student had missed the exam, he felt a pang in his heart...
"Practical Combat remains the main subject this semester. Apart from certain individuals, all of you are lacking in combat experience. I hope everyone takes this seriously!"
With that, Liu Feng began his lecture.
At five in the afternoon,
Liu Feng cleared his throat and said, "Now, I will announce the rankings from last semester's Practical Combat class!"
"First place, Yu Yi, awarded two hundred credits!"
"Second place, Fang Qingchen, awarded one hundred credits!"
"Third place, Ah Liang, awarded fifty credits!"
"..."
"Five hundredth place, Chen Shu!"
As soon as the rankings were announced, the entire grade's attention turned to Chen Shu, their expressions incredibly peculiar.
Everyone knew he had won the annual championship, but his practical combat performance was surprisingly ranked last. It was truly bizarre.
"Why are you all looking at me?"
Chen Shu's expression was calm. He said, "I did it to help you all improve your rankings. If I don't go to hell, who will! Don't you have any gratitude?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, everyone's lips twitched. He really knew how to spin things!
"I think the awarded credits can be directly transferred to me!"
Chen Shu's eyebrows shot up as he fixed his gaze on Yu Yi ahead.
Yu Yi remained silent and simply averted his gaze.
Did he really intend to snatch the credits right in front of the teacher?
"Young Master Yu, have you accumulated enough credits? Do you want to compete with me again?"
"No!"
Yu Yi decisively shook his head, refusing. Without his family's support now, he truly understood how difficult it was to earn money and how unpleasant life could be!
"I can compete with you!"
Just then, a voice rang out.
Fang Qingchen, ranked second in the grade, stepped forward, his eyes holding an inexplicable emotion.
His first contracted spirit was also SS-class. During the opening chaotic battle, he had even teamed up with Yu Yi, but unfortunately, Chen Shu had beaten them both soundly.
"You? Little Fang!"
Chen Shu's expression shifted, and he asked, "Are your credits ready for a match with me?"
He wasn't afraid of any Black Iron-level beast tamers now. Even Long Jiang, who hailed from a beast-taming family, couldn't defeat him.
"One thousand credits are ready!"
Fang Qingchen smiled and said, "But I have an additional condition!"
"Oh? Tell me about it!"
"You'll fight the four of us!"
Fang Qingchen pointed at three others, all geniuses possessing SS-class contracted spirits.
Yu Yi was among them, and his expression slightly startled before turning excited.
If it were a one-on-one fight, he would definitely not be able to defeat Chen Shu.
But if the four of them joined forces, the outcome would be uncertain. Due to the power of skills, battles between beast tamers rarely involved one against many.
With four people cooperating, there would be eight contracted spirits. Perhaps a single barrage of skills could heavily injure Chen Shu's contracted spirits.
"Four people?"
Chen Shu frowned. He genuinely thought Fang Qingchen would be foolish enough to hand him credits.
"No, there are too many people. My body can't handle it!"
"???"
The others' mouths gaped. What kind of suggestive words were they hearing?
Chen Shu remained composed. He didn't have the confidence to deal with the combined might of four people.
Just four SS+ contracted spirits were enough for him to treat with caution.
"I can fight at most two. Anything more is non-negotiable!"
Chen Shu was also extremely cautious. A thousand credits weren't easily earned, and he didn't want to lose.
"Alright! But we can only bet five hundred credits!"
Fang Qingchen stated. With four people teaming up, each would only need to contribute two hundred and fifty credits. However, now there were only two, and he didn't want to pay five hundred credits himself.
After a semester of study, everyone understood the importance of credits.
"You're quite shrewd, kid!"
Chen Shu stroked his chin and said, "Those who get into Huaxia University are indeed intelligent!"
"Of course, Young Master Yu excluded!"
"???"
Yu Yi's lips twitched. Your mouth is truly vicious!
Fang Qingchen said, "Let's do it tomorrow. It's Saturday, so there are no classes!"
Both sides agreed, and the practical combat class concluded for the day.
Most people had an expectant look on their faces.
Watching for free was a great deal, why wouldn't they watch!
...
In the dormitory, the three were eating takeout while watching television.
Ah Liang turned his head and asked, "Chen Shu, can you handle two?"
"When has your Nanjiang Bandit ever engaged in a battle without certainty?"
Chen Shu shrugged, not taking tomorrow's fight too seriously.
Although Fang Qingchen and the others were smart, they couldn't accurately estimate Chen Shu's strength.
Even after only a winter break, his strength had improved considerably. With the system's enhancement, his strength had no upper limit.
It wasn't Fang Qingchen and the others' fault for having narrow horizons; it was simply that the system was too overpowered!
...
On the second day, around morning,
Beast Taming Hall No. 1, Arena 002,
Hundreds of people had already gathered there, basically all freshmen from the first year.
"Yu Yi, is it really necessary for you to be so lacking in confidence?"
Fang Qingchen turned his head to look. Yu Yi's face showed no fighting spirit; he had already resigned himself to failure.
"We're facing two opponents! My Young Master Yu!"
"Four-on-one might have a chance, but two-on-one..."
Yu Yi shook his head and said, "Also, stop calling me Young Master Yu. Just hearing that title makes me feel a bit choked up!"
Fang Qingchen raised an eyebrow and said, "Only the Bandit is allowed to call you that?"
"Scram!"
Yu Yi laughed and cursed. Fortunately, he only needed to contribute two hundred and fifty credits, so he could afford to lose.
Half an hour later,
"What's going on! Why isn't Chen Shu here yet?"
Someone couldn't help but complain. Waiting was the most torturous thing.
"Someone who even missed the start of the school year, do you expect him to be on time?"
"That seems to be true..."
On the competition stage, a white phoenix and a Qilin beast played with each other, also waiting for Chen Shu's arrival.
"Old Fang, has your phoenix comprehended any powerful skills?"
Yu Yi asked, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have challenged Chen Shu proactively, right?"
"Just a small skill, a small skill!"
Fang Qingchen smiled, saying no more.
As they waited, the doors of the arena were pushed open,
But it wasn't Chen Shu who entered, but a tall, well-built Western young man.
He wore special glasses over his blue eyes, and his gaze immediately locked onto the two contracted spirits on the competition stage.
Data that only he could see appeared on his glasses, displaying combat power assessments.
"Both are SS+? As expected of China's top academy!"
The young man had a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were sharp and full of pride.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am from the Free Alliance in the West. You can call me by my Chinese name: Long Zai Tian!"
"???"
Everyone's mouths gaped, their expressions incredibly strange. What kind of ridiculous name was that?!
Were they joking?!