BZZZZZT—
A fierce golden current shot out of the Light Array, conducting itself through the stream of water.
The Electric Middle Elite Skill, Celestial Thunder Summoning!
Although both Yu Bao and Black Wood were Earth Element Pet Beasts naturally resistant to lightning, the Thunder Scale Beast’s current was so powerful that it still paralyzed them for a moment.
BOOM!
A deafening bang followed as a massive explosion engulfed more than half the arena. Even Su Zhi, standing in the command position, felt the powerful gust of air wash over his face.
The intense current had rapidly decomposed the water from the Azure Wave Claw into hydrogen and oxygen, then instantly ignited it, creating the explosion!
The audience first cried out in shock, then erupted into a thunderous wave of applause.
"Holy shit, you can do that? I’ve learned something new!"
"Damn, if it keeps going like this, aren’t those two from the Flying Shadow Alliance going to be facing endless explosions?"
"This is just ridiculous. I feel like my Pet Beast would be toast after one hit from that!"
"Tsk, tsk. Looks like the Purity Abyss Alliance has this match in the bag. The strength of that Thunder Scale Beast’s current is just insane..."
"Yu Bao? Yu Bao, are you alright?!" Su Zhi called out anxiously.
"Woof!"
As the hazy white vapor dissipated, Yu Bao, covered in a faint golden glow, was shaking its head.
’Man, that explosion made my head ring.’
Black Wood, next to it, was slightly better off. It was thick-skinned, after all, but a good portion of its body was scorched. Judging by its expression, it was clearly in pain too.
Snapping back to his senses, Xu Jianzhi quickly activated his Beast Taming Talent.
In an instant, his eyes turned a fanatical crimson, with several red markings extending across his cheeks. Black Wood’s body was also covered in crimson markings, adding to its aura of savage, frenzied power.
"Black Wood, now’s our only chance! Take down the Thunder Scale Beast in one fell swoop!"
Due to the effect of his Beast Taming Talent, Xu Jianzhi looked a bit unhinged, but the decision he made was remarkably calm and collected.
Yu Bao had already dealt with Netherworld this morning, so it wasn’t the primary concern. The bigger variable was this Thunder Scale Beast.
Although the Electric Element has an Attribute disadvantage against the Earth Element, Jin Lin possessed a very high Real-time Energy Value and an extremely high Racial Tier. That last move was also incredibly powerful, making it a far greater threat than the Azure Wave Claw.
To catch the bandits, you first catch the king!
"ROAR!"
Receiving its orders, Black Wood roared and charged toward Jin Lin on the opposite side.
But just then, Netherworld shot out, swinging its sharp claws at Black Wood.
Its claws, wrapped in high-speed currents of water, slashed rapidly, carving several bloody wounds into Black Wood’s body in no time.
Feeling the pain, Black Wood roared in anger, trying to use its brute strength and speed to throw Netherworld off.
However, Netherworld always managed to anticipate its movements, even managing to inflict new wounds on Black Wood while weaving around it.
As a high-mobility combat-type Pet Beast, the Azure Wave Claw excelled at dealing with large, less agile opponents.
Su Zhi immediately followed up: "Yu Bao! Support our ally!"
"Woof!"
Yu Bao activated Desert Concealment, quickly followed by a Tier Two Sandstorm.
Just as expected, the Azure Wave Claw was knocked back for a moment.
The attack was like a tickle to Black Wood in its Battle Frenzy state, but for the Azure Wave Claw, it was a significant blow.
"Woof!"
Yu Bao then closed in on Netherworld, giving it no chance to pull away, unleashing Furious Sand Blade, Quicksand Shield, Sand Shadow Guard...
It threw all sorts of Skills at it, even using Giant Fire Pillar, knowing it would have little effect.
A bunch of people in the audience were recording videos.
After all, it wasn’t every day you got to see an Earth and Fire Element Pet Beast beating up a Water Element Pet Beast that had a 4x advantage over it!
Up in the command position, however, Su Zhi didn’t look particularly excited.
He knew that Yu Bao wasn’t handling this easily; it was even struggling.
In the morning’s battle, Yu Bao had won by relying on its ability to fly, attacking the Azure Wave Claw from an advantageous position above.
Yu Bao’s Skill System was mostly built around ranged attacks; this kind of close-quarters dogfight wasn’t its strong suit.
However, Jin Lin’s lightning wove a sufficient threat. To avoid being caught in a three-dimensional pincer of lightning in the air, Yu Bao had no choice but to give up the option of flight.
And so, Yu Bao could only resort to the dogfighting it wasn’t good at.
But as Xu Jianzhi had said, this was the only way to break the stalemate.
On the field, only Black Wood had any chance of toppling Jin Lin!
"Woof!" Locked in a desperate struggle with Netherworld, Yu Bao still found a moment to bark at Black Wood.
’Don’t worry about me! Just go all out and wreck that thing shooting lightning!’
"ROAR!"
Black Wood nodded emphatically and charged like the wind toward Jin Lin nearby.
"CRACK! CRACK!" Two more bolts of fierce lightning came crashing down.
Black Wood kept charging through the intersecting arcs of electricity, letting the savage bolts slam into its body. It didn’t slow down one bit; in fact, its advance only grew more ferocious.
’So you’re the great Thunder Scale Beast, are you?!’
BAM!
A heavy thud echoed. Jin Lin raised its front two claws and slid backward, nearly getting knocked out of the arena, but it managed to stop Black Wood’s charge.
Xu Jianzhi’s eyes widened. "How is that possible..."
"Impressive combat power. If it weren’t Jin Lin... no, if it weren’t *my* Jin Lin, this battle would already be over."
Chen Xinghao held up one finger. His words sounded like praise, but they were laced with undisguised contempt.
"But you still don’t understand why my Jin Lin can defeat you... you dirt dogs."
BZZZZT!
Electricity flashed from Jin Lin’s claws as it held down Black Wood. Even with the boost from Battle Frenzy, the Earth Element Black Wood had absolutely no resistance to this electricity. It convulsed for a moment before collapsing, unable to get up again.
Having dealt with the most troublesome Stone Armor Rhinoceros, Jin Lin turned its gaze toward Yu Bao, who was still fighting Netherworld nearby, and pounced—
BANG!
The claws and lightning hit nothing but air. Netherworld and Jin Lin had formed a pincer attack on Yu Bao, but just as it was about to be hit, Yu Bao dissolved into a flash of silver light and vanished.
In the command position on the other side, a silver Beast Taming Light Array lit up beside Su Zhi as he resummoned Yu Bao.
The referee signaled that Su Zhi actively recalling his Pet Beast was considered a forfeit. The Purity Abyss Alliance summer camp team was victorious.
During the post-match formalities, Chen Xinghao once again refused to shake hands, walking off the stage as soon as the victory was confirmed.
"Don’t mind him, that’s just how he is..." Gao Yuxiang said, before following him off the stage.
In the end, the two partners, Su Zhi and Xu Jianzhi, shook hands.
Su Zhi smiled lightly. "Sorry about that. We could have had an honorable defeat, but I turned it into a forfeit."
"Don’t worry about it, you did the right thing!"
Xu Jianzhi patted Su Zhi’s shoulder. "That bastard is full of dirty tricks, so it’s always right to be careful. If Black Wood wasn’t so tough, I’d probably be even more cautious than you."
Black Wood: "..."
’In the end, my trust was misplaced.’
As it was an exchange match, the overall atmosphere of the summer camp finals was still relaxed.
Neither of the two took the loss to heart, and they received a unanimous round of encouraging applause upon returning to their seats in the audience.
And as Su Zhi looked around, as fate would have it, he spotted a familiar face in the stands.
"I just came to watch, I didn’t come specifically to see you," Fang Yuan said with a blank expression as Su Zhi approached.
’I don’t think I said anything...’ Su Zhi was momentarily speechless, then chuckled. He looked around and asked curiously, "Isn’t Lilith with you?"
"She’s at the Huichun Alliance General Hospital receiving treatment. She should be... in a little while..."
Fang Yuan’s voice had barely faded when his phone rang.
After answering the call, Fang Yuan frowned slightly.
Su Zhi stepped forward and asked, "Is it about Lilith?"
"Yeah."
Fang Yuan sighed softly. "The doctor said that due to the complexity of her injuries, the treatment isn’t going very smoothly. They want me to go over now to discuss the next steps."
"Woof! Woof!" Yu Bao poked Su Zhi, then pointed to itself.
"Yu Bao says it wants to go see Lilith," Su Zhi said, looking at Fang Yuan. "The match is over anyway, and since we’re already here, why don’t we go with you?"
Fang Yuan nodded, his gaze unconsciously drifting in the direction of the general hospital.
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Not splitting the second update, just dropping all 6,000 words at once. It’s more satisfying that way.