Chapter 138 - 140: Declaration of Love
Jian Yu returned to the chief’s platform and came face-to-face with a dozen or so people.
They looked like they had been waiting there for a long time.
"The competition doesn’t restart for another half hour. We wanted to express our gratitude for what happened earlier."
They brought out a motley assortment of items, placing them one by one on the chief’s table.
"These are tokens of our thanks."
They were students from Emperor Wolf Star, wearing white wolf masks.
They placed one hand on their chests, the other behind their backs, and bowed slightly.
Jian Yu blinked. "You helped me too. There’s no need to be so formal."
The man in the lead said with a straight face, "Jian, it’s like this. We’d like to invite you to our academy..."
Someone behind him pulled him back, cutting him off. "Are you crazy? How dare you try to poach someone from our Chief!"
Meeting Xi Yu’s death glare, the group’s backs hunched over slightly.
Xi Yu wrapped an arm around Jian Yu’s waist, imprisoning her in his embrace.
After exchanging uneasy glances, the encounter ended with an apology from the Emperor Wolf Star People.
Seeing so many people, Jian Yu’s palms felt a little cold.
Once they left, the tension in her heart finally eased.
’Those wolf masks are pretty cool,’ she thought, ’but they don’t look easy to mess with.’
Xi Yu suddenly spoke. "The live broadcast from the stands hasn’t been turned off."
Ling Yanzhi, who was about to head back to Zone 5, paused.
He frowned. "It was turned off when the incident happened."
A glance at the monitor showed it had been turned back on after they arrived.
The broadcast was synced across the interstellar network, meaning Jian Yu’s earlier actions had been witnessed by everyone.
Shen Gu whispered, "Some people wanted to watch and were clamoring for it to be turned back on."
According to academy regulations, he couldn’t keep it off for too long anyway.
Ling Yanzhi glanced at the Star Network. "Everyone online is talking about it now."
He shrugged. "It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’ll have people manage the public opinion."
Jian Yu thought so too.
She was used to the human world and most likely wouldn’t go live with the Primordial Beast Clan People.
Besides, Shi Zhao had also said that human emotions contained the energy they needed.
Seeing Jian Yu’s lack of reaction, Ling Yanzhi understood that she also intended to reveal some of her abilities.
That was also why he had gone down to observe earlier but hadn’t intervened.
Xi Yu’s mind was in turmoil right now; there was no way he would let her go.
Ling Yanzhi retracted his gaze and could only pat Jian Yu’s head. "I’ll go with you to find the director tonight."
Jian Yu nodded. "Okay."
Ling Yanzhi might have told the Ling Family something, but the director’s side was still operating on old information.
’Worrying is useless. I’ll get to see the director tonight anyway.’
Jian Yu sat next to Xi Yu, her head resting on his shoulder, one of her hands held in his.
She exited the chat interface, opened the Star Network, and searched for related content.
Title: Another Unseen Soul Beast +1
[Red Flower Lake: At first, I thought she was from our Jellyfish Clan and was thinking of claiming her. But after a second look, I realize we’re probably not worthy.]
[East Wind Park: Is this video fake? It’s too over-the-top.]
[Di Yuan: Over-the-top? I was right there. The pressure was comparable to a Level 3S Soul Beast.]
[Diandianfeifei: It’s an Alliance live broadcast. Even though it’s an academy competition, it’s also a tournament for the Alliance of a hundred schools.]
[Dududugan: Shi Zhao from Emperor Source Star, his Soul Beast seems to have a fragrance too. People around him say that when he hatches an Exotic Beast Egg, he smells really fragrant.]
[Bing Fenfen: The main point is, as soon as she got close, the Spirit Contract with that Contracted Snake was broken.]
[Bing Fenfen: This means that in the future, it might become less difficult for us Half-awakened to form a Contract with an Alien Beast.]
[Yixiangtiankai: Or maybe for every one we contract, she’ll sever it.]
[...]
[Diandianfeifei: Gorgeous. I want her info right now, which academy, what’s her name? I’ll give you all four minutes!]
Jian Yu saw that more than four minutes had already passed.
She couldn’t help but reply: [It’s been 4 minutes, did you get it? Do you need me to tell you?]
[Diandianfeifei: Thanks, you kind soul. Everyone else thought I was just spouting nonsense. Oh, but some little ant told me.]
Jian Yu’s finger slid down the screen, and she saw Shen Gu’s usual profile picture.
’Not bad.’
’At least there aren’t many negative comments so far.’
Jian Yu’s gaze returned to the live broadcast screen.
The blue protective shield rose with a low rumble, and the same group of Alien Beasts from before emerged.
Fifteen Long-haired Flying Beasts hovered in mid-air, beating their wide, gray wings.
They looked like a flock of mutated bats with long white fur.
The other fifteen were Centipede Beasts.
They scurried along the ground, their legs too numerous to count.
Their armored plates and gray wings scraped against the ground, creating a harsh sound that was picked up clearly by the broadcast equipment.
She wasn’t sure who could appreciate their beauty; to Jian Yu’s eyes, they were just a bit hideously cute.
"These two types of Mutated Beasts are high-Level. They have temperaments similar to ling beasts and are notoriously aggressive," Shen Gu explained from the side.
"If the contestants can defeat them through sheer strength, forming a Contract will be very simple."
Shen Gu was about to say, "Alien Beasts like them don’t give up easily. Usually..."
Before he could finish, another uproar broke out in the stands.
Shen Gu stared blankly. "Are they... dancing?"
He saw the twenty-seven contestants in the arena looking just as dumbfounded as he was, watching the absurd scene unfold before them.
The thirty Alien Beasts were like declawed cats, completely devoid of any hostility.
Ignoring the contestants entirely, they scrambled to fly along the outer edge of the Beast Circle.
The Long-haired Flying Beasts flapped their gray wings very slowly, their movements gentle and deliberate.
They flew in low circles toward the chief’s platform, their calls becoming melodious, as if they were trying to curry favor.
The Centipede Beasts propped themselves up on their countless legs, arching their bodies into the most beautiful, attractive, elegant, and sexy curves possible.
Their front legs tapped the ground one by one, and their carapaces clacked out a regular rhythm. It was comical, but clearly an attempt to win favor.
The entire Seventh District arena fell deathly silent.
Everyone’s gaze shifted from the broadcast screen, turning in unison to look at Jian Yu’s back as they began to murmur amongst themselves.
"What are they doing?"
"It looks like they’re dancing for our academy’s Little Fairy."
"These are the Alien Beasts your academy provided, so do they only recognize the Little Fairy?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Your academy shipped them over."
"I think it has to do with that Jellyfish from before. My Soul Beast also really likes the way she smells."
"Oh my god, bro, mine too! Thank goodness you said something, or I would’ve thought I was suddenly turning into a pervert."
...
Feeling the numerous, heated gazes on her back, Jian Yu couldn’t help but press her lips together, her cheeks growing hot.
She’d lost control of her scent, and some of it had leaked out.
Xi Yu leaned in, sniffing her neck again and again. "Baby, you smell so good."
Shen Gu quietly interrupted Xi Yu’s frantic nuzzling. "Chief, what do we do now?"
It seemed the competition couldn’t continue.
Xi Yu calmed down and glanced over.
His voice was cold, his tone a bit wooden. "They aren’t rampaging."
Ling Yanzhi had told him he only needed to handle rampages, injuries, and forfeits.
Forfeiting in the arena was disgraceful, but not unheard of.
No one was forfeiting. The twenty-seven contestants just wished the Alien Beasts would stop dancing and at least give them a single glance!
They squatted down on the spot, their expressions gradually going numb.
"They won’t even look at us. All they care about is fawning over Jian on the chief’s platform."
"Some A-level Mutated Beasts these are. Clumsy and overeager. What’s the difference between them and a flock of peacocks showing off their feathers?"
"I want to dance for our school’s Little Fairy, too."
"..."
The other twenty-six contestants shot the speaker a look of contempt.