The Samsara Karma Fire dealt greater damage to the undead, and slightly less to other pet beasts. However, it was still a quasi-divine skill, and its damage output far surpassed other fire-based skills.
Furthermore, although Youyou's growth level was Lord-tier, it was infinitely close to General-tier. If it weren't for Zheng Dong's physical condition, it would have likely already reached General-tier.
As a result, the power of the released Samsara Karma Fire was even greater.
Cao Teng and the others' pet beasts struggled to resist, falling into the sea of fire and writhing in pain.
This scene also shocked Li Yang, who had maintained a calm demeanor, as he stared at the large screen.
A quasi-divine skill, Samsara Flame!
Li Yang immediately felt a pang of envy for Zheng Dong.
None of his pet beasts had mastered a quasi-divine skill.
Moreover, Samsara Flame was a very powerful quasi-divine skill, with historical records indicating that only pet beasts in the Mythological Era and Totem Era had mastered it.
Professor Xue Yin, though she had heard about it from her son He Bin, was still very surprised to witness it firsthand.
As for Professor Huang Cheng, he adjusted his glasses and analyzed:
"The Death Spirit Tower itself is a legendary resource, and some even speculate it's a mythical resource. It's within reason for the awakened heroic spirit to possess a quasi-divine skill.
The question is whether Zheng Dong can utilize the Death Spirit Tower to pass Qin Emperor's trial and obtain Qin Emperor's遗迹 (relic)."
As a professor from the Relic Bureau and an archaeologist, Professor Huang Cheng was very eager for someone to decipher the Qin Emperor's遗迹.
Meanwhile, the team leaders from major cities like the Imperial Capital and Magic City couldn't stand by any longer. If this continued, Cao Teng and the others would be crippled by Zheng Dong.
Thus, Fu Tong, the vice president of the Imperial Capital Beast Tamer Association, said:
"Legendary Li Yang, you can't let Zheng Dong act recklessly. People will die!"
"That's right, Cao Teng and the others are all geniuses. We can't afford to lose them!" the team leader from Magic City chimed in.
However, Li Yang ignored their pleas.
"This is a competition, and competitions must follow the rules. I trust Zheng Dong; he knows what he's doing and won't go overboard."
Zheng Dong, of course, had no intention of killing. He merely wanted to temporarily incapacitate Cao Teng and the others from competing for the badges.
Afterward, he stopped releasing the Samsara Karma Fire, allowing Cao Teng and the others to catch their breath.
Just as Cao Teng and the others had recovered, Xiao Zi, who had been dormant, detonated the strange bombs it had condensed underground.
After using spatial teleportation, Xiao Zi had continuously condensed clones and burrowed them underground to create strange bombs.
However, no one had noticed Xiao Zi's cloning movements.
With the detonation of the strange bombs, Cao Teng and the others were knocked unconscious, and wouldn't be recovering anytime soon.
This immediately enraged Fu Tong, the vice president of the Imperial Capital Beast Tamer Association.
Unfortunately, everything was within the rules, so he could only vent his anger with words and dared not take any further action.
Next, Zheng Dong condensed numerous clones and, along with Xiao Zi's clones, began searching for badges.
With so many clones searching together, the speed increased significantly.
Before long, Zheng Dong had collected 18 badges.
The remaining 6 were found by others.
Zheng Dong had no intention of snatching them. He found an open area and waited for other participants to come and compete with him for the badges.
Soon, Wang Hao arrived.
Wang Hao had been unlucky today. Several times he had almost found a badge, only to have it snatched by someone else or to miss it accidentally.
It wasn't until he received a notification from the Phantom Emperor that he learned all the badges had been found, and Zheng Dong possessed 18 of them.
Therefore, he rushed to find Zheng Dong first.
"Classmate Zheng Dong, what will it take for you to give me a badge?" Wang Hao asked.
He knew he was no match for Zheng Dong and had no intention of fighting for them.
Of course, this somewhat deviated from the original intent of the competition.
However, Zheng Dong didn't mind.
He had the badges and could give them to whomever he pleased.
Wang Hao ranked third, which meant he was eligible for a badge.
Thus, Zheng Dong said:
"I can give you a badge, but when others arrive, you have to help me hold them off!"
Wang Hao was stunned. Although he didn't know what Zheng Dong was planning, he could accept helping to hold off a few people.
Soon, more and more people gathered.
However, none dared to make a move.
After all, Cao Teng and the others had been defeated by Zheng Dong. Who else could be Zheng Dong's opponent?
Moreover, Zheng Dong had also recruited Wang Hao.
This further diminished the confidence of the lower-ranked participants to compete with Zheng Dong for badges.
Fortunately, these people weren't foolish.
Someone immediately spoke up and asked:
"Classmate Zheng Dong, having so many badges is useless to you. Why don't you sell them to us?"
Zheng Dong's eyes lit up as he looked at the speaker, a胖子 (fat guy) who bore some resemblance to Ning Wei. The name tag on his chest read Feng Du - Pang Jian.
However, this was a competition, and selling them directly might not look good to Legendary Li Yang and the others.
After some thought, he said:
"Classmate Pang Jian, this is a competition. Given our previous relationship, I could give you one!"
Pang Jian was a bit confused. He had never met Zheng Dong before, so what previous relationship could they possibly have?
Fortunately, he quickly reacted and chuckled sheepishly,
"Heh heh, that would be great."
Then, he walked over to Zheng Dong, and they extended their hands, secretly negotiating prices like old friends who hadn't seen each other in years, laughing and joking.
Finally, Pang Jian grudgingly offered 200 Ethereal Stones and took a badge from Zheng Dong, standing behind him.
In this way, Zheng Dong not only gained Ethereal Stones but also indirectly recruited Pang Jian.
With Pang Jian setting an example, others also took turns negotiating with Zheng Dong, fearing they would miss out if they waited too long.
Zheng Dong wasn't greedy, selling each badge for 200 Ethereal Stones, with immediate transactions and no credit.
Many participants who hadn't brought enough Ethereal Stones to the competition were filled with regret.
They had never imagined that a spot to enter the Qin Emperor's遗迹 would be so close.
Ultimately, Zheng Dong had 18 badges. He gave one to Wang Hao, used one himself, and sold the remaining 16, earning 3200 Ethereal Stones, worth hundreds of millions of Dragon Yuan.
This even surprised Zheng Dong; he hadn't expected the competition to be a way to earn money.
Moreover, he had also won over a group of geniuses. Even if Cao Teng and the others recovered, they could only accept their fate.
Seeing this, Legendary Li Yang couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
He had never anticipated that Zheng Dong would be able to play this competition in such a creative way, and without violating any rules.
This forced him to consider that if there was a next time, the rules would definitely need to be revised to prevent someone like Zheng Dong from exploiting loopholes.
On the other side, Shen Bing found a badge on her own. Shen Xue was less fortunate, but she managed to snatch a badge from an unlucky participant.
As Legendary Li Yang announced the end of the competition, Zheng Dong and the others all qualified to enter the Qin Emperor's遗迹 space.
On the rostrum, Legendary Li Yang said:
"Congratulations to all the students who obtained badges. However, this is just the beginning. Next, you will need to face the trials of the Qin Emperor's遗迹. These trials will not only test your combat abilities but also your skills in pet beast evolution, nurturing, and other aspects.
Therefore, Professor Xue Yin will provide you with intensive training in relevant nurturing knowledge. I hope some of you can pass the Qin Emperor's遗迹 trials and obtain the Qin Emperor's inheritance.
Additionally, as our Yanhuang has signed agreements with other countries for joint exploration of relics, besides you, six foreign geniuses will also enter the Qin Emperor's遗迹."
Zheng Dong hadn't expected that the foreign geniuses didn't participate in this selection because they could directly enter.
In fact, these six individuals, from six different countries, were all selected after rigorous trials in their respective nations.
Of course, Yanhuang could also send people to participate in the relic exploration of these countries.
However, the distribution of gains also had its rules.
These six geniuses would have to challenge the top five individuals who qualified for the Qin Emperor's遗迹, Zheng Dong and the others. If they won three consecutive matches, they could take sixty percent of the profits; if they won four consecutive matches, they could take eighty percent; and if they won five consecutive matches, they could take one hundred percent of the profits.
However, this was all contingent on these individuals making some gains within the Qin Emperor's遗迹.
If they gained nothing, they would leave with nothing.
In essence, this challenge match was more like an exchange event for talented beast tamers from various countries, allowing Zheng Dong and the others to witness the caliber of young geniuses from abroad.
Therefore, before entering the Qin Emperor's遗迹, Zheng Dong still had to fight against these individuals.
The next day, Zheng Dong and the other twenty-four participants underwent ranking matches to determine the top five, who were Zheng Dong, Wang Hao, Shen Bing, Shen Xue, and Pang Jian.
Although Pang Jian seemed unreliable, his strength was not bad, after all, he was a genius from Feng Du.
As for Wang Hao, he had already ranked in the top three in the preliminary rounds, so he was naturally skilled.
Subsequently, while cultivating, Zheng Dong also diligently studied nurturing knowledge under Professor Xue Yin.
With the help of memory droplets, Zheng Dong learned quickly.
He even led Professor Xue Yin to mistakenly believe that Zheng Dong was a genius in nurturing.
Zheng Dong also found an opportunity to inquire with Professor Xue Yin about plant symbiosis.
Unfortunately, Professor Xue Yin's research in this area was not as advanced as Principal Yu's in Magic City.
"Zheng Dong, in fact, you don't need to be too anxious. The Mixed-Blood Bureau also has related research and has developed some medications that can alleviate the condition.
Additionally, if you happen to meet the Spirit of the Relic within the Qin Emperor's遗迹 space, you can ask it for information on this matter. This plan was proposed by Qin Emperor, so it's likely that Qin Emperor's research in this area is more in-depth!" Professor Xue Yin said.
Zheng Dong frowned.
He felt he still had to rely on himself!
"Professor Xue Yin, have you been inside the Qin Emperor's遗迹 space? What are the rules for the trials inside?"
"I haven't been inside, but the rules for the trials encountered by each batch of geniuses who entered before were slightly different. Some met the Spirit of the Relic, while others met nothing and were directly eliminated without knowing the reason.
However, it's certain that it's very brutal. Only one person will remain in the end. If they gain Qin Emperor's recognition, they will receive Qin Emperor's inheritance." Professor Xue Yin explained.
Zheng Dong nodded.
This meant that passing the trial didn't guarantee gaining Qin Emperor's recognition.
But what exactly was this Qin Emperor? Was it a heroic spirit or a remnant soul? After so many years, a normal person should have long since died!
Zheng Dong couldn't be bothered to ask further, estimating that Professor Xue Yin wouldn't know either.
Afterward, he left Professor Xue Yin's temporary office, returned to his room, and continued to study materials on plant symbiosis.
Seven days after the finals concluded, the six foreign geniuses and their team leaders arrived at the town. After deliberation with Legendary Li Yang and the others, they decided to commence the challenge matches on the morning of the third day.
The challenge matches would be one-on-one, with no limit on the number of pet beasts and no rules regarding combat.
This meant that auxiliary equipment like pet beast enhancement mechs could be used.
Of course, this was前提 (provided) that their own pet beasts had the potential for armed evolution and had been cultivated in that direction.
Zheng Dong had no immediate plans to arm-evolve his pet beasts.
If he were to contract mechanical-type pet beasts in the future, he might consider it then.
At that time, he might be able to achieve greater combat power by having multiple pet beasts merge through armed evolution.
After two days of preparation, the venue for the challenge matches was also set up.
On the rostrum, in addition to Legendary Li Yang and the others, were the team leaders from various countries, all of whom were legendary beast tamers.
Furthermore, spectator stands were erected on both sides of the rostrum.
The spectators were all the talented beast tamers who had participated in the selection matches and had not yet left the town.
This included Cao Teng and the others, who had been injured by Zheng Dong earlier. They and their pet beasts had also recovered.
The first challenger was the talented beast tamer from Snow Island Country, Dao Yuan Chong.
Dao Yuan Chong was of similar age to Zheng Dong and the others. His skin was very pale, appearing sickly white, giving the initial impression that the child might be suffering from a serious illness.
However, his movements were agile, and his personality was very flamboyant.
He stepped onto the battle stage and politely bowed to everyone.
Then, he provocatively stated:
"To be frank, none of you here are true geniuses. I watched your match videos, and they were a great disappointment, completely failing to pique my interest.
If you insist on me coming up to challenge you, then please send out your strongest!"
Immediately, almost everyone was filled with righteous indignation.
The smiles on the faces of Legendary Li Yang and the others also disappeared.
However, the team leader from Snow Island Country, Legendary Watanabe, did not stop or reprimand Dao Yuan Chong. Instead, he said with a grin,
"My apologies, Dao Yuan Chong is naturally straightforward and likes to speak his mind. I believe the competition should proceed according to the rules. Isn't it just five consecutive wins? It shouldn't take too long!"
Legendary Li Yang frowned.
This Watanabe was truly detestable!
Unfortunately, he couldn't intervene.
He glanced at Zheng Dong's direction.
"Please, don't let me down. Teach this Dao Yuan Chong a good lesson."
Then, he also looked at Legendary Watanabe.
"Videos can't reveal true strength. We'll know for sure when we see it. If Dao Yuan Chong gets discouraged later, don't blame us for being heavy-handed!"
"Hahaha, it would be good for Dao Yuan Chong to get a little discouraged. He hasn't lost since becoming a beast tamer!" Watanabe laughed.
Legendary Li Yang also smiled.
But he felt uncertain and glanced at Pang Jian, who was about to enter the arena.
Pang Jian's strength was decent, but significantly weaker compared to Zheng Dong and Cao Teng.
It was a pity that many top geniuses like Cao Teng had been eliminated by Zheng Dong.
Pang Jian seemed to sense Legendary Li Yang's gaze and felt immense pressure.
He could easily imagine the consequences of losing; everyone around him would likely constantly criticize him.
He even regretted spending 200 Ethereal Stones to buy a badge from Zheng Dong. He now just wanted to sit quietly in the audience and watch others compete.
But it was too late for regrets. He could only grit his teeth and brace himself.
Damn it, I don't believe I can't beat you.
As Pang Jian walked onto the battle stage, the challenge match was about to begin.
All eyes were focused on the two of them.
Many people around were cheering for Pang Jian.
Pang Jian also summoned his pet beasts: the Three-Headed Fire Phoenix, the Crimson Flame Dragon Hawk, and the Flame Spirit.
Except for the Flame Spirit, whose growth level was Commander-tier, the Three-Headed Fire Phoenix and the Crimson Flame Dragon Hawk were both Lord-tier.
It could be said that although Pang Jian had only recently become an intermediate beast tamer, he possessed the strength to contend against many advanced beast tamers.
However, upon seeing the pet beasts summoned by Pang Jian, Dao Yuan Chong became even more disdainful.
He extended a finger and said:
"One minute! I only need one minute to defeat you."