418: Cat and mouse

“Ding, congratulations on successfully matching! Your opponent is Val.”

“Name: Val.

Ranking: 72.

Evaluation: Extraordinary (Enjoy a 300% challenge point bonus upon winning).”

“Please confirm if you wish to enter the Arena.”

Confirm!

Lin Tianwei came here to match in order to crush everything, so he naturally wouldn't be afraid.

“Ding, since Val is an illusion left by an ancient powerhouse, entering the Arena will be confirmed by default.”

“Ding, the Arena has begun. The venue for this competition is: Chaotic Domain.”

An illusion naturally couldn't refuse to enter the competition, so the entry into this competition was incredibly fast.

Pitch black!

The familiar Chaotic Domain was unusually dim, as if the faint light that only existed within the Chaotic Domain had been obscured by some special entity.

Talent Template: Vision Field (Extraordinary) activated!

In an instant, relying on the faint light that remained in the Chaotic Domain and his own vast Mental Power, Lin Tianwei perceived everything around him.

The reason it was pitch black was because a colossal, heaven-reaching body blocked most of the light in this area.

This was a python, or rather, a long flood dragon; the long horn protruding from his forehead indicated his identity.

Val's body was immense, coiling and twisting, suspended in the air, wrapped around itself like a cage of flesh and blood, completely trapping Lin Tianwei within.

A pair of purple eyes, devoid of emotion, stared intently at Lin Tianwei, as if looking at a dying prey.

It was only because of the current waiting period; otherwise, Val would have already swallowed Lin Tianwei whole.

The vast size disparity between the two sides was also the source of confidence for those Cosmic Beasts who bet on Val winning.

They believed that perhaps there was no need to wait for the domain to unfold; Val could simply devour Lin Tianwei with his massive body alone.

In most cases, a larger body meant greater strength.

What's more, just from his aura, such a terrifying Thunder Serpent was not something Lin Tianwei, a mere Berserk Giant Bear, could compare to.

Their confidence immediately surged, and they even began to fantasize about how to spend the income after their successful investment.

Yet, they didn't know that choosing to trust Lin Tianwei's enemies would only plunge them into an abyss of eternal damnation.

Time would not shift according to the will of the weak; as soon as the waiting period ended, Val launched a fatal attack on Lin Tianwei.

His seemingly enormous body was as nimble as a rabbit. Before most of the audience could react, Val's gaping maw had already reached Lin Tianwei.

Just a little further, and he could easily devour Lin Tianwei.

At that point, with his Thunder and Lightning Domain fully open, Lin Tianwei would endure the most brutal electrotherapy within Val's body, until he was electrocuted to ash, completely becoming nourishment for Val's growth.

However, this short distance seemed like an insurmountable chasm. The moment Val's gaping maw was about to close, Lin Tianwei's figure vanished directly, and moments later, he reappeared at another location far from Val.

Instantaneous Movement! The entire Arena erupted in an uproar.

These Cosmic Beasts had only seen Lin Tianwei annihilated by the Phoenix Bird, but they didn't know what powerful strength lay within Lin Tianwei's seemingly not-so-large body.

Being able to use Instantaneous Movement in the Chaotic Domain was equivalent to Lin Tianwei already being in an invincible position.

Their beast cores began to pound rapidly, a sign of tension.

A strong intuition told him that this competition might not end with Val's overwhelming victory.

Although he avoided Val's fatal blow through Instantaneous Movement, Lin Tianwei hadn't actually moved too far from Val.

Val's body was simply too enormous, occupying almost a third of the space in this Chaotic Domain.

It was very possible that he, like Lin Tianwei, possessed some Talent that could increase his size.

This Chaotic Domain used for the competition was only so large; no matter how much Lin Tianwei dodged, he couldn't get too far from Val.

Just as Lin Tianwei had just found his footing and was about to launch a counterattack, a bolt of lightning, three times thicker than Lin Tianwei's body, streaked across the sky, attacking Lin Tianwei's position.

As a top-tier species of the Thunder Serpent Clan, Val was born with powerful lightning control abilities.

Not only the single horn on his forehead, but every scale on his body could release terrifying thunder, completely annihilating his enemies.

This was the strength of a top-tier species; even a young beast less than a hundred years old still possessed world-destroying power.

Although this terrifying thunder was powerful, it was still impossible to catch Lin Tianwei's figure.

His figure flickered, and Lin Tianwei instantly appeared in another area, perfectly avoiding the snake-like lightning.

Facing the agile Lin Tianwei, Val wasn't annoyed; he simply added another bolt of purple lightning, playing a game of cat and mouse.

He believed that even the cleverest mouse could not escape his grasp.

What's more, this seemingly evenly matched chase was already in his favor.

He only needed to use his powerful Talent to casually release a lightning bolt to force Lin Tianwei to expend a lot of stamina to use Instantaneous Movement.

Even the purple lightning released could be recycled.

With this level of attack, Val could release it his entire life without ever running out of energy.

Val ignored Lin Tianwei's evasion, and Lin Tianwei likewise ignored the so-called purple lightning.

His seemingly casual Instantaneous Movement was actually just a feint to appear weak, preparing for a fatal blow against Val at a critical moment.

Whoosh, another Instantaneous Movement.

However, this time Lin Tianwei's Instantaneous Movement covered a great distance, bringing him directly in front of Val's eyes.

Looking at the deep, purple-gem-like eyeball in front of him, Lin Tianwei unhesitatingly extended his right palm and slapped it down hard.

A terrifying power erupted; Lin Tianwei's strike even caused space itself to twist for a moment.

Bang!

Under the enhancement of the Speed Burst Talent Template, Lin Tianwei's speed was terrifyingly fast, not giving Val any time to react before he slammed a claw down hard.

It struck Val's eyeball, emitting a dull thud.

However, the expected world-shattering destruction did not occur; although Lin Tianwei's strike landed squarely, it had no effect whatsoever.

The seemingly vulnerable eyeball was not as fragile as Lin Tianwei had imagined.

A thin yet thick eyelid protected Val's eyeball, stoutly resisting Lin Tianwei's claw.

Not only that, but a terrifying bolt of lightning rushed along Val's eyelid towards Lin Tianwei.

Lin Tianwei had his plan, and Val likewise had his own plan.

His body seemed calm, yet it contained terrifying thunder power.

Once Lin Tianwei engaged him in close combat, Lin Tianwei would inevitably be struck by lightning, becoming fish on a chopping block.

Under the action of Val's generator, a large amount of current continuously poured out along Val's eyelid towards Lin Tianwei.

In an instant, it completely submerged Lin Tianwei, turning him into a super electric bear.

The power of thunder not only caused extremely high damage but also came with special paralyzing damage, capable of instantly paralyzing enemies and restricting their movements.

In an instant, Lin Tianwei seemed to transform into a tungsten filament, directly illuminated by the lightning, lighting up the entire Chaotic Domain.

His body was directly controlled by the purple lightning, unable to move, frozen in place.

Looking at Lin Tianwei's helpless appearance, Val's eyes were full of mockery. He opened his mouth again, and a slender snake tongue shot out, curling towards Lin Tianwei's body.

This level of snack was truly not even enough to get stuck in his teeth.

If it weren't for the Arena, he wouldn't even bother with it.

Seeing this, the Cosmic Beasts who had been startled by Lin Tianwei's rapid Instantaneous Movement also swallowed their hearts back into their stomachs.

I told you, how could Lin possibly defeat Val?

Val is the undisputed victor of this competition.

As if to confirm their thoughts, Lin Tianwei made no move, just watching Val's snake tongue get closer and closer to him.

No sooner said than done!

Just as Val was about to coil around Lin Tianwei with his snake tongue, and his guard was at its lowest, Lin Tianwei moved.

Possessing the Electricity Immunity Talent Template, he naturally had extremely strong immunity to electric attacks.

Being electrocuted and paralyzed was merely a deliberate illusion created by Lin Tianwei.

To let Lin Tianwei place his bear claw on his eyelid without any reaction, it was truly a testament to Val's audacity, even the King of Hell would praise him.

Charge Burst!

Crack!

Lin Tianwei, whose strength was already extremely powerful, burst forth again, breaking through the thunder, shattering Val's seemingly indestructible eyelid, and fiercely clawing at Val's eyeball.

Torn to pieces!

Although Val's eyes still maintained their original, purest amethyst appearance, they were covered in cracks, possessing a strange, ruined beauty.

Roar ~

With his eyeball shattered, the intense pain made Val instinctively let out an angry roar. The purple lightning all over his body surged, forming a terrifying electric net that indiscriminately attacked the entire Chaotic Domain.

Unfortunately, Val's seemingly terrifying purple lightning caused no damage to Lin Tianwei whatsoever.

Instead, Lin Tianwei's figure flickered again, appearing before Val's other eye, and he launched another fierce claw.

With both eyes destroyed, Val was finally much more symmetrical, curing Lin Tianwei's severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Roar ~

Another shrill scream came from Val's mouth. At this moment, where was his previous nonchalant demeanor?

He was abnormally furious, like a world-destroying demon beast.

Purple light flared! That was the power of the Thunder and Lightning Domain, instantly enveloping all areas around Lin Tianwei.

As the surrounding rules were rewritten, Lin Tianwei would no longer be able to use the Instantaneous Movement, that bug-like skill.

Val's eyes also revealed the pleasure of revenge.

The Thunder and Lightning Domain would teach this little bug who dared to disrespect him a lesson; he would atone for his offense with his body turned to ash.

Ultimately, Val was the first to lose his composure, opening his Thunder and Lightning Domain as if cheating.

The Thunder and Lightning Domain and purple lightning were simply not comparable.

In terms of power, it was like the difference between one and ten thousand, terrifyingly vast.

Val was confident that Lin Tianwei absolutely couldn't withstand it for even a second before turning into charcoal.

Sighing slightly, Lin Tianwei inwardly thought that he had originally only wanted to have a hearty close-quarters battle with Val, but who knew that the opponent would actually lose his composure and resort to cheating.

Since that was the case, then he shouldn't blame his Beast King Domain for being merciless.

Thinking this, brilliant golden light rose from Lin Tianwei's body, beginning to contend with the purple representing the Thunder and Lightning Domain.

Astonishment.

Val's eyes were filled with astonishment; he never expected that Lin Tianwei, a mere bug ranked only 101, would also possess the ability to use a domain.

Not only that, but the power of this domain seemed to be very strong, not at all inferior to his own Thunder and Lightning Domain.

At least under the suppression of the Thunder and Lightning Domain, it showed no weakness whatsoever.

Thus, Val became the clown, his proud trump card utterly useless.

Equally astonished were the Cosmic Beasts who were watching this competition.

From the moment Val's eyeball was shattered by Lin Tianwei to Val releasing his Thunder and Lightning Domain, their hearts felt like they were on a roller coaster, going up and down.

However, upon seeing Val release his Thunder and Lightning Domain, their suspended hearts finally stabilized, and they let out a long sigh of relief.

Under a domain, all beings are equal, equally crushed to dust by the domain.

Now they only needed to wait for the scene of Lin Tianwei being blasted to dust by the Thunder and Lightning Domain.

This was Val, a powerful member of the Thunder Serpent Clan, not at all comparable to trash species like the Flaming Bird.

He could release a domain with just his powerful physical strength, completely lacking the Phoenix Bird's weakness of needing to burn its life to release a domain.

Naturally, there would be no weak period during the release of the domain, giving Lin Tianwei an opportunity to exploit.

That's right.

After a long period of research, the clever Cosmic Beasts had roughly analyzed the general situation of the previous competition.

Lin Tianwei must have relied on some extremely special Talent to withstand the burst period of the Phoenix Bird's Reincarnation Domain, and only then did he turn the tide against the odds without possessing a domain.

But the powerful Val would not leave such a flaw for Lin Tianwei.

Turning to ashes was Lin Tianwei's only possible outcome.

However, before they could even be happy for half a second, they saw the brilliant golden light emanating from Lin Tianwei's body.

Even if they hadn't eaten pork, they had seen pigs run.

Just by the golden light's power to contend with the purple light, they could discern the opponent's identity.

Domain, this was absolutely the power only a domain possessed.

In an instant, countless Cosmic Beasts felt their hearts turn cold.

They suddenly had a bad premonition: since Lin Tianwei also possessed a domain, would the victory of this battle belong to...

Only Azeia burst into laughter, roaring, “I knew it, I knew there was something fishy about this 'Lin', he actually had such a hidden trick!”

“Those fools who doubted me are dumbfounded now, aren't they?”

“What does it mean to truly have vision? I am it!”

Although it was only a three-times odds tilt, it led to completely different outcomes. This time, the earnings from the betting pool would far exceed the first time.

Three times? No, ten times was even possible.

Many Cosmic Beasts who originally planned to pursue their dreams, upon seeing such high financial returns, unhesitatingly switched to the financial investment camp.

The proportion of Cosmic Beasts in the dream-chasing camp that needed to be paid out was also reduced by a full two-thirds, greatly lowering the black market's costs.

Thinking of this, Azeia excitedly looked towards the Arena.

There, the golden light representing Lin Tianwei had already begun its true counterattack! (End of Chapter)