Ch. 243 - Chen Shu — Courtesy Name: Shady Bastard, Title: Nanjiang Bandit

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"Match begin!"

Chen Shu's gaze was calm and steady, the very picture of assured victory.

Xu Xiaoyu summoned her Fire Bird as well, while Xia Bing made no move.

"She's not summoning?"

Yu Ke of Nancang Second High frowned and asked.

"To beat you, two contract spirits are plenty!"

Chen Shu grinned, his eyes brimming with arrogance.

The three from Nancang Second High glared at him furiously. This guy was way too cocky! They were all geniuses — wherever they went, they received praise. When had they ever been treated like this?

"What dirty trick is this kid planning now?"

Shen Wushuang rubbed his chin, eyes thoughtful.

Given Chen Shu's nature, he'd even try to ambush a low-level Beast Tamer. Now facing a strong opponent, there was no way he'd be holding back.

ROAR!

In an instant, the great battle erupted!

The Golden Armored Violent Ape let out a roar, its talent skill Golden Armor activating instantly. Its entire body shimmered with golden light, as if clad in an indestructible suit of armor.

Its four limbs pounded the ground as it charged forward, speed astonishing.

SKREECH!

The Fire Bird's eyes blazed with the light of a skill. Several soccer-ball-sized fireballs shot forth.

But the target was not the Golden Ape — it was the massive Slime.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Holy crap — Xiaoyu, you've defected!"

Fortunately, Chen Shu had anticipated this. He'd ordered the Slime to use Sleep-Kill ahead of time.

The new talent, Resistance, kicked in. The Slime had long since maxed out its foundational resistance potions. Combined with the System's resistance bonuses and the Resistance talent, its elemental resistance had become extraordinarily high.

Of course, none of the percentage-based resistances were additive — reaching 100% was impossible — but it still far outstripped other contract spirits at its level.

Even a Level 9 Fire Bird's skill couldn't break through its defense.

"My contract spirit's being controlled!"

Xu Xiaoyu's face darkened. The instant those fireballs launched, she'd realized she couldn't control her skill's target anymore.

Sure enough — the Fire Bird's eyes now held a faint purple glow.

The Golden Slime was suddenly caught in a pincer attack.

Chen Shu didn't panic. He ordered the Slime to activate Tyrant Body, immediately followed by Charge.

The frenzied Slime barreled forward, its momentum earth-shattering.

Gazing at that mountain-sized monstrous thing, the Golden Armored Ape's eyes flickered with hesitation.

What the hell even IS this thing? Can I really win a head-on collision with it?

But under Yu Ke's command, the Golden Ape roared and charged forward unwaveringly.

The distance between them shrank with every passing moment!

Just as the two contract spirits were about to collide — some spectators excitedly whipped out their phones, cameras clicking — in that instant, the Slime leaped. It vaulted straight over the Golden Ape.

"Crap — its target is me!"

Another Nancang Second High teammate cried out. His contract spirit was a plant type, far too slow to dodge.

Captain Yu Ke remained calm. "Leave it to me!"

The Golden Ape's eyes filled with golden light, and its speed surged dramatically as it gave chase after the Slime.

Chen Shu's lips curved into a victorious grin.

Mid-air, the Slime's body released gusts of wind — the Wind Force skill taken from the Iron-Wing Beast Lord. Using the wind, the Slime forcibly altered its trajectory.

The target of Violent Sitting Kill instantly shifted to the Purple-Winged Illusion Butterfly.

Because the Golden Ape had accelerated so sharply, the butterfly couldn't keep up and was left behind.

Chen Shu had seized the opening he'd created himself!

"That is DEVIOUS! Holy crap!"

"A role model for us all! Now THAT's the mark of a true master Beast Tamer!"

The audience erupted in discussion. No one had expected everything to fall within Chen Shu's calculations.

"He really is something..."

The butterfly's owner snorted lightly. She hadn't expected Chen Shu's real target to be her contract spirit.

But she didn't panic. As a control-type contract spirit, survival skills were mandatory — otherwise they'd be focused down immediately in any fight.

The Purple-Winged Illusion Butterfly's wings blazed with intense violet light, blinding to look upon, and its speed multiplied several times over.

Just as it was about to beat its wings and escape —

A small ice prison materialized, trapping it dead in place!

"What?!"

The three from Nancang Second High cried out in unison. They hadn't anticipated this at all.

The rest of the audience was equally stunned. Had the brute-force Slime been ice-attribute all along?!

"No — look at its mouth!"

Someone immediately spotted the clue. The Slime's giant maw was open.

Inside that pitch-black mouth stood an Ice Wolf.

The Ice Wolf's eyes gleamed with blue light — the ice prison was clearly its doing.

As a control-type contract spirit, how could it have only one talent skill in Ice Domain?

BOOM!

Seizing the moment, the Slime sat straight down.

The contrast between the massive rear and the butterfly's delicate frame was stark. Many in the crowd couldn't help but cover their eyes.

One sit-down from that... it'd probably turn straight into a preserved butterfly specimen...

"Wait!"

The butterfly's owner was panicked. The butterfly's defense was far too weak — there was no way it could withstand that weight...

In a flash, she recalled the Purple-Winged Illusion Butterfly, averting a tragedy...

But at the same time, that meant she'd forfeited the match.

"Damn it! When did you stuff it in there?!"

The three from Nancang Second High clenched their fists. With the butterfly's control lost, the situation had turned dire in an instant.

Chen Shu smiled without a word. While everyone had been gawking moments ago —

The Slime had silently, soundlessly yawned.

Xia Bing, tipped off in advance, had summoned the Ice Wolf directly into the Slime's mouth, hiding it there.

But this summoning method had strict requirements.

First, the Slime had to open its mouth wide enough for Xia Bing to see inside. Second, the Ice Wolf had to be small enough to fit — if the giant maw couldn't contain it, the summon wouldn't work.

"This dirty trick... that's craftsmanship!"

Education Minister Wang Qing's expression froze. He was genuinely stunned.

Beast Tamer combat — Chen Shu had truly figured it out!

"He's a genuine veteran shady bastard! Who'd believe a high school senior could pull this off?"

"I hereby declare: Chen Shu — courtesy name: Shady Bastard, title: Nanjiang Bandit!"[1]

"I declare your declaration valid!"

Viewers watching the livestream flooded the danmaku immediately, memeing on the spot.

"Time to move!"

Chen Shu grinned. This match was basically in the bag.

The Golden Armored Violent Ape was a melee-type contract spirit — it could only fight head-on.

The Slime's response: that was its specialty!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The two frenzied contract spirits collided repeatedly, a display of raw, visceral power.

Nancang Second High captain Yu Ke spoke:

"I refuse to believe a Slime can really go toe-to-toe with my Golden Armored Violent Ape!"

Half a minute later.

"OWWW... OWWW... OWWW..."

The Golden Armored Violent Ape was pinned beneath the Slime's rear, wailing in abject misery.

[1] 字 (zì) and 号 (hào) — Classical Chinese Naming Conventions: In traditional Chinese culture, an educated man received a courtesy name (字) upon reaching adulthood (age 20), used by peers as a sign of respect — a person's given name was reserved for themselves and superiors. Many also adopted a self-chosen art name (号) reflecting their character, residence, or ideals. Historical figures are formally introduced as "[Name], courtesy name [X], art name [Y]." The livestream audience parodies this noble tradition by replacing the virtuous courtesy name with 阴比 (yīnbǐ) — vulgar gaming slang for someone who wins through sneaky ambushes rather than fair fights (阴 = shady/underhanded, + 比 = minced form of 逼, an extreme vulgar intensifier). Chen Shu's "art name" is likewise replaced with 南江悍匪 (Nánjiāng Hànfěi) — Nanjiang Bandit, his self-proclaimed criminal title.