Zhen Sheng Experimental High School.
Principal's Office.
"Another exchange tournament… sigh, that time of year again."
Behind a massive nanum wood desk, a slightly overweight middle-aged man—appearing to be in his forties—rubbed his broad forehead, exposed by a receding hairline, as he looked over a document in his hands and let out a soft sigh.
Spirit Masters generally lived longer than ordinary people, and aging didn't always show clearly in their appearance, making it difficult to judge their true age. However, judging by his slightly protruding belly and out-of-shape physique, it was clear that even if he had once been a powerful Spirit Master, he hadn't been very active in recent years.
—Liu Feifan, the current principal of Zhen Sheng Experimental High School, had stepped into the ranks of a five-star Spirit Master long ago.
More than twenty years ago, he withdrew from frontline conflicts and returned to Zhen Sheng City, taking over the educational responsibilities from the founding principal. With the energy and connections of a high-level Spirit Master, he balanced all sides skillfully. It could be said that the school's steady development in recent years was inseparable from him.
And every year around this time, he would inevitably start worrying.
In just one month, the Fenghai Prefecture High School Spirit Master League will begin. The most elite students selected from the second and third years would represent the school in battles against other schools in Zhen Sheng City. The top three schools in total points would go on to represent the city at the prefectural competition in Chiyang City.
For the team that placed first, not only would their school and city gain immense honor, but each member would also qualify to participate in the National University Spirit Master League as individuals—skipping the preliminary rounds entirely.
But regardless of results, as principal, Liu Feifan had to keep his eyes on the next generation—this year's freshmen, and even those to come after.
Winning once meant nothing. If they relaxed even slightly, year after year, the school would inevitably face a gap in talent.
And right now, that problem was giving him a serious headache.
In a month and a half, Zhensheng No.1 High School would host a friendly exchange. Each school would select three representatives from both the first and second years for exhibition matches.
There would be live broadcasts from major TV stations, and city officials would attend in person.
This had long become a "tradition" between the two schools.
With similar teaching staff, and excluding the two elite private schools—so powerful they were essentially controlled by major Spirit Master families and always monopolized the top two spots—Experimental High and No.1 High fought every year for third place.
In simple terms, two public schools competing for a single precious qualification to enter the prefectural league.
Over time, tensions naturally built up. Whenever one side felt it had the advantage, it would initiate an exchange match. The city leadership was more than happy to see this kind of healthy rivalry.
And this year, the exchange had been initiated by No.1 High.
Which meant one thing—
Experimental High was at a disadvantage.
That was exactly what worried Liu Feifan.
Last year, the school's performance had been underwhelming. They only placed fourth in the city tournament, losing to No.1 High and failing to qualify for the prefectural competition. As a result, many of the best incoming students chose No.1 High this year instead.
That alone wouldn't have been a problem. Entrance exam scores were purely academic; drawing a "trump card" still depended on luck.
But this year, Experimental High's luck had hit rock bottom.
Not to mention purple-tier talents—even blue-tier ones were practically nonexistent.
Across twelve first-year classes, nearly a thousand students—
Only one had a blue talent.
And only one had a blue-tier elite-potential spirit beast.
Just one!!!
While it was true that statistics like "average income" in big cities were often misleading, and blue-tier talents were far rarer among ordinary families—often appearing only once in thousands, usually among descendants of high-level Spirit Masters—Experimental High was highly competitive. Most admitted students had decent family backgrounds, often with some connection to powerful Spirit Masters.
And yet, even under such conditions, they had only one standout this year.
It was practically the darkest cohort in years.
As a five-star Spirit Master, Liu Feifan naturally knew that talent "color" and spirit beast grade weren't absolute. Experienced fighters defeating stronger opponents wasn't unheard of.
But the problem was—
These things were too visible.
Spectators would simply look and think: You don't even have a few blue-tier talents—how are you supposed to compete?
Meanwhile, No.1 High had hit the jackpot.
Last year, they'd gotten lucky with a purple-tier talent ranked around 900th. This year, their luck continued—they had three students whose initially contracted spirit beasts were blue-tier elite, with talents of two green and one blue.
The gap was obvious.
Liu Feifan wasn't too worried about the second-year representatives. Last year's cohort had several blue-tier talents, matching the opponent. That would come down to skill.
The real problem lay with the three first-year representatives.
Last week, he reviewed the freshman data.
Four students stood out:
He was Shenghuang, Lv Rui, and Wang Dawei from Class 1—each with green-tier talents.One had contracted a Thunder Calf with a clear blue-tier evolution path.Another had a Fire Spirit Bird, one of Yumen Prefecture's starter trio, also capable of evolving into a blue-tier elite.The third… had basically bought his way in. His White Phoenix Parrot did have an evolution path, but its combat ability was questionable.The fourth was Du Jinquan from Class 3.As a child, he had found an undocumented spirit beast near the outskirts and later contracted it. It turned out to have blue-tier elite potential.However, he was physically weak—pale and frail—and with only a white-tier talent, handling a blue-tier spirit beast placed too much strain on him.
There was also a promising student named Miu Miu, who excelled academically and favored plant-type spirit beasts—but she had chosen the liberal arts track and had no interest in combat.
Of course, potential wasn't everything.
While "double green" might prevent the audience from outright booing, real strength decides matches. White-tier spirit beasts, despite lower ceilings, leveled faster and often had advantages in level and skill mastery.
Beyond the three from Class 1, there were indeed other viable candidates.
If stronger students were overlooked, it would discourage them—and hurt the school's reputation.
"Life is short, let us drink and sing—"
"Azure skies await the rain, and I go caw caw caw—"
A crow-type spirit beast perched on a nearby stand suddenly broke into song, making Liu Feifan's headache worse.
At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing a somewhat gloomy-looking man.
Ouyang Wei, homeroom teacher of Class 1.
"Ah, Ouyang."
Liu Feifan set aside his documents, unsurprised—after all, a five-star Spirit Master would naturally know who stood outside if he wished.
"Principal, I have something to report—regarding the exchange tournament candidates."
"Candidates, huh… I've been worrying about that too."
Liu Feifan straightened up. "Since you brought it up, I'll be direct."
"You're the Class 1 homeroom teacher. Who do you think should represent us?"
"Lin Guang."
To Liu Feifan's surprise, Ouyang Wei answered without hesitation.
Not only decisively—but with a name that wasn't among the three he had considered.
Liu Feifan paused, then his expression turned serious.
"Has Lin Guang successfully contracted?"
"Yes. And his partner also has blue-tier potential."
"What? Double blue-tier?! That's excellent!"
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