Is This the Gap?

The Iron Claw Weasel moved.

Its hind legs pushed off forcefully, making a dull thud on the floating island's surface, and its entire body shot forward like a yellowish-brown bolt of lightning, charging straight towards Ziyue.

"Rock Smash!" Lu Ruili's command followed immediately.

The Iron Claw Weasel's right claw glowed with an earthy yellow light, a sign of Fighting-type energy condensing. If this attack hit, it would be highly effective against the Ice-type Ziyue.

Ziyue didn't move.

She simply turned slightly, her two tails swaying gently.

Seven Ice Blades shot out from behind her, not aimed at the charging Iron Claw Weasel, but instead blocking all its possible routes of redirection.

"What?!" Lu Ruili's eyes widened.

The Iron Claw Weasel was forced to slow down, compelled by the Ice Blades to charge in a straight line.

Ziyue, meanwhile, had already retreated along a Frost Path, widening the distance between them.

"Such precise foresight." In the staging area's spectator stands, several contestants were watching the match on the large screen.

In the first exchange, the Iron Claw Weasel's charge was neutralized, and Ziyue remained unscathed.

Lu Ruili bit her lip, not discouraged: "Little Tie, don't rush. Metal Claw, continuous attack!"

The Iron Claw Weasel's claws were instantly covered in a metallic sheen. It no longer charged in a straight line, but instead used the floating islands' terrain to move rapidly in zigzags.

The four moving floating islands became its best cover.

Ziyue stood on the largest central floating island, her purple eyes calmly watching the figure weaving between the islands.

The Iron Claw Weasel leaped from the third floating island on the left, its Metal Claw striking directly at Ziyue's flank!

Ziyue didn't even turn around.

She simply leaped lightly, turning gracefully in the air, and at the same time, swept her tails, unleashing another seven Ice Blades.

This time, not all the Ice Blades were aimed at the Iron Claw Weasel; three struck the edge of the floating island it was using for leverage.

A layer of ice instantly spread across the floating island's surface. The moment the Iron Claw Weasel landed, its feet slipped, and its attack trajectory went off course.

Ziyue seized the opportunity to widen the distance again, while a Frost Breath burst forth, its extremely cold mist enveloping the area where the Iron Claw Weasel was.

"Foresight!" Lu Ruili urgently shouted.

The Iron Claw Weasel's eyes flashed with brilliance, and its body instinctively made an evasive move, narrowly avoiding the main range of the Frost Breath.

However, some cold air still grazed its hind legs, making its movements noticeably slower.

"That was close..." Lu Ruili sighed in relief, but her brows furrowed even deeper.

She realized a problem: her commands were always half a beat too slow.

It wasn't that her reactions were slow; it was that Ziyue's movements were too fast. Every time she finished giving a command, Ziyue had already completed her counter, as if she had anticipated all of Lu Ruili's tactics.

"Is this the true power of the Silver Snow Fox...?" she murmured.

On the field, the Iron Claw Weasel shook off the ice shards from its hind legs, its gaze becoming more wary.

It began to move slowly around Ziyue, looking for an opening.

The metallic sheen on its claws intensified, a sign of continuous charging.

Ziyue remained in place, not actively pursuing.

She merely adjusted her stance, and a faint chill began to emanate from her body.

"Little Tie, Iron Defense Stance, then Rock Smash Assault!" Lu Ruili decided to gamble.

The Iron Claw Weasel let out a low growl, and its entire body glowed with a metallic sheen.

With Iron Defense Stance activated, its physical defense greatly increased. Although its speed would decrease, the next strike would be decisive.

It lowered its body, coiling its hind legs to build power—

"Bang!"

The Iron Claw Weasel charged towards Ziyue like a cannonball, its right claw brimming with the energy of Rock Smash. If this strike connected, it should be enough to severely injure Ziyue.

Ziyue finally moved.

She didn't retreat; instead, she stepped forward.

The moment she took that step, the Frost Path beneath her feet instantly extended, not as an escape route, but directly towards the Iron Claw Weasel's line of attack!

The two figures crossed paths in the air.

Time seemed to stand still for a second.

The Iron Claw Weasel landed on another floating island, maintaining its attack posture, as the earthy yellow light on its right claw slowly faded.

On its back, three shallow ice marks were clearly visible.

Ziyue landed gracefully on the central floating island, the seven Ice Blades behind her dissipating.

A few tiny ice crystals clung to her fur, sparkling in the sunlight.

"What just happened?" someone exclaimed from the spectator stands.

In the slow-motion replay, Ziyue executed an extreme change of direction using the Frost Path just as she was about to collide with the Iron Claw Weasel.

She swept past the Iron Claw Weasel from its upper side, while simultaneously, seven Ice Blades accurately struck its back.

The Iron Claw Weasel's Rock Smash attack, however, completely missed.

"That redirection..." someone murmured, "The Frost Path can be used like that?"

Lu Ruili looked at the situation on the field, knowing she couldn't drag it out any longer.

Although the Iron Claw Weasel still had stamina, the side effects of Iron Defense Stance were beginning to show, and its speed was getting slower and slower.

Ziyue, on the other hand, hadn't taken a single effective hit from start to finish, and hadn't even used her A-rank skill, Extreme Cold Storm.

Was this the gap?

It wasn't just a difference in rank, but also a difference in combat awareness.

"Little Tie, one last push!" She took a deep breath, her voice surprisingly calm. "Metal Claw, full power!"

The Iron Claw Weasel raised its head, its eyes burning with its last reserves of fighting spirit.

It no longer considered tactics or positioning, simply gathering all its strength into its claws, then—

Charge!

This strike was everything it had.

Ziyue watched the figure charging towards her. She didn't use Ice Blades for long-range attrition, nor Frost Breath to slow it down.

She simply waited silently.

The moment the Iron Claw Weasel reached her, its Metal Claw about to strike—

A shimmering Ice Armor suddenly appeared around Ziyue.

Ice Armor!

Moreover, the Ice Armor's energy wasn't evenly distributed; it instantly concentrated on the area about to be hit, forming a noticeably thicker layer of protection on Ziyue's flank.

"Thud!"

The Metal Claw struck the Ice Armor fiercely, emitting a dull thud.

Ice flakes flew, but the reinforced Ice Armor only developed a few subtle cracks, without shattering.

The Iron Claw Weasel was repelled by the recoil, and a thin layer of frost formed on its front claws, making it wince in pain.

Amidst the scattering ice flakes, it saw Ziyue's calm purple eyes.

The next second, an Ice Blade, condensed to its utmost, shot out from among the ice flakes, accurately striking the Iron Claw Weasel's abdomen.

"Iron Claw..."

The Iron Claw Weasel's body stiffened, then slowly collapsed onto the floating island.

【Iron Claw Weasel incapacitated! Contestant Lu Ruili of Chenguang High School, please deploy your second pet.】

The mechanical voice echoed above the battle zone.

Lu Ruili looked at the fallen Iron Claw Weasel, silent for two seconds, then sighed.

She landed her maglev skateboard next to the Iron Claw Weasel and gently picked it up.

"You worked hard, Little Tie. You did great."

Then she looked up, met Liu Yi's gaze, and smiled: "I don't have a second pet."

【Contestant Lu Ruili has no second pet to deploy. Match end! Winner: Liu Yi of Tianqi Beast Taming High School!】