Chapter 314 Preparations Preparations

"I changed my mind. I want to join." Yun Zhe declared.

'',

"What?! You're really going to join?!" Black Fog excitedly exclaimed. "Then take my position as Faction Leader. You're the one who taught me the ways of beast taming, after all." Black Fog continued.

'This chapter is updated by N(o)V(e)lB(i)n.',

"This kid?!" The two guards simultaneously exclaimed. They couldn't quite understand the exchange that was happening between Yun Zhe and their Faction Leader Black Fog right now.

The two guards stood still, their jaws hanging down and touching the ground as they tried to comprehend the scene in front of them right now. The young brat they were trying to hold off was receiving the utmost respect from their master. It's as if the young man right there was someone important, and their master exuded the aura of great admiration.

"Why did you come all this way, master? You should have told me that you wanted to come... I'd have picked you up from your abode." Black Fog said as he grabbed Yun Zhe by the shoulder. "Come in, come in; I'm going to show you around." Black Fog offered, pushing Yun Zhe inside the premises before he could decline the offer.

Yun Zhe remained quiet, waving his hand at the guards still standing by the corner of the entrance. They couldn't believe that the young brat they were trying to shoo all this time was actually someone talented. Even though they were just guards, they felt a little bit ashamed of themselves for acting so out of place.

"I guess you really shouldn't judge a book by the cover, huh..." The first guard trailed off, watching Black Fog and Yun Zhe go inside the temple as if they were having the time of their lives.

.....

The day before the Official Beast Tournament.

"That's it. Go a little more to the right. Now swing with full force! Nice, you're getting the hang of it."

Satoshi teleported towards his dad, Tatsuki, appearing a little bit to his right, angling himself so he'd appear right at his father's blind spot. He then threw a good punch, using the White Lion's strength as he integrated with him in a split second.

The sudden shift in Satoshi's attack and his superb power output caught Tatsuki off-guard. Before he knew it, he was sent skittering on the ground, rolling a couple of meters before he got his balance back. He sprang up and put his guard up. "I knew this would happen... Now I regret bringing you over to visit your grandfather right there." Tatsuki clicked his tongue, but a smile was evident on his face.

"See? You don't have to activate your Beast Integration all the time. Once you get the hang of it, you can even show up on the battlefield with no one with you, only ever activating your Beast Integration when you're going to make a specific move. Not only would this lessen your energy expenditure... it will also help you sustain your pace, making you last longer in the fight." Grado pointed out, slowly clapping his hand as he watched the fight unfold in the front yard.

"Right, let's have another round, shall we?" Tatsuki asked. He didn't want to prolong the inevitable since he knew all too well that Satoshi and Grado weren't yet satisfied with one bout. In fact, he didn't even have to ask for a second round since it was already a given.

"All right, I'll be acting as the referee again," Grado said, clapping his hand once as he signaled for the two to assume the opposite sides of the yard.

Heaving a despondent sigh, Tatsuki activated a couple of his plundered superpowers before the match even started. Things such as physical strengthening, quick reflexes, and a couple of buffs would allow him to go head-to-head with his son. Of course, he still had a trick up his sleeve; he didn't want to show it during the first round.

"All right... so the fight would still be fair; I'd still be coaching Satoshi right there. I've already trained you enough, right, Tatsuki? You don't need any supervision." Grado smirked as he spoke, hitting a nerve.

"I'm ready."

As instructed, Satoshi only stood on his side of the field. He didn't even bother integrating with his tamed beasts just yet. After all, the limitations set in place were the purpose of the practice. Grado was trying to simulate a time when Satoshi had depleted his energy, and he could only use Beast Integration for a few seconds. With this premise in place, Satoshi was not allowed to go full force at the start of the match.

But then again, Satoshi was already connected to his familiars, so even without the Beast Integration activated, he could still access some of their basic stats. For example, his heightened senses were thanks to Dex, who shared his skill with his master. Right now, even if Satoshi closed his eyes, he could detect the slightest movement in the wind, giving him the power to pinpoint where the attack came from.

Nevertheless, pinpointing an attack was only half the process. In the split of a split of a second, Satoshi had to decide how he'd receive the attack. Would he deflect it? Block it? Dodge it? Those questions continuously plagued his mind the moment the practice match started.

He couldn't time his attack and hoped the enemy would act as expected. He had to actually read his enemy's mind and try to anticipate how much of it was true or not. This was difficult, of course, but Satoshi knew he just had to rely on his instincts for it to work.

"BEGIN!"

Satoshi closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Tatsuki had no idea what his son was up to. He immediately activated one of his recently plundered superpowers— metal tentacles. In a snap of a finger, Tatsuki's arm turned into a whip monster with metallic tentacles attached to his arms.

He didn't waste any time swinging a couple of the metallic tentacles into the air. The metallic tentacles lengthened, whipping at Satoshi at varying speeds. for a moment, Tatsuki wanted to withdraw his attacks since there was a good chance his son might get killed by his attack. But after seeing Satoshi's first two dodges, he just had to up his game a little bit more.

Satoshi leaned back, almost at a ninety-degree angle, as a metallic tentacle whipped on his chest area. He then jumped to the other side, dodging three tentacles at once who whipped past his arms and legs. After that, Satoshi charged forward, crouching as low as he could as two other metallic tentacles whizzed past his head by a hair's breadth. Even Grado, who had been watching from afar, gulped when he saw just how close the dodge was.

Had Satoshi not been able to dodge those, his head would've flown straight off his stump of a neck.

Without missing a beat, Satoshi did a screwdriver vault in midair, grabbing one of the tentacles and hoisting himself up. He activated his Beast Integration skill in a split second, integrating with Sera and Ghast instantly.

In a split second, he instilled a paralysis condition in his father and teleported behind him. Even though his training under his grandfather had only lasted for two weeks and today was the last day, Satoshi seemed like he had gleaned everything from his grandfather's lesson. The way he moved was way different from before. He was more purposeful and didn't hesitate between his attacks. He also learned how to rely on his instincts more, allowing him more freedom to think during the fight. Satoshi described it as being on autopilot, where his body reacts to all the attacks, and he doesn't have to think about it at all.

But before Satoshi's attack could connect, he saw his father smile sinisterly. It was only a brief moment, but Satoshi immediately felt the threat that emanated from his father.

At that moment, Satoshi felt some sort of pressure from his fist. His attack was about to connect, but he chose to retract it. However, he was a step too late since his father's defensive measures activated, and he was sent flying to the edge of the yard.

"What was that?" Satoshi asked in surprise, even though he already knew what had happened. In that instant, he felt as if he had failed to land an attack on his grandfather... but weirdly enough, he was fighting against his father this time.

"You... that's uncalled for, Tatsuki." Grado clicked his tongue as he beckoned for his son and grandson to come towards him. Just like Satoshi, Grado also failed to realize that Tatsuki plundered his superpower right then and there. And the reason why Satoshi was sent flying was that Tatsuki used condensed air to shield himself from Satoshi's attack.

"I guess that's it for your training, grandson." Grado said with a smile, ruffling Satoshi's hair. "Now go and make us proud during the Official Beast Tournament."