A chef requested to join the battle! The people present didn’t find this unusual. After all, in the Beastmaster Empire, a powerful chef was almost certainly a powerful beastmaster as well.
The profession of a gourmet hunter could be described as a combination of a chef and a beastmaster.
“Frost Moon House...” Countless eyes fell on Lu Ran.
No matter how they looked at him, Lu Ran was still too young, hardly resembling a grand chef who mastered Culinary Intent.
However, after only a moment’s surprise, Ning Chuan’s City Lord beamed with a smile.
He had originally planned to recruit Lu Ran, intending to meet him after the banquet. Now, with Lu Ran stepping up to participate in the arena activity, he could better understand him. Amidst the many stares, Lu Ran walked up to the arena. Bai Ling and her companions were rather speechless.
At that moment, Snakeskin slyly suggested, “Why don’t the five of us go up one by one, challenge him, and then intentionally lose? That way, we could walk away with three resources.”
“Are you trying to cheat the system? Do you think others are fools?”
Bai Ling continued bluntly, “Besides, apart from me, do the four of you really need to intentionally lose?”
Ibeth, Mountain Adventurer, Deer Masking Horse could not retort to that. That was honest, to say the least. The atmosphere among them was lively, entirely lacking the intense air typical of battles in ascension realms.
“What’s going on here?”
At this point, Manager Long walked over. Deer Masking Horse and the others could only say helplessly, “Brother King was blinded by the resources...”
At this moment, a young man with yellow hair leapt up onto the arena.
He smiled slightly and said, “To have mastered Culinary Intent at such a young age is truly remarkable. My name is Xia Chi Qing from the Xia Chi family, and I would like to have a beastmaster duel with you.
“I have one small request, though. I wonder if you’d agree. If I win, afterward, could you bring three extra fruit platters to our table?”
When he finished speaking, many people scolded him for being so sly. Was he really shameless enough to ask such a bet?
Couldn’t the Xia Chi family’s youth show a little ambition?
“Sure.” Lu Ran nodded, feeling a bit speechless.
“Haha!” Laughing, Xia Chi Qing then summoned his familiars, two summoning circles appeared in front of him.
Lu Ran didn’t hesitate either, calling upon his own familiar. As three circles of light flickered, their familiars appeared in the arena!
Xia Chi Qing summoned two gigantic cat-like familiars. Their fur was like sharp stones, and their long tails resembled rock whips as they stepped out of the summoning circles with imposing might.
On Lu Ran’s side, of course, was still Captain Doofus, who stuck out his tongue with a cheerful grin, gazing at the two beasts as the cold wind brushed past.
The look in Captain Doofus’ eyes seemed to say “Finally, no more fruit slicing. Fighting is way more fun.”
[Name: Earth Rock Beast]
[Attributes: Earth, Rock]
[Species Rank: Superior-Transcendent]
Upon seeing Xia Chi Qing summon two familiars, Bai Ling and the others were clearly taken aback. After all, the previous beastmasters had only summoned one familiar!
While it’s true that a level 1 beastmaster could contract two familiars, Lu Ran was still an Apprentice, so this put him at a disadvantage!
“The previous competitors were from minor families, lacking the resources to maintain two familiars. Xia Chi Qing, however, hails from the well-known tiger-rearing family of Cang Lan Province, with a profound foundation that previous challengers cannot compare to.”
“He only has one familiar, right? If that’s the case, he’s at a big disadvantage.”
Manager Long was referring to Lu Ran.
“It should be just one,” said Snakeskin and the others.
After all, he was still in the ascension realm. Where would he contract a second familiar? Bai Ling also pondered this for a moment, realizing how difficult it was to obtain Rare resources.
This side quest was clearly not designed for the average person. Without a Champion Species familiar, challengers might not even dare to step on the field! One-on-one was feasible, but one versus two? Not so much.
“You only have one familiar?”
On the arena, Xia Chi Qing looked curiously at Lu Ran, who had summoned only one wolf-like familiar.
Captain Doofus gazed calmly at the two beasts, implying that he alone was enough.
Hearing that bark, everyone realized.
Okay, it wasn’t a wolf but a dog.
Though the dog looked like a wolf, on closer inspection, it indeed had a rather goofy and harmless look, lacking the ferocity of a wolf and resembling a trained canine familiar.
“Yes, I only have one familiar. That’s fine though, so let’s proceed with a normal duel,” Lu Ran said.
Hearing this, Xia Chi Qing didn’t hold back. Having multiple familiars was a choice beastmasters made, and investing in a single familiar had its own benefits.
For beastmasters from major families, an advantage in the number of familiars didn’t necessarily guarantee a win. If the opponent had only one familiar, there was a high chance that it had undergone intensive nurturing.
“Ground Shock! Rock Blast!”
The battle began quickly. Xia Chi Qing commanded both familiars to attack simultaneously. One Earth Rock Beast shone with a yellow glow, its sturdy paw emitting intense tremors that caused the arena to shake as if in an earthquake.
The other Earth Rock Beast let out a roar, continuously gathering sharp flying rocks in front of its massive jaws and launching them at Captain Doofus like rock cannonballs.
In an instant, Captain Doofus was completely blocked from moving, showing that Xia Chi Qing’s familiars had a higher mastery of energy control than the previous challengers.
However, this level of attack couldn’t make Lu Ran or Captain Doofus feel cornered. Captain Doofus lightly touched the ground, leaping into the air and proving the tremors useless. He then opened his mouth, compressed energy, and unleashed Wind Roar!
A fierce gust, compressed tenfold by Captain Doofus, tore through the air, far surpassing the simple task of breaking branches. The rocks flying toward him halted mid-air, then rebounded under the force of the tangible hurricane, heading back toward the Earth Rock Beasts.
Facing the approaching storm, both beasts looked distressed, sensing a strong threat. They stabilized themselves, using earth energy to anchor themselves to the ground.
Xia Chi Qing recognized the threat immediately, realizing that Captain Doofus had an impressively high level of nurturing, with even energy compression techniques mastered. While energy compression techniques were demanding, they could be decisive in a battle.
“Earth Amplification!!!”
As he chanted, Xia Chi Qing’s eyes flashed yellow. He extended his hand, releasing yellow links that connected to his two Earth Rock Beasts. In a flash, their energy surged, erupting with increased strength.
The reinforcement and the raging winds arrived simultaneously. Yet, despite the reinforcement, the Earth Rock Beasts couldn’t move under the onslaught of the wind and had to struggle just to stay on their feet.
They even had to endure the rocks they had launched, now hurtling back at them. A single misstep would see them blown off the arena.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Struck by their own attacks, the two Earth Rock Beasts howled in pain. Before they could react, Captain Doofus followed up with several Tooth Wave attacks in the form of energy blades within the gale that landed on their bodies with ease.
In a flash, even with their master’s reinforcement, the two Earth Rock Beasts collapsed under the pain and pressure and tumbled heavily to the ground!