Ch. 293 - Are You Rating Livestock Here

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Boom, boom, boom!

The Slime charged forward like a tank made of flesh, brimming with berserk power!

"Roar!"

The Boulder Colossus showed no fear either. Its body was a full seven or eight meters tall, like a three-story building — its presence was absolutely terrifying.

Just as the two were about to collide—

The Slime leapt into the air and unleashed [Violent Sit-Kill] .

"You think you can crush me?"

Ning Qingyi furrowed her brow slightly. Light bloomed across the Boulder Colossus's body as its defense instantly shot up by a massive margin.

But in that same instant—

The Slime, which had only been five meters, inflated at a shocking rate, like it had been pumped full of air.

"That huge?!"

The three of them stared dumbfounded, their vision utterly overwhelmed.

A forty-meter contract spirit was extremely rare even among Black Iron ranks. Unless the spirit was born with an exceptional physique, reaching that size was basically impossible.

"Shit!"

Unease surged through Ning Qingyi's heart. But the Boulder Colossus wasn't fast to begin with — there was no escaping now.

BOOM!

A massive crash rang out as the sparring platform itself shuddered.

"Goo-gii!"

The Slime wiggled its rear, pressing the Boulder Colossus firmly beneath it.

Ning Qingyi was just about to order her contract spirit to unleash a skill when her expression suddenly changed.

"My skills are sealed?!"

Her face turned rather ugly. The Boulder Colossus was a Black Iron Two-Star contract spirit, yet it had been controlled by a mere Black Iron One-Star Slime.

"Leave it to me!"

Lu Zhining spoke up. The Black Thunder Bird's twin eyes blazed once more with the glow of a skill.

A bolt of lightning, blindingly bright, shot straight toward the Slime.

CRACK!

The lightning dissipated, leaving behind a ghastly wound. Colorless blood flowed continuously from the gash.

"What brutal attack power!"

Chen Shu rubbed his chin. That lightning bolt packed way more punch than the thunder orb from earlier.

Little Yellow was only Black Iron One-Star, and it hadn't consumed any Black Iron-grade potions. Getting its defense broken in one hit was perfectly normal.

A smile crept onto Ning Qingyi's gentle, elegant face. "You keep attacking! I can hold out!"

Granted, the Slime had locked down the Boulder Colossus — but that meant the Slime itself couldn't move either.

Once they took down the Slime, victory was theirs!

The momentum seemed to be shifting!

Just as the Black Thunder Bird was about to attack again, another wind blade came tearing through the air!

"Awooo!"

The Husky bounced and bounded around, its eyes blazing with the glow of a skill.

Lu Zhining had been watching out for the Husky the whole time.

The Black Thunder Bird flapped its wings, evading the attack well in advance.

It began circling the Slime in flight, clearly not interested in trading skill-for-skill with the Husky.

The Black Thunder Bird's defense was weak, and it had already taken some damage in the opening exchange.

In a head-to-head damage race, there was no guarantee it could hold out to the end.

"So you want to out-damage my Husky, huh?"

Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. He saw right through their plan.

Right now, the Slime and the Boulder Colossus had both become nothing more than punching bags.

Whoever knocked out their opponent first would create a two-on-one crush situation.

Lu Zhining was clearly confident in the Black Thunder Bird's attack power.

"Awooo!"

The Husky let out a howl — and an absolutely identical Husky materialized out of thin air!

"A clone skill?!"

The three of them shouted in unison, disbelief written all over their faces.

Lu Zhining quickly steadied herself and spoke up. "No, it might just be a similar skill!"

Textbooks clearly stated that Elemental Beasts had absolutely nothing to do with the divine skill [Clone] .

"...Could it actually be real?"

Fang Si rubbed her chin. She didn't seem especially doubtful.

Because the Chen Shu standing in front of her was, fundamentally, a being who defied all truth.

"Awooo! Awooo!"

The two Huskies bounced around nonstop, instantly driving everyone to peak irritation.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

In that instant — fireballs, ice balls, wind blades, falling lightning — skill after skill hammered relentlessly into the Boulder Colossus.

Now it all came down to one question: who would crack first, the Slime or the Boulder Colossus?

Time slowly ticked by.

Lu Zhining's expression shifted. Her earlier confidence drained away.

At the start, the Black Thunder Bird's power had been fearsome. It was a Black Iron Two-Star contract spirit, and it had maxed out on Lightning Potion consumption — not something the Husky could compare with.

But as [Sustained Assault] continued stacking...

The Husky's skill damage climbed to an absolutely terrifying level.

CRACK!

An ice ball blasted forward. It was supposed to be a control-type skill — yet it shattered the Boulder Colossus's scales in a single strike.

The Husky's attack power had even surpassed Fang Si's Scarlet Flame Dragon.

Right then, both Huskies' eyes ignited with identical brilliance.

Two bolts of [Lightning Strike] came crashing down — but they didn't aim for the Boulder Colossus. They struck the sparring platform itself.

BOOM! BOOM!

The lightning scattered. The floor now bore a three-decimeter crater.

"We're done. We can't fight anymore!"

Ning Qingyi swallowed hard, her face a mask of terror.

The sparring platform was supposed to withstand any Black Iron-level skill. But now it had been damaged.

Which meant... the damage on those Lightning Strikes had reached a level that could only be described as utterly horrifying.

"Senior, stand down."

Chen Shu spoke calmly. "You're surrounded by Huskies."

"Awooo! Awooo!"

The two Huskies' bodies shimmered with light as they bounced around, radiating an oppressive pressure. This was the effect of [Sustained Assault] .

The damage on any one of its skills had more than doubled.

"..."

Left with no choice, Ning Qingyi recalled the Boulder Colossus into her Beast Space.

"We lost... we actually lost..."

Lu Zhining's expression went blank. She sighed and recalled the Black Thunder Bird as well.

"Your contract spirits really are D-rank?"

All three of them stared, utterly baffled. D-rank contract spirits had just beaten the crap out of A-rank and S-rank spirits.

Chen Shu ignored their questions. He'd pulled out a small notebook and was earnestly scribbling something down.

He muttered under his breath as he wrote:

"First battle at Huaxia Academy..."

"Rock Monster. Fake Rating: S. Real Rating: D. Composite Rating: E."

"Big Black Bird. Fake Rating: A. Real Rating: E. Composite Rating: G."

All four of them turned to stare, jaws hanging open. Was this guy for real?!

Never mind the fact that he was casually giving their contract spirits insulting nicknames.

What kind of livestock-tier rating system was this?

Or rather — are you seriously out here rating livestock?!

Lu Zhining's eyes went particularly wide, her expression one of absolute disbelief.

What the fuck did Rating G even mean?!

In her entire life, she had never once heard of a G rating. Wasn't F supposed to be the lowest?!

"Alright, that's enough!"

Fang Si's mouth twitched. This guy was truly a piece of work. Not a single curse word, and yet he'd roasted them harder than any insult could.

Chen Shu nodded contentedly and tucked the notebook away.

"Senior Lu, Senior Ning — why do you two look so terrible?"

"Haa... haa..."

Ning Qingyi spun around. She no longer wanted to look at Chen Shu.

Fang Si hurriedly asked, "Qingyi, where are you going?"

"The Rock Monster... uh... the Boulder Colossus is injured. I'm going to the infirmary."

Lu Zhining also turned to leave, heading toward the exit of the Beast Taming Arena.

"Ah Ning, where are you going?"

Lu Zhining looked back, her expression full of resentment. "I'm injured. I need to go to the infirmary..."

Qiao Yue glanced at Chen Shu and said, "Sis Fang Si, you were right. Everything really does need to be verified in person!"

The sunny-boy-next-door act had evaporated without a trace.

All that remained was a grinning, gleefully smug Nanjiang Bandit...

The three of them still struggled to accept reality, but deep down, they had already acknowledged Chen Shu's strength.

Fang Si made the announcement. "In three days, we officially depart for the [Living Wood Swamp] ."

They needed a little time to let the wounds heal, after all...

[1] Are You Rating Livestock Here? (你搁这给牛马评级呢): The Chinese title uses "牛马" (niú mǎ, literally "oxen and horses") — 2020s internet slang for exploited workers treated as subhuman labor. Here it functions as a dismissive intensifier ("what kind of bullshit rating system is this?") while the literal meaning ("livestock") plays off Chen Shu literally grading contract spirits like animals at a market. The humor escalates when Chen Shu invents a G rating — a tier that doesn't exist in any standard A-F grading system, making it the ultimate insult: F isn't low enough to express his contempt.

[2] Rock Monster / Big Black Bird: Chen Shu's dismissive nicknames for the Boulder Colossus (石岩巨兽 → 石头怪兽) and Black Thunder Bird (黑雷鸟 → 大黑鸟) are characteristic of his "Bandit Logic" — reducing opponents to absurd labels before assigning them fake ratings.

[3] P.S. for panels cannot be PS'd (信息面板是不能P的): A classic Chinese internet meta-joke: "PS" has been verbified in Chinese to mean "to digitally alter/falsify" (like "to Photoshop something"). The joke is that even though no one can actually edit a contract spirit's info panel, Fang Si's first instinct upon seeing Chen Shu's absurd skill levels is to ask if he Photoshopped it.