134: threshold

Shortly after the two stood still, the electronic referee's voice rang out.

"Identity confirmed: Combat Department's Lu Jia versus Cultivation Department's Xu Yan.

Battle, start."

As the electronic referee's words fell, a Blazing Gold Tiger with a somewhat unstable aura, clearly having just broken through to Commander Rank, appeared beside Lu Jia, along with three other unimportant General Rank Spirit Beasts. The moment they appeared, they launched a fierce offensive against Xu Yan.

Looking at the Spirit Beast lineup beside Lu Jia, Xu Yan was somewhat surprised.

Just yesterday, he had stated that unless these five people encountered some kind of fortuitous opportunity, it would be impossible for them to break through to Commander Rank during the one-month winter holiday. Yet, the very next day, his opponent pulled out a Commander Rank Spirit Beast.

Although that Commander Rank Blazing Gold Tiger had clearly just broken through not long ago, and the aura Lu Jia, the Beast Tamer, revealed when summoning his Spirit Beasts also indicated that he was still at the General Rank level and had not broken through to Commander Rank, it still exceeded his previous expectations.

However, despite his surprise, Xu Yan showed no panic in the face of the incoming attacks. Just as several attacks were about to land on him, an energy shield appeared around him, and no matter how much Lu Jia's four Spirit Beasts increased their power output, they couldn't shake the energy shield in the slightest.

Seeing this scene, even though it was only the beginning and the opponent hadn't counterattacked yet, Lu Jia, who had originally held considerable hope of defeating Xu Yan, felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over him. His previously fervent spirit instantly deflated.

This round of offense was almost his and the four Spirit Beasts' full-power attack, holding nothing back.

But even so, they couldn't even break the shield in front of the opponent. This scene alone was enough to explain many problems.

And the subsequent course of the battle did not exceed his expectations.

After forcibly withstanding Lu Jia and his Spirit Beasts' full-power strike, a metal cube appeared in front of Xu Yan. This was the main output Spirit Beast he had used during the entrance exam, a Spirit Beast that was extremely powerful and terrifying in both output and endurance. This Mechanical System Spirit Beast accounted for most of the credit for Xu Yan winning the entrance exam.

Furthermore, although he didn't know when Xu Yan had summoned the Spirit Beast, nor did he feel any aura of a summoned Spirit Beast from Xu Yan, this Mechanical System Spirit Beast showed no intention of concealing its strength. Its Shuai Rank Low-grade power was displayed without reservation before everyone.

And unlike the Blazing Gold Tiger, which was in a somewhat unstable state after just breaking through, this one was very stable, on the verge of reaching Shuai Rank Middle Grade.

The moment the metal cube appeared, a summoning array simultaneously appeared above Xu Yan's head, and then a giant mechanical greatsword quickly flew out from it, its tip pointing directly at Lu Jia and his four Spirit Beasts below.

There was no imagined situation of the mechanical greatsword descending from the sky to attack the four Spirit Beasts. The greatsword directly opened a slit from its tip, and the two blades spread apart, revealing the main cannon in the middle.

Then, terrifying energy began to accumulate and condense at the muzzle.

Feeling the terrifying energy fluctuations coming from the muzzle, Lu Jia quickly commanded his four Spirit Beasts to stop attacking, attempting to dodge the orange-red beam of light descending from the sky.

However, the beam was extremely fast. As the charging ended, three continuous orange-red beams of light, carrying scorching heat, shot out from the muzzle and landed one by one on the three General Rank Spirit Beasts. In just an instant of contact, the terrifying attack directly triggered the battlefield's protection mechanism, and the three Spirit Beasts dissipated directly within the beams of light.

The remaining Blazing Gold Tiger, seeing the orange-red beam of light that had instantly killed three companions now shooting towards it again, erupted with full speed attempting to dodge the attack. But it was not a speed-specialized type, and its powerful defense provided by its gold attribute was countered by the terrifying high temperature of the beam.

Compared to the other three Spirit Beasts that were instantly killed, the Blazing Gold Tiger endured three beams of light before triggering the battlefield's protection mechanism, its form dissipating within the battlefield.

Watching the Blazing Gold Tiger's body dissipate, Lu Jia felt incredibly bitter.

Is this the strength that the true geniuses of the Third Academy should possess? He only used one Spirit Beast, and that Spirit Beast didn't even act personally, relying solely on that special Mechanical Summoning object, yet he was utterly helpless.

He had been complacent this morning because of the Blazing Gold Tiger's breakthrough, believing that with his current strength, he should be able to secure a place in the Combat Department. He even held a confident belief that he could defeat Xu Yan, who had topped the Combat Department last semester.

As a result, the three General Rank Spirit Beasts that were instantly killed, and the Blazing Gold Tiger that endured three attacks from the opponent's summon before dissipating, told him a stark reality: his Commander Rank Spirit Beast, which he thought could secure him a place in the Combat Department and defeat Xu Yan, was merely the threshold for withstanding the opponent's attacks.

Those whose strength had not reached Commander Rank didn't even qualify to withstand a second attack from the opponent. And even the Commander Rank Blazing Gold Tiger, in the opponent's eyes, was just worth a couple more hits, not even deserving serious attention.

After a moment of silence, Lu Jia raised his right hand and said with some difficulty, "Referee, I concede this match."

As his voice fell, Lu Jia's figure disappeared directly, leaving only Xu Yan in the battlefield.

Then, the mechanical voice sounded again.

"Winner of this battle, Cultivation Department's Xu Yan. According to the challenge rules, you now have two choices: rest, or continue to accept the next challenge. Please make your choice."

Listening to the mechanical referee's voice, Xu Yan answered without hesitation.

"I choose to continue accepting the challenge."

As Xu Yan's voice fell, the second challenger, Bao Yi, appeared before Xu Yan.

However, compared to the excitement and anticipation of the first challenger, Lu Jia, before the battle, Bao Yi, who had watched Xu Yan's battle with Lu Jia from outside, had a look of confusion and despair on his face, which Xu Yan found a bit strange.

This situation, after the mechanical referee announced the start of the battle and Bao Yi summoned his four Spirit Beasts, provided Xu Yan with the answer.

Nothing else, compared to the first challenger Lu Jia, Bao Yi's Spirit Beast lineup was indeed a bit weak: one General Rank Upper Grade, plus three General Rank Middle and Lower Grade Spirit Beasts. This perfectly matched Xu Yan's pre-battle assessment of his opponent, allowing Xu Yan to regain some confidence in his cultivation level, which had been slightly shaken by Lu Jia's 'burst of potential'.

Then, for this 'kind person' who restored Xu Yan's confidence in the field of cultivation, Xu Yan also showed ample respect. Before the opponent's four Spirit Beasts could even move, a beam of light descended from the sky, ending the battle painlessly and without struggle, without even needing Bao Yi to actively concede to the electronic referee.