"What the fuck?! This doesn't make any sense!"
Wang Zishan stared at the massive body of the Slime as it launched into the air.
He'd admit it -- he was a little panicked.
In a flash, the Slime arrived directly above the Thunder Beast's head -- and even let out that dopey little giggle...
"Let's see who goes down first!"
Wang Zishan's expression turned ruthless. He didn't concede. Instead, he willed the remaining lightning marks to keep detonating.
If the Thunder Beast moved, its skill would be forcibly interrupted -- and at that point, he'd have even less chance of winning.
BOOM!
The Slime slammed down, very nearly compressing the Thunder Beast from a three-dimensional creature into a two-dimensional one.
"AOWW!"
The Thunder Beast couldn't help but let out a pitiful whimper. This was the first time it had ever encountered a contract spirit this heavy.
Wang Zishan's expression froze. More than half the lightning marks still covered the Slime's body.
But none of them detonated. Instead, they flickered and dimmed.
The Thunder Beast's skill had been forcibly interrupted!
"Holy shit -- there's a seal on your butt?!"
Wang Zishan's eyes went wide. He cursed himself for being careless.
He'd assumed every contract spirit that lost before had surrendered simply because the Slime was too big to withstand. Too heavy to resist.
Turns out it actually had a sealing skill. Unless the opponent's raw strength could physically lift the Slime off, the moment you got sat on, the match was already over.
"I lose..."
Wang Zishan let out a helpless sigh.
He'd raised his Thunder Beast for years. It was already extremely powerful.
If it had fought Xia Yan, the other guy probably wouldn't have lasted ten minutes.
Chen Shu grinned from ear to ear. "Much obliged, much obliged! Losing to the Nanjiang Bandit should count as an honor for you!"
"Hehe... hehe..."
Wang Zishan let out a dry laugh, then suddenly remembered something. "Does your contract spirit not feel pain?"
Any other contract spirit hit by detonating lightning marks would've been paralyzed by the agony long before launching a counterattack.
The Slime? Not only did it charge forward without hesitation, it was giggling like an idiot the whole time.
Do I not have a reputation to uphold here?!
"Also -- why is your Slime so goddamn tough?!"
Wang Zishan's brow furrowed. Even after detonating nearly half the lightning marks, the Slime's body had only partially ruptured.
Even if every single mark had gone off, the Slime probably would've still had fight left in it.
The Slime's weakness was its limited attack options -- it was heavily reliant on skills.
But its defense and raw attack power were insanely strong. Most S-rank contract spirits couldn't even compare.
Whether the Slime could beat an S-rank contract spirit ultimately came down to skill matchups and battle tactics.
If potential ratings alone decided fights, Beast Tamers wouldn't even need to exist.
"Sorry, it's just built different."
Chen Shu shrugged and recalled his contract spirit into Beast Space.
If Sleep Kill wore off, the Slime would probably start whimpering "Goo-gii, Goo-gii" nonstop...
It wasn't until that moment that the silent arena finally erupted!
"He won?! Holy crap, he actually won!"
"The Bandit's invincible! Invincible Super Poop Man is invincible! I believed in him from the very start!"
"Bro -- weren't you literally cheering for the Beast Tamer Lion King just now?"
"What do you know?! Body in the enemy camp, heart with my own side -- you know what I'm saying?[1] I was deep undercover this whole time, gathering enemy intel!"
"Oh, give me a break..."
In an instant, the entire arena roared. The Nanjiang Bandit had made his name in Daxing City through sheer strength alone!
Chen Shu gazed out with profound eyes, filled with nothing but a deep sense of loneliness. Among Level 9 Beast Tamers, there probably wasn't a single person who could match him anymore...
"Teacher Shen, I told you Chen Shu would definitely win!"
Fang Si turned her head, a faint smile playing on her lips.
She wasn't happy because she'd won a bet. She was happy because Chen Shu had genuinely gotten stronger...
Even awakening an F-rank contract spirit hadn't dimmed Chen Shu's own brilliance!
Fang Si spoke casually. "Teacher Shen -- a bet's a bet. Pay up."
"Today's pretty much wrapping up. I need to arrange a ride for the students!"
Shen Wushuang muttered to himself, already standing and heading for the VIP room door.
But in that very instant, the space in front of him ripped apart.
Two terrifying dragon heads emerged. One radiated scorching heat; the other pulsed with bone-deep cold.
"Two S-ranks?!"
Shen Wushuang's pupils contracted. His expression went rigid.
"Ah! Look at my terrible memory!"
With that, Shen Wushuang slapped his own forehead, putting on a perfect "silly me, I forgot" act.
He turned around and immediately transferred one million yuan to Fang Si on his phone.
Every special training class student in the VIP room stared at Fang Si, unable to stop themselves from swallowing hard.
She was genuinely terrifying. Even Shen Wushuang didn't dare welch on the bet...
The two dragon-type contract spirits left everyone burning with envy.
Especially Du Long. Sure, he had an Earth Sub-dragon, but it was only A-rank. Compared to Fang Si's contract spirits, there was no comparison whatsoever.
"What the hell?! What's going on? Are we fighting?!"
Chen Shu had just walked back into the VIP room and immediately spotted the two dragon heads.
His expression lit up. He walked over and started rubbing the Scarlet Flame Dragon's head. "So warm..."
The Scarlet Flame Dragon gazed at him with resentful eyes. If anyone else tried to pet it, they'd have been scorched on contact.
But as its master's little brother, the dragon could only restrain its flames as much as possible.
"Alright, that's enough!"
Fang Si's mouth twitched. The moment she noticed Zhang Dali getting restless too, she immediately closed the Beast Space portal.
Those two idiots probably wanted to use the Scarlet Flame Dragon as a hand warmer again...
Shen Wushuang spoke up. "Everyone can head home today!"
Chen Shu had already claimed this month's first place. The other students' training was wrapping up too.
It was already January 24th. January 31st was New Year's Eve. Letting them go now meant they could make it home in time for the Little New Year celebrations.
Everyone cheered in unison. Apart from Chen Shu, none of them had any more fights today.
Just as the students were about to pack up and leave the VIP room, a staff member appeared at the entrance.
"Could Student Chen Shu wait a moment?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? I'm not doing interviews today. I'll come back when I'm free!"
He was busy heading home with Fang Si and the others. He had zero energy left for showing off.
"Uh... it's not an interview..."
The staff member said, "You're a lock for first place on this month's Spirit Fighting Rankings. Because of the holiday, we're distributing the rewards now."
"Rewards?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. He'd almost forgotten about that. Everyone on the Spirit Fighting Rankings received rewards -- the whole point was to attract Beast Tamers to come fight.
"Well, when you put it that way, I suddenly have time!"
Chen Shu's eyes gleamed with naked greed.
The staff member continued, "In addition to a set of Lord-tier materials, Qingmiao Drug Company has also specially sponsored a five-million-yuan bonus for this month's first place!"
"Oh? Your sugar daddy, basically?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. Before his match with Wang Zishan, the announcer had powered through a wall of audience abuse just to finish reading the ad copy.
Five million yuan was serious money by any standard.
Even Black Iron-rank Beast Tamers would be tempted -- it was roughly equivalent to two sets of Lord-tier materials.
"Uh... more or less."
The staff member said, "But they only started sponsoring yesterday. Their goal is specifically to meet you."
"Me?" Chen Shu frowned. "I don't think I know them?"
Right at that moment, a steady, composed voice rang out:
"Student Chen Shu's talent is truly remarkable. Our company would like to become friends with you."