Bai Hongguang took out the token left by Bai Zhiyuan and entered the sealed barrier.
A massive stone tablet stood before him.
The black stone tablet was covered in dense, eerie carvings.
Bai Hongguang summoned his pet beasts, preparing to shatter the stone tablet and reopen the passage from the secret realm to the other world.
Outside, no one had yet discovered Bai Hongguang's whereabouts, nor was anyone there to stop him.
Soon, it was November 15th, the day of the National Competition.
Every university in Yanhuang would send a representative team.
Of course, the most anticipated were the ten renowned universities.
Imperial Capital University sent ten beast tamers as participants, all seniors. Six of them had already become Grandmaster level beast tamers, and the remaining four were Master level beast tamers.
Hu Maoxue, who had previously fought Zheng Dong, also participated in the competition.
Hu Maoxue's strength had also improved rapidly, becoming a Grandmaster level beast tamer.
However, Imperial Capital University's leader was not Hu Maoxue.
It was Cao Kang.
Cao Kang's brother, Cao Teng, had once competed with Zheng Dong for a spot in the Qin Emperor's遗迹 (yíjì - ruins/relics).
Compared to Cao Teng, Cao Kang possessed greater talent.
Cao Kang should have graduated long ago, but he had entered a secret realm to investigate the situation in the other world on the other side, delaying his graduation by a year.
Because of this, the principal of Imperial Capital University allowed him to extend his studies for another year.
The purpose was precisely for him to participate in this National Competition. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Cao Kang, however, was indifferent to this.
His treatment in the Imperial Capital was similar to Zheng Dong's; he basically didn't have to attend classes, and winning the national championship in the competition would be good.
He had participated in a previous edition and only managed to secure second place.
Cao Kang was also a Grandmaster level beast tamer, having contracted two Emperor level pet beasts beyond his level. The remaining four pet beasts were all King level.
This strength could rival some Legendary level practitioners.
Cao Kang also planned to advance to the Legendary level beast tamer after the National Competition.
Besides Imperial Capital University, there was Magic Capital University.
The champion of the individual competition was a rival within their own ranks.
Magic Capital University, apart from Zheng Dong, had nine other participants who were all seniors.
Among them, four were Grandmaster level beast tamers.
The strongest among them was Fan Liang.
Fan Liang's parents were both beast tamers in the Beast Tamer Corps, and both held high positions.
Therefore, besides studying at Magic Capital University, Fan Liang also frequently participated in the actions of the Beast Tamer Corps.
He was a member of a special operations team within the Beast Tamer Corps.
He had entered the Totem Country multiple times to hunt down extraordinary creatures hostile to Yanhuang.
He had also infiltrated other worlds to gather intelligence.
His combat experience was extremely rich.
At this moment, Zheng Dong was waiting to enter the arena.
The National Competition had an opening ceremony.
It not only featured performances but was also broadcast live.
As a participant, Zheng Dong would also enter the arena with the Magic Capital University team.
Taking this opportunity, he began to review the information sent by Principal Yu.
This information recorded the general situation of each university's participants.
Zheng Dong flipped through the profiles of participants from Imperial Capital, Magic Capital, and Divine Capital Universities.
To his surprise, the Shen Bing and Shen Xue sisters were also participating, representing Divine Capital University.
Moreover, the growth speed of the two sisters was no slower than his; both were now Grandmaster level beast tamers.
This truly surprised Zheng Dong.
He had entered the 地渊遗迹 (Dìyuān Yíjì - Abyssal Ruins) multiple times for cultivation and had continuous opportunities, yet he only became a Grandmaster level beast tamer.
How did these two sisters cultivate?
Did they also have continuous opportunities?
Afterwards, Zheng Dong entered the arena with the Magic Capital University representative team.
In the live broadcast, the host of the competition, Di Ying, began to introduce them one by one.
"Magic Capital University's lineup is second only to Imperial Capital University, boasting five Grandmaster level beast tamers. The youngest among them is likely the second-year student, Zheng Dong.
Many viewers are not familiar with student Zheng Dong.
Let us introduce him specifically: he comes from Rong City, was once the champion of the Rong City Newcomer King, and later entered Magic Capital University..."
On site, many supporters of Magic Capital University also held up banners for Magic Capital University.
Of course, Magic Capital University's cheerleaders had also come.
Seeing the banners, it was still somewhat normal.
Because Ning Wei, that fellow, was still attending school and had not come to watch the competition.
It was just that this was Wudu, and there were not many people supporting Magic Capital University.
Before long, it was Wudu University's turn to enter the arena, and the crowd erupted in excitement.
At the same time, Di Ying's introduction of Wudu University became even more enthusiastic.
"Finally, it's time for our Wudu University to enter the arena. Leading them is our Wudu University's prodigy, Bai Ming."
Bai Ming was also a Grandmaster level beast tamer, and he was from the Bai family.
However, he was not from the direct lineage but a collateral branch.
The destruction of the Bai family did not have a significant impact on Bai Ming.
His father had left the Bai family very early and started his own business outside, without engaging in any illegal activities.
Of course, his father was also a seed planted by the Bai family outside.
After all, major families feared being wiped out in one fell swoop.
Therefore, they often arranged for collateral descendants or disfavored direct descendants to leave the family.
However, they did not completely sever ties, maintaining subtle connections and providing covert support.
So, when the Bai family fell, Bai Ming's father's business became less smooth.
Bai Ming did not have much affection for the Bai family.
However, he still wanted to teach Zheng Dong a lesson.
After all, blood was thicker than water.
It was fine for their own people to fight amongst themselves.
When dealing with outsiders, they had to unite.
In his opinion, the destruction of the Bai family was caused by Zheng Dong.
Zheng Dong should bear the responsibility.
As the participating contestants entered the arena one by one, the opening ceremony was soon to conclude.
The competition rules were also announced.
The individual competition's first stage was a points match.
The points match would be conducted in the form of virtual battles. The more stages one cleared, the higher the points obtained.
The top one hundred in points would proceed to the elimination rounds.
The elimination rounds would take place in a Legendary level relic space.
The top ten individuals who hunted the most extraordinary creatures would enter the finals.
The ten finalists would then battle each other.
The last one standing would win the championship.
After understanding the competition rules, Zheng Dong waited for the competition to officially begin.
The next day, the points match commenced.
Thousands of people competed simultaneously.
The organizers had mobilized several Overlord level mechanical pet beasts, the Illusion Emperors, for this purpose.
Illusion Emperors could create virtual battle arenas, allowing contestants to compete and clear stages within them.
Zheng Dong was no stranger to this mode of competition.
He had participated in a similar competition before in order to enter the Qin Emperor's relic space.
Before him appeared a King level Flame Lizard King.
Others were in the same situation; the first stage involved King level pet beasts.
This still posed some difficulty for Master level beast tamers.
But for Grandmaster level beast tamers, it was not so difficult.
Zheng Dong summoned Youyou and unleashed the Karmic Rebirth Flame, directly incinerating the Flame Lizard King.
Immediately after, on the large screen of the live broadcast, it showed that someone had cleared the first stage.
However, the number of people quickly surged to five.
In the next second, it increased to sixteen.
It was difficult for the audience to determine who had cleared the first stage first.
Di Ying chose to watch Bai Ming's battle progress.
The live broadcast also switched to Bai Ming's virtual battle arena.
In the second stage, Bai Ming was faced with two King level Storm Vulture Kings.
Bai Ming's expression was calm as he summoned his Emperor level pet beast, the White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor.
The White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor was massive. The two Storm Vulture Kings were like small cars facing a heavy-duty truck in its presence, leaving no room for suspense.
The White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor didn't even need to use its skills; its mere deterrent aura was enough to awe the Storm Vulture Kings.
In the live broadcast, Di Ying excitedly introduced the White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor.
"This is student Bai Ming's White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor, also a Heroic pet beast. Previously, student Bai Ming was traveling in Meng City when the Heavenly Wolf Totem Country launched a surprise attack on the outskirts of Meng City.
The White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor killed several King level leaders of the Heavenly Wolf Legion, saving countless lives, and received commendations from the Meng City Beast Tamer Corps..."
It was precisely because of the recognition from the Meng City Beast Tamer Corps that Bai Ming had the opportunity to enter the Desert Sea relic space of Meng City.
In the Desert Sea relic space, he obtained considerable resources, and the White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor also grew to Emperor level.
After passing the second stage, he proceeded to the third stage.
The environment before him changed, a desolate primeval grassland, and five King level Howling Moon Celestial Wolf Kings appeared before Bai Ming.
Bai Ming still showed no intention of making a move, letting the White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor handle them alone.
His beast taming talent was Wind Blessing, which could comprehensively enhance all aspects of wind-element pet beasts. With his assistance, the White-Eyed Wyvern Emperor could even withstand the attacks of some Overlord level pet beasts.
Before long, Bai Ming had cleared ten stages.
However, Cao Kang, Fan Liang, and others were no less impressive than Bai Ming, clearing stages at a similar pace.
Just as Di Ying was about to praise Bai Ming again, she suddenly noticed that someone had already cleared the twelfth stage.
Furthermore, the speed at which they cleared stages had not slowed down despite the increasing difficulty.
Who was this?
Di Ying quickly exited Bai Ming's virtual battle arena. On the large screen, it displayed that one person had cleared the thirteenth stage, twelve people had cleared the tenth stage, twenty-four people had cleared the ninth stage...
Instantly, many viewers urged Di Ying, wanting to see who had cleared the most stages.
The screen switched.
It was a black Gobi desert.
Bones littered the ground, blown by the strong wind and colliding with each other, producing eerie sounds.
Di Ying also noticed that the protagonist of the virtual battle arena before her was Zheng Dong.
Zheng Dong had not hidden the strength of Youyou and Ling'er too much along the way.
Except for the three Overlord level elemental spirits that could not be used, all others could be deployed.
With this, who could stop Ling'er's elemental spirit army?
At this moment, Ling'er appeared beside Zheng Dong in the form of a light elemental spirit.
It released twenty-four King level light elemental spirits.
And the opponent was merely twelve pathetic King level Hellfire Wolves.
Under the swarm attack, these Hellfire Wolves had no power to fight back.
Even Youyou didn't need to make a move.
Youyou, in her Taji form, sat dejectedly on Zheng Dong's shoulder, pondering when she could capture more undead puppets.
In the blink of an eye, Zheng Dong had cleared the fourteenth stage and reached the fifteenth stage.
This scene also stimulated everyone.
"Holy crap, what's going on?"
"When did Zheng Dong's pet beasts turn into angels?"
"This is bullshit, are you sure there's no cheating? How can there be so many King level pet beasts?"
...
Of course, there were also many viewers whose focus was elsewhere.
"Wow, these angel ladies are so beautiful, I want them too!"
"Where can I buy these pet beasts?"
"Who can contact Zheng Dong? I want to rent his pet beasts as models. If they wear my designs, they'll be stunningly beautiful!"
...
Di Ying looked at the barrage of viewer questions in confusion; she didn't know how to explain.
However, she reacted quickly and turned to the guest beside her, the president of the Wudu Beast Tamer Association, the Legendary Wei Shi.
"President Wei, you are experienced and knowledgeable. What do you think is going on with these angels?"
Wei Shi was already an old man and would never become a Titled Legendary in this life.
Being asked by Di Ying, he felt a bit awkward.
He couldn't figure out what these angel-shaped light elemental spirits were either.
If you said cheating, it was impossible.
The virtual battle arenas were created by Overlord level mechanical pet beasts, the Illusion Emperors. If there was cheating, it would have been discovered long ago, and they would have been disqualified.
Wei Shi's eyes darted around. To avoid appearing embarrassed, he smiled and said,
"Well, I suspect it's a clone-type skill. After all, you see, every angel looks the same!"
This immediately drew a lot of criticism from the audience.
"This is a reason? I think my pet chicks all look the same!"
"Nonsense. If you don't know, go home and retire, don't come out and embarrass yourself."
"Does Wei Shi really not see where the problem lies? Zheng Dong's profile doesn't mention him contracting light-element angel pet beasts! So where did these angels come from?"
...
Seeing the barrage of comments popping up, Di Ying quickly asked other guests.
Another Legendary level beast tamer from Wudu said,
"If we want to figure out what's going on, why don't we look at what pet beast Zheng Dong initially summoned? I remember that although Zheng Dong is a Grandmaster level beast tamer, he has seven pet beasts, one of which possesses the light attribute."
Di Ying nodded and switched the screen.
The scene of Zheng Dong entering the virtual battle arena and summoning his pet beasts was played.
However, Zheng Dong initially only summoned Youyou.
Later, finding the clearing of stages too slow, he summoned Ling'er at the fifth stage.
It showed Zheng Dong raising his left hand, and a Dragonvine Grass appeared on his left hand, which soon transformed into the Elemental Ancient God Tree.
Following this, a shocking scene occurred: the Elemental Ancient God Tree opened the Light Element Dimensional Sea, and King level light elemental spirits appeared one after another.
Subsequently, the Elemental Ancient God Tree also transformed into an angel-shaped light elemental spirit.
Everyone finally understood where these angels came from.
However, they were even more puzzled.
They couldn't figure out what the Light Element Dimensional Sea was.
All they could see was an ocean formed by light elements, and they didn't know how many light elemental spirits were hidden within.
They also didn't know how this elemental ocean was formed.
Seeing this scene, Wei Shi and several other Legendary guests fell silent.
The Elemental Ancient God Tree was the result of the Dragonvine Grass undergoing multiple mutations and evolutions.
It had never existed in history.
There was no information to be found about it.
At this moment, a comment caught everyone's attention.
"World Tree! If I'm not mistaken, Zheng Dong's pet beast is evolving towards the direction of the World Tree.
Legend has it that the World Tree gave birth to the Elemental Sea, providing elemental energy for myriad worlds. This light element ocean might be the prototype of the Elemental Sea!"
The person who posted this comment was also a Legendary level beast tamer.
He had a plant-type pet beast whose evolutionary direction was also the World Tree.
Therefore, he had collected a lot of information about the World Tree and was very excited to see Zheng Dong's Elemental Ancient God Tree.
If they could obtain the Elemental Ancient God Tree, their family's goal might be realized.
He was not a beast tamer from Yanhuang country but from the Taylor family of the Glorious Country.
The Taylor family's crest was an angel.
Their family hoped for the reappearance of the Angel God in the world.
The Angel God was the guardian deity in the Glorious Country, loving peace, loving all living beings, and creating humanity.