Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Shen Geng suddenly understood once again why his father always seemed to enjoy getting smacked by his mother.

He really did like it.

Shen Geng felt that his somewhat prideful, face-saving tendencies had been somewhat cured.

Face was nothing compared to real, tangible benefits.

After washing up, the two of them slept a deep, round sleep. When they woke, they began tidying up the mess.

One with metal abilities, the other with wood—teamwork made things a breeze.

Metal sliced through the waste swiftly while vines and branches carefully coiled and sorted everything by type. Then each pile was neatly packed and sealed with metal clasps, effortlessly carrying the heaps of trash away.

Bai Xingshu *tsk*ed as he watched Shen Geng’s now-refined control. "You’ve improved pretty fast."

His tone carried a pointed edge.

Shen Geng coughed lightly and replied with a straight face, "Credit goes to Teacher Bai’s fine teaching."

Bai Xingshu: "..."

He couldn’t help but wonder whether Shen Geng’s so-called “teaching” included those seven days.

Back when he first taught Shen Geng how to use his powers, he certainly hadn’t expected him to apply them like *this*.

Noticing Bai Xingshu’s chill, Shen Geng knew it was just the inevitable treatment a so-called “useless Alpha” received after an Omega’s heat.

But…

He reached out and gently tugged Bai Xingshu’s finger. Immediately, Bai Xingshu felt a cool band encircle the base of his finger.

As a metal ability user, he had already sensed the metallic object Shen Geng had hidden in his palm before the action. So when Shen Geng touched him, he let it slide.

Once it was on, Bai Xingshu lifted his hand to study the ring now adorning his right ring finger.

It was engraved with royal crests and, as Bai Xingshu could sense, embedded with an extremely tiny chip.

When Shen Geng proposed, he’d come empty-handed. Now, at least, he remembered to give something.

"Shared marital property," Shen Geng said simply, having handed over all his assets.

Bai Xingshu glanced at the ring, then at Shen Geng. His face stayed blank, seemingly unmoved by Shen Geng’s offering—yet he still reached out and took Shen Geng’s right hand.

With his other hand, he flicked his fingers slightly, and a piece of platinum detached itself from the ceiling light, twisting into a ring in his palm, its surface etched with sprays of lilies.

This was Shen Geng’s scent—the fragrance he had conjured at Bai Xingshu’s words.

The makeshift ring was boldly slipped onto Shen Geng’s ring finger.

"No. Everything is mine," Bai Xingshu snapped fiercely, his face still cold but unmistakably domineering, clearly screaming *including you*.

Shen Geng felt as if his heart had been struck. Unable to hold back his laughter, he immediately leaned in and kissed his Omega hard.

Then…

His face was met with a palm as Bai Xingshu shoved him away, disgusted.

...Ugh.

When on earth will this Omega’s cool-down period finally end!

Of course, these little AO relationship quirks weren’t really something to share with outsiders.

The last few days of the long break passed without a hitch, and before they knew it, the second semester of their junior year had begun.

After the usual post-vacation training to get everyone back in gear, the group quickly readjusted during just two days of quick warm-ups. Not long after, the military officially kicked off the University League.

As top-tier military academies, Shoujun, Changying, and United each had their S-class and A-class combined teams automatically advanced straight to the finals.

Other classes, though, had to go through the standard elimination rounds one match at a time.

For students from S and A classes, this came with both pros and cons.

The upside was that other students would be exhausted from back-to-back matches with barely any rest, making them tired and unfocused by comparison. Plus, their own strategies stayed harder to figure out since fewer people had seen them in action.

The downside was that the judges for each match were basically recruiters scouting for new talent. Students who fought round after round got more chances to stand out. Their performance reviews got updated with every match, so their strengths were easier to notice.

Until the finals began, Bai Xingshu and the other seeded team members were pretty much free to do as they pleased.

—All the teachers were busy running the matches, leaving almost no lessons scheduled. Only one or two instructors were left behind just to babysit these kids.

So, following the teachers’ instructions, the entire seed group gathered in the auditorium to watch the fights of the other teams.

Nobody complained—it was actually a decent way to learn the ropes.

There was plenty of info online about squad combat, but small-scale team battles like this were rare. Aside from sparring among themselves, their only real experience had been against Changying.

Then, for the very first live match they randomly picked, they got a real taste of what it means when the world is just a shoddy operation—and when total noobs duke it out.

It looked almost exactly like how chaotic their own training had been at the start of last semester—everyone running around like headless chickens, clearly unsure what to do.

If a mech pilot dropped out, someone else rushed in to take over, no strategy involved. If something broke down, they just tried to fix it—though figuring out *how* was another issue. If supplies ran low, they sent someone to grab more—never mind that it was already too late. At least they were trying, right?

The Shoujun seed team even saw a medic stab someone with a syringe so hard that blood gushed everywhere.

...They couldn’t help flinching in sympathy.

And the best part? Two teams like that ended up facing off against each other.

What perfect matchmaking. What evenly matched opponents. Everyone in the room now fully understood what those phrases meant.

Everyone: "..."

At this point, it wasn’t even about winning or losing, or the league anymore.

One thought kept creeping into their minds:

Wait...

Are we seriously going to be fighting alongside people like this in the future?

Kinda scary.

But as they kept watching, they got over the initial shock and started getting into it.

Amid all the chaos, they noticed some players thinking hard, desperately trying to turn things around—like mantises stretching their arms up, trying to keep the whole shaky setup from collapsing completely.

Many are just small, unremarkable people.

The frontline mechanized soldier who won't accept defeat, left alone to the end, still fighting hard on the front lines.

Like the mechanic who suddenly realizes how crucial the equipment they're repairing is, and without waiting for anyone to organize, goes out and rounds up classmates to pitch in with the repairs.

Or the logistics team member who thinks hard about how to make do with what supplies are available when resources run low.

They’re not flashy or attention-grabbing.

Even if these individuals were part of the seed teams, they never thought they’d be noticed by anyone except the judges during such a tournament battle.

But now—

Viewing things from the observer’s perspective, they realize that isn’t the case.

It turns out that if you truly work hard, every effort really can be seen.

The Shoujun teachers overseeing them watch calmly as the students’ expressions shift.

This is why they arranged for all the non-competing students to watch.

Not just the seed teams—later on, the defeated teams will also join the audience, seeing both others’ strengths and weaknesses.

Seeing how the initial teams handle themselves, the seed teams gain confidence, thinking they can do it too.

And when the initial teams see even the seed team members making mistakes, they realize everyone struggles, which also builds their confidence, making them think they can do it too.

No matter how much the teachers say or do, nothing affects them as much as watching their peers.

As for whether they actually can or not—

Young people, after all, need to believe in a bright future to truly have one.