Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension — Section 17

Roy came to school with his parents today.

Don't be fooled by how arrogant he was on the forums. Around his parents and friends, he had always been pretty amusing, with none of that pretentious coolness. It wasn't a case of "I throw heavy punches online but turn timid in real life." It was simply—

There was no need.

They were all close to him. Who was he putting on airs for?

Roy led his parents into the school registration area and was quickly recognized. He ignored the students from his own year and instead greeted the upperclassmen warmly.

Before long, Mom Luo noticed something was off and asked curiously, "Son, why are so many people staring at you?"

"Mom, haven't you gotten used to it after attending so many parent-teacher meetings for me over the years?" Roy waved his hand dismissively. "Your son's this handsome, of course I'm popular. Back then, all those aunties at the parent-teacher meetings loved pinching my cheeks."

"That's true. Little Roy is getting more and more popular with girls."

Mom Luo beamed. The thing she was most proud of in her life was giving birth to such a good-looking child.

Neither she nor his father looked bad, but neither of them could be called stunningly handsome or beautiful.

If she hadn't carried him for ten months and held him in her own arms, she would never have believed that their genes could mutate into something like this.

Twenty years ago, Roy's parents had both been ordinary office workers. When they got married, Trainer universities had yet to become widespread in the country and were extremely scarce. They had missed the opportunities of that era and lacked the qualifications to become Trainers.

The two of them had always regretted missing their chance at a leap in social class, so they placed all their hopes on their child. They did not expect him to truly become a Professional-level Trainer. As long as he could claim the title of Trainer, finding a job in society would not be difficult.

Mom Luo accepted Roy's explanation, but Dad Luo was not so easily fooled. He asked, "That still doesn't sound right! I see that it's not just girls paying attention to you. There are plenty of guys staring too, and their looks are even... more intense? Why?"

Because love does not easily turn sorrowful...

Before Roy could make up an excuse, Mom Luo nudged her husband. "Oh, why do you care so much... Huh? Look, who's that!"

Roy looked over as well and saw the Mu siblings standing not far away, waving in his direction.

His eyes met Mu Xixi's first. Then he looked at the middle-aged couple beside the siblings and greeted them.

"Uncle Mu, Aunt Mu, you came too."

Mrs. Mu was already in her forties, yet she looked barely past thirty. She remained dignified and beautiful as she smiled at Roy. "It's been half a year since we last saw each other. You little rascal, why don't you come visit more often? You ate at my house every day when you were little, but now that you've grown up, you've turned your back on us."

Roy scratched his head without arguing, standing there with an awkward grin.

The Mu family was not considered a true elite family in Shenghai, only wealthy merchants. Their entire family fortune hovered around one to two billion, and they operated several high-quality businesses, including one that produced Pokémon food products. The Lieyang Tree Fruit Mu Xixi had brought out last time had been produced by their own company...

In this world, a family with only financial power but no top-tier Trainers backing it could not be called an elite family...

The only reason Roy knew the Mu siblings was that his parents worked for one of the Mu family's companies and were valued employees who received dividends from company shares.

Having grown up together, the two families shared a deep bond beyond their business relationship.

The fathers of the two families had already moved aside to chat. They were completely at ease, draping their arms over each other's shoulders like old buddies.

Only the mothers remained, chatting about everyday matters with the younger generation.

After chatting for a while, Mrs. Mu suddenly said, "I heard you made it into the main tournament, Little Roy. Your Uncle Mu and I came specially to watch and cheer you on. I never expected you to have the makings of a Trainer too..."

She clicked her tongue in amazement, her gaze toward Roy growing increasingly pleased.

She knew her daughter's feelings better than anyone. With the relationship between the two families, Roy's handsome looks, and his nearly flawless personality, she naturally supported it.

Her prospective son-in-law suddenly turning out to possess outstanding Trainer talent was simply a delightful surprise.

"Tianyang, you spend every day hanging around Roy. Why haven't you learned anything good from him? You haven't improved at all!" Mrs. Mu turned and scolded him.

Mu Tianyang, who had been caught in the crossfire for no reason, wore a sour expression and glared at Roy.

His entrance results had not been bad either. Although he had not entered the main tournament, he had ranked fourth in his group during the preliminaries. He could be considered an outstanding student. The Mu family did not have many Trainer-related resources, so reaching this point was already impressive.

Under normal circumstances, his parents would have increased his allowance for that.

Unfortunately, his best friend was too outstanding and had stabbed him in the back.

"Aunt Mu, I only made it into the main tournament because I got lucky. I'll just take things one step at a time," Roy said modestly.

"Modesty is a good thing, but a person must have ambition." Mrs. Mu took his hand and patted it encouragingly. "Tell Auntie, what result do you think you can achieve?"

"I'll set a small goal first."

Roy said solemnly, "Winning the championship would count as success."

Mrs. Mu and Mom Luo: "..."

The girl who had been secretly watching Roy burst out laughing. Once she noticed everyone's strange looks, she hurriedly covered her mouth and turned slightly aside, revealing only her faintly flushed cheeks.

"You little rascal, you've even learned to joke around with Auntie now."

Mrs. Mu shot Roy an amused glare.

Just then, the campus broadcast sounded.

"Will all contestants please proceed to the participants' lounge as soon as possible. Any contestant who has not arrived at the lounge by 9:30 will be deemed to have forfeited their right to compete."

"To repeat, will all contestants please proceed to the participants' lounge as soon as possible..."

Roy said goodbye to his parents and headed to the participants' lounge as instructed.

The moment he reached the entrance, he saw Lin Shixian. Roy asked curiously, "Why aren't you going in?"

"I..." Lin Shixian's expression stiffened. He had actually entered the participants' lounge, but then he had come back out.

He could not help it. The moment he went in, everyone had looked at him and laughed. An acquaintance had shouted, "Lin Shixian, you're competing again?" He did not answer and sat down to play on his phone. Then they shouted even louder, "You're definitely going to lose again, aren't you? What a disgrace to the recommended students."

Lin Shixian widened his eyes and said, "How can you slander someone's innocence out of nowhere..."

Then came a string of incomprehensible remarks: things like "Losing to Roy doesn't count as losing," "Just wait and see," and "All recommended students must die." The crowd burst into laughter, and the participants' lounge was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"It's nothing."

Remembering all that, Lin Shixian shook his head and stared intensely at Roy.

"Kill them! You have to crush them all!"

"..."

Roy suspected he had beaten something wrong into this kid.

Ignoring him, Roy entered the lounge and immediately received the attention of everyone inside.

There were only sixteen contestants in the main tournament, so there were not many people. Roy swept his gaze around. There were fourteen people inside; counting Lin Shixian at the door, Roy was the last to arrive.

"Oh, isn't this our Sheng Hai University champion?" A short-haired girl walked over to strike up a conversation. There was no goodwill in her smile at all. "Sorry, sorry, that was the wrong choice of words. I should say future champion!"

Roy glanced at her, ignored her, sat down, and lowered his head to play on his phone.

The short-haired girl was not angered and continued with a half-smile.

"Let's get acquainted, Champion. My name is Yang Dong."

Only upon hearing that name did Roy raise his head.

The reason was simple.

His opponent in the first round of the main tournament was named Yang Dong. She was the owner of the forum ID "Arrogant Lord."

Ah, so that was it...

Judging by the ID, he had assumed the person was a man. He had not expected a hot-tempered older sister.

Yang Dong was not surprised by his reaction. She smiled. "Looks like a celebrity like you knows my information. You're not completely arrogant after all. Then I won't have to go out of my way to give you my details like I was planning to."

"So no one can say I won unfairly."

She flicked back the hair by her ear and said coldly, "This way, you won't have any excuses when you lose."

"..."

Her arrogant and irritable attitude was even more unpleasant in person.

Roy's fist clenched.

"Likewise."

He replied calmly.

The match was about to begin anyway, so he could not be bothered with threats. Real strength would reveal the truth.

In a sense, drawing Roy was also Yang Dong's misfortune.

No matter where recommended students ranked in the group stage, as long as they entered the main tournament, they received the treatment of a Number 1 Seed. They would be assigned to a different half of the bracket from the other contestant in their group and would not meet again before the finals.

—This was a privilege exclusive to recommended students.

In other words, recommended students would not face one another during the round of sixteen.

Since Sheng Hai University had been founded, the quarterfinalists had always been entirely recommended students, without exception.

But Roy was confident he could break that record...

Therefore, Yang Dong, who had a one-in-seven chance of being matched against him, was the only unlucky person who might lose her recommended student status and make history.

Losing the match would be her greatest punishment.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Yu Xiaobo, today's host. On behalf of Sheng Hai University, I welcome all our guests..."

No matter which school it was, opening ceremonies for events were always long and tedious. The more prestigious the school, the worse it was, and Sheng Hai University was no exception.

After delivering a lengthy opening speech without pause, the host announced a surprise.

"Today, we are honored to have Elite Four Xiao here to guide this year's new students. He is delighted to witness the rise of future stars. Let us welcome Elite Four Xiao with a thunderous round of applause!"

"Buzz—"

The audience erupted into commotion, all turning toward the VIP section, where a handsome middle-aged man with a bright smile kept waving to the crowd.

Cheers and applause immediately thundered through the venue.

"It really is Elite Four Xiao! The current Superpower Heavenly King!"

"Oh my god, this is my first time seeing an Elite Four member in person."

"Strange, isn't Sheng Hai University not Elite Four Xiao's alma mater? Why would he come here?"

"Sheng Hai University is the alma mater of Fighting-type Heavenly King Luo. I heard the two have a good relationship. Heavenly King Luo went to challenge gyms in the Island Nation a few days ago and isn't in the country, so Elite Four Xiao probably came to lend his support..."