In his sleep, Wang Zhong felt his nose itching intensely. He subconsciously scratched it with his hand, only to be met with Hu Lienna's crisp, bell-like laughter.
"Zhong, you big lazy lump, wake up!"
"The second half of the year's grand competition is today, you can't skip class or be late."
Wang Zhong suddenly jolted awake, his small face filled with astonishment.
"Nanna, the competition is today?"
Watching Hu Lienna nod her head repeatedly with a smile, Wang Zhong inexplicably felt his luck had returned.
He had only just exited the simulated training environment the night before, and the grand competition was already about to begin. What else could this be but good luck? The timing was perfect!
He flashed Hu Lienna a broad smile, kicked off the covers, and walked out of bed. Stretching vigorously towards the sunlight outside the window, he let out a loud yawn.
"What great luck."
Confidence radiated from the young boy's face, filled with anticipation for the upcoming competition. He had prepared everything and felt an almost impatient eagerness.
Bathed in sunlight, the boy's confident and brilliant smile was truly captivating. Hu Lienna's eyes sparkled as she witnessed this sight.
"Nanna, I need to change."
Hu Lienna suddenly snapped back to reality, chuckling softly as she nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
After a quick wash, Wang Zhong put on his school uniform, pinned on his first-year badge, and walked out with a radiant demeanor.
"Morning, Xie Yue, Yan!"
The two of them sized up Wang Zhong simultaneously. Although his appearance and physique seemed unchanged, they both felt a distinct difference in him.
"Morning. You slept for a whole day, how do you feel?" Xie Yue high-fived Wang Zhong and asked with a light smile.
Hearing this, Wang Zhong's expression drastically changed.
"Wait a minute, you're saying I slept for a whole day?"
Wang Zhong's sudden surprise left Xie Yue, Hu Lienna, and Yan looking at him with confusion.
"Yeah! At first, we thought something had happened to you and were about to call the teacher."
"But Nanna told us you were just very tired and wanted to sleep, so we didn't."
"Besides, Nanna stayed with you all day. You can ask her if you don't believe us."
Xie Yue, though confused, answered earnestly.
Wang Zhong turned his gaze to Hu Lienna, receiving a look of concern and a confirming nod.
"Zhong, is something wrong?" Hu Lienna asked worriedly.
"No! I'm just too surprised. I thought I only slept for one night, I didn't expect to sleep for so long."
Meeting Hu Lienna's worried gaze, Wang Zhong offered a cheerful smile to show he was fine. Yet, a trace of curiosity lingered in his heart. If he had truly slept for an entire day, why hadn't the system's punishment arrived?
He had slacked off for the entire day.
"Could it be that the system's missions were lifted after I reached the beginner level of Bajiquan?!"
Wang Zhong stroked his chin. Although he walked alongside the other three, his head tilted in thought was quite noticeable.
He shook his head vigorously, pulling his thoughts back. Whatever, the habit of training had already been formed, and whether there was system punishment or not, he would continue to do it.
As for yesterday's words, he would consider it a temporary indulgence.
With a smile of relief on his face, Wang Zhong, Hu Lienna, Xie Yue, and Yan walked into the classroom, chatting and laughing.
"Wang Zhong, you're here. Good morning."
"Wang Zhong, morning."
"Wang Zhong, morning."
Three greetings in a row came from the other three students in the class.
"Good morning to you too."
Wang Zhong responded with a smile, returning to his seat, which he hadn't occupied for a long time, and continued to chat and laugh with Hu Lienna.
Their seats were arranged in a triangular formation, with Hu Lienna in the middle, Yan in front of her, Wang Zhong to her right, and Xie Yue behind her.
After a brief conversation, Ying Yanyang entered the classroom, impeccably dressed. Seeing Wang Zhong, he showed no surprise, merely giving a slightly encouraging nod.
Xie Yue had already informed him of Wang Zhong's return, otherwise, he would have gone into the simulated training environment yesterday to retrieve Wang Zhong.
Regardless of any potential improvement in strength, the grand competition was absolutely not to be missed, especially this second half-of-the-year event.
However, a hint of disappointment flickered in Ying Yanyang's heart. According to his original plan, he had expected Wang Zhong to significantly improve his strength through half a year of simulated training and obtain his second spirit ring.
But now, it seemed he had underestimated Wang Zhong's progress. After all, the latter had not yet approached him to hunt soul beasts.
"Even if he hasn't reached level twenty, with Wang Zhong's talent, he should be at least level nineteen or eighteen. That's much higher than Hu Lienna's thirteen or Xie Yue's thirteen."
"I hope Wang Zhong doesn't stubbornly refuse to compete against Lu Xiaoshuang. It would be good enough to fight with spirit!"
Comforting himself mentally, Ying Yanyang announced, "You have all participated in a grand competition before, so I assume you don't need me to explain the process."
"Wang Zhong, come up and take the flag. After the ceremonial gunshots, we will head to the arena together."
"Yes, teacher." The students responded in unison.
Under Ying Yanyang's gaze, Wang Zhong walked to the front with a cheerful grin and accepted the flag from his hand.
"How prepared are you?" Ying Yanyang asked, looking at Wang Zhong's smiling face.
"Mm, it's okay!"
Under Ying Yanyang's scrutiny, Wang Zhong tilted his head and gave an ambiguous answer.
This reply filled Ying Yanyang's gaze towards Wang Zhong with depth.
For the first time, he felt a sense of being unable to see through the student he was teaching. Moreover, he sensed that Wang Zhong had indeed undergone some changes. Whether it was in spirit, body, or demeanor, there was a distinct sense of leap forward.
This was an intuition born from the sharp eyes of an old eagle.
But it was merely a feeling. Ying Yanyang couldn't accurately judge Wang Zhong's current strength solely by his appearance.
Just as Ying Yanyang was about to ask more, the sounds of ceremonial gunfire boomed from outside the classroom. He had no choice but to suppress his lingering doubts and raise his hand, saying:
"Let's go, little ones."
"Today, you will see many senior students, both male and female, and witness many exciting matches."
This statement unknowingly piqued everyone's curiosity. Unlike the competition in the first half of the year, only the first-year students had participated then.
There had been no matches among the senior students, so they hadn't had to attend.
The reason for the second-year students' presence in the arena in the first half of the year was the so-called "suicidal challenge" rule. Although no one was obligated to initiate it, the second-years had to be present just in case.
After all, Wang Zhong had initiated one, and he had won!
Ying Yanyang led the way, with Wang Zhong at the forefront, followed by Hu Lienna and the other seven, all heading towards the grand competition arena.