Chapter 168 - The Legacy of Nanjiang Second High Must Not Die

"Teacher, I believe the rankings..."

Du Long's gaze was resolute as he spoke.

BOOM!

In an instant, an impossibly massive yellow sphere plummeted from the sky, the impact sending tremors through the ground itself.

What the fuck! It got BIGGER AGAIN?!

Every single person in the Special Training Class stared with eyes blown wide, drowning in disbelief.

The Slime before them had swelled to roughly twenty meters — the size of a small building. The sheer pressure radiating off it was suffocating.

Shen Wushuang's mouth twitched. He understood immediately — this little bastard was trying to intimidate people again.

But credit where credit was due: the Slime really was absurd. It was only a Level 9 contract spirit!

If Chen Shu ever reached Gold rank — or even King rank — who could survive a single Violent Sitting Kill?

Shen Wushuang spoke up. "Chen Shu, why are you summoning your contract spirit out of nowhere? Put it away!"

"Oh!"

Chen Shu recalled the Slime back into his Beast Taming Space.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Also, Du Long — what were you about to say?"

Du Long swallowed hard. A stiff, wooden smile forced its way onto his face. "I think the rankings are... perfectly reasonable..."

His Earth Sub-Dragon really did look like an oversized worm next to that thing...

"Good! Since there are no objections, I'll distribute the rewards."

Shen Wushuang nodded. He knew full well what Du Long had been about to say.

But Chen Shu's improvement had been the greatest — that was simply indisputable.

He'd also looked into the reason behind Chen Shu's explosive progress.

The kid had straight-up consumed fifty million yuan worth of Beast Taming Pearls. No sane person would ever do that.

Compared to that, the school's two million yuan reward looked rather... insignificant.

Moments later, Shen Wushuang finished distributing all the rewards.

"Tomorrow is New Year's Day! You're all free to go home and rest for three days!"

At those words, smiles broke out across the classroom, hearts quietly soaring.

Most of the class had perfectly normal priorities: study — vacation — college entrance exams.

Only Chen Shu was different. His mind held just two words: Stir trouble!

Shen Wushuang continued. "The January competition will serve as this semester's final exam!"

Under normal circumstances, third-year students would get a ten-day break in February, then dive straight into the second semester of senior year.

And that would mark the darkness before the dawn.

"January's content will once again be live combat! I'll be taking everyone to Daxing City!"

Shen Wushuang announced, "You'll be staying in a Daxing City hotel for an entire month, participating in the Spirit Fighting Arena and battling Beast Tamers from all over!"

"We depart in three days. Pack your bags and gear."

Chen Shu's eyebrows rose slightly, a spark of excitement flickering in his eyes.

He'd heard of the Spirit Fighting Arena a long time ago but had never gotten to participate.

Combat skills were critically important for Beast Tamers, but cities banned the use of contract spirits, and venturing into Alternate Dimensions was too dangerous — one wrong step could cost you your life.

And so the government-established Spirit Fighting Arena was born.

To boost its popularity, the government ran monthly rankings and handed out special rewards.

Of course, not every city had its own arena. Instead, four or five cities would share one.

The most prosperous city near Nanjiang happened to be Daxing City, so that's where it was built.

"Qinghan, you've got experience with this."

Chen Shu sidled up to Wang Qinghan.

Back when she was paying off her loans, Wang Qinghan had participated in the Underground Spirit Fighting Arena.

That was a privately run venue, catering mainly to rich spectators looking for entertainment.

Wang Qinghan shook her head without elaborating.

The underground arena was far more dangerous than the official one — contract spirits could actually die in there. Even now, the memory sent chills down her spine.

Wang Qinghan suddenly spoke up. "By the way, Chen Shu, are you free tonight?"

"I should be."

Chen Shu raised an eyebrow, his tone noncommittal.

"..."

Wang Qinghan was momentarily speechless. "What do you mean, you 'should be'?"

Chen Shu had no choice but to explain. "If it's good news, then yes I'm free. If it's trouble, well..."

"We want to take you out for dinner tonight."

"'We'?"

Chen Shu zeroed in on the keyword.

"Us too."

Xu Xiaoyu and Xia Bing walked over with their bags slung over their shoulders.

"Are you guys about to ask me for a favor?"

Chen Shu's expression turned wary, and he executed one strategic backward leap.

Xu Xiaoyu explained, "It's nothing like that. Today's the last day of the year, and you've helped all of us before, so we wanted to treat you to dinner."

Chen Shu might be unreliable, but he genuinely had helped all three of them.

Back when Xu Xiaoyu ran into murderers at the black market, Chen Shu stepped in to save her — though his real motive was the System reward.

When Xia Bing was short on cash at the end of the semester, Chen Shu had generously lent her money — though he'd charged interest and made her write a two-thousand-word argumentative essay.

And when Wang Qinghan's little sister was being bullied, Chen Shu had stood up for her and set the bully straight — though now her little sister's personality had taken a distinctly violent turn...

Setting aside all the negative side effects, Chen Shu really had helped them.

"In that case — yes I'm free. Extremely free," Chen Shu said.

Xu Xiaoyu noticed Xu Xingxing and Xie Sunan off to the side, rummaging through their bags for something, seemingly trying to look casual.

She was just about to invite them—

When the two of them suddenly sprang to their feet and trotted over, practically bouncing with eagerness, holding... bowls and chopsticks.

Now she knew what they'd been digging for in their bags...

"Let's get going!" Xu Xingxing urged. "Time waits for no man!"

"..."

Xu Xiaoyu was completely stunned. "You three are really..."

She racked her brain for a good while but couldn't find a single adjective that fit, so she gave up.

In the end, the group left the school together.

...

They arrived at a hotpot restaurant in the city center, where a private room had been reserved in advance.

"I wanna sit next to Big Brother Chen!"

Wang Qinghan's little sister scurried to Chen Shu's side, her eyes practically glowing with adoration.

"Little Qingxue, has anyone at school been bullying you?"

Chen Shu patted her head as he asked.

Wang Qingxue beamed. "Not anymore! Thank you, Big Brother Chen!"

"Good. And if anyone ever bullies you again, punch 'em. Got it?"

"If you're not ruthless, you can't stand firm!"

Chen Shu held forth with grand authority, relentlessly drilling his philosophy into her.

Everyone else's mouths twitched as they listened, especially Wang Qinghan, who was already starting to regret this.

She had a creeping feeling that bringing her sister along had been a mistake...

The others dismissed it as nonsense, but Wang Qingxue listened with deadly seriousness, engraving every word into memory.

Chen Shu's words were like a seed, taking deep root in Wang Qingxue's heart.

"Chen Shu, what are you trying to do..."

Wang Qinghan pulled her sister into her arms, terrified of any further contamination.

"Nothing at all."

Chen Shu put on his most innocent expression. "I'm about to graduate, but the legacy of Nanjiang Second High must not die!"

The entire table was instantly speechless. The Bandit Legacy, huh...

So THAT'S what you've been scheming!

Wang Qinghan had poured enormous resources into cultivating Wang Qingxue.

She had a feeling her sister's talent far surpassed her own.

If Chen Shu really did corrupt her... Nanjiang City might just end up with another Bandit on its hands.