Chapter Twenty-Eight

The characteristic of attribute restraint is pivotal, yet not always decisive. When attributes are countered, it gives those at the Champion rank enough leverage to contend with Calamity-class monsters. On the other hand, it's not the sole factor; monsters capable of fighting above their rank rarely rely solely on attribute restraint. Trainers with systematic teams, upon reaching Champion rank, either stack buffs so that a single attribute can ignore the defensive advantage of attribute restraint, or they assemble multi-attribute, multifunctional monsters to support and cover each other. The higher the rank, the less pronounced the effect of attribute restraint becomes. Of course, Wang Ningning has yet to fully grasp this.

The next day at school, the classmates looked at Wang Ningning with peculiar expressions. It was understandable for Cheng Yuan to raise an extra Barbaric Marsh Giant Lizard; a versatile trainer could raise many types. But for Wang Ningning to consecutively raise two turtles—their attributes differed, but why focus exclusively on turtles?

Wang Ningning noticed the stares. Though she found it odd, she couldn’t read minds and had no idea what they were thinking. She approached Cheng Yuan. “Want to compete in the upcoming monthly exam?”

The class was shocked. Wang Ningning’s combat prowess hadn’t yet matched Cheng Yuan’s. His little tiger, more than a meter long and covered in thick fur, was the fiercest in the school aside from the six students who’d repeated a grade. And everyone knew about the newly contracted Marsh Giant Lizard—its evolution speed was legendary. With Cheng Yuan’s current nurturing ability, in two months he could challenge those repeaters with its evolved form.

No one could fathom Wang Ningning’s confidence. Cheng Yuan, glancing at Wang Ningning with her two turtles, was equally perplexed. Had she developed some fusion skill? “Shall we do it the usual way?” he asked.

“Sure,” Wang Ningning replied.

Cheng Yuan stroked the Marsh Giant Lizard coiled around him. This little fellow was thriving—its level would surely reach eight or nine within half a month.

The Explosive Overlord Turtle would likely reach level ten in that time, but it didn’t matter—water counters fire, so the advantage was his. Their eyes met, each convinced the odds favored them. Childhood friends for so long, their thinking had become remarkably similar.

Word of their duel spread quickly, stirring the seniors. Ever since Cheng Yuan had stagnated at tenth place, he’d lost his drive. Yet everyone knew his little tiger was powerful. Test matches rarely went beyond a move or two, making it hard to gauge his true level; he seemed formidable, but there was no tangible sense of his strength.

Even the repeaters were curious how close Cheng Yuan had come to their level.

Meanwhile, in a sacred and solemn dungeon, a group was deep in discussion. A middle-aged man shook his head and sighed. “It’s tough. The candidates from Zhejiang this year are monstrous. Some at Champion rank are frankly excessive. We need to nerf Zhejiang. They’re strong in the written exams, and now they send Champion rank monsters to the dungeon trials. This year’s college entrance dungeon must have a triple debuff. Otherwise, all the top universities will be flooded with Zhejiang students. Let me think—Blood Leech, Nuclear Ore Veins, Fissure Virus—these three should do.”

At these words, most of the examiners drew sharp breaths. One cautiously asked, “Principal Wang, do you have a grudge against Zhejiang? You do this every year?”

Wang, the examiner, rolled his eyes. “If I don’t, it won’t work. Champions should’ve gone to university last year, but they held back—Champion and adult, or hatchling, are completely different beings. If we don’t curb them, they’ll waste time just for the title of national top scorer.”

Then Principal Wang looked at a bearded examiner. “I think this is already merciful. If some talented students weren’t keeping up, I’d just ban Champion rank outright.”

The bearded examiner nodded. “The humanities side has a score reduction system. If it keeps escalating, we’ll split repeaters and current students into separate exams.”

Another examiner raised a hand, “What about other provinces?”

“For Sichuan, two debuffs are enough. Go with the usual setup.”

Meanwhile, Cheng Yuan was sleeping with his little tiger, hugging it like an electric fan set to a gentle breeze. On the other side, Wang Ningning was staying up late, drafting strategies against her childhood friend.

“Two turtles can’t go head-to-head with Cheng Yuan—the attack speed and movement speed differ too much. A counterattack is classic, like that great nation’s president versus marshal reverse offensive: wait and conserve strength, use environmental factors to weaken the opponent. I can’t create the nationwide cold wave they did, but a bit of lava is within reach.”

Her eyes shone with their usual brightness, just as they had when she first met Cheng Yuan. Her phone lit up—a message: “Baby, are you asleep?” Sadly, Wang Ningning didn’t notice.

On Cheng Yuan’s side, the little tiger was diligently practicing Gold-Piercing Claws. After honing countless support skills, now working on its core skill, it seemed almost like it had practiced for ages—its damage was frightening, nothing like a newly learned ability. Yet every time Cheng Yuan checked, the Gold-Piercing Claws were only at level two or three.

Cheng Yuan led by example, practicing meditation. Meditation was hard to level up, but it brought benefits—he found himself waking earlier and feeling energized.

A week passed. Gold-Piercing Claws finally reached max level, hitting level eleven and unlocking a new talent, Golden Radiance, as well as comprehending the signature killer move of the mighty White Tiger, Sharp-Edge Claws. Cheng Yuan took advantage of the weekend, bringing the little tiger and Marsh Giant Lizard to the outskirts.

He pointed at a tree as thick as his wrist. “Use Sharp-Edge Claws.”

In an instant, ten claw marks intertwined, golden light flowing between the claws like water. At the moment of attack, the golden flow blazed bright; the little tiger’s forearm muscles swelled unnaturally, and the wrist-thick tree was instantly sliced into cubes.

As the light faded and the little tiger cocked its head, Cheng Yuan and the Marsh Giant Lizard stood stunned for a long moment. Cheng Yuan swallowed—this damage was outrageous. The Marsh Giant Lizard, having recently mastered tree-climbing and gained the Tree-Dweller talent, which restored stamina atop trees and unlocked the climbing skill, happily spent its days scaling walls—but faced with the tiger’s attack, touching it meant instant death.

Cheng Yuan snapped out of it and rubbed the little tiger’s head. “Very strong. Let’s try somewhere else.” He went on to test thicker trees, discarded bricks, river stones—most could be sliced into blocks in one blow. Such damage would make even adult White Tigers proud, yet his little tiger was still only at the hatchling stage.