In the VIP room, Teacher Bai and Teacher Hong were staring at Teacher Lan in surprise.

"You, are you trying to interfere?"

Teacher Hong looked displeased, thinking to himself, this guy is indeed scheming.

Maybe the proposal from the start had ulterior motives.

"What do you mean, you've already placed bets. If I don't respond—"

"People would say my Cultivation Department is petty. That would be a disgrace."

"If other teachers from the Cultivation Department hold me accountable, I can't afford it."

Teacher Lan smiled, and his explanation seemed reasonable.

"The really petty ones are probably the Lifestyle Department."

"10K, 20K, 30K, that might not buy you a suitable FED level skill."

"And since you added conditions later, don't blame me for unfairness then."

Teacher Bai chimed in with a few remarks.

"What do you know? Is money only for buying skills?"

"So superficial!"

Outwardly, Teacher Hong seemed angry, but inside he was secretly amused.

Thinking to himself, it seems this guy is out of the loop, doesn't know a certain new student is working hard to earn money.

The Crystal Coin reward might be the most enticing after all.

"Superficial? I think you're the one who's obsessed with money. Not just superficial but vulgar."

"So what if I am, as long as it upsets you in the Combat Department, I don't mind being vulgar."

Teacher Bai and Teacher Hong started bickering again.

To this, Teacher Lan could only shake his head helplessly.

As long as they don't start fighting, all is well.

Instead of wasting time, they might as well pay attention to the contest below.

...

At this time, all the students in the large hall were still in shock from the department heads' displays.

"Wow, I hadn't heard that there were such big stakes in the tournament."

"Didn't you hear? It was the department heads' own money, so it must have been a sudden idea."

"10,000 Crystal Coins, that's ten times the enrollment resources!"

"A D-level skill, it must be strong, right?"

"Too bad it looks like we don't stand a chance."

"Not just looks like, definitely don't."

"But it's exciting to watch, let's see who wins in the end."

Everyone discussed eagerly, almost forgetting the ongoing tournament.

Thankfully, the referee teachers weren't distracted by this matter.

"Two students, get ready."

On Ring 19, the referee teacher stood in the center.

[Rumble!]

With a roar, Ma He's summoned beast transformed from its non-battle form with a hippo-man head into its regular form.

Its regular form was vastly different from its non-battle form; from the outside, it just looked like a pure hippo.

However, this hippo was much larger than an ordinary wild hippo, with four longer, sharper tusks.

Li Pu was examining the opponent of the straw man when suddenly a voice came from beside him.

"Water plants, that's one of a hippo's favorite foods."

The person who walked up next to him was Ma He.

The edge of the ring had a specially set-up protective screen, creating a space for summoners like them to command comprehensively from all angles.

Li Pu glanced at the opponent, then raised his hand to signal the referee.

"Teacher, if I knock him down here, will that count as my win?"

He pointed at Ma He.

"What are you thinking, of course not!"

The referee teacher, already a bit annoyed from being splashed earlier, was enraged on the spot.

Every year, there are always a few new students whose minds are so active.

And combined with this guy's decent strength, it seems he's bound to be a headache for whichever homeroom teacher he gets.

"Attacking a summoner results in immediate disqualification!"

"That said, no one should think to pull any tricks under my watch."

Doing his duty, he explained the rules.

"..."

As for Ma He, he felt somewhat underestimated.

"I admit, your personal strength is definitely stronger than mine."

"But today, what we're competing in isn't a fight, it's the battle of the summoned beasts."

"And I won't hide it from you, my summoned beast has reached LV3 after two weeks of intense training."

Li Pu showed no reaction, but the students nearby were the first to exclaim upon hearing this.

"What? LV3?!"

"Wow, if that's not top-tier, what is?"

"Makes you mad by comparison. Our summoned beasts are still at LV1!"

"No wonder he got second place in the race competition; he's truly capable."

"It was a tie for second."

"Shh, keep your voice down, people can hear you!"

In a matter of two weeks, it's especially difficult for new students to reach LV3.

Comprehensive training materials and rigorous training are indispensable.

Among these, finding highly suitable training materials is essential.

Without special channels and a certain level of financial support, the average new student can't achieve this.

And just having financial resources isn't enough either.

There are many new students with good family backgrounds.

The process of nurturing a summoned beast isn't just about piling on the nutrition.

Properly digesting the nutrients from training materials is equally important.

Finding the right training method for your summoned beast is a major challenge.

For freshmen, another challenge is synchronizing with their summoned beasts.

The extent of understanding, the strength of telepathy, all affect the behavior of the summoned beast, thereby impacting training effectiveness.

This is why everyone was so surprised when they heard the hippo reached LV3.

Because it indicated that Ma He's aptitude as a summoner far exceeded theirs.

Ma He heard all the reactions from the crowd.

Except for one or two people who didn't seem good with words, the rest of the praise was music to his ears.

Especially the word "top-tier," it really pleased him.

Although outwardly he remained calm and didn't glance at the crowd, inwardly he was quite delighted.

"Moreover, my summoned beast has an E+ quality, just shy of a D."

Although he seemed to be speaking to Li Pu, he actually raised his voice a bit.

"Wow!"

"E+ quality, definitely in the top 1% of freshmen!"

"Really can't compare, oh my gosh."

"Who's calling my kid?"

[Get lost!]

Ma He's words caused quite a stir again.

Ascending from LV1 to LV3 with an E+ grade is clearly more difficult than doing so with an F-grade.

"Your straw man is F-grade, right? What's its level now?"

Ma He smiled and continued questioning.

It's a waste not to brag when you have something to brag about.

First, overwhelm you with my aura and then defeat you in the ring, perfect.

"Mine?"

Li Pu's response was always indifferent.

"Not high, only around LV1.."

He truthfully replied.

Being classmates, there was no need to lie.

Just that the last digit was mentioned a bit softly.

The kind of soft where even if you had your ear against his throat, you wouldn't hear it.

...

...

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