“Let’s go; it’s time to leave.” Su Bai glanced at the wilderness behind him and sighed.
He hoped that next time he came in, the Flesh Devourers in the Blood Beach and the Sleeping Dragon Abyss would have grown up.
He stepped out of the space door and kept all his pets into his contract book, leaving only the dragon disguised as a bracelet around his wrist. It stayed on his right hand, protecting him closely.
Out of the Blood Moon Bar, he called a flying service and then went to a nearby KFC for a cup of hot coke. He drank it as he waited for the mount.
“The night gave me black eyes, but I used them…”
At this time, the familiar ringtone of his pocket phone rang, and he took it out to see a call from Tang Long.
Tang Long, the director of the Cannes team.
“Hello, Director Tang. What’s the matter?” He answered the call.
“Where are you and Chen Ruoxue now? Hurry to Ancheng immediately; the semi-finals of the City League Tournament is tomorrow. We can’t hold on anymore; the opponent is too strong,” said Tang Long anxiously on the phone.
“Semi-finals? This year’s game is ahead of schedule? Doesn’t it usually start at this time?” Su Bai asked, a little surprised.
He had returned just in time to take part in the City League Tournament after planning the schedule. Chen Ruoxue was still practicing and had gone too far away to return in time, so only he would go.
However, he did not expect that this year’s competition would be held ahead of schedule.
“Yes, this year is ahead of schedule. Where are you? Come to Ancheng; Zhao Li and the others barely survived the accumulated points match and reached the semi-finals. Now, they are unable to withstand their opponents at all. The teams in the semi-finals are too strong. We will definitely lose if you don’t come back tomorrow,” said Tang Long anxiously, actually feeling a little angry. Having given them so many resources, the two strongest players were actually absent at this critical moment.
“Don’t worry; I can rush to Ancheng in the afternoon. You can send me your location.” Su Bai responded.
“Where is Chen Ruoxue? Isn’t she coming?” Tang Long asked.
“She can’t come as she has something to do, but it’s enough to have me alone. Trust me,” he said firmly.
“Alright, then. Hurry over first.”
After hanging up the phone, he called a long-distance flying service.
He originally wanted to go home first and then report at the club, but who knew that the City League Tournament would suddenly be started in advance?
Logically speaking, this was very unlikely. The time had been fixed for several decades, so how could it suddenly be pushed ahead of schedule?
“Hello, did you call for a flying service? You’re going to Ancheng?”
Not long after, a woman riding a Four-winged White Bear swooped down from the sky and asked him.
“Yes, that’s right.” He nodded.
After scanning the ID, the woman relayed instructions to the Four-winged White Bear and signaled him to go up.
“Thank you.” He rode the Four-winged White Bear to Ancheng.
The warlord Four-winged White Bear flew at quite a high speed and took two hours to send him to Ancheng.
After checking Tang Long’s location, he rushed to June Hotel which was near Kaiyuan Stadium.
“You’re finally here. I called you several times, but no one answered. Where have you been?”
The director walked over and looked at him questioningly.
“In the depths of a monster wilderness, my phone had no signal there. Anyway, you didn’t notify me in advance that the league tournament was ahead of schedule,” Su Bai replied calmly. This was not his problem.
“We also wanted to notify you in advance, but you were deep in a monster wilderness, so there’s no way to do so, was there?” Tang Long sighed. Although he was very anxious and angry, there was really no way to blame the youth for this.
“Alright. Let’s not talk about that. Which teams are in the semifinals? How strong are they?” Su Bai asked as he walked into the hotel.
After a year of growth, coupled with the backfeeding of his pets, he was now 1.87 meters tall, well-proportioned and slender. He even had a broad and strong chest.
His chiseled jawline now looked even more like a sharp knife, and his pair of brown-black pupils were bright and energetic. His stride exuded confidence and calmness, and he was sunny and handsome, making people be full of disbelief that he was just a seventeen-year-old boy.
This was one of the reasons why the world had adjusted the age of adulthood to sixteen years old.
“The four teams are us, the host Ancheng, Baihe City, and Xiayuan City.
“The strength of the teams in these three cities isn’t to be scoffed at. The pets of the team members are all mid- or high-level warlords. The captain and deputy captain have commander pets, of which the strength is extraordinary. They’re all geniuses that their cities nurtured.
“Do you have confidence in facing such types of opponents?”
Tang Long briefed him over the strong opponents this year and how he did not have much confidence.
However, having not seen the boy for half a year, the youth’s astonishing change surprised him a bit. It felt like he was now a completely different person, and walking by his side gave him a sense of oppression.
“If the competition format is still the same, then there’s no problem; I can win it.” Su Bai nodded.
“Haha… I’m relieved to hear you say that. It seems that you’ve gained a lot in more than half a year.” Tang Long smiled. “Go and meet Zhao Li and the others, then we will give you a welcome banquet.”
“No need for that; let’s just follow the usual way.” He shook his head, showing little interest in a gathering.
“Let’s talk about this later. Come on; I’ll take you to meet them,” said the director with a smile.
He then took out his room card and opened the door of the suite where the others were. Stepping inside, he shouted, “Look, everyone; our team’s ace is here.”
“Su Bai, wow, you’ve changed so much. You have grown taller and also become more handsome; I almost didn’t recognize you.”
Zhao Li was the first to stand up and greet him. Although they had not seen each other for half a year, he felt like they only saw each other yesterday.
The others also looked at Su Bai and were shocked by his amazing changes. Although they had also changed a lot, there was not a big transformation as his.
In particular, Li Xing, Li Hai, and the other girls were a bit stunned to see him, and they could not help being attracted to him. That kind of masculinity and that kind of calm and self-confidence were very attractive.
In addition to his development, the most likely reason for such a big change was that his strength had qualitatively improved, and the pets’ large amount of backfeeding had given him much power.
Although he did not have a pet by his side, everyone would never underestimate his power.
“You’re finally here. We would lose if you were any later.” Li Xing looked at him and smiled.
“Yes, your strength should’ve improved a lot. There’s such a big change in you. Are you interested in revealing the secret behind it?” Li Hai also looked at him with a smile.
“Welcome back.” Yu Lingyue warmly welcomed him, too.
“Welcome, welcome…”
Everyone else welcomed him with warm smiles. Even Wang Tao and the water-fire duo, who had always hated him and regarded him as opponents, no longer had the precious disgust and resentment on their faces. It was probably because they had matured, let it go, or were concealing it well.
“Thank you. I’ll try my best to win the competition. I’m sorry for coming late. It’s because I didn’t receive the notice.
“As for Ruoxue, there’s something she can’t get away from for now, so she won’t be back this time. I’m really sorry.” Su Bai looked at them and spoke.
Having not seen them for half a year, everyone had changed in various ways. All in all, they had become a lot more mature, and their physical condition was also rid of the youthfulness. They had now entered a vigorous adolescent stage.
The twin sisters had also become more attractive. Their bodies were like blooming flowers, attracting the eyes of other boys nearby.
“Haha! Are you interested in revealing your strength? Let us know how far from you we are?” Qian Shan looked at him and smiled.
The others also nodded, very curious about his specific strength.
“I’m not very strong; I guess I can be regarded as an elite Pet Tamer.” He shrugged.
An elite Pet Tamer meant having a gold contract book and a commander pet.
“Sure enough, the speed of your progress is really beyond our reach.” Zhao Li showed a wry smile.
“It’s amazing. I don’t know how you managed to break through so fast. Can we go to the wilderness with you after the tournament? Can you let us see how you improved so fast?”
Li Xing walked to him and issued this invitation with a smile.
“Yes, I haven’t been to the wilderness with you yet.” Li Hai also spoke enthusiastically.
“I just got lucky; I don’t have any tricks. After the game, I must prepare for the college entrance examination, so I won’t be going to the monster wilderness before the college entrance examination is over.”
He took a small step back without a trace and shook his head.
“Oh, what a pity.” Faint resentment flashed in Li Xing’s eyes.
“It’s really a pity. If there were a big boss with a low-level commander pet to protect us, it would be much safer to go into the wild.” Wang Li laughed beside Zhao Li.
The water-fire duo, as well as Wang Tao and Wang Er, showed grudging expressions. They had originally let go of their resentment, but the appearance of this guy made them feel very annoyed again.
All of a sudden, their limelight was stolen.
“Li Xing, if you don’t mind, I can accompany you. My Lava Salamander will soon break through to the commander level.” Wan Shui thought for a while and offered with a smile.
“Sorry, I thought about it and decided to prepare for the college entrance examination, too, so I won’t be going to the wilderness for now as well.” Li Xing shook her head, feeling embarrassed.
Su Bai ignored their affairs and sat on the sofa to listen to Manager Yu Lingyue and the coach explain the rules of the game, including some opponents’ playing routines, pet attributes, and other relevant information.
However, these data were just estimates and had only been revealed at the moment. As for their real strength in combat, he still had to see their real tricks on the field.
“Alright, it’s almost noon. Let’s go down to eat,” Yu Lingyue said.
Tang Long had already left.
“Okay, we can welcome Su Bai as well. How about we go to the bar next door and have fun after dinner? Anyway, we have a long day today, so there’s no problem.” Zhao Li proposed.
“I don’t really want to go; I’m tired after coming back from the monster wilderness. You guys can go if you want.”
Su Bai rejected them with a very suitable reason.
“Alright. Take a good rest; all of us will go for a stroll.” Zhao Li nodded.
After eating in the restaurant next door, he came back here and opened a room by himself. After entering the room, he opened the contract book and released the pets.
Seeing that there was no fight, the dino asked for multiple ores and sat down in a corner to eat it.
The fox and the cub also lay down in comfortable spots, enjoying the leisurely time as they waited for him to feed them.
Only the Ice Phoenix came out as if it were ready to face an enemy. It first struck Su Bai to ensure that he was its Pet Tamer, then it carefully inspected every corner of the room.
Shaking his head, he took out the medicinal cakes to feed everyone.
“After you finish eating, play in the room and don’t go out; I’ll take a rest.” He looked at his pets, which were eating the medicinal cakes, and instructed.
After speaking, he went to bed to sleep.
In the afternoon, Li Xing and the others came and knocked at his door. They invited him along to visit scenic spots, but he ignored them and continued sleeping.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the semifinals of the X Province’s City League Tournament.
After the elimination of the previous points match, the game had now reached the fierce semifinals. Kaiyuan Stadium, the largest one in Ancheng, was packed with audiences, and the number of people who came to watch was as many as sixty to seventy thousand.
He followed his team inside the stadium in a lowkey manner. The entire Kaiyuan Stadium was circular, with a 500-meter-wide battlefield in the middle, which was protected by a huge transparent shield.
On the battlefield, the ground was very ordinary clay and there was nothing special about it.
There were auditoriums all around the venue which were almost full today.
Seated in the four directions of the battlefield were the four teams participating this time.
Their opponent today was Xiayuan City.
“It’s really fate that Cannes and Xiayuan are sworn enemies. We are in the southernmost part of X Province, while they’re in the northernmost.” Yu Lingyue spoke with a wry smile.
“Yes, but we should not underestimate their strength. In the previous game, their team never took a shot; only their deputy captain made a few shots. The commander Red Lotus Fire Demon Spider is too terrifying. A mouthful of red lotus fury from it is enough to deal with the opponent.
As for their captain, he hasn’t revealed his strength at all, but his pet is at most at the mid-level commander. According to the data, it’s likely that he has a low-level commander.”
The head coach Zhao Kong introduced.
“Su Bai, look at the other side; the yellow-haired man is their teammate Wang Dalong, and the flat-chested girl in black next to him is the deputy captain Ren Xue.” Li Xing pointed to the two people standing on the platform opposite them.
Although they could not hear their conversation from 500 meters away, their appearances could still be clearly seen.
Looking up, Su Bai saw that they did not have their pets by their sides so he did not have a chance to examine their information.
However, it seemed that they noticed his actions, for the captain of the Xiayuan City team showed them a provocative smile.
“There seems to be one more person on the Cannes’ side. I heard that two of the five people they used before are substitutes. This new guy is their actual ace; he looks pretty handsome.” Ren Xue glanced at Su Bai and told Wang Dalong who was next to her.
“So what if he has a commander pet? We both have commander pets; we can take him down no matter what.” A slight smile appeared on this team captain’s face.
“Exactly, I don’t think you even need to take a shot. You can easily handle him with your Red Lotus Fire Demon Spider, Ren Xue. Although Cannes has risen this year, it isn’t to be feared.”
One team member smiled and said, completely disregarding Cannes.
“You’re right. We should pay more attention to Ancheng’s team. We’ve already won the semifinals. The opponent in the final round will definitely be Ancheng, so we can’t underestimate them.” Another team member smiled.
“It won’t be a problem to beat Cannes at all. After all, my Red Lotus Fire Demon Spider has a potential score of 82. I just don’t want to be forced to use more skills, or it’ll be troublesome when I fight Ancheng.”
Ren Xue also nodded, feeling very confident about her Red Lotus Fire Demon Spider with a potential score of 82. Although she spoke cautiously, she really did not regard Cannes as anything important.
In fact, most of the audience felt the same. No one had much hope for last year’s penultimate Cannes. They were even surprised to see Cannes make it to the semi-finals because no one had ever thought that they could advance.