Chapter 437: The Meeting

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“We are also approaching this issue from the perspective of selecting talent.” The bald man spoke first again.

“All the students participating in the competition have remarkable talent in battle. They’ve dedicated most of their time to training their beasts for this event.”

“If, after all their hard work, they step onto the battlefield only to be instantly removed by someone using Spatial Shift without even starting a fight, what will people think?”

A middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses adjusted them and said calmly, “Using Spatial Shift to directly remove an opponent from the field exploits a loophole in the rules. Since the rules have a flaw, it’s our responsibility to fix it.”

“Exactly.” A relatively young man agreed.

“Rules are meant to be refined continuously. The purpose of this competition is to select the strongest students.”

“Moreover, we’re not banning Spatial Shift entirely. We’re only prohibiting its use to directly teleport opponents off the battlefield.”

An elder with white hair added, "This rule must be implemented. The reason it didn’t exist before is simply that no one anticipated a student could train their beast to such a level of proficiency with Spatial Shift.”

The other leaders remained silent, refraining from expressing their opinions for the moment.

1 vs. 12? Looks like I’m outnumbered. Even if I argue until my voice gives out, it’s useless…

The chubby middle-aged man with sagging jowls frowned deeply.

At that moment, a gentle female voice broke the silence:

“I believe Minister Zhou was correct earlier. Rules can be changed, but it should happen in the next competition. Changing them now, after a student has already utilized this technique, might come across as targeting them.”

Minister Zhou was stunned.

He hadn’t expected the leader from the Guwu region to speak in favor of a student from the Yuhua region.

Could it be because of Ice Xilu?

As one of the most promising contenders from the Yuhua region, Minister Zhou was well aware of Qiao Sang’s potential.

The woman continued:

“Spatial Shift isn’t a skill that guarantees a 100% success rate just by using it. The reason that student succeeded was twofold: The opponent’s beast was within Treasure-Seeking Demon’s teleportation range and hadn’t maintained enough distance, and the opponent didn’t anticipate such a move, leaving them defenseless. Otherwise, with the superior spiritual energy and level of Predictive Tower Turtle, they could have interfered mentally, preventing the positioning or defending against the teleportation entirely.”

“Additionally, according to the records, this was the first time the student used Spatial Shift to remove an opponent from the battlefield.”

“In the end, Treasure-Seeking Demon is only a mid-tier beast. The focus of the national competition is still on high-tier beasts. If contestants are informed of this tactic in advance, they’ll prepare countermeasures. With their talent, I believe they’ll come up with effective strategies.”

Minister Zhou’s eyes lit up as he stood, exclaiming excitedly, “Well said!”

Realizing he might’ve overreacted, he quickly sat back down under the scrutiny of others.

“Isn’t Treasure-Seeking Demon a ghost-type beast?” Asked a gloomy-looking man who had remained silent until now, seemingly intrigued.

“That student’s Treasure-Seeking Demon also has psychic attributes.” The bald man replied.

Aside from the ministers from Yuhua, Guwu, and the bald man from Xilu, the other leaders appeared momentarily stunned, evidently hearing this information for the first time. ᚱ

The meeting had been convened too hastily. They’d only been informed that a Yuhua student had used Spatial Shift to remove an opponent, with little else provided.

As high-ranking officials in their respective regions, they rarely had time to familiarize themselves with individual contestants, often only paying attention during the national finals.

The gloomy man pondered for a few seconds before sharing his thoughts:

“Being able to train a ghost-type beast’s Spatial Shift to such a level is an achievement. If the goal is to select the strongest candidates, we shouldn’t restrict anyone from demonstrating their full potential.”

Minister Zhou quickly agreed, “I think Minister Yang makes an excellent point!”

It wasn’t surprising for Minister Yang from the Shidiya region to support this stance. Shidiya was the only region among the thirteen where ghost-type beasts were popular.

Additionally, they didn’t have a strong contender for the championship, so the rule change wouldn’t affect them.

“You can’t look at it that way.” The bald man interjected, frowning.

“Spatial Shift differs from other skills. Winning without fighting must be prohibited. If this becomes a precedent, everyone will start contracting psychic beasts and training only this move.”

“To my knowledge, this student from Yuhua is only 15 years old and has already unlocked three pages of her Beastmaster Codex. She currently has two high-tier beasts and one mid-tier beast.”

“Her fire-type beast, Blazing Star Canine, has mastered the advanced Meteor Rain skill to its highest level. Meanwhile, Ice Xilu’s Ice Flower Seal can summon dozens of ice flowers simultaneously. Treasure-Seeking Demon is likely her weakest beast.”

“With such talent and strength, imposing a minor restriction on Spatial Shift shouldn’t pose any problem.”

“Her skills and potential are outstanding. She’s fully capable of earning respect through fair competition. But if she continues using Spatial Shift to win, she’ll inevitably face criticism.”

“If Minister Zhou truly has this student’s best interests at heart, you should agree to this rule.”

The room fell silent for over ten seconds.

Nearly everyone looked stunned, processing the information about such an extraordinary contestant.

Minister Zhou, meanwhile, was deliberating. The reasoning wasn’t entirely baseless. If Qiao Sang won using Spatial Shift, it could tarnish her reputation, even if she became champion.

But conceding now, knowing that only their region had a student capable of such mastery, was too bitter a pill to swallow.

In the heavy silence, the leader of the Zhongkong region, Minister Yan, finally spoke:

“What’s this student’s name?”

Minister Zhou composed himself and replied respectfully, “Her name is Qiao Sang.”

Minister Yan asked, “How are her academic grades?”

Not great…

Minister Zhou hesitated before answering tactfully, “They’re decent; she was admitted to the best high school in her city.”

Minister Yan considered this before calmly stating:

“Here’s the plan: Minister Zhou, contact this Qiao Sang and instruct her not to use Spatial Shift to directly remove opponents during the national finals.”

“If she secures one of the top two positions, I’ll ensure she’s admitted as an interstellar exchange student and placed in the senior special class of their final year. She’ll also gain the same rights to apply for universities as this year’s seniors.”

This meant Qiao Sang, though a first-year student competing in a senior-level competition, could graduate two years early if she excelled.

Hearing this, Minister Zhou was stunned.

Could Qiao Sang keep up with such an advanced curriculum?

After a moment, he nodded.

“Understood. I’ll notify her.”

“As for the new rule.”

Minister Yan concluded, “It will officially take effect in the next competition.”

The other ministers silently agreed, knowing Qiao Sang would accept the offer. No student could refuse the chance to graduate early.

“Since there are no objections.”

Minister Yan said, “This meeting is adjourned.”

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