There wasn't much in the way of pleasantries; after a brief self-introduction, the battle was ready to begin.
The referee was none other than Qian Gu Lidai.
Besides her, there were no other live spectators.
As for whether there were viewers watching the live broadcast from outside, there should be.
After all, this was the Qian Gu Family's secret realm, so for the Qian Gu Family's high-ranking officials, it should be quite easy to know what was happening here.
And that was exactly the case.
In the small village where the Qian Gu Family resided.
At this moment, inside a modern room, sat a middle-aged man and two youths, a boy and a girl, both around Lin Chuan's age.
The middle-aged man, named Qian Gu Zhengxiong, was the high-ranking elder of the Qian Gu Family that Qian Gu Lidai had mentioned; he was the one who approved Lin Chuan's challenge, arranged this match, and set the stakes.
The other two, the boy and the girl, were the other two opponents Qian Gu Zhengxiong had arranged for Lin Chuan, both genius Beast Masters from the younger generation of the Qian Gu Family.
"Lord Zhengxiong, do you think Shu can win?"
Qian Gu Nami, a slender girl with a neat single ponytail, asked hesitantly.
Qian Gu Zhengxiong shook his head slightly.
"From the perspective of Beast Master level, this young man named Lin Chuan should be almost Level 17, two levels higher than Xiao Shu."
Although not explicitly stated, Qian Gu Zhengxiong's attitude already indicated that he was not optimistic about Qian Gu Shu.
The other youth, named Qian Gu Yicheng, a well-built boy with a resolute face, seemed a bit displeased.
"Lord Zhengxiong, no matter what, Shu is still a top 10 genius of our generation."
"This Lin Chuan, although from the Star Rock Federation, is just a commoner."
Qian Gu Zhengxiong stared at Qian Gu Yicheng and snorted lightly.
"If he were from a noble family, I would be more optimistic about Shu."
"However, precisely because he comes from a commoner background, I am optimistic about him."
"Under the grace of the Qilin Emperor, the Star Rock Federation has a universal Beast Master system, with a total of 526 examination points. Each point produces at least hundreds of thousands, sometimes over a million new Beast Masters annually, and he fought his way out of at least hundreds of thousands of new Beast Masters from one examination point."
"Just tell me, if you were in his position, without the help of a family, could you stand out from hundreds of thousands of new Beast Masters?"
Qian Gu Zhengxiong questioned in a deep voice. Qian Gu Nami remained silent, and Qian Gu Yicheng opened his mouth, wanting to say he could do it. However, under Qian Gu Zhengxiong's cold gaze, he swallowed his empty words back down his throat.
"Forget the Star Rock Federation, even in our Dongyang."
"Think about those Beast Masters who emerged from commoners and advanced to Tier 1. Which one of them was ordinary?"
Although the Dongyang Ten Families tacitly concealed the true path of Beast Mastery, spreading incorrect methods to commoners.
However, there would always be a few lucky ones who, for various reasons, learned the truth, or even found possibilities where there were none, successfully breaking through to Tier 1 and embarking on the true path of Beast Mastery. Such Beast Masters, once grown, even the Ten Families dared not underestimate.
For such people, they either took them in as dogs, making them marry into a certain family, or directly eliminated them.
Of course, there were also those who escaped the hunt of the Ten Families, becoming existences that the Ten Families were helpless against and unwilling to offend.
"For example, Katori Chion."
Qian Gu Zhengxiong spoke the name.
For a moment.
Qian Gu Nami and Qian Gu Yicheng were completely speechless.
Katori Chion had half the bloodline of the Star Rock Federation's royal family.
But her growth had absolutely no support from the Star Rock Federation's royal family. She fought her way out of the commoners, striking fear into the Beast Masters of the Dongyang Ten Families, defeating them until no one dared to face her.
Ultimately, the Dongyang Ten Families compromised, allowing her to become the City Lord of Kyoto City, effectively giving her a small portion of Dongyang's resources.
"City Lord Katori, she... she's almost breaking through to Level 70, isn't she? Will the Dongyang Ten Families become the Eleven Families?"
Qian Gu Yicheng suddenly spoke, asking.
His gaze sharpened, becoming chilling and eerie. Even towards his own clan's younger generation, Qian Gu Zhengxiong's killing intent was palpable.
"This... is not something you should ask."
"I apologize, Lord Zhengxiong."
Qian Gu Yicheng immediately bowed his head and apologized.
"Hmph."
Qian Gu Zhengxiong glared heavily at Qian Gu Yicheng again, then withdrew his gaze and refocused on Lin Chuan in the monitor screen.
At the same time, Qian Gu Zhengxiong sneered inwardly.
"The Dongyang Eleven Families, it won't be that easy."
...
"The rules are 3+1 Wild Battle."
"The venue is this forest right now."
"Unlimited use of any items is allowed, but the use of items exceeding limits is prohibited. As for what constitutes exceeding limits, I believe you know in your hearts: items that, once used, make the match dull and meaningless."
"Fatal attacks on Beast Masters are prohibited. After a Spirit Beast loses its combat ability, pursuing and finishing it off is prohibited."
"Victory conditions: knock down the opposing Beast Master, or knock down all of the opponent's Spirit Beasts."
"These are all the rules."
At this point, Qian Gu Lidai paused.
She looked at Lin Chuan, then gazed at Qian Gu Shu, and Qian Gu Lidai asked,
"Any questions?"
Lin Chuan and Qian Gu Shu both shook their heads slightly, indicating they had no questions about the rules.
"Then that's it. You have 10 minutes of preparation time."
"When the time is up, I will fire a flare, signifying the official start of the battle."
"Now, the match enters the preparatory phase."
"You may proceed."
After speaking, Qian Gu Lidai took out a cartoon fox-shaped alarm clock from the sachet storage bag at her waist.
In front of Lin Chuan and Qian Gu Shu, she set a 10-minute countdown.
"Lin Chuan, don't disappoint me. A Beast Master from the Xingyan Federation Sixth Academy, don't lose easily to me."
Qian Gu Shu said provocatively.
Immediately, he turned and disappeared into the forest, vanishing from sight in less than half a minute.
Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly, but smiled faintly.
This Qian Gu Shu has a bit of arrogance.
Without saying anything, Lin Chuan also turned and entered the forest.
After walking in winding paths for about 2 minutes, Lin Chuan stopped and released Sakura and Guoguo from his Beast Space.
Guoguo and Sakura immediately stood guard by Lin Chuan's side.
Lin Chuan, however, shook his head slightly, telling the two little ones not to rush.
Originally, Lin Chuan thought this battle would be like the Xiao Qingkong Cup finals earlier.
The Xiao Qingkong Cup finals, a 2+1 match against Li Zeyu.
Both contestants did not know the specific terrain and environment of the match.
It could be a forest, an alley, or a lake.
Only on the day of the match, when they stood on the arena, would they know the terrain and environment.
Moreover, before the match officially began and the referee blew the whistle, neither contestant was allowed to enter the competition area.
Only when the match officially began could contestants rush into the arena.
Only when contestants rushed into the arena were Spirit Beasts allowed to be released.
Therefore, contestants could not pre-arrange any means on the field.
However, the situation this time.
Allowed them to enter the competition area first, and they had 10 minutes of preparation time.
Clearly, this mode was closer to a real Wild Battle.
This also meant that they could arrange the environment, dig pits, set traps, and bury some means.
"Right here."
Lin Chuan said softly.
Without detailed instructions, and not needing detailed instructions, Guoguo and Sakura instantly understood Lin Chuan's meaning.
They felt uncomfortable if they didn't fight every day, but at critical moments, Guoguo and Sakura's cooperation was incredibly seamless.
Sakura used Assistance, assisting Guoguo, allowing Guoguo's Wood Attribute energy quality to reach Tier 2.
Then, they jointly used Vine Armor Shield.
Double Master-level Vine Armor Shield.
Countless dense, hair-thin vines, like small snakes, rapidly extended in all directions, some buried in the soil, others clinging to surrounding branches.
Lin Chuan took out various small items from his portable storage bag.
Mainly electronic sensing equipment, smoke bombs, fluorescent powder, and a small amount of Poison Powder bombs.
These small items were placed on the ground by Lin Chuan.
The next second, they were enveloped and carried away by the thin vines.
In less than 5 minutes, the surrounding hundred-meter radius was arranged by Lin Chuan into a defensive position.
A position that integrated warning, interference, enemy trapping, and damage.
Lin Chuan glanced at his watch.
There were about 2 minutes left until the official start.
Lin Chuan didn't know what Spirit Beasts Qian Gu Shu had.
Most likely, they were fox-type, but they might not be. What methods he would use was also unknown. One could not underestimate a family scion.
The only information Lin Chuan knew was that Qian Gu Shu was an Illusion Attribute user, just like himself.
Or perhaps not.
Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking of a possibility.
Perhaps, this was a psychological tactic.
Qian Gu Shu might be doing it on purpose, deliberately saying he was an Illusion Attribute user.
Thereby creating psychological pressure for Lin Chuan.
Otherwise, would a Beast Master with a normal mind, when facing an opponent they were about to battle, be so foolishly honest as to expose information?
Of course, it could also be true.
Illusory and real, true and false, this was strategy, this was the combat style of an Illusion Attribute user.
Regardless of whether Qian Gu Shu was an Illusion Attribute user, just treat him as one and respond to all changes with constancy.
The showdown between two Illusion Attribute users, a narrow arena battle was another matter.
In a Wild Battle, the most crucial thing was concealment!
Whoever exposed themselves first would be at a disadvantage, very likely to be instantly killed, taken out in one go.
So, how to hide?
Half a minute later, Lin Chuan made up his mind.
Compared to Qian Gu Shu, what was Lin Chuan's biggest advantage?
Skill proficiency? Combination Skill?
Not really. The Qian Gu Family was, after all, a Beast Master family, and it must have its secret techniques.
Just like Zhou Tianque and Feng Yingge, they could easily pull out Secret Skills. His added skills were all expert and master level, but they were only basic skills. The highest proficiency for a Combination Skill was Wan Wan's proficient-level Five Elements Spirit Shield. So, Lin Chuan expected the skill gap wouldn't be too large.
The level and bloodline quality of the Spirit Beasts, needless to say.
Although he had Reincarnation, currently, only Sakura was General Tier Upper Level, Guoguo was still General Tier Upper Level, and Wan Wan was Soldier Tier Upper Level.
Most likely, he couldn't compare to these family scions.
Their initial starting point was at least Commander Tier, and even Emperor Tier was normal.
So, where was Lin Chuan's advantage?
Compared to these family scions, his biggest advantage was the depth of his contract with his Spirit Beasts, the same frequency!
Reincarnation could increase the same frequency, making the Spirit Beasts instinctively and innately fond of him, becoming closer.
This was something other Beast Masters couldn't achieve; it required long-term practice of Synergy Dance and Meditation.
Even Zhou Tianque and Feng Yingge didn't reach 80% same frequency in their normal state; they needed Synergy Dance to temporarily boost it.
But Lin Chuan, in his normal state, had already reached 80% same frequency, allowing him to communicate with his Spirit Beasts through psychic connection via the contract.
This also meant that he could command his Spirit Beasts remotely.
With this advantage, Lin Chuan devised his tactic.
Lin Chuan glanced at Wan Wan. Through the psychic connection of the contract, Wan Wan instantly understood Lin Chuan's meaning. She nodded slightly.
The next second, Illusion Attribute white mist permeated the air.
The white mist was ethereal, dreamlike, slowly, little by little, converging and solidifying.
Finally, the white mist completely took shape, and Wan Wan changed her appearance.
A young boy with a black short-sleeved shirt, gray sweatpants, and sunny short hair.
It was like looking in a mirror; Lin Chuan saw another version of himself.
This was Transformation!