Chapter 71 – Teach Him a Lesson

“Holy crap! It’s actually real!”

“That’s insane!”

“Oh my god, two Tier 5 Pet Beasts—am I dreaming?”

“Lin Ze was hiding his strength all along!”

“This is way too broken. Is this really a Freshman? I feel like my whole worldview just got flipped upside down!”

Countless players were stunned, shaken, and awestruck.

An eighteen-year-old Freshman, possessing two Tier 5 Pet Beasts.

Absolutely unheard of!

Even with the video right there in front of them, everyone still found it hard to believe.

Forget the students—even the veteran Beast Tamers who had been stuck in the Apprentice Zone for ages, none of them owned even a single Tier 5 Pet Beast.

Let alone two!

Was this even fair?

Although they had already witnessed Lin Ze’s astonishing talent before, everyone was still thoroughly blown away once again.

Calling this talent monstrous wasn’t enough.

It was outright freakish!

“I remember… no one in the Apprentice Zone has a Tier 5 Pet Beast, right?”

“Of course not. Even the number one, Cui Jing’an, has a Pet Beast at most Tier 4, Stage 9.”

“Then isn’t Lin Ze basically guaranteed first place?”

“Do you even need to ask? The rest of his matches are probably all instant wins!”

As if to confirm those words, the real-time battle info at the top of the post suddenly changed.

[Previous opponent: No.85 Zhang Hong — Instant win]

[Current opponent: No.79 Fei Luo]

Boom!

The players erupted into an uproar.

“Instant win, just as expected!”

“I knew it!”

“So strong!”

“No one can beat Lin Ze now!”

Countless comments filled with awe and reverence flooded in.

Everyone who witnessed this was plunged into intense shock.

At the start, who could have imagined that a newly enrolled Freshman would climb over five hundred thousand ranks in just three days, and even be on the verge of taking the top spot?

If anyone had dared to claim that before, they would have been torn to shreds.

Yet such a dreamlike scenario was now unfolding right before their eyes.

It truly felt surreal, like being in a dream.

Lin Ze.

This young man’s talent and strength were absolutely terrifying.

Given time, who knew how far he would go!

While many hearts were racing with excitement, Lin Ze’s rank shot up like a rocket.

No.79!

No.74!

No.70!

No.66!

Every single match was an instant win.

Clean and decisive.

In less than an hour, Lin Ze had already broken into the top ten.

[Previous opponent: No.9 Zheng Cheng — Instant win]

[Current opponent: No.4 Marco]

A flash of light.

Marco appeared on the spacious Arena Platform.

He looked around with smug satisfaction, his expression brimming with delight.

“Win one more match, and my score will surpass that bastard Xiao Jinlang!”

The thought of soon rising to third place sent a surge of excitement through Marco.

He had been stuck hovering between tenth and twentieth place for a long time.

Never able to break into the top ten.

So he gritted his teeth, spent a hefty sum to exchange for a Secret Realm exploration opportunity at the Beast Tamer Association, and ventured deep into the Secret Realm alone.

Fortunately, although he encountered plenty of dangers during the exploration, the final rewards were quite gratifying.

He obtained a number of extremely rare materials.

After selling it to the Beast Tamer Association, he not only recouped his costs but also made a handsome profit.

Because of this,

Marco finally had enough Credit Points to purchase Heavenly Treasures, allowing one of his Pet Beasts to successfully break through to Tier 4, Stage 9.

“With my current strength, securing a top-three spot is more than enough!”

Marco thought smugly to himself.

He currently had two Pet Beasts in total.

One at Tier 4, Stage 9.

One at Tier 4, Stage 7.

Across the entire Apprentice Zone, only the first-ranked Cui Jing’an and second-ranked Xiao Xi could surpass him.

Aside from that,

Even the third-ranked Xiao Jinlang couldn’t possibly defeat him.

“What a shame. If only I had a Tier 5 Pet Beast.”

“If that were the case, even Cui Jing’an wouldn’t stand a chance against me!”

Marco thought with some regret.

But then, he quickly dismissed the idea as too far-fetched.

The Tier 5 threshold was no easy barrier to break through.

In all the years the Glory Virtual Realm had been open, there had never been an Apprentice Beast Tamer with a Tier 5 Pet Beast.

No matter how proud or arrogant Marco was, he wouldn’t delude himself into thinking he could break that record and become the one and only.

Shaking his head, Marco dispelled the stray thoughts and looked up at the opposite side of the Arena Platform.

Just then, a flash of light appeared, and his opponent for this battle materialized out of thin air.

The moment he saw his opponent’s face, Marco couldn’t help but freeze.

Who is this person?

Too young!

Marco knew basically all of the top twenty players in the Apprentice Zone.

In fact, he had crossed blows with most of them.

But there was absolutely no way such a young face was among them.

“Judging by this person’s age, they can’t be much older than eighteen, right?”

Marco searched his memory, certain he had never seen this person before.

“Could they be a player ranked outside the top twenty? But that doesn’t make sense either.”

According to the battle rules, players ranked in the top fifty would only be matched against opponents within ten ranks of their own position.

In other words,

The opponent Marco was matched with right now could only be ranked within the top fourteen.

“Could they be a player who just climbed the rankings? But still, this is way too young.”

Marco clicked his tongue in amazement.

Players who managed to break into the top fifty were almost all veteran Beast Tamers who had spent years honing their skills at the Apprentice level.

None of them were under twenty.

This was the first time he had seen someone as young as the youth before him.

It wasn’t hard to imagine,

That person’s talent must be extraordinary.

“Probably a direct descendant carefully nurtured by some Beast Tamer clan.”

Marco thought to himself.

He had been holed up in the Secret Realm these past few days and only came out last night. He hadn’t had time to browse the Forum, so naturally, he had no idea what had been happening these past few days.

Marco suddenly felt curious and wanted to exchange a few words with the young man before him.

But before he could speak, the battle Countdown had already appeared.

Left with no choice, he began to Summon his Pet Beast.

Although his opponent was young, Marco didn’t show the slightest bit of contempt.

He immediately summoned one of his Pet Beasts in full, then quickly cast a Soul Guardian on himself.

There was no rule in the Glory Virtual Realm prohibiting direct attacks on the Beast Tamer.

At the same time,

The young man across from him also summoned his Pet Beast.

It was a girl in white robes, as ethereal and beautiful as an elf, with an icy, aloof temperament.

“A Humanoid Pet Beast!”

A flash of envy immediately passed through Marco’s eyes.

Beautiful Humanoid Pet Beasts—especially those whose appearances were nearly indistinguishable from human women—had always been the dream Contract Pet Beasts of male Beast Tamers.

Not to mention that the Humanoid Pet Beast before him was absolutely a top-tier specimen of its kind!

But soon, Marco’s brow furrowed.

Because he noticed that after his opponent summoned a single Pet Beast, there was no follow-up.

“Is this guy planning to fight with just one Pet Beast? How insulting!”

A flash of irritation crossed Marco’s face.

Anyone who could make it into the top twenty definitely had more than one Pet Beast.

Yet this young man was doing exactly that—it could only mean he was looking down on him!

“Arrogant bastard! Even Cui Jing’an wouldn’t dare fight me with just one Pet Beast!”

Marco immediately resolved to teach this young man a lesson.

“Go!”

Sensing their master’s fury, the two Pet Beasts let out roars and charged forward.

In the blink of an eye, they had covered half the distance.

It was then that the beautiful Humanoid Pet Beast slowly raised its slender, pale arm.

Under Marco’s bewildered gaze, a pure white mist of extreme cold suddenly erupted, sweeping forward in a fan-shaped wave.

Sigh of the Snow Maiden!

The temperature in the air plummeted sharply.

In just a blink.

Most of the Arena Platform was engulfed in the pure white mist.

Crack! Crack!

The two charging Pet Beasts collided head-on with the mist, without even a chance to resist, instantly frozen into transparent ice sculptures.

The next moment.

A biting wind howled past.

The two massive ice sculptures shattered with a crack into countless ice particles, dissipating into the air.

Silence!

Deathly silence!

Marco stared blankly at the scene before him, mouth agape, unable to speak.

Only one thought echoed through his buzzing mind.

A Tier 5… Tier 5 Pet Beast!