The strong wind generated by the Wind-Dwelling Egret engulfed the entire battle stage.
Both the Beast Tamer and the beast on the stage could sense the winds sweeping across them like sharp blades.
Trapped by the wind chime, Dou Buxiang backed off continuously.
Yet, Chen An remained grounded, looking calm, and composed.
Liu Ran felt strange and puzzled. He ran to the battle stage, leaned toward Chen An, and yelled to him, "Buddy, what's in your mind? You might be alright, but your beast can no longer persist. You'll lose for sure if you don't retaliate now!"
Feng Ling dismissed Liu Ran's warning. Thinking that victory was in the bag, she chuckled non-stop and re-emphasized, "It's not that I'm bullying you."
She would surely win!
In the eyes of outsiders, Dou Buxiang had already lost its ability to fight, and Chen An had exhausted his means. As such, they would know the outcome of the battle in a few moments.
The audience's interest had waned. They predicted that a certain person would suffer the painful loss of his beast and end up crying and pleading for mercy.
Just as they were prepared to leave, the situation on the battle stage changed fast.
Feng Ling could sense numbness gradually spreading from her feet to her waist and then to her shoulders. She could no longer control her body.
"Cloud Halt!" At the critical juncture, she activated the Wind-Dwelling Egret's second skill, attempting to defeat Chen An before she became completely immobilized.
At the very least, she had to immobilize the opponent. Otherwise, she would have to take the beating later on.
The hurricane ravaging the battle stage stopped instantaneously after the skill was used.
There was pin-drop silence in the surroundings, coupled with an awful atmosphere in the air.
Chen An lifted his head and looked at Feng Ling in the eye. She could only see the determination and confidence of winning in Chen An's gaze.
"What did you do?" Feng Ling could not believe that she had been attacked. When had that happened? And what skill was that?
On the other hand, Chen An was also trapped in the stagnant hurricane and was unable to move.
What is he trying to do? How can he achieve victory?
A rustling noise disrupted Feng Ling's many doubts and questions.
That adorable face of hers paled instantly. She saw Chen An's beast crawling out of the wind chime's dense strings.
That was obviously what a cat-like beast would do.
"How can that be? It had not been trapped?" At the sight of Dou Buxiang's cat-like eyes, Feng Ling knew that she had already lost the battle.
The sudden victory caught the audience by surprise. Even Liu Ran had not come to his senses.
He stood in a daze for a long time and then cheered, "He won? Hooray! Wow, you're really good, buddy. How did you win? I have not figured it out!"
He rushed to the battle stage and hung his arms on Chen An's shoulder. Chen An then gradually moved his limbs and freed himself from the inert state.
The petite young lady was looking down with both arms raised behind her back. She sighed and said, "I have lost. Go ahead and extract the skills book."
The Wind-Dwelling Egret was beside Feng Ling. She reached out her hands and touched its head. "Sorry."
She was sure that the Wind-Dwelling Egret's skill could not be extracted. If this was done forcefully, it would become injured. "Can you…"
She bit her lower lips as she wanted to plead with Chen An but was too embarrassed to do so.
Chen An said, "Don't worry, I'm a professional in creating skills books."
Beside him, Liu Ran nodded. "Although he has only created two skills books, I can assure you that he is very competent in it."
Chen An wondered if Liu Ran was doing him a favor or disservice. When Feng Ling heard that, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked like she was about to cry.
She helplessly handed her Wind-Dwelling Egret to Chen An and was constantly frowning.
Chen An took out a blank skills book, which he had long prepared in advance. He positioned both his hands and began to extract and create the book.
This was the third time that he entered that vast ocean. Chen An felt very different this time.
Previously, the warm side seemed to know him and would automatically guide his hand. However, this time, he could not grab it no matter what. It was like playing hide and seek.
Earlier on, he had extracted skills from the Evening Moon Vine and Dou Buxiang, which were both very close to him. Was that why they would obediently allow him to do so?
This time, he had just defeated the Wind-Dwelling Egret. It was no wonder that it was hiding and running away from him.
Chen An calmed down, explored bit by bit, and searched for a consistent hiding behavior. At last, he managed to grab it at an opportune time.
The two sides connected, and the words "Static Wind" appeared on the skills book.
Feng Ling was also very puzzled. "Is this real? Why hasn't anyone else created this before?"
Liu Ran recalled the first time he witnessed Chen An creating a skills book upon seeing her ignorant expression. He crossed his arms and clarified her doubt, smugly, "Don't underestimate this buddy of mine. You can't treat him as an ordinary man. He is an expert in creating skills books."
Feng Ling observed Chen An's side profile. After looking at his closed eyes and focused expression, she became distracted for a moment. It was only when Chen An finished creating the skills book and handed the Wind-Dwelling Egret back to her that she came to her senses.
"Er… You…"
"Don't worry. Your beast is perfectly fine."
This was not what Feng Ling wanted to inquire about. She wanted to find out how the numb feeling earlier had come about.
"There is a beast called Stone Mythical Snake, and it has the effect of petrification. As your hurricane ravaged, tiny spikes were also spinning in the wind until they pricked you silently."
"Petrification?" Feng Ling pressed on. "Therefore, you have been plotting for this right from the beginning?"
Chen An smiled and nodded. This kind of tactic was not considered as ambushing. He was merely making use of the wind his opponent's beast generated.
Feng Ling mocked herself after learning the truth. "I had thought that I was an expert in manipulating the wind. Never did I expect to attribute both my success and failure to wind. You're a notch above me."
Chen An ruffled Feng Ling's head like he was consoling a little girl. "You're also very good. As a Beast Tamer, you can tap on your beast's unique characteristics and develop the combat tactic of using wind chimes. That's fairly good."
Feng Ling backed off continuously and broke away from Chen An's hands. She held her head and combed her hands through her hair. The bells on her ear lobes were ringing non-stop.
"D-don't bully me."
"I'm not." Chen An smiled and clarified his intent. After obtaining the Wind-dwelling Egret's skill, he still had to find a suitable plant-based beast for Liu Ran.
Immediately upon hearing that, Feng Ling said with her nose in the air, "You will have to be humble and seek my advice for this then. I've battled with many people at Treasure Cove."
"Do you know of any powerful beasts then?"
Liu Ran felt hopeful and longed for Feng Ling's reply.