"Understood." After paying a certain matchmaking fee and receiving the number plate from the staff member, Lin Su found a battle station and sat down in the spectator seats to watch the ongoing fights.
On the battle station, two beast companions were fighting an evenly matched battle, while beneath it, Lin Su watched with rapt attention.
...
"Brother Tang, help me sign up."
Not long after Lin Su had left, a voice appeared at the front desk registration.
The staff member who had just served Lin Su looked up and chuckled, "Zhong Hao, here to bully the newbies again?"
"Don't tease, Brother Tang. Everyone here is a big shot; I'm just a small fry. Who knows, I might get bullied one of these days." The youth registering looked to be about eighteen, just graduated from high school, and bore a humble expression on his face in response to the staff member's joke.
As the son of the Battle Arena's owner, Zhong Hao had contracted with a low-rank commander species, the Powerful Rock Bear, and through training and combat, had increased his Powerful Rock Bear's constant energy value to over the 400P limit of the commander species. Even among all the senior high school graduates in District 11, he stood out.
From the time he had contracted his beast companion, his Powerful Rock Bear had dominated in juvenile beast companion battles, and no other beast companion was a match for it.
With such an unbeatable streak, Zhong Hao realized that his beast companion was starting to show signs of arrogance and complacency, which could negatively impact its future training. Therefore, he planned to let his Powerful Rock Bear suffer a defeat as a wake-up call and take the opportunity to give the little guy a good teaching.
However, Zhong Hao soon sighed.
That being said, it's hard for the Powerful Rock Bear to lose, given its strength.
If it wins again this time, does it mean it needs to challenge an elite class beast companion next?
Sometimes having a too powerful beast companion can be quite troubling.
"Zhong Hao, here's your number plate." The staff member handed a number plate to Zhong Hao with a smile.
As Zhong Hao took the number plate, an electronic voice rang out from the loudspeaker.
[Please proceed to battle station number 23 for a match between A0123 Lin Su and A0125 Zhong Hao.]
He instinctively glanced at the number plate in his hand, A0125.
This meant that there was already a suitable opponent in the queue, and now he was perfectly matched with them.
Good, let's see who this opponent is. Hopefully, he can put some pressure on the Powerful Rock Bear.
...
The two beast companions on the battle station eventually managed to struggle out a victor, and just as Lin Su was about to get up and look for another battle to watch, the electronic announcement sounded again.
Upon hearing his number called, Lin Su quickly made his way toward battle station number 23.
In the strictest sense, this was his first battle against a peer Beast Tamer. Although he and Qiuqiu had trained hard, Lin Su was not clear about the status of other Beast Tamers of the same rank.
Although he could travel between two different worlds, effectively doubling his training time compared to a normal Beast Tamer, which gave him a considerable advantage, he had heard that some Beast Tamers with better conditions would purchase beast companions and conduct various trainings before making a contract.
When they turned eighteen and could contract beast companions, they contracted powerfully trained beast companions right away. After all, Qiuqiu's current species rank was only that of an elite species, and it would be normal not to defeat such beast companions.
For the first battle, hopefully, he could win.
Soon, Lin Su stood on the edge of battle station number 23, looking up curiously at his opponent.
He saw a boy who seemed to be about his age. Noticing Lin Su's gaze, the boy returned it with a friendly smile, "Please do your best to defeat my beast companion."
Lin Su: "..."
Somehow, he felt there was something not quite right with what he had said.
Never mind, it's not important.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Su turned to the judge, "Can we start now?"
The judge, having recognized the son of the arena's owner, grimaced slightly at Lin Su's eager tone.
He did not believe that this new face could defeat the owner's son.
Clearing his throat, the judge spoke, "I am Zhao Hong, the referee for battle station number 23. Are both Beast Tamers ready?"
"I'm ready," Lin Su nodded, a glint of excitement in his eyes.
He had already communicated with Qiuqiu in the Beast Taming Space, and Qiuqiu was wide awake, equally anticipating the upcoming battle.
"No issues here either," Zhong Hao nodded as well, pondering something in his eyes.
It seemed to be a fellow high school senior like himself, with the only special aspect being that he had never seen him before—he was an unfamiliar face.
Thinking that he could use him to discipline his own beast companion seemed a bit far-fetched.
"Both participants are ready, so next, each will summon their pet beasts after I count down from three. Before that, let me reiterate the rules once more. Both Beast Tamers must remain stationary in the marked zone and are not allowed to enter the arena. The pet beasts must be summoned after the countdown ends."
Having confirmed that there were no further questions from either party, Zhao Hong blew the whistle hanging around his neck.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One..."
"Begin!"
As Zhao Hong's word "begin" fell, Lin Su and Zhong Hao both made their move.
Faint yellow lights like tendrils sprouted from beneath their feet, intertwining rapidly to form complex circular runes, energy whirlwinds sprang up in the arena, stirring the clothes of the spectators.
The opponent also has a second-tier Beast Taming Space?
Lin Su's expression grew more solemn; indeed, the other Beast Tamers should not be underestimated.
This battle must not be taken lightly.
Across from him, Zhong Hao's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing the faint yellow light under Lin Su's feet, his eyes filled with increased excitement.
He had used some supernatural resources to aid his meditation a few days ago and had barely managed to break through to the second-tier Beast Taming Space. He had not expected a peer of similar age to have also achieved a breakthrough.
In an instant, his anticipation for the battle rose.
Perhaps this battle would be different!
Within the summoning circles, ripples materialized like substance, and soon, the silhouettes of two pet beasts appeared.
...
"Brother Cao, come over and sit here," a middle-aged man cheerfully addressed another man, "Just in time, my son is in the midst of a pet beast battle. How about we watch the battle first, then talk business?"
"Alright, let's see how talented my nephew is now," Cao Xuyang nodded, his gaze shifting to the two pet beasts in the arena, his face showing a hint of surprise, "Eh? Is my nephew's beast the Powerful Rock Bear? It seems to be in great shape."
Speaking, Cao Xuyang casually scanned with his communicator, and his face showed even greater surprise, "A standard energy value of 417P? It's actually beyond the range for a standard energy value of a juvenile stage leader species, well nurtured indeed."
"Hahaha, the Powerful Rock Bear that my son contracted was purchased at a high price; its physical quality is a bit stronger than that of an ordinary one, probably because it is a variant pet beast," Zhong Tianzhan said with a proud look in his eyes, "Over the past month, my son has had over fifty battles and has never lost."
"This time his opponent is a high-class elite species; there's no suspense at all," Zhong Tianzhan shook his head, "Brother Cao, had I known, I would rather have taken you elsewhere. We might as well not watch this battle."
"Not necessarily," Cao Xuyang suddenly fell silent, "The high-class elite species you mentioned has a standard energy value of 399P."
"What?!" Zhong Tianzhan was stunned for a moment, quickly picking up his communicator and scanning, his complexion becoming incredibly astonished, "How is this energy value possible?"
"It's theoretically possible, just very rare," Cao Xuyang's eyes gleamed with a hint of expectation, "Let's see how it goes."
Zhong Tianzhan opened his mouth but eventually closed it slowly.
He watched the two pet beasts in the arena intently, his expression no longer easygoing.
...
[Sequence IAM-0112
Species Name: Powerful Rock Bear
Species Hierarchy: Lower leader species
Attribute: Earth
Growth Stage: Juvenile stage
Standard Energy Value: 417P
Talent Skills: Rock Armor (Core Skill), Shattering Rock Strike, Rock Breaking Stab]
Lin Su sighed in relief as he read the results displayed on his communicator.
Gazing at the towering bear draped in rock-brown armor, standing beside the Beast Tamer across from him, a fervent fighting spirit flashed in his eyes.
"Qiuqiu, there's a chance of victory in this battle; the energy value difference between you is not significant."
"Mee!" (Understood!)
"Go! Qiuqiu!"
"Mee! (◣_◢)" (Charge!)