Chapter 304: The Master
Chapter 304: The Master
At the Phoenix Nest Training Ground, the stage of the Top 32 Arena.
Perhaps the relentless beating it had endured earlier was finally taking its toll.
The dullahan's advancement was surprisingly smooth.
Under the watchful eyes of the audience, the dullahan's injuries began to heal rapidly.
The few remaining feathers on its body started to fall out quickly.
In no time, the bird became bald.
But it didn't stay bald for long.
Soon, new feathers began to grow back, and along with them, the dullahan's body also grew.
Its original height of around 1.8 meters shot up to 2.5 meters, and its wingspan stretched to nearly 10 meters.
With this length, it was now possible to ride the bird.
Li Wu's dream of riding a bird and flying was finally coming true.
Additionally, the dullahan underwent significant changes in its attributes.
...
Name: Ice Snow Finch (Secondary Evolution)
Strength: 1-Star
Quality: Golden (Improved)???
Attribute: Ice Snow
Status: Excited (Is there anyone hitting me? Is there anyone hitting me??!!)
Weakness: Fire (Minor)
Special Skill: Unyielding Growth (Master)
Advanced Skills: Ice Body (Master) Ice Heart (Proficient)
Ultimate Skill: Absolute Freeze (Mastered) Ice Ray (Mastered)
Talent: Tough Constitution (Passive) (A passive talent that awakens after enduring countless beatings, significantly increasing vitality, toughness, and recovery speed.
As long as it doesn't die, it can keep going!)
Thorn Shield (No changes, just look at it)
Domain: Ice Snow Domain 0.1% (Basically useless, just take a look)
Description: Don't be fooled by its impressive ultimate skills. It's strong, but it's not interested in using them; it just wants to get beaten up.
...
These were the dullahan's new attributes.
On the other side, Li Wu's attributes also underwent changes.
After all, the dullahan was his bird, and with its advancement, Li Wu would naturally receive a feedback effect.
The feedback from this advancement to the Lord rank was substantial. Li Wu, who was in the middle of eating grilled meat, took a long time to recover, making Dudu, who was beside him, extremely anxious.
After recovering, Li Wu took a look at his own attributes and was delighted.
...
Name: Li Wu
Strength: Master Breeder (Lord 1-Star Combat Power)
Mastered Skills: Charge (Master) Ice Body (Master) Ice Ray (Mastered)
Torrent (Master) Dragon Bone Power (Master) Pull Li Wu (Master)
Special Skill: Unyielding Growth (Master)
Dragon Transformation (Beginner)
Summoner Talent: Heritage Power (Awakening) (Analyzing and inheriting power can accelerate awakening)
Shared Damage
Description: If you unleash your full power, you might just be able to put up a fight against the little girl dragon, Intiksis.
...
He gained an additional skill, Ice Ray, and Heritage Power, which had remained in an unawakened state since obtaining it from Heritage Land, began to awaken.
This was a pleasant surprise for Li Wu.
Overall, Li Wu was quite satisfied with today's battle.
However, while Li Wu was content, Guotown Tian was not.
Or perhaps, he didn't know what expression to make.
Just as he had said earlier, he hadn't come to this stage to defeat Li Wu.
He was here to prove himself.
From the start, he hadn't considered Li Wu a worthy opponent.
After all, Li Wu had barely been a summoner for two years.
Guotown Tian believed they were not on the same level, and defeating Li Wu should have been a simple task.
But after suppressing eight other Top 32 competitors in a row, he was easily suppressed by Li Wu, who was casually eating grilled meat and singing.
Throughout the match, his opponent hadn't even displayed their true strength.
And with the little girl dragon's tail swipe and the dullahan's advancement, Guotown Tian's side became a laughingstock.
Although the arena was silent at this moment, he felt as if countless mocking and ridiculing voices were flooding towards him.
At this moment, Guotown Tian felt as if he had traveled back in time to September 1st of the previous year.
As he watched, Guotown Tian was about to fall into darkness and shut down again, but just then, applause broke the silence in the once quiet arena.
"Congratulations to Li Wu and Pang Dudu for successfully advancing!"
The applause shattered the dead air in the arena, and everyone clapped together.
The match ended amidst the applause.
As the applause died down, the University League staff also stepped forward to announce the end of the day's competition.
The second round of the Top 32 matches would take place tomorrow.
There was no other choice; Guotown Tian's three summoned beasts had been beaten up, especially the little monkey, who was nearly killed by the little girl dragon's tail swipe and needed time to recover.
More importantly, Guotown Tian's state was evident to everyone.
He was in a complete state of collapse and shutdown, unfit for battle at this time. It was best to let him rest and adjust his state first.
As soon as the match ended, the person who had led the applause came forward and escorted Guotown Tian away.
This person was none other than Gu Tian, who had been hiding ever since Li Wu went to the capital.
He had initially decided to stay hidden until Li Wu left, but for his son, he eventually came forward. He was glad he did, as it would have been unbecoming of a father to be absent when his son needed him the most.
Gu Tian took Guotown Tian to a rest room.
Inside the rest room, Gu Tian fell silent and slumped, a stark contrast to the confident and proud son he had been in the morning.
"Have a drink of water!"
Guotown Tian silently took the water but didn't drink it, nor did he respond. He just sat there in silence.
Gu Tian sighed, feeling a mix of helplessness, frustration, and mostly, heartache. He crouched down, his eyes meeting those of his son, who had been deliberately avoiding his gaze.
Guotown Tian panicked when he saw his father's eyes, wanting to look away, but Gu Tian held his head in place.
"Look at me!"
Guotown Tian froze for a moment but eventually complied, his eyes meeting his father's.
Gu Tian saw the confusion, despair, and dejection in his son's eyes.
"Look at you, so discouraged!" Gu Tian sighed, rubbing his son's head.
"It's just one loss, is it that serious?"
"Father, this isn't just about losing a match. In the last Breeder Championship, I started learning cultivation at five, but I lost to someone who had only been cultivating for a year. This time, I've been cultivating for five years, but I lost to someone who's been cultivating for less than two years. I've been thoroughly defeated!"
"Everyone calls me a genius, a potential Grandmaster. But now I realize, whether it's cultivation or summoning, I'm just a failure!"
Since he could remember, Guotown Tian had always been the best and most outstanding. He couldn't accept that he was inferior to others, especially the reality that he was like a joke in front of others.
"I could deceive myself, saying that my loss in cultivation was due to my lack of talent. My strength lies in summoning, so I worked tirelessly on it. Do you know how I've lived these past seven months? Do you know the efforts I've made? But now, after seven months of hard work, I stand before him again, and I realize I'm still a laughingstock. How can I deceive myself now? What should I do next?"
Gu Tian listened quietly to his son's confession, without interrupting, until Guotown Tian finished. Then, Gu Tian stood up, fetched two cups of wine from the rest room, returned to sit beside his son, handed him a cup, and took a sip before speaking.
"You're great in many ways, but you've had it too easy. You can't handle even a little setback. You've been beaten twice by the same person, and you're ready to give up. If everyone were like you, many would have hanged themselves by now."
As Guotown Tian was about to respond, Gu Tian continued, "You know Yuan Hua, right?"
"Yes, the president of the Professional Breeding Center."
"Xing Zhan Long, you know him too?"
"Yes, the president of the Professional Summoner Center."
"Zhao Kuan, you know him?"
"Yes, the chancellor of Capital University."
Gu Tian recited over a dozen names in one breath, each a top figure in the current Federation. By the end, Guotown Tian was bewildered, unsure why his father was listing these names.
Then, Gu Tian dropped a bombshell. "What if I told you that all these people I just mentioned were repeatedly crushed and bullied by one person in all aspects decades ago? Some even had their childhood friends, sisters, and fiancees taken away by the same person. Would you believe it?"
"That's impossible!"
"But it's true! Decades ago, there was such a person. He was so terrifyingly talented that he single-handedly suffocated the Federation's geniuses."
Gu Tian recalled the person's splendor, his face filled with complex emotions. "Compared to that person, Li Wu is like a firefly to the sun and moon. In his heyday, he was like a sun, and no star could shine in his presence."
Guotown Tian wanted to say it was a lie, but seeing his father's expression, he vaguely felt that it might not be false.
After much hesitation, Guotown Tian finally spoke, following Gu Tian's lead. "What about him now?"
Gu Tian shook his head. "No one knows. He disappeared two to three decades ago, and no one knows where he went. It's not important where he is now. Even if he's still around, do you think his status and position could surpass those I just mentioned?"
With that, Gu Tian began his motivational speech, looking earnestly at his son.
"I know you can't accept this defeat. But I want you to understand that temporary success or failure doesn't define everything. Even someone as powerful as that person, what does it matter now? In the end, those he once overshadowed are the ones rising from the shadows."
"Also, you shouldn't be too discouraged by today's match. Li Wu's cultivation talent is unmatched, but his summoning talent is far inferior to yours. Before coming to the capital, none of his summoned beasts were Leader Rank Three. Someone helped him cultivate his beasts after arriving. Otherwise, he wouldn't be your opponent. And remember the Bone Dragon by his side? That dragon isn't even his; it's likely provided by his mysterious backer for protection. So, you didn't lose to Li Wu; you lost to the power behind him."
"Your summoning talent is still the strongest in the league. Don't believe me? Look at the University League Top 32; apart from Li Wu, who can rival you?"
"So, you need to pick yourself up and finish this match! Show the world who the true top summoner of the young generation is!"
As Gu Tian spoke, Guotown Tian's eyes lit up, and his previous dejection vanished.
At this moment, Guotown Tian was fully revived!
(End of Chapter)
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