Reincarnated as a Mosquito, I Sucked the Reborn Empress to Tears-Chapter 204: The Cockroach Is the Captain? Has the Beast Taming Academy Lost Its Mind?
Shepherd Mountain didn’t understand what Gu Yuexi meant and continued,
"The Divine Locust currently has no Master. He will occupy a spot by himself to participate in the competition."
When Shepherd Mountain finished speaking, everyone from the other academies was stunned.
No Master? Occupying a spot by himself?
What kind of stunt was this?
Logically, it would have been simple for the Beast Taming Academy to enter this cockroach into the competition. They could have just had it act as a Beast Tamer’s second Contracted Beast. Even without a signed Blood Covenant, no one would have looked too deeply into it.
To occupy a spot all by itself was a complete waste. There was no need for it.
...
Gu Yuexi was also stunned when she heard this.
’Did I misunderstand?’
She glanced over at Chu Sheng, only to find him staring off into space, not looking at her at all.
’Hmph. Fine!’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
’To think you could get the Beast Taming Academy to free up an entire spot for a single Demon Beast. I’ll admit, you’re impressive.’
’But... I’d like to see just how far the Beast Taming Academy is willing to go for you!’
"Then may I ask, who is the captain of your academy’s team this time?"
Shepherd Mountain hesitated for a moment before saying directly,
"As you can see, it is none other than Lord Divine Lang."
Originally, the Beast Taming Academy had announced to the public that Su Li was the captain, but Shepherd Mountain suddenly changed his mind and declared that Chu Sheng was the captain.
This answer once again sent a massive uproar through the crowd.
"Huh? What does that mean? They’re making a cockroach the captain?"
"Hahaha, has the Beast Taming Academy completely given up on itself? Even if this giant cockroach’s power is astonishing, I’ve never heard of a team of Beast Tamers making a Contracted Beast their captain."
"Even if a Contracted Beast is the captain, what does that make the Beast Tamers? Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?"
"No wonder our school’s Beast Taming Academy is so pathetic. The Contracted Beasts are walking all over the Beast Tamers!"
"If the Beast Taming Academy doesn’t finish in last place this time, I, Wang Cong, will do a handstand right here and eat my own shit!"
"..."
The students from the other academies were so used to mocking the Beast Taming Academy that the jeers came naturally.
Scattered laughter echoed across the entire field.
Meanwhile, the students of the Beast Taming Academy could only clench their fists, holding back their indignation!
"Quiet!"
Principal Chen barked, restoring order to the field.
Gu Yuexi spoke again.
"Dean Mu, pardon me, but I have one last question."
"If I were to join the Beast Taming Academy’s team, would I be the captain?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd, which had just quieted down, erupted again!
"What? No way! Is Lin Zhixia really going to join the Beast Taming Academy?!"
"No, don’t do it! Don’t throw your future away! Miss Lin’s talent is astounding, but with her current level of strength, there’s no way she can carry that group from the Beast Taming Academy."
"Exactly... I can’t bear to see my goddess dragged down by them into last place!"
"Oh no. Shepherd Mountain will definitely agree, and then Lin Zhixia might actually join the Beast Taming Academy."
"I really don’t get what she’s thinking. Does she just want to test herself and not care about her ranking?"
Finally, amidst the rising tide of discussion, Shepherd Mountain spoke in a clear, loud voice.
"I’m sorry, Miss Lin, but the captain of our academy’s team this time will be Lord Divine Lang."
BOOM!
The crowd erupted once again.
He... he refused?
"Wait, what is the Beast Taming Academy’s dean thinking? This was a golden opportunity to recruit her, and he just refused?"
"Has he gone senile? If Miss Lin joined, even if they still finished last, at least out of respect for the Future Empress, people wouldn’t be so harsh..."
"This is a direct slap in the face to the Future Empress..."
No one understood. Absolutely no one.
It wasn’t just the students. The teachers and deans present didn’t understand either. They all thought something was wrong with Shepherd Mountain’s mind.
Whether Lin Zhixia joined or not, she had asked him directly. The least he could do was show her some respect, right?
The Beast Taming Academy was already in this state, and he still had the gall to refuse?
So what, is the reputation of a cockroach more important than that of the Future Empress?
...
In front of the Beast Taming Academy’s formation.
Gu Yuexi bit her red lip.
’I can’t believe it. Even after testing them with my identity as the Future Empress, I still can’t compare to this blasted mosquito, this damned cockroach!’
’Fine. In that case, let’s see who’s stronger during this academy tournament!’
’This time, I absolutely will not lose.’
"Heh, thank you for your answer, Dean Mu."
"Then I wish your academy the best of luck in the tournament."
With that, Gu Yuexi turned and walked over to Chen Shouzheng.
"Principal Chen, I have made my decision."
"I’ve decided to join... the Elixir Academy!"
As her words landed, the field fell silent for several seconds.
Then, a wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the Elixir Academy’s formation!
Immediately after, the crowd... erupted. Again, and again.
No one could understand why Gu Yuexi would choose to join the unremarkable Elixir Academy.
After all, while the Elixir and Artifact Refining Academies were extremely popular and their graduates held esteemed positions, they were definitely inferior to the other academies when it came to combat prowess.
After all, with their attention divided between Artifact Refining and Alchemy, their progress in terms of Cultivation, Spiritual Techniques, and Cultivation Techniques would inevitably fall behind.
The Artifact Refining Academy was better off; some prodigies in Artifact Refining could significantly boost their combat power after forging a Lifebound Magical Artifact or a Top-Grade Magical Artifact.
The Elixir Academy, however, was a different story. Aside from having higher Cultivation Realms due to consuming Elixirs, the Cultivation Techniques they learned were almost exclusively related to Alchemy. This often resulted in them having lower combat power than others at the same realm.
Of course, this excluded the few top-tier geniuses who could balance both Alchemy and Cultivation.
The academy tournament allowed the academies to hire their own external support.
In past tournaments, academies like the Elixir and Beast Taming Academies often used Elixirs to attract talented foreign students as temporary support.
Those specially invited students from before were the external support hired by the various academies.
In the past, the Beast Taming Academy had also wanted to hire external support, but they simply lacked the resources. With no benefits to offer, why would any prodigy come? The specially invited students who were willing to participate would certainly prioritize joining academies like Elixir or Artifact Refining. Over time, the Beast Taming Academy had given up on seeking external support altogether.
However, external support was, after all, still external support.
Even with hired help, the Elixir and Artifact Refining Academies usually only achieved middling results, enough to avoid last place.
For the past several years, the tournament champion had always come from one of four academies—Array, Mind Master, Fengshui, or Warlock—with the Array Academy winning most often!
But now, with Gu Yuexi choosing to join the Elixir Academy, didn’t that mean her team had almost no chance of winning first place?
This was the Future Empress, for crying out loud.
If she wasn’t aiming for first place, why even participate?
"Seriously, what on earth is Lin Zhixia thinking?"
"Does she think she can carry the Elixir Academy to first place all by herself?"
"Heh, impossible! Even if her combat power is greater than it seems, almost all the participants this time are upperclassmen at Fifth-Grade or higher. They’re a good three or four years older than her! She might not even win a one-on-one duel, let alone a team competition."
"Yeah, the most logical move for Lin Zhixia would have been to join the Magic, Mind Master, or Array Academy. Only then would she have a real chance to showcase her abilities."
"True, even if her own combat power is impressive, she can’t do anything if her teammates are weaker than the competition."
"Besides, the rules for this tournament are even more ruthless!"
As the crowd murmured amongst themselves, the consensus was that Gu Yuexi had made the wrong choice. She was likely destined for a disappointing elimination from this tournament.
But there was nothing to be done. The academy tournament was mainly a stage for fourth-year students on the verge of graduation. Since Gu Yuexi wasn’t even a first-year yet and had joined the Elixir Academy, it was only natural that she wouldn’t win first place.
"Maybe Lin Zhixia is really just here for the experience and didn’t want to team up with one of the powerhouses. If you look at it that way, her choosing the Elixir Academy is understandable."
"We’ll just have to hope she has some highlight-reel moments."
"She’s still young, after all. It’s normal for her not to win first place this time. As long as she didn’t join the Beast Taming Academy and finish in last, that’s good enough."
"..."
Gu Yuexi showed no reaction to the crowd’s chatter, simply walking calmly to join the Elixir Academy’s ranks.
Finally, as Chen Shouzheng finished formally announcing the rules and format of the tournament, the academy tournament officially began!
"Array Academy team, step forward!"
"Mind Master Academy team, step forward!"
"Warlock Academy team, step forward!"
"Fengshui Academy team, step forward!"
"Elixir Academy team, step forward!"
"Artifact Refining Academy team, step forward!"
...
"Beast Taming Academy team, step forward!"
From the final formation, a giant cockroach perched on Su Li’s shoulder led the remaining eighteen Beast Tamers as they stepped forward!
