"Owow?" (Why are you looking at me?)
"Mi, mi~" (I know another Lightning Fox, it runs really fast~)
"Owow! (´⊙ω⊙`)!" (I'm definitely faster!)
"Mi~" (Then let me see it in a bit~)
Smiling at the two pets communicating, Lin Su turned to the boy, "How about a sparring session? Feeding moves or battling?"
The cost of choosing a private sparring session was higher, and naturally, there were different training methods. Some needed to practice a specific skill, so the sparring pets continuously fed specific moves; others were direct battles; there were some other scenarios, though they were relatively rare.
"A battle then." The glasses-wearing boy glanced at the energy levels of Qiuqiu displayed on his communicator, interest flickering in his eyes, "I also want to see how strong Xue Henqing, with an energy level of 399 Bo Wa, really is."
"Then I'll go ask a referee." Lin Su nodded and left the room, but when he returned, his expression had turned somewhat strange.
Following him were two people, one was the referee he had invited, and the other was Zhong Tianzhan, the owner of the Battle Arena.
Zhong Tianzhan had a smile on his face as he looked at the boy with glasses, "Hello, I am the owner of this Battle Arena. May I observe this battle?"
Unlike matched battles, private sparring sessions were fundamentally confidential. Even as the owner, he needed the client's permission to observe.
"That's fine."
After obtaining the client's consent, Zhong Tianzhan stood quietly in the corner by the door, observing.
He was very interested in this nominally hired sparring partner.
So, upon finding out Lin Su was about to begin a battle, he came to have a look.
If Lin Su encountered any problems during his first battle, he needed to be able to respond promptly.
After quickly scanning his communicator, Zhong Tianzhan nodded slightly.
With an energy value of 387P, the Lightning Fox seemed weaker than his son's Powerful Rock Bear, but in reality, energy values were just one standard of strength.
Like Xue Henqing, the Lightning Fox was an agility-based pet with a speed advantage, and compared to Xue Henqing's Snow Trace which had terrain limitations, Electric Chasing had no such limitations. Thus, its advantage was greater.
Hence, this battle would be even tougher for Xue Henqing.
He was curious to see if Xue Henqing could still win easily against such a Lightning Fox.
Lin Su's face showed a bit of helplessness. When he went to invite the referee, he ran into the owner who learned about his first sparring battle and eagerly followed.
Well, no big deal.
At the referee's signal, the two Beast Tamers stood with their pets in fixed areas, waiting for the referee's command.
Taking advantage of the time before the battle started, Lin Su used telepathy to communicate with Qiuqiu.
"You've raced the little fox but never fought it. Besides Electric Chasing which is not inferior to Snow Trace in speed, the Lightning Fox also has Electric Lock Chain and Thunderclap Claw. The former generates an electric net within a perimeter to paralyze the opponent, and the latter is an attacking skill. It doesn't have the range of Frost Storm, but the combination of these three skills is very tricky."
"So you must always maintain a distance from the Lightning Fox, don't let it get close, and then look for an opportunity to use Frost Storm to defeat the opponent!"
"Mi! (ᓀωᓂ)" (Understood!)
Across from Lin Su, the boy with glasses was also communicating with his pet.
"Sparks, the Xue Henqing across has mastered Snow Trace level II, and it's faster than you. Your Electric Chasing is also nearing level II, I hope you can break through in this battle, but don't put too much pressure on yourself, if you can't break through, we'll just continue training."
"Owow!" (I'll definitely try!)
He patted the smooth fur of the Lightning Fox, smiling, "Be careful of the opponent's Frost Storm, close the distance quickly. Your Electric Lock Chain can now cover a 7.5-meter radius, so you need to get within seven meters of Xue Henqing as soon as possible."
"Owow, owow!" (Got it, close in!)
As the communication between the Beast Tamers and their pets ended, the referee gave the signal, and the battle quickly began.
The actions of both pets were remarkably synchronized.
Charge, closing in on the opponent.
Qiuqiu skillfully used Snow Blow, creating a snowy environment ahead as it advanced towards Lightning Fox, stepping on dazzling ice flowers. In a blink, a long frost runway was formed on the field.
Compared to Qiuqiu, Lightning Fox was even more agile, its limbs extending from its feet to its entire body turning into bright golden Thunder Element. Each jump sparked dense, bouncing arcs all over the field.
A look of surprise appeared on Lin Su's face, as he used Telepathy to timely remind Qiuqiu, "Be careful, its Electric Chasing is very close to the second stage now."
After reaching the second stage, Lightning Fox could transform its whole body into elements, significantly increasing its speed— a qualitative change.
At this moment, the limbs of Lightning Fox could already fully elementalize, only a hair's breadth away from complete elementalization.
Seeing the distance between the two guardian beasts closing, Lin Su's expression turned slightly severe.
"Slow down the approach!"
"Speed up to approach the opponent!" The bespectacled young man almost simultaneously issued the command, his eyes flaming with intense combat spirit.
As the commands were given, Qiuqiu's speed instantly slowed down, while the speed of Lightning Fox on the opposite side increased even further, rushing towards Qiuqiu. Tiny electric sparks connected across the field like a bright golden carpet that was strikingly dazzling.
Lin Su was certain that the opponent wanted to close the distance and use Electric Lock Chain.
"Frost Storm!"
Qiuqiu immediately halted its steps, the snowflakes under its feet blooming out, cheeks slightly puffed, and soon a storm swirling with snowflakes appeared on the battle field, its fierce energy whipping up a violent wind, the gathering Frost Storm shooting towards the full-speed Electric Chasing Lightning Fox like an Energy Cannon.
"Dodge!" The bespectacled young man's expression changed slightly, startled by the power of the Frost Storm!
This was somewhat different from what the data showed.
From the sidelines, Zhong Tianzhan also showed a shift in expression.
Just yesterday, when battling his son, this Snow Trace's Frost Storm didn't have such power, yet today it had reached such a level?
Watching the Frost Storm, as thick as a basin and fast as thunder, striking towards Lightning Fox, he couldn't help but be astounded.
Such control, it must be close to the second stage already.
Could it be that he had been holding back in yesterday's battle with Zhong Hao?
In the arena, Lightning Fox's pupils suddenly dilated, the cannon-like Frost Storm giving it an immense sense of crisis. Electric sparks exploded under its feet, and without hesitation, it twisted to one side, trying to dodge the Frost Storm.
However, the fully gathered Frost Storm was too fast.
So fast that even the full-power Electric Chasing of Lightning Fox was insufficient to completely avoid the strike.
Seeing that half of his Lightning Fox was still exposed under the imminent Frost Storm, the bespectacled young man's face immediately became anxious, his heart tightening with worry.
The intensely nervous Lightning Fox, through the Guardian Beast Contract, sensed the Beast Tamer's emotions, and suddenly it seemed as if some restraint within it had instantly burst.
A dazzling burst of lightning appeared where the Frost Storm struck, and the next moment, the Frost Storm hit nothing, scraping up marks on the Battle Arena, whipping up a surging Energy Storm that took a long time to fully dissipate.
Next to the attack range of Frost Storm, a fully elementalized Lightning Fox emerged unscathed.
At this critical moment, feeling the Beast Tamer's emotions, its proficiency level in Electric Chasing silently broke through to the second stage.
The bespectacled young man first was stunned, then overjoyed.
"Beautifully done, Spark! Close in on the opponent!"
Lightning Fox transformed into a bolt of lightning, rapidly approaching Qiuqiu, its speed more than double that of before.
Snow Trace and Electric Chasing both are agility-based skills, but their focuses are different.
As Snow Trace improves in proficiency levels, it becomes lighter, while Electric Chasing with each proficiency level upgrade solely focuses on speed. At the first stage, the speed difference between them is minor, but at the second stage, Electric Chasing is much faster than Snow Trace.
Soon, there were only a few meters left between Qiuqiu and Lightning Fox.
"Electric Lock Chain! Thunderclap Claw!" the bespectacled young man coolly commanded.
This battle was about to end!