87: Behind the scenes, a civil war within the Yao family!

At the same time, battles in other competition zones were also in full swing.

Sun Ke, the 'blazing sun blade master' from the Sun Family in the provincial capital, wielded a beast taming card with a battle blade burning with raging flames; each strike carried a scorching heat capable of incinerating all things.

His opponents often found it difficult to withstand his furious onslaught for more than a few rounds before being engulfed by flames and defeated in disarray.

De Xiner, the 'Medicine Fairy' from Deyun Hall, displayed a completely different fighting style from Sun Ke.

Her figure was nimble, her footwork elusive, and with light flicks of her fingertips, various strange poisonous mists, paralyzing dusts, and corrosive medicinal liquids silently spread.

Combined with her unpredictableGu worm skills, her opponents would unknowingly lose their combat effectiveness, her methods making it impossible to guard against them.

Several core students from Canglan University's Prodigy Class also demonstrated formidable strength, with a constant stream of high-star cards and ingenious tactical combinations, successfully defeating their respective opponents and advancing to the next round.

The overall competitive standard of the entire Canglan Province Prodigy Competition far exceeded previous editions, with one brilliant duel after another leaving the audience thoroughly entertained.

As Lu Yuan secured one overwhelming victory after another, the odds offered by major betting markets for him underwent drastic changes.

From initially being underestimated with absurdly high second-tier odds, his odds have now been significantly suppressed.

Countless individuals who had previously adopted a wait-and-see attitude, or even mocked him as merely an opportunistic qualifier from Jiangcheng, now turned their heads, frantically fawning over this 'golden falcon youth' who had suddenly emerged.

Lu Yuan's popularity soared like an anti-gravity hovercar, growing day by day, even subtly showing a trend to surpass established provincial talents like Sun Ke and De Xiner.

After a brief rest, the draw ceremony for the top 32 into top 16 officially began amidst widespread anticipation.

On the giant holographic projection screen, names with avatars were randomly drawn and then paired up.

Finally—

When a golden, shining name, 'Lu Yuan,' was drawn and fixed on the left side of the screen, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted throughout the arena.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the appearance of his next opponent.

Would it be a clash of titans or an instant knockout?

Stay tuned!

Light flickered, and another name was drawn, slowly moving to the right of Lu Yuan's name.

When that name finally appeared clearly before everyone—

'Yao Yong!'

The entire 'Dome of the Heavens' arena erupted in an uproar!

'Yao Yong?! I didn't see wrong, did I? Is it that Yao Yong from the Yao Family?'

'Oh my god! Yao Family infighting! This... this is too exciting!'

'golden falcon youth Lu Yuan against the leader of the younger generation of the Yao Family, Yao Yong! This is definitely the most anticipated match before the top sixteen!'

'Two champion seeds facing off early! And it's a family internal battle?!'

'666, the Yao Family didn't pay, I understand now.'

'What do you know? The officials lost so much money when Lu Yuan pulled off an upset, so they have to quickly disgust the Yao Family...'

'Who cares, there's a good show to watch! A good show to watch!'

The audience was completely hyped!

Yao Yong's information was almost instantly dug up by resourceful media and busybodies, spreading rapidly.

Yao Yong, a fourth-generation disciple of the Yao Family, is the son of Yao Tianqiong, the fourth younger brother of Yao Tianqi, the Yao Family Patriarch.

From a young age, he displayed extraordinary card talent and was hailed as one of the most promising individuals among the younger generation of the Yao Family, highly regarded by the family elders.

What he was most praised for was the extremely rare, even unique in the entire Canglan Province, orange-grade card he possessed—[battle monk]!

This card is not a traditional beast taming card, but a humanoid summon card (how it came to be, those who know, know).

The summoned battle monk not only possesses powerful close-combat fighting abilities but also wields Buddhist divine powers, integrating offense and defense, ever-changing, with unfathomable strength!

It is said that Yao Yong, relying on this [battle monk], had, on multiple occasions in internal family competitions, defeated stronger elders across different ranks, and his fierce fighting style was well-known within the Yao Family.

In the VIP box, Yao Tianbi saw the matchup result and instinctively disbelieved it.

'This shouldn't be, how could they meet in the top sixteen?'

He strongly suspected someone had tampered with it; both of them were at least at the final's level, and without mentioning the top four, they could definitely reach the top eight.

Moreover, according to unspoken rules, such seeded players would never encounter each other before the top eight!

'Damn it, old dog of the Zhou Family! I'll cripple you in the Secret Realm!'

Yao Tianbi clenched his fists and cursed viciously.

One of them was destined not to participate in the top 8, which was not only a loss of competition glory but also a direct loss of the opportunity for the national competition!

Yao Tianqi immediately dropped his pretense and shouted angrily at Zhou Wanxiong.

However, given their equivalent status, it was understandable.

'Third Uncle...' Nickname whispered, 'Can Lu Yuan... can he defeat Brother Yao Yong? I heard from my brothers that Brother Yao Yong's [battle monk] is really powerful! It can even chant scriptures!'

Yao Tianbi: ... 'Don't worry, Lu Yuan isn't that easy to deal with. Let's wait and see.'

Despite his words, he was still worried for Lu Yuan.

He had personally experienced that [battle monk]; its strength was indeed extraordinary, not inferior to a gold card.

In the study of the Yao Family ancestral home.

Yao Zhenchuan was watching the live broadcast of the Prodigy Competition through a special ultra-clear projection screen.

When he saw Lu Yuan and Yao Yong's matchup appear, a meaningful smile appeared on his usually placid face.

Not only was he not angry, but he was quite looking forward to it.

'Hehe, interesting, truly interesting.'

'That raw jade that Tian Xiao painstakingly dug out from Jiangcheng, against the grandson my useless fourth brother meticulously nurtured.'

'I want to see clearly whether the foreign monk can chant scriptures better, or if our own child is more promising!'

Yao Zhenchuan picked up the teacup beside him and took a small sip.

'Arrange it, I'm going fishing at the Zhou Family this afternoon.'

'Yes, Old Ancestor!'

...Meanwhile, in the player preparation area.

Lu Yuan looked at the words 'Yao Yong' on the screen, along with the detailed information and past battle records displayed below.

Orange card, [battle monk].

Humanoid summon, proficient in close-quarters combat, also possesses Buddhist divine abilities.

Lu Yuan carefully analyzed every word, rapidly constructing the opponent's possible fighting style and counter-strategies in his mind.

To be honest, this was also his first time seeing a non-beast taming type of beast tamer, and it was highly likely that it was forcibly transformed from a captured Secret Realm creature.

He was very curious about this; if a Guaranteed Gold Drop produced such a card, what kind of monster would appear?

Half-human, half-beast?

Or... a human head with a beast body?

His eyes gleamed with contemplation, and he suddenly realized... that the path of cards would become even broader in the future.

Inside the arena, the hype surrounding this upcoming 'Yao Family Derby' was unprecedented.

The betting market directly reached over eighty million star coins!

Bets were split evenly between the two sides, but Lu Yuan's odds were still higher.

The audience and betting experts offered a constant stream of speculations and analyses.

Some believed that Lu Yuan's [Heavenly Thunder Light Falcon] possessed unmatched speed and higher quality, enough to counter all flashy tricks.

They bet on him for a sure win!

Others believed that Yao Yong's [battle monk] was stronger in actual combat and had more extensive battle experience; humanoid summons were often more flexible and versatile, some even possessing their own thoughts.

They thought Lu Yuan might fall from grace!

Amidst the eager anticipation of the crowd, the match announcement sounded again.

Lu Yuan and Yao Yong, guided by the referee, simultaneously walked out from the playeraisle, slowly approaching the center of the massive competition venue.

The spotlights instantly converged on them.

Yao Yong was tall and well-built, nearly two meters in height.

His face was handsome, with an arrogance and confidence unique to a wealthy young master in his brows.

He walked to the center of the arena, looked directly at Lu Yuan, clasped his hands, and said loudly:

'Brother Lu Yuan, I've heard much about you! The Old Master praised you endlessly a few days ago, saying you are a rare genius seen only once in a hundred years!'

'In today's battle, I hope you will not hesitate to enlighten me, Brother, and let me, Yao Yong, see if you truly possess the strength that made the Old Master look at you with new eyes!'

His voice was resonant, echoing throughout the entire arena, his words containing both politeness and an unyielding arrogance... Thank you to Yu Huitian and all the friends for your tips and support!!!