The Tournament in Progress

Jiang Hao took his drawn number straight to the Referee Panel, then advanced amid everyone else's envy, jealousy, and resentment!

Especially those who had voluntarily forfeited. Without comparison, there was no sting.

But a bye had its pros and cons. The advantage was advancing straight to the next round without fighting; the disadvantage was earning no points. If he kept drawing byes over several rounds and ultimately failed to make the top two hundred, that comedy would turn into a tragedy.

The second-round draw would probably be held tomorrow. With nothing to do, Jiang Hao decided to watch Chubby's match. His Brown Bear Chubby was also a defensive beast pet, but unlike purely defensive pets, this one could attack, and quite powerfully at that. Strictly speaking, he was an offense-and-defense beast pet.

Jiang Hao also noticed a Projection Bee hovering above each small Competition Platform. These were working beast pets, whose job was to monitor the matches and relay everything they saw to the Bee Queen in real time. The Bee Queen then projected those images in extremely high definition, allowing people outside to watch the matches.

After more than half an hour, it was finally Guo Dundun's turn.

Small Arena Five

As the referee called his number, Guo Dundun hauled his plump body onto the Competition Platform with difficulty. His opponent was a student from the neighboring class, ordinary-looking enough to be an obvious Background Extra A.

As Jiang Hao's nickname, Chicken Bro, became famous, his best friend Guo Dundun had gained a little recognition too.

Sure enough, the moment Guo Dundun stepped up, Background Extra A couldn't resist mocking him. "Fatty, you've got no future following your class's Chicken Bro. How about becoming my lackey instead?"

"Screw you! Referee, why haven't we started yet?"

The fat on Chubby's face quivered with fury. Every stray cat and dog dared to use their taunt skill on him now!

Below the arena, Jiang Hao felt rather annoyed too.

"Dundun, if you can't finish this fight within a minute, don't tell anyone you know me."

"Don't worry, Hao Bro. Mission accomplished, guaranteed!"

"So that's Jiang Hao, that Chicken Bro? He doesn't look like much!" That was naked jealousy.

The referee said, "Begin!"

At the referee's command, Chubby released his beast pet, Pang Dudu, first. Though the bear wasn't fully grown, Pang Dudu's owner's meticulous care had given him a hefty physique, and he radiated pressure as he stood in the arena.

A bear pet in the Golden Body Realm!

Once melee pets reached the Golden Body Realm, they could merge with their owners. Though Pang Dudu was a defensive pet, he belonged to the melee category, so his ability to merge was perfectly normal.

Background Extra A no longer dared to act arrogant. He hurriedly released his own beast pet-a Poison Scorpion King. It was enormous too, especially its swaggering pincers, each as thick as a human thigh.

Judging by its aura, it was at least at the peak of the Fusion Realm. No wonder he had dared to boast about making Chubby his lackey.

"Merge!"

Pang Dudu roared furiously and charged toward Chubby. A towering bear-man appeared before everyone, with a bear's upper body and a human's lower body. Standing upright at nearly two meters, with thick limbs, sharp claws, and fangs, he was nothing like Guo Dundun's previously flabby self. He looked utterly imposing!

"Die!" His thudding footsteps made the Competition Platform tremble.

Chubby took great strides, reaching the Poison Scorpion King in just a few steps, then raised his bear claw and slammed it down!

Heavy Strike!

The blow crashed heavily into one of the Poison Scorpion King's pincers. Yet the scorpion withstood it head-on, swinging its other pincer around to clamp onto Chubby's arm.

Background Extra A gave a sinister smile. Immediately afterward, the Poison Scorpion King unleashed its killing move-a sweep of its tail.

If that Poison Scorpion King's tail struck him, it would all be over.

At the critical moment, Chubby opened his bear mouth and let out a long roar!

Intimidation!

Roars and intimidation were skills unique to bears. Luo En's Earth Bear King, for example, had Earth Roar, while the Battlefield Brute Bear had War Intimidation. Their defining feature was intimidating opponents and disrupting their emotions, subduing the enemy without a fight.

Waves of sound swept across the entire small Competition Platform.

At his roar, the Poison Scorpion King instantly fell into a stupor. Its raised, swaying tail seemed pinned in midair by some invisible force. Even its owner, Background Extra A, was affected, with two streams of blood dripping steadily from his nostrils.

This was the perfect opening. Chubby abandoned the Poison Scorpion King and rushed Background Extra A with a Heavy Strike.

"Ding-ding-ding!"

Suddenly, frantic ringing sounded from the Safety Bell hanging around his neck.

The referee said, "Stop! Contestant number 35, Guo Dundun, wins and earns five points."

The entire fight had taken less than a minute.

After ending the merge, Chubby put away his beast pet, stepped down from the Competition Platform, and headed straight toward Jiang Hao. The spectators parted as he passed. This was respect for the strong; no one dared underestimate this fat fellow anymore.

Jiang Hao generously gave him a thumbs-up. "Dundun, nicely done! You kept that well hidden. I didn't even know you'd reached the Golden Body Realm."

He remembered that Pang Dudu had still been in the Fusion Realm when they last went to Wu Ji Mountain to hunt Elf Deer.

Chubby grinned and scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly. "Catch them by surprise, right? After we came back from Wu Ji Mountain, I realized how much I was lacking. So I spent all this time desperately improving Chubby's strength. It cost me several hundred mid-grade beast crystals."

He had practically bled his wallet dry, all for a good result in this Beast Pet Tournament.

"What about you? When's your match? I'll go cheer you on."

"Me? I got a bye!"

"Holy shit." What a lucky bastard.

The two continued watching other matches and studying the skills of other people's beast pets. Know yourself and your enemy, and you could fight a hundred battles without defeat.

"So Song Jie's beast pet is a merging type too, and it's in the Golden Body Realm. No wonder he's so arrogant."

Jiang Hao asked, "Dundun, what are your chances of beating him?"

Chubby thought it over, then answered uncertainly, "Hard to say. That guy attacks too quickly. Every strike finishes the fight. If he doesn't ambush me, I'm seventy percent confident I can win."

Looked like he could only pray he wouldn't run into Song Jie.

"Heh, so Lackey B is a birdman!"

The Lackey B Jiang Hao referred to was Song Jie's friend, Yang Di. They were all in the same class, but they didn't get along particularly well.

Yang Di's beast pet was a Peregrine Falcon, a merging type. After merging, he gained a pair of wings like an angel's and could fly at incredible speed. Most frightening of all, this birdman could spit lightning. His opponents were electrocuted to the ground before they could even touch him.

Another formidable opponent.

Chubby asked in puzzlement, "This guy has all the potential to become a big shot. Why is he willing to be Song Jie's lackey?"

Jiang Hao replied, "Maybe he's just stupid!"

There didn't seem to be any other explanation.

With 4,001 contestants and the entire first round to finish in one day, it was no wonder the Referee Panel had set a five-minute limit for deciding each match. Fortunately, most matches ended within a minute. Otherwise, there simply wouldn't have been enough time.

Those eliminated were mostly people hoping to fish in muddy waters. Their beast pets hadn't even reached the Fusion Realm. As for why they had entered at all, only they knew.

Early the next morning, they lined up for the draw.

Jiang Hao took his obscured draw slip, his heart uneasy. He only hoped his luck wouldn't be so good that he drew another bye. He was already five points behind the First Tier on the leaderboard. Otherwise, he really would miss out on the tournament's second stage.

The result-

"Fuck!"

Jiang Hao couldn't help swearing. One look at the number in his hand-number 2001. Another bye, advancing him straight into the next round.

So far, he was the only contestant to reach the third-round draw with zero points. Who knew whether that was good luck or bad!

"What's wrong, Chicken Bro? Another bye?"

They watched Jiang Hao's gloomy figure carry his slip toward the referee.

"Ha ha!"

Laughter erupted all around him.

If the first bye had been lucky, the second was a tragedy. He would have a full ten points less than the others. Unless he won every remaining match within a minute, he had no hope of climbing into the top two hundred.

Too depressed to bother watching any more matches, Jiang Hao took Big Hen into the Simulation Game to vent.

The second round wasn't nearly as easy. Everyone's strength was above the Fusion Realm, after all, and defeating an opponent within a minute wasn't so simple.

Unless they were people like Guo Dundun, Song Jie, and Yang Di, whose absolute strength in the Golden Body Realm let them crush their opponents.

On the third day-

Everyone's eyes converged on Jiang Hao.

Feeling the intense pressure, Jiang Hao rubbed away the obscuring pattern on his draw slip with a trembling hand.

The result-

"Sorry to disappoint everyone. Number 1000! Ha ha!"

"Tch!"

Everyone dispersed at once.

That was close. He had nearly become the lucky contestant eliminated from this Beast Pet Tournament by drawing too many byes.

The instant Jiang Hao announced his number, Song Jie and Yang Di exchanged a glance. Song Jie quietly instructed him, "Yang Di, don't hold back later. Finish him in one move, understand?"

"Don't worry, Jie Bro. I've placed a big bet myself."

If Jiang Hao was eliminated at his hands, surely Song Jie would reward him generously over their earlier wager.

It was finally his turn to take the stage and show his skills!

He would have been lying if he said he wasn't excited. He would give Song Jie and his friends a vicious slap in the face in front of everyone.

The news that Jiang Hao had contracted a chicken had long since spread. The name Chicken Bro was circulating even throughout Primordial City. So when Jiang Hao stepped onto Competition Platform 1, spectators crowded almost completely around it, all eager to see him make a fool of himself.

Jiang Hao rolled his head and shook out his hands to loosen up, gazing calmly at Yang Di across from him.

Yang Di said, "Chicken Bro, you can still beg for mercy and concede. I'll only advise you once. Opportunities like this don't come often."

Jiang Hao ignored him and simply waited for the referee's command.

The referee said, "Begin."

Both released their beast pets almost simultaneously.

"Merge!" Yang Di shouted, and the birdman instantly took to the air.

"Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck."

The instant Big Hen appeared, the entire crowd burst into laughter.

Comments rose one after another.

"It really is a hen! I was still half doubtful before. Ha ha!"

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone contract a chicken as a beast pet. How did he manage it?"

"You should be asking whether there's something wrong with his brain. What was he thinking?"

"Wait, haven't you noticed this hen's aura? It seems to be-"

Before he could finish, two eggs dropped to the ground behind Big Hen, one after the other.

The first transparent egg bounced beneath Yang Di, unseen by the others. Then a strange scene unfolded.

Yang Di was just about to attack from midair when an irresistible force suddenly dragged him straight down.

Song Jie exclaimed, "What's going on?"

His answer was the sound of the second egg bursting, followed by two fireballs striking Yang Di and erupting into fierce flames.

Boom! Boom!

"Ding-ding-ding!" A bell rang violently. Its ringing extinguished the flames on Yang Di, who collapsed unconscious on the Competition Platform, blackened from head to toe.

An instant defeat!

If the Safety Bell hadn't saved his life at the last moment, Yang Di would probably have been blasted into scraps by Fireball.

"H-how is that possible?"

Everyone fell collectively silent.

The louder their earlier mockery had been, the starker the contrast now.

Only after the referee ran over to examine Yang Di did he announce the result.

The referee gave Jiang Hao a long look, then announced flatly, "Contestant number 1000, Jiang Hao. Flawless victory. Five points."

"Whoa!"

"He actually scored a flawless victory over Yang Di! Jiang Hao's beast pet is that powerful? That's fucking awesome!"