Is This Pet Beast of Yours Even Legal?

"...Fine then." Chen Bo nodded. Whatever, let Luo Yu do as he pleased. Besides, this gave him a perfect chance to see just what Luo Yu was capable of. On the other side, seeing that Luo Yu had agreed, Director Zhang said nothing more to dissuade them. "In that case, I'll be the referee for your beast battle. Keep it friendly—stop before going too far." The four of them soon arrived at a new area. Luo Yu and Bing Liang took their places on opposite sides of the land bordering the water field and began summoning their pet beasts. On Bing Liang's side, it was predictably his Cold Mist Lizard once again. As for Luo Yu's side... When Bing Liang saw a Ground Penguin materialize from the light, he froze visibly. "Is that a Water Penguin? Those are pretty rare," Zhuang Feng remarked from the spectator seats. "Look at that red scarf around its neck—it's a Ground Penguin!" Chen Bo snapped. What an uncultured bumpkin... Once Chen Bo clarified, both Bing Liang and Zhuang Feng looked utterly baffled. Neither had expected Luo Yu's pet beast to be this. The news of what kind of pet Luo Yu had contracted hadn't reached the point of common knowledge yet. Given Luo Yu's status, they had naturally assumed he would have contracted an impressive, formidable pet beast. "A Ground Penguin... The kind of penguin that can't fly and isn't good at swimming either? This... Aren't I kind of bullying him?" Bing Liang pondered. "Wu-ji!" Meanwhile, July learned the whole story from Luo Yu through their contract link and immediately lost all interest. A fight? How boring... All of July's hard training lately was meant for matching wits and strength against the prey it fished out of the water, not sparring against other people. "Both of you, stop before going too far," Director Zhang declared, officially starting the match. At the same time, he thought to himself that the Ground Penguin was almost certainly going to be thrashed by the Cold Mist Lizard. Out in the wild, a Ground Penguin might hold an invincible advantage by using Burrowing. However, to keep maintenance costs down, the Beast Fighting Arena's ground was made of a specialized composite material; a Burrowing ability probably wouldn't make a dent in it. That material could withstand attacks from Level 10 mutated beasts with only slight scratches. For a Level 4 Ground Penguin to hide by burrowing into it was simply out of the question. "Whatever..." Although his opponent was far weaker than expected, Bing Liang still commanded his Cold Mist Lizard to attack. *Whoosh!* A volley of ice mist arrows shot out rapidly. Earlier, the Wave Dog had been agile enough to scramble aside as the mist arrows came flying, but Ground Penguins were hardly known for being nimble on land. The onlookers assumed that within two or three rounds at most, the Ground Penguin would take a hit. No... maybe even one round? Because as they watched the mist arrows rapidly close in, the Ground Penguin didn't react at all. July truly hadn't budged. Because there was no need to. In its eyes, those mist arrows... were flying excruciatingly slowly! After enduring countless needle pokes from the Honey Water Bee possessing the advanced talent "Five Senses Enhancement," July hadn't even realized that its vision had been bolstered to the level of mutated beasts renowned for their eyesight. Right now, as far as it was concerned, those mist arrows were practically crawling toward it. Even if they got closer, it would have plenty of time to dodge. Furthermore, the chill creeping in from the ice mist triggered no sense of danger. July felt that even if it did get hit, its body heat would swiftly melt the frost away. Neither sight nor touch among its five senses detected any real threat... Why bother dodging? *Bang!* A mist arrow whizzed past the Ground Penguin, slamming into the ground behind it and flash-freezing a patch of frost. July hadn't dodged partly because the attack hadn't been aimed accurately at it in the first place. Its body was tiny, unlike the massive Wave Dog, and across this distance, the shot had gone wide. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* A relentless barrage of mist arrows came whistling through the air again. This time, little July finally started moving. Yet unlike the Wave Dog's frantic scurrying earlier, its dodges were minimal. Strutting with an arrogant, swaggering gait and that peculiar waddle unique to penguins, it strolled across the battlefield as if on a leisurely walk, effortlessly evading arrow after arrow. Watching this unfold, Director Zhang, Zhuang Feng, Chen Bo, and Bing Liang were left completely dumbfounded. "Hey," Chen Bo called out, "lizard guy, can't your pet beast aim before shooting?!" "It is aiming!" Cold sweat trickled down Bing Liang's neck as he realized something was terribly wrong. Flushed red, Bing Liang continued barking orders at the Cold Mist Lizard to unleash its special ability, pelting July with ice mist. But relying on its terrifying dynamic visual acuity, little July casually sidestepped every single strike. July didn't bother attacking back; it simply dodged. Because the Cold Mist Lizard was low-level, its stamina was limited. Before long, it was panting heavily as it stared at its opponent by the water's edge in utter despair. It couldn't land a hit. It couldn't hit it at all. "Out of breath already?" Luo Yu asked at that moment. "Then it's our turn to attack." A counterattack? Bing Liang felt a knot of stubborn frustration in his chest. What offensive moves could a Ground Penguin possibly have? What was it going to counterattack with? Even if it had dodged everything, he still didn't believe Luo Yu and his penguin could win. Yet what happened next... The Ground Penguin waddled forward, closing the distance. Once within range, it slammed both flippers against the floor! *Rumble!* The arena floor trembled faintly as cracks splintered across the tiles. Worse still, right beneath the Cold Mist Lizard's feet... The ground where it stood turned straight into a patch of desert, splitting open out of nowhere into a gaping crater. Losing its footing in an instant, the entire lizard tumbled into the pit and was swiftly swallowed up by shifting, flowing sand! *Roar!* A muffled howl rose from the pit, but with its stamina completely drained, the lizard was like a drowning creature, utterly powerless to dig its way out. This was precisely why Luo Yu had worn down its strength first. "Did I win?" Luo Yu smiled faintly. Talents truly were far more valuable than species grade. Even without unleashing its high-temperature power, the little penguin had easily defeated a Mid-tier Species. All those days of training hadn't gone to waste! "..." Bing Liang was struck speechless. The three onlookers beside them were equally stunned. "This..." Director Zhang found it hardest of all to accept. The material of the arena floor was built to withstand hits from Level 10 mutated beasts without giving way. Earth-system skills did have an elemental advantage against such flooring, sure, but how could a Level 4 Ground Penguin break through it this effortlessly? Wait, no. That wasn't Burrowing at all! Whose Burrowing ability involved slapping two flippers on the ground and opening a massive crater directly under the enemy's feet?! "You call that Burrowing?!" Chen Bo, having grown up in an intellectual family, was also bewildered. Precisely because he knew so much about Ground Penguins and Burrowing, his entire worldview on pet beasts had just suffered an immense shock. He had never seen such a dirty, underhanded use of Burrowing in his life! Just as he suspected! Chen Bo's face suddenly went pale. He had known something was fishy about how readily Luo Yu had agreed to a beast battle with him. He hadn't understood it before, but now he did. Luo Yu's Ground Penguin wasn't even playing by the rules. He was just waiting to pull a cheap trick on him! If Luo Yu opened a hole under his feet from across the arena, how was he supposed to climb out? Staring at that pit and then at the little penguin who had looked completely at ease from start to finish, Chen Bo sank into deep thought... "Damn it!" Director Zhang suddenly cried out in dismay. "The arena! The arena!" "Your battle wasn't formally registered, and now you've wrecked the field! What's worse, it's extensive, deep structural damage caused by a 'Burrowing' ability! The infirmary is definitely going to get an earful for this!" "What a mess..." Director Zhang rubbed his temples, a headache throbbing. In the future, he had to make sure Luo Yu and this penguin were never allowed to fight here again. Good grief, the kid was a walking arena-wrecking machine. "Uh..." Luo Yu was taken aback. Was it really that serious? Weren't arenas built specifically to take damage? Shouldn't there be a repair budget for this? "Well then, how about we don't take up a new arena?" He turned toward Chen Bo. "Come on, we can just use this one." Chen Bo said, "Forget it. My pet's ability packs a lot of punch too. Better not cause more trouble for Director Zhang. Besides, your penguin just finished a battle, and I wouldn't want to take unfair advantage of you." "You don't want to fight anymore?" Luo Yu blinked. Just like that? "It's fine. July hardly used any stamina." Then he definitely wasn't fighting! Chen Bo's heart sank. He had no clue how Luo Yu had raised this pet beast. Even if the Ground Penguin had an extraordinary Earth-system talent, ripping a hole through the arena floor in a single second was beyond ridiculous... Even mutated earth spirit roots in cultivation novels wouldn't dare make up something this absurd. "I just remembered my mom left me homework that I haven't finished yet. I'm heading home first. You and Director Zhang can talk business..." He turned on his heel to leave... took a few steps, and then paused to look back. "Uh... about that matter you mentioned earlier, I'll talk it over with my parents when I get back." Chen Bo genuinely wanted to know how on earth he could become as flashy and impressive as Luo Yu. ... "He's really leaving just like that..." Chen Bo's sudden "gentlemanly sportsmanship" left Luo Yu feeling deeply helpless. July really hadn't wasted much stamina at all; he had been saving its high-temperature mode specifically for Chen Bo. Why did the guy have to run off? Chen Bo had clearly taken a heavy blow to his pride. Of course, the ones who had taken an even heavier blow were the two ordinary students, Bing Liang and Zhuang Feng. Long after the battle ended, the two of them stood staring blankly. This wasn't anything like what school and their teachers had taught them!