Inside the battle arena hall, Shi Yu, holding a card number, sat on a public seat, his eyes fixed on the large screen on the wall.

There seemed to be quite a few people here. The hall was packed, and with four halls in this battle arena, the matchmaking shouldn't be too slow, right?

Indeed, Shi Yu didn't have to wait long. He had barely sat down for a minute, his butt not even warm yet, when the machine started calling numbers.

"ID: 4399, Beast Tamer Shi Yu, please proceed to Battle Arena 11."

"ID: 4401, Beast Tamer Chen Kai, please proceed to Battle Arena 11..."

[Arena 11: Shi Yu vs. Chen Kai!]

As his name appeared on the screen along with another Beast Tamer's name, Shi Yu immediately stood up, turned, and headed towards Battle Arena 11.

11... truly auspicious.

Looks like this is a "home game."

However, with my pet being called Eleven, and the first arena I rented also being number eleven, am I destined to be single forever?

...

Arena 11.

A young man in a referee's uniform saw off the previous contestants and waited for the next match.

He already had the information for the upcoming match, knowing that it was two low-level apprentice Beast Tamers.

"Pets below level six, Beast Tamers not too old, still in their most innocent and naive stage, looks like another battle of the rookies," the referee thought.

Before long, as the referee waited, Shi Yu and Chen Kai arrived, meeting each other right at the arena entrance.

They exchanged glances but didn't speak, continuing into the arena.

This was an open-air battle arena, similar in size to a tennis court, with a grid-like energy isolation net surrounding the large square area.

There were indoor arenas as well, but not many, and they required advance booking. The difference between indoor and outdoor arenas wasn't significant, mostly just in terms of privacy.

Indoor battles were generally more private, with only the referee present, while outdoor arenas allowed people outside the isolation net to see the battle details.

"Hello,"

Seeing people enter Arena 11, the young referee walked forward to greet Shi Yu and Chen Kai.

"You two are Shi Yu and Chen Kai, using the arena next, right?"

"I'm Chen Kai," Chen Kai, wearing a blue and white school uniform, spoke first.

Shi Yu followed, "I'm Shi Yu."

As he spoke, Chen Kai was conflicted.

How did his opponent turn out to be someone his age... This luck was terrible; he was hoping to get a beating from society.

If the opponent was the same age, then there was even less suspense. After all, he was a top student at the best school in Pingcheng, and he didn't think many peers could stand up to him.

Unless Shi Yu was his senior, but if he were a senior, it was unlikely his pet would only be level six. So, first, exclude that possibility.

"I'm Bai Shi, the manager and referee for Arena 11. You will have temporary usage rights for Arena 11 for one hour."

"You can start the battle whenever you're ready, and I'll be your referee," Bai Shi said.

Although the time limit was one hour, battles at this level usually ended within a few minutes.

The extra time was for the Beast Tamers to prepare and have a post-match discussion.

"I have no problem, I can start the battle at any time," Chen Kai said.

"Me too," Shi Yu nodded.

"Alright, let's start right away then," Referee Bai Shi confirmed.

Soon, Shi Yu and Chen Kai walked to opposite sides of the arena. They didn't know each other and didn't bother with formalities, so going straight to the battle was the most efficient way.

The referee also liked these kinds of taciturn Beast Tamers. He stood on the referee's seat, saw that they were ready, gave them a signal, and blew the whistle.

"Both sides are ready..."

"Begin the battle!"

In battles between Beast Tamers, no time is given for summoning pets in advance. After all, how a pet is summoned is also a part of a Beast Tamer's strength.

Some Beast Tamers skilled in assassination could even summon their pets without the opponent seeing how, and the enemy Beast Tamer would already be beheaded.

Of course, matches where you could directly attack the Beast Tamer themselves were very rare in Dong Huang Ancient Country, at least impossible in competitions between apprentice Beast Tamers like this.

Shi Yu and Chen Kai were both rookies who hadn't reached that level yet, so they were just performing basic summons after hearing the battle start.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~~

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~

As they opened their Beast Spaces, countless light spots shimmered in front of the two Beast Tamers.

The light spots quickly connected to form a trajectory, creating a huge circular array resembling a star map in mid-air.

Then, the arrays on both sides produced transparent ripples like water, and their pets emerged from the summoning arrays.

On Chen Kai's side, what came out of the array was a long, narrow creature nearly a meter long, covered in ice-blue scales, with short limbs and a long tail.

It raised its cone-shaped head, its small eyes filled with a sharp glint.

[Name]: Ice Armor Beast

[Attribute]: Ice

[Species Level]: Mid-level Transcendent

[Species Skills]: Ice Rend Claw, Ice Armor

Shi Yu looked at the pangolin-like pet, and its information immediately appeared in his mind.

There were quite a few ice-type pets in Icefield City, which made his Iron-eating Beast seem out of place.

On Shi Yu's side, what was summoned was naturally the little Iron-eating Beast. Because it hadn't fully grown yet, its size was relatively close to that of the Ice Armor Beast.

"Awoo—"

Eleven was excited when it saw its opponent after being summoned, because it was a creature it had never seen before...

"Its abilities are similar to yours. It can cover its body in ice armor. Also, be careful of its claws. Don't take a direct hit in a non-hardened state."

Shi Yu immediately reminded Eleven through telepathy.

At the same time, Shi Yu's opponent, Chen Kai, didn't need to remind the Ice Armor Beast at all, because they were too familiar with Iron-eating Beasts. After all, this was a characteristic pet of Pingcheng, and it wasn't the first time they had battled one.

In terms of species level, they were equivalent.

But in terms of skill advantages, the Ice Armor Beast was actually better.

Because the Iron-eating Beast's Hardening skill was mainly used for defense and had no special effects, while the Ice Armor Beast's Ice Armor and Ice Rend Claw, as defensive and offensive skills, not only had basic uses but also came with freezing effects from the frost power!

Therefore, Chen Kai suddenly felt like he had come for nothing.

He didn't know how he could lose.

"Eleven, the opponent is not weak. Be serious and don't screw up. After all, it's 200 yuan... If you screw up, I'll have to deduct it from your meal expenses," Shi Yu said telepathically.

Eleven: (｡◕vev◕｡) Wha, re... reduce meals???

The little Iron-eating Beast glared fiercely at the Ice Armor Beast. Iron-eating Beasts are friendly to humans, unless their food is stolen!