"Xiaoya!" Yu Beibei called from outside the classroom.
"Bei Bei." The three walked towards Yu Beibei, and Tang Ya greeted him with a smile.
"Let's go eat," Zhu Ziyang said, then led the way towards the cafeteria.
Jiang Nannan followed closely behind Zhu Ziyang. Tang Ya and Yu Beibei also didn't hesitate and caught up.
"Zhu Ziyang, you don't seem nervous at all?" Tang Ya looked at Zhu Ziyang, whose expression was normal, and couldn't help but ask, "Are you that confident you can win against Wang Qiao this afternoon?"
"Naturally!" Zhu Ziyang replied confidently.
"What happened?" Yu Beibei's expression shifted when he heard Tang Ya and Zhu Ziyang's conversation, and he asked curiously.
Tang Ya told Yu Beibei the whole story. After listening, Yu Beibei's face immediately showed surprise, and he looked at Zhu Ziyang with a hint of seriousness, saying, "So that's it! It seems Ziyang, you're sure to win!"
"Haha!" Zhu Ziyang chuckled, but said nothing.
—
Afternoon.
Inside Class Four's classroom.
"Everyone's here, so follow me," Xia Yu said, looking at the full classroom, a thought-provoking smile on his face as he walked out of the classroom.
The students of Class Four, led by Zhu Ziyang, followed him out.
They walked all the way to the Spirit Fighting Arena.
It was class time, so there were only a few fourth and fifth-grade students in the Spirit Fighting Arena, and no one else. After the hundred new students from Class Four entered the Spirit Fighting Arena, it instantly became much livelier.
"This is Shrek Academy's Spirit Fighting Arena. Here, as long as you pay, you can participate in any competition," Xia Yu said, leading everyone to a standard Spirit Fighting Arena. "As for how much money you need to pay, the basic fee is ten gold coins per person for both Spirit Fighting Arena participants!"
"Oh my god, the Academy really knows how to make money!" Tang Ya exclaimed in surprise when she heard Xia Yu's words.
"Indeed!" Jiang Nannan, standing beside her, also nodded in agreement.
"In the Spirit Fighting Arena, for every victory you achieve in a match, you will receive a certain amount of points. These points will be bonus points when you take your promotion exams," Xia Yu continued, ignoring the students' discussions. "When you successfully advance to the fourth grade, Spirit Fighting Arena points will become a necessary condition for promotion. For example, to advance from the fourth grade to the fifth grade, you need at least ten victories in Spirit Fighting Arena matches against students of the same grade, or one hundred Spirit Fighting Arena points. The requirements for advancing from the fifth grade to the sixth grade will only be more numerous and difficult."
"Teacher, what are the methods for acquiring points and the mechanism for adding and subtracting them?" a beautiful female student asked. She was also one of the people who raised her hand to run for class monitor.
"Regarding points, it's actually very simple and easy to understand," Xia Yu replied with a smile. "As new students, your current points are naturally zero. For each Spirit Fighting Arena match, the winner gains one point, and the loser does not lose points.
However, this is the most basic situation. If a Spirit Fighting Arena match is an 'over-level' Spirit Fighting Arena match, meaning a lower-grade student fights a higher-grade student, and the lower-grade student wins, they gain five points, while the higher-grade student loses one point. Conversely, if the higher-grade student wins, they gain one point, and the lower-grade student does not lose points.
Therefore, the Academy highly encourages capable students to challenge those at higher levels."
As he spoke, he even glanced with a smile at the few senior students present in the Spirit Fighting Arena, making those senior students feel a chill down their spines.
Zhu Ziyang also heard Xia Yu's words. Listening to the introduction about Spirit Fighting Arena points, Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but think of a very common organization on the continent: the Spirit Fighting Arena! Those Spirit Fighting Arenas controlled by nobles also had a point system similar to Shrek Academy's Spirit Fighting Arena. He had reason to suspect that Shrek Academy's Spirit Fighting Arena point system was inspired by the Spirit Fighting Arena, because the history of the Spirit Fighting Arena's existence and development was much longer than Shrek Academy's.
After all, Spirit Fighting Arena matches were one of the few pastimes for nobles!
"Oh, and one more thing, all students are allowed to watch Spirit Fighting Arena matches, but of course, there's still a fee: one silver coin per person!" Xia Yu said. "Given that this is your first time watching a Spirit Fighting Arena match, I, your teacher, will take a loss and treat you to one. You won't have to pay the viewing fee for Zhu Ziyang and Wang Qiao's match this time."
"Yay!" The new students of Class Four cheered happily upon hearing this.
Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan once again witnessed Shrek Academy's money-making tactics. They exchanged glances, both feeling envious.
"Oh, and one more thing, the viewing revenue is split equally between the Academy and the winner. If a student is financially strapped, Spirit Fighting Arena matches are undoubtedly a good way to earn money. Of course, the prerequisite is that your reputation is strong enough and your strength is powerful enough!" Xia Yu added.
Then, leading a large group of new students, Xia Yu arrived at the front row of the spectator stands. At this time, Zhu Ziyang and Wang Qiao were already ready on the field.
It's worth mentioning that their match fees were all paid by Xia Yu.
Zhu Ziyang also understood by now that although his homeroom teacher looked ordinary, he was definitely a rich man!
Due to time constraints, the vast Spirit Fighting Arena only had the new students from Class Four and a dozen or so senior students. Those senior students were all sitting in the spectator stands with great interest; Spirit Fighting Arena matches between new students were not common.
On the competition field.
"Are you ready to get beaten?" Zhu Ziyang said to Wang Qiao with a smile.
"What?" Wang Qiao immediately became furious upon hearing this and said, "Are you provoking me? You commoner! Very good, you've successfully angered me. Just wait to kneel and beg for mercy!"
"First-year Zhu Ziyang versus first-year Wang Qiao, the match is about to begin. Are you ready?" A very kind-looking middle-aged teacher walked to the center of the field and asked.
He was the referee for this Spirit Fighting Arena match.
Both of them nodded simultaneously.
"The match begins!" The referee teacher shouted loudly, then instantly disappeared from the center of the field, reappearing outside the field. This move impressed many new students.
However, Zhu Ziyang and Wang Qiao were not among them.
The instant the referee's starting command ended, Wang Qiao summoned his Spirit. His body became muscular, and his outstretched hands transformed into huge claws covered in red fur, like flames. His red hair instantly grew wildly and became fluffy. Two yellow spirit rings floated behind him, looking very imposing.
"My Spirit is the Blazing Lion, a Level 23 Spirit Grandmaster!" Wang Qiao's tone was full of arrogance. Eleven years old, Level 23, it was indeed something to be proud of.
Blazing Lion, Zhu Ziyang happened to know this Beast Spirit. It was a high-grade Beast Spirit. The Douling Empire once had a marshal whose Spirit was the Blazing Lion. This Wang Qiao was clearly a descendant of that Douling Empire marshal.
A pure-blooded noble Spirit Master, Zhu Ziyang's lips curled into a slight, disdainful smile. He looked at Wang Qiao, stood with his hands behind his back, and said indifferently, "Go ahead."
"Hmm?" Wang Qiao was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Where's your Spirit?"
"No hurry. If necessary, I will release my Spirit," Zhu Ziyang said in a calm tone, yet his words were incredibly arrogant.