Chapter 651: National Tournament (Second Update, requesting everything)

During the process of circulating the Monster Taming Art, the Star Essence in Li Changsheng's hand began to dissolve, transforming into a large amount of starlight essence that surged rapidly into his yet-to-be-opened Greedy Wolf Star Aperture.

Within the span of a few breaths, a faint point of light appeared in Li Changsheng's abdomen.

As more starlight essence was absorbed, the point of light became increasingly vibrant, but the Greedy Wolf Star Aperture was difficult to open, and progress remained slow; this required the effort of constant grinding.

During this process, Li Changsheng's Mental Power was also being tempered rapidly, dozens of times faster than before.

Unfortunately, this did not last.

In just a few short minutes, more than half of the Star Essence had already vanished, and it was at this moment that the point of light on Li Changsheng's abdomen finally bloomed, emitting a brilliant and dazzling radiance.

The Greedy Wolf Star Aperture was successfully opened, which meant that the Kill-Break-Wolf Monster Taming Art was officially perfected; this process had only taken Li Changsheng a few months.

Aside from the fact that Li Changsheng was already a Pseudo-King, it was also related to the large amount of Star Fruit and Star Essence; "only by spending money can one be fast" was not just an empty saying.

After the Greedy Wolf Star Aperture opened, it quickly devoured the remaining Star Essence, which then stabilized it.

It was also at this moment that the Seven Killings, Army Breaker, and Greedy Wolf star apertures suddenly shone brilliantly; using Starlight Power as a bridge, the three star apertures quickly connected in a line, resonating with the Kill-Break-Wolf Constellation in the night sky.

This also represented the official perfection of the Kill-Break-Wolf Monster Taming Art, and Li Changsheng would also gain a special ability.

The Kill-Break-Wolf Monster Taming Art belonged to a relatively ordinary Advanced Demon Taming Art, its difficulty far inferior to the Four Symbols Star Monster Taming Art, and even if perfected, it could only grant one special ability.

Kill-Break-Wolf: A group passive minor divine ability; as long as they are within Li Changsheng's Mental Power range, it increases the Demon Pets' resistance to negative status effects.

This was undoubtedly a very practical minor divine ability; as for the extent of the improvement, it would only be known after testing.

Li Changsheng did not stop practicing immediately, only stopping after he was on the verge of his limit.

"The Seven-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform is 1.5 times that of the sixth-rank!"

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and couldn't help but reveal a smile; the Seven-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform's boost to his cultivation was even beyond his expectations.

He hadn't expected that even though both were Low-level World Wonders, the gap between them seemed even greater than he had imagined.

At his current cultivation speed, it would certainly take less than a year for Li Changsheng to reach the Sixth Rank peak; as for the specific amount of time, that would depend on the weather.

If the weather was good at night, cultivation efficiency would naturally be higher, and vice versa; if bad weather occupied the majority of the time, then even exceeding a year was possible.

However, this was also based on his current cultivation progress.

If the Seven-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform leveled up again, or if his Demon Pets continued to improve, his cultivation speed would continue to rise.

……

On the afternoon two days later, three giant dragons, each thirty meters long, pulled a luxurious carriage into the territory of Yecheng.

The National Tournament would be held tomorrow, so Li Changsheng and Ning Bizhen naturally had to arrive a step early to avoid any accidents.

Not long after, the Yecheng Arena came into view.

"Descend!"

Following Li Changsheng's order, the Golden Dragon, Black Dragon, and Red Dragon all let out Dragon Roars that shook the wilderness, circling as they descended toward the 'parking lot' outside the Yecheng Arena.

Yecheng was the economic, political, and cultural capital of the Langya Kingdom, with a permanent population of millions; now, due to the National Tournament, it had attracted the attention of numerous domestic and foreign tourists.

Although both were tournaments, the general public's attention and enthusiasm for the National Tournament far exceeded that of the Academy Exchange Tournament.

Due to the large number of outsiders, the security at the Yecheng Arena was much tighter than before, and a wide-ranging flight Restriction had been activated, forbidding flight in the airspace above, otherwise, one would bear the consequences.

In the blink of an eye, the three giant dragons and the carriage landed steadily in the massive 'parking lot', inevitably drawing a round of attention.

Although they were all carriages, compared to Li Changsheng's, others' carriages appeared much more shabby and could not be mentioned in the same breath; there wasn't even one that was just a tier lower.

Li Changsheng put away his carriage and headed to the Player Village with Ning Bizhen.

The so-called Player Village was actually in the same location allocated to the various academies during the Academy Exchange Tournament; the two were quite familiar with this place.

At the only entrance to the Player Village, several Royal Guards intercepted the two.

A Royal Guard brought the two to a registration desk nearby, and the staff member inside said, "Please present your Academy Medal and Player Token for registration!"

After registering, the staff member continued: "Since you are a Fifth-tier Beastmaster, you will enjoy the qualification to directly advance to the Qualification Tournament!"

In this National Tournament, nearly two thousand people in total had obtained the qualifications to participate.

The schedule for the National Tournament was divided into the Qualification Tournament, Group Stage, and Finals; having strong strength naturally had its benefits, as all contestants at the Fifth Rank and above had the advantage of directly advancing to the Group Stage, avoiding wasted time.

The National Tournament Group Stage, like the Academy Exchange Tournament Group Stage, was divided into four groups, and only the winners of each group could advance to the Finals, which was the so-called Four-Strong Tournament.

After registering, the two entered the Player Village together.

Given that their Monster Tamer realms were quite high, the staff did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and, at their request, allocated a small courtyard to them.

The Player Village was very large, more than enough to accommodate nearly two thousand people.

Soon, the two arrived at the small courtyard where they would be staying.

The courtyard faced south, with a pair of stone lions placed at the entrance; there was no plaque, and the Bronze gate had a groove that fit the Player Token perfectly.

Both Li Changsheng's and Ning Bizhen's Player Tokens could control the courtyard's Restriction.

After Li Changsheng inserted the Player Token, accompanied by a clicking sound, the Bronze gate slowly opened, revealing the scene inside.

The courtyard had four rooms, but Li Changsheng and Ning Bizhen had no intention of separating and moved directly into the largest room.

The room looked very clean, but Ning Bizhen still swept it with her Mental Power; like a breeze blowing through, the dust, insects, and ants in the room rolled into a ball and all flew out.

Only then did Ning Bizhen take out the bedding and pillows she had brought with her and carefully arranged the room.

On the other side, Li Changsheng took out some materials and specifically set up a set of Restrictions for the courtyard.

Even though the courtyard already had a Restriction, it was the most ordinary kind and not difficult to break, not to mention that the Player Village staff could also open the Restriction.

One must always be on guard against others, so Li Changsheng naturally prioritized caution.

After everything was taken care of, Li Changsheng and Ning Bizhen began to study their main opponents in the National Tournament.

The competition in this National Tournament was unusually fierce; there were five Pseudo-Kings, namely Li Changsheng, Ning Bizhen, Dou Yuanbin, Liu Xuguang, and Dou Yuanhua.

That's right, Dou Yuanhua had successfully advanced to a Pseudo-King; from the intelligence gathered, his Thunder Spirit had successfully advanced to a Demon Beast.

Dou Yuanhua's advancement to Pseudo-King was naturally closely related to Li Changsheng; more than three months ago, Dou Yuanhua had traded for a Thunder Element Crystal from Li Changsheng, which allowed his Thunder Spirit to complete its evolution and take a step further.

As for the information on the Thunder Spirit, Li Changsheng would have to see it to know, but according to his guess, the Thunder Spirit's quality had likely risen to Half-Step Epic Quality.

Since obtaining the top-grade Thunder Spirit, over this past year or so, the Thunder Spirit had evolved twice, and it was highly likely that its quality had improved.

Looking back at all previous Langya Kingdom National Tournaments, there has never been a grand occasion featuring five Pseudo-Kings, which can be said to be the pinnacle of all National Tournaments.

In past National Tournaments, there were usually only one or two Pseudo-Kings.

The reason five appeared this time is mainly related to Li Zhangsheng.

Li Zhangsheng goes without saying; Ning Bizhen and Dou Yuanhua becoming Pseudo-Kings has a great deal to do with him, and the reason Dou Yuanbin is participating is also very likely related to him.

If not for Li Zhangsheng, the only Pseudo-King participating in this tournament would likely have been Liu Xuguang; as a result of Li Zhangsheng, it has stubbornly turned into as many as five, becoming the greatest in the history of the Langya Kingdom.

Of course, Li Zhangsheng still concealed his cultivation, appearing no different from a Fifth-tier Beastmaster.

Besides the five Pseudo-Kings, there are another seven Sixth-Rank Experts and over thirty Fifth-tier Beastmasters; the intensity of the competition can be called the greatest in history.

The two mainly focused on the information regarding Liu Xuguang, Dou Yuanbin, and Dou Yuanhua, while only paying slight attention to the other opponents, because even a Sixth-Rank Expert would find it difficult to pose a threat to them.

It is not that they are arrogant; it is mainly that in terms of combat power, a single ordinary Demon Beast can contend with a Sixth-Rank Expert, and if it is an Arena format, a Sixth-Rank Expert is very likely to be easily swept away by a Demon Beast.

That is right, it is just that simple, and this is also the fundamental reason why the status of a Pseudo-King is almost superior to that of a Sixth-Rank Expert.

When the night grew deep, the two began to enter cultivation; the roof of the bedroom had long been opened, casting down bright starlight.

After the Kill-Break-Wolf Monster Taming Art reached perfection, Li Zhangsheng began to set about cultivating the Big Dipper Monster Taming Art.

Due to Ning Bizhen having cultivated it a step earlier, it saved Li Zhangsheng time; he soon gained entry and established a connection with the Heaven Pivot Star among the Big Dipper Seven Stars.

Judging from the difficulty of condensing Star Apertures, the difficulty of condensing the Big Dipper Seven Stars Star Apertures is comparable to the Kill-Army-Wolf Constellation; even with the assistance of the Seven-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform, it will likely take about a year to reach perfection.

Not long after entering meditation, suddenly, the two opened their eyes in unison, gazing in the direction of Yecheng with eyes full of suspicion and uncertainty.

Just now, while cultivating, they felt an unusually powerful aura; this was an aura that completely surpassed the category of Pseudo-King—if it is not a King, then who else could it be?

Ning Bizhen asked with no small amount of curiosity: "Why is this King emitting such an aura?"

"Perhaps something major has happened? Let us go out and take a look first!"

Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen left the small courtyard; it was not just them, but also quite a few other contestants who were equally suspicious and uncertain.

Unfortunately, the two inquired for a long time, but in the end, they found nothing, so they had to return to their room to continue cultivating.

(End of this chapter)