Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ever since the Cataclysm, the world had become a much bigger place, making it even more difficult to travel from one corner of the planet to another than before.
This was one of the reasons why not many foreigners could be seen in Huaxia.
Something hissed behind Gao Peng. Turning around, he found himself face to face with a huge black anaconda.
Gao Peng took a few steps back from it.
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” said Gao Peng to Jun Moyi.
Jun Moyi was standing beside her Black Anaconda, carrying two bags of drinks and snacks in her hands.
She looked at Gao Peng curiously, wondering how a non-contestant had managed to get in here. Then she decided that it was none of her business and simply walked away.
Gao Peng continued strolling among the mountain villas. Every time he came across a familiar in his path, he would look up its stats in the dataframe and try to memorize its strengths and weaknesses.
I’m just doing this out of curiosity, he thought to himself.
Though familiars were monsters by nature, long-term coexistence with humans had rendered them less savage than monsters in the wild.
Pop! Not far away, a four-foot-tall creature suddenly pounced on a snake-like creature and slapped it in the face, leaving three scratch marks on it.
The snake was more than 26 feet long, its body was green, and it was covered with overlapping scales.
[Monster Name]: Mephisto Serpent
[Monster Level]: Level 29
[Monster Grade]: Excellent
[Monster Ability]: Toxicity Level 1
[Monster Attribute] Poison
[Monster Weakness]: 1. Dark-type 2. The sap of a Jade Spider Plant can cause extreme irritation to its nostrils.
The Mephisto Serpent opened its mouth wide and released a poisonous vapor into the air, then lunged at the honey badger that had attacked it. However, it missed.
The poisonous vapor had condensed into harmless droplets of liquid on the honey badger’s fur. A white smoke issued into the air as they dripped onto the ground.
[Monster Name]: Golden-backed Honey Badger
[Monster Level]: Level 27
[Monster Grade]: Excellent
[Monster Ability]: Poison Immunity Level 2
[Monster Attribute]: Gold
Half a minute later, a couple of workers arrived at the scene and tried to put a stop to the fight between the two familiars.
After noticing Gao Peng standing in a corner, one of the workers asked, “Are they your familiars?”
“No,” said Gao Peng shaking his head.
Ignoring Gao Peng, the workers ordered their own familiars to try to keep the Honey Badger and the Mephisto Serpent away from each other while they searched for their trainers.
The honey badger was just as ferocious as the legends described it to be.
Gao Peng had seen the four-foot-tall creature attack the serpent first. The serpent had been lazily basking under the sun when suddenly the honey badger had leapt out of the grass and swiped at its face.
Anyone would have been furious if someone had interrupted their sunbathing session by attacking them for no reason at all.
A honey badger’s poor vision was said to be the reason behind its aggressive behavior. To a honey badger, a lion would appear as tame as a kitten, while a snake would seem no more dangerous than an earthworm.
Though the honey badger would have a huge advantage over poison-type creatures like the Mephisto Serpent because of its Poison Immunity ability, it would have a hard time dealing with creatures bigger and stronger than it.
Gao Peng left the place when he was done checking the stats of every familiar in the area.
At first, Gao Peng had been hesitant about coming here. There were bound to be a number of dark horses, especially when high school students were concerned. After all, high school students had always been the main characters of stories published in pre-Cataclysm sites like Qidian. However, Gao Peng had only spotted a few, and none of them seemed to pose a threat to him, so he left the mountain villas with a skip in his step.
On the day of the World Youth Trainer Championships, dazzling displays of light shone on the stage, which had only been constructed only six months before.
The entire place was as big as a football field. Eight layers of bulletproof fiberglass walls were erected around the field to ensure the audience’s safety. A roof had been set up over the stands. However, the field would be completely exposed to the elements. Any respectable trainer should have been able to adapt themselves to any weather.
Four huge screens had been set up in the air.
The field was covered with tiles made of a mixture of white jade and basalt. This mixture would be sturdy enough to withstand a Commander-tier monster’s attacks. Its high density was the reason why it was so difficult and expensive to harvest and mold.
The usage of this material not only represented the wealth and influence of the Huaxia region, but also how much emphasis the Huaxia region placed on this momentous occasion.
At seven o’clock in the morning, the audience had already begun flocking into the arena.
The white jade and basalt tiles gleamed in the early morning light.
The place grew noisier as the audience filled the stands.
Reporters could be seen reporting on the occasion around the place.
“This is Han Yunzhen of Xinan News reporting live from the World Youth Trainer Championships. As you can see, there is a crowd growing in the stands behind me…”
“This is Magical Capital News. The audience is now waiting with bated breath for the main event to begin…”
Half an hour later, huge trucks stopped at the entrance of the stadium. Then, contestants came out of the trucks in brightly-colored uniforms alongside their familiars.
Some seemed fierce, some seemed elegant, and one in particular seemed a bit too free-spirited.
An albino gorilla excitedly entered the arena and removed the cape it was wearing, revealing a rather unsightly part of itself to the public.
“Andrew, we’re now on global television. Keep your familiar under control, will you?” a girl said to a blonde boy with freckles.
The boy named Andrew quickly pulled back his familiar and whispered to it, “White King, please behave yourself.”
The albino gorilla scratched its head. Did I do something wrong?
The contestants entered the waiting area, which was located on the edge of the field.
The hour hand of electronic clock on the huge screen above the stadium was now finally pointing at the number eight.
A bell chimed overhead, followed by drumrolls and a melodious tune that reverberated across the field.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first ever World Youth Trainer Championships!” said the host, who had appeared on the stage.
