The Xiao Qingkong Cup began.
It should be said, it truly lived up to its reputation as one of Qinghe City's two flagship rookie competitions.
The audience seats were packed, almost without a single empty spot.
Reporters, media, and streamers were all in position, their camera arrays meticulously set up to ensure there were no blind spots.
Alright, there was no 'under-the-skirt' perspective from below.
Some people with special preferences might be disappointed.
Lin Chuan drew contestant number 20. Since the competition was being held simultaneously across four arenas, it would soon be his turn to go on stage.
In the contestant Living Area .
Lin Chuan was chatting with Ping Kai, Sun Yinyin, and two other contestants who also came from Tianshang Town. Most other people were doing the same, except for a few who were either reclusive or introverted and stayed by themselves. Basically, everyone was chatting and communicating with people from the same area.
"How have you been lately? I haven't seen any news about you on the forums?"
Ping Kai asked, curious if Lin Chuan's strength should have allowed him to gain some fame and conquer a few Baby Cups.
If that were the case, there should have been news about Lin Chuan on the Beast Master forum in Qinghe City, but he hadn't seen any information about Lin Chuan at all.
Lin Chuan answered truthfully, stating that he had earned enough money from the Flower Leaf Leaf Cup, so he had been in seclusion cultivating for the past month and hadn't participated in any Baby Cups. This time, he only came out to earn money because he had run out.
This made Ping Kai and Sun Yinyin show expressions of envy.
It's so nice to have a family that can host Baby Cups. The champion's prize money plus the revenue from hosting a small Baby Cup is comparable to winning a large Baby Cup, allowing one to cultivate in seclusion continuously.
"I look forward to fighting you in this competition!"
"My Big Yin has been preparing for a long time. It said it must wash away the shame of being called a 'Thin Dog'."
Sun Yinyin said.
At first, Sun Yinyin didn't understand why her Golden Silk Werewolf was so agitated, punching through the computer screen, or why it was so furious when it saw Lin Chuan's Flower Leaf Leaf, especially the one named Sakura.
However, as their intimacy and rapport improved, and through their sustained communication during this period, she gradually understood the situation.
She understood the situation of her Big Yin being called a Thin Dog.
"Miss Werewolf, is that really what you think? Then I look forward to meeting you soon, oh."
Lin Chuan smiled meaningfully, even using the nickname 'Werewolf Lady' that the Qinghe City news media had given Sun Yinyin to tease her.
Teased by being called 'Werewolf Lady', Sun Yinyin rolled her eyes at Lin Chuan on the spot, but said nothing. Thinking of Lin Chuan's two Flower Leaf Leaves, and then thinking of Lin Chuan's continuous month of seclusion, her brows furrowed.
After a long while, she finally said, annoyed:
"Later, please. I don't want to meet you before the semifinals!"
"Hahahaha."
Sun Yinyin's words made Lin Chuan, Ping Kai, and the other two contestants from Tianshang Town burst into laughter.
Even Sun Yinyin herself laughed belatedly.
The atmosphere was very harmonious and relaxed.
Time passed quickly, and it was soon Lin Chuan's turn to go on stage. The broadcast was already calling for Lin Chuan to report to the contestant preparation area.
Ping Kai: "Good luck."
Sun Yinyin: "Good luck."
The other two contestants from Tianshang Town: "Show them the spirit of our Tianshang Town, let these locals from Qinghe see."
Lin Chuan said nothing, returning a brilliant smile, giving a thumbs up, and then walked towards the contestant preparation area without looking back.
...
Third Arena Division.
Another match concluded.
The audience gave the most enthusiastic applause to both sides of the match, whether victor or vanquished.
As the two contestants left the arena.
On the division's commentary and hosting platform.
The renowned competition commentator and host, Professional Beastmaster Lu Qingquan, Teacher Lu, said loudly:
"Thank you to both contestants for presenting us with such a wonderful match."
"Now, next, let's invite the contestants for the next match to enter."
"First up is the Red Team contestant!"
"From Qinghe City, contestant Wang Zhixian from the Seventh Beast Taming Academy."
"Contestant Wang Zhixian, before this, consecutively won the championship of the small rookie Beast Master competition, the Green Leaf Cup, the championship of the medium rookie Beast Master competition, the Bao Le Me Cup, and the third place in the large rookie Beast Master competition, the Tianhong Cup, earning him the title 'Evil Fox'."
"Dear audience, please give contestant Wang Zhixian a warm round of applause. Let us welcome his arrival, his appearance."
Thunderous applause, mixed with various female fans' screams, indicated he must be a handsome guy.
The electronic gate of the contestant preparation area opened automatically.
A young man, dressed in a black and red leather jacket, with a cold, swept fringe hairstyle, emanating an unapproachable aura, slowly walked out.
"Alright, next, let's look at the Blue Team contestant."
"From Tianshang Town, contestant Lin Chuan from the First Beast Taming Middle School."
"Contestant Lin Chuan, before this, ..., won the championship of the small rookie Beast Master competition, the Flower Leaf Leaf Cup, earning him the title 'Milk Tyrant'?"
Lu Qingquan introduced, looking at the information about Lin Chuan in his hand with some hesitation.
This introduction of Lin Chuan also made the audience burst into laughter.
Milk Tyrant?
What the heck, how could there be such a title?
The audience roared with laughter.
However, Lu Qingquan himself frowned slightly. He was a Professional Beastmaster, not those clueless spectators.
Earning a title from just one small Beast Master competition championship was not ordinary.
Moreover, 'Milk Tyrant', this title was obtained by almost completely crushing 'Werewolf Lady' Sun Yinyin. Although it didn't sound very serious or domineering, its value was absolutely not low!
Both contestants were in position.
There were a total of three referees in the arena: one chief referee and two assistant referees.
The chief referee was responsible for overall command, while the two assistant referees corresponded to one contestant each, responsible for communicating with the contestant and checking various situations.
The chief referee raised the referee flag.
The two assistant referees stepped forward, explaining the rules and confirming with Lin Chuan and Wang Zhixian respectively.
Upon confirming that Lin Chuan and Wang Zhixian had clearly understood the rules and were fully prepared, the chief referee crossed his hands, and the red and blue small flags also crossed.
This was the signal for both sides to release their Spirit Beasts.
Lin Chuan didn't activate any entrance effects, directly releasing Sakura from his Beast Taming Space. This was because in such a highly-watched competition, unlike small Baby Cups where few people pay attention and you can show off as much as you want, activating effects at this time would be very awkward if you didn't have overwhelmingly powerful strength.
If there were no surprises, Sakura would fight through the entire Xiao Qingkong Cup.
Because Guoguo's limited combat experience was no longer useful in this kind of competition, and Bomb Fruit was a trump card.
If Guoguo were sent out, it would become a pure stationary punching bag.
The opponent's Spirit Beast wouldn't be able to hurt Guoguo, and Guoguo wouldn't be able to harm the opponent either.
Wang Zhixian also released his Spirit Beast, a fox with a dark red body, and flames burning at the tips of its ears and tail.
Little Flame Fox.
General-rank, lower-grade bloodline.
Fire Attribute.
Lin Chuan only knew this much; his knowledge level only allowed him to discern these details.
The chief referee confirmed with the two assistant referees.
The two assistant referees stepped forward, carefully scrutinizing both Spirit Beasts, confirming that they were not carrying any items or medicines, and only then did they respond to the chief referee.
The chief referee immediately raised his crossed hands parallel above his head, then sharply swung them down, accompanied by a piercing whistle.
Match start!
Above the competition stage, on the giant electronic screen.
Q-version avatars of Flower Leaf Leaf and Little Flame Fox appeared below Lin Chuan's and Wang Zhixian's portraits respectively.
The next moment, electrical currents collided between the two sides, and a giant 'VS' appeared.
"High-Speed Movement, Rending Claw."
Wang Zhixian gave the first command, choosing a quick attack, strong offense strategy.
High-Speed Movement for acceleration, and the Metal Attribute skill Rending Claw for a strong offense against Wood Attribute.
"Rooting."
Lin Chuan said indifferently and casually, still starting with Rooting as usual.
However, Sakura did not generate roots with Wood Attribute energy as a mimicry like before; instead, it generated solid roots, embedding them deep and tightly into the ground.
This wasn't Sakura misunderstanding Lin Chuan's command; on the contrary, it understood it correctly.
After this month of consistent training with various rapport-building mini-games.
The rapport between Lin Chuan and the two little ones had visibly improved a lot.
It was still far from reaching the level of mental synchronization and telepathy, but like now, simply saying the two words 'Rooting', through the tone, volume, and vocal inflection of the voice, whether to use mimicked energy roots to maintain mobility or to use solid roots to forgo mobility, Guoguo and Sakura could instinctively understand.
With the solid roots embedded, Sakura completely fixed itself. Now, it was unable to move freely.
However, there were gains as well as losses.
Completely fixing itself came with increased resistance to force impacts.
After all, Sakura only weighed 55 jin, and in such a competition, it could easily be sent flying into the air.
Under the enhancement of High-Speed Movement, the Little Flame Fox continuously accelerated.
At first, its figure could still be clearly seen with the naked eye, but soon, only an orange-red streak of light could be seen rapidly approaching Sakura.
Finally, the Little Flame Fox's metallic-glowing fox claws fiercely struck Sakura's body.
The entire audience was about to cheer and applaud at this moment.
However, as if their throats were grabbed, the cheers lasted less than a second before abruptly stopping.
Only to see, in the competition arena.
Sakura remained motionless, taking the Little Flame Fox's Rending Claw head-on, just like that.
The Little Flame Fox's metallic-glowing claws were pressed against Sakura's body. It exerted itself with all its might, using all its strength, yet it couldn't push its claws any further, leaving only a white mark of about two millimeters on Sakura's skin.
Hmm, in short, it broke through the defense, but caused no damage.
The Little Flame Fox's still somewhat delicate and cute foxy face was filled with astonishment.
It had participated in over twenty official matches so far, and countless private sparring sessions.
But never once had it encountered such a situation.
Wang Zhixian's expression was also astonished, but he quickly forced himself to calm down, muttering to himself.
"Is it cultivated for specialized defense?"
Even turtle-type Spirit Beasts, known for their defense, would find it extremely difficult to cultivate a defense strong enough to almost completely ignore his Little Flame Fox's Rending Claw.
Let alone a support-type Flower Leaf Leaf.
He couldn't imagine a Flower Leaf Leaf being able to cultivate its defense to such an extent. Had it completely given up its support abilities? Or was it...?
Wang Zhixian had a bad premonition in his heart.
Sakura's current base defense was largely thanks to Lin Chuan using his cheat to raise Rooting, Photosynthesis, and Growth to levels that rookie Beast Masters could basically not achieve, allowing it to fully absorb the medicinal effects of the Tough Skin Paste.
Of course, the perseverance and persistence of the two little ones were also important key reasons.
Being able to constantly get injured and recover in Lin Chuan's automatic beating machine and automatic pinball device, the torment and pain experienced during this period were not something ordinary Spirit Beasts with incomplete intelligence in their infancy could endure. Many Spirit Beasts would shrink back after a few serious injuries. It was only because Lin Chuan constantly gave them motivational speeches in various ways and encouraged the two little ones to compete and compare with each other that they persisted.
With just this one month of intensive training in seclusion, other Beast Masters would need at least another month of hard training to reach the current base defense of Guoguo and Sakura.
"Ying ying ying~"
(Is that all? Little fox, are you not eating? Try harder, thin fox!)
Without Lin Chuan's command, and not needing one, Sakura instinctively used Confusing Words at the opportune moment.
The skill effect of Confusing Words was confusion and a certain degree of reduction in the opponent's energy defense.
Hearing Sakura's words, the Little Flame Fox's eyes visibly turned red.
However, Wang Zhixian didn't notice, as the arena was too large and the distance a bit far. He continued to command as usual.
"Retreat first, create distance, then unleash a volley of Fireballs."
The Little Flame Fox did not follow Wang Zhixian's command, but instead used Rending Claw once more.
Today, it was going to show this Flower Leaf Leaf whether it was a 'thin fox'!
I am terrifyingly thick!
Seeing this, Wang Zhixian was once again stunned, then suddenly reacted.
"Wake up! Retreat quickly!"
Wang Zhixian used Rejuvenating Roar, but it was already too late.
Lin Chuan: "Poison Powder."
----
Contestant preparation area.
Sun Yinyin looked at the big screen.
Watching Wang Zhixian's anxious, sweaty expression less than half a minute into the match.
Watching the pink flower on Sakura's head spray a purplish-red powder, covering the Little Flame Fox's face.
Sun Yinyin's mouth twitched, and she felt sorry for her Golden Silk Werewolf in her heart.
Big Yin, your 'Thin Dog' title probably won't be removed anytime soon.
But don't worry, there will probably be more and more 'thin foxes', 'thin monkeys', 'thin turtles', and 'thin birds' to accompany you later.