Chapter Forty-Six

After an hour had passed, Liu Baitian looked at the fusion pattern array spreading from the eggshell to the ground, and couldn’t help but feel a twitch at the corner of his eye. He had been utterly countered; after such a prolonged battle, not only had he failed to wear down the two juvenile turtles, but they seemed to have grown stronger amidst the flames.

The blazing Fire Dragon gazed at the eggshell before it with an indescribable sense of helplessness. It stopped breathing fire and turned to look at Liu Baitian, its meaning clear: “Are we still fighting? I don’t want to go on.”

Liu Baitian gritted his teeth so hard they almost cracked. It was more humiliating than losing to an opponent of equal strength. Anyone could see there was no hope in continuing, but conceding wasn’t an option either—it was too disgraceful.

By now, the other matches had long since ended; everyone had gathered around this arena, their hushed whispers filling the air. All eyes seemed to turn into needles, piercing the pride of someone who always considered himself the school’s number one. It was a painful humiliation: as an adult-stage dragon, he couldn’t even defeat two juvenile turtles.

The principal sighed. After an hour, he could see Liu Baitian’s unwillingness to yield. Indeed, if he were in his shoes, he wouldn’t want to step down either. “Let’s call it,” he declared. “The Fire Dragon is barely injured, so let’s give it the win. The two turtles are barely hurt as well.”

There were three obvious ways to counter Wang Ningning’s “turtle defense” tactic. The first: use multiple attributes, breaking through each corresponding defense with its natural counter. The problem was, Liu Baitian didn’t have a second monster; his Fire Dragon’s attributes were only fire and dragon, which weren’t particularly effective against this “turtle tactic.” Second: sheer overwhelming strength—if your fire attribute was powerful enough, like an ice salamander, you could still dominate despite the attribute disadvantage. Third: use some special attribute or effect, such as pure psychic attacks from ghost-types, or those with spatial or temporal powers that could bypass defense and inflict true damage.

The problem was, Liu Baitian possessed none of the above.

Wang Ningning yawned; she found the battle a bit boring. She missed the days of dueling with Cheng Yuan—the tension and excitement. For some reason, she recalled the time Cheng Yuan first used his little tiger in their match and couldn’t help but flash a radiant smile at Liu Baitian.

At the start, she had been tense and cautious. After all, she was a juvenile facing an adult, fighting across stages, and her opponent was a dragon that could fly and breathe fire. She had truly worried that a single burst of flame would melt her tactics to nothing. But as time passed, she gradually understood both her own strengths and weaknesses and those of Liu Baitian. She began to feel proud that she could fight a dragon across stages. She thought of the little tiger’s twin claws slicing through three opponents, of the circles it drew on the snow ox’s back. “He’s already at this level; I’m just barely catching up.”

As Wang Ningning mused over this, a sense of boredom crept in. “This must be what Cheng Yuan felt—able to win, but not wanting to waste time. If I were to concede now…”

She raised her hand and yawned, “I want to…” Suddenly she stopped, a startled voice echoing in her mind: “Concede? But I can win, can’t I?”

From Liu Baitian’s perspective, he saw Wang Ningning inexplicably smile at him—a beautiful but, to him, mocking smile. Then, as she raised her hand and spoke two words, her expression turned vacant. “What’s she hesitating about?”

Wang Ningning remembered Cheng Yuan’s nonchalant look. “I’m not you! I want to win.” Soon she lowered her hand. The principal, puzzled, asked, “Wang, was there something you wanted to say?” Wang Ningning shook her head. “Nothing.” Then, under the curious gazes of the crowd, she dialed a number. “Mom, bring dinner tonight—I won’t be coming home.”

In that instant, everyone gasped. “Where did this maniac come from!” Wang Ningning looked up, all fatigue and confusion gone from her face, and announced with utter seriousness, “I said I’d fight you for a day, so a day it will be—until victory or defeat is decided.”

Liu Baitian cursed inwardly, his mind echoing with a single thought: “Damn it, I’ve met a lunatic.”

And so the battle dragged on—a ruthless opponent facing one obsessed with pride—until the next morning. The Fire Dragon, having not slept all night, fought on for half a day more. At last, exhausted, it could no longer flap its wings and collapsed. On the eggshell, the two turtles, swollen and pale from soaking, poked their heads out at Wang Ningning’s command. Thus, the outcome was finally decided. The principal glanced at his watch: ten hours and thirty minutes. “Looks like we have another promising student.”

At the moment the principal announced her victory, Wang Ningning’s legs gave out and she sat weakly on the ground. An eighteen-year-old girl, awake all night, braving the night wind, giving commands, focusing intently on the battle—though she could occasionally close her eyes and rest, she still had to listen for attacks. After all, as long as the Fire Dragon targeted one spot, it could still break through her defenses.

So, with nerves taut, she battled through the night. When the contest was finally over, her tension released, and exhaustion crashed over her like a wave.

Three hours later, Wang Ningning’s classroom was completely silent. On the blackboard, the word “Self-Study” was written in large characters, intended for her alone, as she slept with her head pillowed on her arms beside Cheng Yuan’s seat.

That evening, Wang Ningning sat by the window, letting the night breeze blow through her hair. Just then, she saw the light flicker in Cheng Yuan’s room. “Cheng Yuan’s back—now I can brag properly.”

She quickly tied up her hair with a rubber band, slipped on her slippers, and ran to Cheng Yuan’s door to ring the bell. After a few minutes, Cheng’s mother opened the door and smiled, “Ningning, it’s late. Is something the matter?”

Wang Ningning replied, “I just saw the light in Yuan’s room—did he come home?” Cheng’s mother checked her phone. “No, it’s just Little Tiger and Manze. They come back at this time to sleep. Yuan should still be in the dungeon.” Wang Ningning sighed, “He’s not back? What a pity.”

She had barely taken a few steps when she suddenly turned back. “Wait a second, Auntie, you mean Yuan went into the dungeon without Little Tiger and Manze?” “That’s right.” “Huh?” “Mm?”

A few minutes later, Wang Ningning returned home with a strange look on her face. “Is that even possible?” She toyed with a glass marble in her hand—a bead with a snowflake at its heart, her reward for defeating Liu Baitian, and her entry into the dungeon “Deep Mountains—Footprints.”

She suddenly clenched the bead tightly. “I’ll beat you again, just wait.” Then she stroked the shells of the two turtles sleeping soundly. “I need to work even harder.” With that, she turned off the light. In its sleep, the Explosive Tyrant Turtle seemed to sense something and yawned, a flicker of flame briefly lighting the darkness.