With a heavy thud, wisps of black smoke emerged from the Armored Battle Turtle, and the top began to spin irregularly, as if its spirit had been shaken by a giant bell—or as if an intense explosion had occurred inside it.

At once, Liu Zhiyong's face changed dramatically—a fortress, no matter how indestructible, is much easier to break from the inside than from the outside.

Ignoring the sweat trickling down from exerting his Talent to the limit, Liu Zhiyong clenched his fists and shouted, "Hang in there, Armored Battle Turtle!"

As if responding to his expectations, the Armored Battle Turtle didn't stop spinning, and its drunkenly swaying form gradually steadied.

The glow of "Eye for an Eye" also began to radiate from its body, ready to activate at any moment.

—I've won!

A victorious smile crept up Liu Zhiyong's lips once more, knowing that Lin Guang's Spirit Beast level wasn't particularly high. After firing an impressive Explosive Shot combined with Rapid Fire, that punch had most likely drained all her Ether, or she certainly couldn't unleash another punch as powerful as the one just now.

What a terrifying skill, what a terrifying Spirit Beast—to be able to battle across levels and almost defeat his defense-focused Armored Battle Turtle in one blow.

Indeed, he had underestimated Lin Guang, underestimated the heroes under the heavens.

He lamented aloud, "It's a pity that, in the end, my Armored Battle Turtle is just a notch deeper... deep... deep..."

As he spoke, Liu Zhiyong suddenly froze, like a broken recorder stuck on the same final syllable.

Because he saw that the hand cannon was somehow back in Vishdair's left hand, with red light glowing at the barrel.

He also saw Lin Guang, still smiling with hands sealed in a gesture, surrounded by dots of light.

—Damn, the Ethereum Charging is still in progress!

From the start of the battle to its end, though quick, Lin Guang hadn't ceased accumulating enough Ether for Vishdair's charged shot.

Like a Sichuan opera face-changer, Liu Zhiyong's expression turned unpleasant and then became a bitter smile. He raised his left hand to the referee, signaling surrender.

"The victory is decided!"

The referee raised the flag in his hand. Although his expression was somewhat surprised, Liu Zhiyong's decision was not unexpected. After all, "Like a Mountain" could recover Physical Strength, but it depended on Status. The worse the Status, the slower the recovery. The Armored Battle Turtle was severely injured, yet Vishdair, charged with Ether, could undoubtedly unleash another charged Explosive Shot. Stubbornly holding on would only worsen the Spirit Beast's injuries.

"Come back, Armored Battle Turtle."

Waiting for a moment, Liu Zhiyong allowed it to use its trait to heal for about a minute before raising his hand. The Armored Battle Turtle top "stumbled" back to his side, gradually shrinking to the size of a tennis ball, lightly jumping into its master's hand, turning into a slightly charred toy.

[Your companion Vishdair defeated a Green Level 13 enemy, and the Star Shards progress bar increased.]

[Star Shards progress bar 100%, gained 1 Star Shard.]

Pulling a face of mild displeasure, Vishdair retracted his combat stance and returned to Lin Guang's side, rubbing his right shoulder.

Lin Guang frowned, "Injured by the shock?"

Not wanting to show any sign of weakness in front of strangers, Vishdair said, "It's nothing."

As they conversed, Liu Zhiyong approached proactively, his face no longer arrogant. Extending his hand, he spoke with genuine acknowledgment and conviction:

"I've truly lost."

This change caught Lin Guang slightly off guard. He raised his hand to return the handshake, extinguishing any previous thoughts of provocation, and modestly said, "Just pure luck."

"That was no mere luck,"

Liu Zhiyong shook his head after letting go, "Based on the information I gathered from the forum, you're worthy of being called a 'genius'... No, using such a term underestimates you; you've surely put in tremendous effort."

Lin Guang smiled but did not respond.

Just then, Liu Zhiyong shifted the topic, "However, don't think that beating me means you'll win the exchange competition. Don't mind me telling you, among the three competitors in the exchange, I'm the weakest. Though you're formidable, it's impossible for you to defeat Brother Wu Jie's Molten Dragon Lizard. Both are 'Double Blue' setup, but you have a six-month training time gap, which is an unsurpassable chasm."

The weakest among the so-called Four Celestial Kings.

"An unsurpassable chasm?" Lin Guang raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion at Liu Zhiyong's polite threat, "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"..."

Immediately, an immensely awkward expression appeared on Liu Zhiyong's face. He pouted but stayed silent, retreating to pay the arena fees with the Armored Battle Turtle in hand, slinking away.

The surrounding crowd jeered at him, while showering Lin Guang with enthusiastic praise and congratulations from the stage. Since geographically, this training ground belonged to Lin Guang's Experimental School, Liu Zhiyong's visit seemed somewhat of a challenge.

Once the crowd dispersed, Miaomiao slowly approached Lin Guang with a peculiar gaze that seemed to say "Chang Wei, you're really good at martial arts," before saying, "You'd better let Dr. Kaiwen know this a bit later, or she might regret having you join in the research."

"Hmm, Dr. Kaiwen… is unlikely to go back on her word."

"Who knows, adults often think their way is best for children."

After chatting for a while, Miaomiao softly said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

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