Chapter 382 - 352: Preliminaries

Chapter 382: Chapter 352: Preliminaries

"I..." Lu Tianjiao was on the verge of tears, but none would come. Who could’ve thought that just running his mouth a little would have such consequences?

’If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have done it in the first place. But it’s fine. My next opponent isn’t a freshman from Kansai Beast Taming University, so I can have a normal fight.’

Hearing this, Li Qian just smiled faintly. "Sometimes, once Pandora’s Box is opened, it’s not so easy to close."

As it turned out, his guess was correct. In the afternoon, for his second match, Lu Tianjiao’s opponent was indeed not a freshman from Kansai Beast Taming University, but one from Mizhou Beast Taming University.

But after the Pet Beast battle began, his opponent charged at him without the slightest hesitation.

"Damn it! You and me... there’s no need for this!" Lu Tianjiao was on the verge of tears again as he watched the scene unfold.

’This opponent doesn’t seem very strong, but if we get into a brawl, I’ll definitely get roughed up.’

In the end, he still managed to knock his opponent down. Puzzled, he asked, "Why’d you have to fight so desperately? Couldn’t we have just had a civil match?"

"No way," the opponent said from the ground. "I saw the video of your fight this morning. If I didn’t strike first, you would have definitely beaten me to a pulp. I had no choice but to go all out."

Hearing this, the corner of Lu Tianjiao’s mouth twitched. He had no idea what to say.

’He knew that no matter what he said now, the other guy wouldn’t believe him.’ So, he just kept his mouth shut.

"Liu Hailiang of Kyoto Beast Taming University is victorious!"

"Guo Qiming of Thunder Beast Taming University is victorious!"

"..."

After Lu Tianjiao’s match, many other battles concluded one after another.

Unsurprisingly, all of these battles devolved into brawls between the Beast Tamers themselves.

In truth, deep down, none of them wanted to fight this way. But the match between Lu Tianjiao and the freshman from Kansai Beast Taming University had opened Pandora’s Box.

Even if they were unwilling to engage in such an undignified scuffle, they had to be on guard.

Otherwise, if their opponent suddenly attacked, they would be at a disadvantage. Based on this line of thinking, many chose to strike first.

So now, whether they were the aggressor or the defender, everyone was filled with resentment for Lu Tianjiao and that freshman from Kansai Beast Taming University.

If it weren’t for those two, the atmosphere of the competition wouldn’t have skewed so bizarrely.

"You’d better pray for yourself from now on." Li Qian offered a kind reminder as he gazed at the pairs of resentful eyes all over the competition grounds.

Lu Tianjiao heaved a long sigh, feeling like he’d been grievously wronged. "How is this my fault? That guy was the one who attacked first."

"Tough luck. That guy’s already been eliminated. From now on, they can only vent their anger on you," Li Qian said with a shrug, indicating he was powerless to help.

"So what am I supposed to do? I can’t just intentionally throw the match, can I?" Lu Tianjiao asked, his face a mask of misery.

Fatty An chimed in, twisting the knife. "You probably won’t have to do it intentionally. The way things are going, you won’t last much longer anyway."

Lu Tianjiao was instantly speechless. "I..."

After Lu Tianjiao’s second match ended, Li Qian turned his attention to Sun Ruirui’s and Mo Ziyu’s matches.

The results were exactly as he had expected. Both Sun Ruirui and Mo Ziyu advanced to the second round with ease.

The only slight surprise was that, aside from a Tidal Sea Spirit, Li Qian also saw a familiar Pet Beast—a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.

Sun Ruirui had actually contracted a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon. On second thought, however, it made sense. The Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon’s Talent wasn’t low, and it was a Water Element, a perfect match for her Ocean Calamity Talent.

As for Comrade Lao Sun being able to get a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon for Sun Ruirui, he wasn’t the least bit surprised.

"This competition... I just can’t fight like this anymore." The next day, the competition continued. Since the cultivation-focused contest hadn’t started yet, Li Qian continued to act as a spectator, and that’s when he heard Lu Tianjiao’s complaint.

Li Qian glanced over helplessly. The guy’s face was once again swollen like a pig’s.

In a way, the second day of the competition was no different from the first—at least, when it came to Lu Tianjiao’s matches.

Unsurprisingly, any opponent who faced Lu Tianjiao showed no courtesy. Even the female students went straight for a physical fight.

Pulling hair, poking eyes, groin attacks, spitting—whatever tactic worked, they used it without hesitation.

For a time, the entire style of the freshman challenge tournament became completely warped.

"Well, they’re certainly... spirited. Very spirited," Gao Tianle, the principal of Kansai Beast Taming University, no longer argued back. He quickly tried to laugh it off, hoping to gloss over the situation.

The supervising teachers from the other universities looked on with exasperation.

On the morning of the third day, after yet another round of getting his face beaten black and blue, Lu Tianjiao’s days of suffering finally came to an end.

"It’s finally over." He lay on his back, looking up at the sky, feeling deeply emotional.

Li Qian chuckled drily. "Yeah, you’re finally eliminated."

Lu Tianjiao was ultimately stopped in the fifth round. His results were actually quite good, but unfortunately, he couldn’t feel happy about it at all.

Because even when he won, every victory was a miserable one.

A "miserable victory" in the most literal sense of the word.

The really, *really* miserable kind.

Fatty An sidled up and mysteriously took out his phone. "Old Lu, I took some photos—all the best moments from your matches. Wanna take a look together?"

"Yeah, yeah, let me see." Lu Tianjiao leaned over suspiciously. The next moment, the photos he saw nearly broke his composure completely.

Fatty An’s phone was filled with pictures of his beaten and swollen face.

"Fuck..." Seeing these photos, Lu Tianjiao saw red and immediately reached for the phone.

Fatty An yanked the phone back just in time, making Lu Tianjiao grab at empty air.

He immediately started cursing, "Fatty An, can you not be such a bastard? Why the hell would you take pictures of this stuff?"

Fatty An chuckled slyly, mercilessly pointing out the truth. "Don’t get so worked up. Even if I didn’t take pictures, the officials were. Don’t believe me? Go check the news. You’ll definitely find yourself."

"I can’t go on!" Lu Tianjiao took out his own phone to check, then started wailing to the heavens in "heart-wrenching grief." "My lifelong reputation..."

Li Qian couldn’t help but laugh. "This is what you get for running your mouth."

Ignoring Lu Tianjiao’s "pain," Li Qian laughed without mercy.

The commotion didn’t last long. Soon, he turned his attention to other matters.

The cultivation contest was about to begin.

Since not many people entered the cultivation contest, it only had two rounds: a preliminary round and a final round.

In this first round, the preliminary round, Li Qian would be competing with nine other freshmen.

’These privacy measures are pretty good.’ Li Qian observed the competition booth he was in and nodded with satisfaction.