The prestigious families who came to spectate felt no sense of being overshadowed. On the contrary, representatives from many prominent clans were itching to present their calling cards to Long Yue.
Following this preamble, the two protagonists of today's event finally made their appearance.
The overwhelming favorite! Huang Tianba of Zhicheng Academy!
The ultimate dark horse! Lu Fei of Cangzhen Beast Taming Academy!
Under the host's passionate and stirring introduction!
Two ascending platforms in the center of the beast taming arena slowly rose!
Lu Fei and Huang Tianba simultaneously appeared in the sight of everyone.
To everyone's surprise, both remained exceptionally calm.
They did not greet the audience, nor did they display any flashy movements.
They simply stood there quietly.
The ascending platforms ceased their rise, and Lu Fei's and Huang Tianba's gazes met.
The two had no prior interactions, but with countless people on the forums pitting them against each other, they naturally could not remain detached, and sparks began to fly.
Lu Fei harbored no ill feelings towards Huang Tianba, as they had not yet met.
Huang Tianba had watched Lu Fei's matches and felt that this person was qualified to be his opponent.
To him, this was a form of bestowal.
Only opponents of equal standing excited him.
"I've watched your matches, you are very strong."
The first to speak was Huang Tianba.
This proud and arrogant young master of a wealthy family clearly acknowledged Lu Fei's strength.
Lu Fei smiled upon hearing this.
"I've watched your matches too, you are very strong."
As the host's voice boomed, this beast taming competition officially commenced.
Two clear lines of text appeared on the large screen.
[Cangzhen Beast Taming Academy - Lu Fei] vs [Zhicheng Academy - Huang Tianba]
[Countdown: 2 Minutes]
The battle was about to begin.
The two men looked at each other in silence.
Huang Tianba gazed at Lu Fei again, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.
Frankly, he didn't think much of Cangzhen Beast Taming Academy.
Before the preliminaries began, such an obscure academy's students were not even on Huang Tianba's radar.
His sights were set solely on Iron City Tuo Academy, Sandstone Academy, and Dan Ding Academy, the top five academies.
To be more precise, even these individuals were merely stepping stones for Huang Tianba to claim the championship and make a name for himself throughout the Celestial Dynasty.
In his opinion, no one in this year's beast taming competition was his match; the championship was practically in his bag.
Until Lu Fei appeared.
When Huang Tianba first heard that Lu Fei had defeated Liu Mancheng in just a few rounds, the shock he felt was indescribable.
He found it hard to believe.
But in subsequent matches, he witnessed Lu Fei's astonishing talent and strength firsthand.
Whether it was his mental power or his command ability in beast taming combat.
It could be described as perfect.
As a result, he finally had to admit that a formidable opponent who required his serious attention had emerged.
Before this, Huang Tianba never imagined he would encounter such a strong foe, and moreover, that this opponent would hail from Cangzhen Beast Taming Academy, an academy he had completely disregarded before the competition.
The wonders of life were no more peculiar than this.
"I wonder what this person's background is. Despite searching so much information, there's not a trace of his origins. Such a genius couldn't possibly have been nurtured by a common family."
Huang Tianba's gaze flickered.
He had always considered himself a genius, with his mental power, execution, and command abilities far surpassing ordinary people.
But when compared to Lu Fei, he suddenly felt a lack of confidence.
"Could he be the next successor meticulously groomed by a major clan? There are only a handful of beast taming families capable of nurturing such a figure. Could it be the Lu family of Yanbei City... that shouldn't be the case; the successor for the Lu family has already been decided."
As Huang Tianba pondered, he caught Lu Fei withdrawing his gaze from the corner of his eye and turning to curiously observe his surroundings.
It seemed the arena they were currently in was more worthy of his attention than his finals opponent.
Seeing this, Huang Tianba couldn't help but frown, a hint of being looked down upon stirring within him.
Following this, the displeasure transformed into high-spirited fighting intent.
"Good lad, you have a truly excellent mindset."
Fierce fighting intent flared in Huang Tianba's eyes.
Sensing the gaze from across the arena, Lu Fei turned his head, a half-smile playing on his lips.
The countdown quickly approached the final ten seconds.
The audience held their breath, their eyes fixed on the screen, afraid to miss the ensuing battle.
Countdown ten, nine, eight... one!
The moment the numbers hit zero, Huang Tianba's gaze sharpened. Light flashed before him, and a colossal, sturdy stone statue, entirely composed of cyan rock, materialized out of thin air.
The spectating crowd immediately grew excited.
"Here it is, the [Giant Crushing Stone Statue]! Huang Tianba's ace contracted beast!"
Everyone took out their beast taming compendiums.
"Wow!! A level 95 contracted beast right from the start! No wonder Huang Tianba could crush everyone along the way; such combat power is on a completely different level from other contestants!"
"More than that, the defense of this Earth-elemental contracted beast is extremely formidable, perfectly countering Lu Fei's Sword Guard. If Lu Fei cannot inflict enough damage on the Giant Crushing Stone Statue, then this battle will be without suspense."
Amidst the murmurs, Lu Fei also summoned his Ironhead Baby.
This was the final battle, and he dared not be careless. Even though the previous matches had gone smoothly, Huang Tianba in this final round was different from his previous opponents.
"Sword Guard, is it still Sword Guard? Does Lu Fei only have this one contracted beast, or does he not take Huang Tianba seriously?"
From the VIP spectator seats, Long Yue, one of the Ten Elders, narrowed his eyes slightly.
He was naturally very familiar with Huang Tianba's strength. This [Giant Crushing Stone Statue] was just a middling contracted beast among his many. However, he was aware of this [Giant Crushing Stone Statue]'s combat capabilities; its attack power might be ordinary, but its defense was astonishing.