Zhou Yuan didn't know about the argument between his fans and some of the audience. At this moment, he was thinking about whether to do a few ten-pulls. Even if he failed, it didn't matter. He would just consider it as a cushion for 【energy cube production】, and tomorrow was the day he would start live streaming. Completing tasks would also replenish energy points, so he wouldn't even be unable to afford food.
After hesitating for a long time, Zhou Yuan still chose to give up and wait until after the live stream to claim all the rewards before pulling. This way, he would have some assurance. When he threw a hundred pulls, 【energy cube production】, you had to come out, whether you wanted to or not.
This day passed without much incident. While eating dinner, Zhou Yuan asked Liu Yongming about Li Feiyong and his Gym. Liu Yongming thought for a moment and said cheerfully:
“You’re talking about that kid from the Li family, right? I know Old Li. He’s similar to me. He retired from the army. He used to be a Fighting instructor at the battalion level in the army. After retiring, he opened a private Fighting-type Training Hall. His main Conkeldurr’s strength is similar to Big Red’s, but the others are a bit weaker.”
“Don’t even mention it, his Training Hall is quite successful. In recent years, he’s sent off quite a few students.”
“Huh?” Zhou Yuan was a little confused.
“I mean, he’s sent many students to the Pokémon universities they wanted to go to. After all, he used to be an instructor, so he has some methods for teaching people.” As if realizing he had misspoken, Liu Yongming explained a few sentences, then shifted the topic to Li Feiyong.
“I also know that kid from his family. He’s about your age, and his strength is decent. In a one-on-one battle, he definitely can’t beat you. I’m referring to Trainer-to-Trainer one-on-one battles. His Gurdurr has been with him since it was a Timburr. It’s been with him for about two or three years, I guess. He wasn’t old enough to capture a Pokémon before, so he didn’t really train it much. But even so, his starting point was higher than yours, yet you, with a Growlithe that was only ten-odd days old, managed to defeat him. You really brought honor to me! Now I have new bragging rights when I talk to Old Li.”
“But speaking of which, you sure know how to pick. This Growlithe is also impressive. It reached Normal Level in just over ten days, while Little Ka, from the same litter, is still at Novice Level. I don’t know if it’s naturally gifted or what.”
At this point, Zhou Yuan felt a little guilty, because he indeed didn't have much energy points at that time. All he could do was casually give Little Ka a berry when feeding the dog, but he really didn't have any extra energy cube for Little Ka. So, it seemed like the strength gap between the two siblings was very large.
“Alright, you’re a good kid. Tonight, I’ll talk to Old Li. You can go visit him tomorrow. You can also spar with the students in his Gym. It must be said that battles are quite effective for improving strength. And also, let Old Li see that my junior is stronger than his son, hahahahahahaha…”
Watching Uncle Liu getting a bit tipsy, Zhou Yuan shook his head and quietly moved the wine bottle away from him.
Putting down his bowl and walking out of the dining room, Zhou Yuan still heard Liu Yongming muttering behind him:
“Where’s my wine? Wasn’t it here just now? Am I drunk?”
…………
The next morning, Zhou Yuan got out of bed, relying on the biological clock he had developed during this period. He styled his hair like an adult, put on a handsome outfit… *cough*, after washing up, he came to the dining room for breakfast.
Liu Yongming, as usual, was wearing sports shorts and a tank top, drinking porridge. Today, it was preserved egg and lean meat porridge, with side dishes of steamed buns, and two boiled eggs were also placed next to Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan first served a bowl of porridge for the dog and placed it in front of him, adding an egg, before he started eating.
Slurping two mouthfuls of porridge, Liu Yongming spoke:
“Last night I called Old Li and told him. You can go directly today. His Training Hall is not far from here. There’s a suburban bus that goes there. After you leave the ranch, walk five or six hundred meters to the left and you’ll see the bus stop. Get off after three stops. When you come back, take the same bus. The bus stops running at 8 PM, so don’t stay too late and miss the last bus.”
After he finished speaking, Liu Yongming also finished his porridge, put down his bowl, and went out to milk Miltank.
Zhou Yuan finished the steamed buns and eggs, drank another bowl of porridge, helped the nanny aunt put away the dishes, and then took the dog, preparing to go visit Li Feiyong’s place.
While waiting for the bus at the bus stop, Zhou Yuan took out his phone to check messages and found that people were already chatting in the group early in the morning.
Wu Jinyan: “Classmates, there’s only one month left until school starts. Have you all gotten your initial Pokémon? If not, you need to hurry up, because the bond with a Pokémon takes time to cultivate. After school starts, there will be battle classes. I hope all classmates won’t take it lightly. It’s said that the battle class teacher this time was hired by the school with a heavy investment, precisely so that some students can achieve good rankings in the ‘Little Fire Emperor Cup’ in December.”
It was probably too early, and most people weren't up yet, so no one in the group responded to him for the time being. Zhou Yuan, after seeing his message, began to ponder.
If the news was true, it could actually prove many things.
First, judging from the school’s heavy investment in hiring a battle teacher, the school attaches great importance to this Little Fire Emperor Cup; since the school values it, it means the school will release resources to outstanding contestants to help them achieve better rankings in the competition, so there is a wave of resources to be obtained from the school.
Secondly, why would the school attach so much importance to this year’s Little Fire Emperor Cup? This indicates that this Little Fire Emperor Cup can attract public attention or has already attracted the attention of the upper echelons. In such a situation, if the school’s students achieve good rankings, it would bring great honor to the school. The former relates to subsequent enrollment, and the latter relates to next year’s education funding.
And whether it ultimately attracts public attention or if the upper echelons have already shown interest in this competition, the final competition rewards will not be bad, and may even be better than last year's.
After analyzing this information, the goal became very clear: first, enter the top eight in the Warm Pig Cup to secure a direct qualification for the Little Fire Emperor Cup. With this qualification, the school would provide some resource support, and combined with the resources he could obtain through the system, he would use these resources to help Little Growlithe break through to Senior Level, and after breaking through to Elite Level, use a Fire Stone to help it evolve. Then, he would achieve a good ranking in the Little Fire Emperor Cup to obtain this year's rewards. Perhaps the school would also reward students who entered the top few in the Little Fire Emperor Cup again, allowing him to benefit from both sides.
Although evolution brings a great deal of enhancement, a Growlithe at the late Normal Level or perfect Normal Level can directly enter Senior Level after evolving with a Fire Stone, but Pokémon evolved this way will have limited future achievements.
While still thinking, the suburban bus arrived.
After a half-hour ride, Zhou Yuan got off the bus. Looking at the “Li’s Training Hall” in front of him, which occupied a considerable area, Zhou Yuan didn’t know how to enter.
Although Uncle Liu had indeed called, he couldn’t just go up and knock on the door and say he was there to challenge the Gym, or Li Feiyong’s father would surely throw him out by the scruff of his neck.
As Zhou Yuan stood at the entrance, somewhat hesitant, some of the students inside the Training Hall had already noticed this stranger standing at the door. Although it was primarily a Fighting-type Training Hall, there were still some female students inside.
At this moment, these female students were the first to notice the handsome guy standing at the door, and they began to chatter in twos and threes:
“Hey, who do you think this handsome guy is looking for?”
“I don’t know, but he really looks so handsome.”
“I forgot to tell you, this is my boyfriend. He came to accompany me today.”
“Hahahaha, you little hussy, who doesn’t know you’re single normally? Now you see a handsome guy and say he’s your boyfriend. You’re not already wet, are you?”
“Oh, what are you saying…”
While they were chattering here, a student pushed open the door and walked out.
Zhou Yuan looked at the man in front of him. He didn’t seem very old and looked somewhat gentle and refined, like an academic. How did such a person end up in a Fighting Training Hall?
The man spoke, his voice gentle:
“Hello, may I ask who you are looking for?”
“Hello, I’m looking for Li Feiyong. He asked me to come over yesterday.”
“Oh? Are you Zhou Yuan, the one Little Junior Brother mentioned he met at the battle arena?”
“You know me?” Zhou Yuan was a little confused.
“Come in first,” the man said while opening the door for Zhou Yuan. Seeing Zhou Yuan follow him in, he continued:
“Yesterday at noon, Little Junior Brother came back and said he met a Trainer using a Growlithe at the battle arena who defeated his Gurdurr, and he invited him to visit the Training Hall.”
“Oh, by the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Zhu Yishan. I’m Master’s eldest disciple. Although Feiyong is Master’s son, he started learning quite late, so we basically call him Little Junior Brother.”
As he spoke, he led Zhou Yuan to the reception area and poured him a glass of water.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go call Junior Brother.”
Zhou Yuan nodded, and Zhu Yishan turned and walked towards the back of the Gym.
Zhou Yuan surveyed the environment of the Training Hall and found that its structure was actually very similar to an old-fashioned siheyuan (quadrangle courtyard), but with some modifications. The front part consisted of the main training hall and a simple reception area. Walking further into the hall, what used to be the courtyard was now converted into an outdoor training Ground, complete with a four-hundred-meter track.
To the left of the outdoor training Ground was likely a storeroom, for training equipment, Fighting gear, and the like. To the right, seen through a glass door, appeared to be a Gym, with quite a few fitness machines inside.
Walking further in from the outdoor training Ground, it was probably the formal reception room and conference room, and the living space for Li Feiyong’s family should be behind the conference room, which could effectively avoid intrusion from others’ sight.
While Zhou Yuan was observing the Training Hall, other students not far away were also observing him.
Aside from those few infatuated female students, there were also some male students training. Seeing the only few “golden flowers” in the Training Hall almost being lured away by an outsider, they were naturally displeased. Although they didn’t deliberately provoke Zhou Yuan with their actions, they probably all knew that this person was here to spar at the Training Hall after hearing Li Feiyong’s account of what happened yesterday. When they battled, they would defeat him soundly and show the female classmates who was the most handsome.
After waiting for a while, Zhou Yuan heard a familiar voice:
“Zhou Yuan, you’re here! You came so early. I hadn’t even reacted when Senior Brother came to find me.”
Following the sound, it was the somewhat handsome Li Feiyong walking over.
“Didn’t I say ‘next time for sure’ yesterday? Here I am,” Zhou Yuan said with a smile.
“Hahahaha, good, it’s good you came. Today, you can beat them all up. Have you eaten? If not, come with me to the back to eat.”
“I already ate before coming. Should we start battling directly or follow the procedure?”
“Oh, so you’re here to challenge the Gym today, kid? It’s still a bit early, and not everyone has arrived yet. Let me introduce you to our Training Hall first. By the time I finish, most people should be here, and then we can battle.”
Li Feiyong waved to Zhou Yuan, turned, and led him deeper into the Training Hall.