Chapter 112: Heading to Rongdu
Chapter 112: Heading to Rongdu
“What’s even more humiliating is that all of you are respected professors and scholars, famous in the Eastern Glory Soul Pet research field, with countless honors under your belts. Yet a problem you couldn’t solve was fixed by a student?”
“And that’s not even the most shameful part! The most shameful part is, after he solved it, you still couldn’t figure out how he did it!”
“Honestly, if this gets out, everyone should just dig a hole and hide in it.”
The woman was furious.
She didn’t hold back a single word.
The many professors, scholars, and researchers below didn’t dare to look up.
“Minister He, it’s not that we couldn’t figure it out… That Magnetic Sword was really strange… During the battle, it could even absorb the powerful electric shock from the Howling Sky Tiger… It clearly underwent some special mutation… Unless we can bring it back and study it carefully…”
Professor Tang said with difficulty, “It’s hard to analyze accurately just by watching the battle footage.”
“Bring it back for study? Have you no shame?” the woman sneered. “Once a Soul Pet is given out, do we ever take it back for research?”
Professor Tang quickly said:
“We could invite him to our base as a guest… and study it while we’re at it, create a scientific plan for raising his Soul Pet, and offer him a reward…”
“Enough, enough!” The woman laughed in anger. “You want to make a scientific plan for raising his Soul Pet? If I were that student, I’d scold you to death! You couldn’t handle that Soul Pet yourselves, and after he trained it well, you have the nerve to make a scientific plan for him?”
“Why don’t you make a scientific plan for yourselves on how to save face?”
“My suggestion is to get a face-lift. What do you think, Professor Tang?”
Many professors suppressed their laughter but didn’t dare to let it out.
Professor Tang was extremely embarrassed…
“Then let’s invite him over, swallow our pride, and ask him for advice on how he raised it?” another professor cautiously suggested. “The one who knows more can teach us. We’re professors, so our knowledge should be greater than a student’s. But raising Soul Pets is a profound skill; even a student might have unique insights and ideas.”
“Besides, students aren’t limited by our frameworks of thinking; their ideas are wild and anything is possible.”
“Raising Soul Pets doesn’t rely entirely on knowledge. It also depends on the Life Bond formed between the person and the Soul Pet, as well as the influence of the Martial Soul, and so on.”
“See, Professor Tang, look at Professor Bai’s awareness.” The woman suddenly smiled. “Did you all hear that? Don’t think just because you’re professors, you know everything! There’s always someone better, and skies beyond skies!”
“This is a truth even a newborn wouldn’t know. Goodness, in your case, it’s like you’ve reversed aging.”
Professor Tang immediately nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Just then, an assistant in a white lab coat approached and whispered a few words to the woman.
“Zhao He? What does he want with me?”
The woman thought for a few seconds, then said to the professors below, “Keep watching until you find a clue!”
After saying that, she walked to the side and connected her Communicator.
“It’s me. What’s up?”
“Huh? You, a Martial Soul researcher, care about this?”
“Your information is sure sharp… You even know I went to the War Zone headquarters to discuss plans for dealing with the Empty God Dragon.”
“You guessed? Well, you’re really good at guessing. The result of the discussion… Hah, that’s top-secret info. Are you sure you want to know?”
“Hmm… What’s that student’s name?”
“Wang Che… Wait, say that name again? Wang Che…”
The woman’s expression turned strange.
She walked back to the podium and asked, “Professor Tang, what’s the name of the student who tamed the red Magnetic Sword?”
“It’s Wang Che. From Tianxin City. I heard from my old friend that he’s a genius at raising Soul Pets.”
“A genius at raising Soul Pets…”
The woman found it quite interesting and muttered to herself, “And now he’s also a genius with a Martial Soul of Destiny Grade or higher… So Xiyue Continent really produced a talent this year?”
“From what Zhao He means… he’s also connected to the Military Department and the previous Ghost Disciple incident… Wang Batian… Wow, a Young Hero… No wonder Zhao He asked me about the Empty God Dragon… He’s a rare treasure…”
“So that means Li Yanming, that stubborn mule, made a military pledge… probably because of this student…”
“Interesting… very interesting…”
“Speaking of which, this year’s Qihang Cup is about to start… I want to see just how much of a genius he is…”
——
The Qihang Cup.
Setting sail.
It was the only official competition organized by Xiyue Continent for high school graduates.
It was also a competition that truly had some influence.
Besides Xiyue Continent, other major continents held similar events.
Unlike the Dawn Cup, which was just simple Soul Pet Battles.
The Qihang Cup was a beginner-level comprehensive battle competition.
“Beginner-level comprehensive battle, in formal terms, is a semi-professional competition. Its rewards and difficulty are far beyond what the Dawn Cup could compare to.”
Wang Che was currently on a Maglev Train heading to Rongdu, the capital city of Xiyue Continent.
The train car was filled with graduating high school seniors from Tianxin City, all going to Rong City together.
Teacher Zheng was explaining the Qihang Cup to the many students.
“What does that mean, teacher?”
“Comprehensive battle means you can use the power of your Martial Soul to influence your Soul Pet to some extent,” Teacher Zheng said. “It’s clearly different from traditional Soul Pet Battles.”
“In traditional Soul Pet Battles, the Soul Pact Master commands the Soul Pet to fight and cannot use the power of their Martial Soul.”
“In beginner-level comprehensive battle, the Soul Pact Master can use their Martial Soul’s power. Intermediate comprehensive battle involves the Soul Pact Master and Soul Pet fighting together. Advanced comprehensive battle is the real combat of Professional Soul Contractors. You don’t need to know about those yet.”
“Is there a team competition, teacher? I want to be in a group with Wang Che and let him carry me!”
“Not at this stage. Team competitions happen when you enter university, provided you can get into the same university as Wang Che.”
“How is that possible… His total score in the Graduation Unified Exam was almost perfect. For him, choosing among the top universities in the War Zone is as easy as picking candy.”
The students burst into laughter.
“Xu Haifeng, watch your mouth!” Teacher Zheng glared at Xu Haifeng.
Xu Haifeng grinned sheepishly.
Wang Che, sitting nearby, smiled and said, “These past few days, I’ve been getting calls from different universities every day.”
Wang Che was telling the truth.
The Graduation Unified Exam scores were extremely important.
The basic subjects were one thing, but the scores for the Soul Pet and Martial Soul subjects were especially crucial.
Coincidentally, Wang Che got perfect scores in both.
Especially the perfect score in the Martial Soul subject.
That was unprecedented.
The noses of many universities were very sharp.
They immediately caught the scent of a genius.
Wang Che started receiving invitations from first-rate universities on the continent as early as the next day.
The conditions offered were incredibly generous.
In the following days, Father Wang and Mother Wang grew tired of answering phone calls.
Wang Che said he wouldn’t make a choice yet.
There was no hurry.
“Old Wang, you’re really something else,” Xu Haifeng couldn’t help but say. “But Goddess Lin Xi also scored over seven hundred points. I guess you and her are the only two from our No.1 Middle School who can pick any school freely.”
“By the way, Lin Xi, have you chosen a school yet?”
“No,” Lin Xi, sitting in the back, quietly gazed at the scenery flashing by.
The maglev train track between the two cities was built through the cleared wilderness, at a certain height above the ground.
Surrounded by mountains, the scenery was very beautiful.
Occasionally, they could hear the calls of wild Soul Pets.
It was a pleasing sight.
“Look, that’s nothing like us,” Xu Haifeng sighed.
While everyone was joking around,
Teacher Zheng continued to explain the rules of the Qihang Cup to the students.
The rules of this year’s Qihang Cup were not complicated, but there were many participants.
It included all senior high school graduates from the thirty-three cities of the Xiyue Continent.
So it would take a bit longer, about more than half a month.
“This year’s Qihang Cup follows the same format as last year… It uses a points system. Tens of thousands of students are randomly assigned to fight, with two matches per day. A win gives +3 points, a loss gives -6 points. When points fall below zero, the student is directly eliminated. Everyone starts with zero points.”
“Reach over 30 points to advance to the next round. Reach 60 points to advance again.”
“And so on.”
The rules were very simple.
Even though there were many people, it took two wins to make up for one loss, making the competition even fiercer than the Dawn Cup.
You had to keep winning.
If you lost just once, you needed at least two consecutive wins to stabilize.
The higher the points, the fiercer the competition.
Every 30 points marked a round, and each round continued until eliminations were complete.
To advance to the next round, you needed at least ten consecutive wins without a single loss.
Many students were discussing excitedly.
Most felt they would probably only last one or two rounds.
Right at that moment, the maglev train suddenly shook violently.
Then it quickly came to a stop.
“Dear passengers, the train has encountered an emergency situation. We have met a group of wild Soul Beasts and need to stop for three minutes. We will start again in three minutes. Please do not panic.”
A clear announcement sounded.
Naturally, the students didn’t panic.
Encountering groups of wild Soul Beasts in the wilderness was very normal.
Delays for maglev trains were common.
Especially for intercity trains.
And maglev trains always had city guards accompanying them for protection, so safety was assured.
Sure enough, three minutes later, the maglev train started again.
Wang Che glanced into the distance, his eyes shifting slightly.
About ten minutes later.
“Look, Rongdu is almost here!”
a student shouted loudly.
Looking out the window, a majestic city stood among the distant mountains.
From this vantage point, the view was very spectacular.
“Rongdu, Rong City.”
Wang Che gazed into the distance.
Just then,
the train suddenly slowed down.
A train attendant walked into the carriage and said to the students with a smile,
“Students, are you senior high school students from Tianxin City? Are you all going to Rongdu to participate in the Qihang Cup competition?”
This maglev train carriage was full of students from Tianxin City.
While the students were curious,
the attendant spoke:
“I am the train conductor for this journey, and I have some good news to announce to you.”