Chapter 143 Chapter 143

The old streets in the southwest are full of ancient charm, and the lush vegetation casts rich shadows. Xia Muqing followed Guan Yun all the way and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way.

"The number of beastmasters here is obviously much smaller than in Yandu," Xia Muqing looked around curiously. "I didn't see many people with profound beasts when I came out of the airport."

Guan Yun was also a little puzzled: "The popularity rate is obviously not that low. When I came here three years ago, there were quite a lot of beastmasters."

"Maybe... they've all been stored in the Xuan Beast Space. If local regulations aren't strict, carrying Xuan Beasts around can easily lead to conflict. Plus, there are a lot of wild Xuan Beasts here. Sometimes I leave the windows open when I sleep, and when I wake up, I see three-tailed squirrels stealing nutrients on the windowsill—so don't leave good things outdoors."

Xia Muqing nodded: "Hmm... hm? Eh?"

She blinked, stared intently at the left front for a moment, and reached out her hand in confusion: "What kind of mysterious beast is that?"

"It looks like a flaming eagle, but with a long whip-like tail?"

Xia Muqing was really shocked.

Even with the illustrated guide in hand, there are still mysterious beasts that she can't recognize?

"Is it a mutant mysterious beast?"

Her curiosity piqued, and she tilted her head to take a closer look. The beastmaster across from her noticed her gaze, but quickly stowed his profound beast away like a thief, quickening his pace and scurrying out of the alley.

Xia Muqing: “……?”

Does she look scary?

Xia Muqing really didn't expect that the first southwestern beastmaster she met after getting off the plane would be scared away after just a face-to-face encounter. The key point was that she had no idea what the other party was afraid of.

Is it related to that strange mysterious beast?

But she was just looking at it. It was not easy to come across a mutant mysterious beast, so it was reasonable to take a few more glances, right?

At this time, Ark Xiaoxue also spoke in surprise: "Comparing the data models... the similarity is as high as 90%. Except for the tail, it is almost identical to the Flamehawk."

Xia Muqing confirmed her thoughts: "It's most likely a mutated mysterious beast."

The whip-shaped tail looks very sharp, so its strength should be quite good too?

After a minor incident, after walking around a few blocks, in a small alley on the outskirts of the city, Xia Muqing finally tasted the mushroom soup that Guan Yun strongly recommended.

It tastes really good, so delicious that you want to bite off your tongue. But the color looks a bit creepy, it is actually dark purple.

The soup contains trace amounts of toxins, and after drinking it one feels dizzy and drunk. However, a beastmaster's physique is stronger than that of an ordinary person, and he can quickly excrete the toxins through metabolism, so it's not a big problem.

It can also be regarded as an experience of local specialties.

When I walked out of the store, the sky was gradually getting dark.

After eating and drinking, Guan Yun's spirits lifted and he rubbed his arms: "Let's go to the training ground and play?"

Xia Muqing was about to agree when suddenly, a string of fireworks shot up in the distance.

"Bang!"

The sky exploded with a rich red.

There were a few pedestrians strolling nearby, and their expressions immediately changed when they saw the fireworks. An old man who was walking his dog hurriedly picked up the dog in his arms and ran out of the alley without looking back.

"Aren't these fireworks for a celebration?" Xia Muqing was a little confused. "The colors are glaring, and the other people's reactions are strange..."

Guan Yun placed one foot on the bluestone on the ground and nimbly climbed over the stone wall: "This is not a celebration, this is a warning!"

"That's the patrolman's warning sign. Something's happening outside the city. Let's go check it out!"

…

The alley is located in a remote area, and there is a dark forest on the outskirts of the city.

Thick water vapor hung in the air, and the broad branches of the trees blocked the sunlight, resulting in not much light in the depths to aid vision even on a full moon night with good visibility.

"The magnetic field here is chaotic, and there are many ferocious wild beasts. Residents usually take precautions and avoid going deep into the dense forest."

As Guan Yun rushed towards the fireworks, he explained to Xia Muqing, "Red flares mean high danger. It's possible that the patrolmen have been attacked by mysterious beasts, but it's more likely that they've encountered a poaching gang..."

"Poaching gang?"

When Xia Muqing heard these words, she had a conditioned reflex: "Wasn't there a nationwide arrest some time ago? Why did he appear again?"

Guan Yun: "The southwest is close to the border, and the terrain is complex, so there are many poaching gangs."

"Besides, these bastards are like maggots. Once you kill one group, new ones will pop up again. As long as there's profit to be made, it'll be difficult to completely eliminate them... Here we are!"

They rushed out of the jungle and came to a swamp, where several men in ranger uniforms were squatting on the ground.

A strong smell of blood wafted through the air, entangled with thick water vapor, and the dull atmosphere lingered in the air for a long time - coming from the swamp ahead and also from the arms of a patrolman.

“…Damn poaching gang!”

One of the patrolmen cursed loudly. In the swamp in front of him was the corpse of a white dew beast floating. There were two bloody holes where its eyes should have been, its snow-white belly facing upwards, and its body was covered with puncture wounds and bloodstains.

Obviously, this Bailu beast has been dead for some time.

Seeing this tragic scene, Xia Muqing's breathing stopped for a moment, as if a boiling fire suddenly pierced into her heart, burning along her meridians to her limbs and bones, making every breath carry a scorching breath.

On the other side, the patrolman wearing a red scarf was holding a seriously injured Qiu Yinshe in his arms.

The Qiuyin Snake is an evolved form of the small ring snake and is a very powerful poisonous beast. But at this moment, its one-meter-long body is covered with scratches. The enemy's sharp claws have mercilessly torn its scales and pierced its flesh. The most serious injuries almost cut it in half.

The blood moistened the soil under his feet, with a faint blue fluorescence. It was the toxin in the Qiuyin Snake's body that was flowing out, which also meant that its life was in the countdown.

Its beastmaster's eyes were already filled with tears, and he was trembling so much that he couldn't speak. He dug his hands deep into the soil, not caring that his nails were bleeding.

"Xiaoqiu...don't die, hold on!"

"Wake up, look at me—Brother Yang, where's your healing beast? Hurry and help Xiaoqiu, it's dying!"

The patrolman named Yang looked at the red blood with a bluish tint, sighed, and shook his head sadly.

"He's so badly injured, even his vitality has dissipated. My profound beast can't save him."

"I never thought I'd encounter something like this... Xiao Wu, it's useless. Face the reality. Xiao Qiu definitely can't be saved, and your family isn't wealthy. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to remove its venom glands and sell them to—"

Before he finished speaking, two clear female voices suddenly rang out.

"Xiao Zi, life energy!"

"Yuehua Zitong, sacrifice!"

Two bright and dazzling white lights streaked across the sky, instantly illuminating the dark rainforest as bright as day. A profound force so dense that it seemed tangible poured down, completely enveloping Qiu Yinshe in the light curtain.

Under the dull gaze of the patrolmen, the serious wounds on Qiu Yinshe's body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even its scales, which had turned dull due to the escape of toxins, gradually returned to their brilliant light blue color after a dozen seconds.

After a while, it opened its eyes and circled up from the ground vigorously.

Patrolman Wu was in disbelief and ecstatic: "Xiaoqiu!"

He hugged his lost and recovered mysterious beast, crying and laughing, and shouted several times. Only then did he come to his senses and excitedly thanked Xia Muqing and Guan Yun: "Thank you, thank you so much! Are you two beastmasters who saw the signal and came to help? Very - um?"

With the help of the mysterious light, Patrolman Wu saw the faces of Xia Muqing and Guan Yun clearly. He blinked hard and took a deep breath after a moment.

Looks so familiar!

These two people are... Damn, two divine beast masters!

"Xia Divine Beast Master, Guan Divine Beast Master?"

Patrolman Wu started shaking with excitement again. No wonder his seriously injured contracted beast was healed with just one move. It turned out that the divine beast envoys had come to support them, and there were two of them.

What qualifications do he and Xiaoqiu have?

"We just happened to be passing by," Xia Muqing waved to the Qiu Silver Snake in his arms, "Its name is Xiao Qiu, right? How is your health now?"

Qiu Yinshe spit out his tongue and looked at them gratefully: * "Hiss."

The injury has healed, and the lost life essence has been replenished. As for the body... not only do I not feel uncomfortable, I also feel like I have suddenly gained a lot of strength?

Guan Yun nodded: "That is the effect of the sacrifice. It will last for a while, enough for you to return to a safe place."

"But your body is still very weak, and it will become apparent once the effects of your skills wear off. You need to rest well for the next month, and your training should be moderate."

Qiu Yinshe: "Hiss!"

After rescuing Qiu Yinshe, Xia Muqing's mood calmed down a little, but suddenly, her mental power trembled sensitively, and she felt a gaze filled with strong resentment falling on her, like a needle pricking her.

Xia Muqing: “……?”

She turned slightly to the side and glanced out inadvertently.

Patrolman Yang lowered his head to hide the disappointment that flashed across his eyes.

Xia Muqing's mind was racing, while on the other side, Guan Yun was asking Patrolman Wu about the Bailu Beast.

Patrolman Wu hugged the recovered beast tightly, expressing his deep hatred for the poaching gang. "When I arrived, the Bailu beast had already been killed. The killer's attack knocked out my flashlight, and it was too dark. Before I could see clearly, the follow-up attack followed."

He turned his head and pointed to a bloody mark on his cheek.

"The opponent's claws were very sharp, and he was surrounded by black smoke. This time he was going for my neck. If Xiaoqiu hadn't blocked it for me, I'm afraid I would have died..."

Patrolman Wu sighed and turned to look at the half-submerged corpse of the Bailu beast in the swamp, his eyes filled with sorrow and resignation. "What a pity... Alas, Bailu beasts are famously docile, never attacking humans and even rescuing injured trainers in the wild. They are one of the few species of Xuan beasts whose characteristics can be confirmed, and all of them share the same characteristics."

Guan Yun nodded: "I know that. The characteristic is tolerance, right?"

"Almost all large hospitals now have several beastmasters contracted with Bailu beasts. When it comes to heart and liver transplants, a drop of Bailu beast blood can effectively alleviate the rejection reaction."

"Is that why poachers kill them?"

"But..." Guan Yun paused, a little puzzled. "The blood in this Bailu beast hasn't been drained. Did you arrive early and they didn't make it in time?"

Patrolman Yang interrupted: "Yes, that should be the case. Although we failed to save it, at least we also protected its body from being violated-"

Suddenly, Xia Muqing interrupted him.

"It's not that I didn't do it, it's that I succeeded."

Her voice was slightly cold, her gaze fixed on the Bailu beast's gouged eyes: "Many people know that Bailu beast's blood can reduce rejection reactions, but few people know that its tear glands are the essence of its power."

"The tear glands of Bailu beasts can even be used as evolution materials. Under the effect of the inclusive characteristic, there is a chance that a profound beast can break through the shackles of its own race and attributes and gain new, powerful powers that were originally incompatible with it."

Patrolman Yang: “…”

Upon hearing the news, everyone fell silent. For a moment, the only sound in the field was the swirling wind, wrapped in sticky water vapor, which brushed heavily across the broad banana leaves.

"It's actually... still possible?"

Guan Yun was confused. She didn't know this either. She thought blood was the most precious thing on the Bailu beast.

But Xia Muqing was very sure: "Look at the way the murderer dug out the Bailu Beast's eyes. It looks rough, even tearing off a large piece of the surrounding flesh, but in fact it just happened to wrap up the tear gland completely."

"They're very familiar with the White Dew Beast. And—Mr. Patrolman, have many White Dew Beast been attacked by poachers recently?"

Patrolman Wu was stunned for a moment: "... a lot, a lot!"

He rubbed his fingers. "From two months ago until now, there have been more than a dozen, and these are just the corpses we found."

"Every one of them had its blood drained. We thought that was their purpose. They dug out their eyes simply because they didn't want to see the Bailu beast's dying look—"

He hammered himself hard, feeling frustrated. "I'm overthinking it. Poachers don't have a conscience. They just take everything valuable. If they don't have time, they prioritize the tear glands."

"I'll go back right away and report this to the association!"

Patrolman Wu turned around and was about to leave, but Xia Muqing suddenly grabbed him and said, "Wait!"

She turned to Patrolman Yang and said, "Could you please come over? We'd like to learn more about the poachers from this gentleman."

Patrolman Yang, trying to minimize his presence, responded: "...Huh?"

He was also stunned: "I, I can also tell you about the poaching situation?"

Xia Muqing shook her head: "Xiao Qiu was seriously injured, and the contracted beastmaster was inevitably damaged. He is not suitable for traveling. We will protect Mr. Wu and return later."

Patrolman Yang thought about it for a moment and agreed: "Okay."

This was a good thing. He quickly slipped away from the scene to avoid anyone noticing anything wrong.

Patrolman Yang ran away. Patrolman Wu was still waiting for Xia Muqing to ask about the situation, but she saw him walking away and pulled him aside, lowering her voice, "When I first got here, I heard your companions urging you to sell Xiaoqiu's poison glands?"

"Uh..." Patrolman Wu was a little confused. "Really? I didn't hear anything. My head was buzzing at the time, and I didn't hear anything..."

"But we do have a channel here, and it's more of a 'donation' than a sale. Patrols often uncover the bodies of deceased profound beasts. We used to collect them and bury them in a centralized location, but then a research institute offered to pay for these profound beast carcasses for medical research. They've actually produced some experimental results, and we think this is more valuable, so we've handed them over to them."

At this point, Patrolman Wu felt a little embarrassed: "We didn't take any money, but it was just a token of our appreciation. We also wanted to make a contribution to the study of mysterious beasts."

"..." Xia Muqing was silent for a moment and patted his shoulder.

"Unfortunately, your companions probably don't think so," she sighed. "Even this time when Xiaoqiu was attacked, there might be someone behind it. Don't you think the wounds on Xiaoqiu's body are strange?"

"It's suffered so many injuries, including damage to its meridians and bones, yet it's managed to precisely avoid the venom glands. The Qiuyin Snake's venom is a powerful tonic for a few poisonous beasts. Is it possible that it wasn't just the Bailu Beast that was targeted from the start?"

Patrolman Wu: “……!”

…

This happened as soon as she arrived in the southwest. Xia Muqing had originally wanted to visit some scenic spots, but now she no longer had the heart to do so.

Over the next few days, she followed Guan Yun to several training grounds, allowing the mysterious beasts to fully experience the poison-based characteristics of the southwest.

When she was free, she also made an appointment with Patrolman Wu to patrol the rainforest outside, to see if they would encounter poachers and take the opportunity to verify some of her doubts.

Unfortunately, the other party may have known that the selection competition was approaching, so they concealed their whereabouts and she never caught them.

When he saw her again, Patrolman Wu was very excited. "You really have a keen eye. I went back to report to my superiors and checked Yang Kun's bank card records. Sure enough, I found a large amount of funds of unknown origin - this guy is really colluding with poachers!"

"No wonder we're always one step behind... Bah, damn this bastard, bah bah bah!"

Xia Muqing said, "It's okay, as long as the traitor is caught," but she couldn't help but feel worried.

With the Chi Zi project team in front and the Xin'an border patrol team behind, how are these poachers so omnipresent?

"Who is backing them up behind the scenes?"

Their power is definitely not weak. Although I heard that several research institutes were destroyed some time ago, it seems that they still haven't eradicated their roots.

When she has time, she will definitely investigate these bastards and avenge the Bailu beasts who died in vain.

But now, her focus is still on the selection competition - as the competition time approaches, the flow of people in the small southwestern border town gradually increases, and there are more and more beastmasters with mysterious beasts on the streets. At first glance, Xia Muqing feels what it means to "hidden dragons and crouching tigers".

"The aura is very strong," she said, patting the little head of the Swift Dog. "I'm really looking forward to the upcoming trials."

Swift Dog: "Woo!"

A few days later, most of the contestants had arrived, and the Beastmaster Association also announced the format of the rematch on its official website.

【Ring Competition】

The Association selects the ten strongest contestants to defend the ring, while the remaining contestants attack in a 1v1 battle to determine the winner. The defending contestant wins, and the order remains unchanged; the attacking contestant wins, and the order is reversed. The contestant who ultimately holds the ring wins. There is no limit to the number of challenges you can make before the match time expires.

"Wow, this is really..."

Xia Muqing was a little surprised by the competition format. She had originally thought it would be a regular draw match, but she didn't expect it to be a direct match on the stage?

It's simply raising a poisonous insect!

Especially the ten people who were chosen to defend the title. It seemed that their strength was recognized by the association, but they also immediately became the target of public criticism.

The 100 people participating in the semi-finals are elites selected from all over the country, and now they have to decide the winner before the fight even starts. Who can accept this?

"It's not easy to fight, it's not easy to fight." Xia Muqing clicked on the official website's roster page and looked at the three familiar words at the top with a wry smile. "Giving me back the entire number 1 ring, the organizers are so mean."

Afraid that she wasn't eye-catching enough?

"But we are not afraid of this."

Since the association wants her to be the leader of the new era's young beastmasters, why not just take up the banner?

"Xiaofeng, Xiaojin, Xiaozi, let's go and make samples for the others!"

…

In order to enhance national cohesion, the challenge process of the rematch will be broadcast live on major TV stations and online platforms.

For netizens who have been excited for a long time, this is like putting the small stool for eating melons right under their noses.

"Yu Yu" is a live streamer who regularly broadcasts the Beast Tamer Competition. This time, she had already made an appointment to broadcast the entire competition and watch the semi-finals of the qualifying rounds. The time was set at 8 a.m., but on the day of the competition, before daybreak, her live stream room was already crowded with viewers.

By the time Yu Yu finally arrived at 8 o'clock, the viewers in her live broadcast room were already bored to death.

Yu Yu was also surprised: [Hey guys, you came so early, have you eaten yet?]

The audience screamed: "Eat, eat, eat, eat now! Streamer, please edit some good food, I'm going to rely on this tonight when I run out of pickles!"

[Hey, what are you thinking? This is a national competition, how can you say something funny?]

"That's right, don't look down on our Great Xia beastmasters. I even held the water cup far away, afraid I'd throw it out in the excitement."

[Come on, come on, enter! In the front is—Xiao Xia, the beast master! Yay! I love her so much!]

[She's beautiful and cool, incredibly powerful, and has an impeccable character. Who wouldn't love Xiao Xia, the beast master?]

[Emmm, fans, don't get carried away! This is a competition, not a solo show. I prefer Leviathan. Look at its broad, bat-like wings, like a canopy. It's so cool!]

[…Tianpeng??? Is the one in front pink disguised as black, or black disguised as pink?]

Seeing that the comments were about to get into an argument, Yu Yu quickly tried to calm them down: "Alright, alright, let's take a look at the competition schedule. The ring competition, wow, this is exciting. Everyone should be able to see a thrilling and limitless round-robin battle soon."

"I can only say that the official choice of this competition format is quite bold. Its fairness is hard to say, as the defending team is inherently at a disadvantage. But after all, this competition is to select players for the Alien Secret Realm. As everyone who has experienced it knows, the conditions within the secret realm are truly ever-changing, often requiring combat with injuries, and facing herds of beasts is also common."

"Maybe the officials are trying to recreate that scene... The ten defenders have entered! Ring number one is our favorite Xiao Xia, the Divine Beast Master!"

"Ring number two is the Xu family's young master, with the recently viral Leviathan! What a shame! This format means they won't face off in the rematch. I'm personally looking forward to the clash between the two dragons. Unless one loses and becomes the challenger?"

"Haha, forget I said anything. Gilded Sky Dragon and Leviathanmon are both visibly powerful, making them difficult for challengers to defeat. You can tell from the distribution of the remaining 90 challengers. The fewest people are in front of arenas 1 and 2."

"Ring number 3 is Uncle Xiong, also a very famous beast master. Although he's respectfully called Uncle, he's actually only 29 years old, and he just doesn't like to shave..."

"You can see that the ten defenders are all very young, and the challengers in the audience are also not very old. I think this must be a tacit understanding among the famous beast masters, giving opportunities to more young people and the future of the Great Xia Beast Taming World."

"The tryouts have begun! The first challenger is a handsome young man wearing headphones. His opponent is... Ring #8, defender Guan Yun, the Divine Beast Master!"

…

The selection site.

Xue Yao took off his headphones with a miserable look on his face and stamped his feet in frustration.

"This isn't fair. There's something fishy going on. There's definitely something fishy going on," he gritted his teeth. "Why are you the one defending the ring and I'm the one attacking? We've fought so many times since we were little, hasn't it always been a back-and-forth fight?"

"How do the association think you're better than me?"

Guan Yun shrugged.

"Who knows, maybe it's your temperament. You're too irritable."

Xue Yao: “???”

"If I'm defending the ring, I won't be grumpy at all, okay?!"

He jumped up and grabbed the fence of the ring: "Come on, stop talking nonsense and fight!"

Guan Yun didn't hesitate and immediately summoned his own mysterious beast. The Light Realm Frog and the Canglang Jiao were old acquaintances, and the two mysterious beasts fought each other very familiarly. During the battle, the Light Realm Frog yawned silently: "Quack."

Why are you hitting this guy again? Damn it, the whole point of playing a game is to fight new opponents.

Canglang Jiao: "Ah!"

Stinky frog, do you think it wants to fight? It is also speechless!

Master, what a fool! There are so many arenas and so many opponents, why not pick another one?

The two mysterious beasts complained, but the fight continued. Waves of profound energy swirled back and forth, shrouding the entire arena in a brilliant, profound light. Seeing this, the others rolled up their sleeves and found a platform to begin fighting.

...Except for Arena No. 1 and No. 2.

Xia Muqing held the Swift Dog in her arms, with the little dragon lying on her shoulder. She stood there blankly for a while, feeling a little empty.

She glanced around and her eyes met with some challengers who had not yet found an opponent. She was about to give an encouraging smile, but unexpectedly, the other parties lowered their heads or turned sideways to avoid her sight.

Xia Muqing: "..."

Well, it seems that the Gilded Sky Dragon's deterrent power is greater than she imagined.

She was bored when she suddenly felt a malicious gaze from the side. She turned around and saw Xu Feiying staring at her gloomily.

Seeing Xia Muqing turn around, he sneered and raised his hand as if wiping his throat.

Xia Muqing raised her eyebrows, but before she could say anything, she heard a cry of surprise from the side: "Ah!"

"Uncle Xiong" on stage No. 3 was defeated not long after the selection competition started!

The contestants looked at this scene in amazement, but although Uncle Xiong was defeated, he looked in good condition, but his smile was a little bitter.

He shook his head, put away his mysterious beast, turned around and took a few steps - actually walking towards Arena No. 1.

"Xiao Xia, the Divine Beast Envoy, I have long heard of your great name."

Uncle Xiong stood in front of Arena No. 1 and gave Xia Muqing a helpless smile. "I wonder if I'd have the honor to challenge the legendary 'King of Wind and Snow', Lord Feng Luo?"