"Even those terrible seats cost over ten thousand credits? Then a good seat must cost tens of thousands, right?"

  Fly stared at the densely packed crowd in the stands and couldn't help but swallow hard.

  How much revenue would an event like this generate?

  Good grief. When it came to raking in money, these guys were truly in a league of their own.

  "That's not even the half of it," Jett chuckled. "Last year, a few security guards were selling Freshman Invitational tickets. Everyone thought they were just scalpers. But when the buyers got to the entrance, they were taken backstage, given security uniforms, and told to watch the match pretending to be guards."

  "By the time the event ended, they found out there were over two thousand 'security guards' in the stadium."

  "The whole thing even made the headlines on Star City News."

  "Huh?" Jett's story left Fly completely stunned.

  But after thinking about it, it wasn't hard to understand.

  After all, this was a tournament between Beast Warriors. It was true, full-contact, violent combat.

  It was just like the boxing matches from his past life.

  It was only natural that it would attract so much attention.

  Still, those ticket prices were just too expensive.

  "Vic, as competitors in the Freshman Invitational, do we get any perks?" Fly asked Dean Sterling, batting his eyelashes. "Like, family tickets or half-price tickets, maybe?"

  Hearing Jett's description of the ticket prices, Fly's mind had started racing. If he could get his hands on some cheap tickets and resell them, wouldn't that be a river of gold flowing right into his pocket?

  "Don't even think about it!" Dean Sterling saw right through Fly's little scheme and said sternly, "Even I don't get any, so how could you?"

  "Besides, we absolutely do not condone that kind of scalping. Do you think being a scalper is that easy? It's illegal!"

  "I stand firmly and unequivocally against such behavior!"

  Dean Sterling declared, his voice ringing with conviction.

  But Jett, standing beside them, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

  As one of the Dean's former private students, Jett knew him all too well. That look seemed to say: 'Firmly against it'? You're only saying that because you can't get any discounted tickets yourself, right?

  This little interlude quickly ended. Under Dean Sterling's guidance, the group of five soon arrived at the competitor's rest area.

  The teachers and participating freshmen from the other high schools were all resting here as well.

  Unlike the four from Star City High, who were all dressed in their own clothes, the competitors from the other high schools wore uniform team attire, making them easily identifiable.

  The four freshmen from Ironpeak Academy, in particular, stood out with their four identical, gleaming bald heads.

  The sight immediately reminded Fly of a popular manga from his past life, Crows.

  The students from Housen Academy in that series all had bald heads just like these.

  "Fly, you must be wondering why all the Ironpeak Academy students are bald, right?" Seeing Fly's confusion, Jett sidled up to him and whispered mysteriously.

  "You even know about that?"

  Fly glanced at Jett's gossipy face and thought to himself: This guy really is a walking encyclopedia of rumors.

  "Of course!" Jett nodded. "Among the schools competing in this Freshman Invitational, the most peculiar one is probably Ironpeak Academy."

  "Oh? Do tell," Fly raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

  Jett continued, "Years ago, this Ironpeak Academy was just a small, unknown high school. On paper, it was a Martial Academy, but in reality, very few of its students ever managed to successfully absorb a Beast Totem's power and become a Beast Warrior before graduation."

  "So how did they...?" Fly asked, confused.

  Star City wasn't a top-tier metropolis, but it was by no means small, with dozens of Martial Academy high schools of varying quality.

  Only four schools were qualified to participate in the annual Freshman Invitational—known as the "Star City Big Four."

  As for the other dozens of schools? They were considered third-rate.

  For some of the weaker high schools, picking out four freshmen who were actual Beast Warriors to compete was a tall order.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  If Ironpeak Academy used to be one of those third-rate schools, how did it rise so quickly to become one of the "Big Four," qualified to compete in the Freshman Invitational?

  "It all started years ago, when Julius Kane enrolled," Jett explained. "This Julius Kane is a legend. He was already one of the top students in Star City during middle school. But to everyone's surprise, after graduating, he didn't choose any of the top-ranked Martial Academy high schools. Instead, he chose the then-unknown Ironpeak Academy."

  "After enrolling, Julius Kane quickly absorbed his Beast Totem's power and became a Beast Warrior. This was an extremely rare event at Ironpeak Academy back then, and he became the undisputed number one student in the entire school."

  "After becoming number one, Julius Kane didn't just focus on himself. He established a mutual-aid society at the school, where the advanced students would help the beginners, improving everyone's strength. After that, he led his society members to compete everywhere, winning resources and bringing great benefits to Ironpeak Academy. You could say, their rise began with him."

  Fly thought.

  "But this Julius Kane had one problem: hair loss," Jett continued. "He was already mostly bald in high school. In the end, he just gave up and shaved his head completely."

  "It was probably due to his insecurity; Julius Kane was very sensitive about his premature baldness. So, he eventually just ordered the entire school to shave their heads too."

  "At first, some students resisted, but they were all... violently suppressed by Julius Kane. It got to the point where even the school administration didn't dare to interfere. After all, Ironpeak Academy owed its rise to the 'Big Four' largely to him, and they didn't want to offend their genius student."

  "Later, as more and more students benefited from his help, Julius Kane's prestige among the student body grew. Eventually, the students of Ironpeak Academy began to shave their heads voluntarily as a sign of respect. This tradition has been passed down ever since."

  "But, you know, people like looking good. It's not a great look to be bald all the time, right? So, starting with some unknown class, Ironpeak Academy adopted a new rule: students with the highest strength rankings are permitted to grow their hair out," Jett explained.

  Good grief, this is just a martial world version of Housen Academy! Fly lampooned internally. This Julius Kane is practically the Ironpeak Academy equivalent of Lysander Thorne!

  "By the way..."

  Fly suddenly realized that Jett's intelligence-gathering abilities were remarkably strong.

  When he first enrolled, he had a clear grasp of the top ten students (with the possible exception of the mysterious number one). Now, he could accurately recount the entire history of Ironpeak Academy.

  "Are you familiar with Ironpeak Academy's competitors?" Fly asked curiously. "Among those four, is there anyone who might cause us trouble?"

  If Jett knew their history so well, he had likely investigated their current freshmen too.

  "Yep," Jett said, jutting his chin towards one of the Ironpeak students. "That one right there is probably our biggest threat from their team."

  "His name is Gideon King. He was my classmate in middle school. He ranked fourth in the city on the high school entrance exams."

  "When it came time to choose schools, I thought he'd choose Star City High like me, but he went to Ironpeak Academy. I was curious about his choice back then, but later I found out: his mother is the Vice-Principal of Ironpeak!"

  Jett said this through gritted teeth.

  "You have a history with him?" Fly could practically feel the waves of resentment rolling off Jett.

  "Not really a 'history,' I just can't stand guys who rely on family connections," Jett replied.

  Fly: "???"

  He stared at Jett, his face a mask of bewilderment.

  Fly was rendered speechless.

  Jett continued, "If it weren't for his family connections, he never would have gotten his hands on a Mythical Species Beast Totem."

  Fly: "Huh? What did you say?"

  Fly thought.

  "I heard he used his family's influence to get a normal Beast Totem and then induced a mutation to turn it into a Mythical Species totem."

  "To put it bluntly, he's just a guy who relies on his family's power. Otherwise, how could his Beast Totem be so good?"

  "It's only because of that totem that he managed to get first place in Ironpeak Academy's Power Assessment Test,"

  Jett said bitterly. His own Beast Totem was only a Primal Species. It was clear he felt a great deal of imbalance when faced with Gideon King, who had obtained a Mythical Species Beast Totem through connections.

  "Although Ironpeak Academy isn't ranked as high as Star City High, having connections changes everything. For a student like Gideon King, going to Ironpeak might have actually been better for his development. And that's not all..."

  "In recent years, Ironpeak Academy has been gaining a lot of momentum, to the point where they're faintly threatening Star City High's position. They're willing to spend huge amounts of money and resources on their students' education."

  "I even heard a rumor that before this Freshman Invitational, Gideon King's mother—the Vice-Principal—already spent a fortune bribing officials at the city government, up and down the line. They're just waiting to defeat Star City High in this competition and claim the throne as the city's number one key high school."

  "You could say that Ironpeak Academy is dead set on winning this Freshman Invitational."

  Jett relayed all the intel he had gathered, piece by piece, to Fly.

  Just then, Gideon King noticed Fly and Jett's stares.

  He stood up from his spot, hands in his pockets, and sauntered over to them with an arrogant swagger.

  "I know you. You're Fly, right? The one who broke Star City High's freshman record for the last ten years." Gideon King said, a frivolous smirk playing on his lips.

  Fly's fame had exploded on the internet recently.

  His videos were all over the short-video platforms.

  As a student in the same grade, it wasn't surprising that Gideon King recognized him.

  "Mm." Fly nodded calmly.

  "I'm Gideon King, from Ironpeak Academy," Gideon said, looking down at Fly from his full height, "and I'm the strongest freshman Ironpeak has seen in the last ten years."

  "In this competition, I will defeat everyone from your school and lead Ironpeak Academy to the pinnacle of Star City!"

  Gideon King puffed out his chest, looking at Fly with utter disdain.

  Before Fly could even speak, Jett stepped up beside him. "Gideon King. Long time no see. Didn't expect to run into you here," he said, his voice cold.

  Gideon King turned his head, glanced Jett up and down, and said slowly, "Well, look who it is. If it isn't my old classmate Jett, the one I used to walk all over in middle school. What, is Star City High fresh out of talent? They're actually sending you to compete."

  "You!" Jett's fists clenched, his eyes boring into Gideon King.

  "You what? If you're scared, you can just forfeit now. Don't wet your pants on stage later."

  With that, Gideon King turned, gave a casual wave, and walked away without a backward glance.

  "Was he always such an ass in middle school?" Fly frowned, thinking to himself: What is with the high school students in this world? Is their mental state normal?

  Jett, however, continued to glare daggers at Gideon King's retreating back. After a long moment, he said through gritted teeth, his voice low and heavy, "Fly. Leave that guy to me!"