[Grass!]

[Hehe!]

When the straw man's fist firmly struck the big hippo's skull, it finally woke up with a painful cry.

At the same time, the audience finally came to their senses.

"What the hell, that straw man shattered the big hippo's shell??"

"I can't believe it either, my hard-beaked goose couldn't break that shell!"

"Could it be that Ma He is holding back? But there's no reason to..."

"Now it feels like the situation is different on both sides."

The referee, who noticed the anomaly earlier than the students, quietly raised his wristwatch and scanned over the two summoned beasts.

This was a portable measuring device, a standard for Summoners.

When encountering magical creatures in the wild, such instruments can be very valuable for assessments.

A barely visible tiny green laser dot was projected onto the big hippo.

Buzz...

After the watch vibrated, feedback information quickly came through.

[0 shift, E, LV3]

Though the big hippo was an E+ level summoned beast, it only showed as E here.

Because the convenience of these measuring devices comes at the cost of accuracy, far inferior to large indoor instruments.

LV3 is considered quite good among freshmen at this stage.

If it were usual, the referee would surely nod in approval.

After all, at this level, it would certainly rank in the top 10 during the freshman tournament period.

But now he didn't have the mood to consider this and quickly aimed the laser at the straw man.

Buzz...

A slight vibration, and the feedback appeared.

[0 shift, F, LV10]

"...uh?"

This time, he was stunned.

(What the hell?)

The referee couldn't help but look up at the straw man, who had by now mounted the big hippo's neck.

[Grass! Grass! Grass!]

Each grassy fist continuously swung at the opponent's head.

Watching this straw man who fought as if it were a joke, the referee was stunned.

LV10, what kind of concept is that!

This level even rivals lower-tier second-year students.

Are you sure this little lamer is a freshman? Not a repeating student?

How did he achieve this, nurturing at such an absurd speed?!

"Teacher! I give up!"

Amidst the shock, the referee heard a voice coming from behind him.

It turned out Ma He had circled around to his back along the field.

Actually, Ma He didn't want to give up, but he really had no choice!

Because his summoned beast was now knocked down, with bumps all over its head.

Seeing it continue any further, the big hippo was going to be done for.

Not being able to afford revival talismans and unwilling to use them were two different concepts, especially for new Summoners who were reluctant to let their summoned beasts experience death.

Reminded by the student, the referee quickly took action.

At this level of summoned beast battles, he himself has the ability to stop them at any time.

A [Flash], he arrived behind the straw man.

Both hands passed through its armpits and directly held it back.

[Grass, grass, grass!]

And the straw man's legs kept flailing wildly; it was just about to stomp the opponent when it was stopped.

"Summoned beast, please control yourself."

The referee advised while secretly astonished.

Logically, straw-type summoned beasts are gentle, even timid, why is this straw man so fierce?

The opponent was already down without the strength to resist, yet it wanted to keep stomping. Isn't this a bit too much not respecting martial ethics?

Could it be some kind of alternative nurturing method caused such aftermath?

Yet what he didn't know was that this straw man was copying behavior.

This was Li Pu's most commonly used move when facing magical creatures in the southern forest. After all, in battles with those creatures, there's no talk of martial ethics; it's all about taking advantage when the enemy is down.

"Final result, Li Pu wins."

After confirming that the big hippo was unable (unwilling) to continue fighting, the referee announced the result.

"Great job, Li Pu!"

Standing right behind Li Pu, Wu Guinan immediately cheered for him.

[Roll!]

Roll Turtle: Mighty Straw Brother!

The little Roll Turtle also cheered for the big brother.

It felt that its distance from the big brother seemed to widen, and it realized it needed to work harder.

"This tournament ring is paused, let's take a break."

As for the referee, he gave Li Pu a deep look.

Then he left the platform and walked towards the audience; he needed to find the department heads to report the situation he had just discovered.

"In just two weeks, your straw man has gotten so much stronger!"

As Li Pu walked down the platform, Wu Guinan came up to him.

Among the many freshmen, he was the only one who had experienced the straw man's power.

Comparing before and after, the change seemed significant.

His Roll Turtle, though only LV2, had a defense stronger than the hard-shelled hippo.

But even so, he wouldn't dare claim to be unafraid of the straw man's attack.

"Someday, let your big turtle play with the straw man; it can quickly become stronger too."

Li Pu shrugged.

"Haha, aren't you just trying to let my Roll Turtle get beaten up?"

"And seriously, getting beaten up doesn't make you stronger."

Obviously, Wu Guinan didn't believe those words.

"Alright."

Li Pu didn't say much more about it.

Giving you a chance, yet you don't want it.

"How did you spend the past two weeks? Tell me some interesting things."

Having met Li Pu for the first time, Wu Guinan was quite enthusiastic.

Anyway, his match was also on platform 19, so he had plenty of time.

"That's a long story."

So Li Pu casually picked some anecdotes from the southern forest to share.

[Roll!]

Roll Turtle: Mighty Straw Brother!

[Grass!]

Straw Man: Did you bring money, today?

[Roll!]

Roll Turtle: I did, I did!

[Grass!]

Straw Man: Fool, no paper money!

Like their masters, the two summoned beasts also started to chat.

After a while, Ma He, who had gathered himself, walked over.

"Congratulations, the first place this year truly lives up to the name."

He couldn't help but feel a bit dissatisfied.

Because his summoned beast's skills hadn't fully been utilized, but even if he tried his best, he felt he couldn't beat that straw man.

Ma He genuinely didn't know how this absurd straw man was nurtured, able to crush his summoned beast with mere fists.

Of course, even though he lost in the first round, entering the top 60% and choosing the combat department shouldn't be a problem, given the level of his summoned beast.

"You better watch out for Fu Erdai."

"To defeat you, he also had a very rigorous two weeks."

Before leaving, Ma He kindly reminded him.

"Okay, thank you."

Li Pu nodded but couldn't quite recall the face that matched the name.

[Hey everyone, freshmen, can you hear me?]

At that moment, Mr. Bai's voice rang out over the broadcast again.

...

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