Even Lin Chuan couldn't help but feel a little nervous at this moment.
His expression remained unchanged, calm and confident.
But secretly, Lin Chuan used the corner of his eye to quickly scan himself from head to toe.
After carefully examining his attire and confirming that there were no issues, his heart finally settled down a bit.
Immediately, Lin Chuan fully refocused his attention on the competition, looking straight ahead.
At this time, it was Li Zeyu's turn for his entrance show.
Under Teacher Lu Qingquan's long opening speech, amid Teacher Qian Baoyue's excited squeals, feigning a blushing fangirl face, and Teacher Fang Yuan's exclamations.
High in the sky, far in the distance, a group of Blue Feather Eagles flew slowly towards them in a V-formation, approaching from afar.
When the V-formation flew directly above the competition venue, the leading Blue Feather Eagle in the V-formation, which was larger and a different color than the others, a purplish-blue all over, let out a sharp 'Li Li Li' eagle cry.
It suddenly flapped its wings, causing a burst of water mist, turned around, and the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle swooped down.
The water mist, propelled by the air currents, formed visible sonic rings.
Above the sky, a figure clad in a blue-black flight suit arrived like lightning.
The young man's face was slightly immature, but his eyes, under the flight goggles, were as sharp and confident as an eagle's, and he wore a small black cape, giving him an indescribably dashing and cool demeanor.
Accompanied by a sudden gust of wind, Li Zeyu gracefully landed in his designated preparation entrance area.
The moment he landed, he skillfully waved his hand back, and the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle retracted the wrist-worn Pet Space Device, which was the same model as Lin Chuan's but a different type.
The entire process was fluid and seamless.
Tsk, what a show-off!
Just wait and see how I torment you later!
Lin Chuan clicked his tongue inwardly, muttering curses in his heart.
But Lin Chuan's body was very honest; his eyes gleamed with an indescribable envy.
Young people, especially boys, who doesn't like such a flashy, cool, handsome, and graceful way of entering?
Both contestants were now in their respective preparation zones.
Two assistant referees stepped forward to confirm the situation and handed Lin Chuan and Li Zeyu each a card made of an unknown metal, engraved with profound spirit patterns.
"This is an Energy Charm, with two layers."
"The first layer is the competition shield, representing your health, and the second layer is the insurance layer."
"When you receive any attack damage during the competition, the charm will automatically activate. When the first layer of the shield is broken and the second insurance layer is activated, it counts as a defeat."
The two assistant referees explained the situation to Lin Chuan and Li Zeyu separately.
Lin Chuan and Li Zeyu both listened attentively, finally nodding to confirm they understood the situation clearly, then tucked the cards close to their bodies.
Thus, everything was ready.
The two assistant referees signaled to the head referee, who was floating in mid-air in a hovering mechanical device.
The head referee then waved his small flag.
The next moment!
The competition ground split open in the middle.
Accompanied by the clanking sound of mechanical gears, a competition arena, four times the size of a football field, rose from beneath the Azure Sky and Clear Water venue.
Yes, the arena terrain was random.
Before the official start of the match, neither Lin Chuan nor Li Zeyu knew what kind of arena terrain it would be.
It could be urban street fighting, grasslands, hills, a basin, or even a lake.
This was to simulate the wild as much as possible.
After all, when Beast Masters are in the wild, no one knows when or where they might encounter danger or enemies.
Seeing the terrain of the random arena, Lin Chuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The ground was neither steel alloy nor a lake, but a small bamboo forest, with a bare small hill in the middle, forming a bamboo forest and hill terrain.
This kind of terrain was quite suitable for him.
Unlike the Baby Cup's restricted matches, the 2+1 mode didn't have as many restrictions.
It only limited the number of spirit beasts that could be sent out, the number of items that could be carried and used, and certain overly dangerous weapons that could not be used.
For example, spirit-heat weapons made with spirit-pattern technology, otherwise, there was a high risk that even the Professional Beastmasters hidden around for supervision might not be able to intervene in time.
After three electronic beeps, the competition entered the official battle countdown.
30, 29, 28...
Lin Chuan and Li Zeyu both took a deep breath, their bodies tense, their expressions extremely solemn.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
As the 30-second countdown reached zero, the head referee sharply waved his small flag and blew his whistle; the piercing whistle echoed throughout the entire Azure Sky and Clear Water venue through the amplifier.
Lin Chuan and Li Zeyu, both moved almost simultaneously!
They sprinted from the contestant preparation entry areas at the edge of the arena towards the competition stage area.
At this moment.
Lin Chuan's wild child physique, honed from growing up on the farm, and his recent improvements, including the full physical enhancement from reaching Beast Master Level 6, and the consistent agility and stamina training during his intense seclusion, as well as various running and weighted exercises, all showed their effects.
Lin Chuan rushed into the arena area at a speed noticeably faster than Li Zeyu.
The moment one foot crossed into the arena area!
Lin Chuan raised his left hand to his chest, and with a thought, released Guoguo and Sakura simultaneously from his Pet Space.
Sakura stood on Lin Chuan's left side, slightly outward, while Guoguo appeared directly beside him, right by Lin Chuan's right foot.
One was a close bodyguard and tactical support.
The other was for active engagement and confronting the enemy.
This was the most common tactical distribution for 2+1 mode battles, especially when the Beast Master didn't possess strong self-preservation or combat abilities.
Although it was his first time participating in a Beast Master battle, Lin Chuan had also spent this time watching videos and reading materials, catching up on a lot of relevant knowledge, and preparing thoroughly in advance, so he wouldn't make basic, laughable mistakes.
Seeing that Lin Chuan's second spirit beast was surprisingly another Flower Leaf Leaf, the audience burst into an uproar, discussing animatedly.
After all, it was rare for a Beast Master to contract spirit beasts of the same species, especially during their novice period.
However, some audience members with sharper minds and richer Beast Master knowledge sensed something unusual, such as the three teachers at the commentary desk.
"Two Flower Leaf Leaves, Li Zeyu is in a bit of trouble this round."
Teacher Fang Yuan murmured.
Qian Baoyue next to him nodded in agreement.
"As an audience member, I'm very happy to see such a situation."
"But as a Beast Master, I mourn for student Li Zeyu; he's going to have a very tough fight this round. I hope he stays safe."
After speaking, Qian Baoyue even clasped her hands together in a feigned prayer for Li Zeyu.
It was hard to tell if it was a prayer or malicious jinxing.
...
Lin Chuan entered the arena area a step faster than Li Zeyu.
However, the distance from both sides' preparation entrances to the arena area was actually only 20 meters, so there wasn't much difference.
In just one breath, Li Zeyu also sprinted from his starting point into the arena area.
Similarly, he released his two Beast Pets immediately.
One was the widely known Mutated Blue Feather Eagle, a General Grade upper-tier bloodline, Level 15. Well, it should be Level 16 now, but since the aerial performance until now, Li Zeyu hadn't appeared in public, so few people knew.
And the other one!
The rumored Shuai Grade bloodline spirit beast!
The photographic equipment scattered in every corner of the arena instantly focused, aiming close-up shots at a palm-sized spirit beast that appeared on Li Zeyu's right shoulder.
A bat, predominantly dark black, interspersed with golden lightning-colored patterns!
Nether Lightning Bat.
Shuai Grade lower-tier.
Dark and Lightning, dual-attributed!
For a time, the audience discussed endlessly, because most people didn't recognize this spirit beast.
At the commentary desk, Teacher Lu immediately enlightened the audience with relevant information about this spirit beast.
"Nether Lightning Bat, perhaps most of the audience doesn't know about it."
"This spirit beast is not from our Star Rock Federation; it's a specialty spirit beast from the Kingdom of Prandon, which is very far from our Star Rock Federation, located on the other side of Azure Star."
"The Kingdom of Prandon is a very unusual country; the entire nation is underground."
"And the Nether Lightning Bat, this spirit beast, is born and lives in underground caves with special electromagnetic fields."
"I have to say, contestant Li Zeyu is truly amazing to be able to contract such a spirit beast."
"However, the Nether Lightning Bat, this spirit beast..."
"It has relatively low innate intelligence, even inferior to many Soldier Grade spirit beasts, and its temperament is bloodthirsty and violent, so it's not easy to raise."
While Teacher Lu Qingquan was introducing the Nether Lightning Bat to the audience, Li Zeyu had already leaped onto the back of the Mutated Blue Feather Eagle, circling at a low altitude in the arena, about 20 meters off the ground.
Looking around, Li Zeyu was stunned because he didn't immediately spot Lin Chuan's whereabouts.
This completely ruined his planned tactic of a quick rush and decapitation before Lin Chuan could activate his shield.
Li Zeyu couldn't immediately find Lin Chuan's whereabouts.
However, the hidden camera surveillance array in every corner of the arena recorded Lin Chuan's every move in extreme detail, fully displaying it to all the audience.
The second Lin Chuan released the two Flower Leaf Leaves, he took them and dove into the bamboo forest.
While moving stealthily and slowly through the bamboo forest, Lin Chuan also took out a large greenish-brown camouflage tarp that he had prepared earlier from his Pet Space and covered himself with it. In this way, Lin Chuan tried his best to blend into his surroundings.
Seeing Lin Chuan's actions, Teacher Fang Yuan nodded in approval.
"New Beast Masters, well, let alone new ones. Even some Professional Beastmasters make such mistakes."
"In a competition or a wilderness encounter, they rush in at the start, wanting to find their opponent and have a direct, true-man battle."
"Such an approach, I can only say, is very, very irrational."
Teacher Fang Yuan originally wanted to say 'very stupid,' but this was a live broadcast, so he used a slightly more refined term, though it meant the same thing.
"Unless you have absolute power suppression, or the timing and geographical advantage are completely on your side."
"Otherwise, utilizing the terrain and hiding yourself is the most stable and correct way to respond."
"It seems contestant Lin Chuan has made ample preparations for this competition."
At this moment, Teacher Fang Yuan was still explaining eloquently, but Qian Baoyue, sitting next to him, suddenly her eyes lit up.
On the huge electronic screen was a close-up shot of Lin Chuan at that moment.
Lin Chuan was seen putting on a gas mask, donning rubber gloves, and taking out one small stone after another that he had prepared earlier. Then he had Sakura sprinkle her Master Grade Poison Powder onto the stones, coating them thoroughly front, back, top, and bottom, to the extent that a gentle pat would shake off a layer of Poison Powder.
The originally dark gray stones were completely dyed purplish-red, glistening like gems under the sunlight.
With that appearance, if they were sold, they would be worth a lot of money.
Hmm, this competition restricted the use of firearms.
And Lin Chuan wasn't skilled with bows and crossbows; he didn't know how to use them.
Only the slingshot, Lin Chuan declared, was something he had played with since childhood!
It was the coolest guy from his Lin's Farm, the exclusive weapon of the Farm's Bear Emperor!