NOVPUB"Oh oh, Dean Virginia, hello! Come on in quickly." Qiao Sang stepped aside.
As she spoke, she suddenly thought of something and called out loudly, "Little Treasure, the teacher is here!"
"Xun xun~"
In the next second, Little Treasure appeared beside Qiao Sang.
Unlike usual, he was now wearing the monocle he used to avoid, a black half-top hat on his head, a black flower in his paw, and… a brown towel draped over him.
That’s my face towel... Qiao Sang’s mouth twitched. She snatched the towel off and kept a smile on her face as she said, "Quickly go study with the teacher."
"Xun xun..."
Little Treasure glanced at the towel with some regret.
But he quickly recalled what his beast master had said and thought of the computer. He lifted the monocle with a paw, revealing an I'm ready expression.
With the director present, Ivina refrained from teasing the Ghost Ring King for seeming different from yesterday. She walked toward the indoor training area based on her memory from the night before.
Little Treasure followed close behind.
Dean Virginia didn’t follow them. Instead, she sat down on the living room sofa.
"Gang Slice."
Gangbao was already prepared, bringing over the water just poured in the kitchen and placing it on the coffee table.
Dean Virginia looked at Gangbao, her eyes flickering slightly, and asked, "Is this the evolved form of Steel Falcon?"
Weren’t we supposed to see how well Ivina teaches... Qiao Sang thought as she sat down on a single-seater sofa nearby. She replied with a "Mm": "Her evolution name is Steel Slash Giant Falcon."
Director Virginia picked up the glass, took a sip, and said, "Seems like Ivina didn’t prepare thoroughly enough for the interview, there was no report about this."
With her experience, it was clear the pet in front of her hadn’t evolved temporarily, but had fully stabilized into a higher form.
Qiao Sang instinctively tried to cover for Ivina: "At the time, everyone was talking about how Ice Xilu evolved into Ice Aipalu, so her focus was on that. I didn’t mention the Steel Falcon’s evolution, so she didn’t know."
"That’s nothing, it just means she still needs more training."
Dean Virginia smiled slightly and changed the subject: "I haven’t seen any news about the Steel Falcon evolving into the Steel Slash Giant Falcon. Does that mean you haven’t registered the information at the Beast Taming Center yet?"
Oh crap, I forgot... Qiao Sang screamed internally, but kept a calm face: "Indeed, not yet. I’ve been a bit busy these past two days, should be going tomorrow."
Dean Virginia put down her glass and suddenly brought up another topic: "You’re an exchange student, only staying at Yulianton University for one semester. Do you know how long it took for a pet to learn Spatial Lockdown under Ivina’s teaching last time?"
Qiao Sang thought for a moment and guessed, "Three months?"
"No." Dean Virginia smiled.
"It took eleven months, almost a full year. That kind of time isn’t much for a pet learning Spatial Lockdown. In fact, it’s quite fast."
"With her teaching ability, it’d be hard to get a pet to master Spatial Lockdown in just one semester."
Qiao Sang’s expression didn’t change much.
She had already considered this possibility.
She’d thought at the time: Little Treasure had a strong learning ability, with high talent and comprehension. Learning new skills, as long as they weren’t beyond his main or secondary attributes, or ultra-tier moves, shouldn’t be hard.
Even if he hadn’t mastered it by the end of the semester, the training methods would already be familiar. She could continue the training after returning to Blue Star.
At this moment, Dean Virginia continued: "But I can help you."
Qiao Sang froze for a moment.
"Help me with what?"
"Help your Ghost Ring King train Spatial Lockdown." Dean Virginia said kindly with a smile.
Qiao Sang fell silent for over ten seconds before asking: "Do I have some kind of natural talent for journalism?"
Dean Virginia was taken aback, then laughed, "Why would you think that?"
Qiao Sang: ...
"I just happen to have a pet that knows Spatial Lockdown and know how to train it." Dean Virginia explained.
"In journalism, we highly value news confidentiality. To prevent leaks during interviews, pets are often trained with area-blocking skills, like Spatial Lockdown."
"So I know exactly how to train it effectively."
Only Psychic-type pets can learn Spatial Lockdown. Doesn’t that mean most pet journalism majors have to contract a Psychic pet? That’s pretty luxurious… Qiao Sang thought vaguely.
But on second thought, while raising a Psychic pet might be a luxury for students at other universities, for students who can get into Yulianton, one of the top three interstellar schools, it was probably just a matter of choice.
After all, most of them were raised in elite environments from childhood. Their family backgrounds couldn’t be poor.
"Why help me?" Qiao Sang asked.
Dean Virginia answered bluntly, "I watched your interview. You said you wanted to participate in the Interstellar Cup. I think that’s highly possible. I hope when you do, you can provide me with some news content."
Compared to other department heads, Dean Virginia was well aware of the pet journalism department's weaker standing.
A genius aiming for the Interstellar Cup would never give up the Beast Taming Department to join the Pet Journalism Department.
Rather than wasting time on the impossible, it was better to build goodwill now and seek potential future collaboration.
This is the first time someone’s said they believe I have a good chance at the Interstellar Cup... Qiao Sang felt a warm stir in her heart, unexpectedly touched.
"You’re really that sure I’ll qualify?" Qiao Sang asked.
Dean Virginia didn’t hesitate: "I’m sure."
"Let’s exchange contact info. If you see me in the Interstellar Cup, just message me." Qiao Sang said, pulling out her phone.
Dean Virginia was briefly stunned, then took out her own phone.
"Alright."
She hadn’t expected Qiao Sang to be so agreeable...
"If you ever want to know anything about Chaosu Star, you can reach out too. I may not excel in other areas, but I’m absolutely top-tier when it comes to intel." Dean Virginia said with a smile after they exchanged contacts.
Just for that line, even if she didn’t teach Little Treasure Spatial Lockdown, it’d be worth it... Qiao Sang thought.
That evening, Dean Virginia entered the indoor training field to give Little Treasure a bit of instruction and assess his progress.
10:00 PM
Entrance hallway.
Dean Virginia put on her shoes and said, "I’ll come again tomorrow."
"Okay." Qiao Sang nodded.
Huh? Ivina hadn’t reacted yet when she was whisked out the door by Dean Virginia.
---
12:00 Midnight.
Bedroom.
Qiao Sang lay in bed with her eyes closed.
In her dream...
Qiao Sang stood wide awake in the countryside.
On both sides were vast stretches of greenery. The sky was a clear blue, clouds drifting slowly by, the scenery beautiful like a fairy tale.
Suddenly, a golden light shone in the sky.
At the same time, an ethereal and majestic voice rang out from above: "Is there something you especially desire?"
Qiao Sang thought seriously for a moment and said, "I want to participate in the Interstellar Cup."
The majestic voice in the sky paused for a moment, then added, "I meant a thing."
Qiao Sang thought again and said, "The Interstellar Cup championship trophy."
The majestic voice: ...
Even the clouds in the sky seemed to freeze at that moment.
A few seconds later, the voice rang out once more: "I’ll grant you one wish. Aside from anything related to the Interstellar Cup, what do you want?"
