CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31: EXCHANGE MATCH CANDIDATES

Zhen Sheng Experimental School.

Principal’s office.

"Exchange match... Sigh, it’s that time of year again."

In front of a massive mahogany desk, a middle-aged man looking to be in his forties, slightly gaining weight, glanced at a document in his hand, lifted his hand to rub his broad forehead exposed by his receding hairline, and sighed heavily.

The lifespan of a Spirit Master is longer than that of an ordinary person, and even if they age, it might not show physically. Therefore, it’s challenging to judge a Spirit Master’s true age based on appearance alone. However, at least from the slightly bloated belly and out-of-shape figure, it is clear that this person, even if once a powerful Spirit Master, has relaxed in recent years and hasn’t acted much.

——Liu Feifan, the current principal of Zhen Sheng Experimental Middle School, was already a member of the five-star Spirit Master ranks a long time ago.

Over twenty years ago, he left the frontlines and returned to Zhen Sheng City to take over the predecessor’s educational responsibilities. Utilizing the abundant energy and connections of a Spirit Master to balance various relationships, it is safe to say that the recent excellent development of Zhen Sheng Experimental Middle School is inseparable from him.

Similarly, every year during this period, he begins to worry.

In one month, the Fenghai Province High School Spirit Master League is about to begin, where the top elite students selected from the second and third-year students will represent the Experimental School to compete against the city teams of other schools in Zhen Sheng City. The top three schools on the leaderboard will represent Zhen Sheng City and participate in the province competition held in Chiyang City.

The team that wins the league not only brings immense glory to their city and school but also earns the right to participate individually in the National College Spirit Master League without going through the preliminary rounds.

Regardless of past performances, as the principal, he must always keep an eye on the next generation and the generation after that.

Winning once does not mean much. If they slack off even once, year after year, Zhen Sheng Experimental School will eventually face a dearth of talent.

Currently, this issue is troubling him a lot; initiated by Zhen Sheng City First Middle School, a friendly exchange match a month and a half from now requires selecting three student representatives from the first and second-year students for a performance match.

It will be broadcast live by major television networks on online television, and city leaders from Zhen Sheng will come to watch.

This has become a "tradition" between the two schools.

With similar teaching resources, apart from two private schools so strong that commoners can’t shake their positions, annually dominating the top two spots and serving as private havens for certain Spirit Master families, it’s always the Experimental Middle School and the First Middle School competing for the third place.

In simple terms, it’s the two public schools vying for a precious spot to enter the province competition.

Over time, these two schools naturally developed a competitive edge; as soon as one feels they have an advantage, they initiate an exchange match, and city leaders are happy to see such healthy competition.

This year, the exchange match was initiated by First Middle School.

This means that in terms of setup, the Experimental Middle School is at a disadvantage.

This is naturally the reason for Liu Feifan’s concern.

Last year, the Experimental School didn’t perform well, only placing fourth in the city competition and losing to First Middle School, failing to enter the province competition. This naturally caused this year’s best batch of students to choose First Middle School more frequently.

This should not have been notable, as middle school exam scores focus on liberal arts, and drawing a "trump card" is just a matter of luck. However, the Experimental School’s luck hit rock bottom this year.

Forget about entering the sequence with a purple rank, among nearly a thousand students across twelve first-year classes, there is only one blue talent, and just one blue elite-level Spirit Beast!

Just one!!!

Though like the inflated average wages statistics in major cities that people just laugh at, blue grade talents are mostly descendants of advanced Spirit Masters, with a much lower occurrence rate in ordinary populations than the overall statistical ratio, at least one in several thousand or even rarer. However, with the fierce competition in Zhen Sheng City, the families getting their "foot in the door" at Experimental School don’t have poor conditions and are somewhat related to advanced Spirit Masters.

Even so, this year they only received one lone seedling. It’s the darkest batch ever.

As a five-star Spirit Master, Liu Feifan naturally knows that talents and Spirit Beast "colors" are not absolute. Experienced individuals overpowering higher levels is something heard frequently. But the stats are straightforwardly daunting.

The audience sees it and wonders, how can anyone compete if there aren’t even several "blues"?

In contrast, First Middle School landed a purple talent ranked over 900 last year, and this year’s luck remained good, with three Spirit Masters having Spirit Beasts that are blue elite-level right at their initial stages and talents of two greens and one blue.

The gap is evident!

As for the second-year representative matches, Liu Feifan isn’t too worried. There are a few blue-level talents, with the highest grade not losing to the competition. That will rely solely on capabilities, with nothing much to say.

The problem lies with the three first-year representatives.

Last week, he reviewed the first-year student profiles. The most noteworthy are four students: He Shenghuang, Lv Rui, and Wang Dawei from Class 1. All three have green talents; one contracted a Little Thunder Bull with a clear evolutionary path (blue), another has a Fire Spirit Bird from Yumen Province, capable of evolving into a blue elite-level Spirit Beast, the other... got in through money. His White Phoenix Parrot, although having a clear evolutionary path, likely lacks battle power.

The other is Du Jinquan from Class 3. As a child, he picked up an unregistered Spirit Beast cub in a nearby outing. Upon raising it and contracting, it was found to have blue elite potential. Although combat power is decent, he has health issues and appears weak; furthermore, his white talent makes handling a blue Spirit Beast too burdensome, making him not a great choice.

There seems to be another outstanding student named Miaomiao, with excellent academic performance and a love for plant-type Spirit Beasts, but her interest isn’t in fighting, choosing class thirteen’s liberal arts class instead.

Notably, Spirit Beast potential isn’t everything.

Although "double green" will prevent derision from spectators, in the exchange match, real strength speaks. Ordinary-level Spirit Beasts with lower ceilings level up quicker with advantages in level and skills, providing more choices aside from the three in Class 1.

Choosing not to deploy the stronger ones would not only dishearten those students but also slightly damage the school’s reputation.

"Life is short, singing is my call."

"Sky blue waiting for the rain, and I caw caw caw."

Sitting on a perch beside, a crow-type Spirit Beast seizes the moment and begins a fervent song, making Liu Feifan’s headache worse.

At this moment, the door suddenly knocks.

"Come in."

The one who enters is a face looking somewhat sullen.

Ouyang Wei, the homeroom teacher of first-grade Class 1.

"Ah, it’s Ouyang."

Liu Feifan put down the document in hand, showing no surprise—if desired, a five-star Spirit Master naturally knows who is outside.

"Principal, I have something to report regarding the candidate selection for the exchange match."

"Candidates, huh? I’m also troubled by this."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feifan became serious, cleared his throat: "Since it’s timely, let’s talk straight about it."

"As the homeroom teacher of Class 1, who do you think would be suitable as representatives for this exchange match?"

"Lin Guang."

To Liu Feifan’s surprise, Ouyang Wei answered promptly, without any thought or hesitation, giving a straightforward answer, not one of the three he had in mind earlier.

After a brief pause, Liu Feifan became solemn: "Did Lin Guang succeed in forming a contract?"

"Yes, and his contractual partner also has blue potential."

"What? Double blue? That’s wonderful!"