95: Chapter 95 Lin Chen: I'm not human anymore!

The night wind howled, and the wild grass bowed low.

In the center of the battlefield, two figures were dueling.

On one side was the newly evolved Radiant Moon Spirit Cat.

It stood on its hind legs amidst the knee-high grass, its slender figure straight, the holy ring at the tip of its tail constantly emitting a soft, milky-white halo.

On the other side was a leader-level Blade-Tail Viper that had devoured several desolate star crystals, its aura violent and chaotic.

Its massive body was coiled, crushing the wild grass beneath it, its triangular head held high, yellow pupils locked onto the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat.

Foul-smelling saliva dripped from its slightly open, fanged maw, sizzling as it corroded the grass.

Lin Chen raised his wrist and aimed his energy detector forward: "Race: Blade-Tail Viper."

"Attribute: Poison."

"Race Grade: Intermediate Extraordinary."

"Strength Grade: Tier 2, Stage 5."

The strength of this leader-level Blade-Tail Viper was about the same as the previous Shadow-Rift Cat, and neither could compare to the leader-level pet beasts he had encountered in the secret realm.

However, the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat had only just broken through to Tier 2.

"But the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat's race grade is a full tier higher, plus the boost from the badge of courage, and my careful cultivation, so battling it shouldn't be a problem," Lin Chen thought to himself.

"Meow~"

The Radiant Moon Spirit Cat turned its head and called out softly to Lin Chen, its amethyst-like eyes sparkling with intelligence.

It did not want to see a disappointed look in Lin Chen's eyes.

"Hiss—!!"

Perhaps it was the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat's calm posture that enraged the violent Blade-Tail Viper, or perhaps that pure, holy aura made the Blade-Tail Viper feel instinctive discomfort and disgust, as it launched an attack first.

Its long body shot out suddenly, moving so fast that it left a dark purple afterimage in the night.

Its bloody maw opened to the limit, its two dagger-like fangs flashing with cold light, and accompanied by a foul-smelling gust of wind, the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper bit down viciously toward the petite body of the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat!

This strike was powerful and came from a tricky angle.

But just as the fangs were about to make contact, the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat bent its hind legs and leaped lightly and nimbly to the side and back.

Its movements were fast as lightning, yet possessed the elegance and coordination unique to feline pet beasts, as if it were not being attacked, but performing a carefully choreographed dance on the grassland.

The dark purple snake head, wrapped in a foul wind, whistled past the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat.

Missing its mark, the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper's thick blade-tail swept across like a whip!

The bone blade at the end of the blade-tail, gleaming with cold light, tore through the air with a sharp whistle, slashing horizontally at the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat, which was still in mid-air.

This change in tactics was extremely fast and the transition was smooth.

Without needing a reminder from Lin Chen, light flashed in the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat's purple eyes; while in mid-air, seemingly with nowhere to leverage, its tail swung downward and pushed against the ground, acting like a miniature thruster that allowed its body to rise slightly higher.

Swish!

The cold blade-tail swept past, almost brushing the soles of the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat's feet, severing a few strands of floating wild grass.

"Bewitching Whisper," Lin Chen murmured in his heart.

The moment the blade-tail swept past, the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat twisted its body using the momentum, then stared fixedly at the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper, emitting a faint sound with a peculiar rhythm from its throat: "Meow~~"

An invisible mental wave spread rapidly, instantly enveloping the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper.

In an instant, the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper's movements stiffened, a trace of confusion flashed in its vertical pupils, and its momentum of pursuit stalled.

Lin Chen's gaze focused: "Take this chance, use Phantom Flash Strike."

"Meow~"

The Radiant Moon Spirit Cat landed steadily and, without the slightest pause, its slender figure transformed once again into a bright white phantom, rushing toward the side and back of the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper's neck, which was exposed by its lunge.

Its speed was extreme, leaving behind trails of afterimages in the night, making it difficult for anyone to pinpoint its true location.

This was the evolved Phantom Flash Strike; compared to Swift Shadow Flash, it was faster and would leave behind trails of afterimages to confuse the opponent, greatly increasing its practicality.

In an instant, the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat dashed dozens of meters and, taking advantage of the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper's trance, slashed out with its sharp claws.

Rip!

The sharp claws tore off a piece of hard scale armor directly, and bright red blood gushed out from the wound; the intense pain from its body brought the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper back to its senses, and it let out a shrill hiss.

The next moment, the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper opened its terrifying maw and bit toward the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat.

"Meow."

The Radiant Moon Spirit Cat retreated nimbly, avoiding the fatal blow.

"Light Blade Slash." Lin Chen's gaze sharpened, and he pressed the attack.

The Radiant Moon Spirit Cat raised its right front paw, and above its claws, brilliant and pure holy energy condensed, compressed, and extended rapidly, forming an arc-shaped light blade as solid as a real blade in the blink of an eye!

Light Blade Slash!

Shing!

The light blade tore through the air and slashed with pinpoint accuracy onto the front of the Blade-Tail Viper's neck!

"Hiss!!!"

The Blade-Tail Viper let out a painful and furious roar.

The brilliant light blade cut deep into its flesh, leaving a charred, curled, and hideous wound, with blood spraying out.

Seeing this, Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully: "The effect is quite good."

The light element naturally counters the poison element, and with the dual amplification of the badge of courage and the holy ring, the power of this Light Blade Slash far exceeded the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat's own strength.

"It's a pity the skill pool is still a bit shallow," Lin Chen muttered.

The evolved Radiant Moon Spirit Cat had only mastered three skills, which could be considered very lacking compared to the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur.

But as long as this mission was completed, the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat would immediately be able to master [Cat Eye] and [Cat Punch]; although the names of these two skills were simple, they were the most important means of attack for Gatomon.

On the battlefield, the heavily injured Blade-Tail Viper went completely crazy.

The intense pain and the erosion of the light-element energy burned away its remaining rationality, leaving only the purest violence in its eyes.

It no longer cared for strategy, its long body twisting and rolling frantically, its blade-tail turning into a blur of dark purple light as it enveloped the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat!

At the same time, its terrifying maw opened and closed constantly, spraying mouthfuls of foul-smelling venom toward the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat.

Where the venom landed, the wild grass withered and rotted instantly, and the ground was corroded into sizzling pits!

As the blade-tail swept, the ground was plowed into deep gullies, and gravel flew!

Facing this storm-like indiscriminate attack, the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat displayed amazing evasion ability and combat intuition.

It pushed its speed and agility to the limit, its slender figure weaving and maneuvering through the sky full of venom and blade-tail afterimages, like a small boat in a raging sea, seemingly in constant danger, yet always able to avoid fatal attacks by a hair's breadth at the last moment.

It would occasionally seize the gaps in the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper's attacks to launch a counterattack; every time it counterattacked, that sharp Light Blade Slash and the swift Phantom Flash Strike would add a new wound to the latter.

Zhou Ming and the others had been focusing on the main battlefield and couldn't help but exclaim: "The Radiant Moon Spirit Cat is so powerful, it's suppressing the leader-level pet beast."

Lin Chen, however, frowned slightly: "It's still a bit lacking."

The combat power currently displayed by the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat was still a gap away from the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur.

Once the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur evolved, it could immediately possess powerful strength that surpassed its peers, making it hard to find an opponent.

The Radiant Moon Spirit Cat was different; it was currently limited by its strength grade and could not fully unleash its combat power.

This battle entered a stalemate for a time, with grass flying, venom splashing, light blades crisscrossing, and continuous hissing.

But everyone could see that the scales of victory were slowly tilting.

The leader-level Blade-Tail Viper's offensive was fierce, but it lacked any strategy, relying entirely on instinct, and the consumption was huge.

New wounds kept appearing on its body, and the pure light-element energy exacerbated its pain and chaos.

Unknowingly, it began to show signs of sluggishness, unable to keep up.

Conversely, the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat's aura remained steady and long.

"It's about time."

Looking at the leader-level Blade-Tail Viper that was gradually unable to support itself, Lin Chen spoke: "Finish it off."

But just as the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat was poised to strike, preparing to deliver the final blow to its opponent, an unexpected change occurred.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Two dark purple shadows, like arrows released from a bowstring, suddenly darted out from the flank of the chaotic battlefield.

They did not rush toward the Radiant Moon Spirit Cat in the center of the battlefield, nor did they go to rescue the leader that was in trouble; instead, they charged straight at Lin Chen, the core of the team!

Even wild pet beasts understood the principle that eliminating the Beast Tamer meant ending the battle.

These two Blade-Tail Vipers were extremely fast; one opened its fangs from the front, bringing a foul wind, while the other crawled along the ground in a strange way, its blade-tail acting like a sickle, sweeping directly at Lin Chen's lower body!

Coordinated and coming from a tricky angle, this was clearly a long-planned sneak attack.

"Brother Chen, look out!"

"Student Lin Chen!"

"Behind you!"

Zhou Ming and the others realized the intention of these two Blade-Tail Vipers at the first moment and shouted warnings, while simultaneously commanding their own pet beasts to return for reinforcements.

The Flame Eagle shrieked as it tried to dive and intercept, and the Stone Armor Lizard roared, wanting to block with its body—

However, the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur, which was closest, only gave a faint glance at those two overconfident Blade-Tail Vipers from the corner of its eye, puffed out a small puff of breath carrying sparks from its nostrils, and didn't even move its massive head, let alone show any intention of turning back to rescue.

These nights, Lin Chen would always take it out for training in the dead of night, while using those increasingly painful fists to beat its body.

Lin Chen said this was to temper its physical body, to make it stronger, and more indestructible.

Could these weak-looking little snakes be as hard as its own body?

Could they withstand Lin Chen's increasingly painful fists?

Facing this sudden double attack, the corners of Lin Chen's mouth curled up; he flexed his arms, his expression excited, and whispered to himself: "Finally, I can have a real fight."

He had been waiting for this day for far too long.

The next instant, he moved.

No dodging, no retreating.

Facing the two Blade-Tail Vipers biting toward him from the front, Lin Chen suddenly took a half-step forward with his left foot, sank his waist and hips, and a steady, mountain-like power rose from beneath his feet, traveled to his waist and hips, and finally concentrated in his right arm!

His entire body's muscles tightened instantly under his clothes, sleek and full of explosive power; he clenched his right fist, his knuckles emitting a faint cracking sound, and without any deviation, he punched straight out toward that foul-smelling snake mouth!

This punch was simple and unadorned, without any skill light, but it was as fast as lightning and as heavy as a thousand jun!

Where the fist passed, the air was compressed, emitting a low and short whistle!

Bang—!!!

The fist collided violently with the snake body!

No stalemate, no tricks.

Accompanied by a dull thud, the sound of bones shattering followed, and the first Blade-Tail Viper that had lunged from the front flew backward, screaming.

Looking closely, its triangular snake head was already visibly deformed, its fangs shattered, blood spraying from its mouth, and its body rolled several times in the air before landing heavily in the grass seven or eight meters away, twitching twice before going still.

It had actually been knocked unconscious with a single punch!

And at almost the same moment, the other Blade-Tail Viper had already reached Lin Chen's ankle.

But Lin Chen seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; the moment the Blade-Tail Viper reached him, he used the momentum from the right punch he had just thrown to turn slightly, and his left hand reached down with lightning speed.

His five fingers were like hooks, grabbing the back of the Blade-Tail Viper's neck.

The touch was cold and slippery; the Blade-Tail Viper was terrified, twisting its body frantically, fangs snapping back.

But Lin Chen's hand was like a pair of iron pliers; the moment he grabbed the snake's neck, he exerted force from his waist and abdomen, and the muscles in his arm bulged.

The next moment, under the shocked gazes of everyone, he actually lifted this Blade-Tail Viper with one hand and then smashed it hard against the hard rock beside him.

Boom!

Dust flew, and gravel splattered!

"Hiss————"

The Blade-Tail Viper let out a short, extreme cry of agony, its entire body's bones broken, lying limp on the rock, blood spilling from its mouth and nose, and it instantly fell into a deep coma.

From the moment the two Blade-Tail Vipers launched their sneak attack to Lin Chen punching one away and smashing the other unconscious with one hand, the entire process took less than half a minute, and the battlefield was deathly silent.

Zhou Ming's command to the Flame Eagle froze in mid-air, Li Heng's gasp was stuck in his throat, Zhang Xiaoxiao covered her mouth, and Xiaoya stared with wide eyes.

"Brother Chen, are you not planning on being human anymore?"

A moment later, Li Heng swallowed his saliva, his face still full of shock.

The next moment, he suddenly remembered something and asked a fatal question: "When did you master this kind of power behind your brothers' backs?"

Lin Chen's expression was calm, and he answered smoothly: "After becoming a Beast Tamer, I wake up a little stronger every day; unknowingly, I just became like this."

Li Heng was silent.

At this moment, Zhou Ming's brain was spinning rapidly, and he frantically searched his memory for any time he might have displeased Brother Chen while getting along with him.

A moment later, he let out a long breath: "Fortunately, fortunately, I have always been very respectful to Brother Chen."

Zhang Xiaoxiao patted Su Qingyuan's arm and whispered: "Yuan Yuan, did Student Lin Chen awaken some kind of special talent?"

"That is the only possibility," Su Qingyuan nodded gently, her eyes flickering, "His physical fitness will continue to grow with his Beast Tamer level, until he becomes a human-shaped pet beast."

On the hill, the cold wind blew, and the moonlight reflected Ye Zhen's incomparably pale face.

Yun Chuxiu, however, had a calm expression; he looked at Ye Zhen's reaction, sighed inwardly, and then spoke slowly: "Did you see that?"

"Yeah."

"What are your thoughts now?"

"..."

"No thoughts at all?"

"Why does he have to be in the same grade as me?"

Hearing this, Yun Chuxiu couldn't hold back and laughed subconsciously, but after meeting Ye Zhen's extremely serious face, he restrained his smile: "Then what do you plan to do now? Do you still want to issue a challenge?"

Ye Zhen looked at Lin Chen's figure and said: "Next time."