Meeting

Just then, a rustling came from the woods nearby.

"What was that?!"

The Jiang family members sprang to their feet, immediately on alert. They summoned their Contract Spirits and took up fighting stances.

They stared warily in the direction of the sound. Shadows shifted among the trees, and two figures emerged from the darkness.

The first was a tall girl with Western features, wheat-colored skin, and a high ponytail. Her expression was defiant and unrestrained.

Beside her was a rather endearingly airheaded-looking girl with black hair, sitting atop a huge black Slime.

"Lin Luoluo?!"

"Kalina?!"

Two shocked cries rang out at the same time.

They came from Jiang Ruoxue and Jiang Chen respectively.

Jiang Ruoxue stared fixedly at the girl riding the Slime, disbelief written all over her face.

Why was she here?

Lin Luoluo was just a First Tier Contract Spirit Master. How did she dare venture alone into the depths of this newly discovered mine tunnel?

Even she had only come along because the Jiang family had dispatched so many experts to search for Contract Spirits here on Jiang Chen's orders.

Jiang Chen's gaze, meanwhile, was fixed on the girl with the high ponytail.

He and Kalina were both students at Dawnlight Academy, and both had come to the Lower City for the academy's final assessment.

What was more, back in the Upper City, they had been famous as old rivals, as incompatible as fire and water.

He had not expected to run into her here.

So the moment they met, Kalina launched into her taunts without mercy:

"Well, well, if it isn't our Dawnlight Academy's famous genius, the Jiang family's eldest young master, Jiang Chen?"

"What's this? You brought a whole entourage to protect you for one little final assessment?"

"Did you think you couldn't handle it on your own?"

Jiang Chen frowned slightly, his face darkening. "I'm simply making reasonable use of the assessment rules."

"There's no explicit rule against asking locals for help."

With that, Jiang Chen turned his gaze to Lin Luoluo beside Kalina.

Then to the huge Slime beneath her. The disdain in his eyes was practically overflowing.

"But you, Kalina.

You're from a distinguished Upper City family, yet you're hanging around with someone who contracted a Slime."

"Don't you think that drags down the overall standing of us Dawnlight Academy students?"

"..." Lin Luoluo, who had suddenly found herself trampled underfoot, was speechless.

Jiang Chen and Kalina went back and forth, completely ignoring everyone else present as they traded taunts in front of the crowd.

To the side, Lin Luoluo and Bai Chen were also quietly conversing in their minds.

"Xiao Bai, it looks like that man is the genius from the Upper City Jiang Ruoxue mentioned."

When Bai Chen heard Jiang Chen say that he and Kalina standing together lowered the standing of their academy, his entire Slime body swelled with anger.

"This guy really is arrogant beyond belief!"

Bai Chen vented furiously in Lin Luoluo's mind.

"Who the hell does he think he is?! Looking down on Slimes, is he?"

"Xiao Luoluo, we have to find a way into that Dawnlight Academy or whatever it's called, and then beat the crap out of him in front of everyone!"

As Lin Luoluo soothed the agitated Bai Chen, she quietly tucked the Spirit-Capturing Box holding the Space Contract Spirit deeper into her clothes.

It was the very thing this group of geniuses from the Upper City had been searching so desperately for. She did not want Jiang Chen noticing that the Spirit-Capturing Box was in her hands at a critical moment like this.

If he discovered it, she would be in serious trouble.

"Luoluo!"

But just then, Kalina suddenly raised her voice and shouted her name.

The sudden shout made Lin Luoluo's hand jerk, and the Spirit-Capturing Box nearly fell out of her clothes.

Her heart pounding, she held the Spirit-Capturing Box in place and looked at Kalina, stammering:

"Wh-what is it, Kalina...?"

Kalina, who had failed to gain the upper hand in the war of words, was glaring at Jiang Chen, unwilling to concede. Then she pulled Lin Luoluo in front of her.

"Jiang Chen! You ignorant fool!"

Kalina pointed at Lin Luoluo and declared loudly,

"I just told him that my companion Xiao Luoluo is even stronger than me, but this ignorant fool actually refused to believe it!"

"Xiao Luoluo, go on! Beat him to the ground and open his eyes. Show him what a real genius looks like!"

Lin Luoluo was dumbfounded.

She wanted me to defeat this Upper City genius in public?

Bai Chen had now broken through to the Second Tier, and all the spiritual energy he had previously used up had been fully replenished.

If Jiang Chen and Kalina were about the same in strength, Lin Luoluo was indeed very confident she could defeat him.

But with the Jiang family right in front of her, she would probably be in serious trouble if she defeated this genius from the Upper City now.

Lin Luoluo's plan was to reveal her strength in public at the upcoming assessment.

If she could distinguish herself before Dawnlight Academy then, the Jiang family would not dare do anything to her.

Actually, Kalina's original plan had been to wait until Lin Luoluo passed the selection and entered Dawnlight Academy, then quietly recruit her into her team.

Then they would shine brilliantly in the final team assessment and make everyone's jaws drop.

What was that term from the novels she read? Right, playing the pig to eat the tiger!

She could already imagine the look on Jiang Chen's face, as if he had seen a ghost.

But right now, she simply could not stand Jiang Chen's lofty, insufferably smug attitude any longer.

She wanted to see him soundly defeated right now by the girl from the Lower City he looked down on so much!

Just imagining the scene was satisfying!

As Kalina's words fell, everyone present turned their eyes in unison to Lin Luoluo, who had been pushed to the front.

Jiang Chen's gaze finally left Kalina and settled on Lin Luoluo and the black Slime beneath her.

He scrutinized Lin Luoluo.

At the same time, the space beside him warped slightly, and the golden phantom of a general appeared, clad in heavy black iron armor, a spear in hand and a stern expression on his face.

It was his S-Rank Contract Spirit—the Mighty General.

Just like Jiang Chen, the Mighty General coldly surveyed Lin Luoluo and Bai Chen below with emotionless eyes.

He paid the two of them no regard whatsoever.

Jiang Chen's brow rose, seemingly a little surprised that Lin Luoluo had endured the pressure from him and his Contract Spirit without retreating.

His gaze lingered on Lin Luoluo for a moment before finally settling on the huge black Slime.

"A Slime..."

He sneered, his appraising gaze turning instantly to pure contempt.

"Kalina, you expect to use this piece of trash, whose tier I can't even make out, to defeat me?"

"You want me to duel him? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

Bai Chen was so furious he nearly changed shape on the spot. If Lin Luoluo had not desperately held down his tentacles, he would probably have already charged up with a Mount Tai crushing blow.

"Don't be impulsive, Xiao Bai! Now isn't the time!"

Just as Lin Luoluo's scalp was tingling and she was wondering how to bring this to an end—

"Brother Jiang Chen!"

Jiang Ruoxue, who stood beside Jiang Chen, stepped forward at that very moment.

Eager to prove herself, Jiang Ruoxue hurried in front of Jiang Chen, placing herself between him and Lin Luoluo.

"Brother Jiang Chen, why would you need to deal with a wild girl from the Lower City yourself?"

Full of confidence, Jiang Ruoxue turned to Jiang Chen and volunteered:

"Let me step in and teach that wild girl Lin Luoluo a lesson for you!"

Over the past few days, she had made several moves against Lin Luoluo in secret.

But to Jiang Ruoxue's surprise, every one of them had come to nothing.

She could not understand it. She's just a wild girl who contracted a Slime. Could she really be that hard to deal with?!

So this time, she would act personally.

She could not forget how, at the Contract Spirit awakening ceremony, her noble Cold Moon Fox had been slapped flying into a trash can by that ugly black Slime.

Still less could she forget how Lin Luoluo's result at the Contract Spirit Master assessment had completely overshadowed hers!

Every one of those things was like a resounding slap across the face of the Jiang Family Heiress!

She's a piece of trash born in the slums, a cripple who contracted a trash Slime. Wouldn't it be better for her to obediently stay beneath my feet and serve as a backdrop to my brilliance?!

Why does she have to keep jumping out and getting in my way, again and again?!

New grievances and old grudges overlapped, and Jiang Ruoxue had now successfully broken through to become a Second Tier Contract Spirit Master with the help of her clan's expert Contract Spirit Masters. Her confidence was at its peak.

At the thought, the cold glint in Jiang Ruoxue's eyes grew sharper.

In a moment, right in front of Brother Jiang Chen, I'll unleash the A-Rank Life Skill I just comprehended and finish Lin Luoluo and her Slime in a single blow!

That way, I can not only wipe away my past humiliation, but also show Brother Jiang Chen what I can do!

Seeing Jiang Ruoxue volunteer, Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then slowly nodded his agreement.

That's fine.

Let Kalina see that not just any stray cat or dog is qualified to challenge me.

Having received his permission, Jiang Ruoxue immediately turned around, lifted her chin high, and looked down at Lin Luoluo.