As soon as the words were spoken, a sudden gasp erupted from the audience—Vishdair had dodged the charge for the third time.
"That's why I've always said, Lin Guang won't lose."
Beside her, the girl known as Miaomiao chuckled lightly, her voice like silver bells, as the golden birch leaf-shaped hairpin on her bangs and the single tuft of hair atop her head swayed gently.
"The outcome hasn't been decided yet." The short-haired girl shook her head. "Since the opponent has the money to buy skills proficiency potions, they would definitely hire a battle coach. They couldn't be oblivious to the current situation. Moreover, Lin Guang is too complacent, thinking his Spirit Beast is intelligent enough that it doesn't require commands. This could lead to backlash."
Just as the short-haired girl described, He Shenghuang realized the problem lying ahead during the second slowdown of his Blitz Calf.
But his strategy didn't change.
It wasn't because his Spirit Beast had an absolute level advantage, nor because the effect of the Talent [A Surge] would continue as long as a skill was uninterrupted. It wasn't even because the endurance of bovine Spirit Beasts was exceptional among similar types, allowing them to wear their opponent down.
What he truly relied on was the Spirit Rune Secret Technique he had inscribed in the Sea of Spirit with his family's resources, before most people even started the Spirit Pattern course!
He no longer intended to continue a war of attrition because he already saw his path to victory.
The next moment, after Vishdair had dodged the horned charge for the sixth time, He Shenghuang suddenly widened his eyes, spiritual power surging, as he stretched out his hand toward his Spirit Beast and uttered an ancient syllable.
"Accelerate (Ancient Daxia Language)!"
The spirit rune technique activated, and the Blitz Calf's speed at turning and charging suddenly increased, heading toward w before she was ready.
Yet at that very moment, Lin Guang, who had seemed to be dozing all along, finally opened his eyes slightly and looked up, with flames burning in the dark golden eyes beneath his glasses, calmly stating:
"Now."
Appearing caught off guard, Vishdair suddenly revealed a sinister smile.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, her speed also suddenly increased, and she matched the rhythm of the opponent's charge.
But this time it wasn't an elegant turn, but a wild sideswipe, her feet leaving deep marks on the ground.
The moment she narrowly missed the flank of the Blitz Calf, the silver-haired girl pressed her hands to the ground, her right leg forcefully kicking down with a heavy blow, striking the opponent's right knee from the side!
Crack!
Instantly, the calf's knee joint bent at a strange angle!
"Moo——"
A plaintive bellow of pain rang out.
The balance of the charge was suddenly broken, and it toppled sideways, yet the inertia couldn't be negated, turning it into a tumbling roll towards He Shenghuang.
In front of its master, it struggled to stand, but couldn't manage, with the front legs intact but one hind leg crippled, proving it could no longer charge in the short term.
The physical strength hadn't run out, the ether wasn't depleted, and it still had the will to fight, but it had lost.
In the face of an opponent capable of breaking its leg with a single kick, such injury undoubtedly rendered it combat ineffective.
[Your partner Vishdair has defeated a Green Level 9 enemy, the Star Shards progress bar has increased.]
[Star Shards progress bar 200%, gains 2 Star Shards.]
The referee, casting a surprised glance at Lin Guang and Vishdair, waved the flag in his hand: "The match is decided!"
Wang Dawei, after a brief stupor, suddenly stood up, clapping and shouting, "Awesome! Awesome!!"
After a moment of silence, the whole arena erupted.
Most of the lower-year students in the audience exclaimed.
"What!!"
"Impossible! What exactly happened!"
"What kind of skill is this! Breaking Blitz Calf's leg with one kick? Could this Spirit Beast be of the Fighting Element?"
The observing teachers were much quieter, though a look of surprise briefly flickered in their eyes, and their expressions relaxed considerably. Ouyang Wei was the same, though his brows carried a hint of gravity.
Standing motionless as if turned to stone for quite a while, He Shenghuang finally snapped back to reality. He saw the silver-haired girl sneering and making an international-friendly gesture towards him. Beside her, Lin Guang had emotionless eyes behind his glasses, as if this battle hadn't piqued his interest at all.
"..."
In the silence, He Shenghuang slightly lowered his head, looking at the Blitz Calf still trying to stand before him, a trace of hesitancy flashing in his eyes. His knee slightly bent, but at that moment, his body stiffened slightly, as if realizing something, and he straightened his leg again.
"Stand up," he whispered, "Blitz, your limit should be beyond this."
The Blitz Calf's eyes sparked with a trace of fighting spirit as it used all its might to struggle to its feet.
It succeeded!
But, it only stood for a second before falling again, the fracture in its leg causing it to collapse once more. A long, mournful bellow emerged, tinged with pain but more with an apology, yet drowned out by the cheers filling the arena.
"That's enough; you've tried hard enough."
He Shenghuang's voice was so soft it seemed he had no intention of letting the calf hear, retracting it into the spirit pattern.
Closing his eyes to take a deep breath, when He Shenghuang opened them again, no trace of feeling could be found on his face.
Walking over to Lin Guang, He Shenghuang retrieved a black wallet from his school uniform pocket, took out a golden card, and paused his outstretched hand in mid-air before ultimately handing it over to Lin Guang.
"It was an excellent duel; I lost."
His voice was frank, at least on the surface, it gave no hint of dissatisfaction.
Lin Guang took the card from his hand, a shopping card for the City Spirit Beast Mall with a value of 2500 Credit Points, equivalent to 250,000 Daxia Coins.
Even for a fairly rare Spatial Spiritual Artifact, the currency on this card was more than sufficient to purchase one!
"My father is quite interested in this rare Spirit Beast that hasn't yet entered the official Spirit Beast registry of Great Xia, and he is also an enthusiastic investor. If you have time this weekend, why not visit my home?"
Despite He Shenghuang's efforts to put on a smile, Lin Guang could still tell his expression was somewhat strained, probably not from his own volition.
"No need."
All of He Shenghuang's actions had been noted by Lin Guang, linking them to his father being the general manager of the stock exchange. Lin Guang more or less understood his father's character and shook his head: "You should understand, I cultivate the Equal Contract Technique, there's nothing for me to discuss with your father."
Finishing his words, Lin Guang turned to leave with Vishdair, leaving He Shenghuang, his face flushed red, alone in the arena.
On the other side, in the audience.
"We won just like that?!"
The short-haired girl widened her eyes, as the pale blue in them gradually faded, uttering aloud in surprise, "What was with that kick? I didn't sense any ethereal fluctuation of skill activation from her. Could it have reached an unparalleled skill proficiency?"
Suddenly, a cool yet familiar voice came from behind her.
"Wrong answer."