A crowd of students had gathered outside the Trial Tower, discussing amongst themselves:


    "Do you think Charles can sessfully challenge the fifth level of the Trial Tower now that he''s be a Level 4 Beast Master?"


    "That''s unlikely. Bing a Level 4 Beast Master doesn''t give him an advantage. He just contracted his fourth mystical beast, and the enemies he will face are at a higher level than him."


    "That''s true. A Level 3 Beast Master still has advantages when challenging the Trial Tower. The higher the Beast Master level, the greater the power gap between them."


    "If Charles challenges it again, I bet his score will be worse than the first time. He probably won''t make it onto the Level 4 Beast Master leaderboard."


    "Definitely. It''s only been a few days. Charles''s strength isn''t going to improve that quickly."


    Inside the Trial Tower, Charles didn''t rush into the challenge. Instead, he chose to stay in front of the stone wall in the center of the tower for a while longer.


    He wanted toprehend as many images as possible so that he could speed up his understanding ofbat techniques during the challenge.


    However, this approach had its pros and cons, managing the progress of all thebat techniques would increase the difficulty.


    Afterprehending the three images again, Charles entered the first level of the Trial Tower and began his challenge.


    The familiar scene unfolded as the dense white fog appeared, only to dissipate quickly.


    This first level was no longer a dense forest but the ruins of Calivia.


    Everywhere he looked, there were broken cars and high-rise buildings, clearly a battleground suited for a metal-type Beast Master.


    Sure enough, in the next moment, a steel supreme spear, as thick as a fist, shot toward Charles.


    Charles quickly retreated, creating some distance.


    The distant scenery began toe into focus, revealing two Beast Masters at the street corner, each apanied by four mystical beasts.


    "It seems that after my level increase, the enemies'' levels also went up. No wonder they say the Trial Tower is so difficult."Charles remarked, not surprised.


    He had known it would be like this all along, he was just slightlymenting the difficulty the Trial Tower posed to ordinary Beast Masters.


    After all, being able to defeat enemies of the same level is already impressive for an ordinary Beast Master.


    Not to mention defeating two enemies of the same level at once, aside from the talented students from a few major academies, the rest are mostly from prestigious families or experienced Beast Masters.


    "Come on, let me see just how strong I am now!" Charles didn''t summon his long knife.


    He thought about how he would have toplete the "Reaper''s Scythe" challenge in the underground octagonal cage in Genosha, where he couldn''t use any equipment.


    Why not take this opportunity to train his unarmedbat skills?


    Charles nned to control himself during the actual fight and avoid using any skills.


    Not only would this help him better understandbat techniques, but it would also prepare him for the future—killing two birds with one stone!


    As for the time ranking forpleting the challenge, Charles didn''t care, those were trivial matters.


    What mattered was strength!


    With that thought, Charles no longer hesitated. His figure surged forward like a bolt of lightning, rushing toward the enemy!


    Five minutester,


    Charles looked at his battered hands, deep in thought. There were still many areas he could improve if he relied solely on physicalbat.


    Around him, the golden mystical beasts, their broken bodies slowly emitted white mist, and soon the fog enveloped him, bringing Charles back into the Trial Tower.


    The wounds on his hands vanished, reced by a slight disorientation. Clearly, the first level''s trial hadn''t inflicted much damage on Charles''s spirit.


    "No need to go back to the stone wall toprehend the images. I already have ninebat techniques, and they''re bing a bit difficult to control. I can''t be too greedy."Charles thought to himself.


    The information prompt in front of him disyed:


    [Unknown Technique (1) in progress, 65% mastered]


    [Unknown Technique (2) in progress, 55% mastered]


    [Unknown Technique (3) in progress, 45% mastered]


    ...


    [Unknown Technique (9) in progress, 15% mastered]


    The initialbat techniques he''dprehended had slowed down in progress due to Charles''s intentional control, while the techniques he had just grasped were progressing rapidly.


    But now, having only ninebat techniques felt a bitcking.


    Charles decided to continue challenging the second level of the Trial Tower to see if he could enhance his control skills. If he could manage it, after passing the second level, he would return to the stone wall and try toprehend a few more images.


    Meanwhile, outside the Trial Tower,


    the onlookers, curious about Charles, were fixated on the data disyed on therge screen outside the tower.


    It showed that Charles took 15 minutes to clear the first level, prompting someone to speak up:


    "15 minutes? That''s so long, it seems Charles overestimated his own strength!"


    "15 minutes isn''t that long. If he cut off another three minutes, he''d make it onto the leaderboard. The 30th spot took 12 minutes and 12 seconds."


    "Exactly, that''s a pretty good time. It''s great for an ordinary Level 4 Beast Master."


    The person who initially spoke listened to the rebuttals from others and after a moment replied, "But he''s Charles."


    The crowd fell silent instantly.


    "Yes, he is Charles. There are too many expectations for him." People started to realize.


    For an ordinary student, 15 minutes was already impressive. But for Charles, who was known as a monster at Cyber Academy, that time was just too long!


    "Do you think Charles is like the first time? As Teacher Ethan said, he didn''t summon his mystical beasts and relied only on himself and his weapons."someone suddenly shouted.


    "Are you kidding me? Charles''s opponents are two Level 4 Beast Masters! Even if he defeated a Level 40 Serpent, that would be impossible."


    "Two Level 4 Beast Masters and eight mystical beasts—that kind of siege is even more dangerous and difficult."


    "Exactly! Facing such an onught, if he doesn''t summon his mystical beasts, one mistake could lead to failure in the challenge!"


    Just as they were arguing, the data on therge screen outside the Trial Tower refreshed again,


    showing that Charles cleared the second level in 35 minutes!


    "See? If he doesn''t summon his mystical beasts, even Charles can''t clear the second level of the Trial Tower!"


    "Exactly, he took 35 minutes for the second level. That''s slow! It must be the same as the first level, where he summoned all his mystical beasts."


    "What do you mean by ''so slow''? Do you believe Charles can defeat three Level 4 Beast Masters?"


    It seemed that some people, seeing Charles''s long clearing time, began to think his talent was waning.


    In the world of Beast Masters, there are indeed those who, at the start, show extraordinary talent, leaving other geniuses far behind.


    They can be Level 4 or even Level 5 Beast Masters in a very short time.


    But eventually, their progress slows down, and in the end, they are not only surpassed by the pursuing geniuses but may even fall behind ordinary Beast Masters.


    "Hmph, just because I''m not doing well now doesn''t mean I won''t in the future."the person continued to mock.


    Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent. He turned to see Ethan appearing outside the Trial Tower.


    The crowd parted, and Ethan walked to the front, looking up at the screen of the Trial Tower, deep in thought.


    Someone cautiously asked, "Teacher Ethan, is Charles''s time for the Trial Tower challenge normal? It feels like it''s taking a bit long."


    Ethan nced at the person and replied, "It''s quite normal. In this world, very few can achieve that."


    "What do you mean, Teacher? Are you saying Charles really didn''t summon his mystical beasts?" The person couldn''t help but voice his thoughts.


    "He didn''t summon his mystical beasts."Ethan said, gazing at the time on the screen.


    As soon as those words were spoken, the surrounding students fell into shock. Someone instinctively eximed:


    "No, he didn''t summon his mystical beasts? So, Charles single-handedly defeated two Level 4 Beast Masters along with eight mystical beasts?"


    "That''s terrifying! I mean, can a human really do something like that?"


    "Yeah, Charles just became a Level 4 Beast Master!"


    "He''s not human! He''s a monster!"


    Listening to the discussions around him, Ethan scanned the crowd. These students really had never seen the world.


    Although they were all geniuses at Cyber Academy, they were still far from Charles.


    "There''s something even more shocking for you. Inside the first level of the Trial Tower, Charles probably didn''t even use any skills."Ethan said lightly.


    From his understanding of Charles''s information, even without summoning mystical beasts, he shouldn''t have taken fifteen minutes in the first level of the Trial Tower.


    No matter how he simted it, the time spent would be far less than fifteen minutes.


    Thinking about Charles''s challenge against the Reaper''s Scythe, a thought crossed Ethan''s mind.


    There was only one possibility left: Charles didn''t use any skills at all on the first level!


    Only in that case could it align with his simtions. Moreover, without using skills, Ethan''s simtion time was twenty minutes, meaning Charles not only didn''t use skills but also improved his physical attributes.


    "It seems that contracting the fourth mystical beast has given him quite a boost."Ethan thought to himself.


    The surrounding students hadn''t yet processed Ethan''s words, which felt like a bomb exploding in their minds.


    After a moment,


    someone stammered, "N-no skills? Relying solely on the physical attributes of a Beast Master andbat experience to defeat two Level 4 Beast Masters?"


    "I must not have slept well, or maybe Teacher Ethan hasn''t slept well!"


    "Is he really that strong? I don''t believe it at all."


    "If I fought Charles, would he be able to take me down all by himself?"


    "Dude, you''re a Level 4 Beast Master, and so am I. He could take both of us down in fifteen minutes without summoning mystical beasts and without using any skills."


    "Not to mention, outside the Trial Tower, Charles could use high-quality equipment, so the time would be even faster!"


    "I''m convinced. I''m really convinced. I dere that from now on, Charles is my god!"