Chapter 430 — Not Playing by the Rules Again

Unfortunately, the World Championship did not permit the use of equipment. Otherwise, Shi Cen would not be so troubled—he could simply strip Qi's gear off him and go fight right now.

Such rules existed to restrict the demigods from crafting equipment themselves; their power far exceeded that of Shi Ying's team.

For instance, the Dragon God had given Shi Ying the Dragon God's Protection, which could withstand a totem-class attack with ease.

So what the World Championship tested was, in the end, the strength belonging to the Beast Tamers and their beasts themselves.

"Ying." "Mm!!" "Eeya." "Mii~~"

At that moment, inside the relic, the beasts of the first team were discussing who should fight.

"Eeya. (Leave it to me. If I can't finish the enemy in five moves, I'll count it as my loss.)" said Ginseng Baby.

"Mii!! (Me, me, me. If I can't finish the enemy in three moves, I'll count it as my loss.)" Red Eye vied for the spot.

"Ning!! (One move!!)"

Lin: "........."

The Monarch-class Ginseng Baby, Red Eye, and Susu argued endlessly, all wanting to take the field.

After all, they had been adding points for so long—wasn't it all for slaughtering the competition at the World Championship?

Eleven and Buggy wisely kept silent, knowing Shi Jin certainly would not send them; he would surely use a Monarch-class beast to fight an Overlord above its level.

Lin: "You're all still too young. Based on my analysis..."

"Its master—it might go up and fight in person."

The other beasts: ?

"As expected of top-tier intelligence," Shi Jin praised.

Lin had never once let him down.

It was as clever as he was, having worked out that this was the optimal tactic.

Shi Yi and the bug: ??

"Just the weakest top-tier overlord. If you two step in, there'd be no pressure at all." Shi Li: "For now, all you need to do is help me with some preparatory training."

………………

Three days later.

The preliminary round of the World Championship had been running for three full days.

Over these three days, Zou Yun, Ji Feng, and Gao Xuan had all issued their challenges.

All of them had failed.

Or rather, not a single Grade Six Beastmaster on the side of the Seven Nations had succeeded yet.

So far, the dozen or so who had cleared it were all Beastmasters from Totem Country.

Every last one of them possessed a special talent or a special constitution, and had contracted an overlord beyond their level—that was how they had passed.

As a result, the Seven Nations had endured no end of mockery from Totem Country over these three days.

Though private duels were forbidden on Inatera, the verbal sparring had not ceased for a single day.

The situation weighed heavily on the Seven Nations.

Some nations—Divine Wind Country, for instance—had even begun toying with the idea of assisting their Grade Six Beastmasters in contracting mechanical overlords beyond their level.

After all, to miss the chance at the Mythic Trial might be a lifelong regret.

"Damn it."

Having failed yet another challenge, Gao Xuan could not bring himself to face the seniors of the Fourth Bureau behind him.

Every time he lost, his Ultimate Holy Dragon Beast would be blown to pieces.

To repair the Ultimate Holy Dragon Beast as quickly as possible, the Fourth Bureau had consumed a great deal of precious mechanical resources, with a whole crowd of legendary machinists assisting in its recovery—and the result was still…

"Little Gao, perhaps we should call it off." Elder Liu of the Fourth Bureau shook his head. As expected, the difficulty was simply too high.

"Is it really impossible?"

Zou Yun was just as despondent. Two challenges, both ending in failure.

Of the three, Ji Feng had come closest to victory, but in a head-on fight he was still no match at all for a top-tier overlord.

The Donghuang audience, too, felt somewhat disheartened by the repeated defeats of these three.

"Shi Jin… is he still preparing?"

Three days now, and the Donghuang spectators were all waiting eagerly for Shi Jin—the strongest below Donghuang's Legends—to issue his challenge.

But Shi Jin had been preparing for three days without even making his first attempt, which could not help but make people anxious.

"He's bound to succeed—it's just a question of how far he wants to take it…"

Among Shi Ying's acquaintances, seniors like Ji Li still had great confidence in Jue.

In Shenyuan City, there was even less worry about Shi Jin; they simply sat back and watched the show, waiting to see how Shi Jin intended to challenge beyond his level.

And it was not only on Donghuang's side—across the other six human nations, and even in much of Totem Country, many were waiting for Shi Jin.

If, before Inatera opened, Shi Jin had been famous, his name had largely circulated only within the Seven Nations.

But once Shi Jin unearthed the secrets of the Mythic Era through his archaeology, his name spread directly among the Totem Countries as well.

For such an archaeologist, the great powers naturally had to investigate him thoroughly.

And what that investigation turned up was nothing short of astonishing.

Many factions were startled to find that Donghuang had produced such a super-genius.

Though there was little information on Shi Ying's combat prowess, the mechanical phantom beast system alone was enough to make these Totem Countries remember Shi Jin firmly.

What was more, Shi Jin bore the title of the strongest below Donghuang's Legends—his fighting strength could hardly be weak.

At this very moment, they too were all watching Shi Jin, one of the few Grade Six Beastmasters on the Seven Nations' side who had yet to issue a challenge.

…………

After a long stretch of preparation, Shi Jin finally emerged from the ruins once more, clad in an ordinary panda-print short-sleeve shirt and black trousers. The moment he stepped out, he let out a long breath and turned his gaze toward the rock-type arena.

Without a word, he intended to challenge the Arena of Rock.

Why? Because he had spent the past two days beating up Dou Dou Bear, and he had grown rather experienced at fighting bears.

"So you've finally come out."

The moment Shi Jin emerged, he immediately drew Lin Shuo's attention.

"Ready?" Lin Shuo asked.

"Yeah," Shi Jin nodded.

"Which one will you challenge?"

"The earth-type arena, I think," Shi Jin said.

"Good." Lin Shuo nodded.

"Then let—"

"I'll take it over there!" Before Lin Shuo could finish, ripples spread through space, and the Gem Cat appeared out of nowhere, its gaze immediately fixing on Cen Yu.

Meow—it had been waiting days for Shi Jin to challenge the arena, and this fellow was so slow.

It was going to watch the fight in person!

"Then I'll leave it to you, Teacher Ying," Shi Jin said with a laugh.

"Hurry up and let's go," said the Gem Cat.

The next moment, spatial psychic power enveloped both it and Shi Jin.

At that very same moment, in Inatera, outside the rock-type arena.

Shi Jin's figure appeared there.

Three days had passed, and the frequency of challenges had already slowed considerably.

By the time Shi Jin arrived, only the Earth Desolation Bear still stood upon the arena, like a creature of undying flesh—each time it was defeated, it could draw upon the arena's power to recover swiftly.

Shi Jin's appearance did not draw much reaction at first.

That was, until he stepped onto the arena.

Around him, whether beastmasters of the Seven Nations or beastmasters of the Totem Nations, all who saw another challenger mount the arena instantly fixed their attention on him.

And at the sight of Shi Jin's face, they were all momentarily stunned.

"It's Shi Jin of Donghuang!"

"He's finally come to challenge."

As Shi Jin walked toward the Arena of Rock, he listened to the voices around him, his expression calm.

It was not only humans—one fierce beast after another, regardless of rank, all turned to look.

Even in the void, demigods opened their eyes and fixed their gazes upon the rock-type arena.