First Victory

"Flying Cloud Eagle, Wind Blade," Wang Hongshuo commanded.

Wind-element energy gradually gathered around the Flying Cloud Eagle's outspread wings, forming two wind blades.

Then it fixed its sharp eyes on Color Spirit's position and suddenly dove downward.

"Whoosh, whoosh!" The whistling wind blades shot forward at incredible speed, slashing toward the Cold Jade Snake.

"Color Spirit, dodge!"

Before the battle had even begun, Color Spirit had already stacked its armor. While the Flying Cloud Eagle was climbing, little Color Spirit had used its Ice Armor skill, and a snow-white shield of ice shimmered around its tiny body.

Upon hearing Chen Wei's command, it lowered its body and immediately sprang away, instantly leaving the spot where it had been coiled upright.

"Whoosh!" The wind blades were fast, but little Color Spirit's reactions were even faster. The blades missed and struck the battle arena's ground instead. Gravel exploded and dust billowed as the wind blades carved two conspicuous gouges into the floor.

"Use Telekinesis to pull it down." Seizing the moment when the Flying Cloud Eagle had descended to attack, Chen Wei immediately issued the command through his mind.

The adorable ice crystal atop little Color Spirit's head instantly blossomed with blue-white radiance, and a wave of telekinetic force tightly enveloped the Flying Cloud Eagle.

Having finished its attack, the Flying Cloud Eagle was just about to rise and open the distance when a tremendous resistance gripped its wings, making its entire body shudder. It immediately began struggling with all its strength.

The powerful binding force restricted the Flying Cloud Eagle's movements. The tug-of-war between Color Spirit and the Flying Cloud Eagle's strength made it unable to control its flight, and its gray-black body began plunging rapidly from the air.

This caught Wang Hongshuo completely off guard. His confident expression froze. A third-tier skill, Telekinesis?

Before the battle, he had specifically looked up information on the Cold Jade Snake and had believed that only its Charm posed a threat to the Flying Cloud Eagle. Yet he had never imagined that this Cold Jade Snake could actually use Telekinesis as well!

"High-Speed Flight, break free!" Wang Hongshuo had no time to think. He spoke in panic, even forgetting that he could transmit commands mentally.

"Shriek!" Just before it was dragged to the ground, miniature air currents began swirling around the Flying Cloud Eagle. But despite its struggle, it still failed to activate the skill and could not break free of little Color Spirit's telekinetic control. It was forcibly dragged straight to the ground by little Color Spirit.

"Use Frost Breath to freeze it." At Chen Wei's command, little Color Spirit's gaze sharpened. It exhaled a stream of icy blue breath, which blew over the Flying Cloud Eagle and completely froze its right wing.

"Thud, thud." That was the sound of the Flying Cloud Eagle losing its ability to fly after being struck by Frost Breath, crashing down and rolling across the ground.

"The Flying Cloud Eagle has lost its ability to fight. The winner is Chen Wei." Teacher Zhou gave Chen Wei an approving look before announcing the result.

"It ended that fast?" A watching student spoke with surprise. It had only been a little over one exchange—wasn't that far too quick?

"Pet beast hatchlings only know their innate skills at first. It's normal for the winner to be decided within a few moves."

"True. Even now, my Earth Wolf Hound only knows Rock Claw and Bite."

"Don't even mention extraordinary-grade pet beasts. By the way, in our class, it seems only Xu Shijing, Chen Wei, Wang Hongshuo, and Huang Zhicheng contracted high extraordinary-grade pet beasts, right? I really want to have a pet beast battle with them!"

"Probably. But Xu Shijing's Lightning Marten and Huang Zhicheng's Thorn Fish are both yellow-rank extraordinary-grade pet beasts, just like the Flying Cloud Eagle."

"So what if it's mid-rare? Water Mountain City has had cases where mid-rare pet beasts defeated high extraordinary pet beasts. It's only the first day. Once I raise my Rock Sparrow properly, I might not be unable to fight a high extraordinary pet beast at the same rank!"

"...You haven't even awakened your natal talent. Where does that confidence come from?"

The surrounding students bantered and argued, and the topic of discussion gradually drifted off course.

Chen Wei strode forward and excitedly gathered little Color Spirit into his arms. He gently massaged its head as he secretly used a burst of [Dragon Power] to reward Color Spirit.

"You were amazing. This is your reward," Chen Wei transmitted mentally.

"Yiya." Feeling a faint current flowing where Chen Wei's warm palm stroked it, little Color Spirit let out a crisp, comfortable cry. Its delicate little body seemed to grow slightly longer.

Chen Wei watched little Color Spirit's changes with delight and said in surprise, "You grew after awakening?"

Battles really could rapidly increase a pet beast's growth. Little Color Spirit had only advanced to hatchling level eight yesterday after forming the contract, yet today it had risen to hatchling level nine. As expected of top-grade earth-rank potential.

Of course, little Color Spirit's rapid advancement was inseparable from Chen Wei's careful nurturing, and his natal talent deserved much of the credit as well.

While Chen Wei and Color Spirit were affectionately interacting, Wang Hongshuo, on the other side, wore a dejected expression as he recalled the Flying Cloud Eagle into his star ring.

He had lost before he had even unleashed his natal talent. For a moment, he found it hard to accept.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and take your pet beast to the school clinic for treatment! Are you waiting for it to be left with lasting damage?" The homeroom teacher loudly berated Wang Hongshuo, who stood rooted in place, then turned to lecture the watching students.

"Pet beast hatchlings need timely treatment after battle so their future potential isn't affected. But once a pet beast grows past the hatchling stage and reaches first rank, frostbite of this sort can be handled by storing it in a star ring, then using Origin Star to consume mental power and recover quickly."

Chen Wei watched Wang Hongshuo snap out of his daze and feed the Flying Cloud Eagle a healing potion, and could not help smiling. He had already told little Color Spirit to show mercy.

The Flying Cloud Eagle's right wing had merely suffered frostbite from Frost Breath. Such a minor injury would heal quickly after treatment at the school clinic. He had not expected Wang Hongshuo to be so generous as to use a healing potion right away. Was this the boldness of the rich? Unlike him, who had to split every penny in two before spending it.

With the outcome decided, Huang Zhicheng jogged over to Chen Wei. "That was amazing. If my Thorn Fish weren't restricted to water, I'd want to have a pet beast battle with you too."

"Better not. There'll be plenty of opportunities. Let's compete once our pet beasts reach first rank."

After returning the energetic little Color Spirit from his arms to his star ring, Chen Wei stood up, patted Huang Zhicheng on the shoulder, and said, "Rather than battle, we should hurry to the Beastmaster Association and practice our skills. Otherwise, there might not even be any space left!"

A gentle breeze brushed past, carrying a faint chill.

Chen Wei and Huang Zhicheng had not taken more than a few steps when Wang Hongshuo stopped them from nearby.

"A bet is a bet. You're strong, but next time, I'll beat you."

Having recovered himself, Wang Hongshuo put away his dejection, walked up to Chen Wei, and took out two healing potions. Without waiting for Chen Wei's response, he said those words and left immediately.

It's a beautiful thought, but reality is cruel.

Watching Wang Hongshuo's lonely retreating figure, Chen Wei thought silently.