Under Duress from Gongsun Shuang, Xia Huna completed the reluctant task of placing his little princess in Gongsun Shuang's care for dance lessons. To further his own martial arts training under Gongsun Xue, he promptly secured lodging at an inn near the Gongsun sisters' courtyard, pre-paying for a full month.
A month vanished in the blink of an eye. Both Xia Huna and Gua Gua showed visible improvements in their combat prowess, while the little princess had acquired a considerable repertoire of dance skills from Gongsun Shuang. The only source of dissatisfaction for Gongsun Shuang was Xia Huna's persistent refusal to utilize—
Huang Tianxiao looked around. "It's the Sprite Grand Prix, you haven't heard anything about it?"
Xia Huna scratched his head. "Sprite Grand Prix? Where did you get this piece of gossip?"
Huang Tianxiao exclaimed, "So this news is actually fake? That can't be right. I distinctly heard Sister Gongsun mention it."
Xia Huna tilted his head. "Hold on a second, I'll go inquire."
With that, Xia Huna pulled out his notebook and approached Zheng Xiaoxiao to get to the bottom of this so-called Grand Prix. Before long, Zheng Xiaoxiao had forwarded all the information she had to Xia Huna. As Xia Huna read the message, he felt as though both his eyes were twitching.
Huang Tianxiao, noticing Xia Huna's peculiar expression, asked, "Coach Xia, what's wrong?"
Xia Huna turned his notebook towards Huang Tianxiao. "See for yourself. This Grand Prix is quite interesting."
Zheng Xiaoxiao, true to her status as a Champion-level Trainer, had sourced information far more accurate than Xia Huna's. The few pages of documents she sent practically dissected the entire Grand Prix.
This year's Minglong Country Sprite Grand Prix was divided into two categories: one for participants under twenty years old, and another for those up to twenty-five. All trainers were eligible to register. Beyond that, it was no different from any ordinary Grand Prix.
After reviewing the competition details, Huang Tianxiao remarked, "When does registration begin? I absolutely must participate. The chance to spar with trainers from all over the country is incredibly exciting."
Xia Huna agreed with Huang Tianxiao's sentiment, but he harbored significant doubts about this Grand Prix.
After all, in past Grand Prix events, only the annual Collegiate Sprite Competition could be loosely considered an age-restricted event. Other competitions typically imposed trainer-level restrictions, never age limits. And this time, the restriction was divided into two age groups, under twenty and under twenty-five. Xia Huna refused to believe this was a coincidence.
While Huang Tianxiao was already envisioning forging deep friendships with formidable opponents from across the nation, Xia Huna was busy constructing a grand conspiracy theory.
In his opinion, the under-twenty category seemed tailor-made for him. After all, at twenty, Xia Huna would be around his third year of university. These trainers were already filtered through the college entrance examination and the collegiate Sprite Competition annually; there was no need for another such event. If Xia Huna were to participate, while it might sound arrogant, he was confident he would face little resistance before the top sixteen.
Xia Huna stroked his chin. He couldn't fathom who, or for what reason, would orchestrate such a competition to lure him in. However, he was certain it was a conspiracy.
At this point, Huang Tianxiao finally calmed down and asked Xia Huna, "Coach Xia, will you be participating in this competition?"
Xia Huna shook his head. "I'm not planning to. My situation is a bit awkward."
Xia Huna couldn't possibly say, "I suspect someone is setting a trap for me, so I'm not going." Huang Tianxiao, however, didn't understand what Xia Huna meant by "awkward." "Awkward? How so?"
Xia Huna turned the notebook back to him. "Which category do you think I should compete in?"
Huang Tianxiao didn't hesitate. "Of course, the under-twenty category. With Coach Xia's abilities, you'd undoubtedly..."
He trailed off, then continued, "With Coach Xia's abilities, competing in the under-twenty category wouldn't offer much in terms of growth. Naturally, you should compete in the twenty-five..."
He stopped again. He himself wasn't too confident about the twenty-five category. While Coach Xia was incredibly strong, you couldn't expect him to unleash his full power in every match, could you?
Seeing Huang Tianxiao's expression, Xia Huna said, "So, this competition is basically designed to work against me. It's either dominating weak opponents or being dominated myself. How can I possibly participate?"
The very next day after Xia Huna decided to be a mere spectator, the publicity for the Sprite Grand Prix exploded. Walking down the street, Xia Huna could hear people everywhere discussing the competition. Even the Rainbow Star Mall had erected a giant billboard, announcing an 80% discount on all merchandise for participating contestants during the event.
"They really know how to do business. Should we create some new products for this competition, perhaps update our battle simulator?"
Musing, Xia Huna pulled out his phone, intending to ask Zhang Hong. After all, as the technical backbone of the Awakener team, Zhang Hong held considerable sway. Unexpectedly, the moment he sent the message, Zhang Hong's call came through. "Hello, Boss Xia."
Xia Huna glanced at the time on his phone. "No, isn't this class time? How dare you use your phone. Aren't you afraid Teacher Bai will scold you?"
"We're on break. A long break."
Xia Huna blinked in surprise. "What? A long break? What's gotten into the school? Giving senior high students a long break? Until when? Won't it just extend into the winter break?"
"Boss Xia, your foresight is uncanny. Precisely as you said."
Xia Huna felt that Elder Zhong Dingyi had gone mad. Didn't he care about the school's graduation rates at all?
"It's like this. With the Grand Prix coming up, all the universities nationwide are paying close attention. Showing outstanding performance in this competition will catch the eye of universities. Attending classes is not as beneficial as seizing this opportunity."
Xia Huna nodded. Indeed, in the remaining time, even with intensive cramming, there wouldn't be any drastic improvements. The performance of senior high students in this competition would largely reflect their performance in the college entrance examination.
"You're right. I was going to ask you about developing new equipment, but I suppose that can wait."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong quickly replied, "No, no, please don't. Do you think participating in this competition is meaningful for me? You can't even defeat anyone, and I can't either. Rather than participating, it's better to research new equipment. Besides, the final round of the twenty-year-old group is three-on-three, so I can't participate."
Xia Huna chuckled. "Oh ho, you've grown ambitious. Setting quite the goal for yourself, aiming for the finals."
"Goals are... are always necessary."
Xia Huna smiled. "Snivy, Pignite, and Foongus. I think you should have at least three sprites by now. If not, go out for a stroll and find another sprite you take a liking to. While difficult, it's not impossible."
Zhang Hong sighed. "Boss Xia, instead of giving me advice, why don't you worry about your little wife? I don't think her sprites are enough either."
Xia Huna listened. "You have a point. I should go check on my little Yu. I'll hang up now then."
"No, boss, why are you like this? Can't you chat with me a little longer?"
Xia Huna ignored Zhang Hong's pleas on the phone and promptly hung up, then dialed Shen Yu. "Xiao Yu, good morning. Have you registered for the Grand Prix?"
Shen Yu's voice on the other end was sweet. "Good morning. I have registered, yes. Even if I can't achieve a particularly outstanding result, I should still challenge myself."
Xia Huna felt deeply gratified. As expected of my Xiao Yu, her mindset is far superior to Zhang Hong's.
"Would you like me to come back and train with you?"
"Is that okay? You should be very busy lately."
"Not busy at all. My break lasts until March next year, before the Collegiate Sprite Competition begins. It's settled then. I'll buy my ticket now."
Although Shen Yu tried to persuade Xia Huna, he seemed to have made up his mind. Nothing she said could sway him. After hanging up, he intended to pick up Diancie and return to Jinghai City to train with Shen Yu.
However, before he could put down his phone, it rang again. Xia Huna glanced down. "Who is this? I don't even recognize the number."
He hung up, but the phone rang again a few seconds later. Annoyed, Xia Huna pressed the call button and immediately unleashed his fury. "Hello, have you gotten addicted to harassing phone calls? Do you know I have a brother named Yu Longdu? If he gets angry, he can transform into a Charizard and burn you to ashes!"
The other end went silent for a moment, then Xia Huna's familiar voice echoed from the receiver. "Oh really? I wasn't aware I was that capable."
Xia Huna felt a slight awkwardness. "Cough, yes, yes, it's A'Du. Why are you calling me?"
Yu Longdu sighed from the other end. "Come to the Alliance Headquarters. I need to see you."
Xia Huna was perplexed. "Me? What do you need me for?"
"Don't ask, just come quickly. This is extremely important." With that, Yu Longdu hung up directly. Listening to the dial tone, Xia Huna squeezed his phone. "Karma. It's my turn to be hung up on..."