Yu Shusheng led Qin Shou and the others to Luoyun City, where an elderly man with graying hair was already waiting outside the city.
"Hahaha, Old Yu, I heard the top student from this West City trial is from your Breeding Beast System. Congratulations!"
The elderly man stepped forward, patting Yu Shusheng on the shoulder, grinning ear to ear.
Yu Shusheng subtly brushed away the man’s hand and replied with a calm smile, "Just luck, nothing worth celebrating."
"I’m here to take my students back to West City. I’d like to borrow your transmission array."
The elderly man smiled, "No problem. By the way, Luoyun City has also selected candidates to head to Dragon Island. Why not let them chat? It might help them watch each other’s backs during the competition there."
As he spoke, a handsome young man stepped forward, bowed to Yu Shusheng, and then looked toward Qin Shou.
"My name is Xiang Xin, a student from the Mechanical Department. Nice to meet you all."
Xiang Xin wore a brilliant smile, but Qin Shou felt there was something oddly familiar about his demeanor.
"Qin Shou, this guy’s smile is as annoying as yours," Fang Bao whispered.
Qin Shou glanced at Fang Bao, his face twitching.
"You have a gift for pointing out inconvenient truths. Don’t forget the mess you caused earlier—I’ll deal with that later."
Fang Bao froze, then chuckled awkwardly. "Haha, you know I couldn’t help it. Don’t hold a grudge; I’ll treat you to a meal to make it up."
"Oh really? Just one meal to brush this off?"
"At a five-star restaurant. Satisfaction guaranteed."
"Alright, I’ll temporarily forgive you."
Seeing Qin Shou chatting happily with the chubby Fang Bao, entirely ignoring him, Xiang Xin’s smile stiffened. A hint of darkness flashed in his eyes as he quietly stepped back.
Yu Shusheng observed this and chuckled, "Haha, my student is quite shy and doesn’t enjoy interacting with people. I hope Principal Zhang’s student won’t take offense."
"No worries, no worries. Little Xin has always been mature and understanding. He wouldn’t care about such trivialities," the elderly man said with a wave of his hand.
"Well then, we’ll be taking our leave."
"Alright, alright. Let’s get together sometime."
As Yu Shusheng and his group walked away, the elderly man’s cheerful expression vanished in an instant.
"Xiang Xin, can you handle Qin Shou if you come across him?"
Xiang Xin sneered, "Don’t worry, Principal. That arrogant fool won’t last long in the Dragon Island competition. He’s nowhere near my level."
The elderly man shook his head, "Overconfidence is dangerous. Qin Shou is cunning and deceptive—he’s practically the poster boy for West City High School’s scheming streak. His nickname is something along the lines of Shame of Beast Breeding..."
"Principal, it’s Kai Jushou..."
"Stop interrupting! Either way, he’s no pushover; don’t underestimate him."
"Don’t worry, Principal. With the tools you’ve provided me, I’m confident I’ll perform flawlessly in the Dragon Island competition!"
A moment later, Yu Shusheng led the group into Luoyun City’s space transmission center.
Seeing rows of variously sized "magic arrays" before him, Qin Shou’s eyes were full of curiosity.
"So these are transmission arrays?"
"That’s correct. The farther the distance, the larger the array required."
Yu Shusheng pointed to an array over a hundred meters in diameter in the distance and said, "An array of that size can send people millions of kilometers away, but the cost in Earth Core Energy Crystals is immense."
Then, he pointed to a smaller elevator-sized array nearby and said, "For shorter distances like from Luoyun City to West City, this size suffices. A single Earth Core Energy Crystal can last a long time."
After casually explaining, he led the group into the transmission array and nodded to the staff nearby. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novęlfire.net
The staff inspected the array’s condition, then tapped the transmission button on a virtual interface.
Suddenly, the array lit up with brilliant radiance.
Bathed in the light, Qin Shou felt a mysterious force envelop him, inducing a mild dizziness and vertigo.
Moments later, the light dissipated.
Scanning his surroundings, he immediately caught sight of the words "West City" beyond the array.
"That’s it?" Qin Shou was momentarily stunned.
"What else were you expecting?"
Yu Shusheng rolled his eyes at Qin Shou before stepping out of the array first.
"Qin Shou, head to the office and wait for me. Everyone else, go home!"
Qin Shou lounged on the sofa, idly tinkering with monster synthesis formulas.
Soon, Yu Shusheng entered the office. Seeing Qin Shou staring blankly, he shook his head and sighed.
This kid doesn’t seem too dependable. Hopefully, he won’t let us down at Dragon Island.
"Ahem, Qin Shou, here’s your reward for the trial."
Yu Shusheng placed a bottle of golden liquid on the desk and said, "This is the gene of the Manda Dragon Beast. Hopefully, it’ll help your Dragon Beast evolve further.
Feel free to come to the Beast Breeding Room if you need any modification equipment."
Qin Shou exited his system interface, grinning as he deposited the Dragon Beast gene into his system space.
A Nightmare-level Dragon Beast gene, finally in my hands.
"Thank you, Principal."
Yu Shusheng waved it off and then tossed Qin Shou a space wristwatch.
"This contains a second-level mecha, courtesy of Principal Qiao."
"A second-level mecha?"
Qin Shou’s eyes lit up. "A second-level mecha already? Does this mean, Principal, you have a way to fast-track me to Vajra Realm?"
Yu Shusheng looked surprised. "You’re sharper than I thought."
"Indeed. Considering how dangerous the Dragon Island competition is, we three old guys decided to expedite your advancement to Vajra Realm to increase your odds of winning."
He took out another gold-hued potion and said, "This was distilled from the dragon horn of the Manda Dragon Beast. Using it, you can temporarily reach Vajra Realm."
Qin Shou didn’t look excited. Instead, he rubbed his chin and asked, "Principal, are there any prerequisites for using Dragon Beast Essence?"
"Don’t worry. Even though Dragon Beast Essence is highly volatile, your Newborn Nine Stars physique and Star Power can handle it."
"Newborn Nine Stars..."
Qin Shou winced. By that logic, anyone beneath Newborn Nine Stars—like Newborn Eighth Stars—trying this would be asking for trouble, right?
Yu Shusheng noticed Qin Shou’s constipated expression and frowned. "Qin Shou, what kind of face is that?
There are two weeks left until the Dragon Island competition. Use this time to train seriously. This isn’t just for West City; it’s for your family too."
Qin Shou straightened up, his face turning serious. "Understood, Principal. All for De Ma... ahem, I mean, for West City’s honor."
If not for those Dragon Beasts and Earth Core Energy Crystals, as if I’d care about something as empty as honor...
Honor? That has never fit my style.
The night grew deeper.
A cool breeze carried hints of autumn; the moon hung boundlessly bright. If only... cough, wrong script.
In his room, Qin Shou eagerly summoned his system interface to build a "Greedy Snake" model.
[Yimuki] + [Manda (Mutant)]
"Ding! Model successfully built. Synthesis requires 2400 Synthesis Points. Begin synthesis?"
Qin Shou froze mid-action. Seems like he’s still a bit short on points.
[Gold-eating Ant] + [Mechanical Fragment] + [Hard Shell Beetle] = [Gold-eating Insect]
Han Lao Mo, your Gold-eating Insect will never rival mine in style.