Warning: High energy ahead

Looking around his home, there was nothing but a few pieces of battered furniture. He might have seemed impressive at the academy, but who understood his hardships? Every weekend, while everyone else was having fun, he secretly went to Wu Ji Mountain to hunt, risking his life each time. He sold his kills on the black market and gave the money he saved to his father, claiming it was scholarship money from the academy. That was why the pride on his father's face whenever he received the silver was what he loved seeing most. Never before had he seen his father look as disappointed as he had today.

So even if his father was unhappy with him, he had no complaints. It only meant he had not done well enough.

While some households rejoiced, others grieved.

The Song Family compound.

Though the Song Family was not fabulously wealthy in Primordial City, it was still a long-established beast-taming Lineage. One of its ancestors had even been a Transcendent Master, but fortune had not favored him. He died on the battlefield before he could shine. After that, the Song Family had never produced another respectable Beast Tamer-until Song Jie came along.

Song Jie was genuinely talented, or he would never have gotten into the War Academy. Indeed, he had been selected fair and square on his own merits. Otherwise, he would not have looked down on Jiang Hao, who had gotten in through connections, from the bottom of his heart.

In this Beast Pet Tournament, Song Jie had galloped far ahead of the competition and claimed the top spot, bringing considerable honor to the Song Family.

Several families had already come knocking with marriage proposals, afraid someone else would snatch up this rising star first.

Just now, the Song Family's old master had sent off a matchmaker and was basking in his good fortune.

Then he saw his son, Song Jie, return with his head held high.

"Son, how did the battle go?"

Song Jie smiled smugly. "Father, don't you trust your own son's strength?"

The elder Song beamed, his mouth stretching into a broad grin. "Of course I do! My son really is the best. I recently had the servants buy some bear kidneys from the market to give you a proper boost!"

Song Jie's face darkened. Could he refuse?

"Father, you promised me that if I won this tournament, you'd give me that rare beast crystal you've been keeping. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"Of course not. As long as you keep performing well, that beast crystal will be yours sooner or later."

"Come on, bring out the hearty dishes!"

The moment father and son sat down, the elder Song called for the good food to be served.

Looking at that steaming basin of bear kidneys, Song Jie inwardly rejected it. Who knew what had gotten into his father these past few days? Every day, he prepared things like sheep penises and bear kidneys, all foods that stoked internal heat. They left Song Jie unable to sleep at night, and he had indulged in plenty of fantasies about his sweetheart, Wen Ruxue.

Thinking of his wager with Jiang Hao, Song Jie could almost see himself wrapping an arm around Wen Ruxue's soft, slender waist while trampling Jiang Hao underfoot. Just endure a little longer. It's only a basin of bear kidneys, isn't it? At worst, I'll warm up for a while first. Once Wen Ruxue becomes my girlfriend, at least I won't wear myself out playing around, right?

Watching his son eat with relish, the elder Song nodded in satisfaction. A man needed a strong, healthy body, after all.

The third day.

"Watch out! High energy ahead!"

Someone shouted, and everyone's eyes immediately converged on Jiang Hao. His hand froze as he took his draw slip, and his face darkened. Who the hell is picking a fight?

You want to see me draw a bye that badly?

"Open it, Chicken Bro! What are you standing there for?"

Someone urged him on.

Jiang Hao gritted his teeth and scratched away the obscured coating.

"Heh, sorry to disappoint everyone."

He waved the slip bearing the number 485.

"Tch, boring. Move along, move along."

There were currently 501 contestants left. Accounting for some support-type contestants, he needed to win at least two more matches to have a chance of squeezing into the top two hundred. After this round, 251 contestants would remain. With the slots occupied by support types factored in, there should be another elimination round on the fifth day. As long as he could achieve perfect victories in both matches, he could still catch the last ride in.

After defeating Yang Di with a single move yesterday, Jiang Hao had made his name in one battle. Previously, people had called him Chicken Bro with undisguised contempt. This time was different. Chicken Bro was still Chicken Bro, but there was respect in their voices now. The strong had always deserved respect.

In other people's eyes, Jiang Hao was now someone formidable enough to turn a weak chicken into a battle pet. He could not be underestimated.

Soon, it was Jiang Hao's turn to take the stage. Once again, a large crowd gathered below the Competition Platform to watch. Everyone wanted to witness this chicken's prowess firsthand. Yesterday's battle had ended so quickly that they had barely registered what had happened.

"Am I seeing things? It's at the peak of the fusion realm!"

"I realized yesterday that this chicken was extraordinary. Sure enough, one cry and it stunned the world."

"No hype, no slander. This young fellow really is good."

"Huh? Why isn't old man Yang here today? Does he feel too embarrassed after his son got taken out in one hit?"

Primordial City's broadcast hall was crowded as usual, with men and women, young and old alike. The Beast Pet Tournament could be considered the Shenzhou Kingdom's most important sporting event. Anyone who missed it would have to wait another five years. Besides, tensions were high between the Shenzhou Kingdom and the North Sea Kingdom. Who knew whether it could still be held on schedule five years from now?

On the screen, Jiang Hao's opponent was not an academy student and was considerably older than him. His beast pet was a crocodile, a thick-skinned defensive fighter. It also came with counter-armor that reflected damage. That was precisely how he had made it this far with fusion realm strength.

Everyone could see that this matchup put Jiang Hao at a serious disadvantage. A chicken was a fragile chicken. No matter how much damage it dealt, once that damage was reflected, the outcome was easy to predict.

Now this was worth watching. If the outcome were a foregone conclusion, what would there be to look forward to?

At the referee's command, Jiang Hao attacked first.

"Cluck-cluck! Cluck-cluck!"

High energy ahead!

The same old flavor, the same old recipe. Two eggs bounced toward the crocodile, one after the other. This time, however, it was not a lure, but Fireball combined with Wind Orb.

He did not know whether this combination could take his opponent out in one hit, but it was already Jiang Hao's most destructive skill combination.

Wind Orb led the way, with two fireballs close behind. The crocodile remained unmoving. Its owner was gambling. He believed that, with his crocodile's abundant health and thick defenses, Jiang Hao could not defeat it in a single attack. As long as it could withstand the damage and reflect it back, he could win.

The egg burst two meters from the crocodile, scattering Wind Orbs that shone with dazzling, mysterious light. One orb struck the crocodile, trailing a long streak of light. From Jiang Hao's perspective, a huge damage value appeared above the crocodile's head.

-

1250

391 combat power + 237 strength + Wind Orb's skill damage had produced multiplied damage.

The next second.

The two fireballs arrived in quick succession with two bangs.

-

1500-

1500

Level-two Fireball really did pack a punch.

The crocodile suddenly let out a wail, and the Safety Bell around its neck rang. At the same time, the reflected damage struck, and Big Hen instantly collapsed. However, the Safety Bell around its neck did not ring.

Just as everyone thought the battle had ended with both sides badly hurt, the fallen Big Hen abruptly stood up.

"Whoa!"

"What happened? Am I seeing things? Rebirth through nirvana?"

"Whoa, I told you! I always thought this hen wasn't ordinary. It can even be reborn through nirvana! It's Phoenix-there's your solid proof!"

"So this is a Phoenix that looks like a chicken? Now I've seen something new. I thought it was strange. Who would be stupid enough to use a chicken as a beast pet?"

An uproar erupted below the Competition Platform. The chatter instantly drowned out the noise elsewhere, drawing everyone's attention, including the referee's.

On the Competition Platform, the referee's gaze was exceedingly strange. After confirming the result, he finally announced, "The match is over. Contestant 485, Jiang Hao, wins a perfect victory and earns five points."

In an instant.

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted below the Competition Platform.

"Chicken Bro! Chicken Bro! Chicken Bro!"

If one perfect victory was a fluke, then a second proved his strength. From that moment onward, no one underestimated Jiang Hao or his beast pet again.

"Brother Hao, you're mighty! That was awesome!" The moment Jiang Hao stepped off the Competition Platform, Chubby gave him a huge hug.

However, Jiang Hao's mind was entirely on the Survival Simulator. Right after he defeated his opponent, its notification chime had sounded again.

"Ding! Your beast pet has defeated the Thorny Crocodile. Because their levels are the same, no attribute points or skill points can be obtained at present."

"Ding! Your beast pet has defeated the Thorny Crocodile. You may obtain any one of its skills."

Thorny Counter-Armor: Triggered skill. Upon taking a certain amount of damage, reflects all damage back at the opponent.

Thorn Armor: Passive skill. Increases defense and has a chance to trigger absolute defense. Absolute defense grants immunity to all damage for 5 seconds.

There were only two skills, but Jiang Hao was already drooling. This is a fucking tank inside a bunker! Although the first skill was tempting, after weighing his options repeatedly, Jiang Hao still chose Thorn Armor. For no other reason than that absolute defense was ridiculously powerful. Immunity to all damage!

He learned it without hesitation. That gave his Big Hen another layer of protection, didn't it?

He opened the beast pet information screen in the Survival Simulator and scrolled down to the skills at the bottom. Yet one look at the description of the newly learned Thorn Armor left him disappointed.

Thorn Armor: Passive skill. Increases defense by 20% and has a 1% chance to trigger absolute defense. Absolute defense grants immunity to all damage for 3 seconds. Current level: 1. Maximum level: 3.

Like the other skills, the simulated version differed somewhat from the original. A one-percent chance was just ridiculous. He wondered whether it would increase once he raised the skill to its maximum level. Oh well, having it was better than nothing. At least it still increased defense by twenty percent. He could consider it a piece of clothing for his fragile chicken!

In the crowd, Song Jie's expression was dark beyond measure. He said nothing as he watched Jiang Hao and Chubby walk away.

Beside him, his lackey Chen Xiaolin had turned pale. At this rate, not only would they lose the wager, but what was he supposed to do about the bold declaration he had made in front of so many people? If Jiang Hao won, would he really have to take a shit while doing a handstand?