The Dumb Flower wasn’t a speed-type Pet Beast, after all. The velocity of its leaf blades was only average.

If it were Cyan Treasure, it would have dodged them without a doubt.

But Ah Kun couldn’t be blamed for this.

Ah Kun was older, to begin with. Even after its Evolution, its reaction speed was still inferior to that of younger Pet Beasts.

What’s more, the opposing Dumb Flower was in its Juvenile Stage, making it even younger than most young Pet Beasts.

"Watch out for the blades! They’ll come back!" Gu Ming called out from behind.

Ah Kun turned and saw that the leaf blades were, sure enough, flying back.

It hurriedly controlled the water cloud beneath it, moving itself out of the blades’ return path.

Fortunately, the blades returned due to inertia, not because they were being controlled by Mana.

Otherwise, if they had changed speed and veered on their way back, Ah Kun’s slow reactions would have guaranteed a direct hit at close range.

Standing at a distance, Gu Ming silently assessed Ah Kun’s reaction time. He concluded that it was, indeed, not suited for combat.

During its Dream Training, Ah Kun had only practiced the Everlasting Pure Water Technique and the Devouring Secret Technique. It had secretly worked on other minor Skills, but it had never engaged in a true life-or-death battle against another Pet Beast.

As it happened, Gu Ming had an unused Achievement Point, which he had originally intended to save for an emergency cram session for Cyan Treasure.

’Looks like this Achievement Point has a use now.’

On Wang Teng’s end, the next attack followed immediately after the blades. The Dumb Flower seized the opportunity while Ah Kun was distracted, the toxic core in the center of its petals blooming as it spewed a purple poison mist that surged toward the fish.

The poison mist swept across the ground like a tidal wave. Gu Ming quickly shouted a warning.

Ah Kun’s mind went blank. It turned to see a two-meter-high wall of poison mist bearing down on it and froze, unsure of what to do.

Just then, Gu Ming commanded:

"Ah Kun, use your Fish Leaping Techniques! Jump!"

"Impossible. That wall of poison is two meters high. Ah Kun is just a Grouper Fish; how could it possibly jump that high?"

Wang Teng, on the other side, shook his head with his arms crossed. He ordered his Dumb Flower to ignore it and continue spraying the poison mist, keeping up the pressure.

The Fish Leap was a move that involved slapping the water with its tail, using the reactive force to propel itself into the air.

It was a precursor to the future Skill, Fish Leaping the Dragon Gate—a lower-tier version of it.

Ah Kun stopped thinking and simply obeyed Gu Ming’s command. It slapped the water cloud beneath it, sending up a tremendous splash as it leaped into the air.

Its body soared, rising higher and higher. It cleared the two-meter poison wall and kept climbing—three meters, then nearly four—as it flew toward the Dumb Flower’s position.

Wang Teng tilted his head back, his eyes wide. "Impossible," he muttered.

How could a Grouper Fish jump that high?!

But while it was still in mid-air...

Before the fish could fall, Gu Ming’s next command came:

"Fire a Water Gun at the Dumb Flower!"

Ah Kun opened its mouth and swiftly fired the Water Gun.

The jet of water was fast and accurate, reaching the Dumb Flower in an instant.

The Dumb Flower was still spraying poison mist and had no time to react. It became a sitting duck, struck squarely by Ah Kun’s Water Gun.

THUD.

The Dumb Flower was struck by the blast of water, its head planting directly into the dirt as a sharp pain shot through its petals.

When Ah Kun landed, it happened to land right on the Dumb Flower’s head. It slapped its tail again and fired off several more Water Guns in quick succession.

The Dumb Flower struggled to lift its head, its rear end stuck in the air. It took several more direct hits from the Water Guns, and the spots where it was hit began to swell, even through its bark-like skin.

Just as Ah Kun was about to fire again, its opponent, in a state of emergency, turned its entire body to earth and used Earth Escape to disappear into the soil.

Now, there was no way for it to find the flower.

Wang Teng, however, jumped up in excitement.

"The Earth Escape Technique! You finally did it! Way to go, Benny!"

Previously, the Dumb Flower hadn’t been able to grasp the technique, only managing to sink halfway into the ground instead of fully turning to earth.

Now that it was underground, Ah Kun had no way of dealing with it.

When the Dumb Flower appeared again...

...it emerged right from the water cloud beneath Ah Kun. It opened its petals like the mouth of a Cannibal Flower, swallowing the water cloud whole while simultaneously spewing out a massive cloud of poison mist.

Ah Kun slapped the water to leap away again, but it was already coated in the poison mist, its scales slowly turning purple.

Gu Ming had been directing it as carefully as possible, but against a Dumb Flower that could use the Earth Escape Technique, even when he called out a warning, Ah Kun was always half a beat too slow. In the end, it was caught by the poison mist.

"Haha, you’ve lost! The Magic Poison has already entered its body. Ah Kun will be the first to run out of Mana and dehydrate," Wang Teng laughed, feeling victory was in his grasp.

Ah Kun’s expression was grim, seething with anger.

It performed one Fish Leap after another, staying far from the ground, keeping a Water Gun charged in its mouth, ready to fire the moment the Dumb Flower poked its head out.

Gradually, a few classmates gathered around to watch the spectacle.

But seeing that Ah Kun was poisoned, they left in disappointment, figuring the Grouper Fish had no chance of winning.

A sense of urgency filled Ah Kun. After seeing everyone walk away disappointed, it grew even more determined to prove it could help its master, that it wasn’t completely useless in a fight.

But the reality was that it truly wasn’t good at fighting. Its reactions were slow, and it only ever managed to jump half a beat after its master shouted a command.

"Don’t panic. Take a deep breath."

Suddenly, Gu Ming’s voice echoed in Ah Kun’s mind.

It was a steady, calm, and gentle voice.

In the middle of a leap, Ah Kun glanced back at its master. It saw his bright, composed eyes looking right at it, giving it courage.

’You have a Magic Power Inner Core that far surpasses others of your stage, and your Breathing Technique has a Skill Level on par with Cyan Treasure’s. Use these two great advantages. Wear it down in a battle of attrition.’

His master’s mouth moved without making a sound, but through a combination of lip-reading and their contract, the message was secretly transmitted.

Courage suddenly surged within it.

’So what if the Dumb Flower has Magic Poison?’ it thought. ’Its Earth Escape costs Mana, too.’

’Let’s see who can last longer.’

And so it began.

The endurance challenge that Cyan Treasure had failed to complete was now taken up by Ah Kun and the Dumb Flower.

Whenever its opponent emerged from the ground to fling leaf blades or spray poison mist...

...Ah Kun would leap high into the air and retaliate with a Water Gun of its own, discouraging the Dumb Flower from showing its face.

The two sides were locked in a battle of attrition. One minute passed, then two, then three.

Wang Teng’s expression shifted from initial composure to gravity, and finally to utter disbelief.

"This shouldn’t be happening... The poison mist is already in its system, and its scales have turned purple. How does it still have the Mana to maintain its water environment?" Wang Teng scratched his head, his confidence—and his Dumb Flower’s—beginning to waver.

’A Grouper Fish is just a One-star Fish Pet!’ he thought. ’Even if it’s mutated, it shouldn’t have this much endurance! It’s fighting while under the effect of Magic Poison!’

Finally, after a two-hundred-second stalemate, the Dumb Flower’s Mana reserves hit rock bottom. It was forced to emerge from the soil, gasping for breath.

Its petals drooped limply, oozing a thin green sap.

Ah Kun, however, was still elegantly executing Fish Leaps in mid-air. The rhythm of the Green Treasure Breathing Technique flowed between its lips and gills, each wisp of water vapor replenishing its Physical Strength.

’There’s the opening!’

The instant the exhausted flower was completely exposed...

"Now!" Gu Ming’s voice rang out at the exact same moment a Water Gun shot forward.

A jet of azure water flashed through the air, exploding with a BANG against the Dumb Flower’s face.

The Dumb Flower swayed, spun around three times, and finally collapsed to the ground with a THWAP. The eyes on its bark-like face had turned into dizzying swirls.

"Alright, Ah Kun... you win!" Wang Teng said, raising his hands with a wry smile.

Ah Kun did a joyful somersault in the air, its purple scales glittering in the morning light.

This gave it a bit of confidence for the upcoming midterm exams. At the very least, it was no longer the weakest fighter.