Seeing that the line of beasts wasn’t getting any shorter—in fact, it was only growing longer—Bai Qiu had had enough.
He decided to schedule an intermission.
It would give him a chance to look around the area and see if there was anything worth buying.
After all, plenty of beasts had set up stalls to sell their wares.
An hour later, Bai Qiu left as planned and began browsing the stalls run by the various beast packs, searching for what he needed.
Most of the beasts were selling food.
Only a small number dealt in heavenly treasures and rare natural materials.
And those rare materials were exactly what Bai Qiu was after.
Although he couldn’t use his Appraisal skill, his eyesight was still exceptionally sharp.
No amount of trickery could fool him.
For example, there was an old fox whose entire stall was filled with flashy counterfeits.
Yet it shamelessly claimed they were all “ninety-nine percent genuine rare treasures”—proof that it was ten out of ten, or perhaps nine out of ten, when it came to cunning.
It seemed that the animal world was every bit as deceitful as the human one.
Humans, however, were still leagues ahead in that department.
Of course, even in a cesspool like the Bloodmoon Beast Arena, you could occasionally strike gold.
And Bai Qiu had just found the perfect advancement material for A Yuan.
Origin Crystal Ore.
That’s right—the objects sealed inside those amber-like stones were undoubtedly Origin Crystal Ore!
Unable to hide his excitement, Bai Qiu looked toward the stall owner and asked, “[How many Blood Crystals do you want for these stones?]”
The stall owner was an orange tabby cat with dark stripes.
It had a plump little body, a weathered expression, and a small frame.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary orange tabby.
The cat glanced at Bai Qiu before replying, “[Forget it. These are a gift I’ve been saving for my future boss.]”
“[Huh?]”
Bai Qiu froze.
After asking further, he discovered that the orange tabby planned to use the Origin Crystal Ore to seek the protection of a powerful beast.
As ridiculous as that answer sounded, there was no doubt that, in the orange tabby’s eyes, a two-legged creature like Bai Qiu was simply too weak.
Bai Qiu couldn’t help but laugh.
He looked around the entire Bloodmoon Beast Arena before asking,
“[Then tell me—what kind of strength does someone need to have to qualify as your boss?]”
Naturally, he had no intention of giving up on the Origin Crystal Ore.
There were over a dozen pieces—more than enough to forcibly push A Yuan into the Extraordinary rank.
To avoid making a mistake, Bai Qiu also considered the possibility that this orange tabby wasn’t as ordinary as it appeared, so he cautiously asked what kind of master it had in mind.
The orange tabby raised a paw and pointed toward its preferred candidates.
One look was enough to make Bai Qiu burst into laughter.
The cat clearly had no idea what it was doing.
It simply picked the biggest creatures it could see—large predators, buffaloes, elephants, and even A Yuan and A Yan were on its list of potential bosses.
Seeing that its list ranged from Lord-class all the way to Monarch-class beasts, Bai Qiu smiled and said, “[Then why don’t you come with me instead? See that light-blue snake over there? And that giant turtle? They’re both my companions. Stick with me, and you won’t regret it.]”
Just like that, Bai Qiu and the orange tabby went back and forth, haggling.
But no matter what he said, the cat refused to budge.
Left with no choice, Bai Qiu stood up and prepared to check out the other stalls.
The moment the orange tabby realized he was actually leaving, it panicked.
It quickly called out to stop him.
“[Alright, alright! I’ll trust you this once!]”
As soon as it finished speaking, it opened its mouth and swallowed every piece of Origin Crystal Ore.
At the instant its mouth opened, Bai Qiu sensed a ripple of spatial energy.
His heart skipped a beat.
Just as I thought… this little guy is anything but ordinary.
The orange tabby trotted over on its short little legs, rubbed affectionately against Bai Qiu, and said, “[Got anything to eat? I’m hungry.]”
Bai Qiu casually took out a Nutrient Fruit and handed it over, curious to see how it would eat.
This time, instead of using that mysterious swallowing ability, the cat hugged the fruit in both paws and happily gnawed away, all while purring contentedly.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like an utterly ordinary orange tabby.
But that spatial ability from earlier…
Could it be some temporary spatial ability granted by this place?
Bai Qiu couldn’t make sense of it.
By the time he finished pondering, the chubby little orange tabby had already finished its Nutrient Fruit.
Its figure suddenly blurred.
In the next instant, it appeared on Bai Qiu’s shoulder.
It can even use Blink!
Bai Qiu was now completely convinced.
This little fellow was probably even more extraordinary than he’d imagined.
“[Thank you. I’ll follow you from now on, Boss.]”
The orange tabby’s telepathic voice echoed in his mind.
Bai Qiu was speechless.
Had he known, he would have taken the food out much earlier.
The two of them had spent ages haggling like bargain-hunting aunties at a wet market, only for the whole negotiation to have been a complete waste of time.
Bai Qiu handed the cat a Contract Card and said irritably, “[Orange Tabby, want to make a contract with me?]”
“[A contract? What’s that…?]”
“[If you make a contract with me, I’ll provide all your food and lodging. You’ll travel with me, and I’ll let you out to play whenever we’re not busy. When it’s time to fight or sleep, I’ll keep you inside the contract space.]”
“[Oh, that actually sounds pretty good. Alright, let’s do it!]”
The orange tabby quickly completed the contract with Bai Qiu.
Its Affinity and Loyalty were both fairly low at only 40, but Bai Qiu was still satisfied.
After all, he’d gotten over a dozen pieces of Origin Crystal Ore for free.
At worst, he could just have A Yuan take care of it in the future.
After taking a quick tour of the contract space, the orange tabby came back out on its own and settled onto Bai Qiu’s shoulder.
Bai Qiu was a little surprised that it could freely enter and leave the contract space by itself.
Still, he didn’t think much of it and continued browsing the marketplace with the cat on his shoulder.
Along the way, he found quite a few more treasures—some that A Yuan needed and others that were suitable for A Yan.
He bought everything.
By the end, he’d spent a total of 120,000 Blood Crystals, leaving the orange tabby utterly stunned.
“[Could it be… you’re actually a powerhouse?]”
The orange tabby stared at Bai Qiu in disbelief.
One hundred and twenty thousand Blood Crystals…
That was more wealth than even most contestants fighting on ordinary Monarch-class arenas possessed.
Bai Qiu was clad in iron armor with a cloak draped over it, so the orange tabby could only make out the outline of his head and limbs, not his actual face.
“[Guess.]”
In high spirits, Bai Qiu returned beneath A Yan’s arena.
This shopping trip had netted him seven portions of Origin Rock Crystal Ore, three pieces of Star Gold, two Water Source Herbs, and the twelve pieces of Origin Crystal Ore the orange tabby had practically given him for free.
His shopping was over.
He planned to resume treating the injured beasts to earn more Blood Crystals.
Of course, he would keep enough medicine in reserve for himself.
Once the potions he intended to sell ran out, he would stop healing the beasts altogether.
Meanwhile, A Yuan was still continuously challenging and defending the arena.
After fighting for so long, hardly anyone dared challenge it anymore.
After all, A Yuan had already amassed nearly two hundred consecutive victories.
Anyone with even a shred of self-awareness wouldn’t step into the ring against it.
Only the unfortunate newcomers who arrived later, refusing to believe the rumors, insisted on testing themselves against A Yuan.
The outcome was obvious.
They were utterly crushed.
A Yuan had always lacked real combat experience.
After all, while staying by Bai Qiu’s side, it had been like a flower raised in a greenhouse.
Whenever a slightly stronger monster appeared, Bai Qiu would deal with it personally.
But after repeatedly steamrolling opponents in the Bloodmoon Beast Arena, A Yuan’s mastery over its own abilities had improved tremendously.
With every battle, it continued to grow, and its actual combat prowess had undergone a qualitative leap.
Now that no opponents were willing to face it, A Yuan lay sprawled atop the arena platform, slowly turning its head from side to side.
It openly challenged beasts of the same rank.
But by now, those beasts all knew just how terrifying A Yuan was.
So whenever its gaze swept in their direction, they immediately looked away, each one determined to avoid making eye contact.
In short—they were all too scared to fight.
As for A Yan…
Its very first arena defense had now reached the final match.
However, the battle had fallen into a fierce stalemate…
— The end of the Chapter–
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