Chapter 256: You Call This a Beast Tamer?

"The rules were set long ago and will not be changed," Liu Wanliang said.

"That is good," Zhao Xing nodded.

Zhao Xing asked no more, Liu Wanliang spoke no more, and the group waited quietly before the Gate of the Canghai Divine Realm.

Occasionally, teams walked over across the wasteland, and soon the crowds surrounding the entrance became spectacular.

Although there are only over fifty thousand Beast Tamers, the number of their battle pets is unlimited; how many you can contract counts as your skill.

However, Beast Tamers of the middle three ranks have a limit on the number of soul contracts they can form.

Forming soul contracts carries a burden, one even heavier than cultivating the Straw Man Method.

The Straw Man Method at least involves splitting one's own life soul; one can usually choose to 'log off', entering a low-activity dormant state, or recall the life soul power back to the main body.

But a Beast Tamer bears the life souls of their battle pets; imagine hundreds or thousands of mountain lynxes or Cangni dogs barking in your mind all day... within a year, the Beast Tamer would go mad.

Nor can one simply break the contract when not fighting; such frequent operations damage both the battle pet and oneself.

"When Beast Tamers normally participate in battle, most bring fewer than ten battle beasts; quality matters more than quantity, and numbers cannot be piled up easily."

"Even high-rank Beast Tamers who have reached the Yuan Soul Realm and can bear greater numbers would not do so."

Relying on sheer numbers is useless unless one reaches a certain scale; otherwise, it is better to focus on cultivating a few battle beasts.

"When the Spirit Qi Resurgence version arrives, the spiritual intelligence of battle pets will rise significantly; both Beast Tamers and battle pets will know how to cultivate life souls, and the upper limit on contract numbers will become higher."

"However, Beast Tamers capable of mass-producing troops remain a minority," Zhao Xing said, glancing at the surrounding Beast Taming teams.

Even with the Spirit Qi Resurgence, the issue of wealth cannot be bypassed; cultivating battle beasts requires massive resources.

Cultivating a few main battle beasts is already unbearable; cultivating dozens? Only the wealthy could manage that.

For a Beast Tamer, the money spent on battle pets is ten times, or even dozens of times, what they spend on themselves.

Take Zhao Xing himself as an example; excluding the mountain lynx as an exception, the Spirit Illusion Goat and the Cangni Dog growing to the Third Rank consumed nearly twenty million worth of resources from him.

This was still at cost price, because Zhao Xing himself was a producer of resources and a Farmer who mastered the Thunder Marquis Transformation.

If someone else did it, the cost could easily multiply several times.

The Beast Tamer profession is too money-burning, second only to the Artificer; after graduation, one must affiliate with a Wang Gong or noble, or be of Wang Gong or noble birth oneself; independent Beast Tamers are extremely rare.

Among all professions, the cheapest upgrade path is the Martial Artist, though this is relative to other cultivation professions.

"There is nothing to see; everyone is suppressing their strength and walking obediently on the ground, revealing nothing," Zhao Xing quickly withdrew his gaze.

Because those coming from White Cloud Island must walk; flight is forbidden, and even birds must obediently walk on their claws.

The Beast Tamers had cast spells to suppress the strength of their strange beasts and restrained their auras.

Having reached this point, they were all well-trained, and the commotion on the wasteland was very slight.

With four hours remaining, Zhao Xing simply set down the Wen Bamboo Box, leaned his back against it, and closed his eyes to rest.

The Cangni Dog, the mountain lynx, and the Spirit Illusion Goat formed a pincer formation, guarding Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing's consciousness sank inward, gazing into the Pure Origin Space.

At this moment, the Pure Origin Soil had expanded from thirty-four thousand one hundred square meters to sixty-eight thousand square meters.

However, this still falls within the category of Level Three Soil.

The convergence characteristics of the Pure Origin Space are as follows:

One, living beings: only plant life can be brought in, and it must not be below the Fifth Grade, requiring a match with the Fifth Grade Pure Origin Realm.

Two, non-living beings: only two types can enter.

The first type is wood-attribute materials, and there is a weight limit.

The second type is energy-class treasures, such as 'Origin Crystals', which are pure energy crystalline bodies; these have no weight limit, depending only on the size of the space.

At present, the Pure Origin Soil is already a scene of prosperity.

Excluding the large tree-type plants which have not yet entered the maturity stage, all other systems are fully mature.

Zhao Xing divided the Pure Origin Soil into three zones.

The first is plant troops; all planted are plant troops, such as Lightning Bamboo, Resilient Long Vines, Poisonous Mushrooms, and Thousand-Sound Bamboo.

This is the largest zone, with a quantity exceeding ten thousand.

The second is recovery-type plants, mainly for Yuan Qi recovery and detoxifying medicinal herbs.

The third is consumable-type plants, mainly materials required for the Ten Thousand Methods Clones.

In addition, fifty clones stood in the center of Zhao Xing's Pure Origin Soil.

Among them were the nine strongest Ten Thousand Methods Clones.

"For this ranking contest, neither Beast Tamers nor battle pets are allowed to bring any divine weapons or sharp tools."

"But inside, there are equipment supply points; this simulates the situation in the Ancient Dragon Court ruins, where broken equipment can be found everywhere in the ancient Dragon Court ruins; even if broken, some can still exert great power."

"These clones of mine should not count as divine weapons or sharp tools," Zhao Xing thought silently.

Zhao Xing was not worried about the plant troops.

Because in the obscure classifications of the official Beast Taming Bureau, there was once a category called Plant Tamers.

It was later crossed out because the Farmer profession simply does not do that.

This is a school of the Farmer; how can it be assigned to your Beast Taming Bureau?

However, a Farmer of the Benwo Sect competing for a spot in the Ancient Dragon Court is not without precedent.

It is just very rare.

Farmers of the Benwo Sect are already very rare.

Combat-type Farmers of the Benwo Sect are even rarer.

In fact, many Farmers of the Benwo Sect mainly cultivate economic-type plants.

In mainstream thought, the Tian Shi School is stronger than the Dili Sect, which is stronger than the Benwo Sect.

If you want to fight, why not join the Tian Shi or Dili schools?

But it cannot be denied that the Benwo Sect's Agricultural Officials, who control plant troops, are, in a sense, also Tamer; they are just a niche and obscure group, not recognized by the mainstream Tamer world.

Releasing plant troops is not a violation, but the Ten Thousand Dharma Avatars, Zhao Xing was not quite sure about that.

Because historically, no Agricultural Official of the Benwo Sect who cultivated the Ten Thousand Dharma Avatars had ever participated in the Ten Thousand Beasts Competition.

"Carrying divine weapons is forbidden, but the Ten Thousand Dharma Avatars is a school of magic; how can it be counted as a divine weapon?"

Zhao Xing checked the rules carefully again, confirmed there was no regulation forbidding this, and thus set his mind at ease.

…………

Four double-hours passed in the blink of an eye.

In a moment, a golden dragon warship appeared above the massive entrance of the Canghai Secret Realm.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~

Countless gazes immediately turned toward the sky.

On the deck of the warship, dozens of officials were standing.

Among them, four flew out from the warship.

"Junior Agricultural Commissioner Wang Tianzhi, Grand Servant Commissioner Ji Ji Shuchang, Grand General of the Eastern Sea Hong Hong Yuanba, and Water Tribe Envoy of Manifested Might Bai Yunwu," Zhao Xing looked at the sky.

These four were responsible for presiding; at such an occasion, Princess Youruo had to step aside.

Because although her status was noble, she had her own fiefdom and Scholar Feng Chen, and her power was great, in terms of official rank, she held no Second Rank position.

"Wang Tianzhi is a candidate for the next Grand Agricultural Commissioner."

"He is currently only around two hundred and fifty years old, which is still very young for a Second Rank. However, although 'young', his seniority is very high."

"He is the junior junior disciple of the current Grand Agricultural Commissioner Li Boqian, and also serves as the Vice Dean of the Profound Heaven Academy," Zhao Xing thought silently.

There is not just one Junior Agricultural Commissioner; the Great Zhou's nineteen provinces have at least nineteen Junior Agricultural Commissioners. Why say "at least"? Because sometimes, the secret realms and blessed lands within each province will additionally appoint Junior Agricultural Commissioners.

During the Wu Di era, to make distinctions, positions within secret realms and blessed lands were called Junior Agricultural Commissioners, while those in the nineteen provinces were called Junior Agricultural Ministers; essentially, their powers and responsibilities were no different, only the names differed, and both were subordinates of the Grand Agricultural Commissioner.

But being both a Junior Agricultural Commissioner and the Vice Dean of the Profound Heaven Academy, Wang Tianzhi's status was quite special.

Later, although he did not surpass Liu Tianning in the competition, he still became the leader of the Heavenly Timing Sect and received heavy utilization from Old Liu.

Grand Servant Commissioner Ji Ji Shuchang is a subordinate of the Grand Servant; the Grand Servant manages all Taming in the world, and part of his authority overlaps with that of the Junior Agricultural Commissioner.

Although various professions have different cultivation paths, the government institutions are interwoven like roof beams, complementing each other.

For example, the Director of the Dragon Horse Bureau in Chongming Prefecture can be held by an Agricultural Official or by a Tamer.

The Director of the Divine Selection Bureau can similarly be held by a Priest; it is just a matter of naming. If the Divine Selection Bureau is managed by the Grand Servant, it is called the Grand Servant Priest.

Dong Yuanqiu, the Director of the Chenghua Bureau under Zhao Xing, can also perform the Warhorse Dance and the Courtship Dance; the official posts held by Mi Fu were even more numerous than Dong Yuanqiu's.

In the Agricultural Official training course at the Ten Yang Secret Realm, Zhao Xing also learned mechanical arrays, warship piloting, and Spirit Summoning.

Agricultural Officials also have methods of Spirit Summoning, but Zhao Xing never practices this path.

Because although the government says that if used properly, it will not shorten one's life, and using incense offerings bears the cost, in reality, frequent possession by Yin Spirits still has an effect.

Just like the path of mechanical arrays, Zhao Xing simply did not practice it from the start, to avoid being unable to resist using it.

In short, in government positions where functions overlap, multi-talented officials will appear.

Ji Ji Shuchang spoke first, delivering a round of polite remarks, mainly explaining the origins of the Dragon Court Ancient Land and the Ten Thousand Beasts Competition.

He began by praising the Taizu, saying that he opened up the Pinghaizhou region, allowing the Great Zhou to access the Dragon Court Ancient Land secret realm.

He also credited the benevolence of the Wendi, which caused the Water Tribe local chieftains to submit their hearts, thereby obtaining the quota to enter the Dragon Court Ancient Land.

Finally, he praised the Jingdi, who expanded this quota to five thousand.

Of these, three thousand five hundred were already fully allocated by the imperial court to Upper Three Ranks Tamers, who did not need to participate in the competition; they are also the main force exploring the Dragon Court Ancient Land.

The Middle Three Ranks have one thousand five hundred quotas, of which five hundred quotas will be decided this time.

In fact, the Great Zhou's greatest merit in obtaining the quota to enter the Dragon Court Ancient Land lies with the Wendi; during the Taizu era, this did not exist, and it was always divided three ways among the Water Tribe clans, the Sect world, and the Eastern Desolate powers.

During the Taizu era, they merely drove away the Water Tribe and opened up the Pinghaizhou region.

In the early Wendi period, the Water Tribe local chieftain system was implemented, causing many powerful Water Tribe forces to submit.

When Water Tribe tribes submitted, their associated quotas were also offered to the Great Zhou. Without deploying a single soldier, the Wendi obtained one thousand quotas; by the end of the Wendi's reign, this slowly grew to four thousand quotas.

What contribution did the Jingdi make? He did only two things.

First, he slept with Princess Youruo's mother, which added five hundred extra quotas.

Second, he gave birth to Princess Youruo and doted on her in every way, thus adding another five hundred quotas.

The reason for this effect is entirely because Princess Youruo's mother was herself a member of the Water Tribe; her grandmother, the Green Mist Yuanjun, claimed to be a descendant of the God of the Canghai Sea, meaning Princess Youruo is actually a mixed-blood.

Back then, when He Wu and Fang Ze chatted privately about her, they referred to her as 'Princess of the Eastern Sea'; this nickname comes from her ancestors.

"May Our Emperor live forever and boundlessly!"

A deafening roar suddenly came from beside his ears; Zhao Xing looked up and saw that the Grand Servant Commissioner Ji Ji Shuchang and the Junior Agricultural Commissioner Wang Tianzhi in the sky had already finished speaking.

Next, it was Bai Yunwu and Hong Hong Yuanba's turn to announce the specific rules.

"From the moment everyone enters the Canghai Secret Realm, the competition begins."

"This competition has a total of five stages!"

Zhao Xing listened with full concentration.

Because although the rules had long been officially notified to all regions, the stages within them were only to be announced now, just like exam questions are only known upon arriving at the exam hall.

"The five stages within the Canghai Secret Realm are selected from five trials in the Dragon Court Ancient Land, namely:"

"The Grand Arena."

"Dragon's Guardian."

"Island of the Chosen."

"True Long Wang Cheng."

"Dragon Tongue Decree."

Bai Yunwu announced the specific names of the stages, and below, fierce discussion erupted.

"It's over, it's over, why is this trial so difficult?"

"This is bad, I have absolutely no training related to the True Dragon King City."

"Island of the Chosen? Isn't this purely a luck-based stage? How did they include this?"

"Charge, charge, charge! Promotion and ennoblement, right now!"

"Hehe, I've been stuck at Fourth Rank for a long time; the reward this time is substantial. If Da Bao and I rank in the top five hundred, we will both advance to Fourth Rank proper! Promotion of title!"

"The Great Arena stage, with me present, I am invincible!"

"True Dragon King City, hiss..."

"Senior brother, what are you hissing about? You haven't even heard of this stage."

"Everyone is saying it's difficult."

"..."

Zhao Xing heard the names of these five stages, and his complexion changed somewhat.

Because the difficulty this time was considerable, the five simulated stages selected included four that were major trials.

Lin Ziyue, Wang Zhaozhao, and Zhang Mo beside him were all Fourth Rank Riders, and their complexions were also grim; obviously, they had no confidence either.

"I wonder if this is influenced by the Great Campaign against the Barbarians," Zhao Xing calculated with his eyes closed.

The Medium Campaign of the previous life ended in the thirty-fifth year of the Jingxin Era.

This life it began three years early; if the timeline remained unchanged, it should have ended in the thirty-second year of the Jingxin Era, but now there is no sign of ending at all; instead, it is intensifying.

"Does the imperial court want to gain benefits from the Ancient Land of the Dragon Court to secure a greater advantage?"

"The five stages just announced are all places rarely explored in previous times."

"Stages that should only be explored on a large scale during the Wu Di era are now showing such signs... Emperor Jing, stop, the outside is full of rebels; leave some foundation for your son."

Zhao Xing opened his eyes and departed from the Memory Palace.

Because at this moment, Hong Hong Yuanba let out a loud shout: "Silence!"

The sound was like rolling heavenly thunder, instantly suppressing all the voices of discussion.

Reaching the realm of Second Rank means even a single sentence contains the might of heaven and earth.

Everyone fell silent, and Bai Yunwu continued speaking:

"Five stages, every single stage holds danger!"

"However, if you encounter danger, you can activate the Canghai Token; once activated, the Canghai Grotto-Heaven will immediately expel you."

"Every stage has independent scoring points; those with comprehensive scores in the top five hundred will directly obtain a spot, while the remaining people will compete later for the remaining one thousand spots."

"Now, I will repeat the general rules for the competitive trial."

"One, carrying any divine weapons or sharp blades is forbidden."

"Two, if all battle beasts die, it is considered elimination; even if the total score ranks in the top five hundred, one will be unable to obtain a spot."

"Three, once one withdraws, one cannot re-enter, but the score is retained."

"Four, if a battle beast breaks through to Third Rank within the Canghai Grotto-Heaven, one directly obtains a spot and no longer participates in this competition."

"Five, killing is forbidden in the public rest area."

"Six..."

There were many rules; Zhao Xing listened carefully and found them identical to the official circulars sent previously.

After Bai Yunwu finished reciting the rules, the sky remained silent for another quarter-hour.

Until noon exactly, the blue vortex of the Canghai Gate unsealed.

"Roar!"

A dragon's cry rang out, and the first person rode a dragon flying toward the giant gate.

At this moment, the no-flying rule vanished, and all people and beasts rushed toward that thousand-meter giant gate.

"Ao Tian, Huan Tian, Xiao Tian, let's go!"

Zhao Xing immediately soared on clouds and mist.

Beside him, a cat, a dog, and a sheep also took flight quickly, charging along with their master.

"His speed? How is it so fast?" Lin Ziyue, riding a Flying Celestial Elephant and preparing to accelerate, saw Zhao Xing suddenly dart out; in the blink of an eye, only a shadow was visible.

"Flying so fast, the person is fast, and the battle pets are fast too." Wang Zhaozhao beside him was equally surprised; judging purely by speed, Zhao Xing was faster than them, these Fourth Rank Riders.

"Could he be pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger?" Zhang Mo also glanced over in surprise, unable to help but wonder in his heart.

However, there was no time to think much now; the Riders of the Princess's Residence all began rushing toward the Canghai Gate.

"Vroom~"

Zhao Xing followed many streams of light into the giant gate; around him were at least ten thousand streams of light, their speed not inferior to his.

Just like the feeling of entering any Grotto-Heaven, after rushing in, he felt a vague resistance.

Until half a quarter-hour later, the world before his eyes spun and turned upside down, heaven and earth inverted, becoming head down and feet up.

"Stop!"

Zhao Xing called a halt, and the three battle beasts stopped immediately.

"Heavenly Eye Technique!"

Zhao Xing activated the Heavenly Eye Technique and immediately scanned the surroundings.

Many had rushed together, but now, only a few scattered streams of light were seen streaking across the sky.

"The Canghai Grotto-Heaven is truly vast; people must have scattered."

"Let's see where I am now." Zhao Xing immediately took the Earth Mirror from his robe.

Official rules forbid bringing equipment, but the Earth Mirror is exempt, and ceremonial robes below the Fourth Rank do not count either.

"Voom~" The Earth Mirror projected a three-dimensional image: five floating continents in total, constituting the entire map of the Canghai Cave Heaven.

"The Nine Heavens of Canghai actually refers to nine great continents floating in the void."

"However, this time only the Fifth Heaven has been opened; the first stage is the Grand Arena."

The first stage, named the Grand Arena, has simple rules: eliminate other riders.

Eliminating a Sixth-Rank War Beast grants 100 base points; if the target is a rider, one additionally gains half of the points on their person.

Eliminating a Fifth-Rank War Beast grants 1,000 base points; if the target is a rider, one additionally gains half of the points on their person.

Eliminating a Fourth-Rank War Beast grants 10,000 base points. If the target is a rider, one additionally gains half of the points on their person.

Staying in the Grand Arena for a full day grants 10,000 survival points on the second day!

If eliminated, points are halved.

After two months, the Second Heaven will open, allowing entry to the second stage.

"Competition in this stage will be fiercest."

Zhao Xing examined the map carefully, which displayed his location.

"I am near the 'Cangzhu Lake' in the First Heaven."

"There are only forty-six supply points nearby; those who entered will likely seek them out immediately."

Because the First Heaven of the Canghai Cave Heaven has extremely thin Primordial Qi, relying on absorbing the Primordial Qi between heaven and earth makes even daily activities difficult, let alone combat.

One must also eliminate other competitors to gain points, so supply points have become the top priority.

This explains why, just now, so many people charged forward rapidly; they wanted to find supply points as quickly as possible.

"Not only can I absorb no Primordial Qi at all, but my own Primordial Qi is also slowly draining." Zhao Xing frowned.

He looked downward and immediately spotted the cause.

"The entire continent has likely been subjected to a Supreme Technique; beneath it lie numerous 'Qi-Siphoning Earth Palaces'."

"This rate of loss, though slight, means that after one day, even a Fifth-Rank Perfection cultivator doing nothing will have half their Primordial Qi drained; within two days, the Primordial Qi will be completely exhausted."

Zhao Xing circulated the Qi-Gathering Art to lock his Primordial Qi, yet it continued to drain.

"I am not a normal Fifth-Rank cultivator; I have opened a Pure Origin Space, and my Primordial Qi has been reinforced by the Xuanhuang Qi-Analysis Art and ten billion resources. By all rights, my Primordial Qi reserves should be inexhaustible."

"Yet it still drains; even with my utmost effort to lock it down, I can only extend the time to six days."

His strength cannot be measured by normal Fifth-Rank Perfection standards, yet he can only last six days.

"The Mountain Cat, the Green Maned Lion, and the Spirit Illusion Goat possess different strengths; by rights, their Primordial Qi drain rates should differ, yet overall, all remain at four days."

"Does this mean the stronger one is, the more is siphoned?"

"On the four sides of the First Heaven, a layer of mist is continuously contracting; in two months, it will shrink to the size of a single county-level city."

Zhao Xing understood that whether Sixth-Rank, Fifth-Rank, or Fourth-Rank, everyone must fight for supplies at the supply points; otherwise, they could not last even a month.

And as long as one fights for supplies, one will encounter others; combat becomes unavoidable, and elimination naturally happens quickly.

"Let's go scavenge for supplies!"

"Woof!" "Meow!" "Baa!"

Zhao Xing immediately cast the Gale Technique and flew rapidly toward the nearest location.

Seizing supplies meant securing enough to sustain one person and three beasts for at least a month.

The more, the better, because being drained by the Qi-Siphoning Earth Palaces in six days only applies to non-combat conditions.

If in combat, this time would be even shorter.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~

Riding the gale, Zhao Xing felt the rate of Primordial Qi drain within his body accelerate.

"Whether flying high or low, it is the same; the Qi-Siphoning Earth Palaces truly live up to their name."

The range of the Supreme Technique is vast; Zhao Xing estimated the entire Grand Arena of the First Heaven is covered by Supreme Qi-Siphoning Earth Palaces.

Unless one comprehends a Supreme Technique capable of countering the Qi-Siphoning Earth Palaces, the situation of Primordial Qi drain cannot be changed.

"The first supply point."

Flying for less than five minutes, Zhao Xing spotted the supply point nearest to him.

It was an ancient palace situated on a hillside.

Five-colored Spirit Rice Flags were planted atop the palace.

"What good luck; the first palace is a Fifth-Rank supply point, and it is so close."

Zhao Xing activated his Heaven Eye to scan the surroundings and found not even a single person.

"The fortune of Yan Wu is no empty boast; there is not even a competitor, allowing me to monopolize this palace's supplies directly."

Zhao Xing rushed inside with the Mountain Cat, the Green Maned Lion, and the Spirit Illusion Goat.

Upon entering, they discovered three large chests inside.

"Mountain Cat, unlock them."

Master Cat waved his paw; a bolt of lightning flashed, instantly splitting the locks on all three chests.

Zhao Xing peered closely and found that each chest contained ten Fifth-Rank Spirit Crystals.

"All are Fifth-Rank Mid-Grade Spirit Crystals; enough to sustain us for two and a half days."

"Pure Origin Projection!"

At Zhao Xing's thought, a shadow immediately covered the three chests.

Subsequently, thirty Fifth-Rank Spirit Crystals were drawn inside.

Without the Pure Origin Space, one would have to carry these supplies on one's back.

Fifth-Rank Spirit Crystals are each the size of a water vat; carrying thirty water vats while traveling?

Too showy, and far too inconvenient.

Of course, if it were a higher-concentration sixth-rank Spirit Crystal, the volume would actually be much smaller.

"Let's go, let's go to the next location."

After Zhao Xing finished searching the first supply point, he immediately activated fifty Myriad Dharma Clones.

"Obtaining supplies at the very beginning is relatively simple, because the entry locations are random at the start; if luck is on your side, even a weak Rider can acquire a large batch of materials. After that, it depends on snatching them."

Supply replenishment is also limited! It is destined that only a small portion of people can sustain themselves until the second stage.

"My Myriad Dharma Clones have less Spirit Energy reserves than the True Body, but if they are just licking up supplies, they can last for two or three days."

"If we don't encounter combat and obtain supplies like this every time, it is pure profit."

"Voom~"

With a mere thought, Zhao Xing's body, as if copied and pasted, saw fifty Myriad Dharma Clones appear beside him in the blink of an eye.

"Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh~"

The fifty Myriad Dharma Clones, some flying, some burrowing underground, rushed rapidly toward the supply points surrounding the Cangzhu Lake.

Zhao Xing's True Body was not idle either, sneaking toward another location.

Time waits for no one; seizing the initiative means earning more points in the first stage.

As time passed, one by one, the Myriad Dharma Clones arrived at the supply locations.

Zhao Xing's luck was good; within half an hour, thirty Myriad Dharma Clones had retrieved supplies and were rushing back.

"Beep beep beep—"

High above the Cangzhu Lake, inside a floating warship.

The Cangzhu Guard 'Ming Dan' suddenly received an abnormal report from the monitoring station:

【Guard Ming Dan, please check the abnormal report for Cangzhu Lake.】

"Hmm? It has only just begun, how could an abnormal report have come up already?" The middle-aged man Ming Dan, wearing light armor and carrying a large blade on his back, was instantly stunned.

As a monitoring guard, his duty was to report abnormalities to the higher-ups and request timely handling.

However, he did not expect that the monitoring station would report an abnormality so soon after the start.

With doubts, Ming Dan opened the Earth Mirror.

"Spirit Pearl, what abnormality has been discovered?"

Ming Dan was asking the mechanical puppet, an assistant specifically designed to aid him in monitoring supply palaces across various regions.

"Thirty supply palaces around Cangzhu Lake were all taken by the same person at roughly the same time." A mechanical puppet in the form of a bald man reported.

"The same person, appearing simultaneously in thirty supply palaces?" Ming Dan's eyes instantly changed.

This clearly exceeded his understanding.

Because the distance between supply points was not short.

Within an extremely short time, the same person appeared on the Earth Mirror's surveillance screens.

That proved it was not sequential action, but simultaneous!

"Could it be that someone is cheating and brought a mechanical puppet inside?"

"Impossible."

Ming Dan felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

If it were before, cheating might not have occurred, but now it was uncertain; the Eastern Sea was not peaceful.

He dared not be certain, so he immediately checked the figure displayed on the Earth Mirror, and instantly saw Zhao Xing's appearance.

"As I thought... Spirit Pearl, immediately pull up this person's data for me!"

"Yes."

The bald man immediately went to the other rooms of the tower ship to begin searching for Zhao Xing's competition data.

"No, Spirit Pearl, you continue searching first; I must go down and take a look."

Just as Ming Dan walked out, he immediately said to his puppet assistant: "By the way, report this matter immediately to the Inspector Lin Zhengfeng, my lord."

"Just say that an abnormality was discovered at Cangzhu Lake, that I have gone to observe, and that we await further results."

"Yes."

Afterwards, Ming Dan left the warship to track Zhao Xing's True Body.

Zhao Xing's True Body was easy to identify.

Because at this moment, the Mountain Cat, the Green Qilin, and the Spirit Illusionary Goat were all staying with him, resting inside Supply Palace Number Forty-One.

Ming Dan was also quite cautious; he did not make a grand display but quietly rushed over to observe.

The world is vast, and strange things happen; perhaps he hasn't actually violated the rules?

His sudden intervention in the competition process also required caution; acting rashly constituted sensitive behavior.

At this moment, Zhao Xing, having finished looting Supply Palace Number Forty-One, was planning to rest and recover his Spirit Energy.

Because many clones had rushed back, bringing back a large amount of supplies.

Supplies are divided into three types.

First is equipment supplies; Zhao Xing's clones found three sets of fifth-rank Dragon Spirit Armor for battle pets.

They could be used exactly for the Mountain Cat, the Green Qilin, and the Spirit Illusionary Goat.

Second is Spirit Energy supplies; mostly Spirit Crystals, with a small portion being pills and fruits.

Third is medicinal supplies, mainly for detoxification and healing wounds.

Box after box of supplies were carried back by the Myriad Dharma Clones.

Outside the gate of Supply Palace No. 41, empty boxes immediately piled up like a mountain.

"Meow~" The lynx chewed on a pill, finding the taste disagreeable.

"Woof!" Cangni suddenly barked toward the palace exterior, his ears perked up, then he turned his head to look at Zhao Xing.

"Xiaotian, did you smell a stranger?"

Cangni nodded.

Zhao Xing immediately walked out.

As expected, three beams of light suddenly appeared on a distant hillside.

"Vroom~"

As the light dispersed and the three beams vanished, three figures and twelve battle pets were revealed.

"Two Grade Five, one Grade Four Beast Tamer."

"Twelve battle pets, half of which have reached the early stage of Grade Four."

Zhao Xing narrowed his eyes slightly.

After searching for so long, he had finally encountered living people.

"Stop!"

Zhao Xing transmitted his voice via wind: "The supplies here have already been consumed by me. Go elsewhere; do not force me to take action."

Zhao Xing did not wish to fight so early.

For it was only the first day; eliminating these three would yield few points.

One must fatten the pig before slaughtering it; wasting primordial energy in battle now would gain little points.

In any case, mist swirled around the perimeter of the First Heaven, compressing the contestants' living space like a shrinking circle.

In the final days, there would be no shortage of encounters with people.

"Hmm?" Upon hearing the voice, the Grade Four Beast Tamer Li Tao stopped his steps and activated the Bright Eye Technique to observe Zhao Xing on the palace stairs. "A Grade Five, so arrogant?!"

Li Tao considered himself a Grade Four Beast Tamer with so many Grade Four battle pets, placing him at the top of the food chain.

He never expected a Grade Five to dare be so brazen.

"Senior Brother, look quickly!"

"So many empty boxes!"

Chen He, the Grade Five Beast Tamer beside him, pointed to a lawn outside the palace perimeter.

After circling around, he spotted the empty boxes from one angle.

"This is clearly a Grade Five supply point; why are there so many empty boxes?"

"Senior Brother, we ran seven empty loops before; I suspect all the supplies in Cangzhu Lake have been moved here by this person." Chen He beside him licked his lips.

"He alone occupying so many supplies is simply asking for death."

"Senior Brother, let us eliminate him."

Li Tao nodded.

Without supplies, they could not possibly exit Cangzhu Lake.

Looking at the large map, competition in other areas might not be weaker; they must gather enough supplies to endure this initial period.

"In that case," Li Tao said, "Chen He, Qian Zhong, you two go over."

"If he is sensible and obediently hands over the supplies, we may let him leave; if not, eliminate him directly."

Li Tao did not even intend to act himself, but rather let Chen He and Qian Zhong do it.

In his view, his side possessed twelve battle pets, half of which were Grade Four.

Zhao Xing, meanwhile, had three battle pets, all Grade Five.

With himself providing backup, his two junior brothers would be sufficient to eliminate Zhao Xing.

"Stop! Advance one step further, and do not blame me for taking action," Zhao Xing shouted.

"Hmph, what empty city stratagem are you playing? Do you think I cannot see there is only you alone inside this palace?" Chen He laughed.

"Boy, be sensible and leave quickly!"

"We allow you to take one box of supplies away; the rest must all be left behind."

"Otherwise, your path through the trial ends right here!"

Zhao Xing frowned.

For he vaguely sensed that someone else was still spying from the surroundings.

Yet he did not know from which direction.

Before finding the person hidden in the shadows, Zhao Xing did not wish to act rashly.

However, Li Tao and the others clearly would not leave easily.

Zhao Xing could only send them off.

"Must resolve this swiftly."

"Intimidate that person in the shadows."

The three of Li Tao were not weak in strength, so Zhao Xing immediately exerted his full power.

To capture the bandits, one must first capture their leader; to resolve this, naturally, one must first eliminate the Beast Tamer.

Once the Beast Tamer is gone, these battle pets will naturally be gone as well.

"Swish Swish Swish!"

Thirty Myriad Dharma Clones, through the Divine Stride Protection, instantly appeared at the foot of the hillside.

Surrounding Li Tao and the five battle beasts beside him.

"Evil Spirit of the Yin Wind!"

"The Fiend of Land Mines!"

"The Thunderbolt Finger that Shatters Delusion!"

"A Drop of Rain!"

"The Flying Serpent Transformation!"

"..."

Thirty manifestations of the Ten Thousand Arts suddenly appeared, then suddenly cast seven high-grade, perfected spells.

In an instant, they caught Li Tao completely off guard.

The rainbow light of the spells directly engulfed Li Tao and his battle beasts.

"Wha—"

Li Tao had no time to retaliate; his entire body was enveloped in a burst of blue light.

The blue light wrapped around him and his five battle beasts like bubbles.

Pop—

The bubbles burst; the next moment, both man and beasts vanished together.

Every participant bore a Canghai Token on their person.

Once struck by a fatal attack, it would activate instantly at that very moment, expelling the person from the Canghai Grotto-Heaven for treatment.

Poor Li Tao, unaware of what had happened, was ambushed by Zhao Xing, this old fox, and sent off immediately.

"Senior Brother? Where is Senior Brother?"

"What did you do?"

Chen He and Qian Zhong were instantly stunned.

The fight hadn't even begun, yet the strongest senior brother and his five fourth-grade battle pets were gone.

"Hmph!"

Zhao Xing wasted no words on them; since they had already engaged, spending one unit of Yuan Qi or two made no difference.

Seizing the moment while the two were dazed and distracted, he immediately attacked.

"Vmm~"

They and their battle beasts lasted only three breaths before being sent away as well.

"After cultivating for so long, I can finally one-shot people." Zhao Xing clapped his hands.

The Ministry of Agriculture normally couldn't eliminate opponents so decisively, but Zhao Xing was a complete exception.

However, Zhao Xing's brows remained tightly furrowed.

Because during the fight just now, his true body had not struck a single blow; it had been observing the surroundings the entire time.

Searching for that hidden fellow.

Yet unexpectedly, he still could not determine the exact location.

"It seems there are quite a few experts this time; my Heaven's Eye Art actually couldn't locate him, only vaguely sensing his general direction." Zhao Xing's vigilance increased somewhat in his heart.

But he did not know that the reason he couldn't find Ming Dan was entirely because Ming Dan was late fourth-grade and wore special equipment capable of concealing his aura.

The only reason Zhao Xing could sense Ming Dan's existence was that his Life Soul was too powerful.

At this moment, Ming Dan was plunged into deep shock.

Zhao Xing, fifth-grade, had directly one-shotted Li Tao and the fourth-grade battle beasts together.

Simply terrifyingly strong!

What shocked Ming Dan even more was that Zhao Xing relied not on battle beasts, but on his own strength.

Especially the appearance of those thirty Ten Thousand Arts manifestations, which completely exceeded his understanding.

"What is going on? Why do so many identical people appear? Is it a Clone Technique? An Illusory Body? No, that can't be right; he is casting spells, so how could it be an Illusory Body..."

Just then, the voice of the Puppet Assistant rang in Ming Dan's ears.

"Master, upon investigation, this person's name is Zhao Xing."

"He has three battle pets: a Mountain Cat, a Cang Ni, and a Spirit-Illusion Goat."

"He serves as the Director of the Twin Dragon Horse Bureau."

"Registered with the strength of a fifth-grade Beast Tamer."

Hearing the data reported by the Puppet Assistant, Ming Dan pointed below with a look of disbelief and said, "You call this a Beast Tamer? Where did he tame any beasts?"