Beast Taming: I can evolve indefinitely

Chapter 88 First Battle at Gaocheng

The one-hour break passed quickly, and Gao Cheng and the others, having eaten and drunk their fill, rubbed their stomachs and returned to the examination hall at Xiaoling Mountain.

President Qin and Cui Ming were already waiting here, but they were accompanied by an elderly man of similar age to President Qin.

"Let me introduce you. This is your referee for the ranked matches, a Master of the Sunrise level, Mo Guan."

Another Rising Sun level master!

Upon hearing Mo Guan's name, all the examinees immediately straightened their expressions and looked at him respectfully.

As the number one person below the legendary level, they had naturally heard of Mo Guan's name. In some ways, Mo Guan's status was even higher than that of the two association presidents.

"Don't be so nervous, I'm just a referee today."

Mo Guan waved his hand, signaling everyone to relax, and said, "To avoid wasting your time, let's start by dividing into groups."

Mo Guan pointed to the screen next to him, and a battle schedule immediately appeared on the screen.

"The first match is between Bai Qi and Gao Cheng."

Upon seeing that he was facing Bai Qi right away, Gao Cheng's face immediately fell.

"How did I end up running into you? My luck is just too bad."

To save time, the ranking battle uses an elimination system; if someone is eliminated in the first round, their ranking will definitely suffer.

"Gao Cheng, let's buy lottery tickets when we get back. You buy yours first, and I'll buy the next number for you."

Han patted Gao Cheng on the shoulder with feigned sympathy, but his smile and words completely betrayed his true thoughts.

"Don't get too cocky, you might be next in the round!"

Gao Cheng glared fiercely at Han Wei, then strode onto the stage and said, "Bai Qi, come on, I also want to see how big the gap is between you and me."

Bai Qi nodded and said, "Alright, I will fight with all my might."

The number of people from Gusu City and Lingxi City in the top twenty is not much different, so it is normal to run into someone from your own side. However, Bai Qi did not expect to run into Gao Cheng directly.

However, since Gao Cheng had said so, Bai Qi naturally had to take it seriously.

Given Gao Cheng's personality, if Bai Qi were to go too far in favor of him, he would definitely break off all ties with Bai Qi.

Bai Qi stepped onto the arena and, at Mo Guan's signal, summoned their respective pet beasts.

Gara gara?

(Master, is this an enemy?)

Because they had participated in a mission together before, Alpha still had some impression of Gao Cheng's Fire Armor Scorpion.

"They're not the enemy, so just defeat them, but don't go too far."

Alpha nodded, and a thick ice armor instantly covered his entire body, while his arms transformed into bone blades.

"Everything's ready, so let's begin the competition."

Mo Guan waved his hand, and an invisible barrier immediately appeared around the arena, separating the two from the other contestants.

"Fire Armor Scorpion, High-Heat Rays."

At the start of the match, Gao Cheng launched the first attack, but instead of rushing close to Alpha, he used a high-heat ray for long-range attacks.

The high-temperature rays released by the stinger at the end of the Fire Armor Scorpion's tail were extremely fast, instantly creating a hail of bullets on the field, leaving Alpha no room to dodge.

After soaking in the Fountain of the Mind, Alpha did not undergo the exaggerated changes of a husky, but his mental strength still increased dramatically. The Fire Armor Scorpion's dense attacks were no different from slow motion in his eyes.

Then, to Gao Cheng's astonishment, Alpha easily maneuvered through the gaps in the high-angle beams, quickly approaching the Fire Armor Scorpion.

"Fire Armor Scorpion, High-Heat Ray Sniper Form!"

Seeing Alpha approach, Gao Cheng immediately roared, and the Fire Armor Scorpion's storm-like attack paused. Before it had stopped for long, a high-heat ray, far exceeding the previous ones in both speed and power, shot out from the Fire Armor Scorpion's tail and headed straight for Alpha.

This ray was extremely fast, and Alpha was definitely too far away to dodge it. However, Alpha did not intend to dodge. He crossed his arms and wrapped them together, instantly transforming the bone blade into a huge bone shield.

But that wasn't all. The moment the bone shield formed, a layer of frost covered it, quickly condensing into a smooth ice surface. And on the outer edge of the ice surface, there were strange runes.

"It's no use. This high-heat ray has gathered most of the Fire Armor Scorpion's energy. Even a second-tier pet beast might not be able to defend against it."

Upon seeing this, Gao Cheng immediately tried to advise Bai Qi, but Bai Qi remained calm.

"Who said I absolutely had to defend myself?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the high-temperature rays struck the ice surface, and after a brief stalemate, they were reflected away.

Ice Runes: Solidify, Smooth

The ray struck the surrounding barrier instantly, but it didn't cause the slightest ripple; it simply merged into the barrier silently.

"Old Qin, was that kid using runes just now?"

Mo Guan immediately noticed the runes on the Alpha Ice Shield and asked President Qin beside him.

"Heh...isn't it obvious?"

President Qin wore a calm smile, but inwardly he felt a sense of bewilderment.

What kind of trouble is that brat causing now?

Seeing that Alpha had successfully blocked the Fire Armor Scorpion's high-heat rays, Bai Qi nodded in satisfaction.

Since soaking in the Spring of Elves, Alpha has gained increasingly easier control over the power of ice, and can even condense runes directly on the ice surface, achieving the same effect.

However, this is currently limited to ice-type attacks; it cannot be used with shadow-type attacks.

"Alpha, attack freely, don't give him another chance to snipe."

Crackling.

(Don't worry, boss, the same trick can only be used on me once.)

Alpha shook its head, its arms once again forming bone blades, and then another bone spike extended from them. It quickly engraved several runes on the bone blades and then attacked the Fire Armor Scorpion.

Upon seeing this, Chairman Qin was immediately taken aback.

The Federation has never stopped researching runes, but most of their research has been applied to cracking the Secret Realm Tower or creating the Legendary Secret Realm Tower, or simply carving rune puppets onto tools.

I've never seen anything like Bai Qi carving directly onto a pet.

This guy, he really shouldn't break his pet.

Seeing Alpha closing in, the Fire Armor Scorpion abandoned its plan for ranged combat, waving its pincers in defense while its tail stinger offered a chance to launch a sneak attack, thus initiating a defensive counterattack.

Given Alpha's combat capabilities, a direct confrontation would be futile, so Gao Cheng has no choice but to rely on this tactic.

Moreover, the Fire Armor Scorpion's defense is not low, and Alpha may not be able to break through its defense.

The Fire Armor Scorpion only managed to block a few of Alpha's attacks before inexplicably losing its composure. No matter how Alpha controlled it, the Fire Armor Scorpion just attacked haphazardly, allowing Alpha to easily exploit its weakness and kick it out of the arena.

"I lost."

Gao Cheng readily admitted defeat and asked Bai Qi, "Did you do the Fire Armor Scorpion that suddenly went out of control?"

Bai Qi nodded and said, "Alpha's bone blade has been temporarily imbued with dark runes: Chaos. Being hit by too many of them will affect the pet's mood. However, because it was drawn on the spot, the effect is not very good."

If the results aren't good, what should I do if they are better?

Gao Cheng sighed, then quickly came to terms with it, saying, "You've certainly opened my eyes today, but it's a real shame I couldn't get you to use your full strength."

Bai Qi smiled but did not reply.

"By the way, the runes you mentioned, are they the ones studied in the rune system?"

Bai Qi paused for a moment, then said, "More or less, but the specific applications may be slightly different."

"I suggest you take a look at it; it will be helpful for you in the future."

The Twin Towers' secret realm ring is now in President Qin's hands, and it's inevitable that it will be fully opened to Gusu City. If Gao Cheng wants to climb higher, he obviously can't do it without the help of runes.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on it later."

Gao Cheng nodded, then remembered that his pet was still lying outside, and rushed over with a pang of heartache.

Alpha faithfully carried out Bai Qi's orders, going all out without harming any vital organs. Although it was just a kick, it was still imbued with the power of shadow. So at this moment, the Fire Armor Scorpion was not only still in a state of chaos, but its shell was also being slowly corroded by the power of shadow.

I went too far...

(End of this chapter)