Chapter 243 Zhao Xing was shocked. Is a fourth-grade emperor crocodile equivalent to a larger fish? (Long chapter)
There are five arenas in the Zixiao Islands.

The qualifiers at the Grand Arena on Zixiao Island will not be open until the group stage.

The Gemini Islands where Zhao Xing is located are to the west of the archipelago, so he was assigned to the Western Division and participated in the Western District Winter Review preliminaries.

The Zixiao Arena in the West District is located on Tianjing Island.

When Zhao Xing arrived at the place, Tianjing Island had become very lively. People and strange beasts could be seen everywhere in the sky, on the land, and in the sea, and there were even water creatures in costumes.

"Sir, there are 7,830 islands in the Western Region participating in this winter evaluation preliminary selection."

"As of 1:00 p.m. today, the total number of exotic beasts participating in the battle is 357,954, and only one-tenth of them are controlled by humans. Ninety percent are sixth-grade exotic beasts." Tao Anchun reported the latest data when the ship entered the island and moored.

Zhao Xing looked at the ground mirror and couldn't help but smile: "What a grand event, there are so many war beasts."

"Each participating island has at least two quotas, but in reality there are far more than that. Some large islands have hundreds or even thousands of quotas."

"Such as Yalong Island, Wanshou Island and Zixiao Island. These three large islands have more than 50,000 quotas each." Dong Yuanqiu said with emotion.

"In this year's winter preliminaries, the three large islands only sent a dozen people to participate. Most of the people who came now are from small and medium-sized islands. Even so, some medium-sized islands have hundreds of places in their hands."

Zhao Xing nodded. The strength gap between the islands was too great.

For example, Wanshou Island, Yalong Island, and Zixiao Island, there are a lot of fourth-grade war beasts, and there are also high-grade war beasts. People can pick and choose from the fourth-grade war beasts!

For a big island like this, there will of course be more places available, and they don’t have to participate in the qualifiers.

Even the group stage has guaranteed places, it’s just a matter of number. If you participate, you’ll get more places, and if you don’t, you’ll get fewer places.

Because behind Yalong Island, Wanshou Island, and Zixiao Island are the top dignitaries of the Great Zhou.

Zixiao Island completely belongs to Princess Youruo, it is her mother's hometown.

There are many people who have been granted the title of king or marquis on Yalong Island and Wanshou Island.

For example, Ming Wuhou of the Tiger and Dragon Army had some shares in Yalong Island, because during the Taizu period, his great-grandfather had made contributions in the expansion of Pinghai Prefecture.

There are 350,000 participating war beasts in the West Region. It sounds like a lot, but in fact one driver has multiple pet beasts.

Of course, 90% of them are of the sixth rank, and they are just here to serve as stepping stones.

Because the internal selection system is very cruel, the mortality rate of these sixth-grade exotic beasts was as high as 50% during the preliminaries.

But there are also many war beasts that have broken through, from the sixth grade to the fifth grade, and from the fifth grade to the fourth grade.

It depends on who is stepping on whose feet.

"It doesn't matter if Hu Jiao and Qing Luan die in the preliminaries, but Shan Mao can't die here. If he encounters a strong enemy, he will withdraw from the competition." Zhao Xing said secretly.

Because there are still many opportunities.

In the next five years, if you qualify from any of the four preliminaries in any year, you can participate in the group stage held in the next five years.

This is the first year of the qualifiers. If this year is not possible, there are still four years left, with a total of sixteen opportunities to participate.

Aotian Miao is only in the early fifth stage now, and there is still a lot of room for growth. There is no need to fight to the death now.

As for the Tiger Dragon and Blue Luan given by the Taoist temple, their growth space is limited, so Master Zhao doesn't care.

Let them fight for a chance of survival in the life-and-death battle. As war beasts, dying on the battlefield is better than spending the rest of their lives in depression in a cage.

Just as Zhao Xing was thinking, the tower ship in front suddenly stopped moving, and the leading flying boat also came to a standstill.

There was also a faint sound of quarreling.

"Is this a traffic jam?" Zhao Xing looked forward.
"Sir, I'll go and take a look." Tao Anchun volunteered.

But before he could go out to see clearly, a flame suddenly burst out from the left side of a Mingyue Tower ship in front of him and sprayed towards the Qifan Tower ship in the front left.

The Seven-Sail Tower Ship was not to be outdone. It changed direction, accelerated suddenly, and crashed into the Mingyue Tower Ship next to it.

"boom!"

The outer shell of the seven-sail ship is covered with black iron, and there is a piston ram on the left side.

The collision immediately created more than a dozen holes in the Mingyue Tower ship.

"Fuck you, how dare you attack a military ship!"

"Asshole, my surname is Ji, how dare you say such slanderous words? Are you going to rebel? Come on, take them down!"

"Fuck, it's like everyone is not from the Ji clan. Wolf God Guards, attack!"

"..."

The two ships quickly started the boarding operation. There were only dozens of people participating in the battle, but there were thousands of strange beasts!

The pilot flying boats sent by Tianjing Island were all affected and crushed to pieces. The piloting ceremonial officer quickly jumped out of the boat and saved his life.

This scene left the people around stunned, and Zhao Xing was also speechless. Road rage really exists everywhere.

"Reverse the boat and raise the altitude." Zhao Xing gave the order.

This ship is the Yunyu Tower ship sent by the Ministry of Agriculture, not a warship, and cannot withstand collisions. It would be too unfair if it was hit.

However, what you fear will come to pass, as the Yunyu Tower ship of the Gemini Island was only a hundred meters behind the two ships, and at a lower altitude.

When the seven-sail warship overturned the Mingyue Tower ship, this large ship, which was more than two thousand meters long, fell towards the direction of the tower ship where Zhao Xing was.

"Back up! Back up the boat!"

"Open the barrier!"

"Tian Jing Island's pilot boat hasn't been unhooked yet!"

"Never mind, the pilot will jump himself."

"..."

There was a flurry of activity on the Gemini Cloud and Rain Tower ship. Tao Anchun, Dong Yuanqiu and others immediately ordered the mechanical engineers below to quickly control the warship to retreat.

"I'm really impressed." Zhao Xing saw this and flew out of the warship immediately. After all, the officials of Gemini Island were not soldiers, and their reaction speed was too slow. Zhao Xing calculated that if he did not intervene, the Mingyue Tower ship would definitely hit his ship.

There were boats above, below, left, and right behind him, so he couldn't retreat far.

"Nine Heavens Wind Technique, activate!"

Zhao Xing flashed outside the boat, and nine green gusts of wind appeared out of thin air around the Mingyue Tower ship.

While putting out the fire, the tilted ship was straightened to stop it from falling.

"Good Fengfa! Who are you?!" someone on the Mingyue Tower boat shouted.

If Zhao Xing had not entrusted this ship, the sixth and seventh-grade engineers on the ship would be able to fly away, but the eighth and ninth-grade engineers who were operating the mechanisms in the cabin would probably have to die along with the ship.

Before Zhao Xing opened his mouth, a young man in gorgeous clothes on the seven-sail warship shouted, "Which bastard is interfering? Are you looking for death? My father is Marquis Jinwu! My mother is Princess Yuanyao, and I am..."

He was speechless because Zhao Xing used wind magic again to lock the seven-sailed ship he was on.

The Nine Heavenly Strong Winds were like two spherical barriers, separating the two ships.

The seven-sailed ship was running at full speed, but it still couldn't break free from the strong wind barrier.

Zhao Xing's Nine Heavens Gangfeng Technique has been practiced to a high level of perfection!

How could this fifth-tier, top-grade ship possibly break free from the magical field formed by the strong wind?
"Boom~"

Inside the Gangfeng barrier, there were nine Gangfeng green dragons swimming around, and with a sound of thunder, lightning beads emerged one by one.

Both the one who beat him and the one who was beaten became obedient all of a sudden.

Another high-level spell was perfected, and the level of control was extremely high, forming the field of thunder magic.

"Hiss, I met a master." The eyes of Jin Wuhou's son suddenly became clear and he regained his rationality.

On another ship, Wen Ce Bo Jian was also secretly shocked: "Whose general is this? He is so brave. Hmm? He is just a sixth-rank officer. How could such a powerful person appear in the Zixiao Islands?"

A sixth-rank officer who masters high-level perfection techniques and has dual domains is extremely rare, at least outside the military.

Zhao Xing ignored them and just controlled the two ships, waiting for the inspection team from Tianjing Island to arrive.

The Tianjing Island Inspection Office also reacted quickly. As soon as Zhao Xing cast the spell, they rushed over.

A patrol team appeared above the two warships in a flying boat.

Liang Hongyu, a fifth-rank inspector, was also quite surprised to see this scene.

"What's going on?" Liang Hongyu called the pilot to ask.

The three navigators who jumped off the ship belonged to the Seven Sail Ship, the Bright Moon Ship, and the Cloud and Rain Ship respectively.

Liang Hongyu asked and soon found out the whole story.

Liang Hongyu activated her bright armor and flew to Zhao Xing. She saluted and said in a clear voice, "Thank you very much for helping to maintain order. May I know your name?"

She was a fifth-rank official and Zhao Xing was a sixth-rank official, but Liang Hongyu was very polite to him because Zhao Xing's strength was not something that an ordinary fifth-rank official might have, so how could he be an ordinary sixth-rank official?
"The Twin Dragon Horse Supervisor Zheng Zhao Xing."

Si Nong? Liang Hongyu was a little surprised: "Master Zhao, please remove the magic field on the seven-sail warship."

"Okay." Zhao Xing waved his hand, and the magic field on the seven sailboats suddenly disappeared.

"Lock up all the people on this ship, except for the engineer who controls the warship, and take them back for questioning!"

Although Liang Hongyu was a female patrol officer, she acted decisively. Once she confirmed the guilt, she arrested the man immediately.

"Asshole, my father is..."

"Shut up!" Liang Hongyu shouted, "How dare you transform the Seven Sailboats into warships? Is your father a duke or a king? Detain him!"

Jin Wuhou's son was handcuffed and the warship was towed to an outer island for anchorage.

Ji An on the Mingyue Tower's boat was also to be taken away, but his boat was damaged and could not move for a while, so he had to wait for the Tiangongsi on Tianjing Island to repair it.

Zhao Xing saw that it was not a good thing that they were always stuck here, and someone behind them was cursing!
So he sent a message to Liang Hongyu: "Master Liang, why don't I take them to the island with both the people and the boat?"

Liang Hongyu hesitated a little: "Master Zhao, it will take another hour and a half...why don't I guide the boat to land right here?"

She doubted whether Zhao Xing could hold on that long.

Zhao Xing said: "Don't bother with that. After you clear the cloud path, you still have to adjust the island formation, which will take time. Don't worry, I won't let them fall to death."

A hint of surprise flashed across Liang Hongyu's eyes, and she immediately clasped her fists and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Lord Zhao to help."

So, Zhao Xing controlled the broken ship and flew forward together.

This scene attracted many eyes from the surroundings. Being able to use the strong wind magic field to carry a fifth-order building ship to fly is not something that ordinary people can do.

After reaching the island, we flew at low altitude for another hour and a half and arrived at the Louchuansi on Tianjing Island.

Originally Zhao Xing was planning to leave, but Ji An, who was in shackles, insisted on coming over to say hello to Zhao Xing.

He was escorted by Liang Hongyu, and came over and bowed, saying, "Ji An, courtesy name Mingzhi, is the magistrate of Kaiyang County, Qixing Island. I would like to thank Lord Zhao for saving me just now."

Qixing Island is a medium-sized island, which is seven islands united together, with seven counties set up on it.

As for why it was the county magistrate who led the team instead of the inspector of Longma Prison, it was mainly because the situations on each island were different.

Some county magistrates were quite powerful, and the Longma Supervisor had to obey their orders completely. Some even concurrently served as the Zuosi Zheng.

"Zhao Xing, courtesy name Chen'an, is the chief of Longma Supervisory Department of Shuangzi County." Zhao Xing saluted. "It was just a matter of convenience. Brother Ji, you should be less angry next time."

Ji An smiled and said, "Brother Zhao is right. I wonder where Brother Zhao will stay on the island? I will come to thank you after I pay the fine."

Zhao Xing tilted his head to look at Tao Anchun, who looked embarrassed and whispered, "Sir, our Gemini Island hasn't come to the arena to compete in many years. This time we have a special quota. Tianjing Island didn't arrange an inn in advance, so we have to find a place to stay by ourselves..."

Zhao Xing nodded and said to Ji An, "Please forgive me, Brother Ji, we haven't found a place to stay yet."

Ji An was a little surprised. Shouldn't a powerful agriculture official like Zhao Xing be in charge of a medium-sized island? Why didn't Tianjing Island provide him with any accommodation?
Although it was strange, Ji An still did not give up the idea of ​​thanking him: "If Brother Zhao doesn't mind, I do have a special venue on Qixing Island that can be arranged for Brother Zhao."

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said, "Okay, thank you very much."

"Hahaha, this is the first time I welcome guests in shackles, I hope you don't mind, Brother Zhao." Ji An laughed heartily: "Brother Zhao, please wait here for a while, I'll be back soon."

After Ji An finished speaking, he and Liang Hongyu got off the boat together.

"Sir, this man is quite generous. Qixing Island is a medium-sized island, so we don't have to rent a place to live." Tao Anchun couldn't help but smile as he looked at Ji An's back.

The government post house had long been full. If one wanted to find a place to live, one had to pay for the rent, or simply buy a piece of land.

Every inch of land on Tianjing Island is valuable, so buying or renting it at this time will be a considerable expense.

Qixin Island has never missed a pre-election in the past few decades, so naturally people have their own residence on the island and don't have to squeeze together with others.

The actual situation was just as Tao Anchun had guessed. When Ji An returned after paying the fine, Zhao Xing chatted with him and learned that he had bought a manor in Tianjing City, and it was quite large, covering an area of ​​one thousand acres.

"One thousand acres? Brother Ji is really generous." Tao Anchun beside him couldn't help but admire.

"Haha, actually I also benefited from the previous county magistrate's appointment." Ji An said with a smile, "Before I took office, Kaiyang County had already purchased public property here."

"Brother Ji is so lucky." Zhao Xing said with emotion, "I can still encounter such a good thing. My predecessor didn't leave us anything."

Ji An waved his hand and said, "It has nothing to do with luck. The new magistrate of Kaiyang County is my brother."

Tao Anchun: “…”

Damn, there really are people with connections everywhere.

Zhao Xing was used to it, as he himself was a relative of the family.

In fact, this situation is not uncommon in the East China Sea Islands. After the grandfather serves as the county magistrate, his son takes over, and after the son takes over, his grandson takes over.

Because many islands in the East China Sea have a system similar to that of chieftains.

Long Xiao's girlfriend is Bai Ling, whose grandfather Bai Yunwu is one of the biggest chieftains in the East China Sea.

Of course, this is not the case with Ji An, he is not a mixed-race or aquatic creature, it is purely an official operation.

"It's been hard getting along these years." As they chatted, Ji An suddenly sighed.

"What do you mean, Brother Ji?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Once the Pingman War began, the policies in various parts of the East China Sea became increasingly strict. In previous years, I made arrangements with my brothers and they didn't even have to participate in the preliminaries. They could directly get a place in the group stage in the western part of Zixiao."

"Now that there is a fight, everyone in the preliminaries has to come and compete." Ji An said, "Especially after King Liang came to power, he exploited the East China Sea too much. Originally, my brother worked in Kaiyang County and only had to raise ten fifth-grade war beasts every three years. Now, he has to raise fifteen every year!"

"If we can't finish it in one year, we will have to scale down. Not only will the salaries of the people, but the food of the beasts will also be cut in half."

"If the fight continues for another ten years, I'm afraid I won't even be able to afford a driver or a breeder." Ji An sighed.

"Brother Ji, aren't you a charioteer yourself?"

Ji An was stunned and asked, "How come, Brother Zhao, you are the driver yourself?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "I am one myself."

Tao Anchun wondered, "Is it common to hire a charioteer?"

Ji An nodded and said, "Of course. The Dragon Horse Prison only raises them, and the beastmasters are hired from other experts. We can't rely on the Minister of Agriculture of Chenghua Prison to go into battle. The Minister of Agriculture of Chenghua Prison is useless, and can only help during sacrifices."

Dong Yuanqiu felt a little embarrassed because he was the Sicheng of Chenghuajian.

Ji An was also puzzled, because he found that although Zhao Xing was quite capable, the people under him seemed unfamiliar with the rules and market conditions.

They don’t look like a strong team at first glance.

Mr. Zhao certainly understands this: "Some not only recruit chariot drivers, but also hire veterinarians, agricultural officials, dancers, musicians, priests, and warriors at a high price."

Tao Anchun was surprised and asked, "Do you want to invite so many people?"

"Of course." Ji An said. "For example, the Medical Department and Agricultural Department of Yalong Island only recruit retired military doctors and agricultural officials, or retired doctors of classics from Taoist temples."

"The battle of war beasts is very intense and lasts a long time. If they are injured today, they will have to fight again tomorrow. The only one who can restore the combat effectiveness of war beasts in a short period of time is a military doctor."

"The same goes for the military ministers. The war beasts must adapt to different weather and terrain conditions to fight, because the ultimate goal of the Ten Thousand Beasts Competition is to enter the ancient land of Dragon Court."

"The environment there is more complicated and survival is more difficult."

"So, the training intensity of war beasts is usually very high. Maybe today the training environment is required to be extremely cold, and tomorrow it will be extremely hot."

"How can an ordinary Wen Sinong have such a skill? Even if he can go against the solar terms, it won't last long."

"There's also food. Meat-eaters are fine, but for vegetarian war beasts, their nutritional mix must also be carefully selected."

"Herbivorous exotic beasts are usually very large in size, and they require huge amounts of fine food."

"If we want to be self-sufficient, we have to increase the speed and scale of planting. There are also some rare plants that cannot be raised by ordinary farmers."

Dong Yuanqiu, Tao Anchun, Cao Jiang and others couldn't help but sigh with emotion when they listened. They didn't expect that there were so many details involved.

It seems that the failure of the previous supervisor was not just luck.

Zhao Xing took over Ji An's words and said, "In addition to military doctors and military agriculture, large islands will also recruit musicians and dancers to play music to calm the war beasts and perform dances to inspire their fighting spirits. Warriors and priests will serve as sparring partners."

"Beast Tamers are so successful in competitions, but this is not the work of one person. Behind every powerful beast tamer there is a strong logistics team that silently makes great efforts."

Ji An said: "Yes, my Qixing Island recruited a fifth-rank Si Nong from the Shangluo College ten years ago. Thanks to him, Qixing Island has maintained its [Intermediate Island] standards."

"Brother Zhao, since you haven't hired a driver for the Gemini Prison, are you also in charge of the Divine Feeding Department?"

Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "No, Master Tao is in charge."

Tao Anchun felt a little ashamed. He was indeed in charge of the Divine Feeding Department, but in fact, it was Zhao Xing who was responsible for the cultivation of many precious plants.

He had never raised a mountain cat, a tiger dragon, or a blue phoenix.

It can be said that Zhao Xing single-handedly brought the Twin Dragon Horse Guards to the preliminaries, and it will now be up to Zhao Xing and his war beasts to fight in the arena.

In addition, Gemini Prison doesn’t even have a decent veterinarian, so the doctor Wen Mugen brought this time is just a guest veterinarian!

After chatting for a while, the officials of Gemini Prison seemed a little bored.

The excitement of competing had worn off before it even began.

Because compared to Ji An's configuration, there is nothing worth mentioning on my side except Zhao Xing.

It can even be said to be pitifully weak.

Ji An seemed to see the embarrassment of the Twin Dragon Horse Guards and did not mention it any more.

The ship was quiet for a while, and Ji An pointed ahead and said, "Brother Zhao, the city of Tianjing is ahead. Fly southwest to the foot of Jiannan Mountain, and you will find my Kaiyang Pavilion."

"it is good."

…………

The tower ship landed at Kaiyang Pavilion in Tianjing City.

Kaiyang Pavilion covers an area of ​​1,000 acres and is surrounded by four adjacent manors, all of which belong to Qixing Island.

There is an artificial lake in the manor, which is convenient for the activities of water-walking war beasts.

The houses gradually became taller. Zhao Xing imprisoned Hu Jiao and Qing Luan in the Tuquan Palace here, living together with the strange beasts in Kaiyang County, and the mountain cat lived with him in the side room.

Arrived on December 2nd and the race started on December 4th.

There were still two days left, and Zhao Xing did not go out and stayed in Kaiyang Manor.

The theme of the qualifiers is 'Winter' and it lasts for a whole month.

There are multiple parts to the competition format, and it’s not just about fighting.

"December 4th to 11th, these seven days, are the 'Capture the Flag' competition."

"Three hundred and fifty thousand exotic beasts, leave the venue area, and go to the island to grab ten thousand flags."

"Capture a flag and you can pass the next level."

"The flag-grabbing competition is over on the 11th, and the 'survival competition' will start the next day."

"A third-rank minister of agriculture will take action to disrupt the weather and geographical conditions of Tianjing Island."

"It lasted for another seven days. During this time, everything on the island was barren and silent. Apart from areas where humans were active, there was no supply from other places. There were only a few places where food supplies were stored."

"In such a harsh environment, my vitality is greatly depleted, and I have to face attacks from my competitors. It is difficult to last for seven days."

"However, if you feel you can't bear it, the driver can call back the war beast and return to the venue."

"The survival competition will end on the 18th, and the 'Ice Training' will start immediately on the 19th. The competition venue is on the seabed, starting from the north of the sea outside Tianjing Island, swimming east, south, west, around the island, and back to the starting point."

"It will last for ten days, and after ten days, there will be a huge aerial dogfight."

"The beasts cannot land and must continue to fight in the air. This is another competition event that tests endurance and combat effectiveness."

"In the end, only the top 3,000 will be considered to have passed the preliminaries."

"Oh." Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the competition system.

The elimination rate is really high.

Of the 350,000 exotic beasts, only 3,000 passed the preliminary selection.

In the preliminaries, only one out of a hundred will be picked, and these exotic beasts participating in the competition have previously been screened by the [Divine Chosen Department].

"Aotian, with your small body, can you handle it?" Zhao Xing couldn't help but worry as he looked at the mountain cat that was eating fish.

"Meow~" Sensing its owner's emotions, the bobcat put down the fish, walked over and rubbed Zhao Xing's shoulder.

"Okay, I believe you." Zhao Xing smiled, "But if you can't bear it, you must obey my orders and run back. Do you hear me?"

"Meow~"

…………

Tianjing City, Dragon and Lion Pavilion, this is the largest island in the western part of Zixiao Islands, the headquarters of Dragon and Lion Island.

At this time, Longma Supervisor Zhengtong Wanyang was chatting with his adjutant Yu Pengcheng.

"The islands that were in the top ten last time are hiding their abilities this time, and they haven't sent out any powerful war beasts." Yu Pengcheng analyzed, "Although they are all fourth-grade, there are only four types of god-level bloodlines, all of which are god-level one to three."

"They are the early stage of the fourth rank sent by Jiulong Bay, the first-order bloodline of the god level, and the emperor crocodile."

"Longquan Island sent a fourth-stage mid-stage, god-level first-order bloodline, Lingxisui."

"The fourth-stage mid-stage, god-level second-order bloodline sent by Bear Island, the Frost Howl Giant Bear."

"A mid-level fourth-grade, god-level third-order bloodline, the Vicious Soul Dragon, sent by Heart Rock Island."

Tong Wanyang flipped through the list and threw it aside with a smile: "It seems that everyone wants to develop peacefully this time and dare not fight as fiercely as before."

Yu Pengcheng said, "Yes, it is said that the Pingman War will enter the middle stage next year. I don't know how many war beasts will be transferred there by then. Everyone will have to tighten their belts to make ends meet."

At this time, all the competitions among beasts have to take a back seat, and peace of the barbarians should take priority.

At least that's the case in Pinghai Prefecture and Donghai.

During this special period, each island has intentionally reduced internal consumption in the preliminaries and group matches.

In order to avoid the situation where they fail to complete the mission assigned by the higher authorities and fail to deliver so many war beasts to the army. "Has Wang Xuanyi arrived in Tianjing City?" Tong Wanyang asked.

"We're here." Yu Pengcheng nodded, "I was just planning to go and pay my respects."

"By the way, I can also test the waters." Tong Wanyang thought, "Ask what the situation will be like next year."

"Oh, right." Tong Wanyang suddenly remembered something, "I remember that the supplies of the Twin Dragon Horse Prison were approved by Wang Xuanyi. You can also ask around and find out what the relationship between Wang Xuanyi and Zhao Xing is."

"I heard that this Marquis Yuan Rang was exiled here because he offended King Liang. There is no reason why he would be valued by Wang Xuanyi. Is there any other reason besides Princess Youruo?"

"I'll go find out."

…………

In Tianjing City, Wang Xuanyi, the Minister of Agriculture of Chongming Prefecture, arrived at the prefectural government office.

"Your subordinate Yu Hong greets Lord Wang."

"Yes." Wang Xuan nodded. "Are all the pre-selection matters ready?"

"Sir, the island has been blocked, and all four checkpoints are ready."

"The four armies of the East China Sea Corps, totaling 120,000 people, are on standby both inside and outside the island." Yu Hong said respectfully.

“How are the contestants doing?”

"The actual number of people and war beasts is 1,246 less than the predicted list, and the number of war beasts is also 7,846 less."

Wang Xuan nodded, walked into the main hall and took a seat.

"Buzz~" Above the hall, pieces of ground mirrors hung down, monitoring the internal and external movements of Tianjing Island.

At the same time, a ranking list appears next to it, but it is not open yet.

Wang Xuan took a quick glance and scanned the list of all the contestants.

Then his eyes stopped at the column of Zhao Xing, the Twin Dragon Horse Supervisor.

"Come here in the first year? Tiger Jiao, Qing Luan, and a mountain cat... I wonder if they can pass the first level." Wang Xuanyi thought to himself and quickly ignored it.

…………

December 2nd, evening.

Zhao Xing sat by the lake, watching Qingluan and Hujiao playing in the lake.

The mountain cat squatted quietly beside him. When it saw Zhao Xing sitting cross-legged, it also started to meditate like a normal person.

He imitated Zhao Xing's breathing, but after a while, the mountain cat's eyelids began to droop and he became drowsy.

"Hey, your cat..." Ji An came over and looked at the mountain cat in surprise, "How could you be so smart?"

"Get up, a cat should act like a cat." Zhao Xing patted Aotian.

"Ah~" The mountain cat yawned and opened his eyes.

"Brother Ji, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Come out for a walk if you have nothing to do." Ji An said with a smile, "Brother Zhao, you only brought two pets to the battle?"

"three."

"Is it also participating in the competition?" Jian pointed at the mountain cat.

"Well, let it see the world."

Ji An looked at the mountain cat curiously: "It can do it? Isn't it just a mountain cat with ordinary blood? Can it withstand the fourth level?"

"Meow!" Aotian stood up and waved his claws to give Ji An a lightning bolt.

"Zizizi~" Ji An's hair suddenly stood up.

"Aotian, what are you doing!" Zhao Xing was startled and quickly ran over to help Ji An up, "Brother, are you okay?"

"No, it's okay... cough cough." Ji An was a fifth-grade warrior, but he didn't expect to be electrocuted by a mountain cat.

He got up and looked at the mountain cat with sparkling eyes: "Brother Zhao, do you want to sell this cat?"

Zhao Xing smiled and shook his head.

"I'll pay a high price!" said Ji An.

"I won't sell it if it's expensive or cheap."

"You don't even ask me how much I'm paying?"

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Even if I sell it, you wouldn't dare to accept it, brother Ji. It still has a father. Are you afraid that a swordsman will chase you and chop you down in the future?"

Ji An was confused and had no idea what Zhao Xing was talking about. He just thought that he was unwilling to sell it.

December 4th, early morning.

A lot of people came to Kaiyang Pavilion, mainly from the other six counties on Qixing Island.

However, no one noticed Zhao Xing, a sixth-rank minister of agriculture.

As soon as they arrived, they began to discuss strategies with Ji An.

After discussing for two hours.

Ji An started talking off topic and said, "Brothers, I had a conflict with someone on the way here. Fortunately, Zhao Xing, the warden of Longma Prison on Gemini Island, helped me."

"He only has three pets, all of which are fifth-grade. However, his team is still in its infancy, and there is not much decent logistics support."

"I want to bring him into our Seven Star Island team to share intelligence and medical resources, and repay him a favor. What do you think?"

"can."

"I'm OK."

One of the young men frowned and said, "Brother Ji, if you want to repay the favor, why do you have to do it now? He is just a sixth-rank minister of agriculture, and he only has three beasts. Even if your dragon pet helps him pass a level, can it escort him through all the levels?"

"By doing this, you are not helping him, but harming him."

"Brother Gu." Ji An looked at Gu Yi, the magistrate of Yaoguang County, and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Brother Gu, do you disagree?"

Gu Yi said: "I don't agree with you doing this."

"I also think what Brother Gu said makes sense." Another fifth-rank said, "We are not familiar with him. If we let our pets act together with his pets, it will be inconvenient."

"Okay." Ji An said, "I didn't think it through. Then I won't share the information with him. I will only share my own doctor with him."

Ji An also knew that they were afraid that Zhao Xing would become a burden. If they acted together, they were also afraid that the weaknesses of their pets would be revealed. In fact, this was what they were most worried about.

…………

The fourth day of the twelfth month, the first quarter of the morning.

Zhao Xing walked out of Kaiyang Pavilion.

At the same time, Ji An, Gu Yi and other county magistrates and ministers of agriculture of Qixing Island, totaling fourteen fifth-rank officials, forty-eight sixth-rank officials, and a total of 182 pets, also gathered outside the venue.

As a medium-sized island, the strength of Ji An and others should not be underestimated. Half of the 182 pets are fifth-grade war beasts.

"Brother Zhao." Ji An came over, looking ashamed, "I originally wanted to invite Brother Zhao's battle pet to join us, but this is not my county's operation, so please forgive me for not being able to invite you along."

"No problem." Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I am sorry for bothering you. Brother Ji, go and make the arrangements yourself."

"If your pet is injured and needs a doctor, remember to notify me." Ji An said.

"Okay." Zhao Xing nodded.

…………

After the two met, Zhao Xing returned to his residence, closed his eyes, and called out to Hujiao and Qingluan.

"Ang~" "Li~"

The tiger dragon and the blue phoenix immediately flew back from the lake and landed in front of Zhao Xing.

"Aotian, go up."

"Meow~" The mountain cat suddenly jumped onto Qingluan's back.

Zhao Xing instructed Tao Anchun, "Master Tao, Master Cao, keep an eye on the ground mirror. If there is any emergency, notify me immediately."

"Yes, sir, don't worry."

"Master Wen, please go and boil the medicine. If you don't bring enough or if you are missing anything, please tell me as soon as possible."

"Yes."

Tao Anchun and others immediately started to do their own things.

Zhao Xing closed his eyes and began the "Soul Contract Connection".

When he opened his eyes again, three perspectives appeared before him.

One is a mountain cat, and the other two are the blue phoenix and the tiger dragon.

"Whoo~"

Qingluan and Hujiao, carrying the mountain cat on their backs, soared into the sky.

According to the rules, they must leave the city before 3:15 a.m. and capture three flags within seven days to be eligible to advance to the next level.

December 4th, 3:15 am--Mahjong time.

Countless strange beasts flew out from Tianjing City, which faces north and south.

After leaving the barrier, the strange beasts flew towards the east, west and south of Tianjing Island.

Ten thousand flags, scattered all over the island.

As long as you capture a flag, you can pass the level.

"Roar!"

As soon as he flew out of the east gate, Zhao Xing saw a huge head exposed on the city wall a thousand meters west of the east gate of Tianjing City.

"The Emperor Crocodile, a god-level bloodline. This might must be a fourth-grade Emperor Crocodile."

Zhao Xing controlled Qingluan to look back. It was a huge Emperor Crocodile, with a body as long as a thousand meters, spikes on its back, and dark golden secret patterns surrounding its entire body.

"There are nine crocodiles lying outside the East City." Zhao Xing thought to himself. "It seems that these crocodiles are not going to look for the flag."

You have seven days to find the flag and bring it back to the city.

The strength of the Deinosuchus is unrivaled among all others, is there any need to look for it?

Just block one of the entrances into the city and wait for the other small fry to find it, then rob them.

"hold head high!"

Roars could be heard from all directions, including the west, south and north.

A series of phantoms loomed over the city gate.

Zhao Xing saw the shadow of a vicious soul dragon and its huge body dancing in the sky.

There was also a giant frost howling bear, holding a huge mace, wearing armor, and guarding the south gate.

"In this case, if we want to enter the city, we have to get an extra flag." Zhao Xing thought to himself, "Otherwise, we won't be able to enter at all."

The fourth-grade exotic beast with divine bloodline is above the rest of the world and there is no need to fight for it.

They are all among the top ten forces in the West, and they can have as many flags as they want.

Of course, there are not many people from the top ten forces this time, and it does not take many places to feed the top ten forces.

I estimate that a thousand flags would be enough.

If they are lucky, maybe these forces have already eaten their fill and won't encounter the gatekeepers when they return.

"Aotian, we... um?" Zhao Xing was just about to give Aotian some instructions, but suddenly through Qingluan's perspective he saw a flag embroidered with a golden dragon sailing out to sea, planted on a pile of rubble in a valley below.

"My luck... I found a flag only a dozen miles outside the city?"

Zhao Xing immediately gave Qingluan an order to go down and bring back the flag.

The driver will play a guiding role. If there is no driver, the exotic beast will not be able to perform complex behaviors on its own.

If Zhao Xing told the mountain cat to find the flag, he would continue to provide guidance without using the soul contract to connect.

Maybe the mountain cat got confused after leaving the city.

Looking for flags? What are flags and can they be eaten?

The same goes for Qingluan and Hujiao. Maybe they understood that it was a flag this time, but they will be just as confused next time when they look for something else.

"Wow~"

As Qingluan descended, a voice sounded from the left.

Zhao Xing saw a flash of gold in Qingluan's pupils, and he arrived first, exceeding Qingluan's descent speed.

"A fifth-grade golden falcon? It's too fast. Qingluan, come back. Don't chase it."

Zhao Xing could only watch as the flag below was taken away by a flash of gold.

In terms of speed, the golden falcon has almost no rivals among the fifth-grade ones.

Of course, its physical strength is a big problem. It can only fly for an hour at most and then it needs to rest and eat.

The Qingluan can fly at full power continuously for more than six hours.

"Meow?" The mountain cat was a little confused.

"You can't catch up." Zhao Xing's voice sounded in Bobcat's mind.

"Meow!" The mountain cat expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, "That's because you didn't call me just now!"
Zhao Xing ignored the mountain cat and ordered Qingluan and Hujiao to avoid places where there were many beasts and patrol in the sky.

The advantages of birds and beasts are that they can fly high and see far. The tiger dragon can also fly, but at this time it can only act as a guard because the tiger dragon has poor eyesight.

At the height that Qingluan was flying, Hu Jiao's view below was blurry.

Three hundred and fifty thousand war beasts were densely packed as they flew out of Tianjing City.

The moment they flew out, many places were involved in battle.

Qingluan pulled up immediately to avoid a chaotic battle.

But there are still many war beasts flying in the sky.

However, no one dared to mess with the combination of three heads and five ranks easily, especially with a cat standing on Qingluan's back.

It looks weird no matter how you look at it. Since it is weird, no one would provoke it for the sake of caution.

If you hit the flag, that’s a different story.

"More flags have been discovered. One, two, three, four. There are four golden dragon flags heading out to sea!" Zhao Xing's luck was really good. After flying for two quarters of an hour, he saw the flags again. This time there were four flags, inserted in a pond below.

"Go down!" Zhao Xing immediately ordered Qingluan and Hujiao to land.

Call ~
The blue phoenix and the tiger dragon rushed down from the sky with a strong wind, and the surrounding sixth-grade exotic beasts all made way.

"There's a flag, charge!" In a venue in Tianjing City, Huang Biao, a beastmaster who was riding four fifth-grade golden-winged lions, and Zhao Xing discovered the flag in the pond at the same time.

It immediately gave orders to the golden-winged lion, while at the same time observing the competitors around it.

"Qingluan's secret skills include Frost Assault, Frost Feather Stab, Ice Wall, Ice Cone Impact, and Frost Mist."

"The secret skills of the tiger dragon include the Sea Realm Skyrocketing, Tiger Roaring and Dragon Roaring, Dragon Bite, and Scale Explosion."

Beastmaster Huang Biao stared closely at Zhao Xing's combination.

"Huh? Why is there a cat?"

"What is the secret skill of the mountain cat?"

Huang Biao immediately began to think hard.

Whether on the sports field or on the battlefield, war beasts like the Bobcat are rare.

Because most cats are stubborn, it is difficult to make them do this or that, let alone train them.

"There's something strange going on. Be careful."

Huang Biao immediately slowed down and made the four golden-winged lions take a defensive posture while flying in the air.

As a result, Qingluan didn't use any secret skills and just rushed down.

Then, he picked up the four flags and flew away.

"What?" Huang Biao stared at Qingluan's receding back and was stunned.

"This is a master, he didn't even use his secret skills and deliberately exposed his back to me?"

"If you don't make any moves, it will be difficult for me to deal with you. What a brilliant tactic, no moves are better than moves! You have mastered the secret skills so well." Huang Biao muttered to himself.

But he didn't know that Mr. Zhao didn't know anything about these things.

Qingluan and Hujiao have only been in his hands for two or three days, and he hasn't even learned how to guide Qingluan to use its skills. He came here just to practice.

As for tactics, there is no need to mention it. Master Zhao is just a part-time beast tamer, how could he think about these things?

He can be said to be a complete rookie now.

Huang Biao was just overthinking. He was fighting a battle of wits and courage with the air.

"I got the four flags." Zhao Xing smiled in the stadium. "If it weren't for those god-level bloodlines protecting me, I could have let Hu Jiao and Qing Luan return to the city now."

"Not now, we have to find two more sides."

"Hmm? Looks like someone is following us?"

Zhao Xing discovered from Qingluan's perception that someone seemed to be staring at his war beast.

When I looked back, I saw that it was still the four golden-winged lions.

"This guy is so weird. He didn't rob me just now. I thought he was afraid of me. Why is he chasing me now?"

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. This is not the way to play it." Zhao Xing was a little puzzled. If you had snatched it at the beginning, I would have given in.

After all, he is lucky, and it’s just the beginning, so there is no need to fight to the death.

"Roar!" The roar of the golden-winged lion seemed a little exasperated.

However, Huang Biao reacted belatedly after observing Zhao Xing's three pets for a while.

"With this flying posture, he is not an expert at all, but a complete rookie!"

"I was intimidated by him!"

Huang Biao cursed angrily.

It's so embarrassing. If people knew that he, a top student from Wanhua Taoist Academy, was teased like this, how would he save his face?
"Aotian, try your hand with these four big cats." Zhao Xingkai gave the order, then realized that his order was too complicated.

What does it mean to try your hand? Bobcat wondered.

"They are trying to steal food, beat them up." Zhao Xing issued new orders.

"Meow!!!" The bobcat's fur suddenly exploded.

Stealing food? How can this be tolerated?!
"Zizzizi~"

There were flashes of blue and purple in the mountain cat's eyes.

Secret patterns in purple and blue colors, in circles, quickly surround the head to the tail.

As the light flickered, the mountain cat entered its second form.

His body was covered with a layer of purple-blue scales, his fangs and claws grew longer, and with every breath, thunder and strong wind flowed around his body.

In an instant, a mountain cat with thick limbs, well-developed muscles, wearing purple-blue armor and full of metallic texture appeared on Qingluan's back.

"Huh? What kind of secret skill is this?" Huang Biao was stunned. "A mountain cat belonging to the metal element? That's not right."

In the blink of an eye, the mountain cat had disappeared on Qingluan's back.

"Pfft~"

Huang Biao felt pain in his ribs and a feeling of weightlessness came from his mind.

"what?"

Huang Biao was stunned. The view in front of him became dizzying and was rapidly approaching the ground.

Its four golden-winged lions were all paralyzed in an instant, and their wings were torn off!
"What is going on? What kind of cat can be so powerful?" Huang Biao felt terrible.

I suspected at first that he was an expert, then I thought he was a rookie, but now I see that he is an unparalleled master!
They were all fifth-grade, and the Golden-Winged Lion was at mid-fifth-grade. Its bloodline was at the sixth level, but it was killed in one second by a cat?
Not to mention Huang Biao and Zhao Xing were a little surprised now.

"Is Aotian Miao stronger? Or are those golden-winged lions weaker?"

"How powerful is the combat capability of a mountain cat that has consumed countless spiritual energy? This really touches on my blind spot in knowledge..." Zhao Xing thought silently.

He had never seen such a cat in his previous life. Who would use so much spiritual energy to feed a cat? That would be too extravagant.

In the Gemini Dragon Horse Prison, Zhao Xing seldom practiced with Shanmao, because his clone could not defeat him and the original body had too much to do.

"Aotian, I seem to have seriously underestimated your fighting ability." Zhao Xing discovered this.

"Meow~" The mountain cat lay on Qingluan's back and licked its paws.

Zhao Xing changed the question: "Aotian, when we were leaving the city just now, were you afraid of those big guys lying on the city wall?"

Aotian stood up and looked back at the city wall. At this time, he could only see the vague shadow of the Emperor Crocodile.

A ray of light flashed in Aotian's eyes, reflecting the appearance of the Emperor Crocodile.

The mood also became excited.

You mean this big fish? Are we going to eat it?
"eat?"

Zhao Xing in Kaiyang Stadium was suddenly shocked.

Not only is the bobcat not afraid, it also wants to eat the Deinosuchus?

"You are so awesome, why do you still need a flag? Come on, let's go back to the city and eat fish!"

　It’s late, sorry, I haven’t returned to the underworld yet. I’ll write 12,000 words today and more tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)