After finishing his battle with Liu Ren, less than a third of the break time had passed.
Su Hao sat on a bench by the lake, enjoying the cool breeze as he watched the couples strolling in pairs around the artificial lake...
Then he glanced at the big-faced Liu Ren not far away.
He felt like cold dog food was being slapped all over his face.
He couldn't sit still anymore.
He got up and left.
Just as he returned to the classroom, a classmate whose name he couldn't remember—let's call him A—told him that Old Gu had been looking for him.
Su Hao immediately headed to the office, knocked on the door, and pushed it open.
"Teacher Gu..."
Old Gu, the disciplinary director, who didn't have the same Mediterranean-style baldness as the history teacher, looked at him with a beaming, gratified smile.
Old Gu asked, "You've contracted a Water Spirit Steed—good. What are your plans next?"
Su Hao thought for a moment. "No special plans. I'll probably stick to regular training from now on."
"You won't leave An City again?"
"I'm staying."
The tactical systems for the Dream Butterfly and Fire Velvet Crow were basically set; he just needed to train them step by step.
As for the Water Spirit Steed... he hadn't figured it out yet, but to become a strong rider sooner, Su Hao didn't plan to give it any special training before it evolved.
He'd stick to routine training, steadily building up its physique and spiritual power.
Supplemented with some special water-type treasures, he'd gradually steer its evolution toward the hidden Water Qilin path.
Aside from needing to leave for a new world during evolution, Su Hao really didn't have any particular place he wanted to go.
"That's good."
Old Gu suddenly looked relieved.
Su Hao: "???"
"Here's the thing: in a few days, another school is coming to challenge us... well, it's called an exchange battle—basically, we both gain experience and improve our spirits' combat skills. But since it's on our turf at An City No. 1 High, losing wouldn't look great..."
Old Gu explained.
But Su Hao felt there was more to it. After some probing, he got the full story.
A while back, teachers from No. 1 High took top students like Liu Ren and Gu Lingyao to other cities for exchange battles.
They visited three high schools in a row and won every time.
Old Gu was walking on air back then.
After all, An City's education ranked in the lower-middle of the province. In the past, even beating a fellow underdog like Ping City No. 1 High wasn't guaranteed.
Now they'd beaten several schools ranked in the upper-middle of the province.
Then,
They got challenged.
"The challenger is Yang City Senior High. They produce quite a few students who get into prestigious schools every year."
Su Hao pondered.
He thought for a long time.
Still couldn't figure out which school Yang City Senior High was... He knew Yang City, but it wasn't close to An City.
"Yang City Senior High isn't as good as Yunhua No. 1 High, right?"
"A bit weaker."
"Any particularly strong competitors?"
"You can handle them all."
Su Hao instantly lost interest.
Was he the type to enjoy crushing weaklings?
Yes, he was!
But these were too weak.
Crushing them wouldn't bring even a shred of satisfaction to his empty, lonely soul.
Old Gu seemed to notice Su Hao's lack of enthusiasm and pulled out his trump card.
"There are rewards."
"The exchange match has ten participants from each side, with ten spirits in a rotation battle. The winner gets prizes provided by both schools.
"Total value: 200,000 in training resources.
"The one who contributes the most gets the biggest share."
Old Gu, Old Gu, how could you judge me by old standards?
Su Hao was long past coveting such meager rewards.
He flatly refused.
"Teacher Gu, I think this chance to win glory for the school and earn rewards should go to others.
"Look, out of over a hundred students in our year, only ten can participate. That's already very few. How could I take another spot? That wouldn't be fair to them.
"Besides, the purpose of the exchange match is to help participants achieve better results in the college entrance exam. Only when the outcome is uncertain, or even when they're at a disadvantage, can they push beyond their limits.
"We need to embrace challenges, Teacher Gu."
Old Gu was momentarily stunned.
Behind Su Hao, he seemed to see a radiant glow.
What noble qualities.
He couldn't help but reflect.
Yes, he'd been too focused on winning or losing.
Did that matter? Not at all!
If one more student from No. 1 High could get into a Spirit University, a key university, or a prestigious spirit school—that was what truly mattered!
Old Gu had an epiphany.
He became detached from desire.
"Yang City Senior High is a strong opponent, but it's also the best chance for Liu Ren and the others to break through."
Su Hao nodded with great satisfaction.
"Don't worry, Teacher Gu. Liu Ren and the others... they'll win."
...
This year's batch at An City No. 1 High was exceptionally good.
The ten main participants in the exchange match, plus five substitutes, all had the strength to get into key spirit universities.
The school had allocated some resources to train them.
And they didn't let it go to waste. Every afternoon after school, they trained in the battle hall, commanding their spirits in sparring matches.
What they found regrettable was that their spirits were too familiar with each other. They only had a few moves, and after a while, the sparring grew dull, so they each trained their spirits separately.
At that moment,
Three people on the nearby field seemed distracted.
They were the weakest among the ten main participants, with a noticeable gap compared to the others.
"Su Shen is back. He'll definitely take a spot in the exchange match in a few days. Will I be eliminated?"
Being replaced by Su Shen didn't make them resentful.
But disappointment was inevitable.
Even if the opponent was the strong Yang City Senior High, and they might lose if they went up, who would give up the chance to show their skills and fight for resources?
Just then,
A figure and several spirits appeared at the entrance of the battle hall.
The newcomer cleared his throat.
"Starting today, I'm your coach. My goal is to make sure you... defeat Yang City Senior High's competitors in a few days."
"Huh?"
Liu Ren turned his head.
Seeing that all-too-familiar figure, his big face was full of confusion.
...
"Old Su, why are you... wearing a coach's uniform?"
"Because, of course, I'm not participating."
What he told Old Gu wasn't entirely a lie.
Defeating Yang City's competitors himself would be meaningless.
But for Liu Ren and the others, opponents slightly stronger than them were an excellent whetstone.
If he could help out casually, he was happy to assist his classmates.
Su Hao held the spirit data of Liu Ren's group of ten.
And another set.
It was the data of the more outstanding students from Yang City Senior High.
He flipped through it. Indeed, none of them were a match for him.
They were on par with Liu Ren and the others.
But there were more of them, so An City No. 1 High's chances of winning were low.
He looked at the fifteen people present, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth, revealing Bear Instructor's trademark grin.
"Starting today, I'll give you special training. On the day of the rotation battle, I'll arrange tactics, set the order of appearance, and analyze the enemies' weaknesses, so you can defeat the strong opponents with your own strength."
He paused, then brought a Dream Butterfly in front of him.
"Now, let's start with a battle. My Dream Butterfly will take on... all of your spirits."
Liu Ren: "???"
Li Songting: "???"
Dream Butterfly: "m(⊙▽⊙)m?"
Why am I getting dragged into this again, gurono?!