64: Another dark horse

Lin Shu also agreed to everyone's request; after all, they had all come to the competition venue to cheer him on.

It was just a celebratory meal, nothing major.

They casually found a restaurant in the evening, eating, drinking, and chatting, and the overall atmosphere was very pleasant.

The homeroom teacher, Zhao Sheng, also blended in and had fun with everyone.

Today was Lin Shu's only day off from training this month, and a day of relaxation after intense training was quite nice.

Heiye and Tuyao, meanwhile, stood by Lin Shu's side, devouring food.

When it came time to pay, Lin Shu wanted to treat everyone, but he couldn't out-compete them, and in the end, Teacher Zhao Sheng paid.

Everyone drank quite a bit and had a lot of fun that night.

Ultimately, they had to trouble Bai Sheng to send the classmates back to their hotels one by one.

Lin Shu also stumbled back to his room and quietly fell asleep...

On Sunday morning, Lin Shu woke up from his bed, feeling refreshed.

A day of relaxation had significantly lightened his mind and body.

Heiye and Tuyao were snoring loudly, sleeping soundly.

Lin Shu didn't bother them; a little extra sleep was good.

He took out his phone and started looking through it.

He found it full of news about the Chu Niao Cup competition; the publicity was quite extensive.

No wonder it was one of the top competitions in Fengdu City.

Lin Shu also saw many discussions about him; his popularity was very high right now.

"Rational Discussion: Does Lin Shu Possess the Potential of an Emperor?"

"Little Secrets I Have to Tell About Lin Shu and Me"

"The Formerly Decadent Youth Lin Shu, After Receiving My Help, Swept the Chu Niao Cup; Come In Quickly..."

And so on; it seemed sensationalist headlines could appear anywhere.

They truly resorted to all means for a bit of traffic.

Shaking his head, Lin Shu had no interest in reading further.

He quietly awaited the start of today's competition.

"Dong!"

"Dong!"

"Dong!"

Three loud and deep chimes rang out, reverberating continuously within the massive arena.

This bell-ringing was a mandatory part of the Chu Niao Cup's championship day every year.

The cessation of the chimes also marked the official start of today's competition.

The organizers didn't waste any time; after two advertisements, they began the group draw.

The audience seats were packed, and the crowd was buzzing, everyone staring intently at the battle stage and the large screen suspended high above.

That this kind of novice Beastmaster competition could be so popular showed how high the status of Beastmasters was today.

After the quarterfinals, all contestants would be divided into two groups, A and B, for battles.

The machine slowly started, and names were allocated into the two groups one by one.

Good news: Lin Shu was assigned to Group A, while Bai Sheng was in Group B.

They would truly only meet if they were competing for the championship.

The bad news was that Bai Sheng was defeated in his very first appearance and exited the competition.

This left him feeling unwilling, as he hadn't even secured the runner-up position.

His opponent, Hu Tuyang, was unexpectedly strong, an underdog who had fought his way up.

He could be said to be the biggest dark horse besides Lin Shu at the moment.

Lin Shu, meanwhile, remained hot, easily advancing to the semifinals.

Lin Shu's next opponent was still Central No. 1 High School's last remaining seed.

That's right, Bai Sheng and another contestant were both eliminated.

This made Lin Shu feel a bit awkward; why were all his opponents from Central No. 1 High School?

He had also eliminated one in the quarterfinals...

"This match is Lin Shu versus Li Quan."

"I imagine everyone is familiar with both contestants."

"Let's zoom in and watch this match!"

On the battle stage, Lin Shu looked at Li Quan opposite him.

Li Quan, however, was very carefree; although he knew his chances of winning were very low, he maintained a calm mindset.

He even smiled and greeted Lin Shu.

"You're too strong, brother."

"Go easy on me later, okay?"

"I'll be mindful."

Lin Shu replied to Li Quan, which reassured him slightly.

"Now we can see the referee blowing the whistle to start the match."

"Wow! Contestant Li Quan chooses to attack directly, not passively waiting."

"This is indeed a way to break the deadlock."

Under Li Quan's command, the Fire-Patterned Alpaca immediately attacked using Spark.

Although he spoke of going easy, his actions were certainly not slow.

[Name]: Fire-Patterned Alpaca

[Level]: Lv15 (22/150)

[Level Cap]: Lv85

[Status]: Healthy

[Quality]: Perfect

[Attribute]: Fire

[Talent]: None

[Skills]: Junior — Spark - Perfect (22/50), Stomp - Great Accomplishment (15/40), Horn Ram - Great Accomplishment (13/40), Fire Storage (Passive) - Minor Accomplishment (22/30)

Intermediate — Flame Dance Formation - Minor Accomplishment (11/60), Fire Snake Coiling - Minor Accomplishment (13/60)

A Beast with such stats, if given to the contestant who previously had the Heavenly Fire Talent, might have put more pressure on him.

Looking at the dense, scattered Sparks, their size, shape, and oppressive feeling truly lived up to the Perfect grade.

Heiye, however, was too lazy to even dodge; Blade Qi Strike was unleashed, effortlessly cutting through the incoming Sparks.

The Fire-Patterned Alpaca's offensive didn't stop; two swaying fire snakes, carrying a sharp, scorching aura, followed one after another.

This was precisely the intermediate skill, Fire Snake Coiling.

However, upon contact with the Blade Qi blades, the two energies canceled each other out, vanishing instantly.

Li Quan's expression was stunned; he truly hadn't expected a skill that was usually infallible to be so easily defeated.

Heiye seemed to put away his playful mood, approaching stealthily with a ghostly figure, striking directly at the vital points.

Then he instantly dodged, easily escaping from the recently released Flame Dance Formation.

Clearly, this was just a feint.

After a set of skills, not only did he fail to damage the opponent, but his own Beast's energy was already half depleted.

What was the point of fighting then?

It was still too great a level gap, Li Quan thought to himself upon seeing such a scene.

The Fire-Patterned Alpaca, having exhausted its tricks, also had no power to resist; after symbolically releasing a few Sparks,

It was struck by Heiye's sharp and keen attacks, losing all ability to retaliate in moments.

Li Quan shook his head at the sight; he had done his best, but his opponent was simply too abnormal.

As the Fire-Patterned Alpaca lost its combat capability, the outcome was obvious.

"It seemed Contestant Li Quan gained some early advantage, but against Contestant Lin Shu's Shadow Mantis, he was still completely helpless."

"He predictably secured the victory."

"Let us congratulate Contestant Lin Shu on entering the final championship battle!"

As the host's words fell, a thunderous roar erupted from the audience.

Everyone was shouting Lin Shu's name; clearly, his strength had already conquered most of the people in the arena.

Beastmasters had always been like this, admiring and following the strong.

Seeing this, Lin Shu smiled and waved to the surroundings, then came down from the stage to await the final stand.

The battle for the other final spot began immediately.

After a rather intense battle, it was ultimately Hu Tuyang, the contestant who defeated Bai Sheng, who emerged victorious.

His combat style also made Lin Shu curious.

His opponent's Beast would always, inevitably, freeze in place for a few seconds during battle.

This was why Bai Sheng had lost.

After all, in battle, a few seconds were enough to determine the final outcome...