Age of Elves: I started flashing with my handheld.

Arrived at Baekcheon, the capital city of Dongning Province.

At the airport entrance, a private car picked up Bai Wenru and Nanfeng and took them to the Dongning Dojo.

Like most dojos, Dongning Dojo is located on the outskirts of the city and is adjacent to a ranch that belongs exclusively to Dongning Dojo.

It was a vast grassland.

A highway leads in, surrounded by lush green fields, with mountains stretching into the distance. If you stand here and look out, the sky and earth are divided into two colors: a clear, bright blue and a vibrant, verdant green.

If viewed from the sky, one can also spot a sapphire embedded in the verdant grassland. It is a clear spring, the lifeblood of the entire grassland.

"If you become the gym leader of the Winter Ning Gym, you can raise some Pokémon that need to run around a lot, such as Rapidash and Arcanine," Bai Wenru advised Nanfeng as he looked out over the fields from the car.

"I'll ask Senior Zhuo Yan about it another day," Nanfeng nodded.

Senior Zhuo Yan said he was going to get himself a Growlithe dog, and judging by the time, it should be arriving soon.

I had already found the Growlithe spawn point on the handheld console, so I didn't pay much attention to what Senior Zhuo Yan said about Growlithe. However, Growlithe is a very special resource that is officially controlled.

It's not unusual for an individual to own one or two Growlithe dogs, as you might encounter one unexpectedly. However, if you're raising more than fifty Growlithe dogs and want to sell them as products from your breeding shed, you must have an officially licensed certificate.

Little Fire Horse and South Wind also have spawn points. These are not resources controlled by the official team, so you can raise them freely.

Speaking of which, Ponyta and Arcanine are quite popular in "riding" competitions, especially in the grasslands of northern Dongning province.

“I could hold a riding competition here…” Nanfeng pondered.

After surfing, perhaps I could also add horseback riding to my list of sports.

Raising an Arcanine as a mount seems like a good idea, as my current Fire-type Pokémon is only Blaziken. Arcanine is definitely a Pokémon worth raising.

The car moved slowly forward, and along the way, Nanfeng saw many reporters carrying "long guns and short cannons".

The Winter Ning Gym Leader was scheduled to retire a week later, which was also the start date of the Gym Battle. Therefore, reporters and trainers eager to participate in the battle began arriving.

Reporters who arrive early can also conduct a pre-retirement interview with the head of the Dongning Dojo.

Nanfeng felt a little guilty after thinking about it. He was about to retire, and they insisted on taking advantage of him for a few more days to defeat him.

It's really a bit...

"Master Bai, we've arrived at our destination." The driver stopped the car in front of a building that resembled a warehouse. Flanking the warehouse-like structure were numerous two-story buildings, presumably the disciples' accommodations...

This is the Dongning Martial Arts Hall.

It was nowhere near as impressive as the Chiba Dojo that Nanfeng had seen before.

Standing at the entrance, Nanfeng felt this place resembled a ranch more than a dojo. If he were to conquer this dojo, he would definitely have to make some changes to this place.

Putting everything else aside, let's build a small villa as our place to live first.

At the entrance of the Dongning Taekwondo Hall, an elderly farmer with a sallow complexion and wearing a straw hat was surrounded by a group of reporters, while several young people wearing straw hats, overalls, and rubber shoes were helping to block them.

"Master Miao, will your apprentice participate in the upcoming dojo competition?"

"Master Miao, who do you think will win the dojo competition?"

． ． ． ．

Master Miao, whose real name is Zhao Miaoshan, is the head of the Dongning Martial Arts Academy.

Judging from his appearance, he looks more like an honest, ordinary farmer. If Nanfeng hadn't seen his information beforehand, he would never have believed that he was a gym leader.

He served as a gym leader for nearly thirty years, making him the first gym leader in twenty years to approach retirement age.

Normally, gym leaders are defeated and leave their positions.

Although Grandpa Miao was old, his eyes were still very bright. His gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Bai Wenru, who had just stepped out of the car. He immediately grinned and went to greet him. 0.8

The disciples quickly cleared a path.

"Brother, it's been a long time!" Master Miao shouted as he pushed through the crowd to Bai Wenru.

"Long time no see," Bai Wenru said with a smile, and the two clasped hands tightly together, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

Reporters around him immediately started snapping photos incessantly, and many had already recognized Bai Wenru's identity.

This is big news. Master Miao, a trainer at the Dongning Dojo, is retiring, and Bai Wenru, a top breeder from China, attended the ceremony.

Wait, there's still a week until the ceremony.

Why did Bai Wenru arrive so early?

Nanfeng, watching from the side, was also puzzled.

Is the teacher on good terms with the owner of the Dongning Taekwondo Academy?

Why would you choose to challenge the Dongning Dojo?

241. Trainer and General

"Please come in!" Master Miao led Bai Wenru and Nanfeng into the dojo.

The disciples then blocked all the reporters, preventing them from entering the dojo.

"Brother, it's been four or five years since we last met." As we entered the dojo, Master Miao led the way.

"The last time we met was at the Trainers' Union Conference," Bai Wenru recalled the scene from their last meeting.

"I even invited you to go drinking together after the meeting, but the chairman took you away before the meeting was even over," Master Miao laughed.

"But it's alright, either today or in a few days, I can finally get some rest. Then I'll go ask my old brother for a drink, so please don't lock me out."

"Don't worry, absolutely not. Also, would you be interested in becoming an honorary professor at Qiantang University after you retire?" Bai Wenru extended an invitation. "If I come, I'll have the opportunity to drink with you every day."

Master Miao was taken aback at first, then shook his head slightly.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but over the years I've been a dojo trainer and missed too many important moments for my family. I'm thinking that after I retire, I'll go back to my hometown to hold my grandchildren—no, I mean, hold my great-grandchildren."

"That's true, that's true," Bai Wenru sighed. His younger brother was already in his sixties, but he got married early and could already hold his great-grandchildren. Unlike him, he was still a lonely man.

"Is this the student you mentioned on the phone?" Master Miao sized up Nanfeng.

"Hello, my name is Nanfeng!" Nanfeng introduced himself.

Master Miao nodded. "Can he really give me a good, satisfying fight?"

“Of course, I’ve already tried it out beforehand,” Bai Wenru replied.

"Alright, let's head straight to the battlefield. After we're done, we'll have lunch together and have a few drinks! That'll make up for what we agreed on last time." Master Miao quickened his pace.

From the outside, it looks like a warehouse building, and it really is a warehouse. The huge warehouse is filled to the brim with tools, equipment, farm vehicles and the like for maintaining the ranch.

After passing through the warehouse and arriving at the ranch, there was a large open-air battlefield a hundred meters away.

Referees are already on standby.

Two staff members from the Dragon Kingdom Trainers Association were also waiting for Nanfeng and Miaoye.

Upon approaching them, Nanfeng and Miaoye both need to submit six Poké Balls to select the six Pokémon to be used in the battle. These Pokémon will then be tested with special equipment to ensure they have not been given any performance-enhancing drugs or similar prohibited substances before the battle.

Only after everything is confirmed can we go to the battlefield.

While waiting, Bai Wenru suddenly spoke.

"You must be wondering why, even though you and Myoyama are such good friends, you insisted on taking the position of gym leader from him just when he was about to retire, preventing him from retiring successfully, right?"

Nanfeng nodded. When he first heard the news, he thought his teacher had a grudge against the head of the Dongning Dojo.

I only found out today that they are very good friends.

This only deepened my confusion.

"A general would rather die on the battlefield than grow old and die in a sickbed."

"Trainers and generals are the same."

"What a trainer wants is not a retirement ceremony that marks the end of his training career, but a battle where he gives it his all and enjoys it to the fullest, even if he is defeated!"

“He said those words to me himself,” Bai Wenru explained softly.

The south wind was filled with awe.

For me, this was just an ordinary gym battle. Even if I lost in the end, I could still participate in the subsequent gym battles and compete with other trainers for the position of gym leader.

As for Zhao Miaoshan, he was known as Master Miao.

This could very well be his last duel.

"Don't feel pressured, just give it your all," Bai Wenru reminded Nanfeng, patting him on the shoulder.

"Understood, teacher!" Nanfeng took a light breath, his eyes shining like the morning star, his fighting spirit slowly rising.

While they were waiting, a large group of reporters suddenly rushed in.

It was Master Miao who gave the order to let the reporters in; dojo challenges need witnesses.

Moreover, this was a battle initiated by Master Miao himself. If he hid it from the public eye, people would question whether he was about to retire. So, he did a favor by giving the dojo to Bai Wenru's student, Nanfeng.

Of course, it's meaningless to obtain the position of Gym Leader without the strength of a Gym Leader, because there will definitely be many truly capable trainers who will come to challenge you.

In addition, Master Miao also wants to complete this final battle in front of everyone, regardless of victory or defeat.

"Who is fighting against Master Miao?"

"Is that Master Bai Wenru? Wasn't he the one who arrived just now?"

"How could that be? Master Bai Wenru is the president of Qiantang University. How could he possibly have time to be the head of Dongning Martial Arts Academy? Besides, he's older than Master Miao, isn't he?"

"Shouldn't that be the young man who came with Master Bai Wenru earlier?"

"He looks familiar. Doesn't he look like Nanfeng, the senior breeder who caused a lot of discussion online before? Oh right, isn't he a student of Master Bai 040 Wenru?"

"No way? Isn't he a top-tier breeder? Why would he challenge a gym?"

..

The reporters discussed it animatedly.

As the protagonist of this battle, Nanfeng also began to attract their attention. As the "Nan Shen," a freshman high-level breeder who had previously become a sensation online, Nanfeng was quickly recognized even though he tried to keep a low profile.

Just now, it was only because Master Bai Wenru's brilliance was so dazzling that no one noticed him.

Then the reporters became even more excited.

This is definitely a gimmick!

They've already come up with the topic.

Master Miao guides Nan Shen, marking the transition between the old and the new!

In an instant, long guns and short cannons were set up, ready to record the entire battle!

Neither Miao Ye nor Nan Feng were affected by the reporters' filming. The former was already used to it, had seen much bigger scenes, and was no longer nervous about such situations.

The latter, on the other hand, was not nervous at all because they felt there were few people around.

Soon, the staff of the Dragon Kingdom Trainers Association finished testing the six Pokémon selected by the two trainers and returned the six Poké Balls to them.

Nanfeng and Miaoye each took their places in the trainer's seats.

Waiting for the referee to announce the rules of the game.

242.VS Miao Ye

"Now begins the Dongning Gym Challenge, with Gym Leader Zhao Miaoshan battling challenger Nanfeng. Both sides can use six Pokémon. The battle ends when four of their Pokémon are unable to battle," the referee announced the rules of the match.

"Now, both sides, please send out your first Pokémon simultaneously!"

Nanfeng and Miaoye simultaneously raised their hands and threw out their first Poké Balls.

Miaoye's first Pokémon was Arcanine.

With a towering, robust body over two meters tall, its orange skin covered in tiger-like black stripes, and fluffy flaxen fur, it can run as fast as a hurricane.

"Roar!!!" The roar was full of energy.

The Intimidate trait has been activated.

Nanfeng's first Pokémon was Greninja, which withstood the Intimidate ability, lowering its Attack by one stage. At the same level, the first time its Attack was weakened, that meant half its original value!

However, it's not a big problem. Greninja may lose its physical attack, but it still has its special attack; it's a Pokémon known for its special attack anyway.

And this situation was within Nanfeng's expectations.