Chapter 57: Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger

Not long after, the remaining contestants also finished their tests. The results were not very optimistic; as before, only Li Zhangsheng, Li Tianyu, and Li Jingyi qualified, earning the right to advance to the semi-finals.

Aside from these three, the remaining contestants had to undergo a knockout tournament to compete for the five remaining spots. As long as one successfully advanced to the semi-finals, it meant they had secured a spot at the Academy.

Of course, there are good and bad Academies. The higher one's ranking in the Clan Competition, the better the Academy recommendation spot, and the clan would also provide certain additional rewards.

The knockout tournament could be considered quite cruel; one would be eliminated after a single loss. However, compared to a life-or-death battle, it was undoubtedly much gentler—at the very least, there was no danger to one's life.

When the knockout tournament began, the three of them—Li Zhangsheng and the others—did not choose to leave. After all, no one could determine if there were contestants hiding their strength, or if there were those who had failed to leave a mark on the Obsidian due to carelessness; these were all possibilities.

Similar to the testing phase, the Internal Affairs Elder began calling names to start the competition segment. He would arrange opponents based on the strength shown during the test, avoiding high-level clashes as much as possible to eliminate the weak, so that the stronger contestants could "survive" to the end.

Since it was not a life-or-death battle and they were of the same clan, the nature of it was similar to a sparring match; Demon Pets could not attack the Monster Tamer, nor could they kill their opponent's Demon Pet.

Additionally, each person was limited to fielding one Demon Pet in the knockout tournament, which effectively avoided wasting time.

Under such rules, Monster Tamers hiding their strength would often choose their strongest Demon Pet to avoid the possibility of capsizing in the gutter. Even if they tried their best to hide it during the knockout tournament, they might deceive others, but how could they deceive Li Zhangsheng?

The next moment, the two called upon stepped onto the Arena. They quickly released their Demon Pets and launched an intense battle, doing everything in their power to defeat their opponent.

Their strength was comparable, and neither Demon Pet had an attribute advantage, so for a time, they traded blows, and neither could do anything to the other.

Time passed slowly, and in the end, the first contestant seized an opportunity and successfully defeated the second contestant, earning the right to advance to the next round of the knockout tournament.

Even though they had achieved victory, the first contestant's Demon Pet was covered in wounds. They had to recover its injuries as quickly as possible to prepare for the next knockout match.

"Sacred Water produced by a Mid-Rank Paradise Bird has excellent healing effects. You can trade for a jar with just three Lower-rank Monster Cores!" Suddenly, Li Zhangsheng took the initiative to approach the first contestant.

After the Paradise Bird was equipped with a Light-type Treasure, the efficacy of the Sacred Water had improved slightly, which also caused the price of the Sacred Water to rise from one Monster Core to two.

Now, Li Zhangsheng was using the Clan Competition to seize the opportunity to promote the Sacred Water, temporarily raising the price to three cores, and he wasn't afraid that no one would buy it.

"Give me one portion—no, two!" The first contestant endured the heartache; they knew very well that now was not the time to be stingy. If they wanted to go further, they had to recover their Demon Pet's injuries as quickly as possible.

Besides the first contestant, several others gathered around. Fearing that the quantity of Sacred Water was limited, they all opened their purses generously.

"Zhangsheng, you really are a little clever ghost!" Li Jianren grumbled, though his movements were not slow as he assisted Li Zhangsheng in selling the Sacred Water.

While the two of them were busy, the Internal Affairs Elder couldn't help but glance at them and frown slightly, but he did not stop them and continued to call out: "Please have the third and fourth contestants come on stage!"

Unlike the previous match, there was a clear gap in strength between the two sides in this one. The third contestant sent out a Lower 6th Rank Demon Pet, while the fourth contestant had a Lower 9th Rank Demon Pet.

Given that the species were the same, unless the fourth contestant made a fatal mistake, the third contestant basically had no possibility of winning against a stronger opponent.

The fourth contestant's tactical style was quite steady; even though their strength was clearly superior, they still adopted a cautious approach, not giving their opponent a chance to turn the tables.

"I concede!" Watching their Demon Pet being beaten to a pulp with no power to fight back, and seeing that victory was hopeless, the third contestant helplessly chose to give up.

While they were fighting, the Clan Leader and the Clan Elders were also observing the contestants on stage, analyzing their strength.

As long as their potential was decent, even if they did not win an Academy recommendation spot, the clan was willing to spend resources to cultivate them.

After the third contestant conceded, a Clan Elder frowned and couldn't help but shake his head, full of disappointment in the third contestant.

In order to ascend to higher levels, or even to explore the ethereal supreme path, to be reborn and become a life form of higher significance, many Monster Tamers were keen on fighting and competing for every bit of resources.

Excellent Monster Tamers, even if their opponent's strength was greater, as long as the gap was not too wide, they would often not give up easily. Because until the very last moment, no one could say for sure that they didn't have a chance to turn defeat into victory. Giving up early was equivalent to giving up the last hope.

This was just a sparring-natured Clan Competition with no danger to life, but what if it were a life-or-death duel? One couldn't just concede.

As the clan's upper echelon, they preferred clan descendants who had spirit, dared to act and take responsibility, and were brave enough to struggle. Even if the odds of winning were slim, as long as they dared to face it and possessed a "draw the sword" spirit, even if they didn't change the outcome, at the very least they could put their own minds at ease—at least they had tried their best. And what if they accidentally won?

Not only that, if the clan faced a life-or-death crisis, and clan elites or even upper-echelon members fled in the face of battle, this would undoubtedly greatly lower the clan's morale and cohesion, and very likely bury the clan's last hope.

In the time that followed, under the organization of the Internal Affairs Elder, more and more contestants took the stage. Some were similar in strength and fought to a standstill; others had a wide gap in strength. The weaker ones would mostly choose to try, but if they felt there was no chance of winning, they would mostly choose to give up, because the result of a desperate struggle was often that the Demon Pet would be beaten into serious injury.

Of course, there were also examples of turning defeat into victory. A contestant in a weak position seized a fleeting opportunity, took the chance to turn the situation around, and ultimately won.

After about an hour, most of the contestants had decided their winners and losers. At this time, two more contestants took the stage.

"A bit boring!" Li Zhangsheng yawned. For an hour, he had been observing the contestants on stage, hoping to find someone hiding their strength, but the result was that he had gained nothing.

Just at this moment, the two on stage simultaneously released their Demon Pets. Li Zhangsheng subconsciously projected his Mental Power, and when he saw the data for one of the Demon Pets, he was visibly stunned.

【Spirit Beast Name】: Ice Sparrow (Mature Stage)

【Spirit Beast Realm】: Mid-Level 2nd Rank

【Spirit Beast Species】: Superior Servant

【Spirit Beast Quality】: Medium Grade

【Spirit Beast Bloodline】: Ice Crystal Phoenix (Inferior)

【Spirit Beast Attribute】: Ice Attribute

【Spirit Beast Status】: Healthy

【Spirit Beast Weakness】: Wind

A Medium Grade Ice Sparrow that possessed an Ice Crystal Phoenix Bloodline—although it was only an inferior bloodline, it was still a Divine Beast Bloodline. It not only strengthened its stats but might even have obtained a bloodline inheritance, comprehending some exclusive skill of the Ice Crystal Phoenix.

Strangely, for some reason, this Ice Sparrow's aura was extremely restrained. Even though it was a Mid-Rank Beast, it controlled its own momentum to the level of a Lower 9th Rank. If one didn't observe carefully, even a powerful Monster Tamer could easily be fooled.

At this moment, Li Zhangsheng looked at the owner of the Ice Sparrow. This was a thin, gaunt youth who gave people the feeling of being weak and frail, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

"Li Runfeng!" Li Zhangsheng silently remembered his name to avoid the possibility of capsizing in the gutter.

Of course, Li Zhangsheng did not have the noble sentiment of kindly reminding others. Everyone was an opponent; if Li Runfeng brought trouble to them, that would naturally be for the best.

At this moment, the battle on stage finally unfolded. Even though the Ice Sparrow had suppressed its strength, its stats were ultimately at the Mid-Rank Beast level; how could its opponent have any hope of victory?

What was speechless was that Li Runfeng was very insidious. Not only did the Ice Sparrow restrain its strength, but he himself was also hiding his clumsiness, putting on the appearance of a novice. After a series of "flustered" operations, he ultimately won the match with a narrow advantage.

Thanks to the feedback from his Mental Power, Li Zhangsheng "saw" it very clearly. The Ice Sparrow appeared to be seriously injured, but in its status bar, it clearly stated "minor injury," and it would recover before long.

"In this match, Li Runfeng wins!"

When announcing the match result, the Internal Affairs Elder looked deeply at Li Runfeng with a meaningful gaze. Because the distance was too close, the truth about the Ice Sparrow had not escaped his eyes.

However, the Internal Affairs Elder had no intention of making a scene; after all, hiding one's clumsiness was also a tactic.

Soon, the first round of the knockout tournament ended. A total of ten people qualified, but they still had to fight another knockout match in the afternoon to advance to the semi-finals and obtain an Academy recommendation spot.

Many thanks to the book lists of Nitian Liebao and Qinghai Tingfeng!

(End of chapter)