Three days passed in a flash.
Lin's Farm's Hua Ye Ye Cup officially began.
Perhaps the promotional video Lin Chuan made really had something special, drawing extra attention, as the number of registered contestants for the Hua Ye Ye Cup exceeded expectations by more than thirty percent.
Well, the truth is, what truly had an effect was the phrase 'If you don't come, you're a sissy!' that Sakura shouted using Confusing Words.
The Spirit Beasts contracted by new Beast Masters are usually those that have just passed their infancy and are in a period of rapid growth and development.
Such Spirit Beasts are most suitable for contracting and cultivation, and the results produced vary greatly depending on the cultivation method. Often, a slight difference in detail can lead to significant changes in the final outcome, best demonstrating the Beast Master's cultivation level.
However, such Spirit Beasts generally have low intelligence, so how could they withstand the taunt of 'sissy'?
Even if a Beast Master disliked the small prize money or had other reasons not to participate in this Hua Ye Ye Cup, those Spirit Beasts whose defenses were broken by the 'sissy' taunt would roll on the ground, demanding to participate in the competition, determined to beat up that Flower Leaf Leaf who called them sissies!
With many contestants, and most of them being locals, how could locals come to compete without bringing a cheerleading squad made up of family and friends? Thus, there were naturally many spectators.
When there are more spectators, the various revenues for Lin Chuan's Farm, as the host and organizer, naturally increase.
Just selling tickets, snacks, drinks, melon seeds, milk tea, and popcorn could bring in a small fortune, let alone Lin's Farm's five special-flavored Flower Leaf Leaf fruits, which are their flagship products.
For the wealthy, it's nothing, but for ordinary people, such special Flower Leaf Leaf fruits are like high-end health supplements, which they usually wouldn't be willing to buy.
But now that they've come, they might as well buy two for their children and their Spirit Beast babies to try, right?
A temporary specialty store was set up.
At this moment, Lin Chuan, wearing the overalls from the promotional video and with a middle-parted hairstyle, handed a bag of weighed five-spice beef flavored Flower Leaf Leaf fruits to the young man in front of him.
"Thank you for your patronage, that will be 51,000 star rock coins in total."
"Hmm, since you're a schoolmate, I'll round down the change for you. I'll just charge you 50,000 star rock coins, fellow student."
Lin Chuan said with a professional, gentle, and polite smile.
The young man took the plastic bag, first took out one to eat himself, and then gave one to a monkey Spirit Beast about 70 centimeters tall beside him.
Dressed in a simple blue and white sportswear, wearing glasses, and giving off a refined impression, the young man's name was Ping Kai.
Like Lin Chuan, Ping Kai was a student at Tianshang Town First Beast Taming High School.
However, Ping Kai and Lin Chuan were not in the same class and had not known each other before; they only found out during their casual chat while buying and selling just now.
Lin Chuan was in Class Seven of the third year, while Ping Kai was in Class Three of the third year. And Ping Kai's previous grades were also unremarkable, at a mid-level in his grade, slightly below Lin Chuan's upper-mid level.
However, Ping Kai was very fortunate to have awakened a second-tier Beast Taming talent, and with support from his family, he paid a considerable cross-district subsidy fee to go to the advanced Spirit Beast breeding base in Qingjiang City, the superior city of Tianshang Town, and contracted a Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey with a soldier-tier superior bloodline quality, which was the monkey Spirit Beast beside Ping Kai at this moment.
The Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey, as its name suggests, is a monkey Spirit Beast with red hair, giving off a 'kill-matt' vibe, and is fire-attributed. Lin Chuan didn't know other more detailed information about it; he wasn't some academic genius who had memorized all common Spirit Beast data.
Overall, Ping Kai's starting path as a Beast Master was quite good.
Well, just being confident and capable enough to compete in this Baby Cup proves that he has already surpassed most of his peers, as most other novice peers are still grinding beginner quests.
There was still some time before the competition started. Ping Kai continued to chat with Lin Chuan while eating the five-spice beef flavored Flower Leaf Leaf fruits he had just bought, occasionally helping Lin Chuan tidy the counter and hand things to other customers.
Before this, the two didn't know each other, but after this, that might not be the case.
Because both Lin Chuan and Ping Kai had awakened second-tier Beast Taming talents, they were among the first to stand out from the many students. The further they went, the more likely they were to intersect, at least in the promotion assessment three months later, they would inevitably meet. At that time, they would be competitors, but if their relationship was harmonious, they could also help each other, especially when competing with students from other Beast Taming Middle Schools in Tianshang Town.
Therefore, Ping Kai came with the intention of befriending Lin Chuan; he didn't seek to become good friends, just to get acquainted and be able to greet each other.
Lin Chuan naturally understood, and he was also willing to get acquainted with Ping Kai.
In fact, it was Lin Chuan who first initiated the acquaintance PY request. That's right, just now, when he rounded down 1,000 star rock coins for Ping Kai, that was it.
He already gave him a discount of 1,000 star rock coins, so if they really met during the promotion assessment three months later, he hoped Ping Kai wouldn't be ungrateful and make things difficult for him! Lin Chuan thought this to himself, of course, it was just a joking thought. Even if Ping Kai was truly ungrateful then, he was confident he could defeat him. If he couldn't even beat such a short-pants kid by the roadside, then wouldn't his golden finger cheat be for nothing!
"Your outfit, how did you think of it? It's really, very unique."
Ping Kai had been looking for a while, but no matter how many more glances he took, he still found it very strange, with an indescribable awkwardness, wanting to laugh but holding back, he said.
Lin Chuan naturally wouldn't say he learned it from a certain 'Only Because Brother' in his previous life. He only said that he saw a child at a neighboring kindergarten wearing it, which attracted the attention of many 'Big Thunder' female teachers. He found it very interesting and casually learned it, not expecting it to work so well in the promotional video.
"By the way, I also wanted to ask, what did your Flower Leaf Leaf shout in the promotional video?"
"Why did my Little Red Hair get so angry after hearing it that he jumped up and down and almost tore down my bedroom?"
A bit resentful but more curious, Ping Kai continued to ask.
Lin Chuan immediately fell silent, looking away with a guilty conscience.
Could he tell Ping Kai the truth!?
Say that he taught Guoguo to shout 'If you're brothers, come chop me,' and also let Sakura use entry-level Confusing Words to shout 'If you don't come, you're a sissy'?
Steadying his gaze, Lin Chuan feigned a sigh.
"I wish I knew too."
"You're not the first person to ask me this question today. I honestly don't know what my Flower Leaf Leaf shouted."
"I just told them to shout something to attract other Spirit Beasts to participate and challenge in the Hua Ye Ye Cup, just like I said in the promotional video, 'I'm waiting for your challenge here.'"
"I don't know what specific words they said."
"Maybe my Flower Leaf Leaf learned some phrases from the gangster-style Spirit Beast cartoons they love to watch."
"Sigh, these cartoons nowadays, they really corrupt people. They should all be reported!"
Lin Chuan muttered, his face full of resentment.
Unaware that he had been fooled, Ping Kai's thoughts were also led astray. He thought about the gangster-style Spirit Beast cartoons Lin Chuan mentioned, and then nodded in agreement.
Before this, Ping Kai actually quite liked watching such Spirit Beast cartoons.
However, ever since he became a new Beast Master and contracted the Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey, after letting the Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey watch a few episodes of those 'Bear Bear' Spirit Beast cartoons, his Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey started becoming restless, chopping trees all day long. It secretly chopped down two landscape trees in the community, which cost him a 30,000 fine.
It's clearly a monkey, why isn't it climbing trees properly, what's with all the tree chopping? Are you chopping trees? You're chopping money!
Ping Kai fell into deep thought, and Lin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief, almost exposed, luckily he was one step ahead and stabilized the situation.
Well, before this, he was almost found out. It was a girl with a single ponytail and a Golden Silk Werewolf named Sun Yinyin, from Fifth Beast Taming High School. When she came to buy special flavored Flower Leaf Leaf fruits, just like Ping Kai, she also asked him what Sakura said in the video that caused her Golden Silk Werewolf to be furious and punch through her computer screen.
Lin Chuan got nervous when he heard that, wondering if Sun Yinyin was going to make him pay for the computer screen?
Fortunately, Sun Yinyin didn't care about the computer screen; she was simply curious about what Sakura had said that made her Golden Silk Werewolf so enraged. This was something she, as a Beast Master, should understand clearly. And then, well, Lin Chuan, just like now, explained that Guoguo and Sakura had watched too many gangster-style Spirit Beast cartoons and learned some phrases from them.
And so, Sun Yinyin left in deep thought, and incidentally bought 100,000 worth of special Flower Leaf Leaf fruits.
...
Dong, dong, dong!
The melodious chime rang, it was already 10 AM.
The competition was about to start. Ping Kai snapped out of his contemplation. He bid farewell to Lin Chuan and left to prepare for the competition.
Lin Chuan did the same, tidying up and leaving the shop to the farm employees.
Then, Lin Chuan changed his clothes, taking off the overalls.
Well, that outfit was only good for promoting and selling things. If he wore it all the time, it would easily create a fixed impression and give him a strange persona. And he was about to go on stage for a match, and it was his first public match as a Beast Master, so he had to dress more formally.
Ultimately, Lin Chuan changed into a black and white simple style summer shirt and shorts with a cartoon Flower Leaf Leaf pattern, making him look like a cheerful, sunny big boy.
After changing, Lin Chuan left the temporary convenience store, carrying a tray and a thermal backpack.
On the tray were snacks like melon seeds, popcorn, dried fish, and tender tofu, while the thermal backpack contained drinks like milk tea, cola, and Sprite.
Well, although the competition had started, Lin Chuan wasn't the first to go on stage. There was no under-the-table manipulation; it was just a natural draw.
Unlike formal competitions like large Baby Cups where contestants must wait in the preparation area, small Baby Cups are relatively free. Contestants only need to appear on time with their Spirit Beasts when their name is called over the broadcast. At other times, they can go wherever they like and do whatever they like.
Although this Hua Ye Ye Cup was expected to earn a good amount, and there was also the final champion prize money.
But then again, who would complain about having too much money?
Cultivating Spirit Beasts is a bottomless pit, so it's always good to earn as much as possible!
Moreover, at the Lin's Farm, at the site of the Hua Ye Ye Cup novice Beast Master competition, there were only snack and drink stalls from the Lin family and a few employee family members.
This was a limited-time monopoly business!
If not now, when else would they earn money!?
"Melon seeds, cola, popcorn, milk tea..."
Lin Chuan called out.
The spectator stands were temporarily built with iron frames and plastic boards, forming a large fan-shaped circle.
Lin Chuan walked among the stands, calling out his wares while watching the matches below.
The first few matches weren't very interesting, practically a brawl of weaklings. This was normal; it had only been two weeks, 14 days, since graduation and awakening. How many new Beast Masters could cultivate and train their newly contracted baby Spirit Beasts to do anything substantial? It was already quite good if they could train a Spirit Beast to learn one attack skill!
As time passed, Lin Chuan had almost sold all his snacks and drinks, and finally, a relatively high-quality match began.
The two contestants were Ping Kai and Sun Yinyin.
The referee was a staff member sent by the Beastmaster Association. On the spectator stand closest to the competition area sat another referee and a Professional Beastmaster from the Beastmaster Association.
The other referee was there for rotation, as even small competitions involved dozens of matches, which one referee couldn't handle alone. At the same time, he also served as a supervisor to prevent misjudgments and more serious favoritism from the referee during the match.
And that Professional Beastmaster was there to oversee the venue and prevent emergencies. Even in a Baby Cup, no matter how small the probability, some emergency situations could still occur.
"I am Shi Jie, a professional referee from the Beastmaster Association, and I will be presiding over this match."
The referee on the field was a middle-aged man nearing 40, with a receding hairline and a slightly chubby build. He raised a small flag and said at the same time.
Subsequently, Shi Jie began to recite the rules of the competition, as was customary, needing to be explained for each match.
"The competition rules are open restricted matches. Beast Masters themselves are not allowed to enter the field to participate in combat. Each Beast Master can only send out 1 Spirit Beast, and no items are allowed to be used during the match. Any discovery will result in an immediate forfeiture!"
"During each battle, Beast Masters are only allowed to use their Beast Taming talent once to enhance their Spirit Beast."
"The relevant rules are as above. Do both parties have any questions?"
Shi Jie looked at Ping Kai and Sun Yinyin, both shaking their heads silently, indicating no questions.
"Alright, please be sure to remember the competition rules and do not foul!"
"Before the match begins, contestants, please salute each other!"
Shi Jie said.
Ping Kai: "First Beast Taming Middle School, Class Three of the third year, Ping Kai. Please give me your guidance!"
Sun Yinyin: "Fifth Beast Taming High School, Class One of the third year, Sun Yinyin. Please go easy on me."
The two spoke one after another, politely saluting and greeting.
The next second, the young man and young woman acted simultaneously.
On Ping Kai's side.
Ping Kai's left index and middle fingers clamped a card with a red and black design, low-key, elegant, and handsome. This was his Pet Space Device.
Then, Ping Kai rotated his fingers, turning the card face forward.
The card surface glowed with magical array patterns. Simultaneously, a larger magical array pattern appeared in the void in front of Ping Kai. A ball of flame ignited out of thin air within the magical array, and in the next instant, the Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey rushed out of the flames!
On Sun Yinyin's side.
Sun Yinyin wore a ring on her left index finger. She spread her five fingers and reached forward. The ring erupted in a dazzling golden light that soared into the sky, illuminating it.
The golden light turned into rain, drifting down, and a majestic Golden Silk Werewolf slowly emerged into the arena with the golden light curtain.
Regardless of combat power, every Beast Master and every Spirit Beast's entrance effect was maximized.
Seeing that both Spirit Beasts had entered the arena and were waiting in their respective preparation areas, Shi Jie nodded slightly and waved down the small flag.
"Match! Start!!!"
As the words fell, the two Spirit Beasts moved, charging towards each other.
The Golden Silk Werewolf was a mid-tier soldier-grade Spirit Beast, while the Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey was a superior-tier soldier-grade. However, in reality, Sun Yinyin's Golden Silk Werewolf, Da Yin, was faster and more agile.
Dodging the Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey's punch, Da Yin flipped over and slammed a paw into its chest.
Da Yin: "Awooo!!!"
(From today onwards, I will not allow any Spirit Beast to call me a sissy again!)
Sun Yinyin: "Da Yin, Flame Fist!"
With another wolf howl, flames enveloped its fist, and the Golden Silk Werewolf mercilessly punched towards the Blazing-Crested Gray Monkey's face.
