Chapter 46: Zhou Tianhao vs. Tang Yu

On Zhou Tianhao’s side, the light of the third star vein, Tianji, flickered as a red Food Spirit suddenly darted out. It was none other than Red Bean, the very same Food Spirit that had previously guided Dabao.

“Gulu gulu!” Excited upon seeing Red Bean enter the fray, Dabao instantly brightened up. In a sense, Red Bean could be considered its half-mentor.

Meanwhile, Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian, witnessing Zhou Tianhao’s Food Spirit for the first time, also displayed expressions of surprise after scanning it.

“Amazing,” Zhao Qian couldn’t help but exclaim. “The third Food Spirit is at level 34. Typically, the later Food Spirits are weaker, which implies that Brother Zhou likely possesses a four-star Food Spirit.”

Qin Lang smiled quietly upon hearing this. It wasn’t just likely—he knew for certain. In fact, Zhou had two.

His gaze involuntarily shifted toward Tang Yu on the opposite side.

Tang Yu summoned a familiar Food Spirit as well—the very one named Lielie who had previously defeated a member of the Hunting Treasure team.

However, Qin Lang noticed a detail: Lielie, at level 29, was summoned from the Tianxuan star vein, indicating it was Tang Yu’s second Food Spirit. Therefore, her first Food Spirit was likely even stronger.

“Why do they summon their later Food Spirits first?” Cao Dongdong, also observing, couldn’t help but ask.

“In most multi-opponent battles, Spirit Chefs often send out their weaker Food Spirits first to probe the opponent,” Zhao Qian explained, having studied numerous Food Spirit battles. “It’s a cautious and prudent tactic.”

“Brother Zhou and Sister Tang both seem to have chosen this approach.” She compared the Food Spirits on both sides, pausing slightly. “Brother Zhou’s Food Spirits are spicy and fire-elemental, while Sister Tang’s are spicy and fighting-elemental.”

“The flavor attribute aligns, but in terms of elemental affinity, fire counters fighting,” Zhao Qian said, her expression growing serious. “Plus, there’s a level difference…”

“Sister Tang is at quite a disadvantage.”

Almost as soon as Zhao Qian finished speaking, the Food Spirits swiftly closed the distance, cutting it by more than half in an instant.

Zhou Tianhao’s eyes sharpened instantly.

“Cluster, fire at will!”

In the next moment, a blazing fire cannon erupted from Red Bean’s mouth, accompanied by rolling waves of heat, rushing toward Lielie on the other side.

This ultra-long-range strike, spanning nearly half the battlefield, elicited gasps from the spectators.

It was the Cluster Development form of the skill “Breath of Blazing Fire”!

Recognizing Red Bean’s technique, Qin Lang straightened up abruptly.

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Tang Yu’s expression remained unmoved in the face of the sudden attack. Following her command, Lielie twisted sharply just before the flames arrived, effortlessly dodging the strike.

But the battle was far from over.

As Lielie twisted, it executed a series of dance-like movements, closing the gap while silver-gray fighting elemental energy shimmered around its body.

“That’s the fighting skill ‘Dance of Combat,’” Zhao Qian quickly identified. “An auxiliary skill that grants continuous buffs to the user as long as the execution isn’t interrupted.”

Zhou Tianhao clearly noticed this as well.

“Dance of Combat?” he chuckled heartily, then shouted, “Red Bean, let’s amplify!”

“Jili!” Red Bean responded loudly. Flames instantly surged around its body, as if it were burning itself alive. When the heat dissipated, Red Bean’s body was a deeper crimson, its presence even more formidable.

This was the fire-element skill “Warm-up Exercise”!

Qin Lang’s gaze flickered thoughtfully.

This skill provides a substantial instant buff, though its drawback is the inability to use water, earth, wind, or psychic elemental skills—each of which counters fire—in the immediate aftermath. But since Red Bean specialized in fire skills, this limitation was almost negligible.

As the two sides concluded their exchange, the gap between them had shrunk significantly.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Tianhao clenched his fist and swung it heavily through the air.

“Burn!”

“Boom!” Red Bean inhaled deeply, then spun rapidly in midair, spewing flames that instantly covered a large area.

Lielie was engulfed by the flames, but vanished silently from the spot.

That was...

“The fighting skill ‘Tactical Feint’!” Zhao Qian admired. “It’s a deceptive attack meant to confuse the opponent and hide the user’s true position and movements.”

Qin Lang instinctively clenched his fist.

If the Lielie charging at Red Bean was a decoy, then the real one…

“Above!” Cao Dongdong shouted.

As the feint Lielie disappeared, the true Lielie’s position was revealed: it had somehow reached directly above Red Bean, completely evading the spinning “Breath of Blazing Fire” in its developed form.

Wait!

Qin Lang’s eyes narrowed.

Directly beneath the fiery Red Bean, there was another Lielie!

“That’s ‘Clone Combo’!” Zhao Qian quickly explained. “It creates a clone, allowing the next attack to be delivered simultaneously by both the original and the clone!”

“Interesting.” Zhou Tianhao was momentarily stunned, then laughed heartily. “Looks like you’ve made quite the progress over the past year!”

“In that case, we can’t let our guard down either.”

“Red Bean, unleash crossfire!”

“Jili!”

Red Bean responded loudly, its entire body instantly glowing a golden-red hue. Countless sparks erupted from it, rapidly sweeping in all directions like an explosion.

This was the fire-element skill “Crossfire”!

An indiscriminate, massive-area, high-output offensive skill!

“Boom!”

With a tremendous roar, a blazing fireball engulfed over half the battlefield. A streak of light quickly returned to Tang Yu’s star vein, and then another Food Spirit soared forth.

“Looks like Lielie lost,” Cao Dongdong said regretfully.

“No,” Qin Lang shook his head, frowning deeply. “Didn’t you notice? Lielie returned to the first star vein, Tianshu!”

Lielie was clearly the second Food Spirit, yet it flew back to the first star vein.

This was definitely not the passive recall that occurs when a Food Spirit loses combat capability.

“I think I’ve heard of this before,” Zhao Qian furrowed her brow, then quickly recalled something. “Got it!”

“It’s the ‘Nest Usurpation’ trait!”

“Food Spirits with this trait can actively return to other star veins belonging to the Spirit Chef, allowing another Food Spirit in that vein to replace them in battle!”

“Lielie wasn’t injured just now; it used this trait to dodge the opponent’s full-power strike!”

“Ah?” Cao Dongdong blinked. “Can Lielie still re-enter the battle later?”

“Yes,” Zhao Qian nodded slightly. “In a 2v2 match, victory is decided when all Food Spirits on one side lose combat capability. Spirit Chefs are allowed to replace Food Spirits mid-battle as long as they remain capable.”

“But normal replacements can’t occur at the moment a skill is about to hit. Only the Nest Usurpation trait allows that.”

“Enough of that,” Qin Lang’s gaze fixed on Tang Yu’s other Food Spirit, his tone tinged with curiosity. “Don’t you think Sister Tang’s Food Spirit looks a bit familiar?”