Chapter 217: Seen Through

"Didn't expect this kid to come up too. Looks like that spot isn't going to be ours."

"I've already given up. Whoever goes is fine, as long as we can win."

The people beside them fell silent.

Indeed, they had assumed whoever stepped up first would claim the school team spot.

But over a full 49 matches, the ones going up were basically all from their Gao San cohort, and not a single one managed to win.

That many people could form an entire class…

For the next year, their Gao San cohort probably won't be able to hold their heads up in front of the younger students.

Now, no matter who goes up, as long as they can win, anything goes.

"Xue Chuhua should be fine, right?" At this moment, a student said hesitantly.

"Obviously! Although Xue Chuhua looks a bit show-offy, his strength is right there. Have you forgotten? He made the school team once too."

Xue Chuhua, Class 9 of Gao San, had originally entered Holy Water Middle School as a specially-recruited student. Before the start of high school, he was selected for the school team, and during the strength demonstration at the opening ceremony, he successfully earned everyone's recognition.

But after participating in one National Campus Beast-Taming League, he chose to withdraw from the school team.

The reason he gave was that he felt there was no chance of beating Li Tan for first place in the whole province, and since he couldn't get the testing qualification for a top-tier academy, he might as well study hard and get into a top-tier academy through the college entrance exam.

This kind of move that boosted the enemy's morale while destroying his own was almost universally cursed by the entire school at the time.

But some people expressed understanding. After all, cutting losses in time is the smart choice.

High school only lasts three years, and every day is precious. If the goal is a top-tier academy, without getting first place in the provincial campus competition, one doesn't even qualify for the assessment. Better to seize the time and find another way out.

Another way out he did find, but it was a narrow, winding path.

This guy had absolutely no clue about his own academic scores.

To get into a top-tier academy, one's rank needs to be at least in the top 15 of the whole school to be safe, yet he ranked beyond 400th in every exam.

With grades like that, as long as nothing unexpected happens, there's a ninety-nine percent chance he has no fate with a top-tier academy.

Going up now, he's probably regretting withdrawing from the school team.

……

Everyone guessed right—Xue Chuhua's regret was enough to turn his intestines green.

But he used to be a prominent figure, with so many people in the school watching. How could he show it in front of everyone!

God knows how he held it in until now before going up.

Xue Chuhua forced a casual expression, took his hands out of his trouser pockets, and said extremely arrogant words in a flat tone:

"I didn't want to come up originally, but your Treasure Hunting Ghost performed well and piqued my interest. Too bad, though—your winning streak ends here."

The moment those words left his mouth, the hall suddenly erupted in cheers, all shouted by Gao San students.

"Xue Chuhua! Xue Chuhua!"

"Xue Chuhua! Xue Chuhua!"

The Gao Yi freshmen refused to be outdone.

"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"

"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"

Xue Chuhua raised his hand and waved, signaling for quiet. Everyone graciously stopped.

"Damn, this guy is way too pretentious. So annoying to watch." In the Gao San section, a student said discontentedly.

"Forget about him. As long as he can win, it's fine."

"That's true."

Although the person opposite looked a bit chuunibyou, Qiao Sang didn't let her guard down.

After watching Little Treasure Hunting Ghost win so many matches in a row, he could still talk tough. He probably wasn't an ordinary person.

The battle began. Xue Chuhua formed hand seals.

The next moment, a gray star array lit up on the ground. The ground trembled slightly, and a gust of wind swept outward in all directions centered on the pet beast that appeared in the star array.

Upon seeing this pet beast, the corner of Qiao Sang's mouth twitched.

The pet beast before her was tall, nearly three meters in height, almost entirely reddish-brown all over with a white belly. Its torso was mainly composed of a fat-accumulated belly. Its round eyes looked dazed, its expression in a state of stupor, making it look a bit like a fool.

Good lord, it was actually a Silly Devouring Bear.

Silly Devouring Bear, a mid-grade pet beast of the Normal type. True to its name, it was both silly and loved to eat. Usually dopey, and even dopier when full.

As long as it's full, it basically lies down and can't be bothered to move even a single claw. At that point, even if someone partied on its belly, it couldn't be bothered to care.

Due to its massive size, it possessed tremendous destructive power, and because its torso was all fat, its defense was also rock-solid. It was quite renowned among mid-grade pet beasts.

But even with extraordinary combat power, ordinary people wouldn't think of contracting it.

The fundamental reason was—it's too expensive to raise…

Experts have repeatedly mentioned that unless one's family is loaded, they don't recommend beast tamers contract a Silly Devouring Bear.

The Silly Devouring Bear is hailed as the Big Eater, needing to consume nearly a hundred jin of food every day.

Its appetite was already terrifying at the mid-grade stage. After evolving into a high-grade pet beast, its food consumption became even more horrifying—bankrupting an ordinary family would be a matter of minutes.

A rich tycoon…

Qiao Sang gained a new understanding of the chuunibyou senior before her.

Little Treasure Hunting Ghost had fought so many matches in a row that it was long exhausted. Although its energy and body had been replenished, its enthusiasm for battle had dwindled to almost nothing.

When the whistle blew, its eyes quickly glowed blue as it tried to use telekinesis to control its opponent for a quick finish.

However, the Silly Devouring Bear didn't budge an inch.

"Xun!"

Little Treasure Hunting Ghost's expression was shocked. This was the first time it had encountered such a situation.

Just as it was at a loss, Qiao Sang spoke: "Control its feet."

The Foolish Devouring Bear's body was simply too massive. Even though Little Treasure Seeker's telekinesis had reached the Great Completion level of proficiency, it was still a beginner pet beast after all, with limited energy within its body.

Trying to use telekinesis to control the entire Foolish Devouring Bear was genuinely difficult; it would be better to focus on a single body part.

"Xunxun!"

Little Treasure Seeker quickly fixed its gaze on the Foolish Devouring Bear's left foot.

"Spendthrift, Shadow Ball." Xue Chuhua said unhurriedly.

"Shi Shi."

Although the Foolish Devouring Bear's expression looked a bit foolishly dopey, its movements were not slow. It opened its mouth, and a black Shadow Ball containing tremendous energy, as big as Little Treasure Seeker itself, was fired out.

Because of the huge disparity in body size, Little Treasure Seeker's telekinesis did not control and move the Foolish Devouring Bear's foot right away; instead, the Foolish Devouring Bear's Shadow Ball was the first to come streaking toward it.

Little Treasure Seeker had no choice but to give up the control and cast Teleport to dodge.

"Bang!!"

The Shadow Ball exploded mid-air, producing a tremendous sound.

Amid the sound of the explosion, Little Treasure Seeker vanished its form.

Watching the situation on the field, the crowd began to discuss.

"It went invisible again — what do we do about that?"

"The Foolish Devouring Bear is so huge and moves so slowly; facing a Treasure Seeker that appears and disappears out of nowhere, isn't it just a target?"

"So what if it's a target? The Foolish Devouring Bear's defense is famously high; attacks landing on it probably won't even hurt."

"That's true."

Invisibility, huh… Xue Chuhua's mouth corner lifted, and he called out loudly: "Detect!"

"Shi Shi."

The Foolish Devouring Bear's round eyes widened and turned an eerie red.

Qiao Sang's expression grew serious.

Detect could put the target into a detected state, allowing one to see Ghost-type pet beasts that had gone invisible; among scouting-type skills, it was practically the bane of Ghost-types.

(End of chapter)