"I haven't seen the Coal Smoke skill yet, Xiao Ruan, let it use it."
The Coal Slime exhaled a puff of black smoke. Li Cunxu reached out to touch it, and when he withdrew his hand, it was as black as if he had touched coal.
"The smoke is composed of coal dust. Can it be ignited?"
"Xiao Ruan, make the Coal Slime exhale Coal Smoke again, and then you use a Fireball to hit the smoke."
As Li Cunxu had anticipated, the Coal Smoke ignited instantly, and the flames also set the Coal Slime on fire.
The Coal Slime, now ablaze, jumped around wildly.
"Don't set the house on fire."
Li Cunxu threw a Water Orb to extinguish the flames on the Coal Slime.
"Don't let the Coal Slime enter the house anymore."
Not only is there a safety hazard with the Coal Slime entering the house, but it also dirties the place. Everywhere the Coal Slime jumps leaves a black coal mark.
White Spider said, "The Miner Slime has dug up coal underground."
"Deity Control has no shortage of coal mines. There's no need to mine it; let's keep it as food for the Fire Slime and Coal Slime."
After millions of years of changes, Deity Control has abundant coal resources underground, but when something is too plentiful, it loses its value. Moreover, the alliance advocates for the use of cleaner Spirit Energy, so coal isn't particularly useful. Even where it is useful, the market has already been taken over by others.
...
"Li Cunxu has awakened the Sacred Lotus Eye?"
Li Shiji was delighted, but upon seeing the information below that only half of it had awakened, his smile disappeared. As someone with old-fashioned views, he couldn't be immune to the stigma of being 'One-Eyed.'
"He awakened half of the Sacred Lotus Eye but didn't come to me. It seems he has a big issue with me. Forget it, if he doesn't come, he doesn't come."
...
The Strongest Newcomer Cup, the finals begin.
The venue is a closed large arena that can accommodate three thousand spectators at once.
Above the battlefield is a four-sided holographic screen, allowing even the farthest seats to see the battle clearly. The holographic screen can also replay the fight in slow motion, providing a detailed analysis of the battle.
This match also comes with commentary.
"Now, let's welcome the Beast Tamers for today's first battle."
"The contestant on the left is Xiang Chongchong (zhong) from the Double Pupil District. He's quite remarkable, having awakened the Double Pupil Eye of the Double Pupil Xiang Family at birth and won the Strongest Newcomer Cup championship in the Double Pupil District with an unbeatable posture."
Xiang Chongchong stepped onto the stage with a look of displeasure. His name is Xiang Chongchong (chong), meaning repetition, not weight.
Although he's a bit chubby, he's not heavy.
Sigh! The aunties are too annoying, feeding him precious medicines every day, making it impossible for him to lose weight.
"The contestant on the right is Li Cunxu from the Sacred Lotus District. He's even more remarkable, having won the Strongest Newcomer Cup championship in the Sacred Lotus District with just a Slime. Is it that the students of the Sacred Lotus District this year are not up to par, or is Li Cunxu just too good?"
The audience booed loudly, unable to imagine how a Slime could be powerful, generally believing this to be a one-sided match with no excitement.
Li Cunxu stepped onto the stage with a look of displeasure. Who arranged him for the first match? It's too high-profile.
The referee said, "Both sides ready, summon your Pet Beasts."
Xiang Chongchong's Pet Beast is the Might Cauldron Monkey.
The Might Cauldron Monkey, a dual-attribute Pet Beast of the martial and metal elements, carried a small, ancient bronze cauldron on its head, adorned with intricate, indecipherable runes. Its thick, powerful eyebrows resembled iron hammers, adding to its imposing aura. Its entire body was covered in green fur, resembling a statue of bronze.
Li Cunxu disliked battling against the scions of noble families, as their Pet Beasts always left him envious.
The Might Cauldron Monkey was a top-tier Pet Beast capable of overpowering dragon-type creatures in its later stages.
"The battle begins."
Xiang Chongchong declared loudly, "Might Cauldron Monkey, finish this quickly."
"Might~ Might~"
The Might Cauldron Monkey roared, pounding its chest with its fists, unleashing a fierce and intimidating presence.
It was the skill Monkey King Intimidation, which could cause weaker Pet Beasts to cower and freeze in fear.
"Who do you think you're intimidating with that? Xiao Ruan, unleash a barrage!"
Countless Fireballs rained down like cannonballs toward the Might Cauldron Monkey. The monkey slammed its iron fist into the ground, causing the earth to rise and form a dirt wall.
"Grass Blade, slice through its wall."
A two-meter-long Grass Blade shot out, and Xiang Chongchong knew the dirt wall wouldn't hold.
"Might Cauldron Monkey, Tornado Destruction Fist!"
The Might Cauldron Monkey stomped the ground, leaped into the air, and spread its arms like an eagle taking flight. At its peak height, it clasped its hands above its head and spun rapidly, descending like a tornado toward Xiao Ruan.
This was why Li Cunxu hated battling noble scions—they had too many advanced skills.
"Xiao Ruan, Dash Flash!"
Having broken through the limits of the Ram skill seven times, Xiao Ruan had developed a movement skill based on it. With a sudden burst of speed, it narrowly dodged the Might Cauldron Monkey's Tornado Destruction Fist.
The monkey crashed into the ground, creating a massive crater.
Tornado Destruction Fist, a martial-type, gold-tier skill, was fast and powerful but not without its drawbacks. After using it, the user needed a moment to recover from the intense dizziness.
The Might Cauldron Monkey swayed unsteadily in the crater, disoriented from spinning too much.
Li Cunxu commanded, "Keep up the barrage."
Xiao Ruan spat out more Fireballs.
Xiang Chongchong shouted, "Might Cauldron Monkey, Copper Wall Iron Barrier!"
A pale blue light flashed over the Might Cauldron Monkey, as if it had been coated in steel, drastically boosting its defense.
The damage from the Fireballs hitting the monkey was significantly reduced.
Li Cunxu's expression darkened—the advanced skills just kept coming.
Still, he didn't change his strategy.
He let the Fireballs continue. After all, Xiao Ruan had plenty of Spirit Energy. Even if it exhausted its fire-type energy, it still had other elemental energies to draw from.
Once the Might Cauldron Monkey recovered from its dizziness, Xiang Chongchong issued his next command.
"Might Cauldron Monkey, Adamantine Shatter!"
The monkey's fists gleamed with a golden light as it charged toward Xiao Ruan.
Li Cunxu's expression shifted slightly. Adamantine Shatter could penetrate armor. Even if Xiao Ruan activated Ironization, it wouldn't withstand the blow.
At the same time, Xiang Chongchong activated his Double Pupil Eye. His pupils split into two, creating an eerie effect. He pressed his hand downward.
Double Pupil Eye: Gravity.
The entire battlefield was enveloped in gravity, slowing down both the Might Cauldron Monkey and Xiao Ruan. However, the monkey paused only briefly before quickly adapting.
It trained under gravity every day—how could it not be accustomed to it?
"Triple Dash Flash, create distance!"
"It's useless. Under gravity, your Slime's stamina will deplete twice as fast. It won't last long," Xiang Chongchong said. "Blame yourself for not having eyes like mine."
Li Cunxu retorted, "Who says I don't?"
At this moment, the Elder of the Li Family, who was watching the live broadcast, felt his heart leap into his throat. He knew that Li Cunxu possessed the Half-Eyed Sacred Lotus Eye and kept muttering to himself:
"Please don't reveal it, please don't reveal it..."
What could bring shame to the Sacred Lotus Li Family? It would be revealing the Half-Eyed Sacred Lotus Eye in a widely viewed competition.
The Half-Eyed has always been a symbol of disgrace among noble families. Even though perceptions have changed now, the older generation still clings t
o outdated beliefs.
You might say that ripped jeans are fashionable.
The older generation wouldn't understand it as fashion. They would only think, "This child is so pitiful, still wearing torn pants."
(End of Chapter)