Fire burned in Akagi Shu’s eyes, but he suppressed his emotions as he gave the command, "Take flight. Use small fireballs to pick it off."

He wasn’t a fool. The fact that Gu Ming’s Pet Beast could defeat the Turtle Wood Flood Dragon meant its offensive power was terrifying.

If it landed a hit on the Red Flame Flood Dragon, the consequences would be dire.

It didn’t have the same defensive power as the Turtle Wood Flood Dragon. It mainly relied on low-altitude flight and high mobility to evade enemy attacks while scorching opponents with ranged fire breath.

Against any Pet Beast that couldn’t fly, the Red Flame Flood Dragon held an innate advantage with its air superiority.

From the sky, it could attack or retreat as it pleased, dictating the entire flow of battle.

He even had countermeasures for Ultimate Skill Body Techniques like the Earth Escape Technique.

For instance, using the Earth Escape Technique to travel underground continuously consumed Mana.

If the Red Flame Flood Dragon simply stayed in the air without attacking, it could conserve its Physical Strength and wait for its opponent’s Mana to run out, forcing them to resurface on their own.

This was a passive, defensive strategy. In the past, the arrogant and domineering Akagi Shu would never have resorted to such a turtling tactic; it didn’t suit his aggressive style.

But today, facing a truly formidable opponent, he had no choice but to calm down. After all, he didn’t want to finish in last place.

The gruesome scene of the Turtle Wood Flood Dragon’s flesh being torn open to reveal bone was still fresh in his memory.

That was the price for underestimating an enemy, a mistake he would not make again.

Sunflower Seed-eating Hamsters and Little Cyan Snakes were weak, to be sure, but one type of Pet Beast was an exception. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

And that was a Pet Beast that had undergone a mutant Evolution!

A mutated Pet Beast could very well evolve a superior physique.

He figured that both Gu Ming and that girl—he didn’t know her name—had mutated Pet Beasts. He couldn’t judge them by conventional standards.

When facing unknown abilities, his family had taught him to sheath his claws, switch from offense to defense, and probe the opponent’s limits before striking.

With a heavy FLAP of its wings, the Red Flame Flood Dragon took flight, glaring furiously at Cyan Treasure.

It had just taken a Blood Replenishing Pill and was already back in fighting condition.

Aside from a missing front tooth and some damage to its Pill Fire, it was more than capable of handling a mere Little Cyan Snake.

Akagi Shu sensed that his Pet Beast’s mindset was off. ’Looks like it’s still hung up on its defeat from that single slap. This won’t do.’

He quickly tried to reason with it.

"Don’t let your guard down. That’s a mutant, not a regular Little Cyan Snake."

The Red Flame Flood Dragon paused, stunned to hear it wasn’t a Little Cyan Snake.

’If it’s not a Little Cyan Snake, then what is it?’

’It looks just like a small, emerald-green snake. It seems completely harmless, no different from any other Little Cyan Snake I’ve seen before—the kind you’d find by the side of the road.’

’A single burst of flame should be enough to burn it to a crisp. It wouldn’t even have a chance to resist the heat.’

’Most importantly, it’s a Grass Element Pet Beast, and Grass Element Pets are naturally weak to fire.’

In terms of Attributes, fire completely counters grass.

’Gu Ming must have a death wish, making Cyan Treasure challenge me.’

But its master’s words made some sense, and it managed to regain a sliver of rationality.

As it considered this, it opened its mouth and spat a fist-sized fireball, which shot at high speed toward the Little Cyan Snake’s position.

Gu Ming didn’t even need to give a command; the shot came from too far away.

Cyan Treasure simply used its Z-shaped Shaking Body Technique, effortlessly dodging the fireball just as it was about to hit.

The fireball slammed into the ground with a BANG, blasting a small, meter-wide crater and setting the lawn ablaze.

Gu Ming silently assessed the power of the small fireball, inwardly amazed.

’If a fireball like that hits Cyan Treasure, it’ll be crippled.’

’Just as I thought. Cyan Treasure’s greatest weakness is all too clear: its body is too fragile to withstand attacks from a powerful offensive Pet Beast like this.’

’A head-on clash would be a losing battle for Cyan Treasure.’

’It has to use a Body Technique or a skill like the Earth Escape Technique to dodge its opponent’s attacks, then bide its time and wait for the right moment to knock it out of the sky.’

"Cyan Treasure, use Storm Ball!"

Gu Ming had Cyan Treasure launch an ordinary Storm Ball to test its opponent’s maneuverability and evasive skills.

The Red Flame Flood Dragon possessed a Flood Dragon Race Body Technique as well. With a light flap of its wings, it moved like a soaring dragon, elegantly and nimbly weaving past the edge of the Storm Ball.

Even when the Storm Ball, under Cyan Treasure’s control, suddenly detonated in mid-air behind it, the Red Flame Flood Dragon reacted instantly. Its wings oscillated in unison, fanning out a curtain of flame behind it that blocked the explosion and incinerated the splashing venom.

Watching the venom evaporate in the sky, a pleased look appeared on Akagi Shu’s face.

’Heh. You think I didn’t see that coming?’

Although he hadn’t seen the battle between Cyan Treasure and the Turtle Wood Flood Dragon, the crowd behind him was buzzing about it. He wasn’t deaf; he’d already heard terms like "Storm Ball" and "Cyan Snake Tail Swing" being thrown around.

’Storm Ball isn’t rare; it’s a common move for Wind Element Pets.’

’Cyan Treasure is a Grass Element, yet it knows a Wind Element move. That’s unusual, but not unheard of.’

’According to my family’s intelligence, Storm Ball is a derivative skill one naturally masters after learning the Green Treasure Breathing Technique.’

’Since the technique is named after Cyan Treasure, its Skill Level must be at the peak among all the Pet Beasts here. Controlling the detonation mid-air is hardly surprising.’

"Red Flame Flood Dragon, take a deep breath and activate the Furnace Core Technique!" he shouted.

After just a few seconds of battle, Akagi Shu had already assessed Cyan Treasure’s evasive capabilities. It was a Pet Beast with extremely high mobility, performing at a level that was the absolute peak for a Little Cyan Snake.

Single-target fireballs would never hit. The Z-shaped Shaking Body Technique at its current Master Level was simply too powerful. Even his Red Flame Flood Dragon had only reached the Mastery Level with its own Body Technique.

Since he couldn’t pin it down, he would have to resort to a saturation attack and overwhelm it with sheer numbers.

With so many fireballs raining down, one was bound to hit.

Gu Ming saw that his delayed Storm Ball explosion had been blocked. Then he saw his opponent’s new move—something that wasn’t in the files his homeroom teacher provided.

’This isn’t good. Time for an Earth Escape.’

"Quick, use Earth Escape!" Gu Ming commanded.

Cyan Treasure had been about to fire a second, super-charged Storm Ball, but its master ordered it to hide.

It watched as the Red Flame Flood Dragon opened its mouth. Despite its already small frame, it began sucking in air, its belly puffing up as if it had swallowed a gale.

It was clearly winding up for a major attack. Cyan Treasure shuddered, immediately circulated Life Energy through its body, and transformed into earth, burrowing into the ground.

The next second, the Red Flame Flood Dragon’s saturation attack began.

The Red Flame Flood Dragon had also learned the Green Treasure Breathing Technique, but due to a tight schedule and numerous daytime lessons, it had only reached the Entry Level. It was far inferior to Cyan Treasure and only used the technique to help generate the fire seeds in its belly.

Combining this method with its own Refining Technique was like giving a tiger wings.

Gu Ming would never have dreamed that it could draw vast amounts of Spiritual Qi into its stomach, using its Flood Dragon stomach as a Pill Furnace. It would then burn and perform Refinement on the Spiritual Qi, infusing it into its Fireball Technique.

Then, using its Magic Power Inner Core for ignition, it rapidly created a dozen miniature fire seeds.

These were the prototypes for the Small Fireball Technique.

Then, using its racial ability, it would channel the energy to its throat and spit them out, where they would expand in the wind to become small fireballs.

It opened its mouth and, like a machine gun, sprayed a volley of fireballs—RAT-A-TAT-TAT—that covered nearly a dozen-meter radius on the ground.

The Red Flame Flood Dragon even aimed with a degree of Prediction. No matter which direction Cyan Treasure fled, its range was limited.

As long as it could blanket that entire area, it could blast Cyan Treasure with its barrage and end the fight.