Chapter 183: Si Ran’s Outside Reinforcement
On Si Er’s side, everything went exactly as he wished. He was overjoyed.
On Si Ran’s side, nothing went as he hoped. He looked as miserable as someone who had lost both parents.
Well—he actually had.
Si Ran truly could not understand why his luck had become so terrible lately.
He had already scored zero in the previous two rounds because of Si Er. Was he going to be tormented by him again this round?
Although losing the first match still allowed for another chance, he was panicking badly.
He did not want to be kicked around like a ball anymore.
Nor did he want to be kicked around by a rabbit.
Yet what he feared most had happened. Of all people, why did Si Er draw him?
So many people were drawing lots—how could it be such a coincidence?
Si Ran strongly suspected someone had tampered with it. But suspicion was useless. Elder Qingshu had been knocked unconscious by the dean, and now no one was standing on his side.
Even worse, the two of them were scheduled to go up in the very first batch. Si Ran only felt that this beating was coming far too quickly.
This year, the four academies had over two thousand five hundred freshmen in total. Among them, Black Tortoise Academy had only one hundred and thirty-five.
Since Black Tortoise Academy always had the fewest freshmen each year, they were always the first to draw lots—so their already pitiful numbers would not be further reduced by internal elimination.
There were many platforms for the first round of the individual competition—fifty in total. Spectators could choose whichever contestants interested them.
The elders responsible for maintaining order were somewhat worried, fearing that Si Er’s popularity would be too high and the space beside his platform would not be enough.
Very soon, they realized they had worried unnecessarily. Although there were quite a few people near Si Er’s platform, it was still within a normal range. Nothing chaotic was happening.
The elders were puzzled until they overheard the audience.
“Didn’t you really like watching Si Er? Why not watch him now?”
“It was fun watching him sweep through the mountains. It was also amusing seeing him cuddle other people’s soul pets. But against Si Ran it’s a one-sided match—what’s the point?”
“True. He’s already beaten Si Ran twice before, and each time Si Ran had no chance to fight back. There’s nothing new to see.”
“Exactly! Let’s go watch the cockfight instead.”
“Cockfight?”
“Yeah. Flame Chicken versus Thunder-Eye Chicken—doesn’t that sound just like a cockfight?”
Cockfight?
Si Er’s attention was drawn.
Flame Chicken… I feel like I’ve heard that before.
You have, Guagua replied. You’ve even seen it.
Remember when we were lining up outside Central City?
There was that red chicken-coop–hairstyle boy in front of us.
Oh right! That one!
Si Er immediately recalled.
The one whose whole family each had a fine chicken.
Yes, him. He’s quite talented and entered Vermilion Bird Academy.
Flame Chicken entering Vermilion Bird Academy—that’s pretty fitting.
Very fitting. Others still need to work hard to contract a Flame Bird. His Flame Chicken already carries Flame Bird bloodline and can be cultivated directly.
That Flame Chicken is now his strongest soul pet.
Then what about Thunder-Eye Chicken? Is it a chicken with lightning-shaped eyes?
Si Er asked curiously.
Guagua found his imagination strange.
How could a chicken’s eyes grow into that shape? That would be too weird.
It’s called Thunder-Eye Chicken because its eyes can shoot lightning.
But eyes that shoot lightning are weird too! Is that literally “electric eyes”?
Or the legendary glare-at-someone-and-they-get-struck-by-lightning?
Oh no! I want to watch that cockfight too. I’ll have to finish this quickly.
Before stepping onto the stage, all soul pets had to be recalled into their soul spaces. Only after the referee announced the start could they be summoned again.
This also tested the students’ summoning speed.
The two had barely stepped onto the stage when Si Ran immediately raised his hand and asked the referee, “Instructor, this match is supposed to compare the combat power of both sides’ soul pets, right?”
“Shouldn’t it be forbidden for someone to attack personally before even summoning their soul pet?”
Si Ran was afraid that before he could summon his own soul pets, Si Er would beat him senseless.
That would be too unfair.
Unfortunately, the referee did not cooperate.
“What? The competition has never forbidden personal combat!”
“A soul master’s strength includes both their own power and that of all their soul pets.”
“If the soul master is strong personally, that’s even better!”
“We strongly encourage soul masters to fight personally. If someone can defeat their opponent alone, that’s highly commendable.”
Hearing this, Si Ran felt the world go dark.
But then he remembered the big mantis that had come to seek him out before dawn that very morning, and he steadied himself slightly.
This time he was no longer the same as in the previous two matches. The outcome was still uncertain.
The whistle blew.
Si Er, wanting a quick resolution, sprinted toward Si Ran at top speed.
Knowing he could not dodge, Si Ran stood his ground and began summoning his other soul pets.
As for the mantis he had just contracted—it did not even need summoning. It appeared directly in front of him.
The referee and the audience were stunned. Si Ran’s summoning speed was astonishing—so fast it was as if there had been no summoning at all.
Si Er was also startled.
Help! Such a huge mantis!
Are you afraid of mantises? Guagua asked. I thought you’d be more afraid of cockroaches.
Normal-sized ones are fine. But if it’s taller than me—even if it’s just an earthworm that won’t bite, I’d still be scared to death!
Ahhh, so scary!
Hearing Si Er’s inner thoughts, the audience grew tense.
Oh no—he’s afraid of giant mantises. Would this affect his performance?
It certainly did.
Whenever Si Er was frightened, he lost control of his strength. He could not stop his momentum in time and punched the mantis squarely.
Crack, crack, crack—
Everyone saw the mantis’s shell splitting inch by inch.
The audience was dumbfounded. Even the mantis itself was dumbfounded.
It was not a beast of the Ten Thousand Beast Continent but a high-level insectoid, equivalent in strength to a fourth-tier, seven-star beast.
Because its strength exceeded Si Ran’s current soul capacity, they could not even form the most basic spiritual link. What they had was merely a temporary fake contract meant to fool others.
If they could at least establish a simple spiritual contract, it could rest in Si Ran’s mental sea and be properly summoned when needed.
But Si Ran lacked the strength. So it had to act.
It had to perform the illusion of being summoned, then strike a cool and imposing pose, releasing its strongest pressure to intimidate the entire arena.
Yet its pressure was utterly useless before Si Er.
It had just frozen in its pose when Si Er’s fist struck.
It never imagined that one punch would be so powerful—its shell cracked instantly.
The sudden impact left it stunned.
Crack crack crack—
It had actually been punched again.
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