Just as Zhao Weiwei’s Beast Pet, the Flame Dog, rushed forward to confront Nuobai, the crowd of onlookers erupted into a commotion, drawing over a teacher on duty.
“What are you all doing gathered here!”
“Crowding is prohibited at the school gate!”
Seeing the teacher arrive, Zhao Weiwei was the first to lodge a complaint, showing off her bruised face.
“Teacher, Bai Luxin incited her Beast Pet to attack someone on campus!”
The teacher on duty frowned and first dispersed the onlookers.
After seeing that her face was merely slightly swollen and not seriously injured, he looked at the scene.
A Flame Dog was watching its prey intently, poised in an offensive stance. Its target was a feline Beast Pet held in a girl’s arms.
Since nothing major had happened, he decided to treat both sides as equally responsible.
“You are classmates. Either let it go right here, or you can go to the Duel Arena. According to school rules, the loser must apologize.”
The teacher was referring to the rules of the Department of Beast Taming.
Students were young and hot-blooded; once they contracted a Beast Pet, friction was inevitable.
In such cases, when a conflict couldn’t be resolved, settling it through a duel was a major tradition of Yuhua Academy.
Nuobai, who had been looking utterly listless while being held, suddenly perked up.
This might be a good opportunity—a good chance to show Bai Luxin her true strength.
She didn’t want the girl to treat her like a fragile doll all day. It was just a mere Flame Dog; there was no need to hold her for protection.
“Fine! Bai Luxin, do you have the guts to go to the Duel Arena with me?”
“The loser must immediately kneel and apologize, shouting three times: ‘I was wrong!'”
Bai Luxin glanced at her. Zhao Weiwei was a student in the Department of Nutrition just like her, yet instead of studying her professional courses, she spent her days flaunting the Beast Pet others had trained for her to bully her classmates.
“If you love dueling so much, why don’t you transfer to the Department of Beast Taming? Move aside, I don’t have time for your nonsense.”
Since a duel required the consent of both parties, Zhao Weiwei was not about to let her leave so easily.
“You’re just a coward, you little brat with no manners.”
Nuobai felt the hand holding her tremble slightly and heard Bai Luxin take a deep breath.
Even if Bai Luxin was still holding her back, Nuobai could no longer tolerate this.
A thin layer of hostility clouded her gold and red heterochromatic eyes.
‘Nobody can insult Bai Luxin! Anyone who hurts her must pay the price!’
“Master, agree to her terms. I will give her a proper lesson.”
Hearing Nuobai speak, Zhao Weiwei, who had thought her provocation had failed, immediately burst into laughter.
“Bai Luxin, even your pet has agreed. Are you still going to be a coward?”
Bai Luxin ignored her and instead tried to soothe Nuobai. She could hear the suppressed anger in Nuobai’s voice.
“Nuobai, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Nuobai jumped back onto her shoulder, her expression serious. “Master, please trust me.”
“Xin-xin, don’t agree to it. Zhao Weiwei’s Flame Dog was trained by her brother. Nuobai is just an Ornamental Species…”
Zhou Huimin was worried that her friend would lose her head and agree to the duel.
How could an Ornamental Species have any combat power?
Furthermore, Zhao Weiwei’s brother, Zhao Liang, was in the top ten of the Department of Beast Taming.
How could a normal person defeat a Beast Pet personally trained by him?
It was a guaranteed loss!
Bai Luxin locked eyes with Nuobai for a moment. She saw the determination in those eyes and seemed to hear that shrill, unwilling cry from when they first met.
“Fine, I agree.”
……
“Foolish, so foolish.”
“Xin-xin, you’ve finally let beauty blind your eyes. How can an Ornamental Species beat a Combat Breed!”
“What are we going to do? What are we going to do?”
“No, I need to call for backup too.”
Zhou Huimin kept muttering out of worry, but Bai Luxin’s gaze never left Nuobai on the duel stage.
Because neither of the participants was a Beast Taming major, only the Beast Pets went up to fight.
In a standard Beast Taming duel, the Beast Tamers would also be required to be on the stage.
Zhao Weiwei intentionally delayed for a while. By the time they started, many students had heard the news and rushed over to watch.
She wanted to trample Bai Luxin under her feet in front of everyone.
That cat she picked up from who-knows-where looked just like Bai Luxin—a “green tea bitch” who only knew how to seduce men.
With a pet her brother helped train, she was destined to win this time.
She was going to humiliate Bai Luxin thoroughly and see how she could ever act pretty again.
On the duel stage, the nearly 1-meter-tall Flame Dog looked down at the little creature in front of it.
“Little kitty, meeting me today is your bad luck.”
“You should just surrender now to avoid the physical pain.”
The Flame Dog bared its teeth, feigning a recommendation to surrender before it planned to viciously tear the stupid cat apart.
Its Master had specifically ordered it to cripple this cat. Since the [Contract Power] protected them, it wouldn’t die, so it would just… break its four limbs!
It couldn’t wait to hear the screams of pain.
Nuobai glanced at it, finding it nothing but noisy.
For no reason, the Flame Dog suddenly felt a pang of palpitations. Was it because this cat looked at it?
Immediately after, it became enraged and settled into an offensive stance.
Below the stage, Bai Luxin’s palms were sweating.
‘Be careful, Nuobai.’
The referee teacher stepped onto the stage and announced, “Snow Joy Cat versus Flame Dog, begin!”
The Flame Dog immediately pounced toward Nuobai. Its speed was incredibly fast, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd.
“That Flame Dog is so fast!”
Hearing the onlookers’ amazement, a student from the Department of Beast Taming explained, “Of course it is.”
“Zhao Liang meticulously selected and trained that Beast Pet for his sister.”
“This looks like an internal fight between the Department of Nutrition, but it’s actually a high-level strike from the Department of Beast Taming.”
“That Snow Joy Cat is done for.”
A nearby student from the Department of Nutrition said unhappily, “Not necessarily. What if she wins?”
“What if?”
“How could there be a ‘what if’? This Flame Dog is already at Tier 1 Late Stage. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Snow Joy Cat gets instant-killed.”
If it weren’t for the chance to peek at Zhao Liang’s training techniques through the Flame Dog, he wouldn’t even be watching this amateur scuffle.
On the stage, Nuobai moved with small, nimble steps, shifting her body to dodge the pounce.
The Flame Dog was slightly dissatisfied. It figured she just got lucky. It turned its body around and pounced again; this time, it wouldn’t miss.
Again, Nuobai easily dodged. She even countered with a swipe of her paw.
To the audience, it looked like the Flame Dog had actively run into Nuobai’s claws.
Not only did it fail to hurt its opponent, but it had also delivered itself right under the opponent’s paw.
Feeling the eyes of the crowd on her, Zhao Weiwei could no longer keep her composure.
“Flame Dog!”
“What are you doing? Hurry up and kill her!”
After being scolded and seeing Nuobai’s calm demeanor, the Flame Dog began to run circles around Nuobai.
Waves of heat radiated from its body, causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.
Skill: [Overheat Stance]. Consumes a certain amount of stamina to slightly increase its own speed and strength.
“Die!”
Seeing the Flame Dog rush toward her, Nuobai spoke for the first time on the stage.
“Stupid dog.”
She stopped playing around. Noticing that her Master was worried sick, she extended her [Sharp Claw] from her pads and entered a combat stance.
[Silent Step]: Slightly increases speed, eliminates sound, and mildly confuses the opponent.
[Sharp Claw]: Consumes stamina to enhance the next attack.
Two shadows crossed on the stage. One of the Flame Dog’s ears was slashed by Nuobai’s claws, while Nuobai remained completely unharmed.
“Hey, is this all the Department of Beast Taming’s training amounts to?”
The student from the Department of Beast Taming, who had been speaking so confidently just moments ago, was now speechless.
He complained inwardly, wondering if Zhao Liang was all show and no substance. What kind of garbage training was this?
Stung by the pain in its ear, the Flame Dog’s eyes turned blood-red. It began to attack frantically as if it had gone mad.
“It’s settled!”
“That is a rare early-stage beast-type skill, [Fury]. It can greatly increase attack power.”
He knew a professional couldn’t possibly lose to an amateur.
Even those who weren’t experts could see that the Flame Dog was in an unusual state, and they couldn’t help but feel worried.
They silently cheered for Nuobai, hoping she could vent some of their frustrations.
The academy had suffered under the arrogance of the Department of Beast Taming for far too long.