Everyone Else Awakened, But I Just Opened a Pokémon Pet Shop

The preliminary stage of the tournament was time-consuming.

For high-level professionals like Ji Wei, those low-tier battles weren't much to look at. That's why most of the crowd's attention had shifted entirely to Wang Tao's arena.

A rogue-type combatant had tried to use his agility to slip past Grotle and land a direct hit on Wang Tao.

But Wang Tao, ever the crafty one, had Grotle fully surround and protect him.

When the rogue made his move, Grotle took the opportunity to nearly crush him with a devastating bite.

"This guy's battle instincts… are unexpectedly sharp," Ji Wei raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed.

At their level, they understood well: raw strength alone didn't decide everything.

Unless the power gap was overwhelming, real combat depended on awareness and execution.

History was filled with tales of the weak defeating the strong.

Having strength was one thing, using it well was another.

Wang Tao's tactics might have seemed shameless, but he fought like a natural-born tactician, a genius without formal training.

"Heh, that's just how he is," Su Bai laughed, a bit proud of his lifelong friend.

Neither of them had outstanding talent, one was completely unawakened, the other not especially gifted.

Yet somehow, they had rarely been outmatched.

Su Bai had always been the smarter one. Wang Tao looked dopey, but deep down, he was as sly as a fox.

Together, they'd schemed and bluffed their way past more than a few so-called "prodigies."

"Looks like Wang Tao is definitely making it into the ranked matches," Liu Yunshuang smiled.

"But the real question is… how far can those three go?"

"Haicheng No. 1 High does have quite a few prodigies. If I recall, isn't the top-ranked student already at B-rank?"

"To reach B-rank before graduation… that guy's already on the radar of several major factions."

Su Bai nodded.

She was referring to the school's most famous swordsman: Pei Jingguo.

Young but immensely gifted, he had even completed B-level professional missions on his own, an undisputed genius.

In truth, most of the influential people present had come specifically to evaluate Pei Jingguo's progress.

"If it's just B-rank... Grotle might not necessarily lose," Su Bai said with cautious optimism.

Compared to Prinplup and Monferno, Grotle had experienced far more real battle.

And paired with Wang Tao's 800 hidden tricks?

Even facing a B-rank magic swordsman wasn't out of the question.

"Preliminaries are over!"

"Now announcing the final results!"

"First Arena Winner: C-rank Rogue, Zhang Lin!"

"Second Arena Winner: D-rank Lancer, Lu Chen!"

"Fifth Arena Winner: E-rank Knight… Wang Tao!"

When the school director read Wang Tao's name, he clearly paused for a moment.

After all, Wang Tao's strategy had been absurdly shameless.

Grotle had acted like a literal walking tank, shrugging off anything below C-rank like it was a light breeze.

Wang Tao had barely even moved the whole time.

Under Grotle's protection, he cruised to victory.

"What the hell! He made it to the end that easily?!"

"I'm so jealous…"

"That thing seriously never loses control?!"

"It looks dumb, but it's crazy strong."

"Isn't this basically cheating?"

"Cheating how? The tournament tests overall strength. If a contract beast counts, so does this, as long as it's stable!"

"What's the name of that shop again? Su's Pet Shop? I want one too!"

Wang Tao's win sparked envy and curiosity among the students.

In an age where power ruled all, no one cared about where that power came from.

Even if someone awakened into a so-called "taboo class" like Necromancer, they'd likely be praised if they could kill death beasts.

Black cat or white cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.

Same principle here: anything that could help push back the death beasts and reclaim territory for humanity was welcome.

Fearsome or not, as long as it worked, it was valuable.

"Now, will the top fifteen ranked students from the last tournament please step forward and prepare for challengers!"

The director's voice echoed through the arena.

One by one, the top fifteen students rose from the waiting area.

The real ranking battles were about to begin.

"Classmates, the rules remain unchanged."

"Not only can the five arena winners challenge the ranked students, but any lower-ranked student who believes they've improved may also issue a challenge to someone above them."

"Challenges cannot be refused. Refusing counts as forfeiting, and you'll be immediately removed from the top fifteen."

"Now… choose your opponents!"

Before the five arena winners could even open their mouths—

The 15th-ranked student, Liu Yunlan, leaped up.

She marched straight to a girl in leather armor and declared loudly:

"Ding Yue! This time, I will win!"

Ding Yue smirked arrogantly.

"Still haven't learned your lesson? I already gave you a chance last time."

"And you're still just D-rank."

"I'm nearly C-rank now."

"You really want to humiliate yourself again?"

Liu Yunlan snorted coldly.

"Spare me the lecture. Either surrender or fight!"

"Because this time, you're done for!"

Her aggressive words made Ding Yue's face darken with anger.

"Bring it on! Who's afraid of who?!"

"Loser!"

She vaulted up onto the arena stage and waved Liu Yunlan over.

"Hurry up! I've got other challengers waiting!"

"I don't know where you got this courage from, challenging me, the current #7!"

Liu Yunlan grinned, jumped onto the stage, and winked.

"Let's just say… I've got a secret weapon!"

Their standoff instantly lit up the atmosphere.

The tension in the air was electric.

From the VIP box, Liu Yunshuang smiled.

"Yunlan really holds grudges. Last time, Ding Yue beat her in a duel between magic swordsmen."

"Looks like Ding Yue's improved a lot too."

"But I doubt Ding Yue could've guessed—this ranking battle might just change the entire world's view of combat."