87: Chapter 87 You are the strongest freshman in history!

As the match ended, Captain Ye Xuan walked up to Lin Chen, the smile on his face growing even brighter.

"Junior, impressive."

Captain Ye Xuan praised him sincerely and patted Lin Chen firmly on the shoulder: "As expected of the one hailed as the strongest freshman in history, you have let us witness a spectacular match firsthand."

The corner of Lin Chen's mouth twitched.

Hey, hey, hey, who exactly is trying to kill me with praise?

Captain Ye Xuan paused, reined in his smile slightly, and spoke solemnly: "I am once again extending a formal invitation to you in my capacity as captain of the School Team; I hope you will join us."

"Senior, no rush."

Lin Chen shook his head, turned slightly, and cast his gaze past Captain Ye Xuan to the School Team members standing on the sidelines, their expressions varied.

The corners of his mouth curled into an arc, and his voice rang out: "Since we have this rare opportunity, why not continue sparring?"

As soon as he finished speaking, it felt as if a cold, invisible wind blew through.

Oh no, he's here to wreck the place!

Whoosh!

Of the School Team members swept by Lin Chen's gaze, apart from a few who felt their fighting spirit rise, the rest reacted with surprising uniformity.

They almost subconsciously took half a step back, then simultaneously averted their eyes; some looked down at the ground, some pretended to whisper to the person next to them, and others looked up to study the architecture of the training hall's ceiling—

Seeing this, Captain Ye Xuan gave a light cough and said to Lin Chen: "Junior, your strength has truly exceeded all of our expectations. But in our School Team, we can still find a few people to spar with you."

He changed his tone, scanned the faces of the evasive team members, and finally pointed at them: "You guys, don't you always complain about not finding suitable sparring partners? Today is a rare opportunity, so play a few rounds with Junior Lin Chen and let him experience the different fighting styles of our School Team."

The few who were named by Captain Ye Xuan could no longer retreat and had no choice but to bite the bullet and nod.

In the spectator stands, seeing someone from the School Team step out to fight again, the noise that had just calmed down began to boil once more.

"Is he trying to challenge everyone on the School Team?"

"Pass it on: the School Team's internal management is corrupt, and the monster freshman is here to punish this chaos."

Amidst the deafening cheers and anticipation, the second match quickly kicked off.

But unlike the intense battle most of the audience expected, this School Team member sent out a Black-Armored Rhino to try and compete with the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur in raw strength, only to be crushed within two exchanges.

Seeing the Black-Armored Rhino quickly fall into a disadvantage, the School Team member steeled his heart and ordered the Black-Armored Rhino to charge forward.

"Moo-roar..."

The Black-Armored Rhino let out a low roar, its pillar-like forelimbs stomping heavily on the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground shook violently as ripples of earthy-yellow shockwaves spread outward from it as the center.

Immediately after, the Black-Armored Rhino lowered its massive head, aiming the giant horn on its forehead at the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur, pushed off with its hind legs, took heavy strides, and suddenly launched a terrifying Savage Charge!

With every step it took, the ground trembled; its momentum was majestic, as if it intended to crush everything in its path.

Facing such a pure strength-based opponent, a smile appeared on Lin Chen's face: "Dragon Shadow Charge."

Skipping the flashy tactical maneuvering, skipping the cautious probing back and forth, only the most pure, simple, and brutal test of strength remained on the field.

And this was precisely the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur's specialty.

In full view of everyone, the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur also charged forward; a faint dragon-shaped phantom rose around its body, its aura soaring step by step, its scarlet, round pupils looking down contemptuously: "ROAR!!!"

In an instant, under the breathless gaze of everyone, the two figures collided violently in the center of the arena!

BANG!!!!

The collision kicked up a deafening roar, and a visible ring of air waves mixed with gravel spread out in a sphere.

But the stalemate lasted less than half a second.

The Black-Armored Rhino's massive body was knocked staggering backward, its thick hind legs carving deep trenches into the ground, until finally, unable to hold on, it crashed onto its side, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Its forehead was dripping with blood, and its pride-and-joy giant horn had developed fine cracks; it struggled in pain, unable to stand up immediately.

[Defeated Tier 2 Beast, gained 6 EXP]

The Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur shook its head, then raised its head to survey the entire arena, roaring wantonly: "ROAR!!!"

"WOAH—!!!"

The spectator stands completely exploded.

Lin Chen stood in the command zone, surveying the boiling spectator stands, his gaze falling once again on the remaining opponents on the School Team side, the calm smile still on his face: "Next."

The third person to fight was a female member.

Her beast was a Colorful Poison Moth that specialized in mental interference and poison-type attacks.

"ROAR!"

Its tactics were more bizarre and variable, using its flight advantage and poison powder to harass and control, attempting to find a weakness in the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur.

But the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur remained as immovable as a mountain, seizing a fleeting opportunity to hit it directly with a Super Blast, sending the Colorful Poison Moth spiraling down while emitting black smoke.

It was another extremely clean and decisive victory.

[Task completed, received rewards: 30 EXP, triple exp card x3, Giant Horn Impact move learner]

In an instant, the cheers, shouts, and whistles of the entire arena engulfed Lin Chen and the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur like a tsunami.

At this moment, whether freshman or senior, everyone was conquered by this display of absolute dominance.

Whatever tactics, whatever attribute counters—in the face of pure strength, defense, and battle instinct, they all paled in comparison.

"1450! 1450! 1450!"

"Other freshmen are still trying every way they can to get their beasts to break through to Tier 2, but he's already invincible at Tier 2."

"Is our school's School Team really that bad?"

"It's okay, Captain Ye Xuan and the other main members haven't played yet; uh, they don't have Tier 2 beasts either."

"Can we fast-forward to the Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament? I want to see how the freshmen from other schools react when they face this monster."

In the front row of the spectator stands, Ye Zhen's body was taut and straight.

He clenched his fists, looking alternately at Captain Ye Xuan, whose face was written with admiration, and at Lin Chen, who was enjoying the cheers of the entire arena, his expression growing increasingly bewildered.

Yun Chuxiu watching Ye Zhen in this state, rarely refrained from teasing him; he just sighed softly and said earnestly: "See? Sometimes it's really not your fault for not working hard enough or not being talented enough."

He looked into the distance at Lin Chen's figure and added slowly: "Once some people appear, they are destined to steal the light from above everyone else's heads. We might already be geniuses in the eyes of ordinary people, but in front of him—"

Yun Chuxiu paused, not continuing, but the meaning was self-evident.

Ye Zhen's body trembled slightly; he turned his head abruptly to stare at Yun Chuxiu, lowering his voice, speaking word by word, as if squeezing them through his teeth: "No, not necessarily."

"Arena battles aren't everything."

Ye Zhen took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "If it were actual combat in the wild, I wouldn't necessarily lose to him."

"Since childhood, I have used my family's secret Dragon Blood Potion to temper my body, undergoing the most rigorous physical and combat training; my physical fitness far exceeds that of an ordinary Beast Tamer. In the wild, when beasts are restraining each other, I can completely defeat him directly."

Yun Chuxiu looked at the fighting spirit in Ye Zhen's eyes, which was so serious it bordered on paranoid, opened his mouth, and seemed to want to say something.

He remembered the scene at the training ground last night.

But when the words reached his lips, Yun Chuxiu ultimately swallowed them back, his tone intriguing: "As long as you're happy."

After three clean, crushing victories, Lin Chen did not propose continuing to spar, which made the remaining School Team members heave a long sigh of relief.

The match ended, and the students, still wanting more, left the arena one after another.

But the topics regarding the matches just now continued to ferment, with many people impatiently attaching various exaggerated titles and exclamation points to the videos they had filmed and posting them to the campus forum.

"Let's go, Junior, let's go sit in the lounge."

"And you two as well."

Captain Ye Xuan first invited Lin Chen, then gestured to Ye Zhen and the other who were walking over.

The group left the training hall, where the noise was gradually subsiding, and arrived at the lounge area exclusive to the School Team.

The environment here was elegant and quiet, equipped with comfortable sofas, drinks, and simple medical treatment equipment.

After everyone sat down, Captain Ye Xuan personally poured water for them, then looked at Lin Chen, his smile receding, and extended an invitation for the third time: "Junior Lin Chen, after the sparring just now, I have a deeper understanding of your strength."

He paused, the admiration in his eyes almost overflowing: "Your Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur possesses dominant combat power at the Tier 2 level. On behalf of the School Team, I once again invite you to join us and become a member of the School Team's second squad."

He added: "With your strength, you could definitely win the Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament in two months."

Lin Chen picked up his water glass, took a small sip, and did not answer immediately.

He had limited interest in these inter-college competitions.

"Senior, could you tell me more about this Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament, and are there any other competitions?"

Upon hearing this, Captain Ye Xuan patiently explained: "At the university level, there are all kinds of Beast Tamer competitions, of which the two most representative and influential are these."

"The first is the Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament, aimed at freshmen from various colleges in the Northern Territory."

"This competition is only open to first-year freshmen; it is an important battlefield for top academic institutions to showcase the potential of the new generation and compete for future students and prestige."

"Becoming the champion in this competition is equivalent to being the number one among all freshmen in the Northern Territory."

Having said this, he reined in his smile, his expression becoming slightly more serious: "The second is the University Beast Tamer League aimed at upperclassmen."

"This is the highest-level competition for universities in the true sense, covering all higher education institutions across the country that offer Beast Tamer majors; the competition format is more complex and complete, and the competition is countless times more intense."

"The minimum threshold for participating in the University League is being an Intermediate Beastmaster, so it's usually second and third-year students who participate; fourth-year students are busy with internships and looking for jobs, so they don't participate."

Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully.

In other words, becoming the champion of these two competitions is equivalent to the achievement of perfectly clearing the university dungeon.

It didn't sound particularly difficult.

Captain Ye Xuan's gaze swept over Lin Chen, Ye Zhen, and Yun Chuxiu, and he continued: "Our School Team is therefore divided into the first squad and the second squad."

"The first squad is mainly composed of me and some other second and third-year students, with the goal of preparing for the University League."

"And the second squad is you first-year freshmen; the main goal is to prepare for the Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament, while also being trained as reserve forces for the first squad."

He looked at Lin Chen, his tone encouraging: "With your current strength, joining the second squad would absolutely make you the core of the core, our trump card for the Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament."

"By the way, joining the School Team also allows you to regularly earn academic credits."

Lin Chen nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

Afterward, he fell into deep thought, weighing the pros and cons.

[Ding!]

[Detected relevant competition information, triggered side quest chain!]

[Side Quest ②: Rise of the New Star]

[Task Content: Participate in the Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament and win the championship. On the stage belonging to newcomers, display your undisputed dominance and player style!]

[Task Rewards: 100 EXP, quadruple exp card x10, Primary Physical Fitness Enhancement]

[Side Quest ③: Journey of the King]

[Task Content: Participate in this year's University League and win the championship. In the guise of a newcomer, step onto a higher stage, defeat all seniors, and ascend to the pinnacle of university Beast Tamers!]

[Task Rewards: 300 EXP, quintuple exp card x10, Ancient Digimon Bloodline x1.]

Two task prompts popped up almost simultaneously, floating on Lin Chen's consciousness interface.

Lin Chen's eyes suddenly lit up.

Primary Physical Fitness Enhancement!

Just the basic enhancement had already transformed him into a Tier 2 humanoid beast; if he were to enhance it again, he couldn't imagine the power he could possess.

Zhao Siwen, is it? Come here for a one-on-one!

And the reward for the second task was even more surprising: Ancient Digimon Bloodline!

It is well known that there is an essential difference between ordinary Digimon and Ancient Digimon, and their combat power is worlds apart.

If the Flame-Spine Tyrannosaur, with its current strength, were paired with an Ancient Digimon Bloodline, Lin Chen couldn't imagine what kind of combat power it would possess; paired with the amplification of the crest, Lin Chen suddenly felt some anticipation for the day the Dark Crisis arrived.

As these thoughts flashed by, he looked up at Captain Ye Xuan: "Captain Ye Xuan, I have a question."

"Hmm? Go ahead." Captain Ye Xuan replied.

"If I join the School Team—"

Lin Chen's speaking speed was steady, his eyes bright: "Then, can I sign up for both the Northern Territory Freshman Exchange Tournament and the University Beast Tamer League at the same time?"

The lounge fell silent instantly.

"Participate in both at the same time?"

Captain Ye Xuan repeated, then laughed and shook his head, explaining patiently: "Junior, how is that possible? I just said, the minimum threshold to participate in the University League is being an Intermediate Beastmaster."

He paused, and when he saw that Lin Chen was full of seriousness and not joking, he added: "Most importantly, the dates for these two competitions are very close, and some of the stages even overlap; it's impossible for you to participate in both at the same time."

Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully.

Looking at it this way, participating in both competitions at the same time didn't seem very realistic.

But what if there was a solution?

He looked down and thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up, his eyes bright: "Senior, that is to say, if I can become an Intermediate Beastmaster within two months and solve the problem of appearing at the same time, I can participate, right?"

"If, and I mean if, if the Beast Tamer doesn't arrive in person and lets the beast enter the arena to fight on its own, does that comply with the rules?"

"Huh?"