Hearing the system notification echo in his ears, Ethan was momentarily stunned.
Up to now, he had only encountered two Golden Opportunities in total.
The first was Deino.
And the second—was happening right now.
With the Golden Opportunity appearing once again, Ethan subconsciously looked at Principal Gao Bing and took a deep breath.
Could it be… that the principal calling me over really is a good thing?
Ethan and Qin Yingying followed Gao Bing to his office.
Inside, Ethan noticed there was already someone else present.
It was a young girl.
She looked about the same age as Ethan, perhaps even slightly younger.
Her figure was petite, giving off a somewhat delicate and fragile impression.
However, judging from the accessories she wore, she didn't resemble a traditional Donghuang Han ethnicity student.
Instead, she carried a subtle aura of a minority culture.
Ethan had seen her once before.
She was also a freshman at Donghuang Academy.
As for her name—he didn't know it.
"Let me introduce you," Gao Bing said, clearly anticipating the awkwardness.
"This is Ye Kui."
Then he turned to her.
"These two are Qin Yingying and Ethan."
The three exchanged glances and nodded politely in acknowledgment.
After settling down, Gao Bing looked at the three of them and said calmly,
"I called you here today because our academy will soon be participating in an International Freshman Exchange Conference."
"You three achieved the best results in this year's entrance assessment."
"So I'd like to ask—are you interested in taking part?"
International Freshman Exchange Conference?
Ethan blinked.
Almost immediately, he noticed the vague Golden Opportunity notification from earlier finally clarify itself.
This exchange conference—
was the Golden Opportunity.
"Principal," Ethan asked,
"could you explain the specifics of this exchange conference?"
With others present, he naturally addressed Gao Bing as Principal instead of Grandpa Gao.
Gao Bing smiled.
"Have you heard of Sea Cliff Island?"
"Sea Cliff Island?"
Qin Yingying exclaimed in surprise.
"You mean the legendary island formed from the clash between the Creator of the Land and the Creator of the Sea?"
Sea Cliff Island was a territory not claimed by any international Pokémon League.
It lay in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Donghuang Alliance.
Rumor had it that countless Pokémon lived there—and none of them were weak.
"Exactly," Gao Bing nodded.
"This year's International Freshman Exchange Conference will be held there."
"What you'll need to do is simple."
"Enter the island and conduct a one-month exploration."
"After one month, we'll bring you back."
Then his tone grew serious.
"Don't underestimate this exploration."
"This exchange conference is jointly organized by the top twenty Pokémon academies worldwide."
"Our Donghuang Academy alone has invested one hundred million to bury treasures across the island."
"The other academies have contributed similar amounts."
"That means there are at least two billion worth of externally placed treasures on the island."
"On top of that, Sea Cliff Island already has an extremely rich ecosystem."
"The Pokémon population and diversity there are astonishing."
"Conservatively speaking, the island contains at least hundreds of billions worth of undiscovered natural resources."
"This exchange conference is meant to temper you through real wilderness survival."
"At the same time, it's also a disguised form of resource-focused cultivation."
"After all—you are the most outstanding freshmen Donghuang Academy has produced this year."
Gao Bing wasn't exaggerating.
If anything, he was being conservative.
Sea Cliff Island was a massive resource island, the true value of which had never been fully assessed.
Between rare species, high-potential Pokémon, and unknown materials—
Its total value easily reached the trillion-level.
At this point, Ethan finally understood why the system labeled this exchange conference as a Golden Opportunity.
Just hearing about it was already tempting.
True, Ethan's father was a Champion, and resources weren't something he lacked.
But most conventional resources weren't as perfect as people imagined.
Take evolution stones and gems, for example.
He could buy them in bulk without difficulty—
But they couldn't trigger Opportunity amplification.
In fact, many gems weren't entirely beneficial.
Occasional use was fine.
But long-term reliance led to weaker combat performance, reduced energy affinity, lower energy storage, and even potential talent degradation.
However—
If those gems were enhanced by the system, the problem vanished entirely.
Since the system defined this exchange conference as a Golden Opportunity—
That meant anything Ethan obtained on Sea Cliff Island could potentially become a high-grade opportunity.
There was no reason to refuse.
"Principal, I'll participate."
As one of the three selected students, Ethan was the first to agree.
Qin Yingying and Ye Kui, clearly aware of how rare this chance was, quickly followed suit.
"Good!" Gao Bing laughed heartily.
"Then go back and prepare."
"We'll depart in three days."
"Pack spare clothes, tents, and camping supplies."
"Oh—and take this."
As he spoke, Gao Bing tossed each of them a black storage ball.
"These are 300-cubic-meter storage balls."
"Put everything you need inside."
"Remember to separate dry and wet items."
"And keep things organized."
"You don't want your bedding soaked and unusable in the wild."
A 300-cubic-meter storage ball was enormous—and incredibly expensive.
Each one was worth tens of millions.
Clearly, Gao Bing was sparing no expense.
Ethan already had one—after all, he was the son of a Champion.
But for Ye Kui and Qin Yingying, this was an absolute treasure.
They had never even heard of such an item before.
Just as the three were about to leave, Ethan suddenly thought of something.
He stopped and turned back.
"Principal—one more question."
"If we encounter students from other alliances during the exchange…"
"What should we do?"
This was a global event.
Running into other academies' students was inevitable.
Should they treat them as enemies, allies, or strangers?
Gao Bing paused.
Then, recalling that Ethan had a Tyrantrum and a Metagross, his eyes lit up.
Thinking of how Donghuang Academy had been suppressed and humiliated in past exchange conferences—
Now that the roles had reversed—
He burst out laughing.
"Then beat them hard."
"Let those arrogant foreigners learn just how strong Donghuang Academy really is!"
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/kakashiTL