Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Su Zhi is Also Steady and Hardworking, Right?

Evening self-study—

The students were engrossed in training their Pet Beasts, making the nighttime campus seem lively and bustling.

Two teachers were taking a walk on campus.

One was a middle-aged man in black trousers and a white shirt, wearing black-framed glasses. The moonlight glinted off his balding crown.

The other was older, with particularly deep-set wrinkles around his eyes. The moonlight reflecting off the top of his head was even brighter than Zhou Shengfa’s.

—This was Yan Shouzheng, the vice principal of No. 1 High, who had been teaching there for over forty years. He had also been Zhou Shengfa’s homeroom teacher back in the day.

"Sir, it might not be appropriate for you to be out in casual clothes."

Zhou Shengfa whispered, "This way, the students most likely won’t recognize you..."

"Isn’t that perfect? If they recognized me as the vice principal, they’d probably put on a different act."

Yan Shouzheng chuckled. "Only by shedding my title can I see the children’s true selves, don’t you think?"

’If you really saw their true selves, you’d probably have a stroke on the spot...’ Zhou Shengfa offered a polite smile. "I didn’t realize you were also an expert in sociology."

"Haha, you flatter me~"

While they chatted and laughed, Yan Shouzheng was watching the passing students from the corner of his eye. He had also secretly dispatched his own Pet Beast.

But so far, everything he saw pleased him.

The students were all training in an orderly fashion. The slacking off he had expected to see was nowhere to be found.

Yan Shouzheng nodded, quite satisfied. "It seems our students are very self-disciplined!"

’It’s because there are cameras all over campus. Don’t overestimate the kids’ self-discipline, Principal...’ Zhou Shengfa smiled and chimed in, "Indeed."

"Self-discipline and self-improvement have always been the core strengths of our No. 1 High students. I believe we’ll achieve great results in the exchange tournament and the city league."

Though they were words of self-encouragement, Yan Shouzheng’s tone lacked conviction.

The two teachers sighed in unison.

On paper, No. 1 High was the leading school in Huai City and one of the six model high schools in Shanyou Province.

In reality, however, No. 1 High hadn’t placed in the provincial league for six years.

Even in the city league, they hadn’t won the championship in the last two years. The ever-growing contingents of visiting students from other schools posed a significant threat to No. 1 High.

They had received stricter training, gone through more brutal elimination rounds, and possessed more powerful Pet Beasts.

"Speaking of the city league..."

Yan Shouzheng glanced at Zhou Shengfa. "You nominated three students? Shengfa, No. 1 High only has five slots in total."

"I know." Zhou Shengfa gritted his teeth. "But I believe they are all worthy."

"I know of Shao Ya. That child has always been excellent."

Yan Shouzheng looked at Zhou Shengfa. "Who are your other two picks?"

"One is named Liu Yuhang. He was always ranked second in our class."

Speaking of his student representative, Zhou Shengfa’s eyes lit up. "He’s an incredibly hardworking kid. Exceptionally hardworking! I feel he’s completely worth using my special recommendation privilege for!"

"What’s so special about being hardworking? All the students are hardworking..."

Before he could finish, Yan Shouzheng stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

The two had reached the edge of the artificial lake. On the other side, a young man was training with his Pet Beast—

"One thousand and one! One thousand and two! One thousand and..."

Liu Yuhang was doing push-ups in a weighted vest. Even from dozens of meters away, his powerful shouts could be heard clearly.

Xue Li stood opposite him, flapping its wings with all its might. A column of water shot up from the lake’s surface, spiraling more than ten meters into the air.

And even higher up, a small, plump chicken with narrow wings was circling.

"That’s not enough! You can do better!"

Standing between the Tamer and his Pet was a muscular man. He had an intense, hot-blooded look about him—the kind that could fire you up with a single glance.

At that moment, he was crouched next to Xue Li, cheering it on, his expression just as intense:

"See my Short-tailed Sparrow? It can fly twenty meters high, and so can your water pillar!"

"Drench her feathers! Only then will your Beast Tamer be able to stop!"

"QUACK!!!!!" (’I have to get stronger! For my Beast Tamer!’)

Xue Li let out a skyward cry, and the water pillar surged even higher, getting closer to the Short-tailed Sparrow flying high above.

Seeing his Pet Beast trying so hard, Liu Yuhang, who had been showing signs of fatigue, was fired up once more. "One thousand and nine! One thousand and ten! One thousand and eleven..."

On the other side of the lake, Yan Shouzheng was utterly stunned.

"Is that Du Gang? The outstanding graduate from the class of ’10?"

"That’s right. He’s currently studying at Jinghua University. He was also one of my students from the previous cohort. He came back this time to help me with one-on-one training for them."

Yan Shouzheng nodded, his gaze fixed on the Short-tailed Sparrow in the sky.

He certainly remembered this powerhouse named Du Gang. After all, the Short-tailed Sparrow was a ground-dweller... but under Du Gang’s training, the ground-dweller had learned to fly.

His gaze shifted down to Xue Li, and a look of approval filled his eyes. "It’s only the fourth week since they formed their contract, and this Hao Waterfowl can already create a water pillar over ten meters high? Is that Beast Tamer a student in your class?"

"He is the very same student I just mentioned, Liu Yuhang." Zhou Shengfa smiled faintly. "I trust your opinion of him has changed now."

"I retract my prejudice!"

Yan Shouzheng nodded with a laugh. "For a student with such spirit, I would be willing to give him a chance, even if he had nothing else to offer!"

"Yuhang is no slouch. He was consistently second in class, and he has a very promising future."

"Ha, your students have always been excellent!"

As they talked and laughed, the two arrived at the edge of a small grove.

Yan Shouzheng’s attention was quickly drawn to the commotion within the grove:

A red shadow zipped between the trees, letting out an occasional cackle. A petite Huajing Cat followed close behind, green Light Arrays constantly appearing and shooting out countless vines toward the red shadow.

The grove was being torn to shreds by the vines, yet the target—the red shadow—was completely unharmed, even glancing back from time to time.

A white-haired girl with sapphire-blue eyes stood at the edge of the grove. The other girl was petite, her head only reaching Shao Ya’s chest.

"Xiaoya, Xiaoya, make it look a little more convincing, ’kay?"

The little loli cleared her throat and raised her voice. "Shao Ya’s kitty is just pathetic!"

"Wuwu!" Shao Ya rubbed her eyes and also deliberately raised her voice, "I’m being taunted! I’m so hurt!"

Thanks to the efforts of the two drama queens, the speed at which the vines whipped around visibly increased...

Yan Shouzheng nodded. "The one helping Shao Ya train is Yang Jingyue, right? Another outstanding graduate from back in the day, and also one of yours."

"Mm." Zhou Shengfa adjusted his glasses. "Xiaoyue is an excellent Pet Beast, and because of that, he has a corresponding arrogance and a tendency to underestimate his opponents. The current strategy is to get him accustomed to evenly matched battles, or even fighting at a disadvantage."

"Not bad." Yan Shouzheng laughed. "With Xiaoya in your hands, I’ll have a good report for Old Shao!"

"Not at all! The children are just outstanding on their own."

"By the way, you nominated three students. There’s one more, a kid named Su Zhi. I haven’t heard much about him before, but he’s been improving rapidly lately. Since you recommended him so strongly, I presume Su Zhi is also down-to-earth and hardworking?"

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