Su Wen and Chen You both knew that this was likely the school’s ?valuation adjustment mechanism (VAM).

  Su Wen calmly flipped through the document, reading it line by line. In his past life, he had suffered from not carefully reviewing contracts, so he wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.

  Chen You, on the other hand, quickly skimmed the key points and was ready to sign, only to be stopped by Su Wen.

  "Take another look," Su Wen said, exasperated by Chen You’s haste.

  Chen You shrugged. "Come on, Su Wen. If the school wanted to screw us over, they wouldn’t go through all this trouble. Even if there’s an issue with the contract, we’re the underdogs, and with how connected the internet is now, nothing bad will happen."

  Mu Hanzhi, who had initially thought Chen You was naive, now looked annoyed. Chen You’s words, while seemingly expressing trust in the school, were actually a veiled warning to Mu Hanzhi not to try anything shady.

  These kids are way too sharp these days, Mu Hanzhi thought.

  Su Wen suppressed a ugh and didn’t stop Chen You from signing but continued to read the document thoroughly.

  After closing the file, Su Wen weighed the pros and cons.

  The resources offered by the school were indeed much less than what Charicific Valley provided, but they weren’t shabby either.?Annual funding of 1 million per Pokémon for training expenses.?Three free TMs from the school’s store.?Unlimited access to the school’s training facilities.These were the main points. Notably, access to restricted areas wasn’t included in the contract.

  The annual funding of 1 million per Pokémon meant that if Su Wen captured a second Pokémon within the three years, he could receive an additional 1 million each year.

  Unfortunately, the national requirement for capturing a second Pokémon was reaching the Advanced Trainer level, so Su Wen couldn’t milk the school for more resources.

  In exchange, the school required Su Wen to reach at least the top 32 in the Little Ho-Oh Cup in three years. Otherwise, he’d have to return the resources within five years.

  The conditions weren’t harsh—in fact, they were quite generous. But Su Wen didn’t urgently need these resources, and he disliked being bound by rigid rules.

  "Thanks, Teacher, but I won’t sign," Su Wen said, pushing the document back to Mu Hanzhi.

  Mu Hanzhi looked puzzled. "Can you give me a reason?"

  Su Wen scratched his nose. "Honestly, Teacher Mu, the resources here don’t really appeal to me."

  Three free TMs? Su Wen’s family ran a gym, and their TM inventory was likely well-stocked. He could probably find what he needed there.

  Unlimited access to the training facilities? Su Wen knew the school had premium training areas, but his family’s gym had simir facilities—less luxurious but sufficient for his current needs.

  Chen You wasn’t surprised by Su Wen’s decision. If it weren’t for his parents’ passing, he might not have signed the contract either. But he couldn’t afford to sit idle.

  Chen You signed without hesitation and handed the contract to Mu Hanzhi. "No issues here, Teacher."

  Mu Hanzhi didn’t let Su Wen and Chen You leave immediately. Instead, he pulled out a new contract.

  This contract was prepared by the principal after receiving Wu Yan’s report. It was tailored specifically for Su Wen.

  Compared to the standard contract, it added one crucial cuse:

  If Su Wen secures access to a restricted area, the school will take none of the resources he obtains there.

  Normally, the school would take half of the resources obtained from restricted areas after assessing their value. This cuse meant Su Wen could keep everything he gained.

  Su Wen’s interest was piqued. "Teacher Mu, what’s the best possible reward from these restricted areas?"

  Mu Hanzhi smiled, knowing Su Wen was tempted. "I can’t tell you exactly what’s there, but I can say that one person’s reward allowed them to raise any decently talented Pokémon to the Gym Leader level."

  Chen You gasped. "That’s insane!"

  Raising a Pokémon to the Gym Leader level would cost over 100 million in resources.

  Trainers were essentially hidden millionaires. Any Gym Leader-level trainer could live comfortably for life if they liquidated the resources invested in their Pokémon.

  However, most trainers who focused on money rarely reached high levels, while those dedicated to their Pokémon often poured most of their wealth into them.

  This meant that many powerful trainers weren’t as wealthy as people imagined.

  For a high school student to gain over 100 million in resources, it might even tempt them to quit being a trainer altogether.

  After a long moment of consideration, Su Wen picked up a pen and signed the contract.

  Chen You groaned. "Can I still back out?"

  Mu Hanzhi collected Su Wen’s contract and smirked at Chen You. "Sure, I’ll discuss with the principal about cutting your resources further."

  Chen You instantly wailed, "No, Teacher Mu, I was wrong!"

  "Alright, you two troublemakers, get going," Mu Hanzhi shooed them out and headed to the principal’s office to deliver the contract.

  "So, which version of the contract did he sign?" the principal asked with a smile.

  Mu Hanzhi chuckled. "The second one. You’re as sharp as ever, Principal."

  Su Wen thought the principal had prepared two contracts, but in reality, the principal’s bottom line was the fourth version. Su Wen, still young, had underestimated his importance in the eyes of the principal and others.

  Of course, Su Wen would likely never find out about this. The young fox was no match for the old fox.

  That evening at the Fighting-type gym, Su Wen, thinking he’d outsmarted the system, excitedly told Zhou Wan about his clever move. Chen You, wearing a martial arts uniform, stood nearby.

  "Why do I have to be here? I don’t even need this!" Chen You compined.

  Chen You had only pnned to hang out with Su Wen and Zhou Wan to pass the time, never expecting to be dragged into martial arts training.

  Zhou Wan said calmly, "We’ll train ourselves while our Pokémon train. No conflict."

  Over the next few weeks, life returned to normal. Su Wen maintained a routine of home, school, and the Fighting-type gym.

  He also selected his three TMs: ?Roost, ?Shadow Cw, and ?Fre Blitz.

  Fre Blitz was the most valuable. While Charizard could learn it naturally at the Gym Leader level, Su Wen wanted to get a head start.

  Shadow Cw was chosen to test Wu Yan’s theory. With ?Scratch and ?Dragon Cw already mastered, learning ?Shadow Cw should be easier.

  Roost was essential for Charizard’s recovery in prolonged battles.

  In his family gym’s storage, Su Wen also found TMs for ?Protect and ?Mystical Fire.

  Protect was a must-have move, often joked as the only move a Pokémon needed to learn.

  Mystical Fire was a signature move of Delphox. Su Wen was surprised to find it in his family’s Normal-type gym but considered it a lucky discovery.

  These five moves became Su Wen’s primary focus for the next few months.

  While training csses weren’t a challenge for Su Wen, the theoretical courses were overwhelming.

  Pokémon Biology, ?Pokémon Botany, ?Pokémon History, ?Pokémon Anatomy...

  These subjects, which Su Wen had never considered before, were now bombarding his brain, forcing him to sacrifice sleep to keep up.

  Two months ter...

  Chen You poked Su Wen, who was catching up on sleep during a break, with his pen cap. "Su Wen, where did you rank in the monthly exam?"

  "Fourth? Fifth? I forgot..." Su Wen buried his head in his arms, unwilling to think about it.

  Chen You pressed on with a grin, "Guess who’s first this time?"

  Su Wen resisted the urge to shove Chen You’s head into his desk and ignored him.

  Chen You was the quintessential overachiever. He never seemed to study but always topped the css and ranked in the top three school-wide. Su Wen was numb to it by now. Even Wang Xuan, who was out training with Su Chuan, had called to tell Su Wen to learn from Chen You.

  Since rankings were introduced, Chen You’s Rotom had no shortage of negative energy. Every time Mu Hanzhi asked him to share his study tips, Chen You’s casual "I just wing it and somehow end up first" was enough to fuel Rotom for weeks.

  If Chen You weren’t so socially adept, he’d probably have been ambushed and thrown into a bathroom by now.

  Just as Su Wen adjusted his position to sleep more comfortably, a boy burst into the cssroom, shouting, "Haixu High is here to cause trouble!"

  "Stop messing around, Wang Lei. This isn’t some Japanese drama," someone retorted.

  Su Wen thought the same. This was Xia Kingdom, not Japan. High schools didn’t have "challenge" events.

  But Wang Lei insisted, "It’s true! The head of the Cloud City Pokémon Center is here too. The seniors have already been beaten. It’s our turn next."

  As if to confirm Wang Lei’s words, Mu Hanzhi rushed into the cssroom. "Su Wen, Chen You, come with me."

  Su Wen, dragged by Chen You, followed Mu Hanzhi out of the cssroom. The other students wanted to follow but were scolded back. "Stay here and focus on your studies."

  Chen You, who had never seen Mu Hanzhi so flustered, asked, "Teacher Mu, what’s going on?"

  Su Wen, though yawning, was all ears.

  Mu Hanzhi gritted his teeth. "For some reason, Haixu and Second High’s leaders brought their students here today, ciming it’s a friendly competition. Haixu took the lead and even brought the Pokémon Center head."

  The head of the Pokémon Center oversaw all Pokémon-reted matters in the city, including resource allocation. If the results didn’t satisfy him, Cloud High might face resource cuts even before the Little Ho-Oh Cup.

  "No reason?" Su Wen scoffed. "They wouldn’t do this without a motive."

  Mu Hanzhi’s eyes narrowed behind his gsses. "It’s probably about next year’s restricted area slots. Normally, Cloud High gets five slots, Second High gets three, and Haixu gets two. With other schools, Cloud City has a total of 18 slots. Haixu likely isn’t content with being third."

  "So what’s the situation? Wang Lei said the seniors were beaten?" Chen You asked cautiously.

  Mu Hanzhi’s expression darkened. "It’s not that bad. Our seniors are slightly weaker, but it’s more like a 40-60 split. You first-years are the main event. The seniors were just the appetizer. Su Wen, Chen You, follow Wu Yan’s instructions. If he tells you to hold back, hold back. If he tells you to go all out, go all out."

  The sudden challenge had caught even the principal off guard. While the principal had some information on Haixu’s freshmen, the unexpected nature of the attack could lead to a major loss.

  When Su Wen and Chen You arrived at the training hall with Mu Hanzhi, the final match for the second-years was ending.

  "Mankey is unable to battle. Cacnea wins!"

  The referee’s call marked another loss for Cloud High. The second-year student, wearing the school’s red and white uniform, recalled his Mankey and trudged back to the rest area.

  In the rest area, Haixu High’s blue uniforms contrasted sharply with Cloud High’s. While Cloud High’s side was heavy with tension, Haixu’s side was filled with ughter.

  The high seats were occupied by the schools’ leaders and the Pokémon Center head.

  Wu Yan and the second- and third-year training teachers sat at the front of the rest area. The six first-year elite students, including Su Wen and Chen You, had already arrived.

  Wang Momomo compined, "Why are you two so te?"

  Chen You was confused. "Shouldn’t we be asking why you’re so early? Teacher Mu called us, and we came straight here."

  Zhou Wan, who had saved seats for Su Wen and Chen You, expined, "Teacher Mu probably didn’t call you immediately. We were pulled out of css earlier."

  Su Wen and Chen You exchanged looks, speechless. Teacher Mu was truly unfppable, letting them finish their css even in this crisis.

  At the front of the rest area, Wu Yan was discussing strategies with the other teachers.

  "Teacher Wu, this is all we know. It’s up to you now," the second-year training teacher said, embarrassed by the lopsided results.

  Wu Yan nodded. "I’ll do my best, but it’ll depend on their performance."

  He then approached Su Wen and the others. "The first-year matches start in five minutes. We know a bit about their strength, but there’s a transfer student from Japan we need to be careful with. We have no information on him—he’s likely Haixu’s secret weapon."

  Su Wen, who had been drowsy, suddenly perked up. "Japan?"

  "Yes, any problem?" Wu Yan frowned. Su Wen’s reaction was unusual for his normally calm demeanor. Was he feeling the pressure?

  Su Wen straightened up. "Leave him to me."