Chapter 42 – I Haven't Even Challenged Yet

“Sss!”

A miserable, piercing cry came from the Iron-clad Dragon Snake.

The Wind-Slicing Mantis’s sudden, fierce strike had nearly cut it in half.

The wound was held together only by scales, skin, and a thin layer of muscle, with blood gushing out like a fountain.

Even from a distance, one could clearly tell how severe the injury was.

Shink!

The Wind-Slicing Mantis withdrew its scythe-like blade, sending flecks of blood flying.

After landing a devastating blow on its opponent, it did not press the attack but instead retreated to Jing Tao’s side.

The Iron-clad Dragon Snake collapsed limply, lying in a pool of blood, barely alive.

Though it had not yet died, it had completely lost its combat ability.

“You lose.”

Jing Tao looked at Lv Gang with a smile on his face.

Lv Gang’s expression had already turned extremely grim.

At this point, he understood all too well that he had been outmaneuvered by Jing Tao.

The Wind-Slicing Mantis had clearly possessed the means to break through the Iron-clad Dragon Snake’s defenses all along, yet it had kept that ability hidden, waiting until he and the Iron-clad Dragon Snake had completely let their guard down before striking out fiercely with a single, fatal blow.

Realizing this, Lv Gang felt a surge of fury.

But he could not blame Jing Tao, for using tactics in battle was a perfectly ordinary thing.

Rather, devising strategies suited to the situation and defeating one’s opponent at minimal cost was an essential skill for any excellent Beast Tamer.

Lv Gang had anger but nowhere to vent it, so he could only withdraw the Iron-clad Dragon Snake back into the Pet Space and return to the crowd with a dark face.

“Anyone else want to challenge?”

Jing Tao asked, sweeping his gaze around.

This time, there was no awkward silence. The moment Jing Tao finished speaking, Guo Xinyi stepped forward from the crowd.

“I will!”

The young girl strode boldly into the arena, while her gaze casually flickered toward Lin Ze in the crowd without being too obvious.

Guo Xinyi actually did not have full confidence in passing the stone tablet challenge.

The reason she still attempted it despite this was, on one hand, the pride of a genius at work.

The more outstanding a genius, the more confident they tended to be.

For feats no one had ever accomplished, they would feel an even stronger desire to break the impossible.

After all, was not a genius precisely someone who could do what ordinary people could not?

So, for the stone tablet challenge that no one had ever passed, Guo Xinyi naturally felt eager to try.

On the other hand—

If she really did pass the challenge, the 500 Points she would earn would be enough to surpass Lin Ze and reclaim the position of Top Student.

Compared to that, the cost of failure—a mere month’s worth of Cultivation Resources—was hardly worth mentioning.

Coming from a Beast Tamer family with deep heritage, Guo Xinyi could not care less about such resources.

“What’s your name, junior?”

Jing Tao looked at Guo Xinyi with great interest.

A girl this pretty was rare in the academy.

“Guo Xinyi.”

“Oh, so you’re the third-place Freshman, with a Steel-patterned Wyrmling as your Pet Beast.”

Guo Xinyi had already summoned her Steel-patterned Wyrmling, and seeing Jing Tao keep staring at her Pet Beast, she raised an eyebrow.

“Is there a problem?”

“Nothing, it’s just that if I’m not mistaken, your Steel-patterned Wyrmling is at Power Level Tier 3, Stage 3, right?”

“So what if it is?”

Jing Tao shrugged: “Dragon-type Pet Beasts rank in the top three in combat power within the same Stage. A Tier 3, Stage 3 Steel-patterned Wyrmling could even defeat an ordinary Pet Beast at Tier 3, Stage 5. My Wind-Slicing Mantis here is no match for it.”

With that, Jing Tao actually recalled the Wind-Slicing Mantis.

Guo Xinyi was momentarily stunned, a flicker of confusion passing through her eyes.

“What do you mean by this? Trying to concede outright?”

“How is that possible?”

Jing Tao’s smile grew even wider.

“I just wanted to switch to a different pet beast to fight you.”

As his words fell, a flash of light appeared beside him, and a massive lion with faint gales swirling around its body suddenly materialized out of thin air.

A Wind Lion, a Tier 4 Wind Attribute pet beast.

Guo Xinyi’s pretty face instantly changed color.

The crowd around them erupted in murmurs.

“A second pet beast!”

“Whoa, and it’s a Wind Lion—isn’t that a Tier 4 pet beast?!”

“This guy was hiding a lot!”

Jing Tao having a second pet beast wasn’t actually that surprising.

Anyone who had passed the Advanced Difficulty Apprentice Assessment was entitled to a second pet beast slot.

There were at least dozens of such people present.

Most of them, however, had only recently passed the assessment and hadn’t yet had time to select a suitable pet beast to contract.

Some others, to avoid splitting their focus, had chosen to concentrate on raising their first pet beast first, so they hadn’t contracted a new one.

For a Second Year student like Jing Tao, who had ample time to nurture his pet beasts, having two powerful ones was perfectly normal.

But what no one expected was—

Jing Tao’s second pet beast was actually a Tier 4 beast, far more powerful than the Wind-Slicing Mantis!

In the crowd, Lv Gang’s face turned ashen.

He had originally thought his defeat was merely due to carelessness.

But now it was clear that Jing Tao hadn’t been using his full strength in the earlier battle.

Otherwise, even without resorting to tricks, defeating him would have been effortless.

The scene fell into a brief silence.

Everyone was stunned by what they had just witnessed.

“So, what do you say? Still want to continue?”

Jing Tao asked Guo Xinyi with a grin.

The facts were laid out before them, and the outcome of the battle was obvious.

No matter how formidable the Tier 3 Steel-patterned Wyrmling was, it couldn’t possibly beat a Wind Lion.

Guo Xinyi bit her lip.

Though she was fiercely competitive, she wasn’t stubborn.

Despite her deep reluctance, she shook her head decisively.

“I’m no match for you.”

With that, she promptly recalled the Steel-patterned Wyrmling and returned to the crowd.

Silence hung over the area.

A wordless hush enveloped the crowd.

The examinees exchanged glances, all of them quiet.

Now they finally understood why no one had ever successfully passed the stone tablet challenge.

With just Jing Tao alone, none of them could defeat him.

Let alone Zhang Man and Wu Tianze waiting further ahead.

This was simply an insurmountable mountain.

How could they possibly get through?

Even Tan Yong, who had originally planned to challenge after Guo Xinyi, had now abandoned the idea.

Jing Tao took in the changing expressions of the crowd, gradually retracting his frivolous smile. He narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly:

“So, what do you think? Do you realize the gap between us now?”

“This is precisely the purpose of the stone tablet challenge—our task is to give you Freshmen a reality check!”

“Yes, you were indeed the elites, even geniuses, of your respective high schools, but Ningjiang Academy has no shortage of either. We’re proof of that.”

“But we have an extra year of cultivation time over you, so we’re stronger. And above us are the Third Year and Fourth Year students, whose strength is a level you can’t even hope to catch up to!”

“So no matter how outstanding your talents are, while you’re at the academy, put away your pride. Always remember this: there are plenty of people in this academy who are better than you!”

After that speech, the surroundings fell utterly silent.

The examinees had complex expressions on their faces, some with flickering eyes.

Jing Tao wasn’t interested in whether these people had taken his words to heart—his task was already complete.

“Well, that’s that. We should be heading back now.”

Jing Tao shrugged, about to wrap up and leave, when a calm voice suddenly cut through from the side.

“Wait a moment, senior.”

“I haven’t challenged yet.”