31: Opening of the competition

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

The day of the highly anticipated Sacred Dragon Cup had finally arrived.

"Bai Ye, over here, over here."

At the entrance of the Luoxue City high-speed railway station, Lin Anan, dressed in a pink tracksuit, was waving energetically at Bai Ye.

Beside her followed the middle-aged man in a butler's uniform, looking meticulous.

"Fluff-lover? Why are you here?"

Bai Ye looked at Lin Anan with some surprise.

He remembered he hadn't told her he was going to Huanglong City today.

Was she secretly monitoring him?

A hardcore crush!

"Hmph, don't even get me started."

Lin Anan put her hands on her hips, glaring at him puffily.

"When you asked the teacher for leave two days ago to participate in the Sacred Dragon Cup, the teacher already made you a class example."

Thinking of the homeroom teacher constantly mentioning Bai Ye, Lin Anan couldn't help but hold her forehead.

Bai Ye suppressed the corners of his mouth.

Thinking that he had finally become the 'other people's child,' he couldn't help but want to laugh.

He coughed lightly: "Aren't you uninterested in fighting and killing?"

"I'm not interested, but I am interested in fluff!"

Lin Anan said righteously.

"Huanglong City, you know! It's much more prosperous than our Luoxue City. There must be many big, soft, fluffy creatures there. I'm going to go look for my next beast pet."

Bai Ye: "..."

Fine, this reason fits Lin Anan's character well.

"Besides, I'm worried about you going alone."

Lin Anan added in a low voice, a rare look of worry appearing on her face.

"The Sacred Dragon Cup is full of tough guys; you should at least bring a support team."

Bai Ye's Ghost Orchid truly had the Innate holy body for being taunted.

She could already imagine what would happen during the competition.

Bai Ye felt a warmth in his heart; he truly hadn't spoiled the fluff-lover for nothing.

When he got home, he would give her that "hairless Wanyan Horse" plush toy he had ordered online.

"Fine, then let's go together."

"That's more like it."

Lin Anan beamed with joy upon hearing this.

Seeing her fully armed attire, Bai Ye narrowed his eyes and suddenly stared into Lin Anan's eyes, asking: "Wait, did you skip class to come here?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Of course I asked for leave. Besides, skipping school is something you would do."

Lin Anan's eyes shifted downward, but feeling that this made her look even more guilty, she immediately glared and retorted.

Confirmed, this girl skipped class.

After all, she was already guaranteed admission, so review before the College Entrance Examination was no longer important for Lin Anan or him.

"Meow, meow, meow~"

Several meows suddenly sounded from the backpack behind Bai Ye, making Lin Anan jump.

Her eyes lit up as she looked around.

She walked around Bai Ye in confusion, finally locking her gaze on the backpack behind him.

Looking at Bai Ye somewhat bashfully, she whispered: "Bai Ye, are you hiding something in your backpack?"

Bai Ye felt it was time to let the two little ones come out for some air, so he unzipped the backpack.

Two furry little heads poked out, one black and one white, curiously looking around.

"This is a Phantom Cat, my newly tamed beast pet."

"A Phantom Cat? It's actually a live Phantom Cat, so cute!"

Lin Anan was instantly melted by the cuteness, stars appearing in her eyes, and she reached out to hug them.

Little Black guardedly bared its teeth and hid behind Bai Ye's neck.

Phantom Snow, on the other hand, used its golden eyes to give Lin Anan a cold glance, causing her hand to freeze in mid-air.

"Eh? Not allowed to touch?"

Although Lin Anan loved fluff, she wouldn't ignore the beast pets' own feelings, so she could only give the two Phantom Cats a sheepish smile.

Two fluffy balls right in front of her, yet she couldn't touch them; what a pity.

"They are shy; they'll be fine once they get used to you."

Bai Ye explained with a smile.

Lin Anan sighed silently, but quickly perked up again.

She was a woman who planned to become a Breeder.

How could she be depressed over such a small thing?

"Let's go, let's go, if we don't leave now, we'll be late. I already had Uncle Wang buy the tickets; they're business class!"

She pulled Bai Ye and ran towards the entrance.

Butler Uncle Wang carried two large suitcases, following behind at a steady pace.

Luoxue City was not far from Huanglong City; the high-speed rail took just over an hour.

Soon, the high-speed train arrived at Huanglong City.

As soon as they stepped out of the station, a wave of heat washed over them.

Unlike Luoxue City, Huanglong City had a hot climate due to the unique nature of its Secret Realm, and it even had a bit of a tropical vibe.

The buildings on both sides of the street were also taller and more magnificent than those in Luoxue City.

The most eye-catching thing was the Beast Tamers and their beast pets visible everywhere.

Flying in the sky, running on the ground, all kinds of Yao Beasts—it was dazzling.

As for the Sacred Dragon Cup, because it was the lowest-level competition, the number of people paying attention wasn't particularly high.

But it definitely couldn't be called small.

"Uncle Wang, let's go to the hotel to drop off our luggage first, then go to the registration point for on-site verification."

Lin Anan said to the butler.

"Very well, Young Miss."

Uncle Wang had already arranged everything.

The hotel Lin Anan booked was the top-tier "Sacred Dragon Hotel" in Huanglong City.

Bai Ye followed them into the magnificent hotel lobby and suddenly felt that the forty-plus million in his bank account wasn't that much after all.

After dropping off the luggage, Lin Anan couldn't wait to drag Bai Ye to the registration point.

The registration verification location was set at the branch of the Beast Tamer Association in Huanglong City.

The Beast Tamer Association here was even more powerful than the one in Luoxue City.

There was already a long line at the verification counter.

Young Beast Tamers from all over gathered here with their beast pets.

Bai Ye stood in line, silently observing the competitors around him.

The advantage of the illustrated compendium appeared once again.

The Apprentice Beast Tamers who dared to participate in the Sacred Dragon Cup generally had beast pets of a higher grade than those in Luoxue City.

There were quite a few beast pets with outstanding Aptitude.

He even saw three with Rare Aptitude.

A Fire Crow burning with blue flames, a Thunder Wolf with fur like steel needles, and an Emerald Dragon with a single horn on its head.

"If I only rely on Little Lan, this competition won't be easy to fight."

Bai Ye thought to himself.

"Next, number 777!"

It was finally Bai Ye's turn.

He walked to the verification counter and handed over his identity information and registration certificate.

The staff member in charge of registration was a young man with a face full of fatigue.

He took Bai Ye's information and glanced at it.

"Name, Bai Ye; City, Luoxue City."

"Initial beast pet... Ghost Orchid?"

The young man looked up, staring at Bai Ye with a strange expression.

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone around heard it.

A dozen gazes shot over simultaneously.

They were basically curious or surprised; no mocking scenes occurred.

Instead, a young man standing nearby kindly reminded him: "Brother, are you sure you want to use a Ghost Orchid to compete?"

"Although the Beast Tamers participating are all Rank 1, the competition intensity of the Sacred Dragon Cup is still very high. If your beast pet gets injured, it might affect its future potential."

Another person chimed in: "Yeah, a support-type beast pet like a Ghost Orchid is at too much of a disadvantage in a one-on-one competition. Why not just forget it?"

After all, for a Beast Tamer, the initial beast pet is their closest partner.

No one wants it to suffer irreparable harm.

Lin Anan's face flushed red; she wanted to refute them, but was held back by Bai Ye.

Bai Ye said to the staff member calmly: "That's right, it's the Ghost Orchid. Please register it."

The people around who had advised him shook their heads, not thinking well of Bai Ye.

The Ghost Orchid probably wouldn't even pass the preliminary round.

The young man took a deep look at Bai Ye. Since he insisted on participating, he couldn't say anything more and quickly processed the verification procedures.

"Alright, be at the Sacred Dragon Arena in the east of the city at nine tomorrow morning for the preliminary round. Lateness counts as forfeiture."

"Thanks."

Bai Ye took his competition certificate, thanked him, and turned to leave.

On the way back, Lin Anan leaned close to Bai Ye to comfort him.

"Bai Ye, don't be angry; they mean well."

Although she felt Bai Ye shouldn't be angry about something like this.

"I'm not angry."

Bai Ye shook his head with a smile.

"What they said is actually not wrong, but it's a pity that my Little Lan is not an ordinary Ghost Orchid."

Moreover, just as his opponent was about to defeat Little Lan and was already thinking about their victory speech in their head, that was when he would enter the stage.