Liu Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps it's because I know I still have a long way to go."
Her gaze fell outside the classroom window, where the Tower of Trials was faintly visible.
"Senior Ouyang and the others are already close to the fortieth floor, while I'm still on the twentieth. Not to mention my sister and Senior Tang Ningzhi, or even those beyond them."
Yan Xinliu nodded thoughtfully. "I see. You're holding yourself to a higher standard."
The class bell rang again, interrupting their conversation.
Today's class was Pet Combat Theory, and the teacher was explaining the application of type matchups in actual combat.
Liu Yi took notes while simulating various combat scenarios in her mind. In actual combat, she absolutely had to quickly react to the type matchup between her opponent's pet and her own.
By the end of class, her notebook was filled with diagrams of various elemental type relationships.
"Student Liu Yi." The teacher walked to her desk. "Can I have a moment of your time?"
Liu Yi nodded and followed the teacher to the corridor.
"At the end of this month, the school will be holding an exhibition match for first-year new students," the teacher explained. "We'd like to invite you to participate as a special guest contestant."
Liu Yi: "An exhibition match?"
"Yes." The teacher smiled. "It's mainly to ignite the new students' passion for combat. Of course, you're free to choose whether to participate."
Liu Yi pondered for a moment: "I need to think about it."
"Of course." The teacher handed her a flyer. "Here's the detailed information. If you're interested, you can contact me."
Back at her seat, Yan Xinliu leaned over curiously: "What was that about?"
Liu Yi handed her the flyer: "An invitation to the new student exhibition match."
Yan Xinliu quickly scanned it: "Oh, it's probably a combat-related teacher trying to use your reputation to attract students' interest."
Liu Yi: "Combat-related?"
Yan Xinliu: "It's just my general term. For example, teachers who teach us combat-related pet knowledge hope we'll be more interested in combat. Teachers who teach us pet breeding knowledge hope we'll be interested in becoming breeders, and so on. Other types of teachers generally have similar ideas."
"I see," Liu Yi said, understanding.
Then, suddenly remembering Yin Huaixia, she took out the business card Yin Huaixia had given her from her bag and sent a Beast Link friend request using the information on it.
On the day Yin Huaixia gave Liu Yi the business card, Yin Huaixia had found her again that very afternoon to finish the interview, causing Liu Yi to completely forget about the card.
Soon, the friend request sent to Yin Huaixia was accepted.
【Publicity Department - Flash Interview: Let the School Magazine Burn!: Wow! Student Liu Yi, you finally added me! Do you have time for my interview now?】
Liu Yi looked at Yin Huaixia's nickname and was silent for a moment. It certainly fit her spirited personality.
【Yi: No, I probably won't have time for your interview for a while.】
【Publicity Department - Flash Interview: Let the School Magazine Burn!: How can this be! When will you have time! I'm available anytime!】
【Yi: We'll discuss it later.】
【Publicity Department - Flash Interview: Let the School Magazine Burn!: Alright, I just heard from Ouyang that you joined the School Team early, so you must be very busy. But please let me know when you have time!】
【Yi: OK.】
...
At noon, Liu Yi recalled Ziyue and Chiying from the Tower of Trials, and they ate together in the cafeteria.
"I need to go to Teacher Wei's office first this afternoon." She distributed energy pills to her two pets.
Ziyue and Chiying seemed to have grown accustomed to going to the office, showing no significant reaction.
After lunch, Liu Yi arrived at the teachers' office.
After knocking, Wei Xiuyu's voice came from inside: "Come in."
Pushing the door open, Liu Yi found Wei Xiuyu sifting through a stack of documents. A laptop was open on the desk, its screen paused on the video of yesterday's Lightning Rat incident.
"Sit." Wei Xiuyu closed the folder. "I called you here for two things. First, regarding yesterday's incident, the Beast Tamer Association asked me to convey their gratitude."
She pushed a gold-stamped thank-you letter across the desk: "Your actions prevented a potential disaster."
Liu Yi took the letter: "I only did what I should have."
"Second." Wei Xiuyu's sharp gaze met Liu Yi's. "For the School Team training on Friday afternoon, you're going to have a mock battle with second-year School Team members."
Liu Yi was slightly surprised, but quickly nodded: "I'll be ready."
Seeing Liu Yi's attitude, Wei Xiuyu stood up: "Come with me."
Wei Xiuyu led Liu Yi through the campus Central Plaza. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on them.
"Energy control is a compulsory subject for every Beast Tamer and pet," Wei Xiuyu suddenly said. "You breaking the record on the fifteenth floor of the Tower of Trials was very good, but that's just basic energy control practice."
"You and your two pets are exceptionally talented, but you lack systematic training."
After saying this, Wei Xiuyu herself fell silent for a moment, realizing something was amiss. At most, this child had only awakened two months ago, just entering the ranks of Beast Tamers, and her contracted pets seemed very young. What kind of systematic training could they have possibly had?
Liu Yi's displayed talent and strength far surpassed her fellow first-year students, causing Wei Xiuyu to unconsciously set higher demands for her.
The door to the exclusive School Team training ground was pushed open by Wei Xiuyu. The training ground was empty, with only a few pieces of equipment emitting faint operational hums.
Wei Xiuyu took a small metal box from her pocket. When she opened it, six crystals of different colors were neatly arranged inside.
"These are energy-sensing crystals," she said, tossing the crystals into the air. They floated at different heights, defying gravity. "They can visually display energy flow."
"Silver Snow Fox first." Wei Xiuyu pointed to the center of the field. "Demonstrate your most familiar Ice-type skill."
Ziyue looked at Liu Yi, and after receiving approval, gracefully leaped into the center. Seven Ice Blades instantly formed, precisely hitting seven distant targets.
"Stop." Wei Xiuyu raised a hand to halt her.
She walked over and crouched in front of Ziyue, lightly touching Ziyue's front paw: "Do you remember the armor energy distribution I taught you yesterday?"
"Similarly, your Ice Blade's energy distribution is too uniform." Wei Xiuyu stood up and took a leaf from her pocket, tossing it into the air. "In a real battle, no target will stand still waiting for you to hit it. Try to pierce this moving leaf with the least amount of energy."
Ziyue twitched her ears, and Ice Blades condensed again. But the leaf drifted erratically, carried by the airflow, and the first Ice Blade grazed past it.
"Think, don't just blindly try." Wei Xiuyu's voice was firm and uncompromising. "Feel the flow of energy, anticipate the target's trajectory."
Liu Yi noticed Ziyue's breathing gradually steady. It didn't immediately try again, but instead focused intently on the small leaf, its ears twitching slightly.
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