"Taiping Mountain? What Taiping Mountain?"
Chen Shu looked thoroughly baffled, turning to Xu Xingxing and the others. "Did I say 'Taiping Mountain' just now?"
Xu Xingxing pondered for a moment. "I don't think so."
"Yeah, I didn't hear it either."
Xie Sunan spread his hands, face full of bewilderment.
"???"
Shen Wushuang's eyes went wide. The coordinated performance from all three of them actually shook his confidence for a second.
Am I, a Black Iron rank Beast Tamer, seriously hearing things now?
"Teacher, you did say it just now. You also mentioned something about a Fire Snake Lord."
Ouyang Bao helpfully chimed in from the side.
The corner of Chen Shu's mouth twitched. "You're fired as my student. Zero aptitude!"
Only then did Shen Wushuang adopt an expression of sudden understanding -- he'd genuinely started to believe he was hallucinating.
"I can't be bothered to argue with you. None of it matters anymore."
Shen Wushuang let it go, a contemplative look entering his eyes.
"Based on my experience, a new Dimensional Rift is probably forming."
Chen Shu's eyebrow rose. "A new Dimensional Rift?"
The Spirit Revival had been active for nearly a thousand years, and hundreds of Dimensional Rifts had appeared across Huaxia over that span. A new one formed roughly every three to four years, and now one just happened to be emerging near Nanjiang City.
"It's still in its infancy, though. At least one or two years before it fully manifests."
Shen Wushuang wasn't particularly worried. This was an era of peace and prosperity. Huaxia's national power was formidable, and any Dimensional Rift that appeared was basically destined to become a fresh resource node.
"The Iron-Wing Beast Lord and the Fire Snake Lord were displaced by the spatial instability."
A thoughtful look settled in Shen Wushuang's eyes. "The Iron-Wing Beast's natural habitat is mountain ranges. Factor in the Fire Snake Lord, and you're probably looking at volcanic-mountain terrain. Dangerous-class, most likely."
From just a handful of clues, Shen Wushuang had pieced together a partial profile of the new Dimensional Rift.
"I thought it'd be showing up soon."
Chen Shu shook his head. A freshly-formed Dimensional Rift would be absolutely crawling with fierce beasts.
If he could just pre-position his Explosion Potions and deploy them the very moment it opened... the sheer satisfaction would be off the charts.
"What are you thinking?"
Shen Wushuang turned to look at him, wariness flickering in his eyes.
"Nothing! Just eating. Eating meat!"
Chen Shu said nothing more and turned his attention to grilling Iron-Wing Beast Lord.
The fierce beast alert had emptied the streets entirely.
The group sat out in the open, evening wind on their faces, roast meat in hand. It had a strange charm to it.
...
Chen Shu's days settled into a quiet rhythm.
The Iron-Wing Beast Lord's core organ let the Slime successfully comprehend a new skill: Wind Force.
Its function was similar to Wind's Breath. The Slime's innate wind-attribute power was pitifully low -- nowhere near enough to deal any actual damage. But it could extend the duration of Flight Mode, which counted as an upgrade.
Time flew by, and late January arrived before anyone noticed.
Chinese New Year drew closer and closer. Streets were draped in red lanterns and festive decorations, everyone brimming with holiday cheer.
Chen Shu didn't stir up any trouble. Every day, he dutifully showed up at the Spirit Fighting Arena to challenge opponents.
His opponents all had extremely rich combat experience, which pushed him to improve considerably. At the same time, his mastery of his contract spirit's skills grew sharper and more refined.
Chen Shu's ranking climbed steadily higher. He fought at least two or three matches a day.
Most of the powerhouses from last month's Spirit Fighting Rankings had fallen to him one by one. He'd officially cracked the top ten.
"Bandit bro, you're up."
A Spirit Fighting Arena staff member came over. He was thoroughly familiar with Chen Shu by now.
At the same time, the arena's sound system automatically queued up Chen Shu's personal BGM.
"Attention, all Beast Tamers!"
"The Nanjiang Bandit is entering the arena! I strongly suggest you display some self-awareness, surrender immediately, and spare yourselves the pointless resistance!"
"..."
Chen Shu no longer needed his personal loudspeaker. The arena played it for him now.
As January's most dazzling star, Chen Shu's popularity had even eclipsed Xia Yan's.
One of them crushed opponents by relying on an S-rank contract spirit. The other used an F-rank contract spirit to beat the living daylights out of every high-bloodline beast in his path. Naturally, Chen Shu drew far more attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome!"
The announcer could barely contain his excitement. He stepped up and declared:
"Today, we bring you a match for the ages!"
"On one side -- sixty-five matches, zero defeats -- the Nanjiang Bandit, Chen Shu! On the other -- the owner of a top-tier contract spirit, Xia Yan!"
"Both are third-year high school students, yet both have already stormed into this month's top ten! Let's hear it for these two rising stars!"
The entire arena erupted. The atmosphere hit maximum overdrive as spectators leapt to their feet, roaring at the top of their lungs.
"Nanjiang Bandit! Let's go! Nanjiang Bandit! Let's go!"
"Bandit bro, smash that sick cat for me! Don't hold back!"
Chen Shu's popularity clearly dwarfed Xia Yan's by a mile.
Sure, he called himself a bandit and could be a bit of a bratty shit -- but he wasn't the type to actually piss people off.
Xia Yan, on the other hand, fought with vicious brutality. He treated every opponent like they'd murdered his father, as if he wanted to kill their contract spirits outright.
"I've finally waited for this day."
Xia Yan's fists clenched tight, his gaze boring into Chen Shu like a laser.
"Why are you staring at me like that? Did I bomb your family's ancestral tomb or something?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow and said with a smirk: "Also, friendly reminder -- you should probably just surrender. You really can't handle this."
"If I'm not mistaken, your Slime is A-rank, correct?"
Xia Yan said with absolute certainty: "In fact, it's probably a top-tier bloodline even among A-ranks. That's the only way to explain how you've beaten everyone. But against me? I'll show you what an S-rank contract spirit truly means!"
"I will defeat you again and again until you know what despair feels like!"
Chen Shu shrugged. "What kind of bullshit are you talking?"
With that, he shared his Slime's status panel directly. Only the bloodline rating column, of course.
The rest of the information was a bit too earth-shattering -- especially the skill levels.
One enormous F slapped Xia Yan right across the face.
"You spent nearly a month analyzing, and THIS is what you came up with?"
The corner of Xia Yan's mouth twitched. Disbelief flooded his eyes as he muttered over and over: "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Chen Shu watched him spiral and said: "Did the urea bag scramble your brain?"
The mention of the urea bag snapped Xia Yan back to reality in an instant.
"Whether you're F-rank or A-rank, you're DONE today! You're finished! I'm telling you right now -- you are FINISHED!"
Chen Shu shook his head slowly, sighed, and said: "This kid's brain has completely fried."[1]
He summoned the Golden Slime without further ceremony. Twenty meters of terrifying mass materialized, instantly drawing every eye in the arena.
It looked adorable and dopey as ever, but the Slime had long since become a god of war.
No contract spirit could survive its butt...
Xia Yan summoned the Inferno Raging Tiger. A terrifying aura exploded outward.
"ROOOAAA--rrr..."
The Tiger had barely thrown back its head for its signature dominance roar when it caught sight of the Slime.
The roar cracked. Mid-note.
"Goo-gii! Goo-gii!"
The Slime gazed at the Inferno Raging Tiger with bright, eager eyes, its butt already wiggling with anticipation.
As though it was fondly recalling that night -- pressing against something warm, like a giant heat pack. Very comfortable.
The Inferno Raging Tiger's eyes filled with alarm. Every single hair on its body stood on end.
That reaction alone was enough to stun the entire audience. An S-rank Inferno Raging Tiger... had just flinched at an opponent?
"Could that Slime actually be SS-rank?!"