Chapter 190 — A Friend from Afar Must First Have His Resolve Tempered

As the many students were still steeped in the Thunderlight Beast's aura of startling thunder, Shi Cen, at that same moment, summoned his own beast.

Light flared, and within its glow a deterrent wave burst forth as well, setting the air and the arena alike to humming and trembling!

"Eleven, Intimidate."

"Awooo!!!!!"

A roar like a wave, like a tsunami, erupted in an instant and swiftly suppressed the aura of startling thunder. His mental power, nearly materialized, formed waves that swept across the arena like a tornado, a might beyond compare.

In that moment, with a single "awoo," every gaze was drawn to the small Iron-Eating Beast appearing on the arena, and the Thunderlight Beast and Fu Di'an behind it alike wore expressions of surprise.

On the other side of the arena, Eleven stood with arms crossed over its chest, chin lifted, surveying the Thunderlight Beast with the bearing of a champion, striking a bit of a dashing pose.

"Iron... Eating... Beast?"

"An intermediate beast tamer?"

Because he deeply admired Donghuang culture, Fu Di'an was no stranger to the Iron-Eating Beast, a beast unique to Donghuang. Yet precisely for that reason, his expression turned to utter astonishment. Wasn't the Iron-Eating Beast a mid-tier extraordinary species?

A king's aura, mastery of Intimidation—how could that be...? And this Iron-Eating Beast looked so small besides.

What startled Fu Di'an even more was that the level of Shi Ying's summoning array was unmistakably that of an intermediate beast tamer!

"An intermediate beast tamer can still command commander-tier fighting strength," Shi Li said.

"..." Fu Di'an did not understand, but he could not argue.

True, the Thunderlight Beast had not gone all out just now, but in a single instant its aura of startling thunder had been broken. Was this the mental control of a metal-type extraordinary beast?

At the very least, it was certain to be commander tier.

The hall fell silent all at once.

After a pause, Fu Di'an settled into a quiet wait, only to find that Shi Jin and the others made no further move.

"Not sending out your other beasts?" Fu Di'an frowned slightly.

Shi Li: "For fairness, let's make it one-on-one."

Frankly, strong as the opponent was, the moment Shi Jin saw they had a thunder-type, he knew this match was half in the bag for Eleven...

Thunder-type skills, against Eleven, who possessed Charge Thunder and the Source of Stamina... once they landed, it was "Immune," "Immune," "Immune."

And they would even top Eleven's energy back up with a "+1," "+1," "+1"...

Purely the traits of a bottom-tier attribute.

"One-on-one?"

Shi Jin saw nothing wrong with it, but no one else shared that view.

The moment Shi Jin's words landed, the veteran members of the Battle Club cried "holy shit" in their hearts.

This Thunderlight Beast looked like a tough nut to crack. Whoever among them took the field would have to be extremely careful. What was Shi Jin thinking? At the very least he should send out that Ginseng Baby too!

Speaking of which, wasn't this little Iron-Eating Beast the one that was always going to the gravity chamber and the charging room?

"Suit yourself."

In the arena, Fu Di'an, Shi Jue's trainer, raised an eyebrow and did not press the point further. Shi Shuo was merely an intermediate Beast Tamer—what fairness was there to speak of with him? Laughable.

"Don't come crying to me later, blaming me for not giving you a chance."

With that, he looked at the Thunderlight Beast and said, word by word, "Thun! Der!"

So what if it has Intimidation? Before absolute power...

BOOM!

The next second, thunderclouds instantly gathered in the sky, and a terrifying force of lightning in an instant condensed into a bolt and fell!

Lightning flashed, accompanied by a peal of thunder; the bolt's speed was extreme, as if it had reached the speed of light.

Everyone felt only a flash before their eyes, and their hearts were jolted once more.

What speed—at least Expert proficiency.

A combination move of two high-tier skills, Thunderclap plus Lightning?

Using Thunderclap's Intimidation to shake the opponent's mind and slow their reactions—at that moment, the Lightning truly looked no different from the speed of light in the opponent's eyes. Impossible to guard against, impossible to react!

A pillar of lightning descended, shrouding half the arena. In that moment, Fu Di'an and the Thunderlight Beast's strength was laid bare, and every elite of the Battle Club present grew solemn.

This Fu Di'an—though he had trained only a single beast, his strength was wholly worthy of his title as a Legendary's son.

How to handle this? Could Shi Ying's Iron-Eating Beast block it with Hardening?

"Hm?"

With lightning that fast, everyone assumed the little Iron-Eating Beast could never react in time—but in truth, Thunderclap's effect had little hold on Eleven, whose mastery of Intimidation and numerous psychic skills had sent its spiritual power soaring off the charts.

The lightning fell, and Eleven's stomach gave a "gurgle."

It raised its head.

It hadn't had time to go to the charging room today...

Its stored energy was only a little over half, still a bit short of full...

Who'd have thought someone would deliver a meal right to its door?

"Awoo."

Beneath the lightning, Eleven lifted its arm, as if to catch the bolt in its palm.

Across from it, Fu Di'an and the Thunderlight Beast wore looks of absurd disbelief, and the others were stunned as well.

But the very next instant...

"Much obliged for the meal."

As Shi Jin's words fell, hardened matter instantly spread across Eleven's whole body.

With a "boom," the lightning crashed fully onto Eleven—and its palm seemed to hold a black hole, wildly devouring the astonishing lightning!

And its entire bear body, shrouded in thunder, actually looked not the slightest bit injured!!

Charged Lightning plus the concealed-state Source of Stamina plus Lightning-Neutralizing Hardening—threefold resistance activated. A bolt of fearsome might was in an instant wholly converted into energy and nutrients, stored away within Eleven's Source of Stamina!

Zzzzzt!

As the last arc of lightning faded, the whole hall fell into a kind of dead silence. Across from it, Fu Di'an's mouth hung slightly open in an expression of disbelief.

"This—this isn't scientific!"

He spoke, dumbfounded. How could this be? An Iron-Eating Beast—how could it be immune to and absorb lightning?? Was this really an Iron-Eating Beast??

Are you sure it wasn't a Lightning-Eating Beast?

And it wasn't just him—even Shi Ying and the other upperclassmen were briefly stunned, wearing expressions of shock. What the hell was this now?

"Holy shit, don't tell me this was trained up in the charging room."

Someone suddenly recalled the urban legend of the Ancient Capital University—that Shi Ying's little Iron-Eating Beast often went off to the charging room on its own, no one knew to do what. Piecing it together with that legend, several people cried out in alarm.

This is just fucking ridiculous...

"Case closed!"

At first, everyone had wondered—fine, the little Iron-Eating Beast goes to the gravity chamber, but what's it doing in the charging room? Practicing Thunder Palm? The training facilities didn't even match.

But now, seeing the little Iron-Eating Beast immune to and absorbing lightning, they understood something—and yet not entirely.

Quite a few people looked dazed.

Even if it had learned an out-of-species skill, there should at least be some basic law to it.

Could compatibility really be this smooth?

"This Iron-Eating Beast can absorb lightning!" At that moment, across from them, a flicker of unease stirred in Fu Di'an's heart.

But he quickly regained his composure and said calmly, "Special as it may be, my Thunderlight Beast is not limited to lightning alone."

"Feathers of Light!"