“Today marks the ninety-seventh — “
Listening to the Principal’s unending motivational speech, Nuobai bared her canines and let out a massive yawn.
‘It’s just my luck that even after transmigrating, I still can’t escape a leader’s speech.’
“Nuobai, do you want to sleep in my arms for a bit?” Bai Luxin asked in a small, self-conscious voice.
Seeing Nuobai shake her head and yawn again, Bai Luxin’s face instantly flushed. She didn’t dare look at the cat anymore.
Last night, she had finally been able to cuddle Nuobai, and she had been so excited that she had kept the cat up all night.
Nuobai squinted her eyes and rested her head on her paws. She couldn’t fall asleep, so she decided to use her tail to tease Bai Luxin’s hair. She kept curling it up, letting it go, or flicking it to the side.
‘I’ve decided. I won’t let my Beast Master tie her hair back anymore. It’s much more fun when it’s down; I can even use it as a blanket.’
“Finally… I shall announce the Seeded Players — “
The Academy Tournament was divided into two stages.
The first stage consisted of internal school matches, with the winners advancing to the second stage to compete publicly against Yulan Academy and determine the final champion.
Seeded Players were granted direct entry into the second stage.
“Wei Wanqing, Xu Lan, Qian Youfu, Zhao Liang, and Bai Luxin… That is all.”
“Wait!”
The announcement was finished. Nuobai was just thinking about going home to catch up on sleep once the assembly ended when she was suddenly interrupted.
She glared at the man who had spoken with a look of pure annoyance.
“Student Zhao Liang, do you have a problem?”
Facing everyone’s gaze, Zhao Liang stepped onto the podium. “Dean, I question Bai Luxin’s eligibility as a Seeded Player.”
He pointed in Bai Luxin’s direction. “She isn’t even a student in the Department of Beast Taming. What right does she have to take up a seed spot?”
The Dean of Students clearly hadn’t expected someone to stand up and publicly challenge the decision.
“Student Zhao Liang, this was an arrangement made by the academy after considering various factors. Please follow the academy’s instructions.”
“If there’s an arrangement, then tell everyone! Why should a spot our Department of Beast Taming worked so hard to compete for be handed over so easily to someone from another department?”
“Is there some kind of shady deal going on!”
Sensing the hostility, Nuobai stood up. ‘Master, who is he?’
‘He’s Zhao Weiwei’s older brother.’ Seeing that Nuobai didn’t remember, she continued to explain, ‘He’s the brother of that Flame Dog’s Beast Master we met on our first day at school.’
‘That roadblock dog?’
“Pfft…”
Bai Luxin was amused by Nuobai’s comment and quickly covered her mouth. Many people around them were already looking their way.
Up on the stage, Zhao Liang saw Bai Luxin covering her mouth and laughing, and he assumed she was mocking him.
“Bai Luxin! Do you dare come up here and fight? As long as you can last 10 minutes, I’ll acknowledge your eligibility as a Seeded Player!”
Bai Luxin looked at him innocently. “Student Zhao Liang, if you question the school’s decision, you can ask the school for an explanation. What does it have to do with me?”
“Besides, why would I need you to acknowledge my eligibility? You really have some nerve.”
After a week of cram sessions, Bai Luxin was no longer a novice when it came to beast taming. She knew exactly what Nuobai represented. No one could question her eligibility.
As soon as Bai Luxin spoke, the others realized she was right.
Wei Wanqing, who was ranked first, hadn’t said anything, so why was Zhao Liang — who was barely hanging on at the bottom of the top ten — getting so worked up?
‘Master, do you want me to teach him a lesson?’
Bai Luxin could tolerate it, but Nuobai couldn’t. Since her advancement, there was always a nameless fire burning in her heart. Perhaps it was the expansion of her power, or perhaps it was her dissatisfaction with transmigrating as a cat. Either way, she was feeling a bit vengeful right now.
“Don’t pay him any mind.”
Bai Luxin took out a Snowflake Ball she had brought with her and fed it to Nuobai, watching her eat it.
‘Another failure…’
During this time, she had been trying to modify the recipe for Snowflake Pieces, hoping to let Nuobai taste a hint of sweetness.
The situation on stage was at a standstill. Zhao Liang was stubborn and refused to back down. No matter what the Dean said, he insisted on fighting Bai Luxin.
“Student Bai Luxin, if you could please…”
Bai Luxin was kind-hearted after all. However, before she agreed, she looked at Nuobai to ask for her opinion. ‘Should I agree? We don’t have to if you don’t want to.’
Nuobai unsheathed her claws, showing that she was more than ready. ‘My claws are so itchy; I really want to tear something apart.’
The Dean let out a sigh of relief and quickly made the arrangements.
“Zhao Liang is in the top ten of the Department of Beast Taming. His Beast Pet is an Armored Bear. Its physical defense is very high, especially in the areas covered by its armor plates.”
“However, its elemental resistance is relatively weak. You can attack its eyes or nose.”
“Be careful. The Armored Bear looks clumsy, but its attack speed is actually very fast. Watch out for its claws.”
Listening to Bai Luxin’s introduction, Nuobai had a good idea of what to expect.
In the Duel Arena, Zhao Liang watched as Nuobai took the field alone.
This was the cat that had bullied his younger sister, using her influence and underhanded tricks to defeat the Flame Dog he had trained.
She had even humiliated his sister and spoken rudely to her.
Today, as the older brother, he was going to teach her a proper lesson. A cat like this had no right to take up a Seeded Player spot.
“Armored Bear, come out!”
“The match between the Snow Joy Cat and the Armored Bear starts now!”
As the referee made the announcement, Nuobai was the first to charge forward. Outside the Duel Arena, Bai Luxin bit her lip at the sight.
“Armored Bear, swat her down!”
Following Zhao Liang’s command, the Armored Bear raised its claw, aiming at Nuobai’s path.
The swing brought a gust of wind, and the thick, black bear paw loomed like a small mountain.
“Nuobai, be careful!” Bai Luxin cried out, covering her face as her heart skipped a beat.
Nuobai dug one claw into the ground to change her trajectory, then used the momentum to jump onto the Armored Bear’s arm.
With the enhancement of her skill, her sharp claws ignored the defense of the armor plates and tore right into them.
‘How is that possible!’
Zhao Liang was stunned for a moment but immediately barked out another command. “Armored Bear, shake her off!”
Seeing that it had no effect, he shouted, “[Charge], then spin your body!”
Nuobai had no intention of rolling around on the ground with it. She tore off an armor plate with her right claw and landed smoothly.
The dust-covered Armored Bear stood up, a bloody wound now visible on its shoulder.
“No way… am I seeing things? A piece of the Armored Bear’s plating was actually torn off.”
“You aren’t seeing things. I saw it too. I never expected an Armored Bear, known for its defense, to have its guard broken so easily.”
“Zhao Liang has really bitten off more than he can chew this time.”
The surrounding whispers snapped Bai Luxin back to reality. She breathed through her mouth, her heart thumping wildly against her chest.
Nuobai shook her paws with a hint of disgust and tossed the armor plate in front of Zhao Liang. ‘What Armored Bear? It’s just a giant scratching post.’
Just as Nuobai was about to attack again, Zhao Liang seized the opportunity.
“Armored Bear, [Roar]!”
Under the bear’s roar, Nuobai’s body went numb from the sound waves.
“Now! [Sharp Claw]!”
A cold glint flashed across the bear’s claws as it slammed them down toward Nuobai with all its might.
At the critical moment, the shadow beneath Nuobai flickered. The Armored Bear struck the ground, the massive force kicking up a cloud of dust.
Is it over?
No!
Zhao Liang noticed that the Armored Bear was still on high alert.
‘My, my, that was close.’
The dust cleared, revealing Nuobai standing on top of the bear’s claw.
She looked like a final boss; even though she wasn’t standing very high, she gave off a feeling of looking down on everyone.
‘Now it’s my turn.’
Her claws dug into the Armored Bear’s arm. Aside from the armor plates, which offered a slight resistance, everything else was like paper, tearing easily.
Nuobai had indeed been immobilized just now, unable to move her body.
However, at the crucial moment, she had used her [Shadow Split] skill to help herself escape.
She had been a bit careless; if she had actually been hit, it would have been quite ungraceful.
Letting her cat instincts take over, Nuobai enjoyed her ‘scratching post’ while wondering if her fur had been messed up.
“Armored Bear!”
Zhao Liang let out a wail of sorrow as he looked at his pet’s wretched state. “Stop! I forfeit!”
Nuobai finally came to a halt on the bear’s head, looking at Zhao Liang with a strange expression. ‘Don’t act like I’m the villain here.’
“Armored Bear, are you okay? Sob, sob…“
Seeing him rush over, Nuobai instinctively raised her claws.
“Nuobai!”
Bai Luxin pulled Nuobai back into her arms, though it was hard to tell which one of them she was afraid would get hurt.
“You’ve gone too far!” Zhao Liang barked. He recalled the Armored Bear into his Beast Pet space and stumbled off to find a doctor.
Was that it? She hadn’t scratched enough yet. The Armored Bear had felt great — scratching it was an excellent way to relieve stress.
Under the respectful and fearful gazes of the crowd, Nuobai sat in her exclusive seat and left the area.
‘It’s fine. There’s plenty of time in the future.’