The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 77 - 75: Raise Eyebrows and Breath out Relief_1

"Miss Xinfei, shouldn’t we leave now?"

"The next competition has no attraction at all without your participation."

"Yes, yes, how about we go to the Gold Waving Building? I have reserved the largest private room to celebrate for Miss Xinfei!"

Upon returning to the audience seats, Wang Xinfei remains the center of attention.

The blue star hanging on her chest shines brightly, matching perfectly with her beauty that’s said to overshadow fish and geese.

However, Miss Xinfei under the spotlight did not immediately respond to the flattering suggestions around her.

First, she took a hand-woven silk scarf and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Then, from the offered fruit plate, she picked up a clean apple and fed it to her pet Kui Kui.

"Hee hee~~~"

The armored horse wagged its tail happily and let out a loud fart.

The air around them thickens, and everyone’s smile stiffens.

Not until someone took out a fan with golden silk edges and waved it to produce a cool breeze did the unpleasant smell finally dissipate.

"Let’s sit for a while and watch the competition."

Wang Xinfei muttered to herself, then took a seat, habitually crossing her legs.

Her crimson eyes fluttered, glancing alluringly at the racetrack, scrutinizing each of the contestants in the second round.

"It’s rare for Miss Xinfei to be interested."

The sycophants immediately filled the seats with cheerful smiles.

"Thinking back, three months ago, Miss Xinfei participated in the novice-level Clay Body contest and won without a hitch."

"Who would have thought that just three months later, she swept the competition at the Advanced Clay Body level!"

"Yes, when Miss Xinfei was standing on the award-winning platform just now, she seemed to be shining, stunning all the audience!"

"Could it be—"

"Because these people are too weak?"

Wang Xinfei, with her arms around her chest, lifted her chin, and in her melodious voice, there was utter confidence:

"Besides, isn’t it inevitable that I win?"

"Indeed, indeed!"

The sycophants chimed in agreement.

Flattering smiles filled their faces. The students who snuck glances scowled or continued to envy.

"Ah, prestige is good to have..."

"But, even though Miss Xinfei is awesome, her proud demeanor is quite unpleasant ..."

"Hush, don’t stir up trouble. Be careful next time you go to the dueling arena, someone might block your way!"

...

Hearing these interesting conversations, Ye Hanjun, standing amidst the crowd, always wore an inscrutable smile.

Then, he stretched lazily and stared nonchalantly at the track.

The competition ... had started!

"Bang!"

At the sound of the command, the contestants on the track simultaneously jumped.

They landed expertly on the backs of their Contracted Spirits, grasping their horns or hugging their necks, their eager and determined eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Heya! The first one to reach the finish line gets a ten-day feast!"

"Haha, dream on! This star, we brothers will surely take it!!"

Abrasive voices echoed over the track.

Zhao Xiong and Zhao Li, a pair of sturdy but small-framed twins.

One riding a Fenglang, the other a Swift Leopard.

Both of these spirits belong to the agile and offensive wild beasts.

Compared to other wild beasts, they’re fragile.

But they possess a great advantage in speed.

Any observant person could see that the knight’s mad rush competition is perfectly suited to these brothers.

With barely any suspense, they rushed to first and second place, leaving the third place behind by several hundred meters.

"Hiss... These two only enrolled two months ago, didn’t they? Such confident performances, quite good indeed ..."

"Look, they’re not just rushing to the front. They’re also suppressing the running line of the third-place contestant."

"Whenever the third place tries to overtake them, the Fenglang and Swift Leopard present an ambush angle!"

"No wonder! So it’s not a single-person competition. Aren’t the referees going to intervene? Or do the rules allow this?"

"It probably isn’t against the rules... It’s genuinely distasteful, though. As for monopolizing the stars, they might actually achieve it ..."

The second round of the competition isn’t as lively as the first in terms of cheers.

But because of the unexpected emergence of the Zhao brothers, the competition became more intriguing. At least Wang Xinfei, seated amongst a group of young masters, became immersed in the competition.

It was then, in tandem with a series of grating caws, the Pink Ostrich at fifth place suddenly went berserk.

It changed its path, bolting towards the right, forcing the fourth place to dodge to prevent collision.

Then the ostrich, defying normality, ceased its forward sprint, turning half its body to the side, and started dashing aimlessly.

Skill... Rushing Around!

Once this skill is activated, it’s hard for the spirit to adjust its angle or stop on command.

Normally, it’s only feasible to use this skill in an open area combat scenario, where it’s one against many and there’s no need to consider friendly fire.

But obviously, Su Mei had her own ideas. She used this move to disrupt the racing contestants, causing a massive chaos.

A handful of groups collided with each other due to this, with the weakest being flung off. Although it didn’t look injured, it surely lost face.

"Damn you!"

"Smelly ostrich, I’ll butcher you!"

Amid the barrage of curses, Su Mei, clutching the Ostrich’s neck tightly, remained unfazed

Her gaze was fixated on the three people who had pulled almost half a circle ahead of her. On her right pinky, an outline of a ring slowly materialized in silence.

"Tuotuo, let’s go!"

"Gah!!!"

The pink ostrich that had been staggering after a few random bumps finally steadied itself, its head wobbling slightly. A gleam of brilliance appeared in its somewhat dazed big eyes.

It felt the power! The power of the wind!

"Gah! Gah-Gah-Gah!"

(งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)ง

To the onlookers, the ostrich seemed to have been injected with adrenaline, fervently chasing the competitor in third place.

The group of knights trailing behind it barely managed to regain order, readying themselves to pursue once more.

They could only watch as the ostrich ran faster and faster, becoming more and more excited.

Its wide and powerful long legs, like metallic hooves striking the ground, left behind a long trail of shallow marks.

"Puff——"

Invisibly, Ye Hanjun seemed to hear a faint crackling noise.

He revealed a somewhat surprised expression, and a few seconds later, his lips pursed slightly, exposing his concealed laughter.

This ostrich actually had a breakthrough in the middle of the race.

It was earlier than expected, but still reasonably expected.

"Wow!"

Despite Su Mei’s tight grip, the sudden increase in speed still startled her.

Once she realized what had happened, her eyes sparkled brightly, like two little suns rising high above.

"That’s so cool!"

"The extreme speed training Master Han planned hasn’t even officially begun yet!"

"Tuotuo! You’ve done so well! To have a breakthrough under the watchful eyes of so many people! You’re amazing!"

Su Mei didn’t speak, simply stroking the feathers on the ostrich’s head.

But her captivating expression of surprise, followed by delighted excitement, was telltale of her joy.

"Lucky girl, she’s going to win," said Wang Xinfei in a calm voice before rising to leave.

"There’s nothing left to see. I’ll go first."

"Eh? Miss Xinfei, wait for us!"

Certain sycophants, without a second’s hesitation, scurried after her.

Others, reluctant to leave, kept looking back, wanting to witness the dark horse - the green-haired girl- defeat the Zhao Brothers.

"Ah Leopard, charge at it!"

"Roar!"

The pair of the Zhao family turned tense as they saw the pink object, mere hand’s reach away while leaving the third-place contender in the dust and continuing its unstoppable chase.

They attempted to block its path, the Swift Leopard and Fenglang bared their teeth and claws, trying to intimidate.

But as they came close, they could feel its unstoppable momentum. The two wild beasts, not being very good at confrontation, dared not challenge it head-on.

"Whoosh——"

The pink ostrich surpassed the two, landing in first place.

It continued to run wildly, like a meteor catching up with the moon, passing all the slower competitors, completing a whole extra lap around them.

...

"Congratulations... Congratulations to our winner..."

The host was also stunned.

But under his professional code of conduct, he glanced at the name on his script and quickly matched it to the pink ostrich’s number.

"Congratulations, Su Mei! She had a breakthrough in the middle of the race and won first place in the group competition with a perfect performance!"

A sparse round of applause echoed.

Everyone’s eyes followed the short green-haired girl as she placed the dazzling blue star on the chest of the pink ostrich.

"Gah!"

This time, no one commented on its irritating noises any longer.

Although the ostrich did not quite understand why these bipedal creatures were staring at it.

It bowed its head, noting its legs were a bit longer, wings a bit wider, and even its feather colors seemed to be more radiant.

Its bright, big eyes brightened, looking at its owner with pride.

─=≡Σ(((つ•̀ 3•́)つ

"Hump..."

Coming in second place, Zhao Xiong also received an Outstanding Star.

But his face was pale. He stared at the girl beside him, as if he wanted to imprint her appearance on his mind, very unwilling to accept the reality.

"She just stepped in dog shit!"

"If it wasn’t for your breakthrough during the race, you wouldn’t even get third place!"

"Hee-hee, maybe~"

Without getting angry, Su Mei showed him a sunny smile, waved her hand, and jumped back onto the ostrich’s back. She dashed off.

Ye Hanjun, who had quietly left the scene at some point, stood at the entrance, smiling without saying a word.

He didn’t make any gestures, merely exchanged a glance with Su Mei who was very far away, then quietly slipped away with the crowd.

The first disciple made him feel proud for the first time.

As her mentor, he should reward her a bit, right?

Thinking about it... since she had an early breakthrough and even naturally understood her second skill...

How about changing to a new training method? Increase the difficulty and pressure, continue to cheer her on, okay?

As Ye Hanjun rubbed his chin, a devilish smile appeared on his face.