The training ground of Wudang High School stretched across a wide field of hardened earth, its surface scarred by countless battles. Here was where students tested their magical beasts, sharpened their instincts, and occasionally settled grudges. Today, the entire Grade 3 Class 2 stood in a ring around the center arena, buzzing with excitement.
And Fan Wei, puffed up with pride, was the most eager of all.
His family was wealthy. His beast was rare. And after yesterday's humiliation, this duel was his chance to crush Ren Tianyu publicly.
When he stepped forward, the magical beast mark on his arm flared.
A dull, earthy-yellow glow shot upward.
"ROAR!"
Something massive crashed onto the ground behind him, shaking the dirt. Students gasped as an enormous boar—its body thick as a boulder—appeared. Its skin looked like it had been hammered from ore, and its curved tusks, glowing faintly white, were long enough to pierce a car door.
The Iron-Skinned Boar snorted loudly, two clouds of hot air blasting from its nostrils.
Tianyu narrowed his eyes. Quietly, he triggered the system's [Probing] function. A translucent panel floated into view.
*
Magical Beast: Iron-Skinned Boar
Level: Black Iron (Middle-grade)
Grade: Rare
Talent: Brute Force (Rare)
Skills: Iron Skin (Normal), Tackle (Normal)
*
Even Tianyu was momentarily surprised. Fan Wei wasn't joking. His beast truly was rare-grade—and its innate talent, Brute Force, was no small matter. With that talent, the boar's physical power could rival higher-ranked beasts if it managed to land a hit.
But landing a hit… was the issue.
Silver Wolf—no, Silver Moon Wolf—was a creature built for agility. Add the Silver Claw and Silver Blade techniques, and Tianyu felt his confidence settle firmly in his chest.
Fan Wei, noticing Tianyu's calm expression, smirked with growing arrogance.
"Tianyu! Look carefully!" Fan Wei shouted, thumping his chest. "My Iron-Skinned Boar isn't some stray mutt like your Silver Dog. It's a rare beast! You should give up now or I'll crush your wolf with my own hands!"
Tianyu simply stepped forward. "Cut the nonsense."
Behind him, Silver Moon Wolf emerged like a piece of living moonlight—silent, smooth, and terrifyingly majestic. It towered over Tianyu, silver fur glinting even under the dull daylight.
Fan Wei's smirk twitched.
He gave the order first.
"Iron Skin—GO!"
The boar let out a violent roar. Its hooves slammed into the earth, shaking the entire ground. Cracks spidered outward from where it stood, and its body coated itself in a metallic sheen. Its eyes burned red.
Then—
BOOM!
The Iron-Skinned Boar shot forward with the force of a bulldozer, dust flying in heavy clouds behind it.
The wind from its charge blew students' hair back. Some stumbled away from the ring.
"Holy— it's so fast!"
"It's like a runaway tank!"
Its tusks cut through the air like twin blades.
But just when those tusks were about to reach Silver Moon Wolf—
A streak of silver flashed.
The boar hit nothing.
"Where—?!"
Gasps exploded around the arena as the gigantic Silver Wolf reappeared several meters away, landing lightly like a shadow drifting through the wind.
Again, the boar spun around, snorting and digging its hooves into the dirt.
Again, it charged.
Again, Silver Wolf vanished, appearing behind it in a silver blur.
The wolf stared at the boar with eyes wide and unbothered—almost mocking.
"Tianyu! Are you only going to hide?" Fan Wei's frustration boiled over. His face turned dark red. "What kind of wolf dodges like a coward?!"
The Iron-Skinned Boar felt its owner's anger and responded. Its hooves stomped harder, summoning waves of yellow soil that vibrated the ground. Cracks deepened across the battlefield.
But Tianyu only smiled gently and patted the wolf's head.
"Xiao Hui, enough playing. Go."
The moment the command left his mouth, Silver Moon Wolf changed.
Its posture sharpened, muscles tightening beneath its shimmering fur. The silver light spreading across its claws intensified, gathering at the tips like sharpened moonlight.
"Awooooo—!"
The howl cut through the sky, chilling every student to the bone.
The air suddenly grew thin.
Before anyone could blink, a bolt of silver lightning streaked across the battlefield.
A deep gouge split the ground in its path.
Then—
"SKREEEEE—!!!"
A piercing pig-like scream cracked through the air.
The Iron-Skinned Boar stumbled backward, its body wrapped in a swirling arc of silver energy. Long, deep wounds opened along its thick hide, blood spraying into the air as the Silver Blade and Silver Claw tore across it again and again.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three—
The boar collapsed backward, exposing its belly in a desperate attempt to curl defensively.
And then—
The Silver Wolf appeared in front of it in a blink.
Everyone froze.
"How… how is that possible…?" someone whispered.
Gasps echoed across the training ground as the battle hit its final moment. Silver Moon Wolf moved with a fluid, frightening grace—its claws glowing like sharpened moonlight. Before anyone could even register what was happening, those silver-white claws pressed down onto the Iron-Skinned Boar's exposed belly.
A sound tore through the field—
RIP!!!
Two crescent-shaped blades of pure silver energy crossed over each other, slicing forward in a perfect arc. They carved an "X" deep into the boar's stomach and then continued forward, cutting through flesh and flying straight into the air before finally fading like dying stars.
Silence fell.
Then—panic.
"What—?!"
"Was that… ENERGY?"
"Impossible! That's impossible!"
Even Zheng Chulan, who had seen countless beasts fight, took a step back in shock. "Energy release… at black-iron level? That's something only high-grade rare beasts can achieve!"
Before anyone could say more, the Iron-Skinned Boar collapsed with a heavy BOOM, sending a cloud of dust spiraling outward. When the dust settled, its entire body was covered in deep wounds, the largest shaped like a glowing silver "X."
The sight left every student speechless.
The boar was famous for its defense—its iron-like hide could shrug off blades and resist blunt attacks. Yet here it was, bleeding, trembling, and utterly defeated… by a wolf that had, until yesterday, been the class joke.
One by one, the students' gazes shifted from the fallen boar to Silver Moon Wolf. Their expressions changed—fear, awe, confusion—and finally, respect. The same classmates who mocked Ren Tianyu yesterday now stared at him as if he were someone from another world.
Their teacher was the first to move.
After making sure Fan Wei was safe, Zheng Chulan hurried to Tianyu. His stern face had softened into something rarely seen—an encouraging smile.
"Tianyu," he said, almost breathless, "please join the special training. You must. With your Silver Wolf… you may achieve extraordinary results in the college entrance exam. I sincerely wish you success."
A teacher who once dismissed him now spoke to him as if he were a prodigy.
The shift in attitude made Tianyu exhale slowly. All at once, reality hit him: strength was everything. A single evolution had changed how everyone looked at him. If this was the reaction for a middle-grade black-iron beast… what about an armored envoy?
Tianyu could hardly imagine how high their status must be.
A spark of excitement lit up in his chest. The future—once dark—now looked bright.
But two weeks remained before the special training began. Two weeks that he couldn't afford to waste.
That night, after returning home, he sat at his desk and thought quietly. Silver Wolf still needed experience points to grow stronger—and experience only came from battles. However, the Green Mountain Base was too safe, too regulated. There were barely any magical beasts inside the walls.
If he wanted progress…
He had to go into the wilderness.
The thought carried danger. Everyone knew what the wilderness was like since the divine revival: forests, mountains, swamps—all crawling with magical beasts. The land outside the walls belonged to them. Humans had built high walls and massive bases just to survive.
Inside the base, humans were absolutely safe.
Outside… everything belonged to the magical beasts.
Hundreds of years of battles had allowed humans to push back a little, claiming small areas of land, but the world outside was still terrifying. Still wild. Still ruled by creatures stronger than any human.
Yet, humans had also learned something important:
Not every area outside the base was deadly.
The wilderness had levels. The powerful magical beasts—the ones that could wipe out entire divisions—never stayed close to the bases. Their territories were deep in the wild. Closer to the human borders were weaker creatures—rats, insects, stray beasts.
These weaker beasts were exactly what Tianyu needed.
Strong enough to give experience. Weak enough that a black-iron Silver Wolf could defeat them.
He made up his mind.
Tomorrow, he would leave the city.
*