Chapter 513: Chapter 306: To Continue the Lost Teachings of Past Sages

"Liu Yuhang, you need to focus on observation and ’reducing power.’ Many opponents don’t require Xue Li to use such powerful Skills to be defeated. That kind of overkill just increases your own drain. If your opponent is stronger, you can’t be impatient for a quick win. You have to weaken them properly before going for the decisive move."

"Ah, okay! We’ll work on it!"

"There’s not much to say for you, Katie, but you need to be steadier. Bilang, some of your moves were too reckless. A more cautious opponent could have exploited those openings. You need to focus on more logical lines of attack. Not everyone can just brute-force their way to victory like Liu Yuhang."

"Okay, I’ll remember that. Thanks, Teacher!"

"Cao Mingyu... Hmm. You need to focus on sticking to your own style at all times. Follow your instincts and don’t let others influence you. If there’s one thing you could improve... how about we try to work on that OCD?"

"Don’t worry, Teacher Zhou. I will follow my instincts and work hard to overcome... Cotton! Your tail is off-center again! Your eyes, too! Look straight ahead and stop fidgeting!"

Zhou Shengfa fell silent. Everyone else burst out laughing, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the dorm room.

"Anyway, you all fought very well today. Just keep Teacher Zhou’s advice in mind and maintain this momentum tomorrow."

Finally, Su Zhi summarized on Zhou Shengfa’s behalf. "Even though the competition format isn’t in our favor, it’s not a big deal during the qualifying stage. All we need to do is make sure we have enough points to get into the knockout rounds."

Zhou Shengfa nodded. "Exactly. That’s why I told you not to rush. The knockout rounds are the real test. There’s no need to go all-out just to put on a flashy show in the qualifiers. That would show a lack of composure."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

In truth, as long as they didn’t fixate on their ranking in the qualifiers, the upcoming matches weren’t that difficult. The bonus for a swift victory only applied to the top three, while there were over a dozen slots for the knockout rounds. As long as they won all their qualifying matches, making it to the knockouts was a sure thing.

With timely encouragement from their head coach and team captain, the team from Huai City First Middle School quickly moved past their predicament and regained their fighting spirit.

A lot of anxiety comes from getting caught up in pointless competition. The solution was simply to relax and not overthink it.

"Alright, I’ll let you all be. The rest of the evening is yours!"

Just as Zhou Shengfa was about to leave, Liu Yuhang grabbed his arm. "Teacher, play a round of Beast Taming Kill with us! We play it all the time!"

Zhou Shengfa’s eyes narrowed. "You play it often during study hall, do you?"

"Of course we... ah, no, we don’t!" Liu Yuhang blurted out, his face turning beet red.

Zhou Shengfa just laughed, not pressing the issue. He sat down and began shuffling the cards, his practiced movements leaving the students stunned.

’Looks like he played his fair share during study hall back in the day...’

"Woof." Just as Su Zhi was about to play an "Impeccable" card, Yu Bao suddenly trotted over and dropped a small Wooden Token tied with a red string into his lap.

The Wooden Token was clearly not made of ordinary lumber, but rather some kind of Wood Element resource. Rubbing it, he could feel unique channels of Energy pulsing within. The front of the token bore a seven-word inscription: "To Revive the Lost Arts of Ancient Sages." The characters gave off a faint yellow glint under the light.

He flipped it over...

"Wang... Hao... Kun?"

Staring at the signature on the back, Su Zhi blinked. He guessed Brother Kun must have dropped it somewhere along the way.

Su Zhi stood up. "I’m going to return this to him. You guys go on and play without me."

Liu Yuhang piped up, "Perfect! With Brother Shu gone, we have just enough for a six-player game. We can even play the National War mode!"

Su Zhi: "..."

·

The room for the Shanda University Affiliated School team was just one floor above them, not far at all.

As Su Zhi reached their door and was about to knock, he noticed it wasn’t closed.

Inside, Chen Xinghao, Wang Haokun, and several other students were standing in a line, struggling to keep determined expressions on their faces.

Their coach, Lei Ji, was pacing back and forth in front of them, berating them.

"Chen Xinghao, your Storm Fish Dragon is still too weak! Don’t think you can get by just because it’s a superior Race. The opponents from the powerhouse provinces have plenty of top-tier Pet Beasts. You need to close that power gap immediately, or you’ll be at a huge disadvantage in the two-on-two matches!"

"Yes, sir!" Chen Xinghao immediately nodded.

"And the rest of you fought like an absolute mess! I gave you the tactics on a silver platter. Can’t you even copy homework correctly?"

Lei Ji rubbed the few sparse tufts of hair on his head and stalked over to a young couple, his face stern. "Tell me, why couldn’t you execute the tactic you rehearsed all night long? Why did you have to use an off-the-books Skill to save yourselves in the end?!"

The girl spoke up timidly, "Teacher, it seemed like our opponents adjusted their strategy before the match to counter us..."

"So what? Let them counter you!" Lei Ji cut her off impatiently. "As long as you could have held out until the turning point for the counterattack, everything would have been fine."

The boy quickly added, "But Teacher, we didn’t have enough offensive power to break through their defense. In that situation, we—"

"Then train until you do! Are there Pet Beasts that are born invincible? Instead of focusing on improving your own skills, you’re hoping to win with a few third-rate tricks! Only losers think like that!"

Lei Ji’s impatience exploded into a roar as he slammed his pen down on the table.

Now the boy didn’t dare say another word, standing silently beside his girlfriend with his head bowed.

"And you! Wang Haokun, you’re the biggest problem of all!"

Lei Ji’s voice rose another notch, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Wang Haokun.

Wang Haokun kept his head down, silent.

"Tell me, why did you change tactics mid-battle?" Lei Ji demanded, walking right up to him and enunciating every word.

"The Shadow of Ancient Jing is a Pet Beast that excels at field control. The optimal strategy is to rely on its Wood Skills to wear down the opponent from a distance. So tell me, why did you go on the attack?"

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