Beast Taming Star Journey

No sooner had Referee Shi finished speaking than the skinny boy moved. His movements were ghostly, his speed astonishing, completely at odds with his frail appearance. I was startled; this kid was hiding his true strength!

He summoned a porcupine covered in sharp quills. The porcupine wasn't large, but it was incredibly agile, and it charged at me with a hiss. I immediately summoned my beast companion—Little Flame, a young lion cub with fiery red fur.

Xiao Yan let out a low growl and charged forward. The porcupine's quills shot out like hidden weapons, incredibly fast and at tricky angles.

I noticed that these spikes were not fired randomly, but were aimed at Xiao Yan's weak points—his eyes and abdomen.

This made me even more certain that the boy was acting under someone's orders and was deliberately targeting me. I directed Little Flame to dodge nimbly, while simultaneously spewing out a ball of flame to force the porcupine back.

The heat from the flames made the porcupine restless, disrupting its attack rhythm.

I seized the opportunity and commanded Xiao Yan to launch a fierce attack, its sharp claws slashing and leaving bloody marks on the porcupine's body.

The skinny boy didn't seem flustered. He muttered incantations, and suddenly a layer of earthy yellow light emanated from the porcupine, instantly increasing its defensive power.

Xiao Yan's attacks couldn't even break through my defenses! I narrowed my eyes; this earthy yellow light seemed to be some kind of special beast-taming skill that could enhance defense.

It seems the person behind this isn't just targeting me, but has also prepared corresponding tactics for this boy. I sneered; Little Yan isn't just someone who relies on brute force.

With a thought, flames surged around Xiao Yan, and a scorching aura spread out.

This is Xiao Yan's special ability—Flame Burst! "Boom!" With a loud bang, the scorching flames instantly engulfed the porcupine.

The yellowish-brown light dissipated rapidly under the high temperature, and the porcupine let out a shrill scream before collapsing to the ground, incapacitated.

The thin boy was pale as he stared in disbelief at the fallen porcupine, his eyes filled with fear and despair.

His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything at all.

I walked up to him, looking down at him, my tone icy: "Who ordered you to do this?" His eyes darted away, avoiding my gaze. "Not going to talk? That's fine."

I turned and walked towards the arena exit, leaving him alone on the stage, trembling. I knew that this preliminary round was far more complex than it appeared.

Someone is manipulating things in the shadows, trying to stop me from moving forward. But this will only make me more determined; I will use my strength to shatter all conspiracies and schemes!

As I walked down from the arena, I vaguely heard whispers from the stands... "He actually won..."

As I stepped off the arena, my ears were ringing, and the murmurs of the audience surged towards me like a tidal wave.

I tried hard to make out the words, but only managed to catch a few fragments: "amazing," "unexpected," "dark horse"... Suddenly, a clear voice pierced through the noisy crowd and reached my eardrums: "Yu, you're the best!"

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw Su Yao standing in the front row of the stands, waving her handkerchief excitedly with a bright smile on her face.

The undisguised love and pride in her eyes were like a ray of warm sunshine, dispelling all the gloom in my heart. I couldn't help but smile and wave at her.

In the next few matches, I faced opponents who were all stronger than the skinny boy I had faced before. But with my previous experience, I became more cautious and decisive.

Under my command, Xiao Yan escaped danger time and time again, and ultimately achieved victory. However, I gradually noticed something was amiss.

Referee Shi's rulings always seem to be against me.

On several occasions, my attacks were clearly successful but were ruled invalid; while he ignored some of my opponent's obvious fouls.

Especially in a duel with a blue-clad beast tamer, I commanded Xiao Yan to use Fireball. The blue-clad beast tamer was clearly unable to dodge in time, but was judged by the stone referee to be "out of bounds".

My doubts deepened. Was this referee Shi deliberately targeting me?

I looked at the blue-clad beast tamer, whose face held a hint of smugness, and whose eyes gleamed with disdain.

He nodded slightly to Referee Shi, then turned and left the arena. All of this convinced me even more that Referee Shi had been bribed. Who was pulling the strings behind all this?

Is it the president of Xingtu Club? Or someone else? I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I knew now wasn't the time to pursue the truth.

I had to win the preliminary rounds to be eligible to continue the investigation. In the following matches, I became more cautious, but also more decisive and ruthless.

I knew I couldn't give Referee Shi any more excuses to call a foul on me. I had to crush my opponent with absolute power!

However, no matter how perfectly I performed, Referee Shi could still find all sorts of reasons to favor my opponent.

I felt like I was struggling in a swamp, every step incredibly difficult. In the final preliminary round, I met a girl in a white dress.

Her tamed beast is a nimble snow fox, whose attack methods mainly consist of ice magic.

Her fighting style was flexible and varied, and she was very clever, always able to find my weaknesses to attack. It was a closely fought contest, and we both gave it our all.

As the match reached its climax, I directed Xiao Yan to launch one last fierce attack.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to strike the snow fox, Referee Shi suddenly blew his whistle, announcing the end of the match and the white-skirted girl as the winner. I was stunned. Why?

Xiao Yan's attack was about to hit the Snow Fox, so why was I judged to have lost? Referee Shi announced the result expressionlessly, then turned and left the arena.

The girl in the white dress walked up to me with an apologetic expression on her face: "I'm sorry, I didn't know..." I shook my head, indicating that she didn't need to continue.

I knew she was a victim too. I turned to leave, but then I heard the girl in the white dress whisper behind me, "Be careful of President Xingtu..."

I paused, turning back to look at her. Her eyes held a hint of worry, but she didn't say anything more, turning and leaving. The president of Star Path?

What role did he play? Who was the mastermind behind these preliminary rounds? I clenched my fists, a strong sense of unease rising within me.

I sensed a much larger conspiracy was creeping in... I walked to the rest area, picked up my water glass, and found my hand trembling slightly... "This water..."