288: The gap between grades is like a chasm

The pet evaluation that night included not only the 18-25 age group but also the 26-35 age group.

Even pets with relatively high scores in the younger age group appeared unremarkable when compared to those in the other group.

Because the contestants' clothes were marked with identifiers, and assistant bodyguards had work permits, it would have been very troublesome if a few fans had snuck in among the crowd.

Gu Xiaoyue and Duan Yao sat in the waiting area, accompanied by Chu Li and Shui Lingyu.

You Ni, arm-in-arm with her fiancé, Bu Rang Lu Qi, who is one of the heirs of Baron Lu Qi of Faner Country.

"Even if you didn't tell me today was your evaluation day, I'd still be here with my fiancé."

You Ni deliberately walked up to Gu Xiaoyue, head held high, saying this as if to show off.

Duan Yao's eyes nearly rolled to the heavens.

"Even if you're being evaluated, he didn't come with you, so it's obvious you're not that important!"

These words seemed to hit You Ni where it hurt, and her face immediately flushed red as she tried to retort, but Lu Qi gently patted her hand to soothe her.

"As nobles, we must be tolerant of commoners.

The main purpose today is the evaluation; do not argue with them and lower yourselves."

His attitude was humble, but his words were full of arrogance.

"Hmph, in that case, my ancestors even had generals!

What nobles and commoners, we in Dragon Country don't bother with such things!"

Duan Yao continued to speak sarcastically, her words filled with undisguised ridicule.

Bu Rang Lu Qi's expression darkened by two shades, but seeing who arrived, he found it even harder to lash out.

Duan Zhuochen also came over, bringing his teammates and assistants to sit beside Duan Yao.

He smiled as he looked at Bu Rang and You Ni Kelo, then raised an eyebrow and asked Duan Yao.

"Xiao Yao, are they friends you met in Sun Never Sets?"

"They don't deserve to be! Their pet scores aren't great, and they're so full of themselves they're even telling me how much I should eat!"

She roughly told Duan Zhuochen about You Ni Kelo mocking her, like a little child complaining.

Gu Xiaoyue and Duan Zhuochen both held back their laughter, watching her act spoiled.

"In that case, they are indeed too meddlesome!"

Duan Zhuochen echoed Duan Yao, then looked up and told Lu Qi in Fan'er language to control his 'so-called' fiancée.

He deliberately emphasized the words "so-called" because he could tell that Lu Qi would never marry You Ni.

Not to mention that Faner Country's marriage law heavily protects women, just the class difference between them made it unlikely they would end up together.

From an appearance standpoint alone, You Ni's looks, according to Faner Country's aesthetic, were indeed top-notch beauty, making her presentable.

Lu Qi's expression grew even uglier; this man from Dragon Country was too perceptive, seeing through his little schemes.

You Ni was stunned for a few seconds, then wanted to retort, telling Duan Zhuochen not to sow discord between them.

But before she could speak, Lu Qi pulled her away from the scene.

"But we came to mock—"

You Ni was being led away, but she was still explaining that besides accompanying Lu Qi, her other purpose today was to mock Gu Xiaoyue and Duan Yao's pet evaluation data.

She was a bit thoughtless; how could Lu Qi be like her?

Although the little girl from Dragon Country was somewhat arrogant, she could publicly say that You Ni's pet scores were not high.

That at least meant she was very confident in her own pets.

And Duan Zhuochen, in the Dragon Country's 26-35 age group, at only 27 years old, could surpass his other teammates with World Championships experience to become captain.

His strength was clearly unfathomable.

Faner Country's coach had also reminded him that if he encountered Duan Zhuochen in the arena and couldn't find a weakness, he should concede rather than fight head-on; the coach even suspected he had an SSS+ Pet!

Lu Qi didn't want to admit it, but after Duan Zhuochen approached, his powerful oppressive aura made him very uncomfortable.

Beneath his gentle demeanor, that simple glance was like being stared at by the God of Death, making Lu Qi break out in a cold sweat instantly.

The assistant reminded Lu Qi that it was his turn for evaluation, and only then did he walk towards the evaluation instrument.

"1424992, 987675, 786765!"

Lu Qi's three pet evaluation data appeared on the instrument display.

You Ni immediately looked proudly towards Gu Xiaoyue's side; after all, this data was higher than Chu Li's.

Her pride was understandable.

But You Ni forgot that Chu Li and Lu Qi were not in the same age group to begin with.

Chu Li was several years younger than Lu Qi; if his pets were raised for a few more years and given some heavenly materials and earthly treasures, how could he lose?!

Duan Yao pouted, what was there to be proud of? In the same age group, they wouldn't lose to her!

A few minutes later, Duan Zhuochen got up to do his test.

When he summoned his three pets, others couldn't tell much.

Gu Xiaoyue gasped—

He not only had a Candle Dragon but also a Taotie and an E-Beast!

Duan Zhuochen's Mental Power was surprisingly strong; Gu Xiaoyue even felt a bit fortunate that he was from the Duan Family, and that she was currently on good terms with Duan Yao and Coach Duan.

The Taotie was shaped by Duan Zhuochen into a man with long black hair and fair skin, showing no trace of a fierce beast.

The E-Beast already resembled a rabbit somewhat, so he simply transformed it into a Q-version little rabbit wearing a small suit.

"4670345, 4023552, 2455667!"

When his evaluation data was released, even the judges, who had become somewhat immune to high scores these past two days, were astonished.

Chu Li's score on the first day was considered high, but later in the 26-35 age group evaluations, a score of over 1 million was no longer considered very high.

It was only very high in the 18-25 age group.

Even so, in the 26-35 age group, few pets exceeded 3 million.

Based on the data alone, Duan Zhuochen was likely already the world's number one.

How could the Candle Dragon and Taotie's scores be so high?

Gu Xiaoyue examined the information panels of the two pets; both were Lord-level.

Presumably, no less heavenly materials and earthly treasures were used.

She didn't realize one problem: the system had previously given her a duobao berry tree.

Gu Xiaoyue planted it in her Yu Beast Space, and it had now grown to 24 trees.

qibao berry was not a rare item for her.

But for others, even if they encountered a duobao berry tree, it wasn't necessarily so coincidental that the qibao berry was ripe.

A duobao berry tree only bears one fruit; if one was truly lucky enough to encounter a ripe qibao berry, that was one thing.

If not, there was no telling how long one would have to wait.

Plus, there was a huge gap between a pet's mature Eleventh Tier and Lord-level, so a score difference of hundreds of thousands or even over a million was normal.

The air froze for a while, until Duan Zhuochen picked up the paper version of his pet data, and then the entire stadium erupted.

He sat back down next to Duan Yao and asked her if she liked these few cool postcard-like paper documents.

"They photographed your pets so well!

And the forms you changed them into—hmm, Dragon Country style and Q-version, tasteful!"

Duan Yao readily accepted, praising him without reservation, and Gu Xiaoyue also leaned over to glance at them.

"If you like them, keep them!"

Gu Xiaoyue subtly tugged on Duan Yao's sleeve.

Duan Yao also couldn't hide her smile as she accepted them, casting a provocative look at You Ni and Lu Qi.

The atmosphere between them was good, but Gu Xiaoyue didn't feel any ambiguity, just the pure affection of an older brother and sister from next door.

Before Gu Xiaoyue could say anything more, the assistant reminded them that it was her and Duan Yao's turn.

She was a little nervous, took a deep breath, walked to the evaluation instrument, and summoned Xiao Qi, Ying Long, and Hou.

All were at Mature Eighth Tier; Xiao Jiu and Qing Qing were of lower rank and had no weapons.

So Gu Xiaoyue chose Ying Long and Hou.

"2982443, 2749342, 2503456!"

With Duan Zhuochen's astonishing performance preceding hers, Gu Xiaoyue's data only surprised some, and was quickly drowned out by the noisy sounds.

Gu Xiaoyue herself was a bit dissatisfied; how could there be such a big difference!

Xiao Qi was also Lord-level, and Candle Dragon and Taotie were also Lord-level, yet there was a difference of over a million in scores!

Could it be because Candle Dragon and Taotie were God Rank, while Xiao Qi was only Immortal Tier high-grade, just one step away from God Rank?

Was this single step a gigantic chasm, resulting in a score difference of over a million?

"2039768, 1837866, 1535788!"

Duan Yao's scores also came out; she summoned Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger.

Because White Tiger's level was already lower than Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon, and it had also absorbed some levels from Gu Xiaoyue, its score was much lower.

But all of her pets were God-Rank Pets, so their starting point was high, and getting a score of over a million was easy!

Duan Yao picked up the paper version of her pet data, deliberately walked around You Ni and Lu Qi, and made a face at them.