Beast Taming Begins with the Inner Circle of Pets

Chapter 45 Round of 16 Qualifying Match (Part 1)

She cried for an unknown amount of time, only vaguely remembering that Fu Mingyuan took her back to her room, after which she drifted off to sleep in a daze.

She remained silent until Fang Yaqi woke her up the next morning, and followed the others to the competition venue without saying a word.

Fang Yaqi noticed something was wrong with Lin Manman as soon as she returned to her hotel room last night, but her attempts to talk to her went unanswered. A bad feeling crept into her mind, and she didn't dare bother her any further.

As the referee brought over the lottery box for the match, Lin Manman was also lost in thought, while Liu Ping, the other two, and Fang Yaqi exchanged bewildered glances.

"I'll go get a smoke," Fang Yaqi said, standing up.

When Fang Yaqi returned with the number 1 sign, Liu Ping, the other two, and Fang Yaqi herself all looked utterly devastated.

"Manman...we're the first one..." Fang Yaqi almost didn't dare to look at her best friend.

"Okay, let's go." Lin Manman spoke her first words of the day, then turned and walked towards the arena. However, her eyes were glazed over, and she seemed dazed, not at all like someone who could compete normally.

Fang Yaqi looked at Liu Ping and the other two, her face almost breaking into tears.

"Let's go, just do your best." Xue Songwen smiled reassuringly at her, then followed Lin Manman.

"You guys keep an eye on her later. It's my turn to put on a show today." Liu Ping laughed and patted Fang Yaqi on the shoulder.

Zhu Zibin patted Fang Yaqi on the shoulder, a hint of tenderness appearing on his usually carefree face. "Let's go, trust your friend."

When the five of them arrived on the arena, the opposing team was already assembled. Unfortunately, their opponents were Yin Haoxuan from the Yin family of the capital, a team of two warriors, two mages, and one beast tamer.

"Your spirit pets are all very powerful, so I hope you'll go easy on me today." Yin Haoxuan was only sixteen years old this year, handsome and tall, with a smile that was always as gentle as a spring breeze on his face.

If it were any other Lin Manman, she might have quipped "smiling tiger," but right now she wasn't even in the mood to speak.

After the two teams exchanged friendly greetings, Lin Manman raised her hand and summoned Honey Badger and Rainbow Jade. Liu Ping also got into position to coordinate with Honey Badger's charge.

Meanwhile, the beast tamer on Yin Haoxuan's side had already summoned four spirit pets at the first moment: a poisonous tarantula, a bewitching butterfly, a fiery-tailed wind wolf, and a blue water crocodile turtle.

When the honey badger appeared on the field, it hesitated for a moment. The contract linked its soul to Lin Manman's, and it could sense its master's confusion, fear, and self-blame, which affected its combat judgment.

"Hiss..." I'll protect my master...

With that, Hong Yu disappeared.

"Roar!" Good.

The Honey Badger confidently activated its Rock Armor and charged towards Yin Haoxuan. Yin Haoxuan's class was Holy Sword Warrior, a class that could not only buff teammates but also provide some healing. When Lin Manman and her team discussed tactics, they often prioritized targeting this type of class.

At the same time, Yin Haoxuan immediately buffed his team with shields that could mitigate damage and buffs that increased their attack power.

His teammate, another warrior, was a berserker wielding dual hammers. He was tall and muscular, clearly possessing considerable physical strength. The moment the honey badger charged, he too charged at the honey badger, weapon in hand.

Behind Yin Haoxuan, the earth mage cast two earth shield spells in front of the group, and the wood mage also took the opportunity to release the entanglement skill.

The honey badger's charge and the berserker's charge collided violently, producing a dull thud. The honey badger's charge was interrupted, and the berserker used the momentum to leap into the air, his twin hammers spinning once before smashing down on the honey badger's head again.

The honey badger raised its claws, intending to use a claw strike to knock away the opponent's hammer, but a dozen vines rose from the ground, tightly binding its claws and body, rendering it immobile. It was too late to deploy its earth shield again; two more hammer blows slammed into its rocky armor.

The rock armor collapsed with a crash, and before it could be repaired, the berserker on the other side had already smashed its head off course with a hammer, the huge impact making its head spin.

"roar!"

The honey badger slammed its claw into the ground, breaking free of its restraints, and donned its rock armor once more. It then engaged the dual-hammer berserker in battle again.

On the other side, Yin Haoxuan took the initiative to confront Liu Ping, using his superior equipment to force Liu Ping into a retreat. Behind him, the Beastmaster commanded the Enchanted Butterfly to use a hypnotic skill on the Honey Badger, while the Poison Helmeted Spider and the Flame-Tailed Wind Wolf targeted Zhu Zibin and Lin Manman in the rear.

The honey badger was targeted, with the wood-elemental mage responsible for restraining it, the dual-hammer berserker unleashing a barrage of attacks, and the bewitching butterfly seizing the opportunity to use hypnosis, forcing the honey badger to dodge in a sorry state. Without the honey badger's support, Liu Ping was no match for Yin Haoxuan, and was quickly forced back to the edge of the arena.

The venomous tarantula spewed a web of poison at Zhu Zibin, which he knocked down with a spell. But then the fiery tail attack and wind claws of the Flametail Wind Wolf followed. Zhu Zibin only had time to erect an ice wall in front of himself and Xue Songwen, leaving Lin Manman and Fang Yaqi exposed to the wind claws' attack range.

Fortunately, Hongyu was hiding beside Lin Manman and used spatial teleportation the instant the wind claws attacked, teleporting the attack to Yin Haoxuan's side. Yin Haoxuan reacted even faster and dodged, and the wind claws hit Liu Ping head-on.

Liu Ping had already been forced to the edge of the arena by Yin Haoxuan. Hong Yu had sent the Wind Claw attack over to help him escape, but Yin Haoxuan seemed to have anticipated it and dodged extremely quickly. This attack sent him directly out of the arena.

As the Flame-Tailed Wind Wolf launched its attack, the Blue Water Crocodile Turtle, located far beside the Beastmaster, also fired a water arrow, striking Lin Manman almost simultaneously with the Wind Wolf's wind claws. Although Rainbow Jade used spatial teleportation to dodge the wind claws, the water arrow was already upon it. There wasn't enough time for it to use its skill to resist again, so it had no choice but to use its body to shield Lin Manman.

"Hiss..." The water arrow was extremely powerful, sending Hongyu's entire body flying backward a meter, landing right at Lin Manman's feet. Scales shattered by the water arrow struck her face.

At this moment, Lin Manman, who had been absent-minded, finally regained her senses. She watched as Hong Yu, despite being injured, quickly got up and retaliated with a tail strike, firmly protecting her behind her. She felt utterly weak and useless, letting her emotions control her mind, unable to think rationally. How could she become stronger?

"Yaqi, treat Hongyu." She composed herself and re-observed the situation on the field.

Upon hearing Lin Manman's instructions, Fang Yaqi quickly tossed the half-prepared healing spell she was holding to Hong Yu, stopping the bleeding from Hong Yu's wound.

Liu Ping is now out of the game. The Honey Badger is being held back by two mages and can only passively take hits. The Enchanted Butterfly surrounds him, casting hypnosis spells several times, which he dodges, but apart from dodging, he has no chance to launch any attacks. Meanwhile, Zhu Zibin and Hong Yu are struggling to resist the Poison Helmeted Tarantula and the Flame-Tailed Wind Wolf, but they also have a level 3 Blue Water Crocodile Turtle providing ranged support. Xue Songwen and Fang Yaqi have already taken turns healing the two of them several times.

"Ah Dai! Go and rescue your father." She quickly raised her hand and summoned her spirit pet, Ah Dai.

The moment Ah-Dai appeared, he rushed toward the honey badger at high speed, his wind blades under his wings like small scimitars, slashing at the vines that were trapping the honey badger.

(End of this chapter)