A group of people discussed the upcoming competition, while Chen Shu closed his eyes to rest. With Xie Su Nan unable to participate, it was likely Xu Xiao Yu and the others would be involved. Besides students from their own school, students from other schools in Nan Jiang City could also be invited. Wang Teng had always wanted to invite Xu Xiao Yu back then, but the students from other schools were also not strong enough. Chen Shu sighed, "It seems I can only do my best."
In the afternoon, the group arrived at Da Xing City. Shen Wu Shuang was the first to get out of the car. Instantly, his footsteps halted, his eyes widened in surprise and confusion. He saw a group of people holding black umbrellas, dressed in black suits, and wearing sunglasses, looking incredibly cool.
As the students got out of the cars one by one, the men in black bowed and shouted in unison, "Greetings, boss!" Chen Shu's mouth twitched, and he immediately spotted the little胖子 leading the group. Just as he was about to slip away, Ou Yang Bao saw him.
"Teacher Chen!" Ou Yang Bao ran over excitedly. The others were stunned, "Teacher?!" Someone swallowed and said, "Is Da Xing City a stronghold of fierce bandits?" The imposing display of men in black, combined with Chen Shu being called a teacher, made them suspect that Chen Shu might be the leader of some bandit organization, often lecturing and instilling ideas in others.
"Are you crazy? What is this?" Chen Shu rubbed his forehead, regretting telling Ou Yang Bao about his arrival. With Ou Yang Bao's background, investigating their disembarkation point was child's play. Passersby stopped to watch, some even taking out cameras to take photos and making calls to the police.
Ou Yang Bao scratched his head and said, "Teacher, I just wanted people to think you have a mysterious past." Chen Shu said speechlessly, "Thank you. You not only gave me a mysterious past, but probably a future in prison." Seeing Chen Shu's displeasure, Ou Yang Bao waved his hand. "Disperse, disperse, go back to work!" It turned out they were all employees of his family's company, mobilized to put on a show.
Chen Shu asked, "Honestly, why did you come?" Ou Yang Bao replied, "Teacher, aren't you participating in some Spirit Duel? I want to observe and learn." He had nothing else to do, and the school's resources weren't of much use to him. "You can follow along then." Chen Shu nodded and sent Ou Yang Bao away.
"Teacher Chen?" Shen Wu Shuang patted Chen Shu's shoulder and smiled kindly. "Teacher Shen, Shen..." Chen Shu's expression stiffened as he turned to look. "Listen, if anyone dares to cause trouble in Da Xing City, I'll bury you again, understand!" Shen Wu Shuang leaned in and whispered, "Also, damn it, no bombs in the city!" He was a bit afraid of Chen Shu now and had lowered his demands considerably. "Roger that!" Chen Shu firmly agreed. Planting explosives in the city was indeed courting death.
The group arrived at the pre-booked hotel and checked in. The next morning, Shen Wu Shuang assembled everyone and headed to the nearby Spirit Duel Arena. Ou Yang Bao also stayed at the hotel to observe and followed them. Shen Wu Shuang ignored him; Nan Jiang Second High School hadn't booked the entire venue, so anyone could stay if they wished.
The Spirit Duel Arena was a massive circular building, looking extremely grand. Even on a weekday, many people came to watch. Matches were scheduled almost every day, especially in January, when special training classes from other middle schools, in addition to Nan Jiang Second High School, would also be present.
"I am Shen Wu Shuang, please match opponents for my students!" Shen Wu Shuang said to the staff. He then led everyone to a reserved large private room, which offered a direct view of the arena below. The Spirit Duel Arena was similar to ancient Roman gladiatorial arenas. At the bottom was a vast combat platform, surrounded by spectator seats, with private rooms suspended in the air.
Ten minutes later, a staff member arrived at the private room. "Student Chen Shu, are you ready?" Chen Shu was taken aback, not expecting to be the first one to compete. It seemed Shen Wu Shuang had submitted the list according to class ranking.
"I have something I need to trouble you with," Chen Shu said. "I see you have hosts introducing the contestants. Can you introduce me in a more imposing way?" The staff member's mouth twitched. "Not strong, but quite the showman." "I've prepared it myself. Just have the host read it." With that, Chen Shu took out an A4 paper and handed it to the staff member.
"Just this?" The staff member took it and saw it was only twenty-odd words. He readily agreed. The rest of the special training class members swallowed. Shen Wu Shuang couldn't help but remind him, "You've got it upside down." The staff member's expression faltered. He flipped the A4 paper over, and his hands trembled, almost dropping it. The paper was densely filled with words, estimated to be at least three thousand words.
"Why don't you just write a novel?" the staff member said, his mouth twitching. "So, the battle lasts five minutes, and the introduction takes two hours, right?" "Sorry, sorry." Shen Wu Shuang snatched the paper back. A cursory glance revealed it was all praise, with no repeated words. His personality was praised the most: humble, helpful, kind, and honest. Shen Wu Shuang found it utterly absurd.
He directly berated, "Damn it, go to the competition! If you lose one match, I'll bury you again!" Chen Shu sighed and left the private room. In the arena, the host held a microphone and said, "Next will be a battle between two Level Nine Beast Masters! One is a Beast Master from the Blue Sky Beast Group, Xu Yang! The other is a Beast Master from Nan Jiang Second High School, Chen Shu! Let's give them a round of applause!" The surrounding audience applauded symbolically, with anticipation in their eyes. The audience came to watch matches for excitement or to learn combat techniques.
Chen Shu, guided by the staff, arrived at a small platform above the competition stage. The two stood a hundred meters apart and summoned their contracted spirits. "It's a student?" Xu Yang smiled, a hint of disdain in his eyes. Although both were at the same level, he was confident of victory.
A wolf with red fur appeared on the stage, roaring at the sky, looking extremely imposing. It was the C-class Flame Wolf! Chen Shu also summoned his golden slime. The slime was still sound asleep, completely ignoring the Flame Wolf's roars. "How can this be fought? One is C-class, the other F-class, a difference of three bloodline levels." "I don't think so. The host mentioned he's from Nan Jiang Second High School. An F-class contracted spirit appearing in the special training class, don't you think it's ridiculous?" "That's true. Could it be some mutated slime?"
Chen Shu stood on the small platform, looking down at the battlefield. He leisurely flipped through his backpack, took out a loudspeaker, and pressed the pre-recorded dialogue. "Attention, all Beast Masters! Nan Jiang's fierce bandit is in action. I hope you have some self-awareness and surrender directly, don't put up a futile resistance! No one will reimburse your medical expenses!"