Lin Fei waved his hand dejectedly and said, "Mumu Wolf, take care of the opponent."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a loud bang erupted beside Lin Fei. When he looked up, Mumu Wolf was nowhere to be seen, and there was no trace of it on the battlefield.
Had it gone invisible?
But Mumu Wolf hadn't learned any invisibility skills.
Hearing the vibration of the iron net behind him, Lin Fei turned his head stiffly, only to see Mumu Wolf lying unconscious beneath the trembling net.
Had Mumu Wolf been knocked back and crashed into the net?
No, that couldn't be.
How could Mumu Wolf be sent flying by a tiny Slime?
It must be an illusion.
Wait, this Slime must know illusion magic and dragged me into a hallucination.
Lin Fei pinched his thigh and immediately realized it wasn't an illusion—he hadn't been ensnared by any magic.
Illusion magic is difficult to learn and master, especially in the early stages. A simple pinch to induce pain would break it.
If it wasn't an illusion, then was it real? Had Mumu Wolf been defeated by a single strike from the Slime? How was that possible?
It was hard to accept this reality.
In Beast Tamer matches, if a Pet Beast is defeated, the Beast Tamer loses. But Lin Fei couldn't bring himself to admit defeat.
"I can't lose. Lin the King of the future can't lose his very first match to a worthless Slime."
Holding onto this belief, Lin Fei drew the curved blade from his waist.
"Though I don't know what underhanded trick you used to defeat my Mumu Wolf, as long as I'm still standing, the match isn't over."
Hearing this, Li Cunxu's face darkened.
Underhanded trick? It was clearly your own carelessness. You didn't even watch the match and missed seeing the Water Orb defeat Mumu Wolf, so now you accuse me of using dirty tactics?
Fine, if that's how you want to play, I won't hold back.
Li Cunxu said coldly, "Water Orb, take him down."
Xiao Ruan spat out a Water Orb. Lin Fei wanted to show off his skills and use the famous Forest Gait of the Lin family to dodge the orb, but it was too fast. Before he could move out of the way, it struck his face, instantly knocking him down.
The referee announced, "If you don't get up within ten seconds, you lose the match."
"1."
"2."
…
"10."
"Lin Fei loses."
Li Cunxu was puzzled. Humans aren't as physically resilient as Pet Beasts, so he had deliberately instructed Xiao Ruan to hold back, only knocking Lin Fei down. Logically, Lin Fei should still be conscious and able to stand, but why hadn't he?
He could have stood up, but Lin Fei knew it was pointless. The Slime's Water Orb was simply too powerful.
He couldn't win. Wuwu!
Lin Fei lay on the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The future Lin the King had been defeated, and by a Slime no less. This was a stain on his life that he could never erase.
As the match ended and people were allowed onto the field, Li Anle rushed in, jumped up, and hugged Li Cunxu's neck, shouting, "Yay! Big brother won! He beat that arrogant guy!"
Hearing this, Lin Fei cried even harder.
Li Cunxu gently pinched Li Anle's nose and chuckled, "You little rascal."
There was another match in the afternoon. The preliminary rounds consisted of ten matches spread over five days, with the top 256 performers advancing to the main event.
In the afternoon match, Li Cunxu won effortlessly, leaving his opponent in stunned disbelief.
Li Anle lifted Xiao Ruan and spun around, exclaiming, "Xiao Ruan, you're amazing! I want to contract a Slime just like you!"
Sigh, how many times had he explained it? Slimes aren't strong; it's the talent that matters. But Li Anle just wouldn't listen.
Of course, this also has to do with the adorable appearance of Slimes. What girl could resist a cute yet powerful Slime?
It's better to guide than to block.
Li Cunxu said, "I know of a very interesting Slime. When the time comes, I'll let you form a contract with it."
That was a particularly special Slime, one that even a king would be moved by.
"Yay!"
"But before that, you're not allowed to contract with any other Slimes, or else I won't help you find it."
"Mm-hmm."
Returning to the ranch, Li Cunxu received some good news.
The Mech Hunter pointed to a pile of packages and said, "Boss, your delivery has arrived."
Li Cunxu tore open the outer cardboard packaging—it was the Slime Terrarium he had ordered.
Summoning Xiao Ruan and releasing the Mini Slimes from the Slime Terrarium, he fed them diluted Breeding Potion.
The next morning.
Li Anle, barefoot, ran into the bedroom and shook Li Cunxu awake.
"Brother, after one night, the number of Mini Slimes hasn't increased."
"Really?"
Li Cunxu got up, counted them, and indeed, the number hadn't changed. After pondering for a while, he slapped his right fist into his left palm.
"I see! The seller must have given the Mini Slimes Sterilization Potion. No wonder they're the only ones selling Mini Slimes online."
Sterilization Potion prevents Mini Slimes from reproducing, making it impossible for others to breed them. This way, the Slime Terrarium becomes the seller's exclusive business.
A form of monopoly.
Li Cunxu thought, "No wonder they dare to sell the Slime Terrarium at such a high price."
A box containing five Mini Slimes, with a standard decorative Slime Terrarium, was being sold for 255.
"I've learned something. I'll do the same."
Li Cunxu decided to sell his Winged Slimes in the same way.
Previously, Li Cunxu hadn't paid much attention to selling Winged Slimes. He had registered an online store but never listed the Winged Slimes because it was too easy for others to copy the business.
After all the effort to promote and make Winged Slimes popular, someone could just buy a few from Li Cunxu, use diluted Breeding Potion on them, and easily start the same business.
It was quite unfair.
Li Cunxu made up his mind to go to the Pet Beast Hospital tomorrow to buy some Sterilization Potion and then list the Winged Slimes in his online store.
"Brother, what should we do? If the Mini Slimes don't multiply, Xiao Ruan's Shrink skill won't be of any use."
"It's simple."
Li Cunxu laughed, then stepped on all the Mini Slimes, killing them.
Li Anle was puzzled. "Brother, what are you doing?"
"Did you forget? Xiao Ruan can revive them."
"Oh, right! After revival, they won't be affected by the Sterilization Potion anymore and can reproduce normally, bypassing the Sterilization Potion."
Li Anle was aware of Xiao Ruan's Soul Kingdom talent, as Li Cunxu hadn't kept it from her.
Today's two preliminary matches were still easy, both resolved with a single Water Orb.
Li Cunxu checked the time.
2:02 PM.
The morning preliminaries had started at 9:00 AM, and the afternoon ones at 2:00 PM.
"Only two minutes delayed, and it's already over."
Li Cunxu said to Li Anle, "Let's go! It's time to head to the Sacred Lotus Li Family."
Li Anle's mood immediately dropped.
The ancestral home of the Sacred Lotus Li Family was a quaint, ancient courtyard.
At the entrance of the old house stood two guards, with two majestic Majestic Golden Lions lying at their feet.
The guards noticed Li Cunxu and Li Anle and became alert.
"This is the ancestral residence of the Li family. Please halt your steps."
The overwhelming pressure from the other party caused Li Cunxu to involuntarily take a few steps back.
The gatekeeper's presence was incredibly strong.
Is he a Bronze-level Beast Tamer? Or perhaps a Silver-level Beast Tamer?
(End of Chapter)