The second round of the group stage was set for Wednesday evening.

Before that, Lu Ye faced several final exams for elective courses at Modu University. These included Pokémon Breeding Studies, Pokémon Battle Studies, and Sinnoh Pokémon History.

Thanks to Lu Ye’s knack for sweet-talking even Professor Yamana, he unsurprisingly secured first place in his year for Sinnoh Pokémon History. The remaining two exams were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, conveniently avoiding any clashes with Wednesday’s match.

That said, Lu Ye would have loved to find a legitimate excuse to forfeit the game.

---

Monday: Pokémon Breeding Studies

The first-year finance students faced their final practical exam for Pokémon Breeding Studies.

In the exam hall, the white-haired professor paced around, monitoring the students. Four Berry Blenders were set up, with four students assigned to each. The task? Pokéblock crafting.

The students gathered around the rumbling machines, their eyes glued to the process, wary of making the slightest error. When it comes to crafting Pokéblocks, teamwork is critical—one mistake could ruin the entire batch!

“Haah…”

In the pin-drop silence of the classroom, Lu Ye yawned, earning a few sideways glances.

The professor glanced at him and said lightly, “Pay attention to the time.”

In Lu Ye’s group, there were only three members.

Liang Dayou wiped sweat off his brow and complained, “Didn’t you say you knew how to do this, Number Two?”

Tian Youwei gave a wry smile. “How was I supposed to know you’d screw up this much?”

The final quality of a Pokéblock is directly tied to the number of errors during production. For solo attempts, the difficulty skyrockets compared to group efforts.

Tian Youwei had assumed his experience could help cover for Dayou’s mistakes. He never imagined that not only would Dayou contribute little, but he’d actively make things worse!

“Alright, stop struggling, you two,” Lu Ye teased. “Let me handle this. You guys just sit back and be dead weight.”

Hearing this, Tian Youwei beamed and immediately stepped aside. Liang Dayou, however, held onto the machine firmly and declared, “No way! We’re a team!”

Lu Ye gave him a sheepish grin.

---

Ten Minutes Later

The professor adjusted his glasses, examining their final product closely. A faint “hmm” escaped his lips.

The Orange Pokéblock, crystal-clear and glossy, was just a hair’s breadth away from High Quality.

The professor glanced at the trio and asked, “Did you really make this yourselves?”

“Of course!” Liang Dayou thumped his chest. “It was a team effort through and through!”

The professor nodded and jotted something down. “90 points. You’ve all passed.”

Tian Youwei’s eyes widened in disbelief. “90 points?!”

Nearby, even the students from the Pokémon Academy hadn’t scored that high.

---

Outside the Classroom

Still reeling, Tian Youwei stammered, “The three of us… 90 points?”

Lu Ye, with an odd expression, muttered, “It could’ve been 100.”

“Exactly!” Liang Dayou chimed in. “If you’d contributed more, we might’ve gotten a perfect score!”

“I…”

“Maybe I have a knack for crafting Pokéblocks,” Liang Dayou mused, stroking his chin. “Should I double major in Breeding?”

Lu Ye said nothing, simply smiling.

---

In his system interface, Lu Ye saw that his Pokéblock Crafting Lv3 had leveled up to Lv4.

[Pokéblock Crafting Lv4: You have a low chance of producing perfect-quality Pokéblocks. Success rate increased by 70%. (Your craftsmanship rivals that of a Coordination Master.)]

Skill upgrades in the system came from accumulated experience—something Lu Ye had only recently discovered.

At Lv4, Lu Ye’s crafting abilities were already at a professional level, and his Pokéblocks could easily sell for a high price. However, selling them legally would require a specialized license, and Lu Ye wasn’t about to spend years completing courses in nutrition or medical studies.

In the end, these Pokéblocks would simply benefit his own Pokémon.

---

Results Announcement

Later that day, the scores were released. Unsurprisingly, Lu Ye’s group took first place.

The unexpected success left Dayou feeling dizzy with joy. Tian Youwei grabbed Lu Ye’s hand, exclaiming, “Brother Lu, next time, I’m totally down to be dead weight again!”

“Same here!” Liang Dayou declared righteously.

---

That Evening

Back in his rented apartment, Lu Ye was greeted by a disturbing sight: Gastly staring intently at a scroll, its eyes wide with anticipation.

Startled, Lu Ye shouted, “Hey, be careful with that thing!”

Thankfully, Gastly hadn’t yet deciphered the Verdant Breeding Guide. But the day it finished devouring that scroll would likely mark the beginning of its obsession with the Toxic Insights manual.

The thought made Lu Ye shiver.

Experimenting with Applin Berries, Lu Ye tried crafting another batch of Pokéblocks. Five berries yielded no perfect-quality blocks.

“So the ‘low chance’ is really low,” Lu Ye muttered.

Meanwhile, Gastly opened its massive mouth and devoured the entire batch of Pokéblocks in one gulp.

“Wait, you ate all of that?!” Lu Ye exclaimed. “You’re going to overdose, you idiot!”

Applin Berries are known for their stimulating effects. That night, eerie wails echoed from the nearby construction site until dawn.

---

Tuesday: Pokémon Battle Studies

The final exam for Pokémon Battle Studies was held at Modu University’s state-of-the-art Battle Arena.

The venue, spanning nearly 20,000 square meters, boasted cutting-edge equipment and top-tier safety measures. Most of the advanced arenas were reserved for university-level competitions, with limited access to students during regular semesters. Even basic arenas required prior reservations.

When Lu Ye arrived at the exam site, he found a large crowd of his classmates gathered outside.

A new gym teacher, wearing a baseball cap, blew his whistle and apologized, “The exam will be rescheduled for tomorrow, students.”

Groans erupted from the crowd.

“Tomorrow? I’ve got another class!”

“Come on, we booked this in advance. Why the sudden change?”

Lu Ye, seeing a glimmer of hope for skipping the exam, nudged Liang Dayou. “What’s going on?”

Dayou scratched his head. “Looks like the Battle Department took over for extra training.”

“Well, they specialize in battling,” he added with a shrug. “Guess there’s not much we can do. Let’s head back to the dorm and play some games.”

Lu Ye was all for that plan, but a commotion near the front caught his attention.

A confident girl from the finance department stepped forward to argue. “We booked this first!”

“The Battle Department has top priority. It’s in the rules,” someone retorted.

“That only applies during tournament season, and this isn’t one!”

The gym teacher tried to calm things down. “Let’s all take a step back and discuss this.”

“Discuss? What’s there to discuss? You guys are just standing there while we’re being pushed around?”

As tensions rose, a single-ponytailed girl emerged from the arena.

“I’m a girl too,” she said, “and I’m here to discuss this.”

Tian Youwei elbowed Lu Ye and whispered, “That’s her—Shen Tingzhi, the Fairy-type prodigy!”

Shen Tingzhi’s expression was calm as she explained, “Even outside of tournament season, school team members have first claim on the facilities. And I’m a freshman member of the school team.”

Her words silenced the crowd.

The fact that a first-year was already on Modu’s battle team spoke volumes about her strength.

“School team or not, you’re just one person!” Liang Dayou shouted. “It’s not like your whole department needs the space!”

“Exactly!” others chimed in. “We reserved it first!”

“Being on the school team isn’t everything,” someone muttered.

“If anyone here thinks they can beat me,” Shen Tingzhi said with a raised brow, “then I’ll gladly step down.”

Liang Dayou faltered and shrank back.

The crowd grew quiet.

The gym teacher quickly jumped in. “Alright, everyone, let’s come back later!”

Suddenly, a beam of red light shot from a Poké Ball.

It was Gastly, its bloodshot eyes twitching from the lingering effects of the Applin Berries.

All eyes turned to Lu Ye.

Smiling nervously, Lu Ye tightened his grip on the Poké Ball.

“Gastly, you little brat,” he thought. “Don’t make me step in!”