Ch. 225 - He Firmly Believes -- Justice Will Ultimately Triumph Over Evil

By now, the Beast Taming Arena was packed to the rafters, buzzing with excitement.

The teachers went up one by one to draw lots.

When Shen Wushuang stepped onto the stage, he immediately caught the other teachers muttering under their breath.

"Please don't draw Nanjiang Second High... please, please don't..."

Shen Wushuang was even more baffled. Were they really this scared?

He pulled out a slip of paper marked with a circular symbol -- identical to the one the Nanjiang Third High teacher had drawn.

"Oh, fuck! This unlucky?!"

Third High's Special Training Class teacher cursed under his breath. They didn't even have a shot at the top four now!

Everyone filed off the stage. What came next was the official start of the competition.

A sweet-faced host stepped up to the podium and began.

"Today marks the opening of the Year 981 Nanjiang City Beast Taming Competition! I'm sure the competitors from all our high schools are already itching to get started!"

"To reward the geniuses of the new generation, special prizes have been established!"

"The first-place winner will not only represent Nanjiang City at the provincial competition, but will also receive five million yuan worth of Beast Taming resources!"

"Second and third place will receive two million and one million yuan in Beast Taming resources respectively!"

The competition's prizes weren't exactly lavish in the grand scheme of things.

But the real point was the honor. The Ministry of Education would also place greater emphasis on schools that ranked higher.

"Next, let me go over the rules of the competition..."

The host gave a brief rundown of the rules, then directly announced the start of the competition.

"First match -- Nanjiang Second High versus Nanjiang Third High! Let's welcome the competitors from both schools!"

Chen Shu's expression was calm and composed. He led Xia Bing and Xu Xiaoyu to their designated positions on the competition platform.

Unlike Second High's nonchalance, Third High's team looked utterly dejected and defeated, like they'd been wrung dry the night before.

A competition they'd been looking forward to for so long, and they didn't even get the chance to summon their Contract Spirits. Nobody could handle that kind of letdown.

Mayor Zhou of Nanjiang glanced back and spoke up. "Principal Li, your school's team seems to be in rather low spirits!"

"Erm..."

Principal Li let out a dry laugh and said nothing more.

Up on the competition platform, Wang Teng drew a deep breath and said:

"Pull yourselves together. Even if we're surrendering, we show them what we're made of!"

"The match begins!"

The host made the announcement and stepped off the platform.

Wang Teng's eyes blazed with confidence and pride. His entire bearing reversed in an instant.

"I, Wang Teng, have never known defeat! Today -- will be no exception!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it rang with ironclad conviction.

"Excellent! Now THIS is what I want to see in a student -- full of vigor, never admitting defeat!"

"This is the new generation of talent right here!"

"I've heard about Wang Teng from Nanjiang Third High for a while now. Not only is he exceptionally gifted, but his confidence is unshakable!"

Government officials and powerful Beast Tamers in the audience seats chattered amongst themselves.

Wang Teng's confidence made them feel like they'd been transported back to their own glory days. Some of them even felt their blood stirring.

"Judge!"

Wang Teng's eyes were bright, his gaze carrying an air of imperious disdain. His voice was deep and resonant.

"We surrender!"

"???"

In an instant, the previously raucous Beast Taming Arena fell silent, as if a muting spell had been cast over the entire venue.

Every mouth in the audience hung slightly open. Every pair of eyes glazed over. Brains had collectively short-circuited.

What the hell just happened?

You were posturing so goddamn perfectly -- how did you crash THAT fast?!

The government officials and Spirit Suppression Bureau personnel all turned to stare, equally stupefied.

Wang Teng furrowed his brow. Then, with a flourish of renewed magnificence, he declared in a resonant voice:

"I'll say it again -- we surrender!"

If he didn't surrender now, his lifelong undefeated record would be broken, wouldn't it?

Chen Shu's expression froze for a moment, and then he couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

Your goddamn nerves of steel are the real deal!

How had he not noticed what a talent this guy was when they'd first met?

The judge stared over, completely speechless. He could understand surrendering.

Three years ago, when Fang Si had competed in the Beast Taming Competition, teams had surrendered to her on the spot too.

But those teams had at least looked dejected, their voices full of helpless resignation.

How the hell did you manage to make a surrender sound so heroic and inspirational?!

"Nanjiang Second High wins!"

The judge announced the result directly. There was no rule against surrendering.

The competitors from both schools left the platform.

The entire arena remained deathly silent. Not a single murmur.

Everyone had expected the first match to be a spectacular showdown. Nobody could have predicted this absolute farce.

"Why do I get the feeling something's off about this year's Beast Taming Competition..."

Someone was beginning to sense what was going on.

"Principal Li, I want an explanation!"

Mayor Zhou furrowed his brow and turned his gaze over.

Third High's principal looked helpless. He glanced at the other principals beside him.

They exchanged bitter smiles and began explaining the reason.

One particularly agitated principal launched into a passionate denunciation of Chen Shu's atrocities!

When they heard the name "Chen Shu," the bigwigs of Nanjiang City all raised their eyebrows. Clearly, the name already rang a bell.

Last year, the kid had single-handedly steamrolled all seven high schools.

Everyone was well aware of exploits that savage.

When they heard that Chen Shu had visited all seven high schools before the competition and used raw power to force every competitor to surrender at the tournament --

Nobody could hold it together anymore...

This kid was even more ruthless than Fang Si had been three years ago!

And besides, if you've got the strength, just come prove it at the competition! Why the hell did you have to make everyone surrender beforehand?

"Chen Shu..."

They all rubbed their foreheads, suddenly feeling a headache coming on.

"Mayor, this student has absolutely no sense of propriety! He thinks just because he's powerful, he can do whatever he wants!"

One of the principals spoke up, clearly holding a long-simmering grudge.

"And he calls himself the 'Nanjiang Bandit'! Is that any way for a student to behave?!"

"I recommend disqualifying him from the competition!"

Mayor Zhou shook his head. A glint of appreciation actually appeared in his eyes.

He spoke. "For a Beast Tamer, strength IS dignity. Moreover, he hasn't broken any laws or regulations, which proves he has his own code of conduct. Neither the government nor the Spirit Suppression Bureau can touch him."

"What I'm most concerned about now is -- is his Slime really that strong?"

The moment they heard this, everyone's expressions stiffened. Then they let out a long, deep sigh.

"Strong. Unreasonably strong..."

"His Slime is absolutely not F-rank. Even an S-rank Contract Spirit might not be able to beat it!"

"I suspect that lump of shit is super-S-rank!"

The other principals chimed in one after another. They might not like Chen Shu, but his strength was universally acknowledged.

"Nanjiang Second High has produced an excellent talent!"

The Mayor of Nanjiang and the Bureau Director exchanged a glance.

While the kid's antics had damaged the competition's entertainment value, the actual impact was minimal.

At the end of the day, this competition was just Nanjiang City's own little show.

If Chen Shu could place at the provincial competition, he'd put Nanjiang City's name on the map across the entire province in one fell swoop. THAT was the real prize!

...

At this moment, Chen Shu had absolutely no idea he was being discussed by Nanjiang City's most powerful figures. And even if he'd known, he wouldn't have cared.

He hadn't done anything out of line.

He'd just done a bit of friendly pre-competition exchange with the other schools. Was that so wrong?

"Brother Wang Teng! Your performance today truly opened everyone's eyes!!"

Chen Shu broke into a wide grin. He hadn't expected Wang Teng's nerves to be this ironclad -- the guy had radiated pure confidence even while surrendering.

Wang Teng replied with casual indifference:

"Hmph! I WILL catch up to you! And on that day, I will formally challenge you!"

If he couldn't beat Chen Shu at Apprentice rank, then he'd fight him at Black Iron rank. If he still couldn't win, then he'd fight him again at Silver rank...

He firmly believed: justice would ultimately triumph over evil.