Chapter 488 - 315: The Opportunity to Speak at the Alma Mater: A Glorious Homecoming, or Traveling at Night in Brocaded Clothes?

Chapter 488: Chapter 315: The Opportunity to Speak at the Alma Mater: A Glorious Homecoming, or Traveling at Night in Brocaded Clothes?

"It’s just that my Golden Finger isn’t the stat-boosting type."

As Hong Tianyi finished speaking, Lu Mei picked up the conversation.

Lu Mei said in a calm voice, "I was just discussing with Hong Tianyi how to advance to Eighth Transformation Demigod. I advanced to Eighth Transformation Demigod a little earlier, at the end of last month."

Lu Mei’s calm tone made it sound as if she were talking about some trivial little thing. But her proud, upturned expression and her subtle gestures all indicated that she was waiting for Zhang Yi to praise her.

Naturally, Zhang Yi gave Lu Mei the ample praise she was looking for.

Zhou Zongcheng scratched his head and said, "Brother Wenjie and I are still Seventh Transformation Demigods. But we’re close. I feel like I’ve hit a bottleneck. Once this third round of the University Alliance Training Camp competition is over, win or lose, I estimate I’ll have saved up enough Faith Value to push for Eighth Transformation Demigod!"

Zhao Wenjie nodded in agreement. He was in a similar situation to Zhou Zongcheng, just slightly stronger. If an opportunity presented itself, he might even be able to advance to Eighth Transformation Demigod during the exchange tournament. If not, he too would have to wait until after the third round of the University Alliance Training Camp—whether he was eliminated or returned successful—to advance to Eighth Transformation Demigod.

After learning about the progress of the remaining members of his Tianya Academy team, Zhang Yi had a clear picture of the situation. Among the ten teams that had passed the selection, the strength of his Tianya Academy team was definitely in the upper echelon. The fact that Lu Mei and Hong Tianyi had reached the Eighth Transformation Demigod level before the start of the third round of the University Alliance Training Camp already placed them in the top tier.

When he entered the Starfire Training Ground earlier, Zhang Yi had seen Gu Yun. Coincidentally, Zhang Yi told Gu Yun about Tuoba Yu giving him the Divine Domain Card. After hearing about it, Gu Yun even thanked Zhang Yi. Gu Yun’s train of thought was the same as Zhang Yi’s. Compared to Zhang Yi, Tuoba Yu surely hated him even more. Since Tuoba Yu had already started retaliating against Zhang Yi within his means, Gu Yun knew he needed to be careful.

Before their chat ended, Zhang Yi had also asked about Gu Yun’s current power level. Gu Yun didn’t hide anything, telling Zhang Yi directly that he was currently an Eighth Transformation Demigod.

Gu Yun hadn’t broken through to Ninth Transformation Demigod yet; he was still an Eighth Transformation Demigod. That meant, not counting an anomaly like Zhang Yi, Eighth Transformation Demigod was already the top tier of power in the Yanhuang Federation’s contingent at the University Alliance Training Camp.

Zhang Yi chatted idly with his teammates for a few more moments. Then, Hong Tianyi remembered something important and pulled Zhang Yi aside to speak with him in private.

"Oh, right, Brother Zhang, do you remember Teacher Xu Yiweng? He was the chaperone teacher Golden City No.1 Middle School sent with us to the University Alliance Training Camp."

"Teacher Xu? Of course, I remember." Zhang Yi nodded.

Back in Class 7 of his second year, Teacher Xu Yiweng, who taught the Divine Realm Planning course, had helped Zhang Yi more than any other teacher, second only to his homeroom teacher, Guo Aiqing. Zhang Yi had been pleasantly surprised at the time when the school chose Teacher Xu Yiweng to be their chaperone.

"He contacted me a few days ago through a secure channel provided by the University Alliance Training Camp!" Hong Tianyi said mysteriously. "To be precise, he didn’t just contact me. He contacted all the students from our year who got into the University Alliance Training Camp. It’s just that, except for you and me, all the other students have been eliminated! Now, it’s just the two of us!"

A suitably somber expression appeared on Hong Tianyi’s face.

"He contacted us? What did he say? How come I didn’t know anything about this?" A flicker of curiosity sparked in Zhang Yi’s mind. But instead of asking, he subconsciously opened his personal terminal to check for new messages.

Sure enough, among his unread messages, Zhang Yi found one from a person he didn’t recognize. It had been sent a day ago. At the time, Zhang Yi had been in the middle of advancing to Ninth Transformation Demigod, creating the Synthetic Divine Domain Card, and dealing with the Four Major Elemental Planes. His Heart Spirit had been immersed in his Divine Realm, so it was perfectly normal that he hadn’t noticed.

Seeing Zhang Yi open his personal terminal and check his messages, Hong Tianyi continued, "First, Teacher Xu Yiweng, representing the school, asked about our current situation and well-being. After all, we left Blue Star to go compete somewhere else, you know," Hong Tianyi said.

"Then, I told him that the two of us are on the same team and how you beat all the other members into submission to become the overall captain. I also mentioned that we both passed the second round of the Yanhuang Federation’s trials for the University Alliance Training Camp, and that we’re now preparing to head to the third and final round of the trials. I told Teacher Xu Yiweng all of it."

"Of course, I mostly focused on how badass you are, Brother Zhang, and how you used your Legendary Level Clan to ruthlessly put those students who challenged you in their place... When I told Teacher Xu Yiweng about it, Brother Zhang, you should have heard his reaction. I could feel his shock even through the personal terminal! Haha!"

After listening to Hong Tianyi and reading the message from Teacher Xu Yiweng, Zhang Yi gave a helpless smile.

That Hong Tianyi and his big mouth! Still, he’s a teacher from our school, so it doesn’t really matter that he knows.

"And then?" Zhang Yi asked.

"Then Teacher Xu Yiweng said that after learning of our achievements, he and the school principal were both incredibly proud! He said even if we went back with just our current achievements, Golden City No.1 Middle School would award both of us an ’outstanding student’ scholarship!"

Hong Tianyi paused, swallowed, and then continued, "He said the principal has a proposal. He’d like to invite both of us—well, mainly you, Brother Zhang, since I’m just a tagalong. After the competition at the University Alliance Training Camp is over and we’re back on Blue Star, he’s hoping we can visit our alma mater if the timing is right. He wants us to give a speech to the second-years who are about to become third-years—our former classmates! The idea is to share our experiences, curb some of their youthful arrogance, and hopefully, inspire them a bit too."

"A speech at our alma mater?" Zhang Yi was taken aback for a moment.

That was a proposal he hadn’t expected. But thinking about it, it made sense.

After all, Zhang Yi and Hong Tianyi had received their invitations to the University Alliance Training Camp through the school’s official channels. Principal Tang Weihua had specifically instructed the four of them to bring glory to the school. Golden City No.1 Middle School had originally only had three slots; the principal had fought tooth and nail to secure the fourth. Only if the students sent by his school performed well in the University Alliance Training Camp’s competition would the school have a chance of turning that fourth, temporarily secured slot into a permanent one.

Furthermore, as the principal of Golden City No.1 Middle School, Tang Weihua couldn’t possibly be unaware that Zhang Yi and Hong Tianyi’s admission to Tianya Academy was now a foregone conclusion. With the new cohort of students about to enter their final year and face the college entrance exams in a year’s time, they now had classmates who had already locked in a spot at a top university in the Blue Star Federation. With such a successful case study right in front of them, it was hardly surprising that the school wanted to invite these outstanding students back for a speech to inspire their peers. After all, it was also a great opportunity to expand the school’s influence and prestige!

"How did you reply?" Zhang Yi asked.

"I haven’t replied yet. Of course, I had to ask what you think first, Brother Zhang! If you’re going back to give the speech, I’ll go too. If you don’t go, then I’m not going either. If you, the number one guy, aren’t going, how could someone ranked in the teens like me have the nerve to show up?" Hong Tianyi said.

"But I think it’s a great thing! To not return home in glory is like wearing silk finery in the dead of night! Brother Zhang, just think about it! When we go back to give that speech, can you imagine how shocked the students from our year will be?! And back in school, wasn’t there that guy, Li Boyang, who messed with you, Brother Zhang? When you go back this time, it’ll be the perfect chance to rub it in his face!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yi shook his head. He had long since stopped caring about that grudge. After all, the other party had gotten the principal to smooth things over.

But then Zhang Yi gave it another thought and realized Hong Tianyi was right. It would be a crime not to go back and show off a bit!

Eighteen is the perfect age for showing off!