Chapter Twenty: Official Registration for the Selection Tournament

Someone was drawn over by Gu Qingyue and Tang Yi’s conversation, curiosity mingling with surprise on their face.

“Class monitor, you signed up too?” Gu Qingyue greeted him politely.

The tall boy’s name was Qin Donghai, the class monitor. He nodded at Gu Qingyue. “You know, my goal for the college entrance exam has always been Yanjing University.”

“With your grades, even without bonus points, you have a great chance of getting into Yanjing University.”

Qin Donghai smiled modestly. “It would be more secure with bonus points. Besides, top universities like Yanjing place a lot of weight on competition results. But you—not signing up this time is really a pity.”

“I’m not interested in battles anyway, and the scores for medical universities aren’t that high. It’s alright.”

After chatting with Gu Qingyue for a while, Qin Donghai glanced twice at the drawings Tang Yi had laid out on his desk, asking with concern, “Has your Ralts always been practicing drawing?”

“Not really. I was teaching her to write novels before, but lately she’s become obsessed with drawing,” Tang Yi replied matter-of-factly. He was a bit puzzled; as far as he remembered, he and Qin Donghai had barely interacted before.

Qin Donghai looked as if he wanted to laugh but held it back. He continued, “Looks like you’re set on cultivating her in the arts. You could really package Ralts well and consider taking the entertainment route or making her an internet celebrity—it’s pretty lucrative.”

Gu Qingyue couldn’t help frowning. Though it sounded like advice, something about Qin Donghai’s tone was oddly sarcastic.

It was true that some trainers brought their spirit maidens into the entertainment industry or turned them into internet celebrities for quick cash, but everyone knew how chaotic the country’s entertainment circle was. That place was a mire—once a spirit maiden went in, she’d likely never get out.

Tang Yi suddenly smiled. “Sorry, but I just signed up for the selection competition as well. Oh, and I remember the school’s internal selection is about to begin, isn’t it?”

Qin Donghai was taken aback. “It’ll start in two weeks, but before that, each class will hold its own selection first. Our school is a key high school in the city, so we have five spots for the city-level selection.”

From the class, to the school, then to the city selection, and finally to the formal competition—although the intensity wasn’t high, the elimination at every stage was still brutal.

“When the time comes for the class selection, I’ll have to ask the class monitor to go easy on me.”

“No need to be so polite. After all, we’re classmates—friendship comes first.”

Qin Donghai had no intention of continuing the conversation and soon walked away. Tang Yi glanced over and found him chatting with other students who had signed up.

So that’s how it is.

Tang Yi chuckled in realization. “Our class monitor is going around gathering intel. Looks like I’m not on his list of opponents worth researching.”

The competition’s ruthlessness began with the intra-class rivalry.

Gu Qingyue also glanced at the other students, lowering her voice. “I don’t like him. He’s too calculating.”

Tang Yi didn’t really mind. “It’s understandable. After all, there are only so many spots.”

At the very least, qualifying to represent the school in the city selection meant that, even if you didn’t make it to the final round, it would be recorded in your file. Some universities gave preference to applicants with such credentials.

“Forget it. Anyway, you’re just going through the motions. I doubt you’ll even make it through our class selection.”

“What if I do?”

“Then I’ll treat you to a big meal.”

“You can’t just treat me—you have to include Ralts, too.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll bring Ralts along as well.”

“It’s settled, then. I’d better start thinking about what I want to eat.”

“You’d better think about how to get through the selection first. Let me remind you—our class monitor’s Squirtle is really strong.”

“Well, I look forward to it.”

…

By the afternoon, all the sign-up sheets for the competition had been submitted. A bit later, the school published the schedule and bracket for the internal matches.

There were ten senior classes in total. Each would first hold intra-class battles; the winners needed only to win one more match to qualify for a shot at the city-level spots.

Tang Yi’s class match was set for the Saturday of the second week, followed by a match against the other class winners on Sunday to determine Tianying High School’s representatives.

The timing was tight.

That evening, back home, Tang Yi told Ralts the news—this would be his first formal competition since becoming her trainer.

Rather than nervousness, he felt more anticipation.

“I might be too weak,” Ralts said, lacking confidence. She knew how important it was for her trainer’s college entrance to earn bonus points in this competition.

“It’s alright. The important thing is to participate—and don’t overestimate the opponents, either.” Tang Yi wasn’t just comforting her. He hadn’t spent these days idling away.

He’d been watching videos of previous years’ competition matches. The battles were less intense than he imagined, more like little kids squabbling. After all, everyone’s spirit maiden was newly acquired, most hadn’t even passed the rapid growth phase.

On the bright side, everyone had had their spirit maiden for about the same length of time—most were starting from the same line.

In this real world, learning a new move took a huge investment of time and energy. To truly master even a single skill put you ahead of most.

“There are still two weeks until the competition. We have time—we’ll need to adjust our training. The goal is to learn Dazzling Voice within two weeks, at least to the point where you can use it.”

For Ralts, the biggest threat now was dark-type spirits, since psychic moves were useless against them. So she needed to master a fairy-type move, Dazzling Voice, to ensure she could counter any opponent.

Ralts pressed her lips together, listening quietly as Tang Yi outlined his plan. After a moment, she lifted her small head, determination flashing in her clear eyes. “I understand. So you can get into a better university, I won’t read or write any more novels during this time.”

Tang Yi was taken aback, a little moved, then laughed. “No, that’s not necessary. After school today, I went to the bookstore and bought a skill book for Dazzling Voice. I skimmed through it—honestly, I think this move will be much easier for you than Psychic.”

Tang Yi pulled a thin booklet from his bag. The cover read, “Dazzling Voice.”

Just like the plethora of training courses, this world was filled with all sorts of extracurricular skill books, all designed to empty a young trainer’s pockets. The books had become increasingly flashy over the years.

What Tang Yi bought was the simplest one, published by the People’s Science and Education Press ten years ago—a slim official guide, barely twenty pages. Outdated and little sought after now.

The upside? It was cheap. The original price was ten yuan, but the bookstore owner offered a fifty percent discount. Five yuan—practically a steal.