Starting With Contract Pets
chapter-76

The final selection test would be held in a training field rented out by the town, and it was the best that could be found here.

When the pair entered, the person in charge was already inside.

"You two, please go to the lounge to wait; the selection will start at 8 a.m.

"Of course, you can also warm up in the other sub-training grounds."

The staff member checked their IDs before saying that.

"We'll go to the lounge," said Su Bai after thinking for a while. Both their pets' conditions were very good, so there was no need for any prior adjustments.

"Okay." The staff nodded and took them to the lounge.

The main training ground was different from the rest as it not only had stands but also an indoor lounge. It was designed like a semi-competition arena.

"You can use everything inside; there's no charge," informed the staff before turning to leave.

"The amenities are actually pretty good." After entering the lounge, Chen Rouxue was a little surprised.

She originally thought that there would be a sofa at most and truly did not expect it to be quite luxurious. The coffee table and two sofas were enough for five or six people to rest.

Besides that, TVs, computers, water dispensers, toilets, bookshelves, and the like were provided. The food shelves next to them not only had snacks for Pet Tamers but also basic medicines and medicinal cakes for their pets to restore their spiritual energy.

"Howl~"

"Hehehe!"

Upon seeing the food, both pets could not endure it anymore. The cub looked up at its owner to indicate its desire to eat, while Xiao Bai directly flew over to start eating.

"It's just a medicinal cake to restore your spiritual power; it won't taste good." Su Bai opened a box of wood potion and fed it to the cub.

"Howl~(# ̄~ ̄#)"

Looking dissatisfied, the cub turned away. What kind of potion was that? It was nowhere as delicious as what Ah Bai made.

"Hehe!"

Big Demon, meanwhile, did not care and finished the food with big mouthfuls. It was not picky.

In a short while, some other people, including Guo Dong, Shi Lei, and Liu Rui, arrived. Wang Er, whom Su Bai had heard of but had never seen, also arrived with four other unfamiliar people.

The youth originally thought that a warlord pet would appear, but the pets were all high-level servants.

However, this actually was not very surprising. It was not easy for pets to break through to warlord level within a year, but Carp Town definitely had such pets, for example those who took the college entrance examination last year.

It was just that those people were in universities across the country, and no one would be willing to make a special trip down for such a small game.

Bluntly put, a small place like this could not make talents stay.

However, this was all the more beneficial to Su Bai and the others. If there were really warlord pets in the arena, it would be too difficult for them to fight.

"I'll definitely teach you a lesson today." Guo Dong glared at him.

Su Bai looked up at the other. Besides the boy, Shi Lei, Liu Rui, and Wang Er were also glaring at him.

"Then we shall wait and see." He shrugged, aware that many people were bent on going against him.

Not long after, a twenty-something man in a black suit entered and glanced at everyone before saying, "Hello, everyone. I'm the person in charge of this selection test. My name is Chen Bo, and we'll hold the final round at 8 o'clock. Out of ten people, only five can remain.

"The contest is held as a one-on-one battle. Each of you has to fight against everyone else. In the end, the five people who have the most wins will advance forward after a total of forty-five bouts, so the intensity is relatively high. I hope that everyone has made preparations. There are restoration medicinal cakes available for you to take as you wish.

"To make it more solemn, all the townspeople and local leaders will be spectating the competition.

"Those who last until the end can obtain a certain amount of funding, so I hope that everyone works hard."

Chen Bo paused and then added, "Go and rest for now; we'll call you out to start at 7:50 a.m. There are seats for you on the side of the ring."

"Understood!" Everyone nodded.

After the organizer left, Su Bai nudged Chen Rouxue. "Let's go out."

"Oh, okay." The girl nodded and followed him out.

"Howl~"

The cub yelped. It then took away all the wood-poison energy medicinal cakes and potions on the shelf under the other pets' watchful eyes.

Even if they were not delicious, they could still be sold for a small sum. See, I am such a good and diligent pet.

"Hehe!"

Xiao Bai, which had already left, flew back to copy what the cub was doing.

The other pets: "???"

Outside, many people were already seated on the stands in the training field.

Su Bai was speechless upon seeing the pile of medicinal cakes the cub brought out, but after thinking about it, he silently put them in his backpack.

"Do you recognize the other pets?" he asked.

"I know almost everyone's; there aren't any rare pets." Chen Rouxue nodded, having read monster illustration books often.

"That's good. The selection test this time isn't very difficult."

Su Bai occupied a seat.

"Without any spirit pets, no one is my opponent." The girl nodded.

The two chatted as the others came out one after another, each bringing a bunch of restoration medicinal cakes with them.

At eight o'clock, Chen Bo took the microphone and said, "I now announce the official start of the selection competition. The first round will be between contestants Su Bai and Li Ao. Please come up onstage to fight."

Sparse applause sounded around the field.

The youth was slightly surprised to find himself playing in the first round.

"Let's go, buddy. It's our turn."

He called the cub as he walked to the arena.

He glanced at Li Ao, who was standing opposite him with a pure wood-attribute Green-horned Deer.

"Start!"

"Green-horned Deer, use Vine Whip!"

"Purple Jade, use Vine Whip, too."

After receiving Li Ao's order, the Green-horned Deer took the lead to activate its skill. Vine whips as thick as thumbs flew toward the cub.

As the cub's spiritual power exploded, the earth suddenly vibrated. With that, five or six vine whips as thick as thighs drilled out of the ground and instantly blocked the Green-horned Deer's vine whips before flying toward it.

"F*ck! That's a Vine Whip skill? Green-horned Deer, dodge quickly!" Li Ao was shocked. Was he kidding him?

"It's so thick!"

The spectators in the stands were also shocked senseless. Was that really the Vine Whip skill?

"I surrender!"

When the Green-horned Deer was bound by vine whips, Li Ao quickly surrendered.

"Su Bai emerges victorious." Chen was stunned that the game had ended within two minutes.

Li Ao walked down, feeling aggrieved. Su Bai took the cub back to the stands with hands in his pockets, but the audience and some of the leaders had yet to return to their senses.

The youth wanted exactly this effect so that he could ask for more money in the future.

The other contestants stared at him, their expressions tense. Sure enough, this boy who had won the championship before was beyond their level.

Wang Er, Guo Dong, and Shi Lei's expressions changed slightly. The youth was stronger than they anticipated.

"Next, Wang Er and Tang Dong."

Wang Er was not tall, only about 1.65 meters tall. He was thin and handsome with a hooked nose. The silvery-white and purple-patterned Electric Python was as thick as his arms and was two meters long. Its eyes shone with electric awns, and a purple horn the thickness of a thumb stood on top of its head.

His opponent's pet was a Unicorn. Both pets belong to the same thunder-attribute family.

"Electric Shock!"

"Imperial Tooth!"

The huge Unicorn fired strong lightning, filling the whole air with a burning smell.

Bang bang! The Electric Python dodged the consecutive electric shocks with a speed much faster than ordinary pets.

"Unicorn, dodge!"

By the time Tang Dong wanted his pet to escape, it was already too late. The Electric Python was too close and had catapulted toward the Unicorn. Its domineering spiritual power exploded, and the phantom of a huge dragon head appeared in mid-air. Following this, the python bit its opponent fiercely.

With a howl, the Unicorn failed to dodge and was wounded by the pet with the dragon aura. Its hard carapace was punctured by two fangs, causing it to lose combat effectiveness at once.

"Wang Er emerges victorious!"

"That Electric Python actually has dragon skills. No wonder that it's so powerful."

"I remember that, if an Electric Python has a dragon bloodline, it'll have a chance to evolve into a Thunder Dragon or an Electric Dragon. That boy has a boundless future."

Although Wang Er's duel did not end as quickly as Su Bai's, his Electric Python attracted the audience's attention and the leaders' approval when it used dragon skills.

"Next, Guo Dong and Liu Yun."

Liu Yun's pet was a Stone-shelled Lobster with a dual attribute of water and earth. Guo Dong's Lava Dog happened to be restrained and found it very difficult to retaliate. It took a full ten minutes to determine the winner. In the end, Guo Dong's pet won by using Mad Bombing.

In the fourth round, Shi Lei's Little Rock monster fought against Fang Yu's Dandelion Spirit but was restrained and defeated.

"Fifth round, Chen Rouxue and Liu Rui."

"Lightning Kitten, use Electric Shock!"

Liu Rui immediately ordered the Lightning Kitten to launch an attack.

"Xiao Bai, Hidden Shadow, Scary Ghost Shadow, Ghost Claw. Take it away!" Chen Rouxue gave three consecutive orders to her pet. Although it was only a high-level servant, it had evolved once and was also a ghost pet. Hence, she did not think that it would be difficult to defeat the enemy pet.

"Hehehe!"

Right when the cat was about to hit Big Demon, the latter turned into a black shadow amid its frantic laughter. Before Liu Rui could react, a frightening apparition gained control of Lightning Kitten and lifted it up with its sinister claw.

"I surrender," said Liu Rui quickly.

"Chen Rouxue emerges victory!"

The girl slowly stepped off the arena. At present, her combos were very incomprehensible.

After the first round, it was Su Bai's turn again. This time, his pet's opponent was Tang Dong's Unicorn, but since it was still heavily injured from the previous round, it was unable to fight, so the opponent surrendered directly.

Su Bai fought against Liu Yun next. His Stone-shelled Lobster was restricted by the cub's attributes, and the battle ended within one minute.

...

The bouts ended very quickly, especially since Wang Er used a deadly move every time, directly preventing his opponent from playing in the next round. The whole competition passed by faster than expected.

"Next, Su Bai will fight against Wang Er. Please come onstage," Chen Bo glanced at the two and announced.

Enthusiastic applause rang out from the stands. After half a morning of battles, Su Bai and Wang Er's strengths were visible to all, so everyone was looking forward to this round.

"You're very powerful, but I'll still beat you," said Wang Er.

"You might not be able to." Su Bai glanced at him.

"Start!" Chen Bo announced.

"Electric Python, Electric Shock!"

Upon the order, the purple horn on top of the Electric Python's head shot a powerful white electric light toward the cub.

"Thorns Domain, Vine Shield!"

On the cub's side, a ten-meter domain of thorns unfolded instantly, occupying most of the arena. As the fragrance of flowers diffused, countless pollen filled the platform.

A scorching smell spread as the Electric Python's attack hit the wooden shield entwined with green vines. All the current was directed underground, so Purple Jade remained unharmed. The attack only scorched the part of the wooden shield that was shocked.

"Lightning Ball!" Wang Er found the huge domain extremely irritable. Domain characteristics were the most difficult to deal with, and the restorative wood attribute was the most annoying kind. His pet could not attack the cub if it remained inside its domain.

Bang bang!

A series of ten-centimeter thick balls of lightning smashed over, hitting the wooden shield made of vines. This kind of defense had no cost and only needed to surround itself. The vines naturally redirected the electricity to the ground.

"Come out and fight if you're a real man!" shouted Wang Er irritably. To win, he had to rely on the Electric Python's dragon teeth, but it could only give up in the face of the domain of thorns.

The tightly packed thorns were each covered with dense barbs. With the wood attribute, 90% of the thorns were poisonous, so the Electric Python would most probably be defeated if it rushed in.

"Why don't you come in like a real man?"

Su Bai laughed.

He was not in a hurry. As more time passed, victory would lean toward him. No matter how powerful the Electric Python was, it could not keep holding its breath. The hypnotic pollen in the surroundings was already wilting its condition.

"Very well. I surrender," Wang Er glanced at him and said calmly.

He was not completely helpless, but he was afraid that he would be unable to fight anymore if his pet got seriously injured in this round.

"Su Bai emerges victorious!" Chen Bo announced.

"Thanks!" Grinning, the boy picked up his cub and got off the arena. Thorns Domain would only become more and more terrifying as the cub improved. In fact, with the continuous strengthening of its Vine Whip, the cub's strength could already be considered very terrifying at present.

Furthermore, the cub was becoming more and more proficient at multitasking and no longer found it difficult to weave shields made of vines.

After defeating Wang Er, the next game became easy for him.

Shi Lei's Little Rock was restrained and beaten. Guo Dong's Lava Dog fiercely burned the cub's Thorns Domain but was still defeated by the latter's continuous Energy Burst and poison attacks.

"Next, Su Bai and Chen Rouxue."

Su Bai got up to the arena, but Chen Rouxue directly said, "I surrender; my pet is too tired to move."

Su Bai: "…"

Could she not find a more plausible reason? Xiao Bai was obviously still eating and drinking away as the girl talked.

Everyone: "…"

It was too much. Forget it if her pet could not defeat Su Bai's, but it was still stuffing itself with food.

They wanted to flip the table. (╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻

"In that case, the competition has come to a close. I'll now announce the five finalists.

"Su Bai won nine games and ranked first. Chen Rouxue won eight and lost one, ranking second. Wang Er won seven and lost two, placing third. Guo Dong won six and lost three, fourth place. Shi Lei won five and lost four, fifth place.

"Let us congratulate these five contestants; they will represent us in the five towns' spring festival contest on May 15."