Su Xing could actually guess why Quinn had been desperately stalling for time—there had to be some kind of countermeasure.
But she never expected Quinn to win so decisively.
The idea was quite unique: using a healing-type Phantom Spirit to heal the enemy, but the real goal was to hold the enemy’s actions in check.
There was no denying it—Lierd’s loss was well-deserved.
Even if he had known in advance what Quinn was going to do, it would have been difficult to come up with a counter.
As long as Quinn could successfully escape the early sanctions, it would be hard for Lierd to catch him during the possession period.
And once that possession period ended, Lierd would inevitably fall into a very passive situation.
Getting close to Quinn meant getting entangled by the Phantom Spirit’s roses; not getting close meant having no way to attack.
Quinn’s advantage was overwhelming, so the decision was made that Quinn had won.
Su Xing felt that she had already rated Quinn highly, but she still underestimated him.
“Su Xing, what are you standing there for? Come over here quickly!”
Kaka shouted wildly, waving his arms to beckon Su Xing.
Snapping back to reality, Su Xing saw Kaka and Quinn already running toward the arena.
She smiled brightly in response and happily ran over as well.
“Quinn! You’re amazing!”
Kaka pulled Quinn up from the ground and then hugged him enthusiastically.
Su Xing gave a thumbs-up.
“Super—awesome! This is quite the good start for us! Kaka, you’re paying!”
“Eh?”
Kaka widened his eyes but immediately agreed, “Alright then, I’ll pay!”
Su Xing happily did some quick mental calculations.
There were four cafeterias in the school: a staff cafeteria, one more affordable for the commoners, a self-service cafeteria, and a high-end cafeteria.
Even in the cheapest section of the high-end cafeteria, one meal would cost several hundred Beibi at least.
Since the beginning of the semester, Su Xing hadn’t set foot in that cafeteria yet, so this time she could finally enjoy it.
Ivensel shot Su Xing a glance, then nodded at Quinn, “Well done.”
Quinn was being supported by Kaka, his face radiating pure joy.
Su Xing turned to show off a bit to Viktor and his group, but to her surprise, their seats were empty. Viktor and the others had left before Lierd even did.
Quinn followed Su Xing’s gaze and realized what was going on.
He turned with a gentlemanly demeanor and extended his hand toward Lierd, who was still lying on the ground.
“Want to go back together?”
Lierd clearly knew how his teammates treated losers.
He didn’t even bother to look up, only giving a bitter smile, “No need.”
“But…”
Kaka couldn’t help but try to say something, but Su Xing stopped him.
She shook her head, signaling him to say no more.
After all, Lierd was part of Viktor’s team.
Losing the match was one thing, but if he went back with their “arch-enemies,” how could he possibly survive in Viktor’s group afterward?
Once everyone left the arena, the audience suddenly erupted into lively discussions.
“Really didn’t expect it! It’s Quinn who won!” one person exclaimed in disbelief.
Their companion looked equally stunned, “It really feels unbelievable, but also makes sense. Quinn’s always been outstanding, but he was just dragged down by that bottom-ranked team.”
This was the general consensus among first-years.
As someone ranked fifth among support-types, it seemed like Quinn was voluntarily dragging himself down by associating with the worst-performing group.
“Whatever, this is probably their one and only lucky break,” the friend said mysteriously.
That immediately caught the other’s attention.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard Viktor’s group is targeting Kaka’s team. The other fights won’t be as straightforward and physical as today.”
“So it’s going to be a total steamroll? Looks like we’ll have to keep betting on these matches.”
“Betting? What betting?”
“Don’t you know? Almost every match with some excitement in school has betting going on.”
“Betting? The school runs it?”
“Of course not, I don’t know who runs it either. But if someone bet on Quinn to win this arena match, that person just made a huge profit.”
Hearing that, the friend stopped worrying about the previous question and nodded in agreement, “Yeah, that would definitely pay off big.”
***
By noon, the four of them went as promised to the high-end cafeteria for a meal.
The reason for the high prices wasn’t just the chef’s superb skill, but also the extremely rare ingredients.
They were on the third floor, the priciest dining area in the entire school.
The frozen bear paws from the Far North Snowfields of the Land of Miracles exploded with the taste of a fierce icy storm in every bite.
The corrupted slime from the Demonic Ridge was chewy and explosive, paired with the chef’s carefully matched sauce that was tangy and sweet—a truly top-tier dessert.
The Tianmu Grassland’s sky beetles, mostly reserved for the royal family, couldn’t be eaten as beef, but their milk was exceptional—natural and fragrant, a rarity only possible from naturally produced milk.
The four of them ate their fill, satisfied, but the price was fully justified.
Just for the four-person meal with three dishes, it cost a total of 80,000 Beibi.
This was thanks to the internal pricing at Lingyu Academy; outside, it would be even more expensive.
“Well then, let’s split the bill evenly,” Quinn said, swiping 20,000 Beibi onto Kaka’s meal card.
Ivensel didn’t say anything but instinctively also swiped 20,000 over.
Su Xing: ???
Kaka was overwhelmed with gratitude.
“No, no! I said I’d treat you guys. How can I let you pay?”
Quinn shook his head.
“We’re not short on money. How could we let you pay for us for no reason? Just accept it.”
Ivensel said in an authoritative tone, “Accept it.”
Kaka was moved to tears.
“You guys are too kind!”
Su Xing’s soul seemed to leave her body as she felt out of place.
If she had known they weren’t really treating her, she wouldn’t have come to eat here!
Seeing Su Xing’s breakdown, the other three knew her situation and didn’t want to trouble her.
Kaka, ever the little angel, said instantly, “Su Xing, you don’t have to split the bill. I’ll treat you.”
Quinn nodded.
“This time, since we didn’t say anything in advance, we’ll let it slide. But from now on… we’ll all split evenly. Su Xing, don’t forget.”
Su Xing breathed a sigh of relief, then sighed again.
Why was it so hard to get a little favor?
Aren’t friends supposed to be for taking advantage of?
Ivensel cast a disdainful glance at Su Xing but said nothing.
From the moment he first met her, he knew what kind of person she was, so he couldn’t stand her.
However, after everything that had happened, he also knew Su Xing wasn’t the self-serving villain he initially thought she was.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have become friends.
Still, even knowing her background, he couldn’t stand her greedy behavior.
He thought this disdainfully but nonetheless swiped 10,000 Beibi onto Kaka’s card.
“I’ll pay half for her.”
Quinn naturally noticed Su Xing’s thoughts and said seriously, “We’re not forcing you, but… we want to be friends with you for life.”
Su Xing was stunned for a moment.
She felt uneasy about such straightforward feelings.
Kaka immediately jumped up and shouted, “Yeah, Su Xing! We definitely will be friends for life!”
Ivensel, as usual, was brief, “Mm.”
Su Xing puffed her cheeks, but her expression softened.
Her previous unease turned into resolve.
“Alright, since you all said that…”
She took out her card and swiped 10,000 Beibi onto Kaka’s card.
“Eh?”
Kaka looked surprised.
“Don’t trouble yourself; I’ll treat you.”
Su Xing cleared her throat and wiggled one finger.
“I made a little money recently.”
Ivensel’s deadpan eyes rendered him speechless.
Quinn looked helpless.
Only Kaka didn’t realize Su Xing’s little scheme and praised her cheerfully, “Su Xing, you’re amazing! Was it money from your proxy shopping before?”
Su Xing shook her head.
Kaka was extremely curious, “Then how did you earn it? Is there a way to make money at school?”
This question also piqued the curiosity of Quinn and Ivensel.
They spent most of their time together. How had Su Xing made so much money without them noticing?
For the three of them, 10,000 Beibi wasn’t much—especially not for Kaka.
Ivensel, during his years as an assassin, had made plenty.
As for Quinn, his parents had left him a huge sum before they left, more than enough to last.
But for an ordinary fifteen-year-old, 10,000 Beibi was a lot—especially to earn in such a short time, which was even more impressive.
“That’s a secret,” Su Xing said with a mysterious smile, hiding her accomplishment.
***
After the meal, it was time to get down to business. In the evening, the four gathered in the Principal’s Garden, directly opposite the small garden.
Though they had been caught before, since they had accepted their punishment, the bold four children naturally wouldn’t give up this feng shui treasure spot.
In Kaka’s words: “We already got punished, so not using it would be a waste.”
The Flame Dragon didn’t pay any attention to the kids, lying on the ground panting.
Looking at the information in his hands, Su Xing said, “Tomorrow, only Ivensel is taking the exam, and his opponent, as expected, is Hua Bing.”
“Hua Bing? The Phantom Spirit is… the Ice Bird, right?”
Quinn asked.
Su Xing nodded and introduced, “The Ice Bird’s first skill is to spit out large ice blocks that fall from the sky and smash enemies.”
“I already know that,” Ivensel said.
Su Xing smiled brightly.
“Learning from previous lessons, I specifically went to Class A to get the latest information on Hua Bing.”
It was also helpless to admit—among the four of them, it seemed only she was good at socializing.
Quinn and Ivensel didn’t need to be said, and Kaka, due to his identity and that terrible skill of his, wasn’t someone others would approach.
So even though Kaka was friendly by nature, he hadn’t made new friends all this time.
Of course, Su Xing herself hadn’t made friends either.
But she was capable of gathering intelligence without making friends, which was the real skill.
Without teasing, Su Xing said directly, “You know, the Ice Bird is huge—generally big enough to carry a person in flight.”
“But because the Ice Bird is too cold, humans haven’t domesticated it for transport.”
“The news we got before was that Hua Bing didn’t have enough strength to be carried by the Ice Bird. But after all this training, it’s said he can now.”