I! Purple Cloud! Had My Revenge!

"Purple Cloud, Electric Arc!"

Looking at the opponent still some distance away, Xu Ran gave the command without hesitation.

"Meow~"

Almost as soon as Xu Ran finished speaking, countless electric arcs burst from Purple Cloud's body. Trailing lightning, the cat became little more than a blur as it raced toward the Blazing Fox.

Two-star skill, stardust level: Electric Arc!

Even faster than before!

Su Xiaoxiao was secretly startled, then a strange look crept into her eyes.

But... hadn't the shop owner done exactly this in their last spar?

Would the same old trick work this time?

"Little Flame, Flame Wall!"

Without hesitation, Su Xiaoxiao chose the same response as last time, then immediately added another command. "Flame Eyes!"

"Yip!"

The Blazing Fox let out a proud cry. Blinding firelight blazed in its eyes as though flames were searing them, while roaring fire churned and swirled around its body, radiating tremendous waves of heat in every direction.

One-star skill, stardust level: Flame Eyes!

Drawing a sharp breath, the Blazing Fox fixed its eyes on the rapidly approaching Purple Cloud.

Time seemed to slow at that moment. In the Blazing Fox's vision, Purple Cloud's nearly blurred figure gradually sharpened, then seemed to freeze.

"Whoosh-"

The instant it locked onto Purple Cloud's position, the Blazing Fox poured all its strength into breathing a rapidly spinning curtain of flame ahead!

The flames seemed to fill the world, covering an area five meters across in the blink of an eye, while dazzling firelight and rolling heat swept across the entire battlefield!

Two-star skill, stardust level: Flame Wall!

Every route forward was sealed off for Purple Cloud.

The still-spinning wall of flame swept toward Purple Cloud like a vast net blotting out the sky!

"What clever use of a skill."

Surprise appeared on Gu Ling's face as she watched. "Xiaoxiao really is still that perfect girl everyone else's parents hold up as an example. Even as a Beast Tamer, she shines just as brightly."

"Her Flame Wall hasn't reached starlight level yet, but she's already getting effects out of it that many starlight-level Flame Walls couldn't achieve."

"Roar!"

Beside her, the Dark-Scaled Dragon nodded solemnly.

Not a bad opponent. Worth using thirty percent of my strength.

"Huh?" Gu Ling, who had been paying more attention to the Blazing Fox, suddenly exclaimed and looked toward Purple Cloud on the other side. "What's this?"

Xu Long, standing on the opposite side as referee with a view of the entire field, gave the same startled exclamation.

At the instant the Flame Wall spread into a net and swept toward Purple Cloud, the cat's movements abruptly changed, despite its nearly blurring speed.

Terrifying power erupted from its front paws as they struck the ground. Its charging trajectory seemed to snap, switching from a forward dash to an upward leap.

Propelled by that tremendous force, its body instantly rose more than ten meters, sailing lightly over the sweeping flames before tracing a parabola through the air with exquisite bodily control.

Its target: the Blazing Fox!

Two-star skill, stardust level: Combat Instinct!

As Purple Cloud fell faster and faster, fierce fighting spirit flashed in its eyes. A ball of violet light, harboring terrifying lightning, filled its slightly open mouth. Electric Spark was ready to fire.

What?

Su Xiaoxiao was startled by Purple Cloud's unbelievable response, but her solid combat training let her quickly recover. Seeing Purple Cloud about to collide with the Blazing Fox, she immediately issued a command.

"Flame Dance in place, then step back!"

"Yip!!!"

The firelight in the Blazing Fox's eyes grew even fiercer as it stamped hard on the ground.

Boom!!!

A brilliant pillar of flame shot skyward from where it stood, while the Blazing Fox used the recoil from that step to roll backward and land lightly.

Purple Cloud, which should have collided with the Blazing Fox, now seemed to have walked straight into a trap, swallowed by the soaring flames.

It's over!

Su Xiaoxiao cheered inwardly, but her expression stiffened a moment later.

Violent power exploded within the pillar of flame. Violet lightning joined into a surging mass and sprayed outward from Purple Cloud in every direction, shredding every last flame like blades that could mince anything.

Bathed in layer upon layer of lightning, Purple Cloud slammed into the dumbstruck Blazing Fox at an unbelievable speed.

"Yip-"

With a cry of pain, the Blazing Fox was knocked ten meters away by Purple Cloud. Its body twitched lightly after it hit the ground, electric arcs crawling over it.

Its naturally lined eyes were filled with defiance. Its faintly trembling body struggled to stand after landing, but its legs finally gave out, and it collapsed helplessly.

"Tweet-"

Xu Long blew his whistle and walked to the center of the field, clapping enthusiastically. "A wonderful match! This time, the winner is Xu Ran!"

We won!

Xu Ran smiled and looked at Su Xiaoxiao as she picked up the Blazing Fox. "Thanks for the match."

"You're amazing, boss!" As Su Xiaoxiao took the Blazing Fox for treatment, she spoke earnestly. "It's only been a few days, and Purple Cloud has gotten so much stronger."

"Meow~" (It's all thanks to my Beast Tamer!)

Purple Cloud narrowed its eyes with delight, filled with an immense sense of accomplishment after defeating the Blazing Fox and avenging its earlier loss.

And it was all thanks to its Beast Tamer, who had swallowed his pride and endured the burden of grooming and feeding other people's Contract Beasts!

"Purple Cloud deserves the credit. It's been training hard ever since losing to the Blazing Fox last time." Xu Ran smiled, taking none of the credit.

Before long, the Blazing Fox's injuries had been properly treated, and its condition visibly improved.

Purple Cloud had not emerged unscathed either. It had suffered some injuries in the clash between Flame Dance and Electric Spark, but with Self-Healing, it only needed to recover its energy.

By the time they left the Medical Room, both Contract Beasts had returned to peak condition.

Outside, Gu Ling, who had been waiting for quite a while, came over to greet them. "That was such a wonderful fight!"

"Boohoo, Gu Ling, I lost. I need a hug~" Su Xiaoxiao, who had seemed perfectly fine earlier, pouted pitifully and went over to snuggle up to her best friend.

"Okay~ Here's a hug!" Gu Ling smiled and hugged Su Xiaoxiao, then turned toward Xu Ran. "Mr. Xu, I have a favor to ask."

"...What is it?"

Looking at the Dark-Scaled Dragon's blazing eyes, Xu Ran suddenly had a bad feeling.

"After watching that match, my Dark-Scaled Dragon wants to spar with your Contract Beast too." Gu Ling smiled shyly. "Would that be all right?"

"Roar!"

The Dark-Scaled Dragon glanced at Purple Cloud, extended a foreclaw, and thumped the hard scales on its chest five times.

I! The Dark-Scaled Dragon! Will fight you at fifty percent strength!

Understanding what it meant, Purple Cloud was instantly enraged.

Damn it!

We're both at the transcendent rank, and this guy dares to be so arrogant!

It quickly turned its head and met Xu Ran's eyes.

"Meow~" (I want to spar with it!)

"Huh?" Beside them, Su Xiaoxiao looked surprised. "Gu Ling, all your Dark-Scaled Dragon's skills are already at starlight level. Isn't that a little unfair?"

Purple Cloud stiffened slightly.

"Meow~" (I'm not in good form. Let's fight another time!)