Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
September 4th.
The revenge matches for the bottom three classes concluded and another eleven students were eliminated.
With this, the number of remaining trainees in the Qingcheng Youth Training Camp dropped to 204.
Among them, 53 had exceeded 100 performance points, earning promotion to the C-Class arenas, but there were only twenty C-Class arenas available.
That's right.
The distribution was as follows:
D-Class: 120 arenas
C-Class: 20 arenas
B-Class: 10 arenas
A-Class: 3 arenas
The higher the tier, the fewer the arenas—proof of intensifying competition.
Of course, there would always be those who played it safe, sticking to the bare minimum: only fighting the mandatory pre-meal matches, avoiding arena defense points, and camping in the D-Class arenas.
For them, maintaining a balance wasn't too hard—60 base points per month, plus a few extra from the Point Battles.
Li Xiang was curious how Xiang Yangwei would deal with these players.
...
The New Rules.
The updated pre-meal matches now had strict time limits and detailed regulations.
First—Timing.
6:30 AM to 6:30 PM (12 hours total).
- After dinner, whoever remained on the arena would be crowned that day's Arena King/Defender, thus, the post-dinner period was the most chaotic, with challengers flooding in.
- Mornings, afternoons, and midday were dead zones—no one bothered fighting for a temporary crown.
- Weekends followed the same rules, resetting upon return on Sunday.
Second—Resets.
The title of Arena King did not carry over to the next day. The first match of the morning would decide the new king. If no one volunteered, the system would assign opponents via the mandatory pre-meal match.
After advancing to the C-Class arenas, Li Xiang noticed a sharp increase in opponent strength.
These were the camp's elites, each with real skill.
Still, as Li Xiang predicted, for the first five days, as a Defending King, he faced nonstop challenges.
Nearly every match slot was filled.
Most C-Class trainees were desperate to climb to B-Class, and points were essential, but as Li Xiang racked up wins—even when he faked exhaustion—his opponents wised up.
No one was foolish enough to feed him free points.
Performance points were too valuable.
Even Fang Xin, the No. 2 Middle's star and someone Li Xiang had high hopes for, had become an Arena King early—never challenging Li Xiang voluntarily, nor getting randomly matched against him.
Except for Song Jie.
Once Li Xiang stopped getting challengers, this guy made it a habit to challenge him once every morning.
No more, no less.
When Qu Sheng and the others caught on, they followed suit—one match per person. With five of them rotating, they filled all four of Li Xiang's daily non-meal slots.
The once-ignored king was now force-fed points daily.
Li Xiang protested. Pleaded. Threatened.
Nothing worked.
They'd just smirk and say, "Deal with it," then drag him into the arena. No throwing matches either—full effort required.
"If we get caught sandbagging, we're ALL out. You'll be the villain."
So Li Xiang had no choice but to fight seriously. If he refused, they'd pull the "Are we not brothers?" card.
When he tried rejecting Xu Wan's points, she hit him with: "Do you hate me? Look down on me?"
He folded instantly.
Helpless, his "three supporters" became five.
If not for the fact that they often secured their own Arena King titles by noon, Li Xiang would've drowned in guilt.
With no other choice, he accepted the points—vowing to repay them later, preferably after trading for that shiny Metang.
Three more days of this, and Li Xiang's points surpassed 500, earning him promotion to B-Class.
But since he was the only B-Class trainee, he still had to fight C-Class opponents.
Luckily, as the first to advance, Xiang Yangwei granted him a special perk:
Opponents still earned/lost 2 points. Li Xiang earned/lost 3 points per match and B-Class defense bonuses applied.
This advantage would last until a second B-Class trainee emerged.
Li Xiang was ecstatic—he hadn't expected such a reward.
When other students learned of this, arena battles exploded in frequency, fueling competition further. Yet despite their efforts, few could reach B-Class in the first month.
Reasons?
Most spent points on items rather than saving, and by now, everyone knew who to avoid.
The strong went unchallenged; the weak traded wins and losses, never maxing out their six daily matches.
Except for Li Xiang, the point-fed anomaly, most couldn't even scratch the C-Class point ceiling.
In the WeChat Group, a notorious list circulated:
"The Death Ten"—ten trainees never to challenge, unless you wanted to donate points.
Li Xiang and his friends dominated the list, alongside some names from Yang Tianwang's earlier intel.
Thus, ten C-Class arenas became ghost towns, while the other ten thrived with activity.
A clear divide had formed.
Couldn't blame the students—self-preservation was human nature, but the arena system had stagnated unnaturally fast.
And after just one month, Li Xiang refused to believe Xiang Yangwei hadn't foreseen this. Yet, the camp leader did nothing.
What was he waiting for?
For all nine "pioneers" to reach B-Class, then pit them against each other?
Zhong Qizhi had said there were many ways to earn points, but so far, only the Point Battles stood out.
Li Xiang could only wait.
His points were nearing 1,000—soon, he'd be the first A-Class trainee.
Would there be more perks?
The thought excited him.
.....
September 29th – The Surprise Report Card.
Unexpectedly, evaluation reports dropped early. Li Xiang stared at his sheet, slightly dazed by the sheer numbers and the recurring names.
As of the 29th, his total points—including arena defenses, night runs, and conduct bonuses—had surpassed 850.
One Point Battle away from A-Class.
And for this, Song Jie and the others deserved most of the credit. The report made it clear—the camp knew about the "point donations."
So why no warnings?
Were they fishing for bigger violations?
No.
Li Xiang knew the truth:
Every match had been fought in earnest. No scripting. No sandbagging. Just real battles where they gave their all—and lost.
The rules couldn't forbid friends fighting friends, right? If anything, other students' matches looked faker.
Some plays were so baffling, it was hard to tell if they were throwing or just bad.
Like the old esports saying:"We thought he was match-fixing. Turns out he's just terrible."
Shaking off the thoughts, Li Xiang checked his friends' scores.
As expected, all lagged far behind B-Class.
Lin Feng had the fewest points, Song Jie the most—a gap rooted in background differences.
Lin Feng's family was far from wealthy, forcing him to spend points on necessities.
Song Jie?
This guy brought premium Pokémon food weekly, took online classes, trained at home on weekends, and even scheduled weekly Pokémon spa treatments.
The only thing in camp that interested him was the A-Class training hall.
"After next month's Point Battle, you'll hit 1,000. But first, we need to figure out why reports came early."
Song Jie glanced at Li Xiang's score and shrugged.
As he spoke, the assembly bell rang. The two exchanged a look.
Xiang Yangwei was up to something again.
.....
204 students stood at attention.
On the stage, the man they loved and hated appeared—Xiang Yangwei.
"Good afternoon, students."
The middle-aged man in a camouflage cap smiled. "September's almost over. And this month, your arena performances have been… impressive."
"But." His gaze swept the crowd. "I've noticed some unpleasant trends. Like how certain C-Class arenas are… suspiciously empty."
"And in D-Class, some trainees show zero ambition. Their scores are pathetic—yet not zero or negative. This doesn't align with our camp's values."
He paused, letting tension build.
Savoring the nervous faces, he finally bared his teeth in a deceptively kind smile.
"Thus, I introduce: The Point Reclamation Challenge."
"All students with 10+ successful arena defenses may randomly select six trainees with under 60 points."
"Each match will be worth—"
"Ten points."
His gentle grin turned monstrous in some eyes—and divine in others.
The Point Reclamation Challenge. A feast for the strong, a nightmare for the weak.
While ensuring the lonely kings got their due, it also forced the stragglers to improve.
Stay in D-Class too long, and you'd become prey.
Strength was the only currency that mattered, and with this move, Xiang Yangwei hammered that truth home.