83: The second round of competition begins
The day after Chang Guiheng left, the second round of Qingyang City's Youth Beast Tamer Competition began.
Luo Chen and Luo Yang arrived at the square in front of the City Lord's Mansion just in time.
The area outside the square was still bustling, but the square itself, which had been cordoned off, seemed deserted.
After all, there were nine hundred participants in the first round, but only twenty remained for this second round, so it was no wonder it felt empty.
Despite the fewer people on the square, Luo Chen spotted a familiar face.
It was the proctor from his classroom during the Apprentice Breeder assessment; her name seemed to be Liu Qingyu.
He hadn't expected her to also participate in the competition and advance to the second round.
The young girl felt Luo Chen's gaze, turned her head, and, seeing it was Luo Chen, paused for a moment before breaking into a wide smile.
She clearly recognized Luo Chen.
Luo Chen returned a smile and nodded, acknowledging her greeting.
As the sun rose higher, the summer heat began to intensify.
On one side of the square, the judges' stand finally saw the appearance of several judges.
There was no change in the number of judges compared to the first round.
However, the mysterious black-clad woman appeared at the very beginning of the competition this time, as if today's event finally warranted some of her attention.
Yet, looking at Feng Qingyang on the judges' stand, Luo Chen felt a sense of disconnect; yesterday he was his business partner, and today he had become his judge.
However, Feng Qingyang's gaze calmly swept over him, revealing no unusual reaction.
But Luo Chen couldn't tell if it was his imagination, he always felt that Master Chang's attention was largely focused on him.
At 8:30 AM, the man with the trumpet-like voice next to Feng Qingyang stepped forward to announce the start of the competition.
“It is a pleasure to have all Breeders arrive on time for the competition.
Today's competition will be the final round of the Qingyang City Youth Beast Tamer Competition, meaning this round will directly determine the three Breeders who will represent Qingyang City.
Therefore, I ask all Breeders to demonstrate their full capabilities.
The rules for today's competition are as follows: behind you are fifty members of the Law Enforcement Team; they will summon all of their Beasts shortly.
You may choose one member's Beasts to cultivate, and the results of your cultivation will be judged by all the judges.”
Luo Chen looked behind him and indeed saw fifty men and women in uniform standing in the center of the square.
Beside each of them was a black-backed, brown-bellied Hunting Hound, which, despite being called a hound, was taller than a human.
Standing next to them, there was always an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Aside from this standard Beast, which seemed to be common among the Law Enforcement Team, the other Beasts varied in appearance.
Some were blue-winged, black-backed Rapid Eagles perched on the Hunting Hounds;
Or Bone-Spike Spirit Tigers, even larger than the Hunting Hounds;
Or tiny Spirit Mice, cradled in their Beast Masters' arms;
And so on, a diverse array.
After the Breeders had curiously observed the Law Enforcement Team members and their Beasts in the square for a while, the man with the trumpet-like voice continued:
“If there are no questions, you may step forward and make your selection. As before, all necessary materials will be fully provided by the City Lord's Mansion.”
This second round's competition method was still quite peculiar; Luo Chen thought the person who came up with it was a genius.
By having Breeders compete, the City Lord's Mansion indirectly boosted its combat power, incurring absolutely no loss.
Not only did it fulfill the competition task assigned from above, but it also got Breeders to work for free, fleecing them in a way that left the Breeders with no complaints.
As soon as the trumpet-voiced youth finished speaking, the more active minds quickly moved to the Law Enforcement Team members' side, using their talent to inspect the information of various Beasts.
When choosing from these fifty Law Enforcement Team members, not only did the Beasts of these members differ in ease of cultivation, but their own cultivation directions also had certain specializations, so it was natural to first select what was advantageous to oneself.
Perhaps, from the current selection process, the assessment had already officially begun.
This was a test of both intellect and discernment; for those with decision paralysis, choosing which Beast to cultivate from nearly a hundred Beasts must be quite challenging.
One by one, young Breeders continuously moved among the Beasts of these Law Enforcement Team members, hoping to find the one that best matched their specialization.
Luo Chen, blending in with these Breeders, was not particularly conspicuous.
Like the other Breeders, he meticulously examined the Beasts beside each Law Enforcement Team member, but unlike them, who focused on Aptitude, State, and Skills, Luo Chen was looking at their Evolution Paths.
He would only pause briefly if an Evolution Path was displayed; otherwise, he would skip directly to the next.
After scanning through them one by one, Luo Chen finally found a Beast that interested him.
A Double-Eared Fox; apart from having an extra pair of ears on top of its existing ones, this Beast named Double-Eared Fox was nothing like other fox-Type Beasts, which are typically enchanting, beautiful, or cute.
It looked rather dull and dusty, as if it couldn't be cleaned, and its eyes perpetually exuded a melancholic aura.
race: Double-Eared Fox
Rank: Spirit Beast Three-Star
Type: Sound
State: Irritated
Aptitude: Good
Skills: 1. Chong Er (Profound Rank): The Double-Eared Fox can distinguish subtle sounds within a ten-mile radius, making it excellent at gathering information.
2. Shriek (Profound Rank): The Double-Eared Fox can produce a special noise; targets hearing this sound have a chance of failing to cast Skills.
3. Mimicry (Profound Rank): The Double-Eared Fox mimics the roars of powerful Beasts to deter approaching targets.
4. Sound Barrier (Profound Rank): The Double-Eared Fox sets up a sound barrier around a target, preventing the target from receiving sounds and simultaneously weakening the effects of sound-related Skills.
Evolution Paths: 1. Double-Eared Fox → Gui Mian Fox, Evolution Condition: Fierce Beast Nine-Star.
2. Double-Eared Fox → Yu Yin Chong Er Fox, Evolution Condition: Fierce Beast Nine-Star.
After this round of observation, the Double-Eared Fox was one of the few Beasts that could evolve directly.
Although there were still several Beasts of Law Enforcement Team members he hadn't checked, Luo Chen decided not to look any further.
Because if he continued, Luo Chen knew they wouldn't be much different from the Beasts he had already seen.
However, what mainly attracted Luo Chen's attention was the fox's ugly-cute appearance and its human-like melancholic eyes.
Luo Chen looked at its Beast Master, “Emmm, how to say, they are a good match.”
He was also a melancholic uncle who looked very artistic, with long, unruly hair falling over his shoulders, and like the Double-Eared Fox, he was unkempt and dressed very casually.
His style of dress, in the era before Luo Chen's transmigration, would probably be called classic vintage.
However, the Beast Master's appearance had nothing to do with him.
“I want to choose your…”
“Can this Double-Eared Fox be entrusted to me for cultivation?”
Luo Chen's words were cut short by an eager voice.
Luo Chen frowned, looking at this 'uninvited guest', and politely said, “Hello, I believe I was here first.”
The 'uninvited guest' was a youth around twenty-five years old, wearing a Stellar Two-Star Breeder badge on his chest, indicating he was at least a Stellar Two-Star Breeder.
The youth, hearing Luo Chen's words, seemed to just notice Luo Chen, “You haven't actually said you're taking these two Beasts yet, have you?”
I was halfway through speaking, but you, fellow, cut me off.
Luo Chen hadn't expected to encounter such an irritating person during the competition.
He looked at the melancholic uncle, whose chest bore a name tag with the words 'Zhao Yiri', so Luo Chen, with a familiar tone, called out:
“Uncle Yiri, can you attest that I spoke first?”
Zhao Yiri, who had been gloomily gazing at the sky, snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing his name.
“Ah, what did you say? Testify about what?”
By his look, he clearly hadn't noticed who had approached him first.
Luo Chen's face couldn't help but show a series of black lines; it seemed he had been standing there for a long time without being noticed.
The young man beside him, seeing this situation, breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of self-satisfaction on his face.
“This Uncle Yiri, I know the Evolution Path for the Double-Eared Fox to become a Gui Mian Fox. You should let me cultivate your Beast.”
It seemed the situation had now shifted to the Law Enforcement Team members choosing the Breeders, and this scene naturally attracted the attention of both the on-site and live-stream audiences.
“Oh, we can actually see a Beast Master reverse-choosing a Breeder, how interesting.”
“Uh, what's so strange about that? Do Breeders have more eyes or more legs than Beast Masters? Is it weird to choose them?”
“You're impressive, upstairs. I hope you're still this tough when you meet a Breeder in person.”
“In my opinion, he's just a keyboard warrior on the internet, not worth mentioning.”
“Can we please not incite conflict between Breeders and Beast Masters?”
“Uh, uh, uh.”
“How about we guess who this Zhao Yiri will choose?”
“I bet on the long-faced youth who knows the Evolution Path.”
“I'm still rooting for Luo Chen; he evolved a Rapid Eagle last time, so maybe he can do it again today.”
“But choosing Luo Chen might be a bit risky. That youth is already a Stellar Two-Star Breeder, and I heard Luo Chen only recently officially became a Stellar One-Star Breeder.”
“I'm not offering an opinion; I'm just here for the drama.”
...
After the long-faced youth finished speaking, the melancholic Uncle Zhao Yiri's reaction was not as pleased as expected; he looked at Luo Chen and asked with interest:
“Are you Luo Chen, the one who evolved the Rapid Eagle?”
Luo Chen was a bit surprised; had his reputation grown so much? Even members of the Law Enforcement Team recognized him.
He quietly nodded, acknowledging his identity.