Chapter 12 – Skill Achievements, Challenge Successful

“Brother Lin is amazing…”

Zhang Xiaoyun covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the light screen.

Even though she had long known that Lin Ze was exceptionally skilled, the scene before her still gave her a serious shock.

In just the few short minutes it had taken her to clear the Basic Difficulty, Lin Ze had actually carved his way all the way to the final gate of the Ultra Difficulty!

It was simply unbelievable!

Unlike the first three difficulty levels, which each had only a single gate, the Ultra Difficulty was feared by countless people and considered nearly impossible to pass precisely because it had a full five gates.

And each one was harder than the last.

Rumor had it that a second-stage Pet Beast would appear at the third gate!

One could only imagine how difficult the last two gates would be.

Yet Lin Ze had reached the final gate in less than five minutes.

His clearing speed was absolutely terrifying!

“Brother…”

Guan Ning was equally stunned.

During the assessment, she had been worried the whole time that Lin Ze might have already failed.

But she never expected to come out and see a scene like this.

Far from failing, he seemed to be on the verge of succeeding.

“So fierce, this is the final gate already!”

“He’s broken the record, hasn’t he? I remember the strongest person who challenged the Ultra Difficulty before only made it to the fourth gate before failing.”

“Yeah, that sounds right.”

“Whether he breaks the record or not doesn’t matter now—this is the last gate! If he can pass this one, then he’s successfully cleared the challenge!”

“I think it’s doubtful. The Fierce Claw Monster at the fourth gate was already at second-stage third-tier. The Pet Beast at the final gate should be at least second-stage fifth-tier!”

“That’s true!”

“Look, the final gate has begun!”

Everyone quickly focused their gaze.

With a deep, rumbling sound, the steel gate slowly swung open.

A massive figure stepped out from within.

Sleek, powerful body lines.

Dense, glossy fur.

Sharp, well-developed fangs like blades.

It was unmistakably a Saber-Tooth Lion.

The moment they saw the monster’s appearance on the light screen, every participant present couldn’t help but gasp.

“Damn, it’s actually a Saber-Tooth Lion!”

“I remember a Mature Stage Saber-Tooth Lion has a Power Level of second-stage fifth-tier, right?”

“That’s right, this is a very troublesome Pet Beast!”

“That young man is in trouble now.”

The lion had always held the title of king of beasts.

Let alone a Saber-Tooth Lion—a supernatural creature that towered above ordinary beasts.

In terms of pure combat ability, the Saber-Tooth Lion was unquestionably a standout among its peers.

Guan Ning unconsciously clenched her fists, her whitening knuckles revealing the girl’s inner tension and anxiety.

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan also couldn’t help but hold their breath.

Everyone stared intently at the light screen, afraid of missing a single moment of what came next.

The battle soon erupted once more.

The Saber-Tooth Lion moved with agility and speed, its aura ferocious beyond measure. Every pounce carried that unique, brutal, primal quality of a beast on the hunt, enough to make one’s heart tremble just watching.

Fortunately, the Ice Crystal Soul floated in the air, moving with equal agility, always managing to dodge at critical moments and unleash Skills in counterattack.

For a time, the two traded blows back and forth, fiercely intense.

It got the crowd thoroughly excited.

Compared to the tension and excitement of the onlookers, Lin Ze appeared perfectly calm and composed.

The Ice Crystal Soul’s Level was already a full tier above the Saber-Tooth Lion’s, and it also mastered two powerful Skills—Frost Breath and Ice Spike—giving it overwhelming combat superiority over the Saber-Tooth Lion.

Although it couldn’t resolve the opponent as quickly as in the previous rounds, winning wasn’t difficult—it would just take a bit more effort.

Just then, a notification suddenly rang in Lin Ze’s mind.

【Achievement Unlocked!】

Lin Ze was startled and quickly opened the notification log.

Upon looking, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had unknowingly completed a new achievement.

【Skill · Novice】: Accumulate 10 skill uses by your Pet Beast. Completing this achievement grants 100 Achievement Points and unlocks the Pet Beast Skill Unlock function (Completed, reward pending claim).

“Who knew using skills would also earn achievements.”

A hint of delight flashed in Lin Ze’s eyes.

“And what exactly is the Skill Unlock function?”

He immediately summoned the Pet Beast panel and swept his gaze across it, noticing that some new information had appeared at the bottom without him realizing.

【Extreme Ice Chain】: Control-type Skill. Manipulates Ice Element to condense into sturdy chains, binding the target’s movements. Unlock requires 40% Growth Rate and 50 Achievement Points.

【Ice Shield】: Defense-type Skill. Manipulates Ice Element to form an icy shield, freely defending against attacks from any direction. Unlock requires 60% Growth Rate and 50 Achievement Points.

【Frost Nova】: Area Damage-type Skill. Rapidly compresses a large amount of Ice Element in a designated area into a single point, instantly releasing explosive ice-attribute damage. Unlock requires 80% Growth Rate and 100 Achievement Points.

“These are new skills!”

Lin Ze’s eyes lit up immediately.

As everyone knew, the two key factors affecting a Pet Beast’s combat power were Level and Skills.

Raising a Pet Beast’s Level was certainly difficult.

But learning new skills was no less challenging.

Aside from skills mastered innately, a Pet Beast had to undergo countless rigorous training sessions, spending a great deal of time and effort, before it could possibly learn a new skill.

In many cases, Beast Tamers had to spend months or even over half a year just to get their Pet Beast to master a single new skill.

This showed just how difficult skill training was.

Yet the Achievement System allowed Lin Ze’s Pet Beast to master skills instantly.

The only cost was a few Achievement Points.

This was undoubtedly an incredibly powerful function!

“So strong!”

Lin Ze silently marveled, glancing at the Ice Crystal Soul currently in battle.

“And it came just in time.”

Without hesitation, Lin Ze decisively unlocked the 【Extreme Ice Chain】 skill.

He also invested the remaining 50 Achievement Points into the Ice Crystal Soul’s Growth Rate, raising it to 54%.

In an instant.

The Ice Crystal Soul’s Power Level broke through to Tier 2, Stage 7.

Inside the Stele Chamber.

The onlookers watching were surprised to find that the battle had suddenly changed.

The Ice Crystal Soul, which had only held a slight advantage without much clear dominance, suddenly intensified its attacks dramatically.

It was completely suppressing the Saber-Tooth Lion!

“Is this… a breakthrough mid-battle?”

He Zhenwen and Lu Peixin exchanged glances, unable to hide their astonishment.

Their eyesight was sharp enough to tell that the Ice Crystal Soul’s power had surged by a noticeable margin.

It seemed its Level had broken through.

But what a coincidence—breaking through at this exact moment?

Yet what shocked them even more was still to come.

On the screen, the Ice Crystal Soul suddenly extended a hand and pointed from afar at the Saber-Tooth Lion, letting out a low chant.

In that instant.

The temperature in the air plummeted sharply.

Crack! Crack!

Around the Saber-Tooth Lion, dense ice crystals suddenly condensed, rapidly fusing together at a visible speed to form three azure rings of icy chains, interweaving into a circle.

Before the Saber-Tooth Lion could react, the circle abruptly contracted inward, and the frigid Extreme Ice Chain instantly bound it tightly in place.

“Roar!”

The Saber-Tooth Lion struggled desperately, straining the chains until they creaked, yet it could not break free.

At that moment, the Ice Crystal Soul raised its slender little hand and swung it down fiercely.

Countless Ice Spikes materialized out of thin air, surging forth in a sky-covering torrent, instantly engulfing the Saber-Tooth Lion.

Squelch, squelch!

The sound of sharp spikes piercing flesh rang out endlessly.

Bound in place, the Saber-Tooth Lion had no chance to dodge, enduring the terrifying blow head-on.

Before it could even let out a cry of agony, it was shredded into a flurry of crimson ice particles.

“Fifth stage passed, challenge concluded!”

“Congratulations, Challenger, you have successfully passed the Ultra Difficulty Apprentice Assessment!”

A cold, mechanical voice followed.

The voice echoed through the light screen, resounding throughout the spacious Stele Chamber.

By now, the crowd had fallen into dead silence, staring at the light screen with mouths agape, utterly speechless for a long time.