Only one day left until the disciple tournament. The Friar Association was in the midst of preparing for the huge competition.
Many disciples took part in their mini gamble, placing bets on the ranking results for the tournament tomorrow. Of course, the most bets were placed on who would win first place.
Had it been a month ago, the answers would no doubt have all been ‘Yang Jie’.
But ever since Lin Jin entered the Friar Association and announced his participation in the disciple tournament, the outcome became harder to predict. Especially in light of Lin Jin achieving the fourth realm during his first blood contract assessment. There was a sizeable portion of disciples that supported Lin Jin.
The leading supporter of this group was obviously Xue Bao’er, who had learned many bits of precious information from Lin Jin.
Recently, Lin Jin’s reputation among the Friar Association’s disciples rose to be on par with Yang Jie’s.
But this rise in support was stunted by news of Yang Jie’s pet beast evolving into Rank 4.
It was clearly reflected in the number of bets placed by the disciples. When Lin Jin’s fame was in its prime, the returns from betting on him were practically the same for Yang Jie, very low. Those with higher odds were Lu Yunhe and Xue Bao’er. As for Chen Cheng, his name was removed after Ye Yuzhou kicked him out of the association. Those who placed their bets on that guy now hated his guts.
Yang Jie’s return rate was lowest now because everyone had faith in him and subsequently, most bets were on him. After news of his pet beast evolving into Rank 4 got out, Lin Jin’s odds had doubled up over the last two days. He had a significant number of supporters, but they paled in comparison to those supporting Yang Jie.
This betting system was a reflection of public opinion on the top disciples.
The day of the disciple tournament arrived.
The Friar Association had the largest beast ring in Maple City. This tournament was considered by many as a major event in the city, and the audience not only consisted of mentors and non-participating disciples but also dignitaries of the city.
The place was bustling with life.
There was a fair rule that any disciple within the association could participate in the tournament. Though of course, many people knew their place, and if they didn’t have the confidence to get into the top one hundred, they would refrain from participating in the battle. Otherwise, they’d risk embarrassing themselves in front of such a huge crowd.
Those who could truly cause an uproar and leave an impression on the spectators were exclusively the top ten disciples.
The rules of the tournament were extremely simple. Strength was key. The association’s mentors would first arrange an initial ranking according to the disciples’ cultivation realm and pet beast ranks. Of course, the final ranking remained inconclusive.
After the initial ranking was out, the disciples could challenge the people before them until a final ranking was produced.
With this, both effort and time could be saved. Those who feel that their current ranking was satisfactory enough could refrain from challenging other disciples. Only those who felt that their ranking should have been several positions higher would choose to enter the ring.
Also, it was customary for the top five candidates to enter the ring at least once during the tournament.
Lin Jin came rather early today. Why did he enter the Friar Association in the first place? To aim for the champion in the disciple’s tournament of course. Hence, he wouldn’t miss this event no matter what.
Xiao Huo was already at Rank 4 so even in his normal state, his aura was domineering. On the way here, all the disciples would proactively greet Lin Jin as they saw him.
Despite the general assumption that Yang Jie would win the tournament, listed number two on the mentors’ ranking was none other than Lin Jin.
Being in second place was still worthy of commanding respect from the disciples. Moreover, many disciples were deeply impressed by Lin Jin’s lecture. Some even said that it had been worth more than ten of Yang Jie’s. At the very least, most of them liked Lin Jin more due to his personality.
Up ahead, Lu Yunhe had been waiting for the longest time. Upon seeing Lin Jin, he hurried over.
“Brother Lin, I heard from my sister…” Lu Yunhe looked very excited. Lin Jin quickly stopped him from saying anything more.
He knew what Lu Yunhe wanted to say.
Lu Xiaoyun and the others were aware of Lin Jin’s pet beast being Rank 4. And if Lu Xiaoyun knew, Lu Yunhe obviously knew too.
Noticing Lin Jin’s expression, Lu Yunhe kept quiet but he responded with a cheeky smile.
“Brother Lin, I just bet one hundred spirit stones and three hundred taels on you!” Lu Yunhe whispered. Lin Jin nodded. He too had bet on himself and with a larger sum.
Looks like keeping a low profile had its advantages too. Unlike Yang Jie, whose odds lowered following news of his pet beast’s evolution.
Meanwhile, Lin Jin stayed silent, and just like that, his odds increased by several folds. This was a way to earn fast money so he obviously wouldn’t let it go that easily.
“Brother Lin, I have faith in you but you have to be cautious around him. Yang Jie is very strong and now that his pet beast evolved out of nowhere, he should be tougher to deal with,” Lu Yunhe said.
Lin Jin nodded. “Don’t worry about it. I know.”
Lu Yunhe just listened and said nothing more. He proceeded to venture inside with Lin Jin.
When they reached the door, they heard someone shouting, “Brother Lin!”
Lin Ji could instantly tell who it was by the voice.
Xue Bao’er jogged over with her fire wolf trailing behind.
Among the disciples in the Friar Association, other than Lu Yunhe, Lin Jin’s next closest acquaintance would be Xue Bao’er. In this time’s ranking, Xue Bao’er was number three while Lu Yunhe was forced down to number four.
Hence, these two might have a battle later.
Lin Jin glanced at Lu Yunhe’s ‘Lu Ba’. Lu Yunhe was just as sneaky as him. Somehow, he managed to keep Lu Ba’s evolution a secret just so he could give his opponent a nasty surprise during the tournament.
However, while Xue Bao’er’s fire wolf was only Rank 2, her fire wolf was different from Xiao Huo. Hers was an exotic fire wolf and its green flames were superior to the regular variant. Moreover, with Xue Bao’er’s skills in spell-casting, there was no saying who might win if she were to go up against Lu Yunhe.
The trio entered the tournament venue together.
This place was now packed. Three of them found seats while their pet beasts stayed by their sides to wait for the tournament’s commencement.
They entered the place like normal disciples. Xiao Huo behaved well and managed to draw little to no attention to Lin Jin and co.
In contrast to them, the next contestant to enter shook the earth with his presence.
Yang Jie.
He rode his Rank 4 white peacock into the tournament hall, floating down from the sky. After evolving, the Rank 4 white peacock in its enlarged state was about thirty feet long when it spread its wings. Majestically, it glided down from the sky.
All the disciples in the hall were awestruck. Many began cheering for him, especially the female disciples who were on the verge of losing their breaths.
“Yang Jie!”
“Senior Yang Jie’s so handsome!”
These deafening screams made Yang Jie look more like some grand celebrity than the participant of a tournament.
Lin Jin’s jaw dropped. He almost lost his sense of hearing while Lu Yunhe wore a helpless look on his face. He said, “This Yang Jie is too flashy. It’s just a Rank 4 pet beast, what’s so great about that?”
He sounded like he was complaining about sour grapes.
Having a Rank 4 pet beast was obviously great.
In the Jade Dragon Kingdom, an intermediate country, having a Rank 4 pet beast made one eligible to be appointed an imperial guardian. Assuming that everything goes well, Yang Jie might soon be officialized by the palace as one, and if that were to happen, greater heights awaited him.
Only those with Rank 4 pet beasts were worthy of such an honor.