"If you have any complaints, feel free to report me to the Beast Tamer Association of Wenmin City!"
He scanned the crowd, a smile playing on his lips. "If anyone dislikes me and wishes to challenge me, even better!"
Fifth He? What a peculiar surname. Is his surname Di or Fifth? Lu Fei touched his nose, lost in thought.
On the stage, the three deans, including Lin Yuansheng, felt their scalps tingle and retreated a few steps.
"What... what happened to him?" Lin Yuansheng's mind conjured an image of a young and handsome face – the Fifth He of his memory. But the man before him, in terms of appearance and demeanor, bore no resemblance to the spirited prodigy of Wenmin City he once knew!
Among the students, there were those who had heard of Fifth He's name. Their expressions shifted dramatically, revealing a look of dread.
A companion quickly asked, "Lan Jian, what's wrong?"
The youth named Lan Jian stammered, "He... he was the representative from Wenmin City in the last All-Continent Professional Beast Taming Competition, the infamous Fifth He, known as 'the Madman'!"
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy and eerie.
"Eeek~~~!"
A colossal shadow soared across the sky, emitting a low cry.
At the same time.
The clouds hung low above the firmament, a dense mass of dark formations, as if the entire sky were about to collapse.
Yet, the man at the center of it all seemed oblivious.
He remained expressionless, turning and leaving the main stage directly.
He said faintly,
"The trial begins!"
As Fifth He's words fell, over 100 students from the three beast taming academies each set off towards their designated mission points.
"Let's head out too," Lu Fei said to the group, looking at the markers on the map. "The closest point to us is the gathering place of the Great Macaques. We should try to get there before dark, otherwise, it would be a shame if someone else got there first."
The others implicitly agreed, nodding.
Just moments ago, Ke Xin had handed over the command to him. Lu Fei, with the intention of not necessarily achieving full success but at least ensuring a safe return, accepted this seemingly arduous but, to him, child's play task.
Lu Fei folded the map, the approximate location of the Great Macaque habitat already etched in his mind. It was a banana orchard, about thirty kilometers from their current position. Judging by their current pace, it would take at least two hours.
To prevent ambushes from wild contracted beasts along the way, they each summoned their contracted beasts.
Ke Xin was the first to summon her contracted beast, the [Shadowless Cat]. With a crisp, clear meow, an elegant and dignified feline contracted beast appeared before them.
Ke Xin, with a beaming smile, cradled the [Shadowless Cat] in her arms, her eyes filled with adoration.
Seeing this, Zhou Shuyi scoffed. "You have a cat! I have a dog! Let's see whose is cuter!"
She snorted, "Come out, Three-headed Puppy!"
Before long, a rather adorably ugly dog with three heads appeared before them.
Zhou Shuyi, mimicking Ke Xin, extended her arm and haughtily lifted her chin, saying softly, "Three-headed Puppy! Come to me!"
After more than ten seconds.
The Three-headed Puppy remained rooted to the spot.
Then, everyone watched as the adorably ugly dog trotted over to Lu Fei and looked at him with a confused gaze.
It was as if destined lovers, reincarnated, were gazing at each other.
It barked "Woof woof woof" a few times.
If Brother Chicken were here, he would have translated synchronously: "The silly dog is saying, do you still remember me, darling!"
Lu Fei resolutely turned his head, feeling a pang of guilt. He thought, "No, no, I've already sold you..."
His gaze met with no recognition, and the Three-headed Puppy sheepishly returned to Zhou Shuyi's side. Zhou Shuyi felt she had regained some face and smiled with satisfaction.
Tang Ao, Sisi, and Huang Huang then summoned their respective contracted beasts.
The [Great Macaque], with an unusually long face, resembling that of a horse, let out silly giggles...
Entwined with vines all over its body, like a walking dead tree, this was Sisi's contracted beast, named [Vine Demon].
Another was the [Golden Armored Spider], its body the size of a basketball, covered in golden armor that glinted under the sun's reflection.
Since everyone else had summoned their contracted beasts, Lu Fei felt compelled to call one out as well.
Before long, a chicken sporting a side-swept hairstyle and wearing sunglasses appeared within their view. Brother Chicken took off his sunglasses and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"Old Lu, I was sleeping so soundly, what's up..."
His gaze sharpened as he noticed many people around him, along with some unfamiliar contracted beasts. He immediately went over to them, shaking hands cordially. However, when he reached the Three-headed Puppy, Brother Chicken's expression froze.
"Hello, hello, nice to meet you for the first time..." Brother Chicken quickly turned his back, thinking, "Wearing sunglasses, they shouldn't recognize me, right..."
Just then, a cheerful voice came from behind, "I'm hungry..."
...
Lu Fei had his reasons for summoning Brother Chicken instead of the Stubborn Snake. What if the unknown creature appearing in the Yan Mountain region truly originated from outer space? Wouldn't that be akin to allowing the Stubborn Snake to acknowledge its ancestral lineage?
The group continued deeper, noticing unidentified flying objects constantly circling overhead. Ke Xin explained to everyone that they were [Scout Butterflies], a type of mechanical contracted beast. While not suited for combat, they possessed strong functional capabilities. They could transmit the images they scanned in real-time to the main monitoring screen of the trial's judging panel. This served two purposes: preventing students from using external help to cheat, and ensuring their safety.
The group traversed the primeval forest. Many times they nearly lost their way, but Lu Fei was always able to accurately find the correct direction of travel.
After walking for more than an hour, it was nearing noon.
The group found a grassy patch and sat down, taking out food and drinks to replenish their energy. Some contracted beasts ate beast feed, while others simply plucked wild fruits from the side. In fact, beast feed was itself refined from various rare fruits and vegetation, and these wild fruits were also the primary food source for wild contracted beasts.
They chatted, sharing their experiences with beast taming.
Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from not too far away.
The sounds grew closer, and the group turned to see several youths riding various types of contracted beasts – horse-like contracted beasts, cattle-like contracted beasts, and a fox with three tails.
They stopped their advance and looked down at Lu Fei's group.
The leading youth, fixing his gaze on the armbands worn by Lu Fei and his companions, asked, "Are you from Cang Town Beast Taming Academy?"
Lu Fei politely replied with an affirmative.
At this moment, a team member behind the youth whispered into his ear, "Captain, judging by their route, they seem to be heading for the Great Macaque King as well."
The youth glanced at Lu Fei's group, noticing they weren't riding any mounts, meaning they had walked here?
Could they have arrived here earlier by just walking? Perhaps they had been here before and were therefore extremely familiar with the terrain? The youth mused to himself.
The Yanbei region was a dense primeval forest with virtually no man-made paths. Navigating here meant forging a trail through grass or trees.
Coupled with the obstruction of the towering trees, they had gotten lost countless times in the dense woods during their journey.
"You should turn back. We want the Great Macaque King!" the youth stated indifferently, a hint of disdain in his smile.
As soon as he said this, Zhou Shuyi was the first to disagree.
The young lady placed a hand on her hip and pointed at the youth, scolding him,
"Who do you think you are! To tell this young lady to leave!"
"How dare you insult our captain!"
A team member behind the youth dismounted.
He summoned a robust contracted beast, the [Fitness Bear Bear]!
Just as he was about to make a move, he was stopped by the leading youth.