Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Who the Fuck Knows What He’ll Do
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Late night, 11:45 PM.
Huai City Municipal Battle Hall—
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH
On the largest central ring, a white phantom moved swiftly across the stage.
Eight bricks were placed equidistantly around the edge of the twenty-meter-diameter circular ring. The surface of each brick was covered in countless fine, neat cuts.
Every time the blurry white phantom approached a brick, another cut would seemingly appear out of thin air.
If a high-speed camera were present, it would reveal that the white phantom was, in fact, 004.
After each movement, it would first return to the center of the ring before moving to another marked point without the slightest pause.
And its path wasn’t random; it was moving in a complex, circular pattern—one full cycle covered every possible angle of directional change!
DING—
The ten-minute timer on the ring hit zero, and the arena light switched from green to red.
came to a swift halt in the exact center of the ring, as still as water. Its saber-like arms transformed into a mass of White Flame before reverting back to two claws.
Aside from the slightly chaotic flickering of the flames on its body, there was no sign it had just undergone such high-speed movement.
Fang Yuan, who had been doing push-ups below the ring, stopped and went to count the marks on each brick.
—One hundred marks on each. It had completed one hundred full-circuit cycles.
This was 004’s daily shuttle run routine, designed to train its adaptability on the field, much like practicing four-corner footwork in badminton.
"Two more than yesterday," Fang Yuan said emotionlessly, then performed his routine scan of 004 with his phone—
[Pet Beast: 004 (White Flame Battle Spirit)
Attribute: Fire Element, Telekinesis Element, Fighting Element
Race: Low Level Elite
Real-time Energy Value: 846]
nodded in acknowledgment, making no unnecessary sounds.
The sparring partner on duty at the front desk sipped his coffee, watching the young man and his Pet Beast toil under the lonely lights.
A few days ago, Fang Yuan had stopped sparring with him.
His Hao Waterfowl could last for shorter and shorter periods against the White Flame Battle Spirit, dropping below ten seconds yesterday. The poor duck was now completely demoralized...
Every time he thought about it, the sparring partner couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.
In truth, his Hao Waterfowl hadn’t missed a single training session. As a sparring partner, ensuring his own Pet Beast’s combat power ranked near the top of its star level was basic procedure.
It was just... the way Fang Yuan trained his Envoy’s Pet was simply too much.
Take the shuttle run training, for instance. Most agile Pet Beasts have to practice it.
The recommended training load in the exam syllabus is no less than 10 rounds a day. Some stricter teachers might assign up to 20 rounds.
But they were grinding out five times that amount.
From his few conversations with the Battle Hall’s owner, he’d learned that Fang Yuan’s life seemed to consist of nothing but training. No socializing, no games, no snacks, no travel, no rest.
Even sleep was part of his training. He went to bed at midnight and woke up at six, not a minute more or less, always maintaining his energy at a level sufficient to support his training.
He was as disciplined as a robot.
And because of this, they reaped the corresponding rewards—
Every one of its Skills was raised to Tier Two or higher, every tactic was mastered to perfection, and he knew the characteristics of every type of Pet Beast like the back of his hand.
In the exchange tournament, Fang Yuan had "come on last, overcome a powerful enemy from No. 1 High, and won precious honor for No. 2 High."
With the city league just over ten days away, Fang Yuan had now become the undisputed favorite to win the championship.
"Ah, Xiaofang, you’re here?"
Yan Dingyi came in from outside, greeting him with a cheerful smile.
Fang Yuan bowed his head slightly. "Hello, Uncle Yan."
"Don’t mind me, don’t mind me! You carry on with your training! I’ll just watch."
Fang Yuan nodded.
In fact, while they were talking, 004 had already begun the next round of training.
Countless white phantoms leaped across the arena, even more dazzling than before—this time, it was shuttle run training with its Telekinesis Stand-In activated simultaneously.
Clean, efficient, flawless.
Even Peng Kai’s Nether Flame Spirit would be slightly inferior in comparison for the time being.
Yan Dingyi couldn’t help but remark in a low voice, "Young people these days are so resilient and full of vigor. That kid Su Zhi is the same, though when it comes to pure effort, he’s still a little behind Xiaofang."
"Hm?"
Fang Yuan’s ears twitched, and he turned his head. "You know Su Zhi too?"
"He came to my hall yesterday to book a court, with a girl. I also ran into him this afternoon at Fengyun Arena."
Fang Yuan nodded, returning his focus to the training.
"Xiaofang, you know Su Zhi too?"
"An opponent from the exchange tournament."
"Haha, I see. In that case, your victory was truly well-earned! Su Zhi was able to fight Xiaokai’s third Pet Beast to a standstill."
"...Beast King Peng Kai?"
"That’s right. He just got back to Huai City today. He went with me to Fengyun Arena right after getting out of the car, so it’s normal that you wouldn’t know."
Su Zhi’s Pet Beast... and Peng Kai’s third Pet Beast...
Fought to a standstill??
Fang Yuan frowned, mulling over Yan Dingyi’s words. The more he thought about it, the more something felt off.
"Uncle Yan, did you happen to record a video?"
"Yes, yes, I kept a copy after getting Su Zhi’s permission. There’s also one in the hall’s public video folder, but that one has Level Two confidentiality."
"Thank you, Uncle."
Frowning, Fang Yuan took the video and played it.
And then...
For the first time, a trace of shock appeared on his usually expressionless face.
’What am I watching?’
’What kind of Skill is this?’
’Why have I never seen it before?’
’After such a long and draining battle, how does he still have the Energy to release what looks like such a high-consumption Skill?’
Fang Yuan watched the video twice, unconsciously biting his lip.
He was certain that Su Zhi hadn’t hidden his strength during the exchange tournament; he had truly fought him with everything he had.
In just two days, his Pet Beast had improved this much?!
"But that kid Su Zhi got disciplined and suspended from class, sigh."
"Disciplined?" Fang Yuan asked in surprise. "For what?"
"For losing to you."
"Let’s go, Fang Yuan. It’s time."
During their conversation, Fang Lihua’s voice came from the entrance of the hall. He was sitting in a car with the window rolled down.
"Goodbye, Xiaofang."
Yan Dingyi smiled at Fang Yuan, then his face turned cold as he left without greeting Fang Lihua.
Fang Yuan lowered his head and got into the car.
The doors locked automatically, and the small sedan began to move forward.
The young man clenched his fists tightly.
"Dad, why was Su Zhi suspended?"
"Su Zhi? Why do you care about him?"
Fang Lihua said dismissively while driving, "Just a clown playing to the gallery. He violated the school’s code of conduct and received the appropriate..."
"You know that’s just a pretext. You’re worried he’ll be a threat to me in the city league, so you’re trying to sabotage his progress with these tactics."
Fang Yuan’s voice was uncharacteristically agitated.
"Su Zhi didn’t do anything wrong! This isn’t fair!"
"Shut your mouth!"
Fang Lihua shot him a glare. "What the hell do you know! Su Zhi doesn’t play by the standard exam-oriented rules. Who the fuck knows what kind of crazy stunt he’ll pull!"
"I’ll increase my training intensity and have 004 defeat him fair and square on the ring with pure strength!"
Fang Yuan lowered his head slightly. "Not with these kinds of dirty tricks."
"It’s good that you’re willing to work hard, but this society isn’t a place where hard work solves everything. If effort and talent were all that mattered, what would be the point of bureaucracy?"
Fang Lihua snorted and continued driving. "Of course, your training can’t slack off. As for the things that can’t see the light of day, I have to do them too. The city league is too important. There can’t be any accidents."
A dead silence returned to the inside of the sedan.
The scenery outside the window grew increasingly blurry as they roared past one car after another, leaving them far behind.
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