Chapter 511 - 306: To Carry on the Lost Teachings of Past Sages

’No. If I do it that way, I’m afraid Lilith’s White Flame Soldier’s Blade won’t break through a sand wolf’s Sandstorm.’

’What if we fight from a distance? No, that won’t work either. That’s not Lilith’s strong suit...’

「In the dorm.」

Fang Yuan sat at the living room table, frowning in deep thought. The scratch paper before him was a chaotic mess of diagrams and erased lines, with several crumpled wads of paper already piled to the side.

He was reviewing tonight’s ranking matches and simulating scenarios on paper: what should they do if they faced the opponents from the Southern Desert in the elimination tournament?

Lilith stayed by Fang Yuan’s side, her pale pink eyes blinking. One paw gently tugged at the corner of his clothes, while the other held the takeout box Shao Ya had brought back for them.

Lilith really wanted Fang Yuan to eat first.

But seeing how engrossed he was, she knew he was busy and didn’t disturb him.

Fang Yuan would occasionally ask her questions, and Lilith would respond immediately, hoping they could finish quickly so he could eat.

But they still weren’t done...

Su Zhi, already halfway through his own meal, said earnestly, "At this point, you should just eat first."

Fang Yuan was silent.

Shao Ya sat next to Su Zhi, watching him eat as she leaned over to chime in. "Food is fuel! It’s not too late to figure this out after you’ve eaten!"

Fang Yuan didn’t react at all.

Su Zhi knew it wasn’t getting through. Fang Yuan was completely lost in his own world.

Finally, after another moment, Fang Yuan heaved a sigh and tossed his pen aside.

"If I had been the one in the singles match against the Southern Desert tonight... I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to secure a quick victory either."

"CHIRP." Lilith reached out a paw and patted Fang Yuan’s shoulder comfortingly.

Su Zhi was a bit exasperated. "In that case, why are you so obsessed with a quick victory? Every battle has its own rhythm and priorities.

"Sure, it’s great if a Pet Beast can take down its opponent quickly to conserve stamina. But it’s just as good if a Pet Beast excels at finding its rhythm during a stalemate to eventually defeat an opponent. Since their styles are inherently different, why use speed as the only metric?"

Fang Yuan’s gaze shifted. "But during the ranking matches and the early elimination rounds, a quick victory offers the best return. It conserves stamina, and it also gives your opponents minimal opportunity to scout you..."

"So?"

Su Zhi said dismissively, "Those are just the benefits of a quick win. But that all assumes you actually win in the first place. Giving up your core strategy just to force a quick victory is putting the cart before the horse."

Fang Yuan froze for a second. He stared at the chaotic lines on his scratch paper, thinking, and quickly began running through the scenarios in his head again.

He realized Su Zhi had a point.

If he wasn’t chasing a quick win, Lilith could deliberately "slow down," which would actually make it easier for her to control the tempo of the fight.

While this would certainly drag the fight out, Lilith could use her vast experience to find her opponent’s weaknesses during the lower-intensity exchanges, then steadily widen her advantage until victory was certain.

In that case, the stamina drain wouldn’t necessarily be any greater than trying for a quick victory!

And since Lilith would always have the initiative, the total time to achieve victory might even be shorter than the quick-win strategy Fang Yuan had been so fixated on.

Seeing the look of epiphany on Fang Yuan’s face, Su Zhi and Shao Ya shared a smile. Su Zhi took the takeout box from Lilith’s paw. "Figured it out? Time to eat, then?"

Fang Yuan nodded, his expression blank, as if to say, ’Whatever. Since you’re insisting, I suppose I can force myself to have a bite.’

However, the slightly-too-eager way he opened the box clearly gave him away.

Su Zhi and Shao Ya looked on, side-by-side, hands in their laps, both trying to suppress their laughter.

Looks like even the coolest, most aloof person has to eat, just like even the most beautiful person has to, well... AHEM. Not that Fang Yuan was truly aloof—he was just the reserved type with a hidden passionate side.

"Hm?"

As he brought a mouthful of rice and vegetables to his lips, Fang Yuan paused.

The food had been sitting out for a while; by all rights, it should have been cold. He had already resigned himself to eating it as it was. But the rice and vegetables were perfectly warm, not scalding, but just right.

Fang Yuan instinctively glanced at Lilith.

Lilith had been watching him eat with an expectant look. The moment his gaze met hers, she quickly turned her head and started whistling, pretending to be admiring the scenery.

A small smile played on Fang Yuan’s lips. He didn’t say anything, but his movements as he ate became noticeably less "restrained."

The others watched the master and his Envoy’s Pet with fond, knowing smiles, the scene so sweet it could give you a toothache.

"And you’re laughing at him? You’re no better!" Shao Ya gave Su Zhi a light karate chop on the shoulder. "Hurry up and eat. Disobedient Su Baby will be punished!"

"In that case, please, punish me severely!"

"Hmph. In your dreams..."

Su Zhi gave a mischievous wink and went back to digging into his food.

Tonight’s menu wasn’t scrambled eggs with tomato or Kung Pao chicken, but rather Sliced Pork in a Fiery Broth and a Spicy Numbing Stir-Fry Pot.

"So? Is it okay?" the young woman asked, leaning in again with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Su Zhi gave her a thumbs-up. "It’s delicious!"

It was actually a little spicy. After his trip to Hundred Rivers, Su Zhi had developed a slight aversion to these two dishes.

But—seeing her beaming smile, Su Zhi suddenly felt that he would grow to love these two dishes in the future.

They wouldn’t just remind him of that trip; they would also remind him of her.

"The results for the first round of ranking matches are out!"

Su Zhi had just finished his meal when he saw Liu Yuhang slap his thigh in excitement. "Our Shanyou is in the top five!"

The group hurriedly pulled out their phones to check the latest competition updates.

In today’s ranking matches, every province had competed twice. Points were awarded based on the number of individual victories; for every set won within a match, a point was added to the team’s score.

Pearl Harbor was at the top of the leaderboard with a high score of nine points. Capital City followed close behind with eight, and Hundred Rivers was next with seven.