Chapter 65 – Advancing to Tier ５

Upon hearing Lin Ze agree, the expressions of those around him shifted.

The shop assistant looked bewildered, then let out a sigh of relief. The girl beside Luo Han wore a look of disdain. Guan Ning, however, was taken aback, and after a moment of shock, she couldn’t help but tug at Lin Ze’s sleeve, whispering urgently:

“Brother, don’t be impulsive!”

After Lin Ze had turned down Luo Han’s invitation, Guan Ning had quietly gathered information about him. She learned that Luo Han was a top-ten elite student in the second year, far stronger than the likes of Wu Tianze and Zhang Man whom Lin Ze had defeated. While Lin Ze was undoubtedly talented and formidable, going up against an opponent of Luo Han’s caliber would likely be a stretch. Accepting the wager duel now was simply unwise.

Yet Lin Ze merely patted the back of Guan Ning’s hand lightly and said in a low voice:

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

Meeting Lin Ze’s deep, calm gaze, as still as a pool of water, Guan Ning opened her mouth as if to speak, hesitated, and finally fell silent.

Seeing this, a smug smile of triumph spread across Luo Han’s face.

“Excellent. There’s an arena nearby—let’s go there!”

Lin Ze said nothing more. He and Guan Ning settled their bill and left the shop. Luo Han sneered and strode out of the store as well.

Moments later, both parties arrived at the arena one after the other. The staff there had long grown accustomed to mediating student wager duels. Seeing Lin Ze and Luo Han’s group, they showed no surprise. After hearing their request, they began making arrangements with practiced ease.

The arena served as both referee and witness for the duel. Before the wager began, the stakes were handed over to the arena for safekeeping, ensuring that the loser couldn’t renege on the deal.

Soon, both sides had submitted their stakes, and the arena platform was prepared. Lin Ze and Luo Han each waited in their respective rest areas on opposite sides of the platform, preparing for the battle ahead.

“Brother, there seem to be a lot of people,” Guan Ning suddenly remarked.

Lin Ze glanced around. The spectator stands had filled with onlookers at some point, most of them wearing the uniforms of Ningjiang Academy. They were gathered in small groups, chattering excitedly among themselves, making the arena a noisy place.

Lin Ze shot a glance at Luo Han and caught the mocking look on his face. He immediately understood.

Clearly, Luo Han had spread word of their wager duel, drawing in these Ningjiang Academy students to watch the spectacle. His intention was obvious—he wanted to humiliate Lin Ze in front of the crowd.

“Just as Guo Xinyi said—a petty, vindictive man,” Lin Ze thought with a silent scoff.

“No way, Lin Ze is really going to wager duel Luo Han?”

“With a scene like this, how could it be fake? I’ve got to admire Lin Ze’s guts—daring to duel a second-year student!”

“Pfft, so what if he’s a second-year? Lin Ze’s beaten them before. Didn’t he take down three second-years during the stele challenge? I heard one of them was even ranked in the top hundred!”

“Really? That impressive!?”

“That’s different. You don’t know this, but Luo Han is the eighth-ranked elite student in the second year, and he’s already advanced to Bronze Rank Beast Tamer!”

“Damn, eighth in the second year? That’s practically Tier 5 level.”

“You’re out of the loop. Luo Han has a Tier 5 Pet Beast, and his other two are at Tier 4, stages seven or eight. He’s way stronger than any freshman!”

“Shit! Lin Ze is definitely going to lose!”

“No need to even think about it! No matter how strong Lin Ze is, he’s just a Freshman—there’s no way he can beat a Second Year with a Tier 5 Pet Beast.”

Listening to the discussions around her, Guan Ning felt a surge of anxiety.

“Damn, I didn’t expect Luo Han to be even more formidable than the rumors said!”

“What if my brother loses?”

Guan Ning shot Lin Ze a worried glance.

The thought that all of this was because of her only made her more uneasy.

On the other side.

Luo Han was staring at Lin Ze, a cold sneer flashing in his eyes.

He knew Lin Ze’s strength very well.

Two Pet Beasts.

One Ice Attribute, one Earth Attribute.

Both at around Tier 4, Level 7-8.

Among them, the Ice Attribute Pet Beast had mastered at least five skills, and its combat power was no less than that of an ordinary Tier 4, Level 9.

But so what?

In the face of an absolute level gap, none of that mattered.

He didn’t even need to summon all of his Pet Beasts.

Just summoning his strongest Tier 5 Pet Beast would be more than enough to easily defeat Lin Ze.

The gap between Tier 5 and Tier 4 was just that vast.

Lin Ze naturally noticed Luo Han’s undisguised malicious gaze, but he paid it no attention at all.

His focus was entirely drawn to the new achievement that had suddenly popped up.

[First Wager Duel]: Defeat your opponent in your first-ever wager duel and claim victory. Completing this achievement grants 300 Achievement Points and a Soul Art Scroll x1.

“Didn’t expect wager duels to have achievements too.”

Lin Ze’s eyes lit up.

This was a pleasant surprise.

He didn’t want to admit it, but his current strength really was no match for Luo Han’s.

So when he agreed to the wager duel, Lin Ze had already planned to use Achievement Points to boost his power.

That said, deep down, he still felt a bit reluctant.

After all, he’d always thought using Achievement Points to raise Growth Rate was somewhat wasteful.

But activating a new achievement meant he wasn’t losing out either.

Without further hesitation, Lin Ze directly called up his Pet Beast panel.

He first turned his attention to Xiao Xue’s Growth Rate, waved his hand, and without a moment’s hesitation raised it from 80.21% to 100%.

As the Achievement Points were deducted, Xiao Xue’s level instantly broke through the Tier 5 threshold.

It shot straight up to Tier 5, Level 2.

Right after.

Lin Ze opened Rock Ghost’s panel and directly spent Achievement Points to raise its Growth Rate from 31% to 70%.

In an instant.

Rock Ghost’s level skyrocketed to Tier 5, Level 2.

Then, Lin Ze spent another 200 Achievement Points to unlock a new skill for Rock Ghost.

[Stone Burst]: An Advanced Skill of ‘Clay Bomb’. Condenses Earth Elements to create a stone imbued with explosive energy, which can be hurled at a target, causing massive explosive damage upon impact or landing. Requires 50% Growth Rate and 200 Achievement Points to unlock.

“Too bad I don’t have enough Achievement Points, or I could have unlocked [Rock Guardian] as well.”

Lin Ze felt a slight pang of regret.

Just then, the Staff Member serving as referee gestured that they could take the stage.

Luo Han was the first to step onto the Arena Platform.

Seeing this, Lin Ze also closed his panel, gave the anxious Guan Ning a reassuring look, and then leisurely walked up onto the Arena Platform.

The two quickly took their positions at opposite ends of the platform.

“To be honest, Junior Lin Ze, I do admire you a bit—having the guts to accept my wager duel.”

Luo Han looked at Lin Ze with a condescending expression.

“You really don’t know whether to call it gutsy or just plain reckless.”

Lin Ze didn’t take it to heart at all, and said with a smile:

“Is that so? I actually don’t think it’d be that hard to beat you.”