In the center of Yunhai City stood a myriad of shops, most catering to everyday civilians. Only a handful of them were licensed to sell items for beastmasters. Chen Yue's destination today was one of those rare few—Yun Yun Emporium.
Today happened to be the day Yun Yun Emporium was holding a small-scale tournament, the purpose of which, naturally, was to promote their shop. Chen Yue had discovered this event while browsing online.
Tournaments like this weren't uncommon, but what made Chen Yue choose this one was a simple reason: the prize money—an impressive 500,000 Daxia coins.
In Daxia, there were no restrictions against summoning beasts in public, as long as they didn't pose a threat to others.
So at the moment, Buster was comfortably nestled in Chen Yue's arms. After receiving Buster's nurturing feedback, Chen Yue's physique had improved significantly, so the little weight wasn't an issue.
It was midday, the sun blazing overhead.
Outside Yun Yun Emporium, a small battle stage had been set up. Although the stage itself was modest, a massive crowd had surrounded it tightly, most of them regular civilians, with only a few beastmasters mixed in.
After all, only ordinary folks would be interested in low-tier beastmaster fights. The higher-tier ones had their eyes on completely different battlefields.
It took Chen Yue quite a bit of effort to finally squeeze through to the registration area.
A red cloth draped over the table, behind which sat a round-faced young woman who greeted newcomers with a warm smile.
The queue wasn't long. Chen Yue waited briefly before it was his turn.
"Hello, are you here to sign in?"
Chen Yue nodded. "Yes. My name is Chen Yue." He handed over his ID.
"All right, you're registered. Please proceed to the waiting area backstage."
"Got it." Chen Yue nodded and made his way behind the stage.
Before leaving, he discreetly glanced at the participant list and noticed that there were only ten entrants—likely pre-selected.
"Feels like this competition's not so simple…"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he walked backstage. One look at the other contestants, and he understood.
The waiting area was filled with teenagers who all looked about sixteen years old.
To confirm his hunch, Chen Yue scanned their beast companions—all of them were in the juvenile stage.
Generally speaking, kids from regular families who awakened their talents would only be able to form contracts with juvenile beasts. Only a lucky few had growing-phase beasts.
Chen Yue was a rare exception—if not for awakening True Sight, Buster would still be stuck struggling in the juvenile stage.
The sea of juvenile beasts confirmed his suspicions. But what caught his attention was a single outlier—a beast already in its growth phase.
Its master was a proud-looking teen who sat alone, acting like a proud rooster, clearly looking down on everyone else.
"Hm? A strong rival!"
Chen Yue's eyes narrowed as he examined the proud teen's beast:
Name: Torrent Frog
Stage: Growth Phase – 5%
Potential: Elite
Attribute: Water
Skills: Water Jet, Aqua Orb, Power Leap
Description: A nimble water-type frog that lives in groups and excels at controlling water.
Evolution Path:
Route ①: Flood Path – Can evolve up to Mature Stage
Chen Yue was familiar with Torrent Frogs—evolutionary successors to the juvenile Water Sprites, these social creatures could eventually evolve into Flood Frogs, making them respectable beast partners.
Still, compared to Buster, they fell short.
That said, Chen Yue wasn't one to underestimate his opponents. Studying this rival's beast was simply a step in planning his tactics.
With a few strategies in mind, he found a random seat and waited for the tournament to begin.
After nearly half an hour of waiting backstage, the competition officially kicked off.
Since this was a Bronze-tier battle, it could be held in public. Naturally, crowd safety was still a concern, so Yun Yun Emporium had arranged for a Silver-tier beastmaster to oversee the event—none other than the store's owner, Yun Xiaohai.
Despite the "Xiao" in his name, Yun Xiaohai was a medium-built, slightly plump middle-aged man.
He first gave a ten-minute promotional speech about his shop before finally announcing the start of the battles.
"This tournament will be conducted in a one-on-one elimination format, with no loser's bracket. The last one standing will be crowned champion. Without further ado, let's welcome our first contestants—Li Fengming and Zhao Tieshan! Applause, please!"
The audience, finally roused from their semi-nap state, eagerly clapped and cheered as the show began.
Onstage, two somewhat nervous teens stepped forward. Both were sixteen and visibly unaccustomed to such a large audience.
"Are you both ready?"
Yun Xiaohai's question prompted them to quickly compose themselves and nod in unison.
As per standard beastmaster rules, all contestants had to recall their beasts before stepping onto the stage, then summon them at the start of the match.
With their confirmation, Yun Xiaohai gave the command:
"Begin!"
In a flash of white light, the two contestants summoned their beasts: a Little Fire Fox and a Rock Armor Beetle.
Both were common picks for Bronze-tier beastmasters—affordable, reliable, and mid-tier in power.
With both partners in the juvenile stage, the battle began on equal footing, and a stalemate quickly ensued.
The Little Fire Fox kept circling and releasing Small Fireballs to disrupt the beetle, while the Rock Armor Beetle relied on its sturdy shell to tank the hits.
"It seems Zhao Tieshan's beetle has the upper hand in defense!"
Besides being the referee, Yun Xiaohai also took on commentary duties, ensuring every benefit stayed in-house.
As the match dragged on, the Fire Fox began to show signs of fatigue—constant skill usage drained it heavily.
Meanwhile, the Rock Armor Beetle remained relatively unscathed and retained much of its strength.
Another minute passed in deadlock, but the fox eventually began to falter. Its fireball intervals grew longer.
Although the beetle accumulated some minor wounds, the tide was turning. Seizing the moment, the beetle launched Rock Impact.
Though slightly slower now, the Fire Fox still had enough strength left to dodge using Flame Leap.
Just then, a red aura flared around Li Fengming, and his Fire Fox's flame intensity surged.
"That's a fire-attribute boost talent! Looks like Li Fengming is going all-in!"
The Fire Fox conjured another fireball—this one far larger than the previous ones, ballooning to the size of a baby's head.
It blasted toward the beetle just as it was recovering from its last move. In response, a brown shield shimmered around the Rock Armor Beetle—its Rock Shield had activated.
The impact generated a cloud of smoke and dust, and the Fire Fox leapt back.
But before it could land, a brown blur shot through the haze and slammed into it—sending it flying toward the audience!
"Little Fire!"
Li Fengming cried out in alarm.
Suddenly, a bird-shaped beast swooped in from offstage, catching the Fire Fox mid-air and gently placing it back on stage.
"Thank you, Senior Yun!"
"Call me Boss Yun," Yun Xiaohai replied with a wave, then immediately announced:
"Zhao Tieshan wins!"
Turning toward Zhao Tieshan, Yun Xiaohai's expression shifted slightly.
"Speed-boosting talent, huh? And you chose a defense-type beast? That's… quite the interesting combination."
His tone was lightly sarcastic, not bothering to hide his disapproval.
After all, beastmaster contracts were precious, and choosing a beast that mismatched your innate talent was a waste of potential.
Zhao Tieshan, clearly no fool, picked up on the sarcasm—but didn't respond. He bowed slightly, recalled his beetle, and left the stage to cheers and applause from the crowd.
Meanwhile, Chen Yue wasn't watching the audience—his eyes were locked on Yun Xiaohai's beast.
Name: Gale Hawk
Stage: Growth Phase – 25%
Potential: Elite
Attribute: Wind
Skills: Claw Strike, Wind Blade, Wind Speed
Description: A speed-specialized hawk-type beast.
Evolution Path:
Route ①: Great Wind Path – Can evolve to Mature Stage