Chapter 58: A Strategic Trio and Hidden Powers

‘Only four people maximum? Are they trying to form a dual-CP team?’ Su Liyue mused to herself. Her gaze swept over Liu Yuxuan, who stood beside Ye Xingchen, practically brimming with eagerness.

After a moment’s consideration, she immediately dismissed that option. They were clearly not the right team for him to join; a trio would be just right.

The instructor continued to explain the rules:

“There will be thirty Bronze-tier magical beasts, each worth 10 points; ten Silver-tier beasts, each worth 50 points; and after deliberation by the academy, an additional three Gold-tier magical beasts will be released for this event, each worth 150 points.

Discovering rare medicinal herbs or resources may earn additional points at the discretion of the judges. This competition will utilize a team scoring system.

All students may use their breakfast time to discuss and finalize their teams, after which you are to gather on the training grounds with your magic brooms for departure!”

Su Liyue quickly calculated in her mind: a total of 300 points for Bronze-tier, 500 for Silver-tier, and 450 for Gold-tier, plus the variable bonus points from resources.

It was evident that Silver-tier beasts would become the most sought-after targets, offering the best value at 50 points per beast, and they wouldn’t be too difficult to handle with team cooperation.

Under this competition format, teams with more members and greater strength would possess a significant advantage, while weaker students would either have to resort to sneaky tactics or resign themselves to finishing at the bottom.

She gazed thoughtfully at Ye Xingchen, and it seemed as though they understood each other with a single glance. The outcome of this competition could practically be foreseen from the team-forming stage; strength, connections, and strategic foresight would essentially determine the top three placings.

The real challenge, she suspected, would be dealing with other teams potentially ganging up to snatch their magic cores and resources.

After all, they surely weren’t the only ones to consider such a possibility.

“Qingqing,” Su Liyue began, “I’ve been thinking, let’s just add Ye Xingchen to form a trio. A triangle is the most stable structure, after all.”

If they were to add Liu Yuxuan to make a quadrilateral, it might even turn into a parallelogram, and just listening to his flirtatious remarks would be enough to give her a headache.

Mu Wanqing blinked her bright, sparkling eyes.

“Ye Xingchen is your boyfriend, so of course it’s fine to invite him! But Yueyue, how are we going to win? The instructor specifically emphasized that this competition is meant to train a mage’s personal abilities, and summoning familiars is strictly forbidden throughout.”

Forbidden familiars? Su Liyue smiled mysteriously. The academy was likely wary of the Xuanxiao Divine Phoenix disrupting the balance of the competition; if a divine beast of that caliber were to act, the match would probably end in an instant, leaving other students no chance to even perform.

However… She cast a meaningful glance at Ye Xingchen. The academy’s calculations were clearly mistaken; with this ‘convenient boyfriend’ who also served as a personal bodyguard, why would ending the competition be so troublesome?

Yet, to allow other students some practical experience, Ye Xingchen also felt there was no need to be overly ostentatious.

After all, being too high-profile could attract unwanted attention from the academy, not to mention their goal this time was merely the star ore and magical resources awarded to the top three.

Observing Su Liyue and Mu Wanqing, this brilliant duo of campus beauties, other students already regarded them as clear favorites to win the championship.

The only conspicuous element, perhaps, was Ye Xingchen, the ‘oddity’ sandwiched between the two blossoms. Nevertheless, the person in question remained perfectly composed; a slacker should have a slacker’s self-awareness.

“Qingqing,” Su Liyue whispered to Mu Wanqing,

“I estimate that as soon as the competition begins, most people will rush to claim the Silver-tier magical beasts. Only a few strong teams might dare to challenge the Gold-tier. Instead of fighting others for resources, why don’t we just secure the Gold-tier points directly?”

‘Even the strongest magical beasts prepared by the academy for apprentice mages would have their limits,’ she thought, ‘at most, they would be at the extreme end of what students could handle.’

It might be a challenge for other teams, but with her three years of dedicated magical research, it should pose no problem for her.

“Gold-tier?” Mu Wanqing secretly glanced at Ye Xingchen; he truly didn’t look like the type to withstand heavy damage.

“Yueyue, you’re challenging the highest difficulty right from the start? Are you planning to secure the championship directly?”

“Something like that,” Su Liyue blinked. “Once we’ve secured the Gold-tier magic cores, we’ll have ample time to collect the herbs on the mountain.”

Recalling the rare herbs from last night, each worth one gold coin, she couldn’t help but calculate this unexpected windfall. Through Ye Xingchen’s senses, the back mountain indeed held many precious resources suitable for alchemy.

“But…” Mu Wanqing voiced her concern, “If we obtain the magic cores first, won’t we become targets for other teams to rob? The competition doesn’t forbid snatching resources, after all.”

Su Liyue cast another meaningful glance at Ye Xingchen.

It was akin to a group of kindergarten children attempting to snatch candy from an adult, and what’s more, this ‘adult’ was an immortal cultivator of extraordinary power.

“Don’t worry,” Su Liyue chuckled softly. “With your popularity in the academy, boys either steer clear of you or are practically falling over themselves to curry favor.”

Mu Wanqing’s pretty face immediately flushed crimson. “N-no way! They’re not my type at all…”

“Mm-hmm,” Su Liyue nodded, feigning understanding. “Of course, strong beauties prefer boys who are even stronger than themselves.”

“So…” Mu Wanqing suddenly grew gossipy. “Besides being your childhood sweetheart, would Ye Xingchen be considered your ‘contrast boyfriend’ (TL Note: A ‘contrast boyfriend’ refers to a partner whose public image or perceived abilities are significantly different from their true, often superior, qualities, creating a surprising contrast)?”

Su Liyue was momentarily speechless. How was she supposed to explain this? Should she tell her best friend that Ye Xingchen, the ‘last-place student,’ was actually a hidden powerhouse, and she, the ‘genius campus beauty,’ was merely a small account being leveled up by him?

This sense of a ‘main account carrying a sub-account’ felt exactly like those ‘trash-to-treasure’ novels, except reality was the inverse.

To better ensure Su Liyue’s safety, Ye Xingchen was actually the one deliberately concealing his strength, capable of both providing close protection and helping Su Liyue rapidly grow.

“Well… none of that matters, really~” Su Liyue winked playfully, teasing with an Earth idiom: “When a hen marries a rooster, she follows the rooster; when she marries a dog, she follows the dog (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘jià jī suí jī, jià gǒu suí gǒu’, traditionally meaning a woman should adapt to her husband’s family or circumstances).

Since I’ve ‘married’ Xingchen, I’m his little moon, and he’s my little starry sky~”

After all, this ‘convenient boyfriend’ was essentially herself, so there was no need to worry about romantic disputes or disagreements.

“Yueyue!” Mu Wanqing exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise. “Are you planning to go public with your relationship?”

Go public? The corner of Su Liyue’s mouth twitched slightly. Although the entire academy now considered them an official couple, tacit understanding and a formal announcement were two entirely different matters.

She could almost imagine that once they officially went public, those suitors would undoubtedly challenge Ye Xingchen to duels every single day.

Wouldn’t that be akin to redirecting all the ‘flies’ that originally buzzed around her female body toward her male body instead?

Wait… why did that ‘redirecting targets’ analogy feel a little off…? ‘Before Ye Xingchen’s magic-conductive gun is complete, it’s probably best to maintain the status quo,’ Su Liyue mused to herself.

If such a situation were to arise now, dealing with it would undoubtedly entail a good deal of trouble.