"Break Cocoon."

Ji Lan's voice was like a morning drum and an evening bell.

Cocooning and Breaking Cocoon.

They have always been two complementary skills.

Cocooning for defense.

While Break Cocoon can temporarily boost a pet's speed, strength, burst, and energy intensity, pushing its attack power to the extreme.

However, this skill also has its drawbacks.

Firstly, its duration is extremely short; even if mastered to the level of divine ability, the enhanced effect of Break Cocoon will not exceed 10 seconds.

Steel-Armored Pupae had used Break Cocoon in a previous competition, and according to Teacher Yue and data analysts, Steel-Armored Pupae's Break Cocoon should be at the 'As Desired' proficiency level.

This allowed it to maintain high burst for 5 seconds!

Don't underestimate these short 5 seconds.

In Beast Tamers competitions where microseconds can change the tide of battle, these five seconds are incredibly precious; it's no exaggeration to say they can determine the outcome of the battle!

But I'm getting sidetracked.

Aside from the duration, which isn't really a flaw, a pet's defense will significantly decrease after using Break Cocoon.

To put it another way, the Break Cocoon skill is a temporary burst of power gained at the cost of defense.

"Metal Storm!" Ji Lan naturally seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack!

The Steel-Armored Pupae, now incredibly fast, shot out like a cannonball, colliding violently with Little Silver Flower at a speed far exceeding its previous pace!

But Mingxi, who already knew about the combo of Cocooning and Break Cocoon, was not unprepared.

Break Cocoon was the momentum the opponent built, but it was also /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ an opportunity for her side!

"Forceful Pressure Cut!"

The skills of the two pets collided violently.

"Boom!"

"Hiss!"

"Bang!"

"Luo!"

"Steel!"

Little Silver Flower and Steel-Armored Pupae were both sent flying to the edge of the battle stage by the damage from the skills and the Impact of the collision.

They had a close encounter with the protective shield.

In this round, both sides were injured, it was a draw, and neither gained an advantage.

But the duration of Break Cocoon had not yet ended!

"Holy Light Guard! Space Flash!"

Mingxi knew Little Silver Flower was severely injured, but at this moment, she couldn't relax; relaxing would mean being eliminated.

Little Silver Flower was essentially the calmest of all Mingxi's pets.

She was not affected by her injuries; energy surged around her body, and she quickly vanished from her original position.

Space Flash.

However, the Steel-Armored Pupae in Break Cocoon state also had very fast reaction and movement speeds.

Coupled with the guidance of Ji Lan, an excellent Beast Tamers, the residual Impact from its fierce attack still swept over Little Silver Flower, causing her to stagger and appear somewhat disheveled.

"Continuous Harden!"

Ji Lan's intention was clear: he wanted to maintain his defense as much as possible while in the Break Cocoon enhanced state, to avoid being broken by the opponent's weak points.

Flashes of light continuously flickered on Steel-Armored Pupae's body.

Mingxi's brain was working at high speed:

"Space Compression."

The Break Cocoon enhancement time was limited, but its burst power was indeed terrifying. When unable to get close to the opponent and a one-shot kill was unrealistic.

She could only limit its range of movement.

Invisible spatial forces squeezed the Steel-Armored Pupae from all directions. Although it couldn't completely restrain it in the Break Cocoon state, it greatly restricted its movement speed and burst space, making it feel as if it were trapped in quicksand.

"Bug Devour!"

Ji Lan ordered Steel-Armored Pupae to break through the surface with a single point, attempting to bite through the spatial restraint.

Just as Steel-Armored Pupae opened its mouth to condense bug-type energy, focusing its attention on resisting Space Compression—

A sharp glint flashed in Mingxi's eyes, and she issued a command that surprised everyone: "Use telekinesis on the gravel one square to its left, at its feet, and stuff it into its mouth!"

!!!

As soon as this command was given, whether Little Silver Flower could react, they didn't know, but the audience was stunned!

Speechless.jpg

Stuff a rock in its mouth?

What kind of move is this?!

Little Silver Flower didn't understand her older sister's tactical intention, but her execution was high enough.

Her telekinesis, as if an extension of her arm, instantly caught the 'gravel' at Steel-Armored Pupae's feet, which was half a person tall, and with lightning speed and precision, at the exact moment Steel-Armored Pupae used Bug Devour and opened its mouth widest, forcefully stuffed the 'gravel' in!

Ji Lan didn't even have time to say the words 'Shut up'!

"Ugh?!"

Steel-Armored Pupae's Bug Devour skill was instantly interrupted!

With its throat and mouth blocked by a foreign object, its breathing immediately became chaotic.

The entire bug was dumbfounded.

"Uh uh... uh uh uh... Gurgle..."

It was like a goose with its neck squeezed, stretching its neck to sing to the sky.

The stone was just stuck in its windpipe.

For a moment, it couldn't spit it out, nor could it swallow it!

Ji Lan's expression changed dramatically; he hadn't expected the opponent to use such a wild and absurd dirty trick.

For a moment, he was at a loss.

But Mingxi, the instigator, didn't hesitate for a moment, seizing this rare opportunity to have Little Silver Flower unleash her full output!

"Dragon Star Break!"

Mingxi was not an opportunist; she was a creator of opportunities!

While Steel-Armored Pupae was thrown off balance by a piece of 'gravel,' Little Silver Flower, under Mingxi's command, launched a merciless bombardment of skills.

Countless skill meteors slammed into the Steel-Armored Pupae, which was unable to effectively dodge or defend!

"Boom! Boom!"

Under this indiscriminate, no-holds-barred bombardment, even if Steel-Armored Pupae had a body of brass and iron, it would still have a layer of skin peeled off!

Amidst the explosions, Steel-Armored Pupae was blasted and sent tumbling, the cracks on its carapace further widening, clearly indicating it had suffered heavy damage.

Ji Lan was a little flustered.

He was a serious person; he had never seen such an unconventional move.

Mingxi: "You just tell me if it was effective or not?"

₍ ᐢ ⸝ ⸝ › ̫ ‹ ⸝ ⸝ ᐢ ₎

Transcendent creatures are still creatures; no creature can 'choke on food' and feel nothing.

Ji Lan, in a moment of desperation, said: "Silk Spit!"

Steel-Armored Pupae is not a spider-type Transcendent creature born with silk glands and spinnerets; it uses a silk sac created by splitting its stomach to form silk through energy conversion, then uses abdominal contractions to compress space, and finally expels it through its digestive tract.

So, Silk Spit could indeed effectively resolve the crisis of a foreign object stuck in its throat.

But effective as it was, it wasn't instantaneous.

The intense foreign body sensation in its throat caused Steel-Armored Pupae immense pain. At this moment, it couldn't even focus on its opponent; it was struggling just to take care of itself.

Silk Spit, a skill usually simpler than breathing, became incredibly difficult to execute!

And during this time, Little Silver Flower continued to output damage!

"Boom boom boom!"

The stance was as if she wanted to blast the entire battle stage to smithereens.

However, just when everyone thought Steel-Armored Pupae was about to be defeated by this 'dirty trick,' a trace of seasoned composure flashed in the eyes of Ji Lan, the veteran Beast Tamers.

"Local Hardening!"

He commanded, his voice carrying the calmness forged through countless trials, "Crush those stones."

This was an extremely subtle operational command!

Steel-Armored Pupae, hearing the command, immediately concentrated energy and applied the skill to the inside of its mouth and throat.

Crack!

The 'gravel' stuck in its throat was instantly firmly crushed and pulverized.

A part fell into its stomach, and another part, mixed with blood and viscous gastric fluid, was spat out.

"As expected of a senior."

Mingxi sighed.

To quickly come up with a solution in such a situation, not to mention his reaction speed, just the calm and composure he displayed in handling emergencies was something not just any Beast Tamers could achieve.

Calmness and composure are often the most precious qualities for professional players.

"Feel this humiliation!"

Ji Lan's voice penetrated the barrier.

"Devour it!"

Mingxi was startled.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Not good!"

Just as she thought this.

She heard Ji Lan's voice ring out again: "Angry Waves Crashing on the Shore!"

"Roar!"

His voice seemed to trigger a signal; furious flames instantly erupted from Steel-Armored Pupae's amber compound eyes!

The humiliation and stifled anger accumulated because of a ridiculous stone finally ignited its rage at this moment!

Ability 【Angry Waves Crashing on the Shore】!

An ability that needs to be stimulated by rage and anger, similar to 【Berserk】, and also similar to Break Cocoon.

But did Steel-Armored Pupae have the 【Angry Waves Crashing on the Shore】 ability?

Mingxi: o(╯□╰)o

I have no idea.

The frustration and anger of having a stone stuck in its throat were all transformed into a catalyst for activating 【Angry Waves Crashing on the Shore】 at this moment!

At this moment, Steel-Armored Pupae emitted a terrifying aura of frenzy and ferocity!

It temporarily transcended its physical limits due to anger!

"Impact!" Ji Lan's voice was cold and precise, "War Stomp!"

"Quickly dodge!" Mingxi exclaimed!

The enraged Steel-Armored Pupae executed without hesitation.

It launched itself like a battering ram, using all its energy, fiercely and unreservedly, towards Little Silver Flower in mid-air.

Its speed was astonishing, its coverage vast, and completely unpredictable!

Even if it was avoided once or twice.

It crashed to the ground like a wild ox, still not stopping, constantly charging with an attack method that harmed the enemy a thousand while damaging itself eight hundred!

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

It failed, got up, and charged again towards its target.

"Luo!"

【Angry Waves Crashing on the Shore】 didn't mean it was completely controlled by rage.

Tactics.

More accurately, it was the battle instinct already ingrained in its bones and blood that, after multiple probes, finally allowed Steel-Armored Pupae to accurately hit Little Silver Flower, who was constantly teleporting away!

The immense Impact and collision force almost broke Little Silver Flower's waist.

With a 'boom,' her body was carried by Steel-Armored Pupae and slammed to the ground.

Before she could react, War Stomp followed up.

"Boom—"

The battle stage cracked.

Little Silver Flower was like a frail little pitiful creature, smashed into the bottom of the pit.

"Puff! Puff!"

Her wings were torn.

"Luo!!!" Little Silver Flower let out a mournful cry filled with anger. With her wings damaged, she instantly lost her Flight advantage.

She wanted to use healing skills, but wouldn't Ji Lan know how troublesome Angel System was?

He wouldn't give her a chance to recover from her injuries.

"Explode!"

Ji Lan didn't choose flashy skills; he directly ordered Steel-Armored Pupae to use the purest, most direct, and also its most powerful bug-type skill.

Unleashing all the power brought by 【Angry Waves Crashing on the Shore】 without reservation.

"Steel-Armored Instant Burst!"

Steel-Armored Pupae let out a roar that seemed to carry flames, its steel armor on its body surface floated up, instantly melting into crimson-gold metal energy, rendering it a furious ball!

It disregarded its physical injuries, transforming all its pain, anger, and unwillingness into the purest fighting will, like an out-of-control meteor, with a stance of destroying everything, it fiercely crushed Little Silver Flower, who was hard-controlled at the bottom of the pit by War Stomp.

The power of this strike far exceeded the usual!

Mingxi's pupils constricted: "One Inch of Time!"

Steel-Armored Instant Burst, a Steel-type Heavenly-Rank skill, a skill that instantly completes a burst at the cost of damaging its own body parts.

Because it comes with a mandatory marking effect, using Space Flash or Space Flash is useless.

She could only see if time-based skills could reverse it.

Little Silver Flower, hearing the command, gave a bitter smile.

She knew it was too late.

It wasn't even a case of trying to save a dead horse; One Inch of Time wasn't Golden Yuanbao's limitless exile, even if she used it, it would be difficult to change the outcome.

"Boom—!"

A earth-shattering explosion sounded.

Mingxi recalled Little Silver Flower into her Pet Space before she was engulfed by the scorching light.

With 【Angry Waves Crashing on the Shore】 plus Steel-Armored Instant Burst, she wasn't sure if Little Silver Flower could survive completely intact.

While the opponent's victory was enviable, the death of her own pet was even less something she could bear.

"It has been detected that Mingxi recalled her pet into the Pet Space during the competition. This round is judged as a loss, and a red card warning is issued."

A red card warning, which is commonly understood as a foul warning.

One red card doesn't affect the outcome, but two red cards result in an immediate loss of the match.

And throughout the entire competition, besides the Beast Tamers being allowed to summon the Pet Space at the beginning and end of each round, there was only one other situation where a red card would not be issued.

That was when the Soul Key awakened again!

At any other time, if the Pet Space appeared, a red card would be issued.

"Lost!"

The audience paused for a second and a half, then erupted!

Of course, this wasn't Mingxi getting off to a bad start in the competition, but it was Little Silver Flower's first defeat in her debut battle.

And the opponent was Steel-Armored Pupae.

A pet whose rarity was at two complete extremes compared to her.

"It still has to be Lan Shen! So rarity and all that stuff doesn't matter at all! What if Luo Xu Jingtian is legendary or even mythical? Didn't it still lose to the most ordinary common bug!

Bloodline theory is nonsense!"

"Little brother, your words are a bit extreme. Not every common bug is Lan Shen's Steel-Armored Pupae, okay?!

Moreover, the main reason Luo Xu Jingtian lost was that Mingxi's tactical command was inferior to Lan Shen's.

It's not Luo Xu Jingtian's fault."

"Oh, weren't you a Mingxi fan? Why are you starting to speak ill of her?"

"I'm a Golden Yuanbao fan, not a Mingxi fan! In my heart, Mingxi is just a Beast Tamers with a bit more luck than average! What's there to be a fan of?"

"I say, aren't you guys going too far? Our Ming Shen only lost one round, she hasn't lost the entire match yet!

Besides, even if she really loses to Lan Shen, what about it? She's only 17 years old. What's wrong with losing to Lan Shen, who's over two hundred, almost three hundred years old?!

Our Ming Shen doesn't get arrogant when she wins and doesn't get discouraged when she loses!"

"Heh heh, since she's participating in the Starsea Cup, don't keep bringing up her age as if she's the only genius, honestly, I'm tired of hearing it, alright? If she's so capable, why doesn't she wait until she's a hundred years old to participate in the Starsea Cup? If she loses, she brings up her age, playing moral blackmail here?! Bah!"

"Who are you calling a moral blackmailer!"

"I said it, so what?!"

"Damn it! What the hell!"

The battle between Mingxi and Ji Lan was already highly anticipated.

Many spectators present were fans of either of them or their pets, plus fans of other players, and those who enjoyed watching the excitement.

Mingxi suffered a crushing defeat in the first round, and it was her ace pet, Luo Xu Jingtian, that was crushed, and she also received her first red card warning.

Naturally, many people were pessimistic, and many were gloating.

It also gave the guards a bit more work to do.

"Round two, start!"