"Mm," Fly acknowledged softly.

  He understood Jett's feelings perfectly. But the experience of two lifetimes had given him a level of composure far beyond that of an ordinary high school student. He didn't really take Gideon King's provocations to heart.

  As far as Fly was concerned, the Freshman Invitational was just something to go through, after which he would take home the prize money.

  Next, Dean Sterling gathered everyone and quickly went over the competition's relevant details.

  Not long after, a staff member came to notify the Dean, telling them to prepare for the entrance ceremony.

  Before the main event of the Freshman Invitational, there was a competitor's opening ceremony. The contestants had to enter the arena one by one, where the commentators would introduce them to the audience in sequence.

  As the current top-ranked freshman at Star City High, Fly was, naturally, the captain of this team.

  The flow of the Freshman Invitational was also quite simple.

  It was divided into two main segments.

  The first segment was a one-on-one elimination-style tournament. The teams would draw lots to determine their opponents, and during the match, they could arrange their contestants' order of appearance themselves .

  Whichever team had all its contestants eliminated would lose the match.

  Following Dean Sterling's lead, Fly walked calmly and composedly into the arena.

  The Star City Stadium, where the competition was held, was a semi-enclosed structure. The audience stands were covered by a high awning, but the center stage, the arena itself, was open to the sky.

  To Fly, it looked much like a soccer stadium from his past life, only bigger, more luxurious, and far more advanced.

  As Fly entered the stadium, the event commentator's voice boomed over the broadcast.

  "Let's give a warm welcome to the first team participating in this year's Freshman Invitational—the Star City High representative team!"

  "Speaking of Star City High's freshmen this year, there's one person we absolutely have to talk about."

  "Oh? And who might that be?"

  There were two commentators for this event, and they began the introductions in a question-and-answer format.

  "You really don't know who Fly is? He's the man of the hour at Star City High right now! Not only does he possess a Mythical Species Beast Totem, but he also shattered the school's long-standing freshman record during the Power Assessment Test. It's been all over social media!"

  "And more importantly, this Fly... he's incredibly handsome!" Here, the commentator deliberately paused, as if leaving time for the crowd to cheer, before continuing. "At such a young age, his features are truly striking—sharp brows, bright eyes, full of heroic spirit. Add to that his tall, slender frame... I've heard that half the people liking his videos on short-video platforms aren't there for his strength, they're there for his looks!"

  In an instant, the commentators' dialogue broadcast through the stadium's sound system, reaching every corner of the venue.

  This introduction immediately ignited the atmosphere.

  Spectators leaped to their feet, holding up their phones to take pictures, looking exactly as if they had just seen a major celebrity.

  "That must be Fly! He really is handsome!"

  "Ahhh, I wish he was my boyfriend!"

  "I've decided, I'm going to marry Fly! From this day on, he's my husband!"

  "Uh... wait, ma'am, aren't you over fifty?"

  "So what if I'm over fifty? I'll take good care of him!"

  ...

  The buzz of the crowd's discussion swept in from all directions.

  Fly sucked in a sharp breath.

  He truly had not expected to be this popular outside of school as well.

  Although he was used to being surrounded and photographed by students at school, whether in the cafeteria or on the training field, it was all small potatoes compared to the fervent atmosphere of the Star City Stadium.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Heh, not quite used to this kind of scene, are we?" 'Emperor' Valerius's voice came from behind him.

  Valerius was completely accustomed to this. As the second son of the Tarantino family, he had been attending important social functions with his father since he was a child. Coupled with his exceptional talent and striking looks, he was the center of attention wherever he went.

  However...

  Just as 'Emperor' Valerius was smugly about to teach Fly how to handle such a scene, the commentator's voice boomed over the broadcast again.

  "And following behind Fly is the red-robed young man, the famous second son of the Tarantino family—'Emperor' Valerius!"

  "I know 'Emperor' Valerius! He's said to be the number one of the younger generation in the Tarantino family. He's been at the top of his class in every way since he was a child, a true chosen one!"

  "That's right! And when it was announced months ago that he would be coming to Star City to study at Star City High, everyone must have thought that the students in his grade would, at best, be fighting for second place."

  "Unfortunately, he was born in the wrong time! He ran into an even more 'monstrous' genius at Star City High—Fly!"

  ...

  The faint, confident smile on 'Emperor' Valerius's face instantly froze.

  He shot a murderous glare towards the commentator's booth, looking as if he wanted to charge over there and punch them both in the face.

  "Calm down, calm down," Fly said, tugging at Valerius's sleeve with a grin.

  "Hmph!"

  'Emperor' Valerius shot Fly a heavy glare and turned his head away in a huff.

  Next, the freshmen from the other schools entered the arena in sequence, and the commentators introduced them one by one.

  However, most of these freshmen were of average strength and lacked any real fame or buzz. The commentators only gave them a few cursory words before moving on.

  Until...

  The contestants from Ironpeak Academy entered the field.

  "As the school ranked just behind Star City High, Ironpeak Academy has also produced many famous and outstanding Beast Warriors."

  "Do you remember that sensational match from the Freshman Invitational ten years ago?"

  "Of course I do! That was Lysander Thorne of Star City High versus Julius Kane of Ironpeak Academy! That match was truly a clash of titans, a classic that people still talk about today!"

  Good grief, Fly thought, Julius Kane was in the same class as Lysander Thorne!

  "It's just a pity that since then, although Ironpeak Academy has had the occasional genius, they generally haven't been a match for Star City High."

  "True. But this time, they might just have a chance to challenge Star City High's dominance!"

  "Oh? And why is that?"

  "This year, Ironpeak Academy has welcomed another genius, Gideon King! He was ranked fourth in the entire city on the entrance exams!"

  "Wow, sounds pretty impressive."

  "Not only that, I heard that this Gideon King achieved the best freshman Power Assessment Test score Ironpeak Academy has seen in the last ten years, since Julius Kane himself!"

  "Is that so? I seem to recall that Star City High's number one freshman, Fly, also achieved the best freshman score his school has seen in the last ten years, since Lysander Thorne!"

  "Wow, now this is getting interesting! Ironpeak Academy's number one in ten years versus Star City High's number one in ten years! Gideon King versus Fly! Will they give us a match as spectacular as the legendary showdown between Julius Kane and Lysander Thorne?"

  "This feels just like destiny!"

  While introducing Gideon King, the two commentators didn't forget to draw comparisons with Fly, invoking the history between the two schools.

  Fanned by their words, the atmosphere in the stadium reached another high point. Many spectators were on the edge of their seats, eagerly awaiting the duels to come.

  After the opening ceremony came the drawing of lots for the teams.

  As the captain of the Star City High team, Fly was naturally the one to draw for them.

  Under the guidance of the staff, Fly walked onto the central stage. Besides him, Gideon King from Ironpeak Academy, Jade Bell from Concord High, and Hugh from Merit Academy also came onto the stage to draw lots .

  Soon, the results were out.

  In the first round, Star City High would face Merit Academy, and Ironpeak Academy would face Concord High.

  The opening match was Star City High versus Merit Academy.

  "I look forward to our match, Mr. Fly." After learning the results, Hugh took the initiative to walk over to Fly, extending his hand in friendship.

  He was well aware that although Merit Academy was one of the "Star City Big Five," they only managed to send one or two graduates to The Tulip League's Eight Elite Universities each year. In some years, they didn't even send one.

  They mostly came to the Freshman Invitational to fill out the roster.

  Therefore, he felt no pressure at all. It was a good chance to gain experience and make some friends. Especially making friends with a top prodigy like Fly.

  "Hello. I look forward to it as well," Fly replied with a polite smile, shaking Hugh's hand.

  Afterward, Fly and Hugh parted ways and walked off the stage.

  The team captains returned to their respective rest areas, and the commentators began explaining the rules to the audience.

  A staff member came over to Dean Sterling to ask for Star City High's contestant order.

  "I'll go first," Jett volunteered.

  He knew very well that his strength was not on the same level as the three "true" geniuses: Fly, 'Emperor' Valerius, and Genevieve.

  In his own school's freshman rankings, he was "fourth" at best. (His actual rank was sixth, but since the top four usually participated in the invitational, he mentally ranked himself as fourth.)

  Under these circumstances, he should be the one to go first, to scout out the opponent's strength and wear them down a bit.

  Most importantly...

  Their goal was to win the entire tournament.

  Merit Academy was just an appetizer.

  Gideon King of Ironpeak Academy was the biggest threat in this competition.

  The top priority right now was to let Fly and the others conserve their stamina for the decisive battles against Gideon King and his team.

  So, no matter how you looked at it, he should be the one to go up first.

  "Please, Dean Sterling, let me," Jett said again.

  He was truly thinking of the team.

  'Emperor' Valerius and Genevieve both nodded in agreement upon hearing his request.

  "Fly, as the captain, what do you think... huh?"

  Dean Sterling was just about to ask Fly for his opinion when he turned his head and found that Fly had vanished.

  "Where did that kid Fly run off to?"

  Just as the Dean was frantically looking around, the commentator's voice suddenly boomed over the broadcast.

  "The first contestant for Star City High is... Fly!"

  Dean Sterling and the others quickly looked up at the broadcast feed on the large screen in their rest area.

  Sure enough, Fly was already walking onto the stage.