However, because of the requirement for a full team lineup, generally the minimum level of participants is a Tier 3 beast tamer.
Occasionally there are a few Tier 2 beast tamers who have unlocked all contract slots early and want to experience the atmosphere.
If their strength is any lower, then going would really just be delivering food.
But overall, this is a very formal competition.
A single division for beast tamers certified between Tier 3 and Tier 5.
From Tier 6 onward, up to Tier 8, each of those three levels has one division.
Altogether, four divisions.
Among them, the Tier 8 beast tamer division is the highest level and also the most worth watching.
It is also the championship match to select the beast tamer with the title of Ace at the Tier 8.
Therefore, the National Beast Tamer Tournament isn't held every year, but once every four years.
It's already been three years since the last competition.
The preliminary round will begin next February.
Even though it's only May now, Asher is already preparing in advance.
Registration is in late December.
With the competition next year, he still has about eight to nine months of time, during which, just how far can he go...
Asher looked at the Little Raven who had fought two matches in the morning and was now lying in the medical pod.
He curled his lips slightly.
Asher was still quite looking forward to it.
Kind of like the final sprint before the college entrance exam... ah, no, because in this lifetime, he never really fought hard for the college entrance exam.
Listening to Asher's words, the boss, who was usually a composed adult, gradually showed a twisted and complicated expression.
"Professor Asher, your future plan is really... really...", The boss struggled for a long time but couldn't come up with anything polite and conventional to say.
Boss: 'Tough! It's really too tough for me.'
"Professor Asher must be trying to challenge himself," Fortunately, the boss had some quick wit and smoothly came up with a way to respond.
Asher smiled, "No, it's not just to challenge myself, I've always wanted to become an excellent beast tamer."
"Saying I have that strength now... might be a bit of an exaggeration, but among people my age, my strength is still pretty good."
"I think I can consider expanding outward a bit."
"I'm still young. Whether I win or lose, I'll treat it as gaining experience," Asher still said a couple of modest lines.
Also because of the strength shown by Flame Emperor, Flame Sovereign, and Jaeger these past few days.
Tier 9.
Tier 8.
All sound close to Little Raven's strength, but in actual battle... Asher could only say, unless he disregarded everything and used the Solar True Flame, only then might Little Raven truly have the strength to fight them.
And even if Little Raven did that, the opponents certainly wouldn't hold back from attacking Little Raven with all they had.
Purely in terms of strength, Little Raven didn't have the advantage, and the most likely result would be mutual destruction.
That wasn't something Asher wanted to see.
Asher slightly lowered his expectations of himself, just treating this time as gaining some insight.
In short, Asher's mentality was very good.
Getting his mentality affected? Impossible. Doesn't exist. After all, he's still young now.
Still has lots of time to try things out.
"Professor Asher can definitely do it!" The one speaking wasn't the boss but Trevor, who was in charge of filming and recording on the side.
Dressed like a university student and just recently graduated, Trevor stuck out her head, gave Asher a thumbs-up, and her face was full of trust in him.
Boss: "..."
"That's right, Professor Asher, you definitely can do it," The boss also nodded.
Lee Lee quickly followed up.
Although they didn't quite understand,
They chose to respect Asher's dream.
Plus, they had also seen the Southern Soren region university combat power rankings earlier, so they had some idea of Asher's two pet beasts' strength.
Thinking about it. If it were them, with that much talent in battle... even if they could just make a living by researching pet beasts, they'd probably still find it hard to give up the path of becoming an excellent beast tamer, right?
After parting ways with Asher, the boss sat in the passenger seat and thought for a long time. It wasn't until the car returned to the company that his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Professor Asher's spirit is proactive. Positive! We must help Professor Asher convey his ideas to the public."
No matter how difficult things are ahead, as long as you want to do it, just do it.
The boss couldn't help but pour himself a big bowl of chicken soup for the soul.
Trevor beside him: "?"
Lee Lee: "..."
On one hand they thought the boss was overthinking it, but on the other they couldn't help but agree, "Boss, you're right!"
"We have to communicate Professor Asher's spirit to everyone!"
They really were voluntarily working overtime.
More real than dying from seven bullets in the back and calling it suicide.
———
Asher continued passionately throwing himself into the training of the two flame dragons.
Because the flame dragons are already at their final evolution form.
Whether it's Flame Emperor, Jaeger, or Flame Sovereign, they can't evolve any further.
Innate skills don't seem to be that useful anymore.
But not so for Asher.
With the help of innate skills, Asher could precisely assess the condition of these flame dragons, then adjust their training plans accordingly to achieve the effect he wanted.
Flame Emperor: Increase flame power, some results achieved, but not very obvious.
Jaeger: Control the energy inside its body, under conscious regulation, gradually showing progress.
And visibly, Jaeger's height and body size seemed to have shrunk slightly.
Freya: "?"
Freya: "Wait! Wait wait wait!"
"Isn't something looking a bit off," Freya slapped her thigh and couldn't help but shout loudly.
Body size.
That's the figure she had worked so hard to pursue.
Why did it shrink too?
"Move your palm away. You slapped my thigh," Clyde looked at his sister expressionlessly and said.
Freya's slapping motion paused for a moment, then she slapped even harder twice.
After Clyde forcibly dodged, Freya pretended as if nothing happened and withdrew her hand.
"Didn't notice."
"No wonder it didn't hurt."
Turns out she accidentally hit the wrong person.
Not a big deal.
The message got through.
Clyde: "..."
'You're just relying on the fact that I won't bicker with a little girl like you!'
Clyde's expression looked a bit like he was gritting his teeth in silence, but in the end, he said nothing.
"As Jaeger reaches 100% control over its energy, a slight shrink in body size is perfectly normal," Asher said seriously.
"After all, part of Jaeger's current size is caused by energy rampaging and overflowing."
"If it were applied to humans...", Asher paused mid-sentence, touched his chin with one hand, like he was trying to think of a more vivid analogy.
Asher thought of one.
"It's basically bloated fat," After saying that, Asher hammered his left fist into his right hand, face full of a "that's it" expression, nodding.
That description was very accurate.
Freya: "..."
'Bloated… bloated fat…'
'No way!'
Freya felt deeply hurt.
"What bloated fat?"
"That's impossible! Doesn't exist!"
"Flame dragons are dragon-type pet beasts."
"And they have the fire attribute."
"Shouldn't all the body fat be directly burned away or something?"
Asher glanced at Freya.
'Goodness, where did you get that from?'
'So emotions can be like this too?'
Asher gave Freya a look, "Don't think about it anymore. Accept reality. That's the situation."
"But..." Looking at Freya's extremely hit expression, Asher smiled and continued, "As for body shape, it can still be trained later. Jaeger hasn't fully finished growing yet."
Saying this, Asher's lips and eyes twitched slightly.
'Yes, it's just that ridiculous.'
Obviously already an Tier 8 pet beast, a boss among bosses.
There aren't many pet beasts standing on top of Jaeger anymore.
But because it's a dragon-type, and dragon-type beasts have especially long growth periods, Jaeger is just that ridiculous. It hasn't completely reached adulthood yet.
Upon learning this, Asher: "..."
'No wonder it's a little giant.'
'Alright then.:
Freya's expression still looked a bit tangled and gloomy. She nodded, "That's fine I guess... there must be a remedy. My Jaeger!"
'It's fine if it can't grow bigger, but it absolutely can't get smaller!'
Seeing Freya's puffed-up expression, Asher couldn't help but chuckle.
'What is this called?'
'The more you lack something, the more you want to see it in your pet beast?'
Asher also fell into a speechless silence.
A few hints of logic in the absurdity.
As for Flame Emperor's desire to strengthen its flame, Asher got a free sparring partner while also letting Flame Emperor feel and comprehend the Solar True Flame up close.
But it's not like Asher did absolutely nothing.
For example, Asher came up with a way to openly use the Three-legged Golden Crow blood crystal, that was to downgrade its identity, wrap it in a new identity, and claim it was Little Raven's blood crystal.
Little Raven: "Chirp?"
Bird face confused.
"This thing is really useful, using it secretly doesn't fit my aesthetic," Asher had discussed this matter with Little Raven privately.
Little Raven is Asher's pet.
But Little Raven isn't just a pet.
Little Raven has its own thoughts.
So Asher communicated with Little Raven in advance, and tried extracting a blood sample, surprisingly discovering, Little Raven's blood can indeed also crystallize.
But it takes longer.
And it can't be as pure as the ones mined in the Red Soil Secret Realm.
Asher guessed, this is because the other was a pure Three-legged Golden Crow, while Little Raven only has half its bloodline.
After purification, it can barely achieve that effect, though the blood crystal looks a bit smaller.
Not a big deal.
Having a legitimate channel is good enough.
Just that Little Raven's image to the public might become a bit... ahem.
Making money.
Not shameful, right?
Little Raven: (￢_￢)
'For the sake of you being my beastmaster, this bird will support the family.'
Little Raven proudly lifted its head.
What?
It's just borrowing its name?
Still counts as the bird supporting the family.
Three-legged Golden Crow is it?
It is the Three-legged Golden Crow.
Asher: "..."
That kind of confidence is a good thing. Asher also believes Little Raven will get there one day.
"This," Asher took out a blood crystal that Little Raven had mined from the Red Soil Secret Realm later and handed it to Clyde.
Clyde: "?"
Clyde was momentarily stunned, then looked down at the red crystal in his hand, "Hmm… this looks kind of familiar?"
Asher nodded.
Clyde already knew half the truth.
"You still remember when I entered the Red Soil Secret Realm," Asher said.
"Some parts of the space in there had folded. I entered one of those folded spaces, and that's where Little Raven awakened its innate skill."
True story.
"At the time, I found some special red crystals, brought some out, and even gave part to the new Alliance president of Red Soil City."
Hearing Asher's words, Clyde showed a look of realization.
He remembered now.
That had indeed happened.
Clyde only paid attention at the time and didn't care much afterward.
Now that he thought about it...
"But the number of red crystals you brought out shouldn't be much, right?"
Clyde didn't know much about the transaction between Asher and President Youke. He just remembered the contents of Asher's backpack and guessed the quantity wasn't large.
"Not much. The part I brought out is already completely used up."
Asher nodded again, 'Truth, still the truth.'
"Then this one…", Clyde looked down at the red crystal in his hand.
Getting close to it made Clyde feel something amazing.
Warm, like there was a flame burning inside the crystal.
"When Little Raven uses its innate skill in battle and its blood gets on something, there's a chance this kind of crystal will form," Asher said this sentence in a tone no different from the two before.
Truth mixed with fiction, just like that.
"I've studied it. The effect is almost identical."
Asher smiled and said, "It's very likely the crystals in the Red Soil Secret Realm were left behind by a fire-type beast with the Solar True Flame innate skill, and I just happened to pick them up."
And then awakened this innate skill.
Then, Clyde filled in the rest of the words Asher didn't elaborate on, perfectly reasonable, without any flaws to point out.
Thinking this, Clyde looked at the red crystal with eyes burning hot.
'This is good stuff!', Clyde judged with great certainty.
"This really is...", Clyde held the red crystal, his face glowing with joy, "After using it, there's a possibility of awakening that innate skill?"
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