In the mythological legends of the Guangyao Kingdom, the God of Angels was among the first deities born from the World Tree.
Besides the God of Angels, there were also the God of Demons, the God of Sun, and so on.
To bring the God of Angels back to the mortal realm, one needed to harness the power of the World Tree.
The true World Tree had been destroyed in the early mythological era.
The Taylor family would be unable to find the World Tree.
Of course, they also couldn't cultivate a true World Tree.
That would be more difficult than bringing the God of Angels back to the mortal realm.
However, they intended to evolve a pseudo-World Tree and cultivate it to the quasi-divine level, in an attempt to bring the God of Angels back to the mortal realm.
To this end, they had been collecting information and resources related to the World Tree for generations.
As for the one who posted this barrage of comments, it was the legendary Beastmaster, Taylor Fei.
Taylor Fei had come to Yanhuang to lead the young Beastmasters of the Guangyao Kingdom for learning and exchange. He also intended to invite some of Yanhuang's talented Beastmasters to the Guangyao Kingdom.
As the leader of this delegation, he also had a special mission: to recruit some talented Beastmasters from Yanhuang for the Guangyao Kingdom.
And to obtain some of Yanhuang's latest scientific research information, including the future development direction of mechanical pets, research on combined skills of Beastmaster legions, and research on improving and treating humans with plant-type pets, and so on.
Therefore, Taylor Fei was also paying close attention to this national competition.
After all, the Beastmasters participating in the competition were all geniuses from Yanhuang, and they were also the targets of his recruitment.
Taylor Fei's barrage of comments also attracted the attention of several legendary Beastmaster guests in the live broadcast hall.
Wei Shi, the Legendary,'s eyes lit up, as if he had found a key point.
"I knew it looked familiar. Zheng Dong's Elemental Ancient God Tree is indeed being cultivated towards the direction of the World Tree.
One of my students also has a plant-type pet that is very similar to the Elemental Ancient God Tree, but it hasn't been cultivated to the level of the Elemental Ancient God Tree yet, and hasn't mastered skills related to the Elemental Sea."
Wei Shi's words triggered another round of complaints.
"This old scoundrel is thick-skinned enough to say anything!"
"Damn, don't flatter yourself. Your student? It'll probably just be a normal Life Tree."
"What is the Elemental Sea? Did you understand it before you started talking nonsense?"
...
Seeing the barrage of comments popping up, Wei Shi, the Legendary, did not blush and continued to speak.
"Zheng Dong's Elemental Ancient God Tree is indeed very powerful. I guess its racial level is at least high overlord level.
However, even so, to cultivate it into a World Tree, even a pseudo-World Tree, the hope is still slim.
The World Tree was one of the top divine rulers in the mythological era. I advise young Beastmasters with such intentions to give up this idea as soon as possible."
Beside Wei Shi, the Legendary, another legendary Beastmaster wearing glasses also chimed in.
"What Legendary Wei Shi said is true. If you don't have a mine at home, don't even think about cultivating a World Tree. Zheng Dong's Elemental Ancient God Tree must have cost at least one legendary-level resource."
This statement caused more dissatisfaction.
Can't people have dreams?
Zheng Dong's background was also ordinary, wasn't it?
Of course, there were also some who were calmer and agreed with this statement.
Without money, not only can you not cultivate a World Tree, but you can't even cultivate an ordinary monarch-level pet.
The competition continued.
Zheng Dong had already passed twenty-five levels.
He was about seven levels ahead of Bai Ming and others in the second batch.
The further it went, the harder it became.
The distances also gradually widened.
Many Beastmasters were eliminated at the fifteenth level.
Bai Ming reached the nineteenth level.
The environment also changed.
This was an island, and as far as the eye could see was the vast ocean.
Suddenly, the waves rolled, and an Emperor-level Deep Sea Dragon Whale appeared. It roared, and the waves it stirred up exceeded a hundred meters.
As thousands of tons of seawater were about to fall from the sky, submerging the entire island.
Bai Ming's White-eyed Wyvern Emperor flapped its wings, creating gusts of wind that tore through the waves.
Then, with the assistance of Bai Ming's Beastmaster talent, Wind Blessing, the White-eyed Wyvern Emperor dealt with the Deep Sea Dragon Whale.
This level was not easy for the White-eyed Wyvern Emperor, but it was not difficult either.
However, Bai Ming was very confident.
He felt that if he couldn't pass this level, others would have even less of a chance.
After that, he passed several more levels.
The further he went, the harder it became.
He also summoned all his pets.
Besides the White-eyed Wyvern Emperor, he also had an Emperor-level pet, the Azure Phoenix Emperor.
The rest were monarch-level pets.
He stopped at the twenty-fifth level.
He left the virtual battle arena.
He thought he had passed the most levels.
As a result, he found that there were still people challenging, and not just one.
Besides Zheng Dong, there were also Cao Kang, Fan Liang, and the genius Wei Su from Xingdu University.
Wei Su was from the Mechanical Department of Xingdu University and was also a Grandmaster-level Beastmaster.
His contracted mechanical pet, the Earth Strength God Beast, was also Emperor-level.
The Earth Strength God Beast's appearance was somewhat similar to a Hercules Beetle.
Of course, it was much larger than a real Hercules Beetle, and could easily withstand the impact of several high-speed bullet trains, and was not afraid of small forbidden bombs of ordinary yield.
Not only was its defense astonishing, but its own strength was also immense.
Few pets of the same level could match its strength.
Bai Ming frowned, looking at Zheng Dong and the others who had not yet finished the qualifying round.
What was going on?
Hadn't they reached the twenty-fifth level yet?
He still didn't think Zheng Dong and the others were stronger than him, but rather that Zheng Dong and the others were slower in clearing the levels.
However, a scene of being slapped in the face soon arrived.
The big screen in the competition arena updated with the latest results.
First place was still Zheng Dong, who had already passed the thirty-third level.
Cao Kang, Fan Liang, and others in the second batch had also passed the twenty-sixth level.
Bai Ming's face immediately turned ugly.
He looked at the surrounding audience, feeling as if they were mocking him.
No, how could that be?
Bai Ming couldn't believe it was true.
But he also knew that Zheng Dong and the others couldn't cheat.
On the other hand, Hu Maoxue also shook his head helplessly.
Zheng Dong, this beast, was indeed ferocious.
He had only cleared twenty-three levels, while Zheng Dong had already passed thirty-three.
Was the gap that big?
This was probably why the higher-ups valued Zheng Dong!
Hu Maoxue sighed.
When he fought Zheng Dong last time, he never expected the gap between them to widen.
He had even applied to participate in the God-Making Project.
Unfortunately, he had not received a reply from the high-ranking officials of the Fire God Cult yet.
In addition, because he failed to persuade Zheng Dong,
The Fire God Cult decided to send new members to contact Zheng Dong. If they couldn't persuade Zheng Dong to participate in the God-Making Project, they would prepare to force Zheng Dong to join.
As the number of participants clearing levels decreased, the qualifying round also came to an end.
After Bai Ming, Fan Liang and Wei Su were stuck at the twenty-eighth level.
Cao Kang was stuck at the thirtieth level.
As for Zheng Dong, at the thirty-sixth level, he encountered multiple overlord-level Purgatory Titans.
He chose to withdraw, without using his overlord-level combat power.
After all, it was just a qualifying round, and as long as he could ensure he entered the top one hundred, it would be enough.
When he withdrew from the virtual battle arena and returned to reality, he realized that he had cleared too many levels, causing quite a stir.
He was also regarded as a strong contender for the championship by Cao Kang and others.
Some viewers also became his fans because of this.
The cheerleaders from Modu University performed another enthusiastic dance for this.
The cameras on the competition site also focused on Zheng Dong.
The host of the competition also approached Zheng Dong.
"Classmate Zheng Dong, congratulations on winning first place in the qualifying round. You cleared so many levels, did you find this qualifying round difficult?"
"Just so-so!" Zheng Dong replied casually.
This answer seemed to answer the question, but also seemed to answer nothing.
The host did not dwell on it and continued to ask.
"Which match do you think will be more difficult for you in the upcoming competition?"
"They are all about the same!"
"So, you are also very confident about the upcoming competition? Are you determined to win the championship of this national competition?"
The audience at the scene, as well as Di Ying and others in the live broadcast hall, were all waiting for Zheng Dong's answer.
Zheng Dong nodded casually, not wanting to continue answering such boring questions.
Immediately, Di Ying looked at Wei Shi, the Legendary.
"President Wei, what do you think is Zheng Dong's chance of winning the championship of this national competition?"
Wei Shi, the Legendary, thought for a moment.
"Well, Zheng Dong winning first place in the qualifying round only proves that he is very outstanding, but it might not be that easy to win the final championship.
After all, virtual combat is not actual combat.
Zheng Dong's recorded actual combat experience is very limited. He does not have the experience of fighting with the troops of the Totem Kingdom multiple times like Bai Ming, nor does he have the experience of venturing deep into other worlds like Cao Kang and Fan Liang.
The second round of the contention will be conducted in the relic space, and their targets will not only be the extraordinary creatures of the Totem Kingdom but also the captured soldiers who have infiltrated the secret realm from the异兽界.
Therefore, the battles will not be as easy as before."
"So, the second round of contention will not be an advantage for Zheng Dong, but rather an advantage for Bai Ming, Cao Kang, and Fan Liang?" Di Ying said.
Wei Shi, the Legendary, nodded.
Another Legendary beside Wei Shi also chimed in.
"The upcoming battles will likely be very fierce. Zheng Dong's qualification points were entirely due to his Elemental Ancient God Tree.
In the contention, relying solely on the Elemental Ancient God Tree might not be enough."
...
Zheng Dong was unaware of the opinions of the legendary Beastmaster guests in the live broadcast room.
Of course, these guests were also unaware of Zheng Dong's performance in the Qingqiu Totem Kingdom. Those matters had been classified as confidential, and even if known, they would not be spread.
He had already left the competition venue and was preparing to return to the hotel where the Modu University team was staying.
Just as he was about to drive the sports car transformed by Jingjing away.
Two young figures appeared in front of him, they were Shen Bing and Shen Xue.
"Zheng Dong, long time no see!" Shen Xue said generously.
Shen Bing also nodded at Zheng Dong.
Since they all went to college, Zheng Dong had not been in much contact with the two sisters.
After all, he was always exploring or cultivating in various relic spaces.
Even if he occasionally received messages from the two sisters, he missed the time to reply.
"You two aren't waiting for me specifically, are you? Come on, let's find a place to eat and chat!" Zheng Dong said with a smile.
He had saved Shen Bing and Shen Xue, and Shen Bing had helped him awaken Youyou. They were considered life-and-death friends.
"Hmph, who wants to wait for you? We have something to discuss with you," Shen Xue said.
Then, the two sisters got into Zheng Dong's car and drove towards a nearby hotel.
Of course, Jingjing had also transformed back into a sedan.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have fit.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the three of them ate and chatted.
It turned out that the two sisters had discovered a relic space during an adventure.
But they dared not enter and wanted to team up with Zheng Dong to explore it.
"Zheng Dong, this relic space is near a canyon at the border between the Beiming Totem Kingdom and Yanhuang. There are many powerful undead creatures around.
This relic space might also be related to some powerful undead creature.
However, we are not the only ones who know about this relic space; there is also an adventure team that knows about it," Shen Bing said.
"So, this means that many people will soon know about this relic space, and it's not regulated at the border, so many people will explore it?"
Zheng Dong frowned. If the value of the relic space was not high, and many people were exploring it, he would not want to waste his time.
"Yes, perhaps many adventure teams have already rushed over.
But it's not easy to fully explore this relic space. After we came back, we checked a lot of information.
We found that this relic space actually appeared decades ago. And every few decades, it reopens, attracting Beastmasters to explore it. It hasn't been deciphered until now, so there must be many unknown secrets hidden inside," Shen Bing continued.
This piqued Zheng Dong's interest.
Youyou also voluntarily appeared on Zheng Dong's shoulder. In her Taji form, she urged Zheng Dong to agree to Shen Bing and Shen Xue.
She was eager to capture undead puppets.
"Then when do we go?" Zheng Dong asked.
"After the competition," Shen Bing said.
After that, Zheng Dong and Shen Bing and Shen Xue chatted for a while longer.
It was then that he learned that Shen Bing and Shen Xue were key Beastmasters being cultivated by Shendu University, and they had been recommended to join the Shendu Beastmaster Association and the Yanhuang Undead Pet Research Institute.
Given their talent, it was normal for the two sisters to enter the Undead Pet Research Institute.
As a result, the two sisters had come into contact with many special undead creatures, and through their Beastmaster talents of Undead Fusion and Undead Awakening, they continuously evolved their contracted undead pets, gaining even more powerful strength.
After dinner, all three, tired from a day of competition, returned to their respective team hotels to rest.
Two days later, the second round of the individual competition began.
In the qualifying round, the top one hundred contestants were all brought into a relic space.
This was a mythical-level relic space, very large, and even totem-level pets could battle in it without any problems.
Zheng Dong and the others were teleported to a death desert on the relic space.
The ground was gray-black, with gravel and sand everywhere. No plants grew, and not a single green leaf could be seen.
Of course, there was no water source either.
The death desert contained ten thousand extraordinary creatures. The ten people who hunted the most would enter the finals.
These extraordinary creatures were not ordinary wild extraordinary creatures.
They were well-trained and their intelligence was no less than that of humans. They came from either the Totem Kingdom or other worlds.
The intelligence that needed to be interrogated had already been interrogated.
Staying would only waste resources and increase risks.
Therefore, they were chosen as targets for this competition.
After all, these extraordinary creatures had also caused considerable losses to Yanhuang.
Before the competition, these extraordinary creatures had also been starved for a long time.
This meant that even if Zheng Dong and the others did not attack them, they would consider Zheng Dong and the others as food and attack proactively.