Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 396 The Night in the Capital
At an altitude of 10,000 meters, the plane flew smoothly, and outside the window was a boundless sea of ​​clouds, which looked like a huge white glacier under the moonlight.

Inside the cabin, the lights were adjusted to a soft, warm yellow.

Zhang Hao, dressed in a suit, stood at the front of the aisle, holding a thin electronic tablet in his hand, with his usual bright smile on his face.

He first subtly winked at Chen Yuan, like a student being punished by the teacher and forced to stand on the podium, exchanging glances with his best buddy in a solemn atmosphere. Then he cleared his throat, his clear and infectious voice echoing throughout the cabin:

"Excuse me, everyone, let me briefly explain our upcoming match schedule."

He swiped the tablet, and a clear schedule was projected onto the bulkhead screen.

"After we arrive in the capital, there are still six days before the official opening of the conference. The association has booked a dedicated training ground and battlefield for us, so everyone can conduct adaptive training and tactical adjustments according to their own needs."

"The opening ceremony of the Donghuang Tournament is scheduled for 2 p.m. on February 5 at the Imperial Capital Central Arena."

Zhang Hao emphasized, his voice serious: "All participants need to be on time. The opening ceremony will feature a grand song and dance performance, as well as skill demonstrations by rare pets from all over the country. It will be very exciting and not to be missed."

Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he nodded and continued swiping the screen:
"The main event will officially begin at 9:00 AM on February 6th, starting with a seven-day points-based competition phase."

Finally, when they heard the main topic, everyone sat up straight, their expressions becoming noticeably more focused.

"The points-based tournament rules stipulate that each player will play two matches per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The final ranking of players who advance to the next round of the knockout stage will be determined based on their wins and performance points."

Zhang Hao's gaze swept over the crowd, and he reminded them at the right moment: "The schedule will be very tight, so please be prepared both mentally and physically."

"Of course, I think it shouldn't be difficult for anyone here to advance to the knockout stage."

Upon hearing this, laughter erupted in the cabin, but a few beast tamers kept their faces tense and their expressions serious.

The Donghuang Tournament brings together outstanding beast tamers from all over Donghuang. Each contestant is a top performer in their respective region, making it extremely difficult to stand out from the crowd.

There are over a thousand participants in the Donghuang Tournament, but only sixty-four spots are available for the knockout stage, meaning that the vast majority of participants will be eliminated during the points-based stage.

Of the thirty or so people present, perhaps only one or two will ultimately be able to advance.

"After the qualifying rounds conclude, we'll have a day of rest on February 13th." He paused, letting everyone process the information, before continuing...
"Then the knockout stage will begin on February 14th. The knockout stage will last for five days and will be a single-elimination tournament until the final eight are determined."

"After the top eight are determined, there will be another day of rest the following day. The final match will begin on February 20th and last for three consecutive days until the champion is decided."

Zhang Hao concluded by saying, "The entire conference will be quite long, so I hope everyone will make good use of their time and stay in top condition. I will send the schedule to your communication devices so you can check it at any time."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Some whispered to their companions, while others closed their eyes, seemingly simulating the race in their minds.

A tense yet expectant atmosphere quietly filled the cabin.

The night was deep, and the plane landed smoothly at the capital airport.

The group boarded a bus arranged by the association, passed through the brightly lit and bustling streets of the capital, and finally arrived at their hotel – the Genting International Hotel.

The hotel is magnificent, resembling a crystal palace. The floors are covered with soft, thick Persian carpets, and the walls are decorated with huge oil paintings by famous artists, featuring themes of pet animals.

Chen Yuan's room was a luxury suite.

He swiped his card to enter, and the sensor lights automatically turned on, illuminating the spacious living room, comfortable bedroom, and bathroom with separate wet and dry areas.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows is the dazzling night view of the capital city, with neon lights flashing like a cascading galaxy.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
The next moment, several figures appeared impatiently in various parts of the room.

Egg peeked out from Chen Yuan's sleeve, then curiously hovered in front of the French windows. Its dragon eyes were fixed on the unprecedented and dazzling cityscape at night, and its little mouth opened slightly as it exclaimed in amazement, "Aww~"

Immediately, it waved its dragon claw, raised its head, and stared intently for a long time: "Roar!"

Excellent, excellent! Once I rule the farm, I will make this my own territory!

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan joked, "Then you'd better be careful. The capital is a place where hidden talents abound, and you might not be the only true dragon."

"hold head high?"

Egg was stunned for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something. It lowered its eyes, tensed its body, and bared its teeth, roaring, "Roar!"

Are those guys here?
Damn!

I am still young and cannot afford to clash with them!
The next moment, Egg darted back into Chen Yuan's sleeve, as if it had lost interest in the world outside the window.

Seeing Egg's unusual reaction, Chen Yuan blinked, slightly puzzled.

At the same time, Youmi transformed into a purple lightning bolt and instantly darted onto the enormous sofa that looked incredibly soft.

It excitedly rolled around on it several times, then carefully stroked the smooth leather surface with its paws, looking completely satisfied: "Coo-choo!"

I hereby declare this place to be the territory of Lord Youmi!
Nobody can take it from me!
The Morning and Evening Flower Fairy landed lightly on the coffee table in the center of the living room, glanced around at the tidy environment, and nodded in satisfaction.

Then a few wisps of golden dust carrying a sense of tranquility were sprinkled down, and the green plants in the room swayed gently, shimmering with a verdant glow.

Immediately afterwards, Chenmu Huaxian brought Chen Yuan's phone, opened the video on poison-related insights that she hadn't finished watching, and became engrossed in it.

Cola strolled around the room with cheerful steps, her nose twitching slightly. Only after confirming that there were no unfamiliar or dangerous signs did she feel at ease and lie down on the carpet by the door, but her ears remained alert and perked up.

"Ow!"

After a while, Cola felt a little bored. It turned its head and saw that its owner was resting with his eyes closed. It grinned and tiptoed closer to the bed.

With a clenched jaw, Cola bit the blanket on the bed and pulled hard, dragging the blanket off the bed to the ground, then slowly approached Chen Yuan.

"What?"

After becoming a Morning Star Beast Tamer, Chen Yuan's senses were far superior to before. He was fully aware of the subtle movements in the room, and when Cola approached, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Ow!"

The cola was startled. Its eyes widened, and it took several steps back as it released its mouth.

Chen Yuan lowered his gaze and saw the blanket lying on the ground. He then looked up at the embarrassed Cola and smiled slightly: "Our Cola is being so thoughtful today?"

"Ow~"

Cola tilted its head back triumphantly, then pounced on Chen Yuan, its hot, wet tongue slapping against Chen Yuan's cheeks.

not good!

It's a tongue-licking attack!
"Okay, you're ambushing me."

"watch out!"

The spark landed gracefully on the curtain rod, overlooking the room from above. It could see the playful antics of a person and a dog, but its gaze remained indifferent before it looked away with a hint of disdain.

The little ones were fascinated by everything here, but they quickly found their own comfortable spots and began to adapt to their temporary "home." After a short rest, Chen Yuan left the room for dinner.

Dinner was a buffet at the revolving restaurant on the top floor of the hotel, with a wide variety of dishes and exquisite ingredients.

Here, Chen Yuan saw Amei and Shitou wolfing down their food. They sat quietly next to Huo Hong, but devoured their meal in a flash, leaving the nearby waiters stunned.

Each participant in this Donghuang Conference will have two accompanying persons, and the association will reimburse their food and accommodation expenses.

Huo Hong thus took two apprentices with him.

Well, with these two little guys around, we could easily break even just by eating at a buffet.

Shi Gang, on the other hand, brought along his younger brother Shi Yu, as well as Shi Yu's apprentice Su Zhu.

Zhuang Jianbai brought along his teacher Su Yuntao and friend Wang Yuan, and the three of them were sitting together chatting quietly.

As for Xia Heng, he was all alone.

According to rumors, Xia Heng was not actually alone. His family and friends had arrived in the capital in advance by private jet and were staying at a hotel in the capital.

Damn rich people.

As for Chen Yuan himself, he originally wanted to bring his grandfather to see the game, but his grandfather insisted on staying in town to watch the game with his old friends, so he had to give up.

After dinner, the contestants went about their own business. Some went out for a night tour of the capital, some went back to their rooms to rest and adjust to the time difference, and a few typical battle fanatics went directly to the training hall attached to the hotel to spar.

Xia Heng walked straight up to Chen Yuan, his eyes burning with fighting spirit:
"Advisor Chen, it's still early. Would you like to go to the training ground for some exercise?"

Having just broken through, he was clearly eager to test his strength, and Consultant Chen, who had defeated him before, was undoubtedly the best choice.

Chen Yuan smiled and shook his head: "Next time, I plan to go out for a walk and get familiar with the surroundings."

After saying that, he left the hotel alone.

Before long, Chen Yuan strolled through the brightly lit and bustling commercial district.

The glass curtain walls of skyscrapers reflect neon lights, outlining dreamlike lines.

Shops line both sides of the street, and huge holographic billboards constantly switch between dazzling images.

He could see promotional elements related to the Donghuang Conference at almost every certain distance:
Some shops displayed posters of the convention's mascot in their windows;

A huge electronic screen scrolled through introductions and highlights of this year's popular contestants;
Many pedestrians were even wearing T-shirts printed with the names of the contestants they supported or various pets, creating a festive atmosphere in the air.

Walking down the bustling street, Chen Yuan could even clearly hear several young people passing by excitedly discussing related topics:
"Hey, who do you guys think is the best?"

"That goes without saying, just blindly support Li Tianyun, he's the hottest contender for the championship."

"I don't think so. Ye Sheng is the first Morning Star Beast Tamer in our Eastern Empire. Li Tianyun can't possibly take advantage of him."

"Actually, it's not just the capital city; there are many talented players in other provinces as well."

"Wow, take Chen Yuan from Qin Province, for example. I heard he's a genius researcher and quite famous online."

Upon unintentionally hearing his own name, Chen Yuan's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, and he continued walking forward.

Along the way, his sleeve would occasionally twitch slightly. Egg couldn't suppress its curiosity and kept trying to peek out at the bizarre world outside, only to be gently pressed back down by Chen Yuan's finger.

Meanwhile, the invisible Youmi was like a wild horse, excitedly running around everywhere.

This troublesome little guy flew to the roadside barbecue stall with its tempting aroma and greedily sniffed it.

A moment later, I was drawn to a child's bright red, shiny candied hawthorn and followed him silently.

When the child holding the candied hawthorn stopped in his tracks, ready to take a bite, Youmi finally couldn't resist.

It quietly revealed a blurry outline, stretched out its little paw, and gently patted the child's shoulder.

The child turned around in confusion, only to see a big, crescent-shaped, furry purple monster staring intently at the candied hawthorn in his hand, its pink little tongue already sticking out.

"Youmi!" Chen Yuan spoke up just in time, his tone carrying a hint of helpless amusement, "Stop fooling around, I'll buy it for you."

With a "squeak," Yumi instantly retracted her tongue and became completely invisible again, leaving the little child scratching his head in confusion.

"what?"

"What was that just now?"

A short while later, Chen Yuan led Youmi to the cart selling candied hawthorns. Looking down, he saw the bright red hawthorns coated in glistening syrup, looking especially tempting under the light.

"Boss, come on."

He paused for a moment, then asked the children if they wanted to eat candied hawthorns.

The cola left in the pet space was not to be enjoyed, and Spark had never been interested in such things, so Chen Yuan looked at the Dawn and Dusk Flower Fairy in his pocket.

The little creature in its nighttime form remained indifferent, showing no interest whatsoever. It only wanted to get back to the hotel as soon as possible to continue studying the instructional videos.

From the egg hidden in the sleeve came a disdainful dragon's roar: "Roar~"

I am a noble dragon, how could I possibly covet such mundane snacks!
Chen Yuan smiled and said, "Two skewers, please."

A moment later, Chen Yuan took the two strings of candied hawthorns handed to him by the shopkeeper. He then handed one of the strings to the seemingly empty air beside him: "Here, this is yours."

The next second, under the watchful eyes of the old man selling candied hawthorns, a magical scene unfolded: the string of bright red candied hawthorns suddenly floated into the air.

With a "snap," the largest hawthorn fruit at the very top was bitten off by something invisible!

The old man's eyes widened immediately, he rubbed them hard, and his mouth gaped open:
"Oh my god! How did this candied hawthorn skewer suddenly fly up by itself? Is it some kind of ghost?"

Chen Yuan coughed lightly with a hint of apology and whispered to Youmi, "Show yourself, don't scare the old lady."

Yumi reluctantly deactivated its invisibility, tightly hugged the candied hawthorn, revealed its true purple form, and then grinned at the old man.

The old man breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest: "Oh dear, it's just a little pet! It gave me quite a fright. This little guy is really naughty!"

After paying, Chen Yuan and Youmi, who was happily munching on a string of candied hawthorns bigger than its head, continued their stroll through the bustling night market.

While eating, Youmi would occasionally make faces at the curious passersby, eliciting good-natured laughter from them.

The night in the capital city flows slowly amidst the sweet and sour aroma of candied hawthorns and the lively hustle and bustle of the surroundings.

(End of this chapter)