Chapter 73: Lian Xing: “Fallen Species? Just a Weakling!”
Under the incredulous gazes of the livestream viewers, the challenge match between Youhe Academy and Youlan Academy concluded. A heavy silence fell over the entire venue. Looking at the devastated map on the virtual screen and the golden-haired girl cradled in the white lop-eared rabbit’s arms, Aurora, the captain of White Maple Academy, one of the Ten Greats, clenched her fists, a drop of cold sweat trickling down her cheek.
Before this, she had believed that she could at least put up a fight against Strongest Moonlight Rabbit, but now she realized how naive she had been…
Before that Moon-Embracing Jade Hammer, even Chilinhou, the fourth-ranked Ten Greats, was powerless!!!
If she fought personally, she probably wouldn’t even survive a single throw?
Xiao Kui had truly done a great service this time!!!
Meanwhile, many viewers, recovering from the shock of Youhe Academy’s defeat, recalled Xiao Kui’s previous words.
“If you have the chance, you should learn some throwing techniques from her. You might gain something unexpected~~~~”
“Well, that “harvest” was certainly unexpected. She directly replaced a Ten Greats~~~”
“Haha, Xiao Kui knows how to shift the blame…”
“I thought Xiao Kui had gone crazy from selling herself too much, but it seems she still has some brains~~~”
“Youhe Academy was completely screwed over by White Maple Academy. They even lost their Ten Greats title~~~~”
“…”
“…”
As the livestream chat filled with mocking comments, the Youhe Academy members emerged from the battle room, their faces grim. They ignored Youlan Academy, instead glaring at Xiao Kui of White Maple Academy. Seeing this, Xiao Kui quickly hid behind Captain Aurora, who patted her head reassuringly.
Meanwhile, Chilinhou looked at the Youlan Academy battle room with a complex expression. Losing to Youlan Academy and losing her Ten Greats title, that wasn’t the main issue. She could just start over from the preliminaries. But being replaced by Youlan Academy this year, no matter what ranking Youhe Academy achieved, their endorsements and sponsorships would be significantly reduced.
And as a fellow throwing-type Beast Tamer, many of her core fans would also switch to supporting Lian Xing.
This was a double loss.
…
…
A dozen seconds later, under everyone’s gaze, the door to the Youlan Academy battle room opened. Looking at the golden-haired girl with buns emerging from the room, her expression nonchalant and her posture relaxed, the livestream chat exploded with discussions.
Having defeated Chilinhou and claimed her spot among the Ten Greats, Lian Xing was now one of the top ten. So, what would her title be…?
And…
If Lian Xing sold herself for the first time, what kind of price could she fetch?
At the same time, thousands of kilometers away, the Dean of Youlan Academy was kowtowing before the portraits of the previous Deans, tears streaming down her face, thanking them for their incompetence in nurturing strong students, allowing her to accumulate enough good karma to witness the rise of Lian Xing, the savior of Youlan Academy!
Now, Youlan Academy was also a Ten Greats academy~~~~
In just one hour, Lian Xing’s follower count had surpassed 4 million, and the Youlan Academy official account’s followers had also increased sixfold. Surely, next year’s enrollment would be explosive…?
As the Dean indulged in her fantasies, Lian Xing and her team returned to their seats. However, except for Lian Xing, who remained expressionless, the other members had complex expressions. They were happy about winning against Youhe Academy, but also a bit awkward and uncomfortable.
They felt like…
Lian Xing might as well just bring four dogs instead.
On stage, Shuitianliang, the host, looked at the golden-haired girl with a professional smile. “Captain Lian Xing of Youlan Academy, congratulations on your victory. If I’m not mistaken, this is Youlan Academy’s best performance in almost a century, right?”
“Although it’s only the top 30 stage, I’m looking forward to your performance in the main tournament~~~”
“…”
“…”
“Hmm~~~” Lian Xing simply yawned and nodded slightly, accepting the congratulations.
To be honest, she was actually a bit disappointed.
Star Sand was awake, but she couldn’t let this “nuke” test itself against a mosquito. If only Phantom Sea Academy had accepted the challenge~~~
“Darling, don’t worry. We’ll get our chance against Phantom Sea Academy in a few days~~~” Lian Xing comforted the disappointed Star Sand.
After all, Star Sand had been waiting for Tian Quan’s Ice Rain for half a month.
And, having finally awakened at this crucial moment, she wasn’t sure if Star Sand would still be awake when they faced Tian Quan.
Thinking of this, Lian Xing glanced towards the Phantom Sea Academy section, and Tian Quan, meeting her gaze, narrowed her eyes.
“Just in single pet deployment, she’s already reached the level of a peak Commander-Tier…”
“In Unlimited mode…it would be dangerous. Master, you were right…”
“No matter what, I cannot lose at this crucial stage before reaching Royal-Tier!!!”
“…”
“…”
The next segment had nothing to do with Youlan Academy. Now, as one of the Ten Greats academies, they could simply wait for the 20 teams to emerge from the preliminaries. Chilinhou, the captain of Youhe Academy, dejectedly went to draw lots for the preliminary group stage, experiencing something she hadn’t done in years.
Half an hour later, the opening ceremony of the Academy League officially ended…
Under the awed gazes of the other teams and the Beast Tamer Association staff, Youlan Academy’s resting room was moved to the VIP area for the Ten Greats, and they no longer needed to go to the preliminary preparation area.
“Lian Xing, you’re amazing! Your Moon-Embracing Jade Hammer is still High-Tier, right? You actually defeated Chilinhou. What do you feed it?”
“Chi Yan, asking about someone’s training methods is a taboo. But, Sister Lian Xing, could you give me some pointers on my future evolution path?” Chi Yan and the girl with the VR headset, whose name was still unknown, showered Lian Xing with praise.
However, something about their words seemed to trigger Lian Xing, who suddenly turned to glare at the girl with the VR headset. If she remembered correctly, this girl was already in her fourth year, right?
She had only been enrolled for a year, and this old hag was calling her “Sister”?
Shouldn’t she be calling her “Lian Xing” or “Little Lian Xing”…or something…?
However, before Lian Xing could say anything, she was stopped by a staff member. Then, under everyone’s confused gazes, before they could even finish their conversation, Lian Xing was taken away.
Baiyue Province, Beast Tamer Association Headquarters, President’s Office.
Lian Xing, who had been brought to the president’s private office, had been feeling nonchalant.
However, the moment she opened the door and saw a golden fox in suggestive attire sitting on the desk, her expression changed drastically, and she immediately turned to flee.
“Bang—”
As expected, she bumped into a soft, golden fox tail. The tail, over ten meters long and as thick as an elephant’s trunk, completely blocked the doorway, preventing Lian Xing from escaping.
Lian Xing, clever as she was, hadn’t expected the president of the Beast Tamer Association to be the NPC from the Royal-Tier Lair.
This was a disaster. She was definitely going to use her authority to humiliate her…
She, still inexperienced, how could she possibly withstand the torment of a Royal-Tier pet beast?
After bumping her nose and falling silent for a few seconds, Lian Xing lowered her head dejectedly.
“At least…pay me…”
“…”
“…”
“P-Pay you…?” The fox tilted its head, confused, then quickly realized what Lian Xing meant.
It chuckled awkwardly and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”
“I just have a few questions for you.”
“First, about the Ten Greats title. Normally, the title is decided by the higher-ups, but the situation up there is a bit…complicated…right now, so they don’t have time to deal with Baiyue Province. But I assure you, the title will be finalized within a week.”
The Ten Greats title represented the highest status and recognition for a student. For example, Purgatory of Volcano Academy, the last of the Ten Greats, had a significantly larger fan base and received far more lucrative endorsement deals compared to the captain of Cangying Academy, who was ranked 11th in the previous league.
Every student dreamed of becoming one of the Ten Greats, receiving a unique title, and being admired by countless fans.
So, although it was just a title, it was still highly coveted by many girls.
“Also, I have a few questions for you. After all, you answered many questions in that instance that even I didn’t know the answer to, so…”
“I’m just asking on a whim…do you know about the recent events involving the Cycle of Calamity?”
“…”
“…”
“The…Cycle of Calamity?” Hearing this familiar term, Lian Xing snapped out of her fear of being violated.
She had heard of this organization, during her trip to Wind God Academy. According to the message from the Nether Crystal Hand’s lingering aura, Calamity Sun, one of the 72 Legends, had been taken by the Cycle of Calamity’s Fallen Species Emperor.
But…
That was over ten years ago.
If it was a recent event, it couldn’t be related to the Nether Crystal Hand incident, right?
Thinking of this, Lian Xing shook her head innocently.
“Royal-sama, I don’t know anything~~~”
“Please…spare me…!!”
Against a Commander-Tier, she fought back!
Against a Royal-Tier, she begged for mercy!!!
Meanwhile, seeing Lian Xing’s strange reaction, the fox frowned deeply.
“Hmm? You don’t know? You don’t have access to…higher-level information…?”
“Could it be…you’re not participating in the Speed Puzzle?”
“…”
“…”
“Speed Puzzle? What the hell is that? Wait, are you offering me a chance to participate?” Lian Xing, after initially denying it, suddenly realized something, her eyes lighting up.
The Speed Puzzle was a popular method for powerful wild pet beasts to choose their masters. First, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of talented Beast Tamers would have their contracts with their pet beasts terminated, then be randomly scattered across unknown regions, forced to start over from scratch, raising new pet beasts. After a set time limit, whoever had the fastest training speed and the strongest lineup would gain the favor of the powerful pet beast, forming a contract and instantly ascending to the top!
Clearly, Lian Xing’s vast knowledge had led the president of the Baiyue Province Beast Tamer Association, the little fox, to misunderstand, mistaking her for a participant in the Speed Puzzle.
“No, it’s not…”
“Well, I was just asking. Never mind…” Seeing Lian Xing’s reaction, the fox sighed in disappointment.
If Lian Xing were truly participating in the Speed Puzzle, it would mean her talent and knowledge far exceeded the understanding of a 10th-level region Beast Tamer. Then, she would have begged Lian Xing to join her pet beast lineup and even ask her to summon her former companion to temporarily resolve the crisis in Baiyue Province.
But since Lian Xing denied it, her hopes were dashed.
Thinking of this, the fox shook her head sadly, then said, “But since I already brought it up, I’ll tell you…”
“The Cycle of Calamity has been destroyed.”
“Three days ago, an unknown Ancient Species attacked their headquarters, the 2nd-level region, Dark Abyss Sea, which instantly sank.”
“And this unknown Ancient Species defeated the Fallen Species Emperor and all its mutated followers in just 20 minutes.”
“Now, a heavily injured Royal-Tier member of the Cycle of Calamity is hiding in Baiyue Province, and it could go berserk at any moment, destroying the entire region.”
“So…do you have a solution…?” the fox asked tentatively, although she had already lost hope.
After all, she was just a wild pet beast, her brain not fully developed. She wasn’t good at thinking. Since Lian Xing even knew about rarer information, maybe she knew how to handle this kind of situation?
Under the fox’s expectant gaze, Lian Xing blinked, confused, then suddenly noticed something strange.
“Wait, what you’re saying…doesn’t make sense…”
“You just said…the Fallen Species Emperor and all its mutated followers…right!?”
“…”
“…”
“Yes, is there a problem with that?” the fox asked, tilting its head, its tail swaying.
“Of course there’s a problem!!” Lian Xing exclaimed, her tone matter-of-fact.
She had assumed that the Cycle of Calamity was an ultimate force composed entirely of Fallen Species. But according to the fox, there were other mutated beings within the Cycle of Calamity?
This contradicted the basic evolution requirements of a Fallen Species…
“Clearly, the boss of the Cycle of Calamity isn’t a Fallen Species at all~~~”
“I think it’s just a weakling who accidentally stumbled onto the mutated evolution path while trying to reach Emperor-Tier.”
“Don’t you know what a true Fallen Species is?”
“How could anything survive an encounter with a Fallen Species?”
“Let alone creating an organization and recruiting followers. Are you kidding me?”
“…”
“…”
“You’re saying… the boss of the Cycle of Calamity is a weakling…?” The fox, sitting on the desk, stared at Lian Xing, dumbfounded.
For them, weak Royal-Tier pet beasts, whether the boss of the Cycle of Calamity was truly a Fallen Species…it didn’t really matter.
But, how could it possibly be called a “weakling”!?
Meanwhile, as the fox stared in disbelief, Lian Xing fell into deep thought, the star patterns in her eyes twinkling brightly.
So, a Fallen Species was just a mutated Emperor-Tier!?
In that case, within five years…no, three years…she had to obtain Calamity Sun!!!
[Fallen Species Evolution Requirement 1: From the moment of mutated evolution, destroy all life and land in your path.]
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