Chapter 343 — Shi Jin vs. the Void Emperor

Ning Tianming, Tong Yan, and the others nodded thoughtfully. Even a hero stumbles at the gate of beauty; it was worth a try.

By now, no one was even thinking about beating the Void Sandalwood on sheer strength anymore. Instead, they had started dreaming up every bizarre strategy under the sun.

I wonder how that boy Ji Feng's battle is going.

Outside, President Wang Lin lifted his head and glanced at the spatial rift.

Beside him, the old principal of Kongdu University shook his head. "Don't bother hoping. Even Old Yan was no match for it. These young whelps will fare even worse. Besides, natural energy is thin inside the Void Emperor Ruins, and the Void Sandalwood has its Demon-Sealing Domain. There's no way he can bring his full strength into play."

Hummm!!!

While they were still chatting, a ripple in space announced Ji Feng's silent return to the outside world. Every gaze snapped toward him at once.

Under all those eyes, Ji Feng shook his head.

Seeing that, President Wang Lin and the others sighed. Just as expected.

"I knew it," Heavenly King Zou said, shaking his head as well.

Lu Heng and the others were hardly surprised. They had found that Void Sandalwood impossibly difficult themselves. Even if Ji Feng ranked a little higher in the sequence, as long as both sides were top-tier Masters with King-tier pet beasts, there was a hard limit.

"Then it's my turn next, isn't it?"

The moment Ji Feng emerged, Shi Jin perked up. He sprang to his feet and looked skyward—but in the next instant the rift in the sky slammed shut, leaving Shi Jin and Eleven frozen where they stood.

"Eee-eee!!!" Eleven waved its paw in a fury. What kind of nonsense was this?

"Uh." Seeing this, Feng Jin said, "The Void Sandalwood needs to rest again. It's usually five to thirty minutes each time. We'll have to wait."

Shi Jin plopped back down. What else could he do? Wait.

Ji Feng looked at Cen Yu, then at Eleven. His gaze lingered on Eleven for a long while before he turned to President Wang. "Uncle Wang, I'm not going to test it with any more pet beasts. For the time being, I'm probably no match for that Void Sandalwood. I'll come back after some time."

"Then wait a while. Oh, that's right—the Association seems to be preparing resources to strengthen pet beasts for the assault on the Void Emperor Ruins. When you come back, you might try applying for some," President Wang said.

"Understood." Ji Feng nodded.

Just then, Lu Heng, sitting beside Shi Jin, said, "Ji Feng, you've come all this way. How about a public sequence ranking battle?"

Ji Feng looked at Lu Heng, drew a deep breath, and said, "Fine."

He had never really accepted the Void Sandalwood's claim that his strength was inferior to Lu Heng's.

"Huh?"

"A sequence battle?"

Seeing the two suddenly about to fight a sequence battle, Feng Jin and the others nearby rubbed their temples in exasperation.

Talk about enemies on a narrow road. Lu Heng was clearly out for revenge.

Shi Jin glanced at Lu Heng. Reading her calm expression, he guessed what she was thinking: if she could not beat the ruins, could she really not beat Ji Feng? They had come all the way to Kongdu, after all; surely they could salvage something.

"Oh my." At this, Tong Yan's anticipation kindled. "Great. I hope we get to see the top ten rankings shift."

"If you want to see that, it's simple enough—just accept my challenge," Ning Tianming said, looking at Tong Yan.

"Get lost. Your undead counter my poison. No fight, no fight. If you've got the guts, go challenge the ones ahead of me—Lu Heng, Zheng Hai, and Ji Feng."

"Suit yourself. Anyway, after a while, challenges among the top ten will become mandatory. We'll see what you do then." Ning Tianming had wanted to squeeze the soft persimmon first, and his words immediately made Tong Yan's face turn fierce.

Off to the side, Heavenly King Zou sat at ease. He had no intention of challenging anyone in the near term; mainly, he felt it was too risky. He did not want to lose a battle. He had plenty of fans, true, but he had just as many haters, and they would tear into him again. The black-and-red route might earn more, but he wanted to earn his money standing upright! So, until he was one hundred percent certain, tenth place suited him just fine.

As long as that brat Shi Jin did not pull any tricks, his tenth place should remain quite secure—after all, he had fought his way up to it himself.

"When?" Ji Feng asked.

Lu Heng said, "You rest first."

"On my end, I need to watch his challenge first."

Lu Heng looked at Eleven. Judging by how the Wind Demon Lion had fared against Eleven earlier, she did not think Eleven stood much chance against the Void Sandalwood. Still, she could not shake the feeling that, in terms of elemental advantage, Shi Jin's Qi was a natural counter to any ruin space—something unexpected might yet happen.

"Shi Jin, huh." Ji Feng looked at Cen Yu again. Since returning to the country, he had apparently heard Shi Jin's name often. He was quite interested in this sudden newcomer who had thrashed his alma mater.

"Hello, Senior Ji," Shi Jin said with a slight smile, making Ji Feng feel that this fellow was a little dangerous.

That grinning, cheeky face—one look and anyone could tell he was a walking trouble magnet.

Hum!

No sooner had Shi Jin finished greeting him than the massive spatial rift leading to the Void Emperor Ruins slowly reappeared in the sky. At the sight, Shi Jin wiped the smile from his face, rose again, and looked toward it.

Done resting already?

"I'll give it a try," said Shi Jin. The very next moment, everyone went back to whatever they had been doing, picking up their discussion of how a fight between Ji Feng and Lu Heng might turn out—not a soul paid the slightest attention to Shi Ying's challenge.

Shi Jin: "..."

Eleven: "..."

Screw the lot of you.

......

The Void Emperor's relics.

Once Shi Jin and Eleven entered, they waited a long while more in this space that was like dusk shading into night.

In their line of sight, the Void Sandalwood lay resting not far away the whole time.

Shi Jin and the others did not call out to it either—they simply watched it in silence.

[Energy Value]: 10.01 million.

This was the highest base energy value of any King-class pet beast Shi Jin had ever laid eyes on.

Fortunately, from what Shi Jin understood, this Void Sandalwood commanded no burst-type skills.

Even so, that did not mean the Void Sandalwood would be easy to deal with.

Its super-tier skills were absurdly proficient—every single one of them absurdly so—and it stood a single step from Overlord class.

What was more, when other King-class beasts broke through to Overlord class, they needed only one racial skill at perfect proficiency; this fellow had four super-tier racial skills, all of them already close to perfect proficiency.

And skills like Spatial Blade were, in effect, attacks that borrowed the keenness of space itself—much the same as borrowing the power of nature. To underestimate it because of its energy value would be a grave mistake.

Under such circumstances, even with all of Eleven's many low-tier racial skills maxed out, the pressure would still be immense; after all, Eleven's super-tier racial skills were basically all stuck at the proficient stage, not even at mastery.

So whether they could defeat the Void Sandalwood came down to the combined mysteries of low-tier skills, and to special tactics.

"~~~"

After a moment, the Void Sandalwood spoke.

"You know the rules. One on one. Neither side may use external props, but you are permitted to use your beast-taming talents."

"There is no time limit on the match. Defeat me, and you pass the trial."

It rose as it spoke, its tone lazy.