Gu Ming looked up at the sky. Seeing no Celestial Tribulation Clouds and no sign of the Hall of the Great Dao, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

It seemed the Wave-Swallowing Technique used a futuristic Array to aid in its learning, but its fundamental structure was still based on existing principles. There were no major modifications, so it hadn’t alerted the Hall of the Great Dao.

The "water potential" Ah Kun drew upon was also a common application of the Wave-Swallowing Technique. The type of wave to swallow depended on the Fish Pet’s current aquatic environment, and this didn’t alter the Combat Technique’s core philosophy.

Taking these factors into account, it was only natural that the Hall of the Great Dao didn’t appear.

Teacher Zhong inspected the scene for a moment. Seeing that Ah Kun had already mastered the Wave-Swallowing Technique to the Entry Level and was able to fully display the power of the first step, Abyssal Stop, he said,

"Practice Abyssal Stop diligently. As for learning the second step, you’ll have to wait until your Wave-Swallowing Technique reaches the Master Level."

The last two steps of the Wave-Swallowing Technique were beyond its current capabilities.

However, Teacher Zhong also provided a combat technique manual, allowing Ah Kun to study and seek Enlightenment on its own when it had time.

The book itself was a high-end Cultivation Manual. Every brushstroke within its pages contained the principles of the Great Dao. Reading it was like a crude form of Enlightenment, its effects second only to a master’s lecture.

If you don’t understand it after one reading, you can read it a hundred times, a thousand times.

By reading the book enough, one could eventually learn how to begin mastering the next two moves.

Gu Ming took the book back to study it. After poring over it with Ah Kun for a night, he gradually came to understand the learning process for the Wave-Swallowing Technique. It actually integrated three distinct moves into a single, unified system.

This was already in the realm of an Ultimate Skill.

The Mastery of Wood Escape, for example, integrated multiple Combat Techniques and Cultivation Techniques, causing a qualitative transformation in the body’s control over Life Energy.

Consequently, the second and third steps of the Wave-Swallowing Technique had to be learned separately.

Only after the first step, Abyssal Stop, reached the Master Level would one be qualified to learn the second step, Whale Leap.

And only when Whale Leap reached the Master Level could one proceed to learn the third step, Returning Ruins.

The sequence for the Wave-Swallowing Technique was extremely rigid, unlike the Mastery of Wood Escape, whose learning order was flexible and could be arranged freely.

As Ah Kun continued to learn and grow, Gu Ming began to schedule its training.

With the Achievement Points awarded from its Evolution, Ah Kun could undergo intense additional training.

However, unlike the previous training for the Earth Shifting Technique or Mastery of Wood Escape, Cyan Treasure could now learn some additional Skills to improve its capabilities.

After all, the competition was about to begin. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The current three-pet team of the snake, fish, and mouse still lacked a clear division of labor. Their respective roles needed to be properly defined.

For Mouse Treasure, it was already decided that it would learn additional Skills and moves to enhance its ability to detect ground vibrations, along with various Sub-dragon Bloodline techniques like the Earth Dragon Armor.

In other words, Mouse Treasure was positioned as a scout and main tank; its offensive capabilities would not be a focus.

Cyan Treasure, on the other hand, was the glass cannon. Its high Speed, ranged attacks, poison damage, and Purification of Heretics fit the requirements for the team’s core offensive role.

Gu Ming could only continue to enhance its combat power, pushing it further down the path of a glass cannon.

Ah Kun was a rising star. Gu Ming hadn’t originally intended for it to be a main attacker, but rather to handle miscellaneous tasks and act as a secondary damage dealer.

But it had evolved to the Two-star Realm. Among Two-star Fish Pets, the Wave-Swallowing Technique was an incredibly overpowered Combat Skill. Forcing it to do menial work would be a waste of its combat prowess.

That meant he had to cram two main attackers onto one team.

But even between main attackers, there was a difference in power.

Cyan Treasure had far more combat experience. Ah Kun’s only experience came from the few battles during the midterm exams.

During its previous Dream Training, Ah Kun hadn’t known it would participate in the midterms, so its combat training had fallen far behind Cyan Treasure’s.

Although it had Two-star abilities, it was hard to say who would be stronger in a real fight against Cyan Treasure.

To find out who was stronger, and to spur Cyan Treasure’s resolve to evolve, he decided to open up the Dream Training Space for a while. He would let the two pets fight in a dream to avoid spending money on hospital bills.

「In the dream.」

The two pets found themselves back at the riverbank where Ah Kun had evolved.

"This is a dream, so you can go all out. Don’t hold back. Come on, Cyan Treasure, show your little brother the power of the eldest," Gu Ming said from the sidelines, shamelessly fanning the flames.

Hearing this, Cyan Treasure immediately puffed out its chest. Its forked tongue flicked rapidly as its eyes began to glow with a cyan light.

Ah Kun floated on the river’s surface, its eyes also gleaming. It opened its mouth, gulping down water as its tail slapped the surface, kicking up layers of waves.

In less than two seconds, the current around it fell strangely still.

Wave-Swallowing Technique: Abyssal Stop!

But those two seconds were more than enough for Cyan Treasure.

It lifted its head slightly, channeling a bit of its source power to its mouth. Its Poison Fangs secreted venom, infusing it into a Storm Ball.

With a sudden whip of its head, it fired the ball like a heavy cannon.

A bowl-sized ball of air shot forth, instantly expanding to the size of a millstone as it left its mouth, shattering the sound barrier!

The shockwave hadn’t even arrived, the sonic boom still catching up.

All of Ah Kun’s scales were already vibrating from the stress.

A thick Water Wall, a full fifty centimeters deep, hastily rose from the stagnant surface of the river.

BOOM!

The Water Wall was blasted to smithereens.

The explosive spray, laced with the Purification of Heretics Holy Dragon Poison, crashed squarely into its face.

Ah Kun was constantly circulating its Everlasting Pure Water Technique. A film of water flowing across its skin immediately washed away the hidden poison, so Cyan Treasure failed to affect it.

Still, in the first exchange, Cyan Treasure had seized the upper hand with just a single attack.

Each subsequent Storm Cannon forced Ah Kun to focus completely, frantically activating its Wave-Swallowing Technique to raise layer after layer of Water Walls in defense.

From a distance, Gu Ming noticed that the range of Ah Kun’s Abyssal Stop was immense. It could freeze the water for a hundred meters upstream and a hundred meters downstream, covering a total of two hundred meters of the river.

However, its range for controlling the water to attack outward was very short. It was locked to the river’s surface and couldn’t strike beyond it.

This gave Cyan Treasure the opportunity to gloat, circling Ah Kun while constantly running and firing its cannons.

「Five minutes later.」

As Ah Kun grew weary from defending, Cyan Treasure lightly tapped the ground with its tail.

The Grass Seeds it had stealthily scattered suddenly erupted!

The stimulated seeds sprouted from the earth and grew rapidly into massive vines.

The mass of vines tore through the river’s calm surface, lunging toward Ah Kun like living creatures to entangle it.

Seeing the rampant root system about to engulf the entire area, a fierce glint flashed in Ah Kun’s eyes.

SWISH!

The stagnant water suddenly transformed into thousands of curved blades. With a flash of arcing light, they instantly severed all the vines at their base.

A monstrous wave, carrying the force to shatter mountains, surged in a counterattack. For the first time, it left the riverbed, rushing thirty meters toward Cyan Treasure.

Cyan Treasure retreated hastily, only then realizing with a shock:

’This blockhead is actually getting serious!’

’The sharpness and sheer weight within that torrent were far beyond what ordinary plants could withstand.’

’Not unless Master cultivated special vines specifically designed to counter the Water Element and taught me how to control their growth.’

It flicked its tongue, its serpentine form a blur of motion.

Cyan Treasure was incredibly fast. It used Earth Escape to slip away just before the wave crashed down, avoiding the attack.

Ah Kun’s eyes widened. ’I forgot Big Brother Cyan Treasure has an Earth Escape Technique! Now the wave just hit the shore. What a waste.’

The battle immediately fell into a stalemate.

Cyan Treasure reappeared on the opposite bank, resuming its bombardment of Storm Balls, which repeatedly clashed with Ah Kun’s Water Increase defenses.

「After twenty minutes of fierce battle.」

Cyan Treasure’s Life Energy was nearly depleted.

Ah Kun, though showing signs of fatigue, could still control the river water. The scales of victory had finally begun to tip.

"Alright, that’s enough. It’s a draw."

Gu Ming declared loudly, then turned to Cyan Treasure.

"However, Cyan Treasure, you’re only at the One-star Realm. If you were also Two-star, with your reserves of life energy and endurance, you likely wouldn’t have lost to Ah Kun."

A look of joy appeared on Ah Kun’s face. Tying with its big brother, Cyan Treasure, was already more than it could have hoped for. To be honest, it hadn’t managed to land a single hit on Cyan Treasure the entire time.

The moment their master finished speaking, Cyan Treasure, furious, began slapping the ground wildly with its tail. Its serpentine eyes locked onto Ah Kun as a single thought consumed it:

’I have to evolve, too!’