Correcting a Small Misunderstanding (8)

When Caelum looked at Chinov and Astarion, they subconsciously tensed.

Logically speaking, everyone knew it was almost impossible for a cultivator of a few days to defeat someone in the Qi Gathering Realm.

But logic seemed to be failing them recently.

Many spectators in the Colosseum were cheering, chanting Caelum's name.

Astarion couldn't believe that things had even come to this point. His plan to humiliate Caelum publicly had certainly gone down the drain. No matter the outcome of the remaining two matches, Caelum's prestige would only soar.

Still, he did not think he would lose his match. There was a big difference between those who could and could not use Qi, after all.

His main concern now was that Caelum would simply forfeit the remaining two matches. That would deprive him of even the satisfaction of beating him on stage.

"You've hidden your strength well. I don't know what tricks you used to defeat Yehuda, but I doubt they'll work on real cultivators. You're not going to be a coward and withdraw at this point, are you?" he said to Caelum.

He did not realize it was completely unnecessary to try to goad him on.

"Of course we aren't stopping now. We've yet to get to the fun part," Caelum responded, drawing more cheers from the onlookers.

Caelum's confidence increased Astarion's unease. What did he mean by the fun part?!

"Brother Chinov. Let's fight, shall we?" Caelum chose who he was going to challenge next.

Chinov took a deep breath, trying to relax his nerves. He reminded himself that it wasn't him who was the underdog in the fight. This was the power of momentum, and Caelum's momentum was rising.

Astarion was inwardly happy that he wouldn't be going first.

Chinov made his way onto the stage and cupped his fists at Caelum courteously. Caelum returned the gesture, not letting down his 'I'm actually a good person' act.

Chinov said, "I was initially planning on holding back by not using Qi for this fight. But since I still don't understand the depth of your strength, I've decided to face you with all I have."

His words definitely upset the new fans Caelum had gained.

"What?!"

"Have some shame!"

"If you're going to do it anyway, at least don't make excuses!"

Several people cried out from the seating area, becoming more worried for Caelum, while many others couldn't really understand this "fan mentality."

Still, they were surprised to learn that the terms of the bet did not seem to restrict Astarion and Chinov in any way. Wasn't the outcome obvious in that case?

"You are free to use whatever you want as long as it is within the rules, Brother Chinov. I won't hold it against you," Caelum calmly replied.

"You seem very confident…" Chinov tentatively said, trying to get some kind of reaction.

Unfortunately for him, Caelum merely hummed. He clearly wasn't willing to converse any longer. It was time to fight.

Although Chinov noticed that Caelum had yet to draw his sword, he wisely chose not to complain about the situation. If Caelum wanted to underestimate him, then he would not stop him from doing so.

Chinov put both his hands in front of his chest, making a strange sign. Qi surged through his meridians.

"Summon Beast!"

The air to his left crackled, and a portal opened, from which a flaming tiger walked out. It looked slightly smaller than a regular tiger, and flames covered many parts of its body.

It was a juvenile Emberspirit Tiger.

"He is even using his beast!?" Lyra shrieked inside the VIP room.

Beast Tamers tended to be stronger than normal cultivators of the same level, especially if they had a strong beast like the Emberspirit Tiger. This advantage was even more obvious at the earlier stages of cultivation.

However, Lyra saw that her big brother wasn't worried at all. Then, turning to Saya, she noticed that Saya wasn't worried either.

'Just what is going on here?' she thought.

Back on the stage…

The Emberspirit Tiger let out a deep growl. After disappointedly noticing that Caelum wasn't intimidated in the least, Chinov activated another standard Beast Tamer spiritual technique – Mind Link.

This ability allowed him to instruct his tiger telepathically. Normally, one needed to be at least at the Qi Condensation realm to communicate telepathically with others, but special techniques existed for Beast Tamers and their bonded beasts.

With Mind Link established, Chinov instructed his Emberspirit Tiger to flank Caelum's left side.

The tiger charged towards Caelum's left and then lunged at him with its claws outstretched. Its body was a blur of fiery motion.

Just the first attack was enough to make people realize that this beast alone was far stronger than Yehuda.

Moreover, it did not end there.

Chinov used his movement technique – Swiftfire Step – to get closer to Caelum. His body left behind faint afterimages as he moved to circle Caelum.

It could be said that Chinov really wasn't holding back. To him, winning this fight was extremely important, so he teamed up on Caelum along with his beast without giving him the opportunity to pick them off one by one.

For this fight, Caelum used Singularity Shroud to set both his real and apparent cultivation levels to the Body Tempering realm. Doing so even brought down his physical stats to the level they were at before his breakthrough.

Needless to say, he couldn't use Qi in this state either.

Caelum had his own reasons for doing this. For one, Chinov was only at the second stage of the Qi Gathering realm. Even before his breakthrough, Caelum was capable of handling powerful peak Qi Gathering Realm magical beasts.

Beginner Combat Mastery activated at its full power.

Caelum's body shifted ever so slightly. He leaned just enough to make the lunging tiger's claws miss him by an inch. Keeping his balance, he lashed out with a kick.

The kick struck the Emberspirit Tiger's side and sent it skidding a considerable distance across the arena floor.

Bounded beasts accompanied a Beast Tamer on their cultivation journey. The cultivation of the beasts would be the same as that of the cultivator's.

Caelum had to hold back quite a bit to not accidentally kill the tiger. Yes, unlike with Yehuda, Caelum was purposefully going easy on Chinov due to some very pragmatic reasons.

Seeing his bonded beast blown away like that made Chinov wince, briefly halting his actions. But he did not let up.

Using his momentum as he closed the distance between them, Chinov struck out with a palm wreathed in the faint aura of Qi. The blow was aimed at Caelum's ribs.

Caelum twisted to avoid the blow, but Chinov was ready. With a pivot, he redirected his momentum, driving a follow-up kick toward Caelum's hip.

Chinov was ecstatic! The attack had actually connected!

But then he realized that kicking Caelum was like kicking an iron plate. It seemed to not impact Caelum negatively at all. Caelum's 50 points in [Defense] were not something Chinov could overcome.

Caelum made a disinterested counterattack, forcing Chinov to dart back and wait for his beast to rejoin the fray.

'What is up with his body!?' Chinov thought internally.

Needless to say, the crowd was also going crazy over the brief exchange. Many people's previous impressions of Caelum were being overwritten on the spot.

Who the f*** was it that started spreading rumors that Caelum was a fool who tended to overestimate himself?!