The match ended.
However, before leaving, the contestants still needed to pay their respects to each other.
Well, if it were a private training spar, there would be no need for such a troublesome process, but since it was a public match, even if it was just a small Baby Cup, the necessary procedures and steps still had to be followed.
Don't find it troublesome; although these procedures are a bit complicated, they are still very necessary.
It is precisely because of these complicated procedures, etiquette norms, and countless small details that Beast Masters can subtly establish a moral bottom line from the very beginning: to respect others, even their opponents who they have defeated.
It is precisely because of these detailed moral bottom lines that when Beast Masters may encounter certain questions about good and evil human nature in the future of their Beast Master path, they are more likely to uphold human morality and not do things that harm others or even threaten society for temporary gain or temporary improvement.
It is precisely because of various similar detailed norms that the Star Rock Federation has its current stable environment.
To use an ancient saying from his previous life on Blue Star, it would be: 'With propriety, there is peace; without propriety, there is chaos.'
At the signal of the referee, Zhuang Lan, Lin Chuan and Wang Lu came to the center of the arena and paid their respects to each other.
There are various ways of showing respect: some are accustomed to shaking hands, some to hugging, and some to high-fiving, or bowing politely with cupped fists.
In short, contestants can choose any method they like, as long as it achieves the effect of showing respect and makes both parties feel each other's goodwill.
Don't gloat and mock after winning a match; while such things may happen a lot in private, they are still restrained in public. After all, Beast Masters are a group of people who possess extraordinary power. If you mock him, perhaps you won't even need thirty years for the tables to turn; he might just kill you the next morning.
By convention, respect is usually initiated by the winner of the match.
Lin Chuan chose the relatively childish but well-loved fist bump method among boys and girls of this age group; he held out his right fist.
Wang Lu smiled and also held out his right fist to lightly bump Lin Chuan's.
And as the two exchanged a fist bump of respect, the audience below applauded and cheered in unison. This is also a detail: even for a Baby Cup, no matter how ugly or amateurish the match was, even if someone didn't like it, they would keep it to themselves. On the surface, they still had to give the newcomers applause and encouragement, which helps boost the newcomers' confidence as Beast Masters.
In fact, many Professional Beast Masters were also terrible and lacked confidence when they were newcomers.
Often, it was precisely such applause and encouragement after a public match that allowed them to successfully build confidence, and from then on, they became unstoppable, eventually embarking on the path of a professional.
The effect was obvious; although he knew that many of the applauses carried a mocking and playful sentiment, Wang Lu still felt warm inside and was no longer embarrassed or awkward about being defeated and having his Bishui Turtle flipped.
"Your Flower Leaf Leaf is very strong," Wang Lu said with genuine admiration.
"I've fought other new Beast Masters before, and basically, very few new spirit beasts can withstand my turtle's Water Gun. Only your Flower Leaf Leaf not only withstood it but also remained completely unharmed by relying on Rooting throughout."
As he spoke, Wang Lu looked at the cherry blossom by Lin Chuan's feet.
At this moment, the cherry blossom was like a shy little girl, timidly hugging Lin Chuan's calf, hiding behind him, and peeking out half of its small head like a cat, giving off a cute, harmless, and very weak impression.
Wang Lu's mouth twitched. He thought to himself that if he hadn't just fought it, he really would have been fooled by this Flower Leaf Leaf's 'weak, helpless, and pitiful' act.
It was clearly a tough guy that could withstand his turtle's continuous Water Gun without a scratch, yet it was acting so cute. Was it not ashamed?
With a forced smile, Wang Lu nodded slightly and then asked Lin Chuan.
"Can I quietly ask something? It's okay if you don't want to say, I know the rules."
"How did you train it to be so tough? Even a support-type spirit beast like Flower Leaf Leaf can be trained to be so durable. Did it eat some special nutrient that enhances defense? What brand? Can you recommend it? I want to buy some and try it too."
Lin Chuan smiled and shook his head, not because he was unwilling to share his cultivation experience.
His current cultivation situation, apart from the cheat-like talent, was actually nothing special; there wasn't much that couldn't be said. It was just that his cultivation Ideas was clear, he wasn't rushed, and he took one step at a time, at most adding some Krypton Gold.
"There's nothing special, but the nutrients my cherry blossom eats, your Bishui Turtle can't eat."
"The No. 73 Cold Moonwood Grass Ash Nutrient Soil, and the No. 399 Black Abyss Dragon Snake Body Fluid Nutrient Water. Give these to your turtle, and your turtle will also have a solid foundation and be just as tough."
Upon hearing this, Wang Lu was instantly speechless.
Alright, these were high-grade nutrients he had never heard of, but just by the names, he knew they must be terrifyingly expensive, not something his ordinary family could afford.
Moreover, it was both nutrient soil and nutrient water. The water was fine, but as for the soil, his turtle really couldn't eat it; it would get diarrhea if it did.
Without further conversation, Lin Chuan put the cherry blossom back into his Beast Space and then he and Wang Lu left the arena separately.
Soon, not long after, the next match began.
On Lin Chuan's side, after leaving the arena, he picked up his small tray, put on his insulated backpack, and started selling melon seeds, milk tea, popcorn, and cola.
By now, Lin Chuan had already made a small profit of 30,000 star rock coin. Don't underestimate 30,000 star rock coin; it's not much for cultivating spirit beasts, but it's a month's income for an ordinary white-collar worker. It's only because of the Baby Cup and the organizer's temporary monopoly that this money is so easy to earn.
Of course, while selling snacks and drinks, Lin Chuan also watched the matches, observing opponents and various spirit beasts.
At the same time, Lin Chuan was also reviewing his own match in his mind.
Hmm?
Perhaps someone might ask, what was there to review about Lin Chuan's match just now?
To summarize, it was just a 'snap' of Rooting, enduring the Water Gun as if it were daily watering, and then a 'bang' of flipping the Bishui Turtle, with the opponent having almost no ability to resist.
That being said, looking at it this way, there really isn't much to review or reflect upon.
But reviewing and reflecting isn't just from that perspective; it can also be reviewed from the Beast Master's perspective.
There was nothing wrong with the use of combat skills by the two spirit beasts, but there were still issues with his Lin Chuan's command and the cherry blossom's feedback.
When he told the cherry blossom to deal with the opponent, the cherry blossom's reaction was to turn its head back in confusion, asking him with its gaze how to deal with it. If it were a different opponent, such as Ping Kai or Sun Yinyin, they would likely instantly seize that moment of the cherry blossom turning its head to unleash a smooth combo on it.
If it were a Professional Beast Master's spirit beast, it would never make that action of looking back at its Beast Master.
The moment the Beast Master gives a command, their spirit beast instinctively knows what to do.
In fact, Lin Chuan's situation is very common, or rather, almost all new Beast Masters are like this.
Judging from the contestants so far, most contestants and their spirit beasts have very uncoordinated communication and command, including Sun Yinyin and Ping Kai, who also have great flaws. Their command content is too cumbersome, and often before the command is even finished, the situation on the field has already changed. It can also be said that the battle rhythm of the dog and monkey is too fast, and Sun Yinyin and Ping Kai's command speed cannot keep up.
Most Beast Masters are like this, but there are also a very few contestants who perform remarkably well in communication and command with their spirit beasts.
Among them, a female contestant named Tian Qi was like this, which made Lin Chuan's eyes light up. Her command orders were often just a few words, or she didn't even speak, just a look, and her contracted spirit beast, Little Snow Rabbit, could perform extremely complex reactions and maneuvers, like acrobatics, darting around, jumping left and right, making the audience dizzy.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of raw strength, Little Snow Rabbit's head was too soft and it was knocked out by its opponent, a rock-attribute Spotted Mouse, with a headbutt.
Winning or losing wasn't the key; the key was Tian Qi's demonstrated communication ability with her spirit beast during the match! She could make her spirit beast know what to do without verbal communication.
This was also what Lin Chuan realized he had overlooked after reviewing and reflecting.
Lin Chuan understood the principle behind this kind of communication and command method.
Firstly, Tian Qi should possess a Beast Master talent similar to spirit beast telepathy. Well, she definitely does, otherwise, it would be impossible to achieve non-verbal communication in just two weeks.
Secondly, it relies on the contract between the Beast Master and the spirit beast, which every Beast Master can achieve, but it requires time.
As Beast Masters and spirit beasts spend time together daily, living, training, battling, and adventuring, their bond continuously strengthens. With the Assistance of the power of the contract, Beast Masters and spirit beasts can eventually reach a state of mutual understanding.
Lin Chuan couldn't do anything about Beast Master talent; his Beast Master talent was already very much a cheat, but it didn't have the effect of telepathy, which was something he couldn't achieve no matter how hard he tried.
So, he could only start from the contract aspect.
In this regard, besides accumulating time, there are also some special methods.
Some Hall ancient factions, Beast Master clubs, or families pass down some special cultivation methods, such as Meditation, and Synergy Dance.
Meditation, as the name suggests, is easy to understand.
Synergy Dance is the awkward dance that ancient Beast Masters used to perform within the contract formation when signing contracts with spirit beasts. It was an awkward dance that could synchronize the Beast Master's and spirit beast's bodies, minds, and wills.
All of these can quickly improve the tacit understanding between a Beast Master and their spirit beast, and can even slightly increase the quality of the energy feedback the Beast Master receives after the spirit beast's growth and advancement, allowing the Beast Master's level to rise faster.
Without such Meditation methods and not understanding Synergy Dance, Lin Chuan could only think of some honest, clumsy methods.
...
Time flew by quietly as Lin Chuan sold snacks and drinks, earning a small fortune, until 4 PM.
Today's matches were completely over. Out of 46 total contestants, 23 were eliminated, and 11 voluntarily withdrew from subsequent matches, feeling they had no hope of winning the championship, runner-up, or third place. Ultimately, 12 contestants remained to participate in tomorrow's matches.
Most of the contestants and spectators gradually left Lin's Farm.
Some also chose to book rooms in nearby hotels at the farm, wanting to play here for a while and enjoy the spring outing.
There were also a few defeated contestants who applied to Lin's Farm to rent training grounds.
The first among them was Ping Kai; he was the first to make such a request, and several subsequent contestants saw it, thought about it, and followed suit with their applications.
According to Ping Kai, he had already been eliminated and was under no pressure. After the match, he would give Little Red a holiday to rest and then start new training tomorrow. The environment of Lin's Farm, especially the fruit tree forest covering half the mountain, was the most preferred and suitable growth environment for ape-like spirit beasts.
Lin Lao Deng pondered for a moment and then agreed to Ping Kai's and the other Beast Masters' applications for venue use.
It wasn't for the small venue rental fee, but to build good relationships and enhance the reputation and credibility of Lin's Farm. Who knows if some of these Beast Masters might become Professional Beast Masters in the future? At that time, when Lin's Farm applies to become a Hua Ye Ye Breeding Base, perhaps they could even put in a good word or help in some way.
Of course, the Flower Leaf Leaf exclusive cultivation area is forbidden for these Beast Masters to enter.
And Lin Chuan's private training ground is also prohibited from being approached without Lin Chuan's permission. This is a conventional rule in Beast Master civilization: one cannot privately spy on other Beast Masters' methods of cultivating spirit beasts without permission, otherwise, they will face severe punishment from the Beastmaster Association, including but not limited to fines and a record in their file.
Everyone understood the rules, and no one had any objections, so Lin Xuédòng didn't say anything more and let them act on their own.
On Lin Chuan's side.
Never having the idea of putting things off until tomorrow, since he had found his shortcomings through review and reflection, Lin Chuan immediately began to arrange a plan, cramming overnight and starting special training.
Well, calling it special training, it was more like playing games with Guoguo and the cherry blossom.
Guoguo and the cherry blossom expressed great liking and happiness, saying they could work endlessly if there were more such special training sessions.
Specific special training content.
Lin Chuan found many childhood building blocks and small toys from the storage room, as well as three decks of cards.
First, card games.
Lin Chuan randomly drew a card, looked at it himself without letting the cherry blossom and Guoguo see it, and then used the contract to transmit the card's information to Guoguo and the cherry blossom through emotional telepathy, asking Guoguo and the cherry blossom to select the card Lin Chuan had just drawn from their respective other decks. As for why it wasn't simpler, like Lin Chuan drawing a card and Guoguo and the cherry blossom guessing the card face, that's because Guoguo and the cherry blossom's intelligence wasn't high enough; they couldn't recognize all the card faces of a poker deck.
Then, building block games.
Similarly, Lin Chuan started first, he would casually stack building blocks to create something.
Then, Guoguo and the cherry blossom would stack building blocks without looking or thinking, relying entirely on their inner intuition.
Finally, they would see if the building blocks they stacked resembled what Lin Chuan stacked. The more similar they were, the higher the tacit understanding between Lin Chuan and them.