"Cut it out."
Chen Shu and his companion left decisively, not wanting to linger any longer.
At that moment, a sudden rumbling sound shook the black market.
Chen Shu looked up and saw two contract beasts appear on the distant street.
A crimson bird soared into the sky, fire flickering faintly from its sharp claws.
The other was a towering black shadow, over two meters tall, its body pitch-black but clearly solid.
The two beasts were locked in fierce combat.
Although the crimson bird had the advantage of flight, it was being suppressed.
The shadow extended a black tendril like a rope, binding the firebird tightly.
Not far from them, Xu Xiaoyu looked grim—she hadn't expected danger to erupt in the black market.
...
...
The red bird was her contract beast, an A-rank Flamebird.
"Someone actually dared release their contract beast to cause chaos. The Spirit Suppression Bureau will be here soon."
People whispered among themselves and quickly distanced from the street.
Although the black market had some high-level beastmasters, none seemed eager to get involved.
The beastmaster controlling the shadow was already at level nine—subduing him would require an Iron-rank beastmaster.
But Iron-rank beastmasters were powerful figures, qualified to form beast squads and explore other-dimensional spaces.
Such experts rarely showed up in a black market.
Zhang Dali was just an ordinary person, but both his parents were Iron-rank beastmasters.
Otherwise, with his personality, he would've been beaten up a long time ago.
"That's Xu Xiaoyu's contract beast."
Zhang Dali looked at the Flamebird—her awakening had shocked the entire grade back then.
"Naughty Chen, what do you say? Looks like it's our time to act."
"Indeed, it's our turn to strike!"
Chen Shu nodded solemnly, clenching his fists slightly.
The two exchanged glances and nodded at each other.
In the next moment, they both turned and bolted, heading straight for the nearest southern exit.
Their long-standing survival in the underworld was due in no small part to their exceptional running skills.
With the battle between the two beasts about to spill over—
If they didn't run now, when would they?
But just as the two were sprinting for their lives, a choice appeared before Chen Shu's eyes.
[Option 1]: Release the golden slime and directly defeat the shadow beast. Reward: Beastmaster level +1
[Option 2]: Let them die, escape during the chaos. Reward: Slime's charge skill +1
[Option 3]: Capture the enemy first—sneak attack the shadow beast's master. Reward: Golden slime all stats +5%! (Note: Target location locked by system)
[Option 4]: Shout loudly to draw a crowd. Reward: Title: "Non-Human!" Effect: +20% damage to non-human creatures
Chen Shu's expression shifted—the "Non-Human" title was immediately tempting.
The name alone sounded badass, but the effect was a bit lame.
"Dali, come with me—let's beat someone up!"
Chen Shu abruptly stopped and made up his mind to save Xu Xiaoyu.
"As if!"
Chen Shu quickly pulled a large bag from his backpack.
"You actually carry a urea bag with you?!"
Zhang Dali was stunned.
He had thought himself peerless, but clearly, someone was even more ruthless.
"Cut the crap—come on!"
Chen Shu's vision suddenly shifted.
At the end of the street, a figure glowing with a crimson light appeared.
Beastmasters below the Iron rank rarely exposed themselves in public,
since they could only control one contract beast and their real bodies were extremely vulnerable.
Only Iron-rank beastmasters could awaken a second contract beast, giving their body some degree of protection.
A buzz-cut brute stood silently at the edge of the street, controlling the shadow creature without a word.
A wicked grin spread across his face—he looked like a classic villain, might as well have had "I'm the bad guy" carved into his forehead.
To distract him, Chen Shu released his golden slime in advance.
Although only a level-2 beastmaster, his slime had grown much stronger through multiple choices.
Now it stood almost half a meter tall, resembling a moving pile of poop.
"Goo-gee!" The slime opened its big eyes and bounced in place.
Under Chen Shu's command, the golden slime approached the battlefield.
The crimson-glowing brute suddenly noticed something strange in his vision:
a large yellow object appeared out of nowhere, slamming toward the shadow creature.
"What the hell—who threw poop?!"
Startled, he instantly realized that another beastmaster had intervened.
The slime activated its growth skill, enlarging to nearly two meters—its presence now quite imposing.
While the brute was distracted, two high schoolers silently crept up on him.
Chen Shu and Zhang Dali had stealth skills better than some professionals—clearly not their first time doing something shady.
Less than a meter away, they even couldn't help but grin, letting out a sneaky "hehe" sound.
The brute sensed something and whipped around—only to have a bag thrown over his face, blocking his vision.
A barrage of punches followed immediately.
Liu Wuyi cried out, his head ringing, barely conscious.
Chen Shu and Zhang Dali pounded away like berserkers.
If the brute had managed to send his shadow beast to counterattack, their lives would've been in real danger.
So the two didn't hold back.
Despite being just students, both were tall and solidly built—no wonder they always sat in the back row of the classroom.
"Stop hitting! Damn it, stop!"
Liu Wuyi struggled desperately, wondering how he ended up getting ambushed like this.
"Let's knock him out first—he's the class monitor of Beastmaster Class 3, Zheng Yi."
"Top student of Third High School, Brother Wang Teng—do you think this'll get us in trouble?"
"No time to worry about that!"
The two shouted loudly, rhythmically naming names and instantly throwing Zheng Yi and Wang Teng under the bus.
The surrounding crowd looked on speechless.
Who the hell calls people out like that?
By now, Liu Wuyi was losing consciousness—a sharp pain to the head finally knocked him out cold.
Without its master, the shadow creature instantly vanished into its contract space.
Chen Shu also recalled his slime.
Down below, Xu Xiaoyu was stunned—she hadn't expected the crisis to end so abruptly.
"Could a powerful beastmaster have intervened?"
Still puzzled, she noticed a crowd gathering nearby.
Retracting her Flamebird, she walked over.
There, two students were still furiously beating a man on the ground—
his motionless body topped with a urea bag pulled over his head.
"You two?"
Xu Xiaoyu recognized Chen Shu and Zhang Dali.
"Sister Xiaoyu, you came at the right time. This thug here tried to ambush you! But don't worry, I've already taken care of him,"
Chen Shu declared, giving the man a few more kicks as he spoke.
"You guys handled it?"
Xu Xiaoyu was stunned—she'd thought a powerful expert had stepped in.
Turns out…it was these two clowns?