Astral Pet Store Novel - Chapter 350
Chapter 350 Two Judges
After Liu Qingfeng left, the judge announced the result again. It went without saying that Xu Kuang was the winner; he made it to the Top 10!
Having done that, the judge left as well. He had to take some time to calm down, and at the same time see someone to ask for justice.
He almost lost his life. He was going to demand twice the original payment!
Besides, he would request to have another judge, or a bodyguard, to be in there with him if they still wanted him as the judge. He would not agree to stay within the seal alone!
Who could say for sure if there wouldn’t be one or more horrifying monsters?
He was lucky that the Dark Dragon Hound was not completely out of control. Next time, his life would reach an end if some pet went completely out of control!
The more he thought about it, the angrier the judge became.
He was just trying to preside over a match at the Elite League. Those freakish young participants had turned that made this a dangerous occupation!
He had considered this as an easy job that could also bring him some money. How could I have known that even this job was life-threatening? Ah, life is hard!
The judge’s announcement pulled the audience out of their daze. They saw Liu Qingfeng leaving in a depressed mood; they also saw the huge burns left on the ground. All the signs told them that the unbelievable battle did take place.
Liu Qingfeng’s defeat was instantaneous!
Even the judge had almost failed to stop the tragedy!
The most horrifying part was that the judge’s adult dragon had been overwhelmed the second it came out!
The battle turned out to be even more thrilling than Su Lingyue’s!
After a short moment of silence, a round of loud applause and cheers broke out.
The sound grew louder and louder, until it filled up every corner of the venue!
At the moment, the young man standing on the stage had become the most glamorous star.
Xu Kuang stood on the stage and looked around. He was so excited that he was clenching his fists as he shook.
This is how a man should live!
To live life dazzlingly and proudly!
A man should acquire the strength that matched that lifestyle so he could afford to be willful!
“Sir…”
Xu Kuang gazed at a certain place in the audience. He could not see Su Ping clearly given the distance but he was still expressing his admiration through his eyes.
“I cannot believe he won…”
In the staging area, the remaining Top 10 contenders as well as the other nine challengers looked equally stunned.
The idea that Xu Kuang would win never crossed their minds, not to mention that he could win so quickly, so marvelously!
The Dark Dragon Hound was exhibiting a force that was inconceivable for common people!
This pet displayed so many ninth-rank skills of various types, as if they were worthless. One had to marvel at the Dark Dragon Hound’s power of comprehension! “I cannot believe there would be another monster of such caliber…”
Many turned their gazes from Xu Kuang to a girl in the staging area. One terrifying girl was stunning enough. They had never imagined that they would see another person like her.
“That guy…”
Ye Longtian wore a concerned expression. The fact that Xu Kuang defeated Liu Qingfeng was not the major source of his concern. However, Xu Kuang’s battle pet instantly crushed the judge’s adult dragon. That was appalling.
Xu Kuang was just a minor player that Ye Longtian had never paid attention to. Yet, as of this moment, Ye Longtian was more worried about Xu Kuang than the other way around. Xu Kuang turned out to be just as tough as the girl.
At the same time, Qin Shaotian was worried as well. The tightly knitted eyebrows indicated that he was no longer as calm as before; he had stopped gazing blankly into the sky.
Qin Shaotian had not thought much of Xu Kuang when he met him in Su Ping’s store. It came as a surprise, for the common looking and average Xu Kuang to have hidden such a horrifying battle pet.
He went to that store… Could it be that… An idea came into Qin Shaotian’s mind. He squinted his eyes. He had realized that there was something in common between the girl and Xu Kuang and that common feature was the reason why their battle pets could be so powerful. In the meantime, students of the Ares Academy had gathered in another place far from the staging area, including Mu Chen. He could have used his family’s influence to get a better seat, but he chose not to since he would rather stay with his peers.
After all, there were also talents among those students; they could turn into his connections in the future and strengthen the Mu family’s network and resources when he took over the family’s management.
He sat in the middle, with the other students fawning around him, like a myriad of stars surrounding the moon.
He had just graduated from the academy and managed to reach the Top 100 in that year’s Elite League. It was quite a good result already; besides, he had done well enough to be ranked among the Top 30.
At the moment, Mu Chen, as well as the others around him, were staring at the young man on the stage in bewilderment.
They should be familiar with that young man but he seemed to have become a complete stranger.
Was this the Xu Kuang they knew?
The one who was the most shocked was Mu Chen. He couldn’t wrap his head around this. He still remembered how Xu Kuang would constantly challenge him in the academy, but would always end up losing.
A guy who had lost to him at least a hundred times had not only achieved a good result… He had also won a challenge and made it to the Top 10!
The strength Xu Kuang demonstrated was unusual!
Even the judge had almost lost his life! The battle pet managed to overpower a ninth-rank dragon?!
Mu Chen stared blankly with his mouth agape for a long moment.
In the front rows.
The representatives from the major families and the government wore grave expressions. They were more concerned about the strength of the Dark Dragon Hound, its skills, and the number of skills it could use. Besides, there was the killing intent that even terrified them. All of those features were rarely seen in a pet. Such a pet would be even more cherished than the three rarest dragons!
They even wondered if the Dark Dragon Hound was an unknown monster under the guise of a Dark Dragon Hound.
Still, of course, the Dark Dragon Hound was the real deal!
The only possible explanation was that the Dark Dragon Hound was unique!
The bloodline was the determining factor in regards to which rank a pet could reach, but the pet’s strength would be up to its aptitude!
It went without saying that this Dark Dragon Hound had the best aptitude; it had also received professional, comprehensive training!
Combat strength, power, skills, and cruelty. The Dark Dragon Hound had everything!
Some pets had great combat strength, power, and skills as well but they would be lacking when it came to having a cruel nature. Just like students who had just come out from the ivory towers, those pets would be trophy pets. When they encountered violent beasts, those pets would freak out and be unable to demonstrate their full abilities.
It was obvious that the Dark Dragon Hound had more than enough stock in the cruelty department.
Truth be told, the Dark Dragon Hound might be a bit too violent. Just the murderous and evil aura surrounding it was enough to scare most of the common battle pets.
“With such powers, he may even be able to make it to the international stage…” an elder of the Zhou family stated.
No one responded to his comment but they did agree.
Even the judge at the intermediate position of the titled rank had almost died on the stage. The Dark Dragon Hound had left them on edge.
They couldn’t believe that this pet was merely at the sixth rank.
A dragon at the ninth-rank was intimidated by a sixth-rank battle pet. Such a humiliation!
“I’ll have a talk with the Principal of the Ares Academy to find out about the boy. Our Mu family will take him if the boy has not joined any organization.” An elder from the Mu family smiled.
“Hmm.”
The others replied with a snort because they had similar thoughts.
Amid the cheers, Xu Kuang got off the stage and as he went back to his seat; all eyes were on him.
“I won.” Xu Kuang approached Su Lingyue and grinned from ear to ear.
At this moment, the audience became excited.
The two most unique participants were standing together and they seemed to know each other. Was that a declaration of war?
Some of the younger and most fervorous people in the audience had already come up with their possible dialog”I won. I will challenge you next.”
“Hmm. You have a long way to go before you can defeat me.”
“Really? I cannot wait to see which one is stronger, your dragon or my Dark Dragon Hound!”
“We will see.”
“Fine. Time will tell!”
What a hostile interchange between two powerful participants!
But the reality was this. Su Lingyue smiled after hearing Xu Kuang’s words and exclaimed, “I thought he would lend you his dragon or that skeleton. I didn’t know it was this black dog… I never thought that this black dog could be so strong. It’s even more terrifying than my Frosty.”
Dragon? Skeleton?
Xu Kuang was surprised. Were those Su Ping’s other two pets?
“The dragon you mentioned, is it the Inferno Dragon?” Xu Kuang asked in curiosity.
Su Lingyue nodded.
“Wow…” Xu Kuang did not know what to say. Seized with excitement, the first thing that came to mind was that he definitely had to borrow that Inferno Dragon sometime.
What could the dragon do when the Dark Dragon Hound was already this powerful?
The two went back to their seats after their conversation.
The venue eventually quieted down.
The judge had left the premises.
The commentators didn’t understand what had happened. To keep the excitement going and make time for the judge to return, they kept on talking about the battle between Xu Kuang and Liu Qingfeng.
However, the commentators didn’t dare to talk about too many details. Sure, they could warm up the atmosphere, but Liu Qingfeng was from the Liu family which valued their dignity. The commentators feared the family’s retaliation should they talk in too much detail about the battle.
The commentators would never offend such a major family; otherwise, they would die without anyone knowing.
That was the hard thing about this job.
Luckily, the commentators didn’t have to endure for long. The judge returned.
He brought along a supporting judge.
The judge made the introduction, mentioning that the other person was also a titled judge.
The reason for having two judges, according to the first judge, was to avoid situations where the participants were hurt, upsetting the following matches because one could not help out in time.
Of course, some of the smarter people were able to tell that the main reason was that the judge was afraid of dying!
That was understandable, though, considering that thrilling battle. No one had imagined that the Elite League’s matches at the Longjiang Base City would have evolved to such a scary level.
Those matches were as outstanding as the Top 10 battles on the continent stage!
The two judges got to the stage and the challenges continued.
Some participants were speechless after seeing two judges. It had to be the first time, for matches to be overseen by two judges since the beginning of the Elite League in the Longjiang Base City.
Long lasting rules had been altered this year.
Some participants forced a bitter smile. They were downright unfortunate to be playing this year with those freaks.
The matches continued. The other challengers began to pick from the remaining Top 10 winners.
Everyone was avoiding Su Lingyue and Qin Shaotian.
No one would be stupid enough to go after them. As of this moment, both the netizens and the other participants were of the conviction that they would become the champion and the runner-up.
To challenge them? What’s wrong with staying alive?
Soon, Ye Hao and Su Yanying were challenged.
Their matches were fierce but they managed to defend their places. They merely used one pet each, but those pets amazed the audience with their eighth-rank abilities. They weren’t the most powerful two in the Top 10 but they were good enough to stay at number seven or eight.
Several others were challenged but all of them had successfully defended their places, except for one.
The participant couldn’t be challenged by a second person.
That was to say, other than Xu Kuang, several of the nine challengers would have to give up.
They would have to be confident enough to issue the challenge before everyone else. The only other option left was to challenge Qin Shaotian or Su Lingyue.
But challenging those two would not lead to a good result and the challengers might end up wounded or dead if they were unfortunate.
The challenges came to an end. At last, the final Top 10 winners were generated.
There was only a small change compared to the first results.
Only two of the challengers managed to enter the Top 10.
As it had always been, the challenge matches were like appetizers for the next round. The truly powerful participants would normally win in their group matches. For the less lucky participants who were grouped with several powerful participants, the losing party would choose to challenge the winners as soon as possible to get a place in the Top 10.
Xu Kuang was the perfect example.
The hesitant ones were not the kind of talent that the Elite League would want to pick out.
After all, the Elite League was meant to pick out five people from each base city.
Five for each city.
A place among the Top 10 but not in the Top 5 would be pointless for the major families. Numbers six to ten would only be accounted for as personal achievements.
The challenge matches had concluded. Next, the Top 10 would draw lots to continue the competition.
Before this, the cheerleaders had entered the stage to soften the atmosphere with their performance which also served as an intermission.
The audience would have to wait through this if they wanted to see the following matches. Some took the opportunity to use the restroom.
Soon, the atmosphere was warmed up. The cheerleaders exited the stage and the commentators returned. Everyone turned their sights to the large screens.
The names were going to be picked out randomly.
The people in the audience and the participants were holding their breaths.
Soon, the names of each pair were shown on the screen.
Su Lingyue stared at the screen. She was relieved to see that her opponent was not Qin Shaotian. Sure, she had defeated him once but she still didn’t wish to confront him again. He seemed dangerous and the only leverage she had was the Moonfrost Dragon.
“I hope I can defeat them by myself one day…” Su Lingyue said to herself.
Soon, all five pairs were determined.
Su Lingyue would fight Ye Hao.
Xu Kuang would go against the young master from the Zhou family.
Qin Shaotian versus Su Yanying. Ye Longtian would fight against the other challenger who had moved up to the Top 10.
And, Mu Yuanshou’s opponent was a student.
Su Lingyue turned her eyes to Ye Hao who sat in the distance.
Ye Hao was looking at her as well. He produced a forced smile,
Su Yanying was gazing at Qin Shaotian; she felt quite scared when the latter eventually turned to see her. She sensed that this Qin family youth was not as friendly as before.
He won’t kill me, will he? she thought.
Su Yanying and Ye Hao exchanged eye contact. Misery loves company.
“I think we reached the end of our journey…” Ye Hao heaved a sigh.
Su Yanying nodded. “Yes. But I’m happy enough. Yesterday, many private companies approached me, wanting to sign a long-term contract with me. They offer good pay and benefits, more than what I can make as an explorer!”
Ye Hao cautioned her. “Tread carefully with the private companies. They tend to take you to complete dangerous jobs. Try to find a good explorer’s team. It’ll be safer and you can still make decent money.”
Su Yanying nodded. “I know. Other teams are offering me jobs as well. I will think about it.” Ye Hao nodded and looked into the distance, and just happened to see Xu Kuang smiling an arrogant smile. Ye Hao pulled a long face. That guy. He wasn’t that strong. I cannot believe he now is one of us. I think getting one of the Top 5 places won’t be an issue for him! Su Yanying turned that way. That stunning Xu Kuang was making faces and sticking his tongue out to challenge Ye Hao.
She put on a diplomatic smile. “If I’m not mistaken, his Dark Dragon Hound was trained in Mr. Su’s store as well.”
Ye Hao was surprised. “In Mr. Su’s store? Then how come our pets aren’t….”
“He must have spent more money than we did,” Su Yanying replied. She knew Mr. Su’s personality quite well.
Ye Hao: “…”
In the audience.
Su Ping leaned against his chair, yawning. He was so bored that he almost fell asleep. He would have fallen asleep if it weren’t for the fact that Xu Kuang failed to control that Dark Dragon Hound halfway into that battle.
“I must be careful with pet rent. That Dark Dragon Hound is at the sixth rank and even a fourth-rank battle pet warrior can sign a contract with it. However, to be able to control it is difficult.”
Su Ping heaved a sigh. Xu Kuang was such a handful. Just then, Su Ping had to exert his influence through his contract, or else the judge and the kid from the Liu family would have died.
Of course, Su Ping wouldn’t have felt sorry even if the Liu family kid had died. However, if that happened, Xu Kuang would have been disqualified and the promise to send him to the Top 5 would fall through.
To Su Ping, the life of a Liu family kid wasn’t nearly as important as his store’s reputation.
After all, if he wanted that Liu family kid dead, he could just go to the Liu family and end his life in person.
It was unnecessary to take the Liu family kid’s life at the risk of Xu Kuang’s success. Otherwise, of all the people buying his packages, there would be one less successful person.
That would not really matter if Su Lingyue won first place. Things were looking good right then. Ye Hao and Su Yanying had made it to the Top 10. As such, he had to make sure that everyone buying his packages could get what they wanted.
One less person would not be perfect.
Still, he could have ignored it if two people had already failed.
“Nothing interesting about the following matches between those ten…” Su Ping sighed. He closed his eyes and began to study his rules of thunder. He had completely lost his interest in the rest of the matches.
Now the ball was in his court.
He had made a step forward into the world of rules of thunder and he could study by himself. The process would be long and his ability of understanding would matter. But he would improve as long as he could study at any time possible. It was better than watching boring games here.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had to protect Su Lingyue in case someone would attack her, he wouldn’t even bother going there.
The match began while Su Ping was absorbed in his study.
First up was Qin Shaotian and Su Yanying.
When Qin Shaotian summoned the Bloody Servant, Su Yanying directly resigned without any hesitation.
Next were su Lingyue and Ye Hao.
Not wasting a second, Ye Hao resigned before Su Lingyue even summoned the Moonfrost Dragon.
The audience was speechless after seeing that both battles would end by a swift admission of defeat. That was understandable, though. This was also proof that Qin Shaotian and Su Yanying were terrifying.
Xu Kuang’s opponent, the young master of the Zhou family, also resigned shortly after.
Even Liu Qingfeng was beaten by Xu Kuang. The young master of the Zhou family didn’t intend to “exchange experience” with Xu Kang, lest he would suffer a much uglier defeat.
Mu Yuanshou and Ye Longtian were the only two who actually decided to fight. Those matches ended quickly—Mu Yuanshou and Ye Longtian won their respective matches with one battle pet each.
In an hour, the Top 5 winners had been revealed.
The five losing participants had a chance to challenge any one of the current Top 5 winners but all of them gave it up.
The gap was huge. No one would overestimate their strength at this point. They did have a clear sense of themselves after having made it that far in the Elite League
Afterward, the five losing participants would battle against each other
To fight for the sixth to tenth places.
Apart from the audience, the powerful ones of the major families and the municipal government didn’t care much for those matches. Some had already left.
The matches were intense. The five had similar abilities and everyone was exerting their full strength. They were locked together and their performances were a feast to the eyes. As for the battle between the Top 5, they were scheduled for the following day.
A government official watched from the staging area and smiled.
“I think they’re going to be the five who represent our Longjiang Base City.”
The person next to him nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, an elder from the Qin family said, “Hmm, not necessarily.” He was wearing that mysterious smile again. “Of those five, one more person will get knocked out. I don’t know who that person is going to be; it’ll probably be decided among the ones from the Liu family and the Ye family.”
The two government representatives appeared to be surprised by those words.
The elders of the Mu family and Ye family turned somber as if they thought of something terrifying.
“Since that lady is coming, I will accept the fact that we’re going to lose. After all, the guardian in our family will have the task to protect the future family head. But it’s so unfortunate that Qin Shaotian would lose to a student barely in her first year, oh well…”The elder from the Mu family pretended to feel sorry. The elder from the Qin family pulled a long face but didn’t say anything else.
The Ye family elder darted a look at the elder of the Qin family and sneered.
Of the Top 5 winners, Su Lingyue and Xu Kuang indeed were the best ones and Qin Shaotian would be right next to them. The one from the Ye family and the appointed guardian from the Mu family currently were the weakest ones of the five.
The Ye family elder believed that while their young master was not the strongest, and could probably lose to Qin Shaotian, he should be better than Mu Yuanshou the guardian.
The one to be pushed out would have to be the Mu family person.
All of a sudden, the elder from the Zhou family asked the people of the government, “Anyways, that lady is arriving tonight, right?”
The latter was surprised. They had just realized that they had forgotten about that important person after they heard this conversation.
“We don’t know about her whereabouts,” someone answered ambiguously.
