Amidst the waves of cheers from the spectators in the arena,
A sunny youth in a crisp white outfit quietly appeared beside the Referee.
The youth held a white-haired Loli by the left hand, while hugging a dark Ink Qilin in his arms.
It was Lingering Cloud!
Lingering Cloud had actually been watching all along.
Seeing Lumiya knock out the SSS-level Nether Rift Panther with just one punch, even his usually cheerful face turned serious.
Are Lin Xing and I really both at Stage 1? If I remember right, didn’t I break through earlier than Lin Xing?
How did his Lumiya manage to do that?
Unable to resist, he reached out to pat the white-haired Loli beside him. He only withdrew his hand with a sheepish grin after being glared at—and even then, only after she bit him.
The white-haired Loli glared at him with discontent, annoyed that Lingering Cloud always insisted she take on human form in public! And insisted on patting her head!
Did he only feel satisfied if she bit him?
The Ink Qilin in his arms rubbed against his neck, letting out a low whimper in protest at being ignored.
Lingering Cloud chuckled, quickly rubbing the Ink Qilin’s head.
Seeing that Lingering Cloud had stopped bothering her, the white-haired Loli fixed her gaze on Lumiya in the Central Arena.
Why does that dragon look so familiar?
Isn’t that the Evil Dragon that once gnawed on the world’s origin back in my home world?!
Well, it’s a bit smaller… Could it be a descendant of that Evil Dragon?
As the cheers gradually died down, the Referee hurriedly seized the moment before the crowd dispersed to announce the most important news.
He explained that due to Lin Xing’s extraordinary level, having already reached Stage 1 and thus outclassing the other contestants, the competition would grant Lin Xing a special award, while all other contestants would move up a rank.
He then grandly introduced the youth beside him, Lingering Cloud, who, like Lin Xing, had reached Stage 1 during the Newborn Stage, as well as his two Beasts.
Therefore, an extraordinary new match was added to tomorrow’s program—a spectacular Stage 1 Exhibition Match!
With each announcement from the Referee, the crowd’s waning enthusiasm was reignited—this time even stronger!
The moment the Referee’s words ended, the once subdued cheers exploded once again, far louder than before!
Of course, Lin Xing and the other contestants couldn’t hear these cheers anymore.
They’d already slipped away quietly as soon as the ending was announced.
After all, knowing there was no awards ceremony for this round, why stick around?
Lin Xing, holding Lumiya’s hand and with Little Green on his head, walked along with Little White and Snowball following behind.
Instead of heading to the dormitory, their route took them to Commercial Street.
Tonight was a celebration banquet for the two of them, congratulating each other on their achievements!
Lumiya walked at the very front, cotton candy in her left hand, candied hawthorn in her right, her dragon tail held high as she kept turning back to urge the others to hurry up and get to the barbecue.
Little Green perched on Lin Xing’s shoulder, pecking at cotton candy in tiny bites.
She hadn’t been in this world for long, and had only heard Lumiya rave about this or that delicacy—she had never actually tasted any of it herself!
As they neared the renowned Self-Service Sausage restaurant they had reserved well in advance,
The scent at the door wafted over on the breeze.
Smelling the aroma, Lumiya quickened her pace, rapidly stuffing her snacks into her mouth as she urged the group to move faster.
Little White hugged Snowball and followed behind, watching Lumiya’s excited back with a smile she couldn’t suppress.
“We have a reservation.”
Lin Xing shook his head helplessly, quickly catching up to give the reserved contact number.
Once inside, the reputation of the place was well deserved—the meat was almost all Magic Beast Meat, with many Stage 1 cuts, living up to the steep price and the hype.
As soon as Lumiya found a seat, she couldn’t wait to grab the menu and start marking it up, her vertical pupils shining brightly.
“I want the Flame Beef Cubes! And the Black Pepper Dragon Spine! And the Cheese Baked Crab Treasure—give me three orders of that!”
Little Green flapped her wings and landed on the menu, her sharp beak tapping at items, urging Lin Xing to order for her.
“I want this! And this! And this! Ooh~ this too! Lin Xing, hurry, hurry~ order them for me~ I want everything!”
Lin Xing took the menu with a smile and added a few of Little White and Snowball’s favorite sashimi dishes, then turned to the Service Staff.
“Please bring these out as soon as possible.”
Satisfied that everything was in order, Little White added some leafy vegetables and two pitchers of coconut milk.
Blushing, she glanced at Lin Xing and quietly ordered a pitcher of alcohol as well.
When the food arrived, Lin Xing looked a little dazed at the alcohol, while Lumiya’s eyes sparkled.
Barbecue always tastes better with ice-cold beer!
Thousands of years of human memories stirred awake in Lumiya’s mind!
But just as she reached for a drink, Lin Xing stopped her.
“You can’t have that.”
Lin Xing placed his hand on her wrist, raising his brows helplessly.
Lumiya puffed out her cheeks in protest, her dragon tail swishing behind her.
I’ve lived for over a thousand years! What’s wrong with having a bit of wheat juice?!
Though she grumbled inside, she obediently withdrew her hand—after all, on paper she was still just a Beast that had been contracted for barely a month.
As for Little Green, her tiny body scooted over bit by bit, and when Lin Xing wasn’t looking, she took a quick peck at the alcohol.
At once, the whole bird toppled over, wobbling as she collapsed into Lin Xing’s arms.
Her little head spinning, she chirped in a daze: “Tasty!… More!~ More~ want~ drink~!…”