Chapter 490 - 473: Could She Have Been Waiting for Revenge All This Time?

"Facing Jiang Jinling tomorrow?"

Elder Huo had just returned to his residence and hadn’t even had a sip of tea before Gu Ming, who had heard the news, cornered him in the study.

Upon hearing his purpose, he couldn’t help but huff. "You, you... I always tell you to drop by the Array Society more often and participate in its activities.

"You always say you’re busy with coursework and tight on Cultivation.

"And now look at you, showing up to cram at the last minute?"

Though his words were scolding, there was no real anger in Elder Huo’s eyes.

He was well aware of the importance of tomorrow’s battle.

This wasn’t just about Gu Ming’s personal journey in the league; it concerned the battle for "destiny" in the new year between Wenquxing University and Venus University, the two "Gemini-star" universities.

Before this, the "top-spot battles" for the sophomores, juniors, and seniors had already concluded.

Wenquxing University’s current record was one win and two losses, putting them at a slight disadvantage.

If Gu Ming, the face of the first-years, lost another match, they would fall behind with a score of one to three.

Then this year’s "destiny" for the new generation would likely truly shift in favor of Venus University.

This was something neither Elder Huo nor anyone at Wenquxing wanted to see.

Even if they couldn’t win, they had to at least fight for a draw to maintain the balance of power from previous years.

Having made up his mind, Elder Huo stopped teasing and silently pulled up the backend software with his teacher permissions, looking up Gu Ming’s past elective Array course records.

As he browsed, he tapped his fingers lightly on the desk and muttered to himself,

"Sigh, there’s just not enough time. Expecting you to systematically learn advanced Arrays now is nothing short of a fool’s dream."

"However..."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as he looked at Gu Ming.

"If you can master a basic yet practical Array to the Entry Level in a short time,

"You might have a bit more room to counterattack in tomorrow’s battle, instead of being completely led by the nose by your opponent’s Arrays."

But Gu Ming didn’t follow Elder Huo’s line of "acting within one’s capabilities." His expression was calm, but his tone carried a surprising confidence.

"Sir, if there are any Arrays suitable for quick learning that would be useful, please go ahead and arrange them.

"Maybe my comprehension is decent enough. I might just grasp the basics in a single night."

Upon hearing this, Elder Huo was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Heh, you’ve got some nerve, kid.

"If you really have that ability, to grasp an Array to the Entry Level in one night, I’ll immediately take you as my direct disciple and teach you everything I know!"

After laughing, he studied Gu Ming closely. Seeing his composed face and focused eyes, he knew Gu Ming wasn’t joking at all.

He couldn’t help but wonder:

’This kid... could he really be confident about this?’

He had witnessed Gu Ming’s almost demonic learning ability before.

Especially the Speed at which his Pet Beasts cultivated their Skills; it was unnaturally fast, a Talent worthy of being called an "Innate Cultivation Dao Body." Many Pet Beasts with higher potential ratings couldn’t even hope to compare.

Deep down, Elder Huo even secretly suspected that Gu Ming might possess some kind of ancient artifact related to the Time Element that could accelerate his Pet Beasts’ Cultivation process.

But in the end, this was just an unprovable guess. Without concrete evidence, it could only be attributed to exceptional Talent.

After all, in a top university like this, it was common for a few rule-breaking "monsters" to appear. He was already used to it.

"Fine then." Elder Huo reined in his thoughts and nodded. "Since you’re so determined, let’s give it a try.

"If you make good progress and have energy to spare, it would be good to understand the principles of one or two more Arrays.

"Here are three sets of Array manuals I’ve selected for you. Take a look."

As he spoke, Elder Huo pushed three thread-bound books, which exuded an ancient aura, in front of Gu Ming.

The calligraphy on the book covers was vigorous and powerful, clearly indicating they were no ordinary items.

"Your opponent this time, Jiang Jinling, is a disciple of Wang Xianxian at Venus University."

Before even opening the books, Elder Huo began to analyze the enemy for Gu Ming, his expression growing a little more solemn.

"This Wang Xianxian is a leading authority in the research of Elf Race Pet Beasts. He has numerous types of Elves under his command, each with different Attributes.

"He is also extremely well-versed in the way of Arrays, especially excelling in the Ancient Arrays of the Elf Race.

"Jiang Jinling is exceptionally talented to begin with and possesses a Mutated Grass Spirit. With such a famous master’s guidance, she’s like a tiger that has grown wings.

"Her attainments in Arrays are growing by the day. When I attend the Array Association meetings in the Zhou Capital, I often hear my peers praise her knowledge of Arrays."

He paused for a moment, then added,

"I’ve learned from some people that Jiang Jinling has already mastered a secret Ancient Array of the Elf Race that can briefly summon phantom images of the Elf Ancestors to empower her Pet Beast.

"This method has a similar effect to Spiritual Awakening Techniques, but it’s far more profound. It summons ancient spirits to possess the Pet, granting it an Elven blessing.

"It’s not a simple boost to Spiritual Power; it allows her Elf Pet Beast to receive the blessing of ancient ’Elf Magic,’ causing its overall strength to skyrocket for a short time.

"Therefore, under the empowerment of her Array, Ah Kun’s ’Fear’ Attribute will likely be ineffective. This neutralizes one of your trump cards right off the bat."

Gu Ming nodded silently, indicating he understood.

Elder Huo continued, "Furthermore, Jiang Jinling has clearly made thorough, targeted preparations.

"She has specifically studied quite a few Water Element Arrays. One of them, called the ’Broken Wave Array,’ is from a ’Five-Colored’ certified paper published in the Five-star Level academic journal, ’Deep Water Science’.

"This Array might be unremarkable against other Attribute Pet Beasts, but it is specifically designed to counter Water Element Pet Beasts. It is especially effective against a Pet Beast like Ah Kun, given its Mastery of the ’Wave-Swallowing Technique’ and its reliance on the momentum of water currents. It’s practically a perfect counter!

"If she uses it in the match, it will be enough to suppress Ah Kun’s advantages to a minimum."

Hearing this, Ah Kun, who was lying by Gu Ming’s feet, couldn’t help but let its mouth hang open. It made a "GURGLE" sound in its throat, seeming a bit stunned.

It wasn’t frustrated, though. Instead, it felt a strange sense of excitement from being taken so seriously.

It never thought that a "perfectly ordinary" Grouper Fish like itself would one day receive such special attention from the chosen one of Venus University. Its "fish life" was truly at Perfection!

"And a third point."

Elder Huo held up three fingers. "She has also mastered a ’Grass Seed Withering Array.’ It’s a counter-Array built with the Power of a Grass Element Elf King, specifically targeting Pet Beasts that use grass seeds for their attacks.

"Any opponent whose core strategy revolves around Grass Element energy seeds will have their strength suppressed by at least fifty percent within this Array’s range.

"Jiang Jinling has used this Array many times in the university league with outstanding results, defeating almost every Grass Element Pet Beast she has faced."

Gu Ming’s expression flickered slightly as he thought to himself:

’This girl... did she intentionally choose her elective Arrays after starting university to counter my path?’

But on second thought, that seemed unlikely.

’She couldn’t have been a Prophet and predicted she would face me in the league six months later, planning her "revenge" in advance, could she?’

’Perhaps it’s just a choice she made based on her own strengths and her Prediction of mainstream tactics.’