Lin Chuan wasn't too concerned about the outcome of this match.
Winning would be ideal.
Even if he lost, it wouldn't be a big problem, and he wouldn't feel resentful or anything, as the subsequent college entrance examination was the most important thing.
Moreover, even if he lost, the 7 million star rock coin reward for second place would be enough for all subsequent cultivation expenses, not to mention the compensation from Liang Lu.
At this moment, what Lin Chuan was thinking was to gain as much practical combat experience as possible in the final of this Xiao Qingkong Cup, serving as a rehearsal for the secret realm trial in the upcoming college entrance examination.
For this competition, Lin Chuan hadn't used his cheat abilities to add points to Flower Leaf Leaf and Sakura for two consecutive days, instead using his mental energy to stay up all night cramming various wild combat knowledge and watching videos of Beast Masters participating in battles. He had made many preparations in advance.
For example, the greenish-brown camouflage cloth he was currently using to conceal his tracks.
In fact, Lin Chuan had prepared not only greenish-brown but also earthy dark brown for wasteland environments, and even camouflage clothing.
This was a counter-arrangement specifically targeting Li Zeyu, who liked to fly in the sky and observe from an overhead perspective.
Lin Chuan's preparation was clearly very effective.
It allowed Lin Chuan to successfully evade Li Zeyu's initial quick-strike beheading tactic. Without this preparation, if he had been discovered and rushed at the very beginning, the situation would have been very difficult to handle.
And now, Lin Chuan had gained enough time—time to activate his shields and time to apply poison.
Flower Leaf Leaf activated its shields with full power.
First, there was the proficient-grade Vine Armor Shield.
Pieces of vine-transformed wood fiber skin detached from Flower Leaf Leaf's body and, under Flower Leaf Leaf's conscious control, adhered to Lin Chuan's body.
Subsequently, these vine-transformed wood fiber fragments rapidly grew under the stimulation of Wood Attribute energy, intertwining to form bracers, chest guards, leg guards, and a helmet—a simple yet ugly set of armor that protected Lin Chuan's vital areas.
Next was the Wood Spirit Shield.
Unfortunately, the Wood Spirit Shield could only be applied to itself and could not be applied to others like the Vine Armor Shield after reaching proficient grade.
Flower Leaf Leaf could only stand as close to Lin Chuan as possible, then it spread out an umbrella-shaped translucent light-green energy shield, enveloping both itself and Lin Chuan.
On Sakura's side, it first activated Mimicry Rooting and Photosynthesis, then it fully scattered Poison Powder, 'enchanting' each small pebble with a sufficient amount of Poison Powder.
The shields were stacked almost enough.
The number of poisoned pebbles was also nearly 20, with ample ammunition.
With preparations complete, Lin Chuan launched the first attack.
Lin Chuan loaded a poisoned pebble into his slingshot, aiming at the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle hovering in mid-air, looking left and right for his whereabouts.
A typical Blue Feather Eagle has an average wingspan of 10 meters.
However, Li Zeyu's Mutated Blue Feather Eagle had a wingspan of a full 13 meters, giving it a powerful presence even when flying in mid-air.
Such a large size also made it easy for Lin Chuan to hit it with his slingshot.
Thwack!
With a soft thud, the purplish-red pebble, covered in Poison Powder, was shot by Lin Chuan towards the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle.
It wasn't that Lin Chuan didn't want to directly attack Li Zeyu, but Li Zeyu was on the back of the Blue Feather Eagle, and at this moment, he didn't have a suitable attack angle.
The sound of Lin Chuan's attack immediately alerted Li Zeyu.
He sharply turned his head, looking towards Lin Chuan's hidden position.
Li Zeyu focused his gaze, discerning the subtle anomaly of the camouflage cloth against the surrounding environment.
However, before Li Zeyu could react, Lin Chuan's poisoned pebble had already landed on the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle.
Lin Chuan's slingshot didn't have much force; at least, it was much weaker than a spirit beast's attack, causing damage to the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle that was akin to a tickle.
However, the focus of the attack was not the physical damage of the pebble, but the Poison Powder adhering to it.
As the pebble bounced off the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle's body, a cloud of purplish-red dust immediately rose.
Proficient-grade Poison Powder!
Li Zeyu had watched Lin Chuan's matches several times, so he naturally recognized Lin Chuan's only offensive method.
Just as Lin Chuan had prepared, using camouflage cloth to evade overhead reconnaissance.
Li Zeyu had also made preparations specifically for Lin Chuan.
Li Zeyu admitted that he liked to show off and act cool.
But! He wasn't some brainless rich second-generation heir who would ignore an opponent's intelligence and not prepare for it.
Li Zeyu quickly took out a gas mask and put it on, while simultaneously commanding the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle to flap its wings.
Yes, it didn't use any skills, just flapped its wings to create wind.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, air currents blew.
With the wind, most of the Poison Powder was dispersed.
Only a very small portion stuck to the Blue Feather Eagle's body; however, this amount of Poison Powder was insufficient to poison the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle.
Li Zeyu let out an ambiguous chuckle, then he lightly patted the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle's back.
The next moment!
The Mutated Blue Feather Eagle swooped down towards Lin Chuan's direction.
At the same time, from the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle's wide and powerful wings, wisps of hazy water mist began to slowly rise.
The water mist became more and more abundant, denser and denser, quickly converging in the blink of an eye and gradually condensing into trickling streams.
The streams, like silver threads, flowed down the Blue Feather Eagle's wings, enveloping the entire wing.
From Lin Chuan's perspective, looking from afar, it was as if a layer of crystal-clear, translucent water film gently covered the wings, shimmering with a dreamy glow.
Following closely, this crystal film shimmered, changed, and distorted, surprisingly forming a pure water energy mimicry in the shape similar to a winged blade.
Extremely sharp and gleaming with cold light, it allowed one to feel the powerful force and endless destructive power it contained at a glance.
Water Wing!
Blue Feather Eagle's exclusive skill!
Can you imagine two blades, each about 7 meters long, slashing towards you?
This was the scene Lin Chuan was facing at this moment.
However, Lin Chuan did not panic in the slightest, or rather, Flower Leaf Leaf and Sakura, standing by his side, gave Lin Chuan enough confidence.
"Shield."
Lin Chuan's lips moved, uttering this single word.
Sakura and Flower Leaf Leaf, one in front and one behind, raised their small chubby hands, yelling 'yi yi ya ya ying ying ying' loudly, activating their shields simultaneously.
It was still the Vine Armor Shield.
However, Sakura activated a massive shield wall with relatively dispersed energy and weaker defensive capabilities.
Flower Leaf Leaf, on the other hand, concentrated its energy, activating a small round shield that could only protect one direction.
The shield wall was first cut open by the Water Wing, but it also blocked the initial and most terrifying momentum.
Subsequently, the massive blade of the Water Wing was then blocked by the umbrella-shaped Wood Spirit Shield activated by Flower Leaf Leaf.
Unfortunately, the Wood Spirit Shield only lasted less than two seconds before being pierced.
Finally, the small shield that Flower Leaf Leaf had just concentrated energy to condense, stood in front of the Water Wing, which only had its last bit of power remaining, completely blocking this move! Only a few small water droplets passed through the gaps in the vine shield and landed on Lin Chuan's face, which he casually wiped away with his thumb.
However, Li Zeyu's attack was not just this!
As the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle spun around to distance itself, he took out a crossbow with his backhand and mercilessly pulled the trigger towards Lin Chuan's face, firing two arrows at Lin Chuan consecutively.
Fortunately, Lin Chuan was well-prepared.
While dodging sideways, he raised his arm and used the vine armor bracer on his arm to block the two arrows.
Their gazes intersected and collided, and Lin Chuan likewise retaliated impolitely with his slingshot, a poisoned pebble shooting towards Li Zeyu.
However, Li Zeyu, maneuvering the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle slightly left and right, managed to dodge it.
In the stands, thunderous cheers erupted.
Just that close-quarters exchange had many spectators boiling with excitement.
The massive and terrifying Water Wing.
The power of this move was enough to surpass the ultimate trump cards of many other contestants; even a Tier 2 spirit beast's attack would likely be similar.
And this was not Li Zeyu's full power.
Li Zeyu's Beast Master talent was already well-known: Tier 1 Acceleration.
Acceleration is a very powerful combat-exclusive talent.
Spirit beasts subjected to this Beast Master talent will become faster and faster as they battle, until they reach the limits their bodies can withstand.
And with a surge in speed, the power of various impact and slashing skills that require speed will also increase accordingly.
Lin Chuan's side was equally astonishing.
Shield after shield, a triple shield.
Lin Chuan actually took that terrifying blow without a scratch.
One must know that Lin Chuan hadn't even started healing yet!
And then there was the subsequent exchange of crossbow and slingshot fire between the two.
Is this the top-tier rookie Beast Master in Qinghe City this year?
Which other contestant could achieve this?
...
Lin Chuan and Li Zeyu engaged in close combat for several rounds.
Neither of them could gain an advantage over the other.
Li Zeyu clicked his tongue in regret, letting out a 'tsk' sound.
At this moment, he was certain.
Before his Beast Master talent 'Acceleration' fully took effect, and before the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle's speed reached its limit, he would never be able to break through Lin Chuan's multiple shields, formed by the combined efforts of his two Flower Leaf Leaf.
Truly disgusting.
Break one shield, and immediately more shields would be generated. The more you break, the more shields there are. How can there be such a disgusting fighting style?
One Flower Leaf Leaf isn't enough, there are two!
Stacking so many layers of shields, how afraid of death are you! How afraid of pain!
Li Zeyu grumbled inwardly.
However, he knew that this couldn't continue.
If this continued, let alone defeating Lin Chuan, he wouldn't even be able to force Lin Chuan to heal.
He had thought he could easily defeat Lin Chuan and fulfill his promise of a quick victory made in the post-match interview yesterday.
Li Zeyu no longer lingered in combat; he lightly patted the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle.
The Mutated Blue Feather Eagle then circled in the air, drawing an arc, and quickly pulled away.
Constantly engaging in low-altitude combat with the two Flower Leaf Leaf, there was simply no effective space or opportunity to accelerate. It was often dragged down as soon as it started to accelerate. Therefore, it needed to disengage from combat first, perform continuous flight acceleration, and quickly raise its speed to the limit, maximizing the power of its skills.
Lin Chuan naturally wouldn't let him leave so easily.
Just now, in these few rounds of close combat with Li Zeyu.
Although it seemed like an even back-and-forth, with neither gaining an advantage, it was actually not the case.
In fact, from beginning to end, Lin Chuan had been suppressed. Li Zeyu could easily dodge his attacks; the Blue Feather Eagle could avoid them with just a slight left-right sway.
However, Lin Chuan mostly couldn't dodge Li Zeyu's crossbow attacks and could only endure them with the vine armor on his body.
This was the helplessness of not having air superiority.
If he allowed Li Zeyu to accelerate easily again, then he would truly only be able to passively take hits.
He was wearing vine armor now, but it wasn't perfectly sealed after all.
If Li Zeyu's crossbow bolts hit an area not covered by the vine armor, it would be judged as effective damage.
At that point, a few arrows later, he would probably lose.
More importantly!
That bat spirit beast that had been crouching on Li Zeyu's shoulder!
Given Lin Chuan's knowledge level, he didn't recognize the Nether Lightning Bat, a spirit beast originating from a distant foreign land. As a contestant, he couldn't hear the three commentators on the commentary desk introducing the Nether Lightning Bat to the audience.
However, Lin Chuan could vaguely sense the unusualness of that spirit beast; it should be the rumored Shuai Grade bloodline spirit beast, which he absolutely had to guard against.
Lin Chuan drew his slingshot to its full extent, three poisoned pebbles tucked into the slingshot's pouch.
Taking advantage of the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle not having flown far yet, and not having picked up speed, Lin Chuan rapidly shot the poisoned pebbles.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
Three sounds of piercing air.
Two of the poisoned pebbles missed, but one successfully hit the Blue Feather Eagle, scattering a large amount of Poison Powder.
It looked like the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle was about to be afflicted with the poisoned debuff.
Just then, the bat spirit beast on Li Zeyu's shoulder, the Nether Lightning Bat which had been closing its eyes as if Sleeping, suddenly spread its bat wings and gently flapped them. A black mist flickering with strands of electricity surged forth, completely engulfing the scattered Poison Powder.
Lin Chuan didn't recognize the Nether Lightning Bat, but he recognized this electric thread black mist skill.
Dark Thunder Curtain!
This is a true advanced skill, a skill that only certain special spirit beasts with sufficiently high bloodline grades can learn.
Large-area electrical damage, plus blindness and paralysis effects.
Unfortunately, no matter how strong a skill is, it requires sufficient level and sufficient energy to support it.
This bat spirit beast's level had clearly not reached Tier 1; Dark Thunder Curtain couldn't fully exert its power and could only be used as a blocking skill.
Even so, Lin Chuan's face remained solemn.
This bat spirit beast hadn't reached Tier 1, so it posed no threat to Flower Leaf Leaf and Sakura.
However, it was enough to cause damage to him, the Beast Master!