186: Chapter 186 Little Spirit Fox's Advancement

Lu Cheng had just closed the door when his terminal began to vibrate frantically.

Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz!

Lu Cheng looked down.

Ninety-nine plus unread messages.

He refreshed it again.

Still ninety-nine plus.

"..."

Lu Cheng was silent for two seconds.

The Little Spirit Fox lay on his shoulder, tilting its head to look at the terminal.

"Ying?"

The news of the foreign delegations coming to the Dragon Kingdom for exchanges had been officially announced nationwide.

Five delegations, global live broadcast.

Even though the official announcement was written with restraint—using terms like "friendly exchanges," "mutual progress," and "showcasing the spirit of the younger generation"—anyone with even a little understanding knew that these exchanges were essentially for the whole world to see.

Especially since Lu Cheng's name also appeared on the Dragon Kingdom delegation list.

This caused the No. 3 High School class group chat to explode.

[Holy crap! Is Lu Cheng really in the national delegation?]

[Wait, wasn't he fighting a War General at the Qian Family a few days ago? Why is he fighting foreigners now?]

[Brothers, we are still preparing for the martial arts exam, and he is already winning glory for the country.]

[Brother Lu, do you still remember me from by the lake at No. 3 High School?]

[Brother Lu, can you bestow some blood energy upon me before the martial arts exam?]

[Do you guys think it'll work if I move the chair Lu Cheng used to sit on home and worship it?]

Lu Cheng's eyelid twitched as he read this; what kind of nonsense was this.

The Shengwu Society side was no better.

Chen Zhanfeng sent over a dozen messages in a row.

[Brother Lu, hit them hard tomorrow!]

[Especially that Nordic Union god-son; just the name sounds pretentious.]

After seeing this, Lu Cheng thought about it and decided to reply.

[OK, watch me!]

The No. 3 High School group was still flooding the screen.

Lu Cheng thought for a moment and replied with a unified message.

[Lu Cheng: You guys focus on preparing for the martial arts exam. Stop worshipping me all day; I'm not a statue.]

The message was just sent.

The group was quiet for two seconds.

Then it became even crazier.

[It's alive!]

[Brother Lu replied to me!]

[Screenshot! Screenshot!]

Lu Cheng: "..."

Forget it.

These people were hopeless.

He added one more sentence.

[Good luck on the martial arts exam.]

Then he decisively turned off the terminal.

The room finally quieted down.

Outside the window was the night view of the Imperial Capital.

The lights of the commercial street flowed below, the levitating rails passed between the high-rise buildings, and in the distance, the Central Arena had already lit up its circular light screen, making final adjustments for tomorrow's live broadcast.

After washing up, Lu Cheng sat by the bed.

The Little Spirit Fox had already naturally occupied the most comfortable spot on the pillow.

It curled into a ball, tail covering the tip of its nose, the pale gold star pattern between its brows glowing slightly.

Lu Cheng checked the time.

Eleven fifty-nine.

He suddenly remembered something.

"Is today the third pet card?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the system prompt lit up.

[Daily pet card issued]

[Current Little Spirit Fox pet card count: 3 / 3]

[Conditions for star advancement met]

[Advance star?]

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

"Advance."

The next second, the Little Spirit Fox on the bed suddenly opened its eyes.

Silver-blue starlight lit up from beneath it, and a circle of fine star patterns slowly expanded.

The Little Spirit Fox seemed to be wrapped in a ball of soft starlight, its snow-white fur moving without wind, and the pale gold star pattern between its brows became clearer.

Starlight circulated.

Silver-blue light dust drifted down from the air.

A few seconds later, the Little Spirit Fox landed gently back on the bed.

Its size was slightly larger than before, still cute, but with an added touch of agile mystery.

The system panel popped up.

[Little Spirit Fox → Spirit Fox · One Tail]

[Pet Name]: Spirit Fox · One Tail

[Race]: Nine-Yao Spirit Fox · Juvenile

[Growth Stage]: Juvenile Period

[Strength Rating]: Second Order Peak

[Equivalent Human Realm]: Approximately Source Gathering Realm Peak

[Attribute]: Ice

[Size Change]: Size increased slightly, the second illusory tail shadow behind it condensed into the first real spirit tail. The tip of the tail is permanently tinged with silver-blue starlight, and the pale gold star pattern between the brows is clearer, glowing slightly like stars during battle.

[New Features]:

[One-Tail Yao Pattern]: The first spirit tail is fully awakened, capable of mobilizing Source Power starlight more stably, comprehensively enhancing the effects of its fox fire, shield, and phantom sound.

[New Abilities]:

[Star Frost Fox Fire]: The fox fire carries a slight frost effect, which can reduce the enemy's movement speed upon impact and leave the chill of star frost on the wound.

[One-Tail Star Shield]: An evolved ability of Spirit Tail Protecting the Master. The shield thickness is increased, no longer just blocking fatal attacks, but can also actively block a stronger attack for the master.

[Spirit Fox Stepping on Stars]: The Little Spirit Fox's short-distance movement speed is greatly increased, with faint star points appearing under its feet when running, which can be used for quick evasion in battle or to pounce on enemies to interfere.

[Phantom Sound · Star Confusion]: An enhanced version of Spirit Fox Phantom Sound, with more stable hallucinatory effects. It can cause instantaneous directional confusion for enemies of the same realm, and can also create brief hesitation for enemies of higher realms.

Lu Cheng looked at the panel, his eyes brightening slightly.

"Second Order Peak?"

This growth speed is pretty good.

Although it couldn't compare to his cheating, it was already quite outrageous for a spirit pet to change every day.

Spirit Fox · One Tail seemed to feel its own changes too.

It looked down at its tail and flicked it gently.

The starlight at the tip of the tail drew a beautiful arc in the air.

The next second, it looked up at Lu Cheng.

Its ice-blue eyes were sparkling.

"Ying!"

It pounced directly into Lu Cheng's arms.

Lu Cheng reached out to catch it.

The little guy rubbed its head against his chest; it knew that Lu Cheng had brought it this evolution.

Lu Cheng stroked its head.

"Alright."

"Tomorrow is a global live broadcast, don't run around."

The Little Spirit Fox blinked.

"Ying."

The next day.

Imperial Capital Central Arena.

Just as the sky brightened, the area outside the entire Arena was already crowded with people.

A huge circular light screen hung in the air, with the flags and delegation logos of various countries lighting up one by one.

City-wide media, official channels, martial arts platforms, and campus live broadcast platforms were all connected simultaneously.

This exchange tournament was not just a competition between students from the very beginning.

It was a public display of the strength of the younger generation from various countries.

It was also a silent contest before the distribution of restricted ruins on the high seas.

The number of viewers in the live stream soared all the way.

Ten million.

Thirty million.

Fifty million.

Soon, the number of global concurrent viewers exceeded one hundred million.

At the commentary desk.

Sister Bai sat in the main seat.

She was wearing a professional white commentary outfit, her long hair tied behind her head, with a professional yet approachable smile on her face.

Since the last high school student competition commentary, her fame had risen significantly.

Especially Lu Cheng's performance in the competition, which made the clips of her commentary explode in views.

This time, the official invitation for her to commentate on the youth exchange tournament carried the implication of an "acquaintance perspective."

Sister Bai looked at the camera and smiled.

"Good morning, audience friends."

"This is the Imperial Capital Central Arena."

"Starting today is the International Youth Martial Arts Exchange Tournament."

"There are five delegations participating in this exchange tournament: the Dragon Kingdom, the Nordic Union, the Eagle Country, Sakura Island, and the Tianlan Ancient Kingdom, which has not appeared publicly for many years."

"I believe many viewers have already noticed that there is a name very familiar to everyone in this Dragon Kingdom delegation."

Speaking of this, Sister Bai paused, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.

"Lu Cheng."

The barrage in the live room exploded instantly.

[Brother Lu!]

[Sister Bai is commentating on Lu Cheng again!]

[I could tell from the last high school student competition, these two are fated.]

Sister Bai was not affected by the barrage and continued to introduce the process.

Soon.

The first delegation entered.

The Nordic Union.

They wore unified white and gold combat uniforms, with a cold temperament, as if they had walked out of snowfields and temples.

At the very front was the silver-haired youth, Reinhardt Moon-Hunter.

He was not tall, looking almost like a young boy, but when those moon-silver eyes swept across the camera, many people in the live room subconsciously went quiet for a moment.

Sister Bai began to introduce.

"The first core member of the Nordic Union, Reinhardt Moon-Hunter."

"It is rumored that he obtained the power of the Goddess of Hunting and the Moon, Artemis. He is at the Meridian Opening Realm peak, yet has a record of solo-killing a Hua Hai Realm peak exotic beast."

"He is one of the most watched contestants in this exchange tournament."

Behind Reinhardt was a tall, blonde girl.

She held an ice crystal spear, her eyes cold, with snowflake-shaped patterns on her forehead.

"The second, Elsa · Frost Spear."

"The melee representative of the Nordic Union's younger generation, possessing the inheritance of the Frost Giant ruins, Meridian Opening Realm peak, with extremely strong frontal assault capabilities."

The third person was a black-haired youth.

He wore a black wolf-skin cape, a beast tooth necklace hanging around his neck, and had a wild smile.

"The third, Holder · Black Wolf."

"It is said that he inherited the remnant blood of Fenrir, and his speed, tearing ability, and night tracking ability are extremely dangerous."

The Nordic Union team had just entered, and the atmosphere had already been pushed up a notch.

Immediately after, it was the Eagle Country delegation.

Their style was completely different.

Metal, technology, modifications, cold white lights.

Adam Gray, who was at the very front, wore a special black combat suit, the mechanical nerve conduits behind his spine glowing slightly, making him look like a war machine pieced together from mythical remains and technology.

Sister Bai's voice became a bit more serious.

"The first core of the Eagle Country, Adam Gray."

"Hua Hai Realm early stage, with extremely strong recovery capabilities, once killed a Hua Hai Realm high-stage monster."

Beside Adam was a silver-haired girl.

Her pupils were pale gold, her arms covered in white mechanical prosthetics, with micro-source energy cannon ports in her palms.

"The second, Eve · White Tower."

"A mental-link type modifier cultivated by the Eagle Country's White Tower Laboratory, skilled in remote control and battlefield data analysis."

On the other side was a burly youth.

There was an obvious suture mark on his neck, his shoulders were terrifyingly broad, and every step he took felt like a heavy hammer hitting the ground.

"The third, Logan Steel-Skull."

"A representative of the physical enhancement route, with multiple mythical-grade alloy skeletons implanted in his body, possessing extremely strong resistance to attacks."

Subsequently entering was Sakura Island.

Unlike the previous two teams, except for the leading girl, the other six wore unified...

Shrine Maiden · Jinguji Ayane.

She wore a white and red shrine maiden outfit, her black hair like a waterfall, holding a sacred sword, walking into the field with a cold expression.

When the camera landed on her face, the barrage paused for a moment.

[So pretty.]

[Is this the Sakura Island shrine maiden?]

Sister Bai introduced:

"Sakura Island representative, Jinguji Ayane."

"Meridian Opening Realm middle stage, possesses a record of killing a Hua Hai Realm middle stage exotic beast!"

Lu Cheng stood in the Dragon Kingdom's entrance passage, looking at Jinguji Ayane on the field.

The latter seemed to notice something and turned her gaze slightly.

Their eyes met briefly.

Jinguji Ayane's expression remained cold, with some confusion in her eyes.

But Lu Cheng inexplicably felt that she seemed to have nodded slightly.

Hmm.

Douzhi Saintess, in good condition.

Subsequently, the Tianlan Ancient Kingdom entered.

The seven of them were uniformly dressed in ancient-style robes, with strange silver patterns embroidered on the fabric, and their temperament was completely different from modern martial artists.

Leading them was a black-haired youth with a vertical mark on his forehead and an indifferent expression.

"Tianlan Ancient Kingdom representative, Lan Jin, Meridian Opening Realm peak."

Beside Lan Jin was a white-haired girl.

She stepped barefoot on the ground, with silver bells tied to her ankles, and every step she took, the surrounding Source Power would gently ripple.

"The second, Yue Wujiu, Meridian Opening Realm middle stage."

The third person was a smiling youth.

He held a bronze compass, walking slowly, as if he didn't care much about anything around him.

"The third, Yun Qi, Meridian Opening Realm late stage."

Sister Bai's tone was significantly more cautious when she said this.

"The Tianlan Ancient Kingdom has been sealed for many years; this is their first time sending the younger generation to participate in a public exchange."

"Their true strength might become the biggest variable in this exchange tournament."

Finally.

The Dragon Kingdom delegation entered.

Heavenly King Lin carried a giant axe, Gu Changqing carried a sword on his back, Xu Xinglan held a rune pen, Ye Beihan had an indifferent expression, Jiang Xuance was followed by the Red-Armored Zheng, and Tang Zhiwei had a gentle smile.

And Lu Cheng, walking in the middle-back position, held a snow-white Spirit Fox in his arms.

The star pattern on the forehead of that Spirit Fox was bright, and the spirit tail behind it glowed with silver-blue starlight.

The moment the camera turned to Lu Cheng, the cheers of the entire venue surged!