Chen Baiyan quickly commanded, "Ice Mirror Shield."
A shield of ice, mirror-like in appearance, erected itself in front of the White-haired Lion.
The Water Orb collided with the Ice Mirror Shield, causing it to tremble slightly.
Chen Baiyan felt a small sense of pride; his Ice Mirror Shield was a Bronze-level skill.
But his pride was short-lived.
Another Water Orb came flying, and the Bronze-level Ice Mirror Shield shattered.
Li Cunxu said, "Xiao Ruan, Plan A."
Plan A wasn't some brilliant strategy; it was simply to have Xiao Ruan hold back and not use full strength. Using full strength would defeat the purpose of training.
Why not just tell him to hold back directly?
If he were to say it outright, the opponent might feel insulted and attack more fiercely. Xiao Ruan, inexperienced as he was, might panic and end up using full strength, defeating the opponent.
"White-haired Lion, Ice Spike."
A cone-shaped Ice Spike shot towards Xiao Ruan.
Li Cunxu immediately noticed that the White-haired Lion wasn't proficient with this skill. Normally, Ice Spike would be fired in a trio, but the White-haired Lion only managed one.
"Dodge it."
Chen Baiyan sneered, "Your Slime can't dodge this. My Ice Spike is extremely fast."
Chen Baiyan dared to say this because, in his mind, Slimes were slow, and his White-haired Lion's Ice Spike was indeed fast—faster than Xiao Ruan's Water Orb by a third.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he was proven wrong.
Xiao Ruan gave a light hop and dodged the Ice Spike.
Chen Baiyan was both embarrassed and annoyed.
"White-haired Lion, continuous Ice Spikes."
"Wind Blow."
Xiao Ruan took a deep breath, puffing up his little cheeks. As the Ice Spikes approached, he blew out a fierce gust of wind, scattering the spikes.
The audience was stunned, some even pinching themselves, wondering if they were under some illusion. A Slime was actually holding its own against the White-haired Lion, a dominant force on the icy plains.
Seeing that his White-haired Lion's most powerful Ice Spikes were ineffective, Chen Baiyan changed tactics.
"Close in and finish it with Ice Claw."
The White-haired Lion charged forward.
Li Cunxu's response was simple: blow it away.
Xiao Ruan unleashed a powerful gust of wind, forcing the White-haired Lion to halt in its tracks. The lion closed its eyes, its four sharp claws firmly gripping the ground.
The wind was too strong; it couldn't open its eyes, or it would be blown away.
A schoolteacher who was watching stood up in surprise.
"This Wind Blow skill has actually achieved a Limit Break. Which school has such an outstanding student, capable of training a Slime to this level?"
Li Cunxu felt it was time to up the intensity.
"Wind-enhanced Waterball."
As the name suggests, it combined Wind Blow with a Water Orb. Xiao Ruan spat out a Water Orb and then used Wind Blow to accelerate its speed.
The orb struck the White-haired Lion on the head, sending it flying over two meters high before it crashed to the ground.
"Lost? No, I haven't lost yet. I still have my ultimate move: Whiteout Eyes."
Chen Baiyan's eyes turned white, resembling cataracts.
Li Cunxu was shocked. Someone in Pupil City actually knew the Hyuga clan's Byakugan?
The next second, both Xiao Ruan and Li Cunxu's eyes turned white, their vision completely obscured by a blinding whiteness.
"I was born with the Whiteout Eyes. I admit you're strong, but you're unlucky to have met me," Chen Baiyan said arrogantly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a Water Orb hit him, knocking him to the ground, fast asleep.
Li Cunxu was speechless. He thought it was some incredible Bloodline Talent, but it turned out to be nothing more than turning their vision white.
What's the point of babbling nonsense? Can't you use sound to locate your position even if you can't see? Xiao Ruan couldn't do it, but he could. After all, he was a veteran player of forty years. Though he specialized in curses, his combat skills were nothing to scoff at.
Some of the teachers couldn't sit still anymore.
"A Limit Break Wind Blow, the embryonic form of a Wind-enhanced Waterball combo skill, and the combat awareness to locate by sound—what a talent!"
"What about his profile? Have you found it? Can we recruit him?"
"We can, but I don't think it's worth it."
"What do you mean it's not worth it? Such an outstanding young man isn't worth recruiting? I don't understand what you're saying."
He took the tablet and looked at it.
"It's a pity he has a Breeder's talent. If only he had a Beast Tamer's talent instead… Hmm… Three Contract Slots, and one of them is a Flawed Contract Slot, only allowing him to contract weak Pet Beasts. No wonder he contracted a Slime. What a shame. You're right, it's indeed not worth recruiting."
Was Li Cunxu outstanding? Absolutely.
But the investment required was too great. He would need three Expansion Items just to gather six Pet Beasts to compete in official matches.
Moreover, one of Li Cunxu's Contract Slots was flawed, and he had contracted a Slime. Although Xiao Ruan performed well, in the eyes of others, it was still just a Slime with limited potential, unable to even break through to the Bronze level.
Excluding the Flawed Contract Slot, Li Cunxu would need four Expansion Items.
Which school could afford to provide four Expansion Items in one go?
After the match, Li Cunxu headed straight to the bookstore and bought a comprehensive guide on Bloodline Talents.
Today's battle had made him realize just how many bizarre Bloodline Talents were out there. He needed to study them thoroughly to avoid being caught off guard in the future.
The following matches went as smoothly as ever, with the difficulty only slightly higher than the preliminaries. Li Cunxu almost felt like he was just fishing in a pond.
It wasn't until the quarterfinals that he finally felt the difficulty increase.
It wasn't that his opponents were too weak, but rather that Xiao Ruan was too strong.
…
Lin Jiusan returned home, looking utterly exhausted.
Madam Lin asked anxiously, "How did it go? What did Master Yin Quan from the Divine Capital say?"
Master Yin Quan was the most renowned curse-breaking master. If even he couldn't break the curse, it was unlikely anyone else could.
"The master said the curse is incurable."
After saying this, Lin Jiusan seemed to have exhausted all his energy and slumped into a chair.
"How could this be? My daughter is in the prime of her life, yet she has to suffer such a calamity."
Suddenly, Madam Lin seemed to grasp at a sliver of hope and shook Lin Jiusan vigorously.
"That young man who told us Qingwei was cursed by the Evil Dragon Curse—he said he had a way."
"A mere brat? What could he possibly do that even Master Yin Quan couldn't?" Lin Jiusan retorted.
"But what if he really can?" Madam Lin sobbed. "Besides, that young man is different. We've visited so many curse masters, and only a handful could recognize the Evil Dragon Curse at a glance."
Lin Jiusan thought about it and realized she was right. He immediately stood up.
"I'll go visit him."
Lin Jiusan knew Li Cunxu's address and headed straight to his ranch.
Ah Huang, the Home Guard Dog, was sparring with Xiao Ruan, who was jumping around, swiftly dodging in mid-air.
A fully enclosed truck slowly drove into the ranch.
The Mech Hunter silently stood up, his right hand quietly reaching for the gun on his back while his left hand gripped the hunting knife at his waist.
Li Cunxu paused the sparring session.
"Ah Huang, hold on. Let's go see what's going on."
Lin Jiusan jumped down from the driver's seat.
"Young man, I beg you, please save my daughter."
"You won't even say 'you' respectfully, which shows you have no sincerity."
Since the other party was the father of Lin Qingwei, the main perpetrator who bullied the original host throughout his childhood, Li Cunxu decided to give him a bit of a hard time.
Lin Jiusan was momentarily stunned but quickly said, "Young brother, I beg you, please save my daughter. I will surely reward you handsomely."
"Handsomely?"
"Young brother, please follow me."
Lin Jiusan said mysteriously.
Li Cunxu followed him to the back of the carriage, where Lin Jiusan opened the door.
Inside the carriage was a small cow.
"Young brother, if you can save my daughter, I am willing to give you this cow."
Is anyone watching?
(End of chapter)