Liu Li stared at the nine tailed Phantom Fox Cat in front of her, completely stunned. This... this was...
Huan Huan flicked her tails and smiled with narrowed eyes. "Liu Li-jie, you're here."
Liu Li fell silent.
Was this really the tiny fox cat she'd given to Yun Jin all those years ago?
Before the game began, Yun Jin had taken out four spirit beasts to compete. All four had humanoid forms, and it never once crossed her mind that one of them would be the same Huan Huan from back then.
When she'd handed Huan Huan to Xiao Jin, Huan Huan had only been at Foundation Establishment and her grade was nothing more than a high grade spirit beast.
And now?
The pressure rolling off Huan Huan was already enough to qualify her as a guaranteed super spirit beast, maybe even... something even scarier than that.
Her spiritual power had shot straight to the peak of Mahayana.
It was one thing for Xiao Jin to be absurd, but why were even her spirit beasts defying common sense?
"Do you know this spirit beast?"A Beastmaster Sect expert beside her asked curiously.
Liu Li's lips trembled. "I gave her to Yun Jin. At the time she was just a high grade spirit beast at Foundation Establishment."
The Beastmaster Sect crowd was stunned.
Their sect was known for nurturing spirit beasts.
But Liu Li had only met Yun Jin a few years ago, right?
Raising a spirit beast to this level in just a few years?
Were they crazy?
Was Yun Jin crazy?
Or was the world crazy?
"Are you sure you didn't mistake her for someone else?" Sang Fan couldn't help asking.
Liu Li shook her head. "There's no way I'd mistake her."
For a moment, everyone from the Beastmaster Sect fell into a very weird silence.
"Liu Li-jie, I'm not holding back," Huan Huan said sweetly.
Liu Li snapped out of it. "Forget everything else! Just focus on how we're gonna grab those treasure vault points!"
The Qingxiao Pavilion had already lost two people during their treasure vault fight.
And Huan Huan was far stronger than whoever they'd faced. Even with four of them here, they might not be able to handle her.
The battle began immediately.
On the other side.
The Xuandan Gate group reached Dan Dan.
"Super spirit beast, Molten Lava Dragon! And it's at the peak of Mahayana!"
Qing Yun looked at Man Sen. "You still wanna solo this?"
Man Sen froze. "...please give me a hand!"
Super spirit beasts were famously invincible among peers. With such an outrageous level, how was he supposed to fight?
Man Sen was close to tears.
How was anyone supposed to fight this?
Meanwhile.
In the orange yellow zone, every Wushuang Sect disciple was closing in on Cang Li's area from all directions.
Cang Li's squad had no choice but to hide and stall for time.
In the faction channel, someone offered a suggestion.
"Cang Li, you guys should just quit. If you quit on your own, you'll lose points, but at least the Wushuang Sect won't gain any. Hurting yourself but not helping the enemy is better than nothing."
If they were knocked out by the Wushuang Sect, they'd lose points and the enemy would gain points.
That gap would only grow worse.
Quit voluntarily?
Cang Li's group stared at the exit button with some difficulty.
They knew it was only a game, but they still had pride.
Retreating without even fighting?
"Wushuang Sect disciple Ming Guang, who's studied swordsmanship for many years, challenges Senior Cang Li! Senior Cang Li, come out and fight me one on one! I'll wait at the Dark Ore Mine."
Suddenly.
A voice echoed through the sky.
They had found a loudspeaker in one of the orange yellow treasure vaults that could broadcast to the entire game world, with ten uses.
Now, Ming Guang had used one to issue a duel challenge.
"Cang Li shixiong, don't go! Just quit," Shen Yanye urged.
"Cang Li shixiong is a sword genius. It's just a game, surely shixiong won't run from a duel?" Ming Guang's voice continued.
A cold gleam flashed through Cang Li's eyes. "We sword cultivators never avoid battle."
He immediately went to accept the challenge.
Shen Yanye was speechless.
Sword cultivators were really...
Forget it. He'd pretend he never spoke.
He was about to quit himself.
Another voice rang out.
"Wushuang Sect disciple Yue Yuan, who awakened his Beastmaster Space two months ago and barely managed to get one spirit beast partner, requests pointers from Senior Brother Shen. Senior Brother Shen, please come to the Dark Ore Mine as well. If you're scared, pretend I didn't say anything."
Shen Yanye froze.
He'd only awakened his Beastmaster Space two months ago and was talking like this?
How was he supposed to swallow that?
He absolutely couldn't.
Shen Yanye stood up. "Cang Li, wait for me!"
Then challenge after challenge echoed.
Not long after, the entire squad rushed straight toward the Dark Ore Mine.
In the faction chat.
People from the other three Holy Lands were silent.
This was bad.
They were probably going to lose this round.
They were losing because they cared too much about their dignity, while the Wushuang Sect disciples didn't care at all.
Because it was a world broadcast, Wan Dao and the others heard the announcements too.
Wan Dao checked the map. They were close to the Dark Ore Mine.
Wan Dao spoke calmly. "Look at our Wushuang Sect disciples. They clearly have an overwhelming advantage, yet they're still willing to give the Four Holy Lands a fair one on one. This kind of generosity is exactly the same as the lineage from a thousand years ago."
Ling Yun and An Ying nodded repeatedly.
"Let's hide our presence and watch from the shadows," Wan Dao said, sounding pleased. "I want to see the extraordinary talent of our Wushuang Sect's new disciples."
Ling Yun and An Ying agreed happily.
An Ying activated the Primordial Force to conceal the three of them, and they slipped toward the Dark Ore Mine in secret.
They arrived even earlier than Cang Li's squad.
They didn't interfere, only waited quietly.
Soon.
Cang Li and the others arrived one by one.
Their opponents were already waiting. Their battles began immediately.
Wan Dao watched and nodded again and again.
After joining the Wushuang Sect, he could check the disciple rankings through his token. Ming Guang wasn't even in the top three of the Tribulation stage, but he was trading blows evenly with Cang Li.
And who was Cang Li?
That was Ji Wusi's carefully raised treasure disciple.
To fight evenly with him showed just how terrifying the growth of Wushuang Sect disciples was.
On the other side.
The disciple fighting Shen Yanye summoned his only spirit beast partner.
Shen Yanye was stunned.
Wait.
He'd worked for years and the best he had was a high grade spirit beast.
This disciple's only spirit beast partner was a super spirit beast.
And its cultivation was even higher than the disciple's.
How did this contract even succeed?
Wan Dao was also shocked.
A super spirit beast?
And it willingly formed a contract with a human?
Were the Wushuang Sect disciples really that charismatic?