“Blaze Claw.”
It stopped beside the Blazing Lion.
“Zhuoyan, Zhuoyan.”
The Blazing Lion spoke a few words to the Blaze Claw Lion, the flames on its mane rising and falling with its speech.
The Blaze Claw Lion's amber eyes turned to Liu Yi, scanning back and forth between her and Ziyue.
“Blaze Claw.”
Finally, it cried out.
“Bingbing.”
Ziyue tilted her head and translated.
“It says the Blazing Lion can allow us to participate in the trial, but it will be our opponent instead.”
Liu Yi nodded gently. This was already much better than facing a King rank Blazing Lion directly.
Although Ziyue was Ice-type and at a type disadvantage against Fire-type, with her current strength, she might still have a fighting chance.
“I accept.” She looked directly into the Blaze Claw Lion’s eyes.
The Blaze Claw Lion wagged its tail, signaling the other Blaze Lions to clear the area.
The little lions retreated to the edge of the plateau, watching curiously.
The Blazing Lion walked to a prominent rock and lay down, the flames on its mane diminishing slightly, seemingly so as not to interfere with the match.
“What are the rules?” Liu Yi asked, observing her surroundings.
The plateau wasn’t large, and its edges were lined with scorching lava. They had to be careful not to be forced into it.
“Blaze Claw, Blaze Claw.”
The Blaze Claw Lion let out two low cries.
“Bingbing, Bingbing.”
“Defeat me before the lava erupts, or hold out until the lava recedes.”
Liu Yi frowned, “Lava eruption?”
As if in response to her question, a fissure suddenly opened in the middle of the plateau, and crimson lava slowly surged out, only to recede quickly.
“I see.” Liu Yi understood; this trial also involved environmental factors.
When the lava erupted, the entire plateau would become dangerous, so they had to finish the battle before then.
She quietly asked Ziyue, “Are you ready?”
“Bingbing!”
Ziyue nodded resolutely, her two tails held high, their silver tips still gleaming in the high temperature.
The Scaly Snake also retreated from the plateau, ensuring it wouldn't interfere with them, but its eyes remained fixed on them.
“Zhuoyan!”
The Blazing Lion’s voice rang out like thunder.
The Blaze Claw Lion launched its attack instantly, leaping up fiercely, its front claws wreathed in roaring flames, charging straight at Ziyue.
“Ice Armor! Ice Spike!” Liu Yi quickly commanded.
Ziyue’s body was immediately covered in a layer of crystalline ice armor, while eight Ice Spikes descended from above, blocking the Blaze Claw Lion’s attack route.
The Blaze Claw Lion flexibly twisted its body, changing direction in mid-air to avoid most of the Ice Spikes; only one grazed its hind leg, leaving a wisp of white smoke.
Upon landing, it immediately spat out a fireball.
Ziyue dodged sideways, the fireball searing past her fur and exploding behind them, the heat wave forcing Liu Yi to take a few steps back.
Liu Yi: “Snowfall!”
Ziyue tilted her head back and let out a long howl, her two tails standing erect.
Immediately, with her at the center, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and snowflakes actually began to fall from the sky!
“Zhuoyan?!”
The Blazing Lion stood up from the rock, the flames on its mane flaring up fiercely once again.
The Blaze Claw Lion was also clearly affected.
But it quickly adjusted, its entire body igniting with more intense flames, resisting the effects of Snowfall.
“Extreme Cold Storm!”
Ziyue took a deep breath, and the surrounding snowflakes suddenly spun faster, forming a fierce blizzard that surged directly at the Blaze Claw Lion!
The Blaze Claw Lion was hit head-on by the blizzard, the flames on its body immediately halved, and it was directly frozen into an ice sculpture.
The Blaze Lions at the edge of the plateau let out uneasy growls, a few even hiding behind rocks.
However, perhaps due to being in the high-temperature environment of the Lava Mountain Range, coupled with the imminent lava eruption, the Blaze Claw Lion’s ice sculpture was already beginning to melt.
“Time is running out.” Liu Yi glanced at the increasingly active lava. “We must end this swiftly.”
The Blaze Claw Lion, having mustered all the flames in its body, and aided by the environmental factors, had already broken free from its frozen state.
It gasped, lowered its body, and concentrated all the flames from its body onto its front claws, forming two massive flame blades.
Liu Yi already felt the terrifying heat. “Frost Path, create distance!”
Ziyue immediately laid out an ice path beneath her feet, quickly sliding to the other side of the plateau.
The Blaze Claw Lion’s massive flame blades struck where Ziyue had just stood, and the rock instantly melted into crimson liquid.
“Frozen Bite!” Liu Yi seized the brief stun after the Blaze Claw Lion’s attack and ordered a counterattack.
Ziyue leaped fiercely from the Frost Path, her teeth covered in ice, biting precisely onto the Blaze Claw Lion’s foreleg.
“Blaze Claw!”
The Blaze Claw Lion cried out in pain, and a layer of frost immediately formed on its foreleg.
Liu Yi noticed the bitten area began to glow with an eerie blue, indicating the [Frostbite] effect had triggered.
“Ice Blade.”
Ziyue immediately unleashed seven Ice Blades, all aimed at the spot where the Blaze Claw Lion had just been bitten.
Under the dual buffs of Snowfall and [Frostbite], the Ice Blades’ power reached its peak.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Direct hits!
The Blaze Claw Lion’s foreleg was completely frozen. It struggled to maintain its balance, but the plateau suddenly shook violently.
The lava eruption was about to begin.
Crimson lava surged from the fissure, splashing across the plateau.
A chunk of lava shot straight towards Ziyue, about to strike her defenseless back.
The Blazing Lion’s mane suddenly erupted with dazzling flames, and it let out a low growl.
A scorching flame barrier rose from the ground, precisely blocking between Ziyue and the splashing lava.
The lava struck the barrier, sending countless sparks flying, but it could not penetrate in the slightest.
“Zhuoyan!”
The Blazing Lion took a step forward, its forepaw striking the ground heavily.
The plateau’s shaking subsided, and the surging lava seemed to be suppressed by an invisible force, slowly retreating back into the fissure.
“Bingbing?”
Ziyue tensed her body warily.
But the Blazing Lion merely wagged its tail, and the flame barrier dissolved into tiny sparks that vanished into the air.
It turned its gaze to Liu Yi, stared at her for a moment, then cried out twice.
“Zhuoyan, Zhuoyan.”
Ziyue blinked, then turned to translate.
“Bingbing, Bingbing.”
“It says the trial is over, and we passed.”
Liu Yi relaxed.
The Blaze Lions at the edge of the plateau rustled closer, a few even curiously sniffing the ice crystals on the Blaze Claw Lion’s foreleg with their noses, only to shiver from the cold and jump back.
Only then did Liu Yi notice that the Blaze Claw Lion’s foreleg was still frozen. “Ziyue, help it thaw.”
Ziyue trotted over and gently touched the Blaze Claw Lion’s foreleg, and the ice crystals immediately turned into water vapor and dissipated.
“Blaze Claw.”
The Blaze Claw Lion moved its foreleg, which had regained sensation, and nodded at Ziyue.
The Blazing Lion walked to the center of the plateau, the flames on its mane having returned to normal.
“Zhuoyan.”
It let out a low cry.
“Bingbing.”
“You can choose one Blaze Lion to contract.”
The little lions on the plateau immediately became lively, a few even walking up to Liu Yi and rubbing their heads against her leg.
Liu Yi crouched down and stroked them.
These little lions had warm fur and felt very pleasant to the touch.
Liu Yi was indeed somewhat tempted by Fire-type pets.
Perhaps after exploring all the main areas of the Secret Realm, she would choose to return and contract a Blaze Lion.
For now, however, Liu Yi stood up and said to the Blazing Lion, “I only entered the Secret Realm two days ago. I’d like to see all the remaining main areas before making a decision, if that’s alright?”
After listening, the Blazing Lion paced back and forth twice, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded at Liu Yi.
After watching Liu Yi and her companions leave the Lava Mountain Range, the Blazing Lion called the Blaze Claw Lion to its side and whispered a few instructions.
...
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