Chapter 109: Preparing the Birthday Banquet

“Uh…?”

Joanna? She wants to join my team?

What kind of trick is she hiding…

“I’ve come to realize that drowning in my fantasies about being strong is just a slow death. Thank you for helping me see the world clearly, so I’m no longer a frog at the bottom of a well.” Joanna sniffled, her voice trembling.

The little princess’s eyes were still wet. She must have just cried her heart out, right?

“So…?”

“Running away is useless. Facing reality and accepting it—that’s the start of real growth. That’s why I want to be your teammate. I want to learn from you.”

What a determined kid.

So hardworking, and she can control her mindset well too. It seems her current strength isn’t entirely thanks to Dragoon.

“Uh…” Xinyue couldn’t help but intervene, “Miss Joanna, it’s not that the Lancelot Family is too weak. It’s that Little Lancelot is just too strong. Actually… even the top scholars at the Academy are roughly on the same level as the Lancelot Family.”

“Don’t comfort me anymore!” Joanna glared fiercely, “I absolutely refuse to live in these fake illusions any longer! I don’t want to hear these lies again!!”

Great, this kid’s stuck in a mental dead-end.

Her brain was already auto-blocking the truth.

“If that’s the case, then just work hard and learn.”

If she manages to learn, I’ll drink three glasses of milk upside down.

Immortal Spirits and Xianren are completely different species systems. Joanna has no Spirit Power; it’d be impossible for her to learn.

I just hope she gives up soon.

“Well, the last team member is decided. Everyone, let’s disperse.”

Since Joanna is so persistent, I couldn’t refuse her.

I reluctantly approved Joanna’s request to join the team.

However, White Tiger Mentor frowned when he saw my team setup and shook his head. “You still need to find one more.”

“Huh? Why?”

“There are 200 students this term, and groups of five are perfect. Joanna isn’t one of those 200 students. If you take her in, someone will be left out.”

“……”

“Also, this team composition will be your squad for future missions. Joanna will eventually leave Egg Academy. You should get familiar with a new teammate ahead of time.”

Ah, great.

Now I have to add another stranger to the team?

God, are you trying to kill my social anxiety?

Fortunately, White Tiger Mentor furrowed his brow and said, “Oh, someone missed this class today, so you can keep the team as it is for now.”

Yes!

Long live procrastination!

“Alright, now we’ll start combat practice. Pair up and find your own opponents.”

I’m not interested in fighting and don’t lack battle experience, so I sat calmly on a bench on the playground, not joining the fray.

Joanna scorned her opponents for being too weak and also sat out.

So it was just Cluru, Xinyue, and Zhu Yeqing left.

“Three against five? You guys really underestimate us! Brothers, charge! Let these stinky girls see what we’re made of!”

Three against five, sure—but they forgot

Octopuses have eight tentacles.

Zhu Yeqing and Xinyue didn’t even need to lift a finger. Today, Cluru completely abandoned her usual defensive stance and charged alone straight into the enemy ranks, slaughtering them.

Her gaze was sharp, fully focused on the battle. The octopus’s tentacles trembled slightly, faint light flowing along them.

“She’s using her tentacles to learn combat?” Joanna’s expression grew serious as she watched Cluru. “This one… seems really strong…”

After all, she is my disciple.

I sipped my tea, my tail wagging slightly.

“Fighting five at once maximizes learning efficiency.” Joanna observed carefully, “Only 40% of an octopus’s neurons are in the brain. The rest are distributed across its tentacles… In other words, her eight tentacles can think and calculate independently. She has nine brains! All nine are absorbing experience!”

“Huh?? Is that a thing?”

“Her learning ability is terrifying, especially fighting five opponents simultaneously. The speed at which she gains battle experience… even I can hardly match it.” Joanna said with awe.

“…”

I see now.

But come to think of it, what’s up with Cluru today? Why is she suddenly taking battle practice seriously?

Wasn’t she always running away from fights before?

What happened today? Oh… the cousin and Yun Muchen…

“This one, even if her octopus never evolves into a Legendary Spirit, will still be a fearsome opponent.” Joanna was shocked once again.

So the school really just picks strong teammates casually?

……

From the high vantage point of the playground, White Tiger Mentor watched Cluru’s outstanding performance but showed little joy.

“The team’s combat power is too concentrated. No one in their grade can challenge them.”

“Team battle classes shouldn’t be a one-person show. They should be learning how to coordinate against powerful enemies.”

“This class is basically meaningless for them.”

“No good. Next mission, I’ll have to add some difficulty to humble their arrogance.”

Making a mental note, White Tiger Mentor shook his head.

This class could only be Cluru’s solo showcase. No helping it.

The first day of school was over.

Cluru was drenched in sweat, exuding a pleasant scent.

I handed her a sports drink.

“Thanks,” Cluru said softly.

“Why were you working so hard today?” I asked, puzzled.

Cluru looked at me and gave a faint smile but said nothing.

“Well, keep it up from now on.” I lay down on the dorm bed.

“Dummy master.” Cluru snuggled close beside me.

Fighting five at once is exhausting. She was tired, so she didn’t fidget.

“By the way,” Cluru remembered an important piece of news, “Tomorrow is the Mujia Patriarch’s birthday banquet. As the son-in-law who married in, Yun Muchen has to attend. So do his relatives…”

Oh?

Does that mean…

Tomorrow’s going to be a bloodbath?

“Let’s go to the banquet too,” Cluru tilted her head.

“You trained hard today just to cram for the banquet tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“At least… next time you want to cry… you’ll have a shoulder to lean on…”

Really.

I smiled.

“Silly disciple, let’s think about what gift to bring tomorrow,” I said.

“A bell?”

“That gift’s too common.”

“Then what?”

“A coffin,” I suggested.

“That’s basically the same as a bell.”

“No, a coffin can hold some little surprises.”

“What? A vampire little loli?”

“An Eastern version of a vampire little loli—the white-haired old zombie.”

“That sounds illegal.”

“True, but let that pair of brutes handle the mass slaughter. I’m a law-abiding Immortal Venerable.”

“Then we’ll just bring a bell.”

“Alright.”

We chatted aimlessly, like friends talking about everyday things, growing sleepy.

Finally, we instinctively held hands, foreheads touching, curling up and slowly drifting off to sleep.

Tomorrow, we bring the bell.