On a large transport vehicle capable of carrying medium-sized spirits, the leading teacher swept his gaze over the students and their spirits before him and reminded them, "Ancheng No.1 High School won't be easy to deal with. Don't let your guard down."
"Don't worry, teacher."
A student whose spirit was an Armored Elephant said, "Their toughest opponent is that student named Su Hao. He's indeed not easy to handle... But he's only one person with one spirit. If we use a reckless, no-fear approach to trade blows with it, at most two or three spirits can take down that Dream Butterfly."
In their hands, the information on Su Hao was still stuck at the time of the joint exam champion.
But they didn't dare underestimate him.
Following the principle of overestimating rather than underestimating, they speculated on the combat power of that evolved Dream Butterfly.
It should... have reached entry-level advanced combat power.
"With Su Hao, Ancheng No.1 High School is indeed a formidable opponent. Even we only have a fifty percent chance of winning."
...
Ancheng No.1 High School, Battle Hall.
Today, the Battle Hall was bustling, with the audience seats packed full of students and teachers.
There weren't many spirit science students—just over a hundred in total—and they all came.
Plus students from the neighboring campus, the cultural studies department.
Not just seniors; juniors and sophomores came too.
They'd heard about the spirit battle and, after strong requests, were finally allowed to skip half a day of classes—after all, in Ancheng, spirit battles were rare. The public battle area at Spirit Square was almost always a mess of weaklings duking it out.
Far inferior to the inter-school exchange match.
The cultural studies students had a perfectly valid reason too.
This was their home turf at Ancheng No.1 High School. If the audience seats only had a sparse hundred or so students, wouldn't that be too shabby?
They not only came but also brought cheering banners.
The slogans on the banners were too cringey for Su Hao to read, so he turned his attention to the cheerleading squad from No.1 High.
Their hair fluttered in the wind, and their skirts swayed back and forth, making Su Hao sigh inwardly.
"Back in the day, how did I never notice so many eye-catching classmates and underclassmen?"
"It'd be even better if it were summer now."
Among the main players,
Liu Ren and the other guys looked pumped up, itching to charge in and dominate.
Drawing a faceful of disdain from the few girls in the team.
Stupid boys!
Can't you be as steady and reliable as Su Hao, the idol?!
Amid their excitement, Liu Ren and the others also started getting nervous.
Losing in front of so many girls would be so embarrassing.
They might not be able to hold their heads up for months!
"Old Su, what do we do? Can we win? Maybe you should just go on stage!"
"Yeah, Su, the god, the school's honor is more important. We can't lose!"
The cheers inside the venue were nonstop.
Under the pressure, the three weakest main players, no longer caring whether they'd get to fight, all chimed in to persuade him.
Coach Su, of course... didn't want to lose either.
He looked over at those from Yangcheng Senior High School.
In his panel, he pulled up their spirits' information.
Armored Elephant, Thorn Tortoise, Candlefire Butterfly, Shell Snail, Two-Headed Hound, Monstrous Ape, Wind-Striped Tiger, and so on.
"That's seven entry-level spirits in total."
Liu Ren and the others, upon hearing that, indeed lost confidence.
Three against seven—too much to handle!
Su Hao snorted, "They're all entry-level beginners like you, so what's there to fear! Several of them are even less developed than yours! Only that Wind-Striped Tiger is a bit tricky."
The Wind-Striped Tiger was the evolved form of the Wind-Striped Cat, not only a rare wind attribute but also well-developed, with its claws and wind patterns specially trained.
In terms of raw strength, it was undeniably the strongest.
But it hadn't reached the point of being overwhelming.
Su Hao waved over Liu Ren and the others, who lacked confidence.
"Now, listen to my tactical arrangements."
The ten main players formed a circle, as if secretly plotting something shady.
In Liu Ren's mind,
Tactics were nothing more than attribute advantages, spirit type counters, and so on.
But the key to victory ultimately lay in development level and combat experience.
As he thought this, they heard...
"Player A's Armored Elephant has a shoulder height of 2.7 meters..." The Armored Elephant's evolution into an Elephant General was a rare compact evolution.
"From my observation, it should have mastered moves like Charge, Stone Armor, Energy Ball, and Tremor. It's a large-tonnage defensive spirit. Whether it's a Lava Turtle or a Ascetic Hound, it's hard to take it down quickly. Even if they win, they won't have much combat power left.
"So, to deal with the Armored Elephant, we have to rely on Lingyao's Spring Spirit."
The Spring Spirit had the strongest killing power, able to severely wound the Armored Elephant in one or two moves.
Of course,
The Armored Elephant might one-shot the Spring Spirit with a Charge.
So Gu Lingyao had a question mark over her head.
"Based on my observation and analysis, the Armored Elephant's movement is less agile when turning left, likely showing noticeable stiffness. That's the best time for the Spring Spirit to strike.
"Also, against Energy Ball, it can use Bubble Defense.
"Against Tremor, it can counter with accumulated water.
"When attacking, aim for the Armored Elephant's left front leg. If one hit lands, the Armored Elephant's threat drops by seventy to eighty percent."
"After defeating the Armored Elephant, the opponent is most likely to send out the Monstrous Ape.
"The Monstrous Ape's traits and mastered moves are...
"At that point, do this... like this... and then that..."
"Next, let's talk about how to deal with the Thorn Tortoise..."
"..."
"Finally, I'll cover how to handle that troublesome Wind-Striped Tiger..."
"...In short, that's it. Do you all understand?"
Liu Ren and the others stared wide-eyed.
They looked toward Yangcheng Senior High School's side, scanning each spirit one by one.
Then turned back to Su Hao's face.
You call this tactics?
This is clearly cheating!
But this cheat... they loved it too much!
...
For the first match of the exchange, both sides submitted the names of their selected players.
Just as Su Hao had predicted.
The spirit Yangcheng Senior High School sent up was indeed the Armored Elephant.
The Armored Elephant and the Spring Spirit stood on the central battle platform. The referee, an old man, confirmed both sides were ready and then fiercely waved the flag.
In an instant,
The Armored Elephant charged forward, its steps making the entire arena rumble as if an earthquake had struck.
"Old Su, your prediction is way too... too godly, isn't it?"
"Simple analysis."
Su Hao held up one finger. "First, the Armored Elephant is a fairly balanced spirit. It's tough and not slow, so it won't be too passive against any attribute or type.
"Second, although the Armored Elephant has ranged moves like Energy Ball, against the Spring Spirit, anyone would start with a Charge to close the distance.
"So it's not hard to analyze. Just read more, study more, and add a little talent..."
Successful people, after all.
Three parts talent.
Seven parts hard work.
Plus a ninety-part golden finger as a tiny boost, and it's all set.
As he spoke,
The Armored Elephant's charging momentum grew fiercer.
The Spring Spirit only fired a single water arrow, causing a minor injury to the Armored Elephant, then stood still as if frozen in fear.
In an instant,
The Armored Elephant closed in.
A puddle of water appeared beneath the Spring Spirit's feet, sliding it to the left.
The charging Armored Elephant turned, but only veered slightly off course, brushing past the Spring Spirit.
"Tremor!" its spirit master commanded.
The charging Armored Elephant lifted its trunk and stomped hard.
Boom~!
Splashes of water erupted from the tremor, not only dissipating most of the move's power but also sending water upward, forming a curtain of rain that covered the entire battle platform.
In the hazy rain, a water blade slashed like a knife into the Armored Elephant's left front leg.
It let out a pained cry, lost its balance, and collapsed heavily.
Leaving only the chorus of "Holy crap!" echoing through the Battle Hall.