55: Skyfire

Hello everyone, dear audience members!

Welcome to the Fengdu New Bird Cup.

With the ball landing, the first match of the 120-into-60 round officially begins on Field No. 1!

Please follow the camera.

As the host's words fell, today's competition officially began.

Loud cheers erupted from the venue, and the sound waves spread, reaching even those in the waiting area.

Lin Shu, Bai Sheng, and Min Hu were among them, all staring at the big screen, watching other contestants battle.

Min Hu looked at the match, then thought about himself, realizing that his skill level among the top 120 was already considered among the weakest.

It seems today's match will be his last.

So his expression no longer changed much; he began to relax. Reaching this ranking had already exceeded his expectations.

He looked at Lin Shu and Bai Sheng, thinking to himself.

I wonder what place these two masters can reach. Do they have a chance to win the championship?

“Lin Shu and Huang Wen, please proceed to Battle Stage No. 3. The match will begin in five minutes.”

The voice of the announcement echoed, and the three of them immediately heard it.

“Brother Lin, I think I've heard of this Huang Wen.”

“Oh right, he's the fifth-ranked person on that list.”

Min Hu also felt familiar with the name.

“You've met a pretty good opponent. Huang Wen can rank in the top five at Central No. 1 High School, and his strength is very good.”

“I've battled him. His Beastmaster Talent is very powerful.”

“He can increase the Flame damage of Fire-attribute beasts, so he's quite tricky. Last time, I barely managed to win against him.”

Bai Sheng knew this contestant. They both attended Central No. 1 High School, so it was normal to have some understanding of each other.

Hearing this, Lin Shu nodded, his expression relaxed.

“Don't worry, I'll take it.”

He then waved to the two of them and strolled towards Battle Stage No. 3.

They had no doubts about Lin Shu's confidence; they were clearly very assured of his strength.

Upon arriving at the battle stage, Huang Wen had just taken his position.

He smiled and nodded at Lin Shu as a greeting, and Lin Shu returned the nod.

Huang Wen's initial attitude towards Lin Shu was quite good, very polite, which was typical behavior for a high school student.

Li Shu, who was also from Central No. 1 High School, was completely different last time, which also showed that bad apples were not common.

Huang Wen wore a simple white shirt with light blue jeans and glasses, exuding the aura of a good student.

Perhaps because of Li Shu's incident, Huang Wen had also learned about Lin Shu, watching his recent performances.

They were terrifying; no match lasted more than a minute, which was enough to show the powerful offensiveness of his beast.

For this, he had made many preparations, in case he met Lin Shu in later matches, but he didn't expect to meet him already in the round to enter the top 60.

Lin Shu saw Huang Wen staring intently at Dark, and realized that the opponent probably knew something about him.

But it didn't matter.

Huang Wen's beast was a Lava Elemental, a standard Fire-type beast.

Name: Lava Elemental

Level: LV15 (22/150)

Level Cap: LV86

Status: Healthy

Quality: Perfect

Attributes: Fire/Earth

Talent: None

Skills: Basic — Spark - Proficient (22/200) • Rock Throw - Mastered (13/40) • Sand Attack - Mastered (25/40)

Intermediate — Flame Dance Formation - Minor Accomplishment (11/60) • Fire Fang - Minor Accomplishment (12/60)

Such strength was indeed worthy of a Beastmaster in the top five of Central No. 1 High School. Before Dark's improvement, this strength would have been enough to cause Dark some trouble.

But unfortunately, he now had to face a completely new Dark.

“Both contestants are ready. The match begins now!”

With the referee's command, the match started immediately.

Lin Shu, following his usual strategy, ordered Dark to launch a direct assault, aiming to end the match swiftly.

Huang Wen also acted immediately, activating his Mental Talent, "Heavenly Fire," without daring to be negligent.

“Little Lava, use Flame Dance Formation!”

Just as Dark's attack was about to land, the Lava Elemental's body erupted with fire pillars, forming a crimson fire circle around them.

A scorching aura assailed them, as if they were in a furnace.

Seeing this, Dark turned and ran without any desire to attack.

Clearly, this was Huang Wen's countermeasure to prevent Dark's overwhelming attack.

But this Flame Dance Formation is an intermediate skill, how many times can you cast it?

Huang Wen also knew that this was just a delaying tactic; it could only protect himself but could not harm the opponent.

Suddenly, fist-sized flames appeared. This was the Spark skill. In its regular form, it could only use this skill to attack.

The Lava Elemental released five Spark orbs at once, which was its current limit.

Five fireballs sped rapidly, aiming at Dark nearby.

They attacked with wisps of white smoke.

Without even Lin Shu's command, Dark crossed its arms, and instantly, two blade auras appeared, shooting towards the fireballs.

“Crack, crack, crack.”

It was as simple as cutting open a few eggs. The blade auras met no resistance and went straight towards the Lava Elemental.

When Huang Wen saw this, his pupils dilated in shock.

What kind of skill was this transparent blade aura? He had never heard of it, and its power was so immense.

“Lava, dodge!”

The Lava Elemental wasn't particularly fast, barely dodging the rapidly flying blade auras, but it was still grazed.

The upper part of its rock-like body lost a section, and pebbles fell.

If it had been hit by such power, wouldn't it have been instantly killed?

Huang Wen suddenly felt at a loss; how was he supposed to fight now?

Before he could even think of a countermeasure, Dark unleashed a Dark Restraint, instantly immobilizing the Lava Elemental.

With such a large difference in levels, it couldn't struggle at all.

Immediately, Dark delivered a heavy slash, and the Lava Elemental fell to the ground, unable to move anymore.

The entire sequence of actions happened in the blink of an eye; what was originally an evenly matched battle instantly became one-sided.

Even Huang Wen showed a wry smile, having lost so easily again.

The work was done. Although there were some minor twists, the result was unaffected.

“The winner is Lin Shu!”

The referee announced the match result. Lin Shu nodded to Huang Wen and then left Battle Stage No. 3.

Back in the waiting area, Bai Sheng and Min Hu were still in their seats; it wasn't their turn yet.

Seeing Lin Shu return, Min Hu was very excited; Dark's power far exceeded his imagination.

“That was amazing, Brother Lin.”

“The championship is definitely yours now.”

Lin Shu waved his hand, telling him not to discuss that topic here, as it was a bit too ostentatious.

Bai Sheng was not surprised; such formidable combat power was normal...