Chapter 76

As a flower grower, Xia Muqing's love for giant pandas is almost ingrained in her bones.

The Xuanshou Iron-eating Beast really looks like a giant panda. They look almost identical in appearance, except that they have natural bone armor on their wrists, elbows, knees and other parts. At first glance, it looks like a general in armor, cute and majestic.

The special mysterious beasts raised in the scenic spot are all big stars among the mysterious beasts. When Xu Ling and Xia Muqing arrived, a ferruginous beast named "Meng Meng" was holding a mobile phone in one hand and making a heart shape to the live broadcast room with the other hand. Its grin was brighter than the sun, and Xia Muqing and her heart almost melted when they saw it.

There were dolls of the Panda Bear in the store next door. Xu Ling quickly bought two and rubbed them tightly in her arms. Xia Muqing also bought two headbands out of excitement. The two girls, wearing furry panda ears, happily ran to take photos with the Panda Bear.

Mengmeng the iron-eating beast also liked them very much. He hugged the two girls in his arms and made scissors hands to the camera.

Xu Ling was so excited that she almost cried: "Wow, Mu Qing, how about my next mysterious beast raising an iron beast? It's really cute, I love furry things!"

Xia Muqing: "...Calm down, calm down! Did you see the silver bamboo Mengmeng is holding in her mouth? I checked online, it's 80,000 yuan per pound."

Xu Ling: “…”

Snap, the dream shattered.

Even so, Xu Ling did not give up. After leaving the scenic area, he dragged Xia Muqing to the local breeding center to see the cubs of the iron-eating beast.

Xia Muqing also went there happily - taking the opportunity of traveling, searching the breeding centers in major cities, looking for young mysterious beasts with rare talents, what a great opportunity!

The breeding centers in various places are similar. Apart from a small number of rare mysterious beasts, most of them are common species such as small caterpillars and mini bees.

Xia Muqing and Xu Ling took a walk inside. Although they saw the cute baby iron-eating beast lying on the ground chewing bamboo with its white and tender belly exposed, they were deterred by the expensive price tag ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions.

Moreover, no system pop-up window was triggered.

Xia Muqing felt a little disappointed and was about to go out when she suddenly saw a boy in the corner carrying a large bag. The mysterious beast on his shoulder was quite recognizable.

"Cold spirit?" She hesitated. "You... classmate Yuan Feiyu?"

Yuan Feiyu turned around in surprise, and when he saw that it was Xia Muqing and Xu Ling, his face suddenly darkened.

Especially when he saw the koi fish blowing bubbles and floating next to Xia Muqing, Yuan Feiyu felt bitter in his heart and the corners of his mouth were sunken.

"Xia Muqing, why is it you?"

…

Yuan Feiyu was very dissatisfied with her test results.

Commonly known as, failed the exam.

Although his performance was far ahead of most other people, and there were few rivals in the entire J Province, Yuan Feiyu felt a tightness in his chest when he thought that the ones who defeated him were two unevolved koi fish.

So what if he has evolved to the second stage, or is the captain of the Jiang City competition team? He still can't beat two koi fish.

Yuan Feiyu's dreams these past two days were all about the koi fish's dull eyes, flowing saliva, and the bubbling sounds of its spitting.

In his dream, he, the Frost Spirit, and the Silver Moon Vine huddled together, shivering. The koi fish around them pressed closer and closer, their dull heads gradually swelling, and the golden foam they spewed out grew rounder and rounder, flashing a blinding light.

"Bang!"

Yuan Feiyu’s dream of becoming the top scholar was shattered to pieces.

Yuan Feiyu woke up from a nightmare, tossing and turning, hugging the quilt and wailing. His family couldn't bear to see him so depressed, so they gave him a travel plan and asked him to go out for a walk to change his mood.

"The exam is over, why are you still thinking about it? Go out and have some fun. Don't come back if you can't have enough fun!"

Yuan Feiyu, who was "kicked out", said: "..."

Well, he thought it would be good to go out and have some fun, using the happy time of traveling to forget the pain of being knocked down by Xia Muqing again and again.

But Yuan Feiyu never expected that he had run away to other provinces. Just after seeing the cute iron-eating beast, he turned around and met the source of all evil in his dream again?

What's the matter? We are destined to meet each other even though we are thousands of miles apart?

"It's true that enemies often meet on narrow roads," Yuan Feiyu said, wanting to cry but unable to. "I'm not even in J Province anymore, so how could I run into you?"

Xia Muqing spread her hands: "Look at what you said."

It seemed as if she was so happy to see Yuan Feiyu.

For Xia Muqing, she couldn't say that she disliked Yuan Feiyu, let alone liked him. She could only say that she was not familiar with him.

Really unfamiliar.

She didn't know why, but when Yuan Feiyu saw her and the little koi, she looked as if her parents had died.

Although Xia Muqing didn't understand, she didn't want to make herself bored, so she pulled Xu Ling and prepared to leave.

Yuan Feiyu shouted from behind: "Wait!"

"Xia-Xia Muqing! Wait, don't leave yet, let's fight again!"

Xia Muqing: “……?”

She was a little confused: "Do you want to challenge the Wind Dog again?"

"I'm sorry, Xiaofeng isn't awake yet, so I can't fight you..."

"No!" Yuan Feiyu gritted her teeth and pointed to her side, "I'm not going to hit the Swift Dog, I'm going to hit your Koi Fish!"

Koi fish: “???”

What does it mean? How big is the hatred?

"Uh," Xia Muqing said, "Which mystical beast are you going to use to fight me? The Frost Spirit, or the Silver Moon Vine?"

In a 1v2 situation, Xia Muqing wasn't very confident. In fact, the little koi's strength was not enough to completely contend with two second-level mystical beasts. However, at that time, she was in the Ark system and had taken advantage of the unique advantage of the 'disorder' feature over the virtual system.

But Yuan Feiyu wouldn't be so shameless as to mobilize a large force to stop her and order two mysterious beasts to fight her for a koi fish. Xia Muqing guessed that the other party would most likely want to send out the cold spirits. In a one-on-one battle, she was no match for him.

Yuan Feiyu really thought so too: "I will use the cold spirit——"

But Xu Ling was not happy: "Wait, what do you mean, if you want to fight us, we have to fight with you?"

"Using a second-level mutant elf to challenge an unevolved koi fish? Captain Yuan, you really have the nerve to ask that. Do you think this is fair?"

Yuan Feiyu: “???”

Xu Ling rolled her eyes. "So what if you won? A second-level mystical beast defeated a koi fish. Is that a big deal?"

"If I lose, it will be even more embarrassing. A second-level mutant profound beast can't even defeat a small, unevolved carp. If I tell anyone about it, they will laugh at me to death."

Yuan Feiyu: "..."

Damn, that makes sense!

Yuan Feiyu's face flushed red, and she couldn't think of how to refute for a moment. She stood there with her eyes wide open, unable to speak.

Xu Ling pulled Xia Muqing's wrist: "Muqing, let's go, ignore him."

The two of them walked out. Seeing their figures about to disappear at the door, Yuan Feiyu suddenly became more anxious and hurried after them: "Wait... wait!"

No, we have to fight!

Xia Muqing's koi fish has become a psychological shadow in his mind. Even the Frost Elf and Silver Moon Vine have suffered a great blow. Yuan Feiyu said to himself that he must win once, no matter what, even at the cost of his face!

"I'm betting with you...I'm betting with you on the punch-in challenge!"

Yuan Feiyu's mind raced, and she blurted out, "Let's go participate in the check-in challenge and see who can take first place!"

"If you win, I'll tell you a secret—a big secret about the cubs of the divine beasts!"

…

In fact, Xia Muqing was not very interested in the secret of the divine beast cub.

Those mysterious beasts were rare and precious, and the materials for their evolution were often difficult to find. However, in terms of potential, they might not be comparable to the three ordinary mysterious beasts in her family.

But it just so happened that they also planned to try the check-in challenge, and Xia Muqing thought it would be a good idea to complete Yuan Feiyu's challenge at the same time, so that this guy would not always pester her for a fight in the future.

So the three of them headed straight to the challenge venue.

Seeing the sign of the challenge from afar, Yuan Feiyu clenched his fists and made a secret decision.

"No matter what challenge I face, I won't lose! My mysterious beast is very strong, I will definitely win!"

"The Gale Dog is gone, and there's only one Koi Fish. This is my best chance to defeat Xia Muqing! Don't miss this opportunity, it won't come back again—"

Next to them, the staff of the challenge venue waved enthusiastically.

"Are you three here to participate in the check-in challenge? Please line up on the left. Our challenge is divided into five levels: spicy, medium spicy, very spicy, super spicy, and hellish spicy..."

Yuan Feiyu: “???”

Xu Ling and Xia Muqing were also stunned. They carefully looked at the sign advertising the challenge and read the rules. They were suddenly a little amused and confused: "The challenge isn't about a battle between Mystical Beasts, but about whose Mystical Beast can handle spicy food."

"What kind of rule is this?"

The staff shrugged. "It's a regional specialty. How about it? Want to experience it?"

Xu Ling and Xia Muqing looked at each other, then turned around at the same time to look at Yuan Feiyu who was standing behind them.

Yuan Feiyu looked at the fiery red peppers on the billboard and smelled the spicy smell in the air, and her face turned green.

But facing Xia Muqing's questioning eyes, he still steeled himself and said, "Let's compete, let's compete, who's afraid of who?"

"Isn't it just spicy food? My cold spirit has been growing up eating chili peppers. Whether it's the Soul-Breaking Pepper or the Carolina Reaper, we're not afraid!"

Cold Spirit: “???”

Are you serious?

…

"hiss--"

“Whoosh, whoosh!”

"No, I can't do it anymore..."

30 minutes later, Xu Ling covered her red cheeks and withdrew from the battle.

The competition required both a Beastmaster and a Mystical Beast to participate, each eating a different type of chili pepper. The Beastmaster ate ordinary chili peppers, while the Mystical Beast ate a unique chili pepper cultivated by the Beastmaster Association, grown and harvested in an alien dimension, and imbued with a rich surge of profound energy.

But the common point is that they are all very, very spicy.

"Where's the Beastmaster Association that promised generous rewards?"

Xu Ling kept fanning herself with her hands and gulping down cold water. "This is too much! How can a competition be like this?"

Starry Sky Oriole and Nightthorn Flower were still struggling to swallow, but Nightthorn Flower and Silver Moon Vine on the other side were already struggling. The strange peppers they swallowed were imbued with a rich profound energy. Not only was the spiciness incredibly intense, but they also transformed into a fiery energy that churned through their bodies.

Mystical beasts with weaker strength cannot suppress this energy at all.

Xia Muqing was still chewing the chili peppers in small bites, and she explained vaguely: "It's already a big deal to provide these peppers for free."

The competition promotion said that the Beastmaster Association would provide generous rewards, and it was true. These exotic peppers were sold at a high price, and they were also good nutritional supplements for many mysterious beasts.

Xia Muqing had already figured it out. Although the competition was said to be about eating spicy food, it was actually about the physical quality and evolutionary potential of the mysterious beasts. The better the quality and the greater the potential of the mysterious beast, the more scorching energy it could accommodate and the more chili peppers it could eat.

but……

For a beastmaster, the competition is really about eating spicy food!

Trying hard to swallow the chili in her mouth, Xia Muqing hissed, took a sip of water, and turned to look at Yuan Feiyu beside her.

Yuan Feiyu was not as tolerant of spicy food as he said. His face was now dark red, with beads of sweat on his forehead and neck. He felt like he was burning up.

The condition of the cold elves was similar to that of the starry sky warblers. They were still trying hard to swallow the alien peppers, but their shaking bodies and overflowing energy fluctuations exposed their physical condition, which was close to the limit.

The only mysterious beast still devouring its food with great joy...

There was only the little koi holding a big bowl of chili peppers with its fins, burying its little head in it, grunting and refusing to look up.

It ate very happily. The spiciness was secondary. The main thing was that after this energy circulated through its body, it all flowed into the unformed dragon pill, helping it to improve its strength bit by bit.

Although the energy is weak, a mosquito is still meat no matter how small it is!

"Gurgle!"

After finishing a large bowl of exotic chili peppers, the little koi slammed the bowl on the table and spit out a string of red bubbles with great pride.

Burp, delicious!

Hurry up and add some more chili peppers to this fish! If I eat another ten tons, I can fill up the dragon pill!

Yuan Feiyu, who was almost fainting from the spiciness: "..."

The cold spirit who felt like vomiting after eating: "..."