Chapter 70: Chapter 69 Competition

Chen Xing didn’t experience how strong Beast Tamers of his age from the Exotic Region were, but he felt the pain of studying.

He had intensified his studying at school for a whole day, crazily cramming for various pieces of knowledge from the Secret Realm.

Beyond the earlier documents, there was also the enhanced memorization of the Fantom Poison Dual Element Skills.

And the responsive training for the various methods of inheritance in the Inheritance Tower.

Because time was limited, a huge volume of knowledge was brutally crammed into his head.

…

Outside of Jinzhou City, amidst a sea of bamboo covering the hillside, a building had been constructed.

Sitting on a mat was a short-haired girl in a black and white tracksuit, facing an old man with white eyebrows and hair drooping at his temples, across a small table laden with tea sets.

“Elder, is there something we should pay attention to regarding this Secret Realm’s Inheritance Tower?”

The old man’s face was ruddy. He slowly shook his head and picked up his cup of tea for a sip.

“You mean there’s nothing I need to be aware of? I thought so too. After all, I’ve heard it’s not any important Inheritance Tower from the Exotic Region,” Chi Ziyao muttered.

The old man paused mid-motion, amusingly glancing at the mischievous young girl in front of him. She was just as naughty as her grandmother, as if both were cast from the same mold. “My shaking my head means I don’t know.”

Chi Ziyao huffed, “You just know how to tease me.”

“I’m not a god, how could I know so much? You’ll find out when you go. It’ll be just the occasion to see how high you can rank at Dream City’s Inheritance Tower.”

Chi Ziyao shook her head, “It’s not very meaningful, is it? This tower has been disconnected from the Exotic Region for over six hundred years. All the records inside are antiques left from more than six hundred years ago.”

The elder chuckled lightly, “That is exactly why it holds more value for reference. Some giants in Dream City had also made their marks there back in the day. You can better gauge the gap between them and yourself, so you don’t always fancy yourself as a generational talent without peer.”

Chi Ziyao hurriedly clarified, “That’s not what I think at all!”

“It’s always my old man who goes around boasting that his daughter is a generational talent, the crown of our contemporary Shu State.”

At this juncture, Chi Ziyao felt an itch in her teeth. “The number one fan of my foolishness is my dad!”

“Hahaha,” the old man was amused by these novel expressions.

“You… you’re just not admitting it verbally, but you didn’t publicly oppose what your dad said, did you?” The elder asked with a smile in his eyes.

At his words, Chi Ziyao froze. After a moment of silence, she muttered, “Well, I really haven’t met any peers that make me feel pressured.”

“That’s different! I haven’t met anyone of my age in Shu State more formidable than me. Since there isn’t anyone — I might as well take the position.”

“But I believe there are always people better than oneself. Just because there is no one in Shu State doesn’t mean there aren’t any in other regions.

What if I suffered a terrible defeat one day and experienced a setback? That would hurt your most cherished treasure!” Chi Ziyao said, cajolingly grabbing the elder’s arm.

“Hahahahaha,” the elder gazed at Chi Ziyao, “Who said you have no rivals in Shu State?”

Chi Ziyao blinked in surprise, “Who?”

The elder skillfully pulled out a tablet from underneath the cushion he was sitting on.

He tapped and swiped on it repeatedly.

Chi Ziyao watched, baffled.

“When did… when did you get a tablet?”

The elder shot her a glance, “Do I need to report everything I do to you, young lady?”

“I… I…” Chi Ziyao was flustered. In her perception, her elder, who lived deep in the bamboo mountains, had always been untainted by the world.

He enjoyed tea, read scrolls, played board games, and savored fragrances.

How could he be… like this?

“Technology changes life. A tablet is a good thing,” the elder said with a smile, “Ever since that sensible little tyke, your great-grandfather, brought me a tablet, I realized what a bland life I had led before.”

“Look at this youngster; his internal data has already surpassed the historical record of the top ranker for the Salty Bay Crocodile.”

The elder picked up the tablet and flashed it at Chi Ziyao, then turned it away.

“I haven’t gotten a clear look yet!”

“I thought you weren’t interested,” the elder said with a mischievous smile.

As she watched, Chi Ziyao suddenly felt that her ancestor was rather childish!

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Here, you can take a look,” the elder handed the tablet to Chi Ziyao.

This wasn’t exactly a top secret.

Because Chi Ziyao’s data was also logged in the internal network, others could see her data as well.

“This is the Salty Bay Crocodile which ranks only one place below the Golden Iron Beast in the free Beast Taming sequence, someone else set a historical record,” said the elder.

The elder egged on, “Someone else is first because the highest they could achieve is first, you’re third because you have a first and a second ahead of you.”

“Hmph, the Golden Iron Beast is ranked eighth because that bunch of buffoons are lazy. If they were a bit more diligent, they wouldn’t just be at eighth,” Chi Ziyao said, hands on hips and clearly not amused.

“And the only reason I’m third is because my second uncle is ranked first and my third uncle is second? How can I possibly compete with those two freaks who together blew through the entire high school cup that year?”

“Were there such freaks hoarding the top spots in front of the Salty Bay Crocodile?”

The elder, with a playful smirk, shook his head and offered no rebuttal.

Chi Ziyao pondered for a moment, “He should be going to the Inheritance Tower this time, so we’ll see who performs better there.”

As she spoke, a hint of fighting spirit appeared in Chi Ziyao’s eyes.

The elder was satisfied, as this was his intention too.

Pressure brings a sense of urgency, and with urgency comes greater motivation.

A zoo of lazy creatures will never raise a tiger.

…

Under the lead of the military, students from various Jincheng high schools who had secured spots formed teams to enter the Secret Realm.

Chen Xing spotted Zheng Weixin, whom he hadn’t seen for a while, amidst the crowd.

Noticing the glance cast by Chen Xing, Zheng Weixin’s gaze darted around, avoiding direct eye contact.

That was because he had already received a stern warning from his parents not long ago.

They had told him to stay away from trouble with Chen Xing at all costs.

It was said that Chen Xing had caught the attention of an important figure in Cangwu, and Zheng had even heard the name of this person from his parents.

Zheng Weixin completely extinguished the thought from his mind.

Sometimes he would think, if he hadn’t transferred schools, maybe he would be Chen Xing’s teammate by now.

Maybe he could have even met that important figure through Chen Xing.

But there were no ifs.

Chen Xing felt someone watching him.

Turning his head, his gaze met that of a girl with short hair at the front of the team.

The girl quickly turned her head away.

Chen Xing recognized her identity, one of the opponents his coach had specifically instructed him to watch out for before entering the Secret Realm.

The Chi Family’s Chi Ziyao.

Was she also seeing him as a competitor?

Chen Xing narrowed his eyes, pondering.

After all, with hundreds of people here, one wouldn’t just randomly stare at someone for no reason.

An officer stood in front of the team and sternly stated, “Everyone get on the bus, fasten your seat belts, and don’t open the windows during the journey! It is strictly forbidden to stick your head or hands out of the windows.”

The Secret Realm had only been opened for such a short time, yet Great Xia had already constructed a road leading directly into the depths of the Secret Realm, the efficiency of which was astounding.