Chen Shu coughed a few times, wearing a look of pure "disappointed elder."
"But you don't even have the courage to fight me! If you want to surpass me, there's no hope in this lifetime!"
He then launched into the tragic tales of Du Long, Wang Yun, and the others.
He painted them as brave souls who'd suffered under oppression yet never stopped fighting—inspirational figures, every one!
Before long, fighting spirit burned in the students' eyes. They clenched their fists without even realizing it.
"I want to challenge you!"
A student stepped forward with conviction, his eyes blazing with determination.
Chen Shu's knees nearly buckled as a tidal wave of relief crashed through him.
Oh thank God—my savior has arrived!
"Excellent! And what is your name!"
The student's face beamed with confidence. "Zhu Wolong!"
Chen Shu's eyebrows shot up. "Wolong?!"[1]
The student blinked, taken aback. "You've heard my story?"
"No! But your face is covered in stories!"
Barely containing his excitement, Chen Shu immediately summoned his contract spirit.
BOOM!
The Golden Slime materialized on the platform, also wearing a custom-made patchwork shirt.
Everyone knew that despite looking ridiculous, this thing was genuinely powerful!
Zhu Wolong summoned his own contract spirit. A tiny green bug appeared on the platform—utterly incomparable to the Slime.
Bro, how are you this brave?!
The crowd had assumed the challenger must have some hidden ace up his sleeve.
A Level 6 bug? One sit from the Slime and it'd go straight to heaven.
"Let's fight!"
Zhu Wolong roared, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit.
His contract spirit, however, trembled once—then flipped belly-up and chose to play dead...
"Uh..."
The audience's mouths twitched before they all burst out laughing.
"Let's go!"
Chen Shu didn't hesitate. If the opponent surrendered now, all his effort would've been for nothing.
The Slime's body swelled rapidly, its patchwork shirt bursting apart like a monster in a tokusatsu film.
"Go!"
Zhu Wolong clenched both fists, eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
Does he genuinely not understand the situation?
The crowd couldn't help but sigh. The two weren't even in the same league.
Chen Shu put on his most serious face. The Slime activated Flight Mode, its massive body launching into the air.
The little green bug glanced back at its master—a look that felt like a final farewell...
BOOM!
The Slime accelerated in midair, channeling the momentum of Charge to reach incredible speed.
Some spectators covered their eyes, unable to bear watching the bug get flattened.
And then—something jaw-dropping happened!
The Slime had aimed to crush its opponent, but the bug was simply too tiny.
It missed. Moving too fast to brake, the Slime slid right off the edge of the platform...
Its massive body rolled several times before coming to a stop. Still fast asleep, it drooled contentedly...
Silence. Dead silence.
The once-noisy Beast Taming Arena became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Most people's expressions had frozen solid.
What kind of legendary highlight-reel moment was THIS?!
The miraculous Slime that had crushed every A-rank contract spirit in its path... had it really just lost to a B-rank green bug out of sheer carelessness?
"You cheated!"
Chen Shu's face twisted with fury, fists clenched, seemingly unable to accept his defeat.
"I, Chen Shu, accept my loss with grace! Farewell!"
With that, he recalled the Slime with a "devastated" expression.
"..."
Quite a few people were dazed, their heads buzzing. A moment later, the silent arena erupted into chaos.
"What the hell?! Chen Shu lost?"
"The Nanjiang Great Demon King was beaten by a completely unremarkable nobody!"
"Oh my GOD! I refuse to accept this—I'm reporting Chen Shu for match-fixing!"
The crowd broke into a frenzy, turning the arena into a fish market.
As for the victor, Zhu Wolong kept mumbling to himself: "I won? I won! I actually won?!"
"As expected of Special Grade High's Sleeping Dragon—I'm outmatched!"
Chen Shu walked over and patted his shoulder, a barely concealed smile in his eyes.
Zhu Wolong blurted out almost instinctively: "But I didn't even do anything and you already went down..."
Chen Shu stumbled. Wait—you actually believed that?
Before he could get far, reporters from every outlet swarmed him, desperate for answers.
As for the actual winner, Zhu Wolong? Nobody paid him any attention.
"I know everyone's shocked right now. After all, in the hearts of the Nanjiang people, I was unbeatable!"
"But my Slime's obedience level is simply too low. You can see the intelligence shining in its eyes... uh... even though it usually keeps them closed..."
"Its intelligence is so high that it doesn't always follow commands. I'll definitely work on improving its obedience!!"
In front of the cameras, Chen Shu spoke with total composure, smooth as butter.
"Wait—I won, though! Where's my interview? Where's my glory?"
Zhu Wolong stood frozen in place, feeling like a complete outsider with none of a winner's honor.
"Classmate Chen..."
The spectators all clustered around Chen Shu, following him out of the arena.
Chen Shu had lost, and yet it didn't feel like a loss. Zhu Wolong had won, and yet it didn't feel like a win...
...
Chen Shu slipped back to Nanjiang Second High.
As for everyone else's opinions and thoughts—none of that mattered anymore.
Honor? Fame? None of that was as real as cold, hard cash!
"Congratulations, Chen Shu!"
Nanjiang Second High's principal had been waiting at the gate, eyes bright with anticipation, looking for all the world like he was welcoming a triumphant warrior home from battle.
"Principal! I have failed you!"
The instant they locked eyes, Chen Shu pulled the most grief-stricken face imaginable, eyes brimming with self-reproach and regret.
"I lost to a student from Special Grade High!"
The principal's eyes went wide with shock.
Standing off to the side, Shen Wushuang furrowed his brow. Something had struck him as wrong the moment he laid eyes on Chen Shu.
Something's off here.
The principal frowned. "Special Grade High produced a genius?"
Chen Shu shook his head and explained everything that had happened.
"Principal, I let my guard down! I, Chen Shu, have no face to show the people of Nanjiang Second High!"
The principal understood now and let out a breath of relief. A loss, yes, but not a total one.
"It's fine. Just practice more."
He patted Chen Shu's shoulder reassuringly.
Although the outcome was unexpected, the overall effect was about the same.
Everyone knew the school had produced a genius who'd won Second High quite a bit of fame.
"Thank you for your concern, Principal!" Chen Shu dropped the grief act. Instantly. "So when do I get paid?"
"..."
The principal's mouth twitched. Something feels off here. Did I just get played?
At least the loss had saved the school a million yuan.
In the end, the principal awarded Chen Shu three million—on top of the two million he'd already received as deposit.
"Much appreciated, Principal!"
Chen Shu strolled off, looking extremely pleased with himself.
A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder, freezing him in place.
Shen Wushuang stroked his chin. "I smell something... unusual."
"..."
Chen Shu said nothing, simply looking up at him with innocent eyes.
"That story might fool everyone else, but it won't fool me!"
"When God sprinkled wisdom across the earth, your Slime held up an umbrella—so how could its obedience possibly be low?!"[2]
"..." Chen Shu's mouth twitched. "That's bordering on a personal attack..."
"Tell me the truth—what kind of scheme are you running?!"
Chen Shu's eyes darted around. He was about to speak when Shen Wushuang cut him off.
"Don't even think about lying. Nobody deceives Shen Wushuang!"
Chen Shu's heart leapt into his throat. Did he figure it out?
Shen Wushuang declared with absolute certainty: "You ran into a powerful enemy! Their technique knocked you clean off the platform!"
"Heh... heh..."
Chen Shu let out two dry laughs and slowly raised a hand toward Shen Wushuang—giving him a... thumbs up.