Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 778 - Taming the Fifth Year - True Challenge - 2

”Heʼs probably just having fun,” Selphira interrupted with a tone suggesting sheʼd seen this behavior pattern in him before. ”He found something interesting and is taking his time... Or heʼs enjoying intimidating local nobles too much and lost track of time while extracting extra information.”

Julius didnʼt respond immediately to that theory. His countenance remained thoughtful in ways that suggested he wasnʼt entirely satisfied despite what seemed like logical explanations.

But there was nothing more they could do from here at this moment. Arturo would check the situation with scouts who could travel quickly. If there was a real problem requiring intervention, theyʼd know soon enough to respond on time.

In the end Selphira was right, Victor and themselves were way stronger than the enemy… Attacking them now would be suicide, they had no way of wining, right?

For now they could only wait and observe what was happening in front of them...

”The next confrontation is beginning,” Selphira pointed toward the field where the two students were taking their positions.

Julius followed her gaze with attention shifting to the immediate concerns of getting to know Renʼs development.

Then saw him walking toward the arena with the same calm expression heʼd maintained throughout previous battles.

♢♢♢♢

THE FINAL POINT

Renʼs Team Five faced Team Eighteen in a matchup that would determine the advancement to the next tournament stage.

And Team Eighteenʼs leader was Liu… the quiet boy who rarely spoke unnecessarily, conserving words like precious resources.

The same Liu whose beast was now a Lesser Vampire that had evolved from its original small bat form.

Who had just reached Gold rank several months ago through cultivation that had accelerated way beyond normal fifth-year student progression.

Liu had eliminated the last two remaining members of Renʼs team with his vampire without particular difficulty that would have suggested a close contest. The vampire absorbed energy from its opponents with each successful attack, recovering vitality even while fighting in ways that made stamina management irrelevant.

It was a beast that seemed designed specifically for prolonged battles where endurance mattered. The longer it fought, the relatively stronger it became because opponents weakened from energy drain while the vampire maintained fresh condition through the parasitic feeding.

Now the score stood at 9-9, perfectly balanced on the knifeʼs edge. Team Five needed Ren to secure victory for advancement.

But first...

Ren needed to defeat two Gold-rank beasts consecutively.

Liuʼs vampire stood in the arena, crimson eyes gleaming with hunger that was both literal and metaphorical. The creature had already fed during previous fights, absorbing life energy that made it more dangerous now than when entering fresh.

And beyond, Liu as a double tamer had one more Gold-rank fighter in his roster.

This was different from previous battles where Silver-rank opponents had fallen in seconds to the mantisʼs superior powers.

Gold rank represented a genuine threshold. The difference between Silver 3 and Gold 1 wasnʼt a linear progression, it was a multiplicative 3x jump in capabilities that made Gold rank vastly more dangerous than even talented Silver-rank tamers.

The crowd sensed this shift in challenge level. Murmurs spread through the stands as people recognized that Ren was about to face his first real test in this tournament.

Against Liuʼs energy-draining vampire that had already been strengthened through previous feeds.

And his huge hyena…

Two Gold-rank beasts standing between Ren and advancement.

Two opponents who represented genuine threat rather than obstacles to be casually swept aside.

The question everyone wanted answered was simple:

Could the Bronze 2 mantis defeat a Gold-rank opposition?

Or had they finally found the ceiling that even Renʼs smallest abnormal beast couldnʼt break through?

Ren stepped into the arena with the same calm expression, showing no concern about rank disadvantage that should have been insurmountable.

And Liu watched him with patient eyes that implied heʼd been waiting for this confrontation.

Two students whoʼd trained together, lived together.

Two beasts that had never faced each other in serious combat.

One arena that would finally provide an answer to a question that had been building since the tournament began.

Master Lin raised her hand to begin the match.

And in the stands, Renʼs parents, his friends and mates, even Julius and Selphira leaned forward slightly despite themselves.

Because this fight would reveal whether Ren truly was untouchable...

Or whether Gold rank still meant something against all his accumulated advantages.

♢♢♢♢

REN POV

Ren knew he couldnʼt afford to drag out the battle with too much probing, so he sent the mantis to attack instantly with an explosive burst of wind-enhanced power.

Finally the mantis would face an opponent that surpassed her own rank by a significant margin that couldnʼt be dismissed through accumulated advantages. Not high Silver bordering on Gold through borderline status.

Solid Gold rank without any qualification or ambiguity.

Liu didnʼt have much experience using the complete capabilities of his new level, only some months passed since achieving the breakthrough. There were still abilities he hadnʼt mastered completely, nuances of power he hadnʼt explored fully.

Ren wanted to see how many he was lacking still.

Yet even without total mastery that came from prolonged practice...

It was a Gold-rank beast following the perfect cultivation path that Ren himself had structured for Liu specifically.

And that meant something fundamental about its baseline capabilities and potential ceiling.

Ren knew Liuʼs previous battles in this tournament hadnʼt cost the vampire almost anything in terms of energy expenditure. It could absorb vitality from its opponents and recover with the stolen life force that made stamina management irrelevant. Each victory left it practically as fresh as at the start rather than accumulating fatigue like normal beasts.

So Ren couldnʼt count on facing a weakened vampire that would be easier to defeat through superior endurance.

It would be fresh…

Complete. A powerful beast operating at maximum capacity with full reserves.

And it had specific advantages that made this confrontation particularly problematic for him compared to previous Silver-rank opponents whoʼd been easily overwhelmed.

Sound attacks were the first major problem that couldnʼt be countered from a distance through simple evasion. The vampire could project sonic waves that didnʼt require direct line of sight to be effective. Attacks that bounced off walls, filled spaces, found targets even when you couldnʼt see them visually through normal perception.

Aerial advantage more pronounced than any previous opponent had possessed in the tournament. The vampire didnʼt just have the flight capability as a secondary feature… it was a creature specifically designed for aerial combat through evolutionary specialization. And primarily, most importantly for countering the mantisʼs signature advantage...

The sonar.

The vampire navigated through natural echolocation like bats from which its lineage descended. It didnʼt need to see its prey with gaze that could be deceived by invisibility. Could track by sound, by echo of its own cries bouncing off objects and returning with information about position, movement, even size and shape.

Which meant the mantisʼs invisibility advantage that had proven decisive in previous battles...

Wouldnʼt serve much purpose against this opponent. Or possibly none at all.

It was a true counter situation. Almost perfect as if the vampire had been designed specifically to neutralize the mantisʼs primary advantages through natural evolutionary specialization.

Many in the audience expected that Ren would finally use a different beast for this obviously disadvantageous matchup.

The wolverine with its superior elemental control that Liu had less experience countering. Or the hydra that had demonstrated impressive capabilities with its new head and after the jade mana absorption.

Either of those options would be more logical than sending the mantis against such an obvious counter.

But when both combatants manifested their beasts for official match start...

To the surprise of many observers whoʼd been expecting tactical adjustment based on matchup theory...

Ren still called forth the mantis without hesitation.

The creature appeared in her familiar form. Slender and lethal with deceptive fragility that hid overwhelming power.

And facing her across the distance, Liuʼs vampire materialized in its full glory.

Creature standing five meters tall already, actually small for Gold rank which typically grew larger. Membranous wings extending five meters from tip to tip on each side when fully spread for flight. Red eyes gleaming with hunger that never became completely sated no matter how much it fed. Fangs exposed in a ʼsmileʼ that contained no humor, only predatory anticipation of coming battle.

Gold rank proven through recent breakthrough.

Against Bronze 2 mantis that shouldnʼt pose a threat.

The imbalance was obvious to anyone watching with a basic understanding of cultivation. Evident in size difference alone before considering rank advantages that multiplied power.

But Ren didnʼt look worried despite the seemingly impossible matchup that violated common sense.

His expression remained tranquil and confident in ways that suggested he possessed plan nobody else could see yet through surface observation.

Liu looked at him from the opposite side of the arena, their eyes meeting for moment across the distance that would soon become battlefield.

And something passed between them in that brief exchange.

This wouldnʼt be like previous battles where overwhelming force secured easy victory in seconds.

This would be a real challenge that tested actual limits rather than demonstrating superiority.

Finally a fight worth remembering.

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