Chapter 20 – Encounter Battle: The Monstrous Genius

A flash of light, and three pet beasts appeared in front of the jeep.

Zhang Lei’s pet beast was a horned rhino, a common attribute pet beast.

Judging by its size, it had clearly been nurtured to the Mature Stage, with a power level of at least Tier 2, Stage 5.

Zhao Mingshan’s pet beast was a Wind-Cut Mantis, a wind attribute pet beast.

Also at the Mature Stage, its level was roughly around Tier 2, Stage 6.

Li Pei was the strongest of the group, with a pet beast that was a Mountain Rock Raging Bear at the Mature Stage.

An earth attribute Tier 2, Stage 9 pet beast, just one step away from breaking through to Tier 3.

And soon.

Wang Xueyun also summoned her own pet beast.

It was a rare flying-type pet beast—a Terror Bee at Tier 2, Stage 5.

The entire adventure squad had a total of four Tier 2 pet beasts, with the highest-level one reaching Tier 2, Stage 9.

With this strength, they could rank in the middle tier among the adventurer circles in Pinghai City.

After all, Pinghai City was just a small third-tier city, so the overall level of adventurers naturally couldn’t be that high.

Over ninety percent of adventurers were Apprentice Beast Tamers, with pet beasts generally at the Tier 2 level.

Freaks like Lin Ze, who had just been promoted and already possessed a Tier 3 pet beast, could be counted on one hand—he was the only one.

As his thoughts turned, Lin Ze had already taken out his Combat Recorder and then summoned his own pet beast.

A flash of light.

The Ice Crystal Soul appeared beside him out of thin air.

A refreshing, cool sensation immediately spread outward, dispelling the heat in the air.

Li Pei and the others noticed the Ice Crystal Soul at once, gave it a few glances, and wore puzzled expressions on their faces in unison.

What kind of pet beast is this?

It seemed like they had never seen one before.

Even so, they didn’t ask out of curiosity.

Prying into others’ personal strength was a major taboo in the adventurer circle.

Besides, they didn’t recognize every pet beast out there, so occasionally encountering one or two they didn’t know was perfectly normal.

The swarm moved quickly and soon reached the vicinity of the vehicles.

Up close, Lin Ze could finally see what the Deathknell Beetles looked like.

They were about the size of wolfhounds, resembling black scarab beetles magnified countless times.

On their heads was a horn-shaped growth.

It looked like a huge flared trumpet opening.

From it, they could unleash powerful sonic attacks.

This was also the origin of the Deathknell Beetle’s name.

When the distance closed to about ten meters, the Deathknell Beetles suddenly halted in unison, their head growths retracting sharply inward before abruptly swelling and snapping outward.

Boom!

A deafening roar like a death knell burst forth, transforming into an invisible sonic wave that swept rapidly toward Li Pei, Lin Ze, and the others.

The air along its path twisted violently, forming a visible trail.

The group was prepared and cast defensive Soul Arts at the first moment.

Five Soul Power barriers instantly enveloped both the people and their pet beasts.

The distorted sonic wave slammed against them, merely stirring up ripples—the group emerged completely unharmed.

Wang Xueyun had originally intended to protect Lin Ze and his pet beast as well, but she was taken aback to discover that he had also mastered Soul Guardian.

After all, a Level 1 Soul Guardian could only protect oneself.

Only by reaching Level 2 could it expand to shield other targets as well.

But given Lin Ze’s age, he had awakened for less than a year at most, and had only just been promoted to Apprentice Beast Tamer yesterday.

Yet not only had he mastered Soul Guardian, he had even cultivated it to Level 2.

What terrifying cultivation speed was this?

Too monstrous!

Wang Xueyun was momentarily stunned with shock.

Li Pei and the other two, who witnessed this scene, also widened their eyes, their faces full of astonishment.

“Truly worthy of being a genius who passed the Ultra Difficulty Apprentice Assessment!”

The same thought flashed through all four of their minds simultaneously, their hearts filled with amazement.

Lin Ze paid no attention to their expressions and ordered the Ice Crystal Soul to launch an attack.

“Ah-woo.”

The Ice Crystal Soul let out a gentle cry, its palms opening as it extended them forward.

Crack! Crack!

Dense clusters of Ice Spikes materialized in an instant, sweeping out in overwhelming numbers before crashing down upon the densest part of the swarm.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

In the blink of an eye, over thirty Deathknell Beetles were pierced through and pinned to the ground by the Ice Spikes.

The swarm instantly shrank by roughly a fifth.

“Th-That’s incredible!”

Li Pei and the others, who had just recovered from their shock, were once again struck dumb with amazement.

Although Deathknell Beetles were only Tier 1 Pet Beasts, they still possessed Power Levels ranging from the fifth to seventh rank.

To instantly kill over thirty Deathknell Beetles in a single strike—even Li Pei, the strongest among them, couldn’t accomplish such a feat.

After all, his Mountain Rock Raging Bear was a Tier 2, ninth-rank Pet Beast.

In other words.

The level of Lin Ze’s Pet Beast was definitely above that of the Mountain Rock Raging Bear.

Which meant… a Tier 3 Pet Beast!

Realizing this, Li Pei and the others couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.

“W-Wasn’t the rumor that Lin Ze’s Pet Beast was at the Tier 2, sixth or seventh rank level? How did it suddenly become Tier 3?”

Zhang Lei muttered to himself in a daze.

No one answered his question.

The others were all equally bewildered and shaken.

An eighteen-year-old Apprentice Beast Tamer possessing a Tier 3 Pet Beast—this kind of strength was simply astonishing.

Could Lin Ze actually be a direct descendant of some deeply established Beast Tamer family?

Someone who had countless resources supporting him since childhood and numerous renowned masters guiding him?

Otherwise, it was simply unimaginable that a young man from an ordinary background could achieve such remarkable success.

For a moment, everyone’s thoughts churned.

By this time, the Ice Crystal Soul had already begun releasing its second skill.

An icy breath containing extreme cold poured from its mouth, freezing over a dozen Deathknell Beetles that had charged to the front into ice sculptures.

Li Pei and the others snapped back to their senses and hastily commanded their Pet Beasts to join the battle.

With everyone fighting together, the swarm was completely wiped out before long.

Among them, Lin Ze alone had taken down nearly half of the Deathknell Beetles, reaping impressive results.

After the battle ended.

The gazes the others directed at Lin Ze now carried a hint of reverence.

The strong are respected.

This was a principle that held true at all times.

Especially in adventurer circles that valued strength, the powerful were more easily granted respect and awe.

Though Lin Ze was young, he had already proven his strength, naturally earning the admiration of Li Pei and the others.

Compared to their earlier enthusiastic fawning over a genius, this time they genuinely admired Lin Ze from the bottom of their hearts.

Lin Ze, however, didn’t care about any of that.

In contrast, what made him happier was the reward from this battle.

Over seventy Deathknell Beetles meant a Mission Reward of over seventy thousand Credit Points.

From just a single skirmish, the gains were surprisingly bountiful.

“No wonder they say Beast Tamers make money easily.”

Lin Ze remarked with a sigh.

The others nearby couldn’t help but smile wryly to themselves.

Easy for you to say… Which Beast Tamer is as monstrous as you—not only possessing a Tier 3 Pet Beast at such a young age, but also capable of taking down seventy or eighty Deathknell Beetles all by yourself?

Most Apprentice Beast Tamers don’t manage to cultivate a second-tier Pet Beast until their twenties, and even then, they have to tread carefully when venturing into the wild.

People like Li Pei and his group risk their lives hunting in the wilderness on a daily basis, and after all that grueling effort, they only earn a few hundred thousand—which then has to be split four ways.

That money is far from easy to come by.