Astral Pet Store (WN)

Luo Guxue didn’t back down under the threatening stare. “If you want to trouble Mister Su, you’ll have to get past me first.”

Fei Yanbo glared back. “Professor Luo, this has nothing to do with you. Don’t force me.”

“This is the Phoenix Peak Academy. If you’re causing trouble here, I’ll bring you to justice!” “HA! I offered a match between two teachers, fair and square! If you’re too afraid to face me, tell this kid to say sorry already. Or does everyone in Phoenix Peak only know how to bully the weak?! I see, this is why all the students you’ve sent are useless!”

Everyone from Phoenix Peak, including Dong Mingsong and the defeated students, showed a gloomy look. “You should shut up!” Luo Guxue was slowly losing it as well.

Su Ping quickly dragged her back and stepped in front of her. “You want to fight me, right? Sure, I’ll spend a few moments with you.”

Luo Guxue wanted to protest, but suddenly decided not to, when she saw Su Ping’s dangerous look.

She just remembered that Su Ping didn’t even need her help. Killing an eighth-rank Magical Corpse Beast meant Su Ping was better than her when it came to violence.

The students from the Berserking Blade Academy, on the other hand, were just as surprised at Su Ping’s words as the rest. They never thought Su Ping would accept the challenge.

While it might sound like a “fair competition” between two teachers, it was in fact not such a simple case.

Su Ping’s Inferno Dragon might be strong. But it was just a seventh-rank dragon-type Astral Pet who had just reached adulthood. Whereas Fei Yanbo was a veteran advanced battle pet warrior who had reached that level a decade before. After all the combat experience he had gained all those years, it was just a matter of time for Fei Yanbo to reach the eighth rank.

To go with his rank, of course Fei Yanbo possessed eighth-rank pets.

Sure, dragons were powerful and were known to create miracles by sometimes defeating enemies of a better rank. But this only happened among low-rank or mid-rank pets. Pets of higher ranks could no longer “cheat” through their gaps just using effort and enough training. Suppose a pet spent a few years to reach the sixth rank from the fifth, the same amount of time was only enough for it to gain a small phase at the seventh rank, such as from the lower seventh to the intermediate seventh. Su Ping’s Inferno Dragon was currently at the lower seventh rank. Perhaps it could keep up with an upper seventh-rank opponent when every environmental factor favored it, but it would have no hope against an eighth-rank enemy.

Besides, Fei Yanbo’s pets were even better than that. The Inferno Dragon was at a decisive disadvantage.

With this in mind, the students from the Berserking Blade Academy all grinned at Su Ping, expecting a funny end for him.

“He thinks he’s almighty, huh?” a student muttered, “Now he got on Director Fei’s bad side, he’s toast. Mister Fei is our ‘unforgiving devil coach’ after all.”

“Yeah! He doesn’t know who he’s talking to. I knew Mister Fei was already a respected fighter since ten years ago. Who knows how much more he has improved after all these years?”

“So he killed a Magical Corpse Beast? My a**! Maybe he’s just lucky that he ran into one of them already dying, then he said something on his resume to make himself look pretty.”

Dong Mingsong watched where this was going with a big frown. If Su Ping lost the match, the entire Phoenix Peak Academy would be disgraced, not just the students. That was no longer a result they could accept.

“Hey, Zhou.” Dong Mingsong gave Zhou Yunchan a suggestive look to tell him to do something.

Zhou Yunchan only smirked at him. “He’s an adult, so he must answer for his words. Director Fei, just don’t overdo it on this little skunk. That will make us look bad. Make him beg for forgiveness. Maybe break an arm while we’re at it. But that’s it.”

Fei Yanbo nodded with a knowing smile. “Leave it to me. I’m pretty good at this.”

“You’re not—” Dong Mingsong also left his seat to do something, but he was stopped by the sharp yelp of something coming from the battle stage.

At the same time, all the audience at the stadium exclaimed in fright.

They saw Ye Hao’s Thunder Basilisk fully collapsing on the stage, causing several of its scales to scatter everywhere. Furthermore, the Black Pit Dragon was tearing at one of its wings, causing it to stumble around in pain.

The Black Pit Dragon was going to skin the Thunder Basilisk alive at this rate.

Just like their pets, Ye Hao had been suppressed under Luo Fengtian’s feet.

“Not giving up yet?” Luo Fengtian spoke casually. “If this keeps up, that halfbreed of yours will get beaten to death.”

Not a bit of Ye Hao’s usual proud and confident mettle remained at this time. Though he was still giving Luo Fengtian an unyielding glare through some mud and blood.

“Surrender? …Not while I’m still breathing!”

This was the final match of the contest. All the others had failed, he was their final hope.

Ye Hao knew immediately that courage alone was not enough, when he saw the Black Pit Dragon. Yet he had to fight. It was a mad decision he had to take.

The Phoenix Peak Academy was his second home. He couldn’t afford to see it trampled under his watch, just before his graduation.

This might only be a competition. But it was his war. A war for which he would gladly give his life. Surrendering was never an option.

Luo Fengtian was feeling annoyed now. “I appreciate your persistence, but your strength… not so much. Just admit defeat already and make it quick.”

“No… NO!!”

Ye Hao ignited what astral power he could gather to push Luo Fengtian away. Luo Fengtian simply applied more astral power to his foot and pushed Ye Hao further down into the broken floor.

Away from the stage, all teachers and students from Phoenix Peak felt their eyes sting. “Enough!” Dong Mingsong shouted to the judge. “This is supposed to be a friendly spar. We lost! End it right now!” “Luo— Luo Fengtian from Berserking Blade Academy is the winner!” The judge quickly did as told, relieved.

His announcement was heard by everyone at the stadium, yet no one applauded or cheered, except for a few students down below who were also among the winners. This was the home court of the Phoenix Peak Academy, yet the visiting team had bashed them with a complete victory, not losing a single match. For the Berserking Blade Academy, this was a momentous feat.

A few female students among the crowd failed to hold up their sadness and began sobbing. The great depression quickly infected more and more people like a disease. To them, shedding tears was no longer a shame.

They had lost together as friends and as family. Be it glory, woe or condemnation, they would face it as one.

This was what Su Lingyue and Cheng Shuanglin saw when they left the sickbay area-their friends lamenting, their enemies teasing, and their “champion” giving the sky a blank stare, after Luo Fengtian moved his foot away from his neck.

A stream of tears mixed with blood ran along Ye Hao’s cheek.

I lost…

We all lost… everything…

“Ha.” Zhou Yunchan stood up after hearing the expected result, feeling quite excited deep down. What happened that day was enough for the Berserking Blade Academy to be highlighted by the media and reporters for a while, which meant more students and reputation. Fan Yanbo also smiled, even though he was still a bit mad at Su Ping. Luo Fengtian was his personal student. They were just this good.

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People could call themselves champions all they wanted. Both Ye Hao and Luo Fengtian were “champions.” But Ye Hao was nothing in comparison. True strength was tested through brutal fights. There was no place for petty clowns.

Luo Guxue and Lan He looked at the floor in silence.

The defeated students of the Phoenix Peak Academy bit their lips so hard that they started bleeding.

Su Ping looked at Ye Hao’s miserable form and sighed. As a teacher, he sure didn’t want to see his academy humiliated so badly.

“This… Professor Su, is it?” Fei Yanbo spoke cheerfully, after most of his rage was carried away by the sweetness of laurels. “Shall we borrow this stage and settle it here, or should we find somewhere more… private?”

Su Ping quickly recovered from his distress. “Either’s fine. Take your pick.”

“Ha.” Fei Yanbo shot him an “are you nuts?” look. “I was trying to be nice by taking the fight to somewhere people can’t see, to save you the scandal. But since you don’t care anyway… Don’t blame me.”

Dong Mingsong wanted to say something but didn’t, since the dispute was no longer under his control.

A part of him blamed Su Ping for being too thoughtless.

“Don’t make me wait then.” Fei Yanbo’s smile turned stern. Like a rocket, he instantly leaped a few hundred meters high into the air, before landing onto the broken battle stage, shattering a few intact blocks that had survived after all the ordeal.