CHAPTER 269: CHAPTER 259: TOURNAMENT (PART 1)

As Chu Chen and his companion walked and chatted, they unknowingly found themselves back at their residence.

As soon as they pushed open the door, an enticing aroma wafted over them.

After a whole day of the selection process, Chu Chen was already hungry. He looked closely and saw everyone gathered around enjoying a hot pot.

Scanning the room, Chu Chen noticed Wang Lingfeng was also among them.

At this moment, Wang Lingfeng and the others noticed their return.

"Just in time, we’ve got everything ready. Come over and eat," Wang Lu said with a smile.

Hearing this, Chu Chen quickly went over.

Seeing Chu Chen and his companion seated, Wang Lingfeng smiled and said, "Everyone, have a taste. This is from the best hot pot restaurant in Cyan Dragon City. I went to great lengths to get a reservation."

Everyone voiced their gratitude.

"No need to be polite. We’ll be classmates from now on, and we should help each other in the future. Let’s cheers to that."

Upon hearing this, everyone raised their glasses.

"Congratulations to all of you for passing the preliminaries. May you achieve good results in the upcoming tournament matches."

The meal lasted a full two hours before it concluded.

The dinner that Wang Lingfeng painstakingly prepared was naturally delicious.

He was clearly trying to be amicable. Passing the preliminaries with a high rank significantly increased the likelihood of entering Cyan Dragon Academy, especially for Chu Chen and Zhang Yuyan. Based on the strength they displayed in the preliminaries, getting into Cyan Dragon Academy was a certainty as long as they performed normally.

Wang Lingfeng naturally wanted to form good relationships early on. After all, not everyone had such opportunities.

Moreover, his strength and potential were at the bottom among students in the same grade. Otherwise, why would he take on such a task?

The top students in his class were either busy with cultivation or taking on higher difficulty tasks and wouldn’t take on such a tedious and low-benefit task.

However, this kind of task had hidden perks, such as forming connections with potential juniors.

Of course, such deals relied on luck. Like Wang Lingfeng, his luck was quite favorable this time, as both Chu Chen and Zhang Yuyan performed impressively in the preliminaries, and it’s believed they’ll perform well in the tournament too.

Talented individuals like them are people Wang Lingfeng had no chance of interacting with within the academy.

To get acquainted now meant that when they joined the academy, he could seek their help when needed. As long as it wasn’t too troublesome, they were unlikely to refuse.

Wang Lingfeng enjoyed a lot of pleasant conversation with everyone, discussing many things about Cyan Dragon Academy.

He left reluctantly late into the night.

Lu Hongfei, noticing the slightly tired faces around him, said solemnly, "The tournament is the day after tomorrow, and none of you are allowed to go out messing around tomorrow. Stay here and rest up."

Hearing this, Chu Chen and the others looked disappointed, but they dared not object and could only nod gloomily.

In fact, Lu Hongfei was protecting them. Their performance today attracted too much attention, especially Chu Chen, who secured first place in the selection.

The contestants were all young. Losing to a Double S-level talent would be understandable, but losing to Chu Chen, an A-level talent, would naturally not sit well with them.

If they went out to play tomorrow, they might be challenged by those who considered themselves to have extraordinary abilities, inevitably leading to some contests.

If their Guardian Beasts were injured, it would significantly impact their performance in the upcoming matches.

Early the next morning, Wang Lingfeng arrived.

This time, breakfast was more sumptuous than usual. Unlike before, he didn’t leave immediately but sat down to chat while eating, showing no signs of leaving.

After breakfast, Chu Chen chatted a bit before returning to his room for cultivation.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuyan also left.

Seeing this, Wang Lingfeng understood he had overstayed his welcome and left with an excuse.

The lunch and dinner Wang Lingfeng prepared were also lavish, yet he was smart this time; he didn’t stay to eat but left after a few polite words as usual.

Chu Chen found himself developing some goodwill towards him, after all, he was someone who knew his boundaries.

In the blink of an eye, the second day arrived.

Lu Hongfei woke up early, looking extremely excited today. Despite some insomnia the previous night, his spirits were better than usual.

He glanced at the time before going around knocking on doors.

After checking the time, everyone wore expressions as if constipated; it was only half past five.

Seeing this, Lu Hongfei said solemnly, "Go wash up quickly, have breakfast downstairs in a bit, and we’ll set out at seven sharp."

Hearing this, everyone was speechless; it was unnecessarily early.

Yet they dared not object, begrudgingly washing up with panda eyes.

At seven, they set off right on time. As they stepped out of the villa, they noticed most people had already departed, clearly, there were many as enthusiastic as Lu Hongfei.

The group made their way to the entrance of Cyan Dragon Academy, where they saw hundreds of luxurious carriages prepared. These carriages, large enough to comfortably seat dozens at once, were each pulled by eight Red Wind Steeds.

The Red Wind Steed, a domesticated Star Beast, had a gentle temperament. Though its quality was only Outstanding Level Upper Grade, its speed in a gallop compared favorably with a Perfect Quality Star Beast.

Their fur was a greenish-red color, standing about a yard tall at the shoulder, with a body about two yards long. Their backs were wide, and their limbs were muscular, making them look exceptionally majestic.