Fly immediately recounted the story of how Student Council Vice-President Lance Wolfe came to visit him and gave him the invitation.

  As the second young master of the Tarantino family, 'Emperor' Valerius naturally didn't lack channels to obtain an invitation. Moreover, with his breadth of vision, he might not necessarily hold Grandmaster Muse in such high regard. It was simply that all the genius young Beast Warriors of Jade State had been invited; if he didn't go, it would look bad for the sake of appearances. So he decided to go just to join in the fun, not really caring whether he would be selected by Grandmaster Muse or not.

  Therefore, upon hearing Fly's explanation, he just curled his lips, showing no intention of joining in on this scalping business.

  Fly also made up his mind. Valerius, Genevieve, and Jett Gale were all exceptionally talented and were all on Grandmaster Muse's invitation list. Furthermore, they were all wealthy people, so they naturally wouldn't stoop to becoming scalpers.

  Apart from the three of them, Fly wasn't very familiar with the other students. Seeing that Leo was quite interested in the matter, he decided right then and there to sell it to him for a hundred thousand.

  Why not make money when the opportunity arises?

  He had no connections in the black market. If he really took it there to sell, who knew what kind of trouble might arise? Selling it directly to Leo like this would not only allow him to make a profit but also earn him a favor—it was a win-win situation.

  Leo was naturally overjoyed and agreed readily. However, coming from a painfully ordinary family, he couldn't come up with a hundred thousand on the spot, so Fly let him write an IOU.

  For the next few days, Fly naturally focused all his time on Martial Studies cultivation.

  Relying on the funds given by Lance Wolfe and Principal Selene Penn, Fly bought quite a few good things at the campus store and expanded his collection of Skills.

  After entering Level 3 and absorbing the power of The Phantom Hivequeen, Fly's Thunder-Roach totem also evolved into The Roach Matriarch totem.

  ...

  A week later, on the weekend, Fly and Leo arranged to meet at the Central Plaza of Star City.

  Fly was a transmigrator. After coming to this world, he had focused all his energy on Martial Studies cultivation and hadn't had the chance to explore the city, so he wasn't very familiar with Star City. Although mobile phones now had navigation functions, having a companion to act as a guide was always much more convenient.

  "Godfather!"

  Seeing Fly, Leo greeted him loudly from a distance, looking extremely excited. He had thought he would miss out on this art exhibition, but unexpectedly, thanks to Fly, he was able to obtain an invitation, so he was extremely grateful to Fly.

  "You should just call me Fly." Fly rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking helpless.

  Although this kid Leo insisted on swearing fealty to him as his Godfather, they were peers after all. Shouting like this in public still gave him a strong sense of second-hand embarrassment.

  "Okay, Godfather!" Leo nodded with a grin. "But the spot for Grandmaster Muse's disciple probably has nothing to do with me."

  Although he had the chance to come and pay respects to his idol with Fly, Leo knew exactly where he stood regarding his own strength. He didn't think he would be that one-in-a-million lucky dog.

  In his opinion, his Godfather Fly was the best candidate.

  "There's no need to be so discouraged," Fly said with a gentle smile. "If it were purely based on talent, Grandmaster Muse wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble."

  "Wouldn't it be enough to just select people directly based on their performance in the Freshman Invitational over the past few years?"

  "Moreover, technology is so advanced now. Various advanced AIs are emerging one after another. They can not only watch videos to analyze the strength of Beast Warriors but also use AI as an auxiliary analysis tool."

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  "With the support of technology, it's clear as day who is stronger and who is weaker."

  "But Grandmaster Muse didn't do that. Instead, he went to great lengths to organize such an art exhibition. This shows that he has his own set of criteria for selecting people."

  Fly offered his analysis in a measured tone.

  "Is that so?" Leo asked cautiously, and immediately a fighting spirit lit up in his eyes.

  However, just then, a cold, aloof male voice drifted slowly from behind Fly and Leo.

  "But don't celebrate too early."

  Leo turned his head towards the sound and found that the newcomer was none other than the second young master of the Tarantino family, 'Emperor' Valerius.

  "Big Brother Valerius, what a coincidence!" Leo greeted him warmly, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected to run into 'Emperor' Valerius here.

  But 'Emperor' Valerius just huffed directly and ignored him.

  "Uh..." Leo scratched his head, looking a bit awkward.

  'Emperor' Valerius didn't spare him another glance, skipping right past him and coming straight to Fly's side.

  He stuffed his hands in his pockets and spoke to Fly on his own accord, "I advise you not to take this matter too seriously."

  "Oh?" Fly turned his head to look at Valerius, his interest obviously piqued. Even Leo secretly leaned closer, pricking up his ears to listen quietly.

  "I heard from the elders in my family that Grandmaster Muse's return to Star City this time might not be voluntary," 'Emperor' Valerius said as he walked.

  "Huh? Why?" Leo chased after them, asking in confusion.

  'Emperor' Valerius turned his head to glare at Leo, seemingly annoyed by his interruption, but he didn't say anything harsh. He just explained faintly, "I heard that Grandmaster Muse failed in a power struggle with others in Helios Warrior Corp and was pushed out."

  "So you understand now, right?"

  "In order not to make things look too ugly, Helios Warrior Corp announced to the public that Grandmaster Muse retired early. But in fact... rather than saying Grandmaster Muse is returning home in glory after a successful career, it's better to say he was forced to resign and is returning home to lie low."

  "This apprenticeship at the art exhibition might very well be related to his revenge plan."

  'Emperor' Valerius said with certainty.

  In his view, a Grandmaster Realm powerhouse like Muse would absolutely not bow down easily. Now that he had released the news of accepting apprentices with such fanfare, it was very likely related to his revenge plan.

  This was a wavelength that only arrogant strongmen could connect on.

  "So, you never truly know a person's heart from their face. Don't be foolishly used by others and treated as a pawn." After speaking, 'Emperor' Valerius gave Fly a meaningful look.

  "Being used as a pawn by Grandmaster Muse isn't necessarily a bad thing, right?" Leo, behind them, was somewhat puzzled.

  No matter what, Grandmaster Muse was a renowned Grandmaster Realm warrior. Being selected as his personal disciple would definitely bring no shortage of resources and opportunities.

  Even if it was true, as 'Emperor' Valerius said, that this was likely Grandmaster Muse's grand plan for revenge, thinking about it from another angle—if he wanted his apprentice to be a useful tool for revenge, he would have to teach the apprentice well and ensure they learned real skills.

  So, whether it was purely accepting an apprentice or using them as a tool for revenge, becoming Grandmaster Muse's apprentice didn't seem like a loss no matter how you looked at it.

  "Do you really think that?" 'Emperor' Valerius glanced coldly at Leo, his eyes looking as if he were looking at a clueless idiot.

  But Leo looked at 'Emperor' Valerius, then scratched his head again, completely unaware of why Valerius would say that.

  Seeing this, Fly sighed and then voiced his own thoughts: "Think about it. How powerful must the faction be that even Grandmaster Muse couldn't compete against? Opposing such people and such forces is in itself an extremely dangerous thing."

  "Power struggles are often very cruel; people can very likely die. Think about it: if his enemies learned that Grandmaster Muse had accepted a bright apprentice, would they be able to sit still? It's very likely that all sorts of dangers and attacks would come swarming in."

  "In other words, if you want to gain the benefits of becoming Grandmaster Muse's apprentice, you have to endure the dangers created by his enemies. If you want the prize, you have to pay the price."

  Hearing Fly's explanation, Leo suddenly saw the light. Aside, 'Emperor' Valerius also nodded slightly in approval.

  The Valerius family had many capable people and strong connections. As long as he mobilized the family's intelligence system, he could easily learn many hidden inside details that were difficult for ordinary people to know.

  This was his unique advantage as the second young master of the Tarantino family.

  Fly, on the other hand, came from a purely ordinary family. His parents were ordinary workers. Let alone an intelligence network, he didn't even have an elder he could discuss things with slightly.

  Yet Fly was able to figure out the whole thing quickly after his reminder. This showed that Fly's thinking ability was far stronger than that of the average person.

  Only this kind of person is worthy of being my, 'Emperor' Valerius's, rival!

  Valerius looked at Fly, thinking to himself.

  "What's wrong?" Fly felt Valerius's gaze and turned his face to ask.

  "Nothing," Valerius said calmly. "I just wanted to say, Fly, you don't need to care too much about becoming Grandmaster Muse's disciple."

  "If you encounter any difficulties in your Martial Studies cultivation, you can absolutely come to me."

  "The Tarantino family is willing to offer you help."

  'Emperor' Valerius said, his eyes burning with intensity.