Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The next day, Gao Peng followed Zhou Tianmin to the capital’s Purple Sea District.
There was a purple lake that as big as the sea located there. That was where the name came from.
The Monster Trainer League’s Huaxia Region’s headquarters was located in the Purple Sea District.
They entered the Monster Trainer League building using a private entrance. This entrance was usually not accessible to most people; only certain important people were able to use it.
“Regarding the issue with you being a referee, both Old Ye and I approve, but Old Ping Jiang from Japan doesn’t agree.” Zhou Tianmin shock his head as he spoke.
Old Ping Jiang?
Gao Peng tried to match that name with people that he knew. In the end, he could only think of Ping Jiang Men, one of the 12 elders of the Monster Trainer League.
“You’re simply too young. Actually, you aren’t so different from the contestants in age.” Zhou Tianmin laughed.
Gao Peng thought to himself, Of course, there isn’t a big difference, I was a contestant who withdrew.
“That’s why Old Ping Jiang doesn’t think you’re suitable for the role. He wants someone who’s more steady and calm as a referee.”
Gao Peng stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. In such cases, whatever he said would seem inappropriate.
“However, I think that giving that role to a young person would be motivating for those young contestants. Don’t you think so?” Zhou Tianmin stopped walking. There was a very spacious training room in front of them.
The training room was huge, about 30 feet tall. It was almost like a stadium. It was divided into many different sections, with quite a few people training in some of the sections.
Of course, most of them were for familiars to train in. There were also sections that were only for humans, but they were the minority.
“You can rest assured, my boy. It’s just to shut them up.” Zhou Tianmin laughed lightly. “This is Huaxia, after all. What we say goes. They can’t really interfere.”
“Elder.”
“Elder Zhou.”
A few people who knew Zhou Tianmin came to greet him.
Their eyes were filled with awe and respect. It seemed like Zhou Tianmin was a very prominent member of the Monster Trainer League.
Zhou Tianmin waved his hands at them. “You guys can just ignore me. I came here with this young man to conduct a few experiments. Just continue with whatever you were doing.”
Zhou Tianmin’s word spread and people stopped coming over. They gathered into small groups and glanced over in their direction.
A few attractive women wearing sporty tank tops came over. They used towels draped over their shoulders to wipe the sweat off their bodies.
“Grandfather, what brings you here?” asked one of the women as she walked over. She was very tall, wore her hair in a ponytail, and was in a gray tank top and black shorts. Her legs were long and pale.
She curiously looked over at Gao Peng and saw Gao Peng glancing back at her.
Zhou Tianmin laughed, then introduced her to Gao Peng. “This is my granddaughter, Zhou Mengmeng. She’s in her third year at the Imperial University two years ahead of you in school.”
He then turned to Zhou Mengmeng and introduced Gao Peng to her. “You need to call him your little brother. He’s Grandpa Ji’s grandson.”
“Grandpa Ji?” Zhou Mengmeng’s face was blank for a while as she thought. The only Grandpa Ji that her grandfather would speak of so seriously was the Grandpa Ji in Yuzhou.
She only knew that Grandpa Ji and her grandfather were old acquaintances. They would also sometimes call each other on the phone. However, she wasn’t aware of the details of their relationship.
“My name is Zhou Mengmeng,” Zhou Mengmeng greeted Gao Peng. Her eyes turned the shape of crescent moons as she smiled.
“Hello, I’m Gao Peng.” Gao Peng nodded in response.
Zhou Tianmin was happy that Gao Peng could meet his granddaughter. “Don’t look down on your little brother even though he’s two years behind you—the reason he came to the capital was to take part in the World Youth Trainer Championships.”
Zhou Mengmeng nodded, not exactly shocked. With Grandpa Ji’s level of wealth, joining the World Youth Trainer Championships wasn’t a big deal.
The world was very realistic. If one had power and wealth, one would be able to achieve more than others.
The other girls that were with Zhou Mengmeng couldn’t help but glance at Gao Peng. They were also from influential families, but they were nowhere near comparable to Zhou Mengmeng’s status.
Whether it was with his family background or his talent, Gao Peng was able to gain people’s attention. It didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes. The only downside was that he was two years younger than them.
“Good luck. Get a good rank in the competition,” Zhou Mengmeng encouraged Gao Peng.
“He’s not a contestant. He came here as a referee,” Zhou Tianmin said.
“…” Everyone became silent.
Zhou Mengmeng’s eyes suddenly widened. A few of her companions held their breath and looked at Gao Peng in disbelief, as if they were listening to a mythical story.
Zhou Mengmeng wasn’t willing to believe what she had just heard. Gao Peng should be in his first year of university, so he’s probably 20 years old at most. That means that he wasn’t part of the first generation of monster trainers.
However, her grandfather wasn’t someone who liked to make jokes. His face was also very calm when he had spoken. He had shown no indication that he was joking.
That means that… what grandfather said is true?!
But… but… He’s too young.
“I was only able to become a referee thanks to Grandpa Zhou’s help.” Gao Peng bowed towards Zhou Tianmin to show his gratitude.
This meant he was admitting it to be true.
Gao Peng thought for a while and said, “Testing Dumby’s strength would be enough, as long as Dumby showcases his skills well. Da Zi and the others aren’t at high enough levels. They won’t able to shock and awe the students.”
However, Da Zi, Flamy and the others were at very high grades. The lowest was an Epic grade. There were even Legendary grades among them. If it had been just one or two familiars that were of that grade level, people would still attribute it to luck.
If three or four of them were in high grades, people would say that it was due to his grandfather’s immense riches.
But five or six? Could they still say it was due to luck or money alone?
When something reached a certain level, it was obviously not just a matter of luck.
Besides, he’d had Da Zi and Stripey for a long time. This was all information that was readily available.
They hadn’t been carefully selected by his grandfather before being given to him. They were familiars that had belonged to him ever since he was young.
Zhou Tianmin thought for a while and decided to observe Dumby’s test before speaking.
The first task was to test Dumby’s level.
There were staff members who were responsible for video recording. A few special pieces of equipment for the test were brought over.
“There’s no need for so much trouble.” Gao Peng shook his head. He then said softly, “Dumby.”
Dumby heard his master calling and turned over to look at him. The Flame of the Undead in its empty eye sockets was burning. Dumby gave a slight nod, and a white aura suddenly appeared beneath its legs.
The aura wasn’t big. It was only about ten feet wide, and Dumby’s feet were at the center of it.
The aura looked like it had been formed by piecing pieces of bones together. There were some blood-red silk-like things in it that would appear on and off.
A Lord-tier aura could be stored inside one’s body. This was a way Lord-tier monsters, or familiars, showed their powers. At the same time, the aura of Lord-tier familiars would also intimidate lower tier monsters.
It was similar to the aura of intimidation that had been exhibited by dragons in western folklore.
The Lord-tier aura was very calm. However, the people watching felt uneasy.
Zhou Mengmeng felt even more shocked.
She was 21 years old and had been training familiars for three years. However, her highest level familiar was only a high-level Commander-tier monster.
Gao Peng was younger than her by two years, but he had already produced a Lord-tier familiar. How the heck had he trained it? Zhou Mengmeng couldn’t figure it out, and this greatly affected her own self-confidence.
It wasn’t just Zhou Mengmeng who was affected. What was happening there had attracted the attention of everyone in the training room.
“That… that is a Lord-tier familiar,” a person cried out in surprise.
A Lord-tier familiar was still among the most powerful familiars, no matter the place.
In the middle of the training room was Dumby. He wore a black robe that only exposed a small part of his body. There was no trace of dark bones beneath the black robe that was visible.
Only the white-colored Flame of the Undead and the equally white Lord-tier aura were visible.
Zhou Tianmin was stunned for a while, then a smile formed on his face. “Lord-tier. You, little punk, hid this quite well. Hahaha. I want to see the faces of the people who opposed making you a referee.”
