Talent Cup

Lu Su was preparing to enter the Black Flag Secret Realm again to avenge Zhou Yi.

It felt as though a great deal had happened, but in truth, it had all taken place during the day.

"As for a place at a higher education institution, I'll earn one myself in the Jiang Province Unified Examination!" Lu Su had that confidence.

Yan Wenlai fell silent upon hearing Lu Su's words.

Knowing what Lu Su had experienced in the Secret Realm, he naturally understood why Lu Su had said that.

This kid is surprisingly loyal and righteous, Yan Wenlai thought silently.

Moreover, even Master Bai thought highly of Lu Su's potential, so he did not mind doing him a favor. "No need. The reward will remain unchanged, but I can make the decision to let you enter the Black Flag Secret Realm once more after the Talent Cup, even if you don't take first place."

Lu Su naturally did not refuse. He merely thanked Yan Wenlai.

Yan Wenlai waved his hand to indicate that Lu Su need not thank him, then continued, "When the time comes, I'll arrange for your key class from Shanghai City No. 1 High School to participate in the Talent Cup together. That way, you won't stand out by joining alone."

There was one more thing Yan Wenlai did not say: Lu Su's background was also one of the reasons they had chosen him.

After all, his parents were both dead, he wanted to become stronger, and he had talent. He perfectly fit the sort of person the Spirit Summoning Society had always sought to recruit.

As for Lu Su's records, after what happened today, they had already altered them to ensure that the Spirit Summoning Society would not spot the slightest flaw.

That was also the main reason Jiang Wang had let Brother Hu go.

Speaking of the Talent Cup, doubts arose in Lu Su's heart, and he asked, "Chairman Yan, when all is said and done, what do you need me to do after I take first place?"

Yan Wenlai smiled. "There's nothing in particular that we need Classmate Luo to do. But since the Spirit Summoning Society has gone to such lengths, and participation is limited to Third Year High School students, it seems first place must be somewhat special."

"Still, don't worry, Classmate Luo. Master Bai will have a card follow you in secret when the time comes. Your safety will definitely be protected."

Hearing this, Lu Su silently let out a breath. Sure enough, there was no such thing as a free lunch.

But fortune was found amid danger. He would do it!

Seeing that Lu Su had no objections, the matter was finally settled.

Downstairs, Lu Su looked at the deep night sky and felt that he had experienced more in this single day than during the previous month.

With a jumble of thoughts, Lu Su rode Pidgeot back to his residence.

The next day, Lu Su arrived at school and discovered that Jiang Nanxi and Lin Yue had not yet returned.

Still, he could understand. If not for the unexpected situation, he would not have been able to return so quickly either.

However, the other students in the key class did not know what had happened. Just as they were about to ask, Song Qian entered the classroom.

"Students, look here." Song Qian tapped the podium to draw the key class students' attention. "The school has decided to have everyone participate in the Talent Cup as training."

"The Talent Cup?"

Shanghai City No. 1 High School's studies were rather demanding, so the students had little spare time to pay attention to news from society.

But Song Qian quickly explained, "The Talent Cup is a competition sponsored by Jincai Credit, open to all Third Year High School students in Shanghai City."

"Whoever takes first place can also receive a prize of up to one million."

One million!

Upon hearing that number, the key class students immediately began breathing heavily. Most of them came from ordinary families and had never seen so much cash before.

But in the next moment, they caught sight of Lu Su, who was staring off into space, from the corners of their eyes. It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them from head to toe.

They had long since heard about the Ning'an District Four-School Joint Examination, so they naturally knew that Lu Su possessed a Black Iron Grade card of at least gold quality.

Forget it. Brother Lu can take first. I'll just take second, many students consoled themselves inwardly.

The day the Talent Cup began arrived quickly. In fact, only two days had passed since Lu Su met Bai Yueming.

It was worth mentioning that the reward Principal Xie had previously promised had also arrived.

It was five hundred thousand.

For Lu Su, it was a pretty good reward. In any case, it was free money.

Including the Association's reward, Lu Su now possessed the enormous sum of 2.72 million.

He had never felt so secure before.

However, that amount was still somewhat insufficient to create a high-quality Bronze Grade card.

Returning to the Talent Cup, its first few days were all preliminary rounds. After all, it was open to every Third Year High School student in Shanghai City, so there were bound to be many participants.

The preliminaries used a points system and would continue until the top sixty-four were decided.

It was said that Jincai Credit would invite some high-level Card Masters to provide commentary afterward.

The matches would also be livestreamed.

"Class A Azure Dragon Arena."

Lu Su looked at the information on his phone and confirmed the venue for his first match.

Upon arriving at the arena, Lu Su was surprised to find that there were quite a few people there.

Still, he could understand. Since the matches did not begin at the same time, this was a good opportunity to gather information on some of the contestants first.

Lu Su's first opponent was a teenage boy with a face full of acne.

With the referee's whistle.

The acne-faced boy shouted passionately, "Come out, Howling Pack!"

Just as Lu Su wondered whether he had misheard, a large Golden Retriever with its tongue hanging out appeared in the center of the arena.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who had appeared in front of Lu Su, turned and looked at him uncertainly.

The corner of Lu Su's eye twitched as he nodded. "That's right, it's that. I'll leave it to you, Yoriichi."

Very quickly, the large Golden Retriever vanished from the arena.

Lu Su had originally thought the Howling Pack was merely something his opponent had sent out to probe for information.

But when he saw the acne-faced boy had turned ash-gray and collapsed to his knees, he confirmed that the Howling Pack was his opponent's only card.

At that moment, murmurs rose from the sidelines.

"Heh, did you see that? Someone actually entered the competition with a white card."

"Sigh, why can't I draw an opponent like that?"

"Is no one paying attention to that humanoid creature card? It looks really strong, okay?"

"Oh, come on. It was just a Howling Pack. I could beat a Howling Pack myself!"

"→_→."

Ignoring the discussions around him, Lu Su had not expected to win his first match so easily.

After leaving the arena, his matches for the day were over.

Since he had nothing else to do, Lu Su planned to go home and meditate.

Elsewhere, several people were talking in a room filled with surveillance monitors.

One of them pointed at a blond boy on one screen, who was standing with his hands on his hips and laughing loudly. "This student's card is very strong. At minimum, it's a Black Iron Grade Gold Card. He can be listed as a seeded contestant."

A staff member beside him silently recorded the student's information.

"I can't quite get a read on this person's card," another person said as he watched a different screen, stroking his chin.

The others gathered around and saw the scene of Tsugikuni Yoriichi instantly killing the large Golden Retriever.

"Howling Pack."

No one present had expected a student to actually compete with a white card. They rolled their eyes. "What the hell can you tell from beating a Howling Pack? There are more matches later anyway. Just remember to keep watching him next time."

"That's true."

Soon, the first day of competition came to an end.

The compiled information was delivered to the chairman of Jincai Credit.

"Lin Jiānián. Kong Cong."

"Shanghai City has produced quite a few promising seedlings this year."

"What a pity."

An inexplicable laugh echoed through the dim office.