Chapter 26: Chapter 26: I Get It! It’s Story Mode

Halfway there, Shao Ya suddenly stopped.

"Old Ban said my sparring partner is in the grove?"

"Huh? Is this sparring partner of yours legit?"

"Of course it’s legit!" Shao Ya rolled her eyes at him.

"Xiaoyue is a Wood Element Pet Beast, so a grove makes perfect sense... I’m off! Bye-bye!"

"Bye."

Su Zhi watched his deskmate leave.

"Woof, woof." (There’s someone over there.)

Yu Bao nudged him with its paw.

Su Zhi followed Yu Bao’s paw with his gaze and, sure enough, saw a student with dyed-blond hair walking toward him.

’He’s even sending a voice message on his phone. He’s probably contacting Zhou Shengfa. Yeah, that’s gotta be him.’

’But why is he wearing the uniform of the first-year Elite class?’

...

"Yes, I see Su Zhi."

"Yes... Mmm."

"I will complete the mission. You can rest assured."

Zhang Wei put down his phone and strode quickly toward Su Zhi, his face grim.

The role he was playing right now was akin to the clueless villain in a formulaic web novel.

Next, he would viciously provoke Su Zhi and force him into a sparring match.

And all of this was at the behest of the student council president, Cao Mingyu.

A new star had risen from obscurity, even setting his sights on the city league. For Cao Mingyu, who had always been solidly ranked second in their grade, this was cause for concern.

He needed to learn more about this new rival.

So, he sent Zhang Wei to spar with Su Zhi and secretly record the fight to gauge his true abilities.

That way, if they met in the school qualifiers, he wouldn’t be caught off guard by Su Zhi.

However, Zhang Wei thought the president was being far too cautious.

’He’s just a regular-class student ranked 56th in the grade. So what if he worked hard for a bit and his rank shot up? He’s already hit his ceiling.’

’What kind of waves could he possibly make?’

’The president even said, "Just get Su Zhi to fight; winning or losing doesn’t matter."’

’What a joke.’

’How could I, ranked 40th in our grade, lose to some regular-class student who just desperately clawed his way up a little!’

"You’re Su Zhi, right?"

When they met, Zhang Wei gave a contemptuous smirk and spoke rudely, practically begging to be punched.

"I hear you’re pretty strong. I want to spar with you. Do you dare accept?"

Su Zhi didn’t say anything, just looked down at Yu Bao.

The disdain on Zhang Wei’s face deepened.

’I thought he’d at least curse back a little, but he’s already scared. The president is worried about a wimp like this?’

And then—

Su Zhi suddenly clapped his hands together as if he’d had an epiphany.

"I get it, it’s story mode! This is way more immersive!"

Zhang Wei: "...?"

"You’ve really gone to a lot of trouble. To capture the feel of a Bully, you even deliberately made yourself look this ugly."

Su Zhi smiled sheepishly. Seeing Zhang Wei’s expression freeze, he realized he might have said something wrong.

’Stay in character, I have to stay in character.’

’The act is a little much, but he went to all this trouble to create a dramatic effect. I have to play along.’

"Heh."

Su Zhi gave him a thumbs-down. "Bring out your Pet Beast, you piece of trash."

Yu Bao immediately understood, a smug look on its face. ⌓‿⌓​

"..." Zhang Wei’s fists clenched.

A white light flared up beside him, and from within the Light Array flew a large white bird with pale cyan wings—

[Pet Beast: Ah Qing (Cyan Feathered Falcon)]

[Attribute: Wind Element]

[Race: High Level Extraordinary]

[Real-time Energy Value: 371]

"..." Su Zhi scratched his head and couldn’t help but say, "That’s it?"

Zhang Wei’s face twitched as if he’d been stabbed.

"Ah Qing! Wind Blade!"

’I’m supposed to be the one provoking him, but Su Zhi is completely unfazed. What was the point of all that?’

’And how dare a mere regular-class student like Su Zhi call his Pet Beast weak?!’

’And he called me ugly!’

’Son of a bitch, son of a bitch, son of a bitch!!’

"CAW!"

Receiving the command from the Beast Taming Space, Ah Qing let out a sharp cry, and the air around its wings immediately began to vibrate rapidly.

An overwhelming torrent of white air currents shot forward with a piercing whistle, sweeping toward Su Zhi and Yu Bao.

Compared to the Wind Blades of the wild sand wolves, this Cyan Feathered Falcon’s attack was far inferior—it was too slow and not dense enough.

Yu Bao didn’t even need to use Sandstorm to counter it; it dodged simply by relying on its Body Technique.

Su Zhi also quickly dodged. Far from being nervous, he wore a cheeky grin.

’This guy is really committed to his role as a Bully. He attacks at the slightest disagreement, and he’s even trying to hit me, the Beast Tamer.’

’So is this training for a surprise encounter?’

’Is it meant to imply that real battles never wait for you to be ready? That they never follow any so-called rules?’

’This teaching method is pretty interesting!’

"You’re still f**king laughing! What the hell are you laughing at!"

"CAW! CAW!" (Die! Die!)

After unleashing a wave of Wind Blades, the Cyan Feathered Falcon launched into a dive attack. Its wings suddenly stiffened and straightened, becoming like blades.

—The Cyan Feathered Falcon’s Racial Skill, the Wind Element Middle Extraordinary Skill, Steel Feather!

However, Yu Bao’s reaction was beyond both Ah Qing’s and Zhang Wei’s expectations.

The instant Ah Qing dived, the nearby ground suddenly shattered, and several rocks flew up, smashing viciously toward it.

Ah Qing was startled but reacted quickly, pulling up just in time to evade.

Zhang Wei broke out in a sweat.

He had seen the recording of Yu Bao’s sparring match with the Eye of Fear, so he knew this dog’s special ability was the Earth Force Field.

Back then, its Earth Force Field was at most barely Tier Two. But based on its performance now, it was already a proficient Tier Two!

"Ah Qing, stay sharp! This dog is no pushover!"

"Σ(°△°|||)︴CAW!" (You don’t have to tell me!)

The area near the ground was completely under Yu Bao’s control. Ah Qing could only circle in mid-air, unable to get close.

"Don’t panic! For it to train its Earth Force Field to this level, it must have spent a lot of time and energy."

Zhang Wei was an Elite class student, after all. After a brief moment of panic, he quickly calmed down.

"I bet it’s already shown all its cards. It shouldn’t have any other ski—"

Before the words had even left his mouth, Yu Bao threw its head back and fired off another Sandstorm.

Zhang Wei: "???"

"CAW!" (Holy shit!)

Unable to dodge in time, Ah Qing could only brace itself and charge into the storm, trying to minimize its exposed surface area.

The sandstorm raged...

"CAW!" (Oh my god!)

By the time it emerged from the storm, Ah Qing was a wreck, its feathers completely disheveled.

It looked less like a falcon and more like a chicken.

Zhang Wei was completely dumbfounded.

’How does it also have Sandstorm? That wasn’t in the video.’

’Did it just learn it?’

’It’s not entirely impossible... my ass!’

’Be reasonable... How do you expect me to be reasonable about this!’

"WHOOSH!" "WHOOSH!"

Yu Bao continuously unleashed Sandstorms.

Ah Qing could only circle at a high altitude, not daring to fly within range. Its recent encounter had given it a taste of "Dog-induced trauma."

Now Zhang Wei was getting anxious.

A Yu Dian Dog from the regular class was beating an Elite class’s Cyan Feathered Falcon so badly it didn’t dare to get close. If word of this got out, he’d be a laughingstock.

"Lower your altitude! No dodging!"

"QAQ CAW!" (Then you go fight it!)

"What the hell are you panicking for? Its Sandstorm is only Tier One."

Zhang Wei analyzed calmly, "Disrupt the rhythm of its skill releases! Use Wind Blade and dive to apply pressure!"

"CAW!" (Fine, fine!)

Seeing the Cyan Feathered Falcon’s change in tactics, Su Zhi’s eyes lit up.

’Just as I thought. He was going easy before to see what Yu Bao was made of. Now he’s finally getting serious.’

Under Zhang Wei’s command, the Cyan Feathered Falcon skimmed low over the ground like a fighter jet, rapidly firing a wave of Wind Blades.

Dozens of Wind Blades left cuts of varying depths in the ground.

Yu Bao rolled to dodge, its rhythm of casting Sandstorms interrupted.

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