Chapter 63: Preparations for the Animal Competition Begin

Three days later, after enduring three days of killing intent fluctuation training, Xie Jing was now able to easily handle GSD’s killing intent fluctuations even without his accessories. In other words, Xie Jing had grown nearly numb to that sensation of being cut slowly with a dull blade, and the violent urges within him could now be forcibly suppressed with the help of his own light.

On Bilibili, Xie Jing’s fan count had already surpassed a million. He had opened all the boxes he’d received, but only got one more Paradise Elixir; the rest were all worthless healing potions and teleportation potions. The incredible luck of the first day had not returned. Moreover, Bilibili had come up with a new trick: traffic control. Without touching Xie Jing’s videos, they simply reduced the likelihood of viewers seeing them. So after three days of explosive growth, his fan count began to slow.

Now, the hundred-billion-gold mission was almost halfway complete, but Xie Jing suddenly found everything had lost its flavor.

At that moment, Earthen Jar sent word that preparations for the Animal Tournament were complete and the first batch of contestants was ready. Xie Jing was quite interested in this event he’d come up with on a whim.

Without hesitation, he left his stall in Dark City to be managed by the system, then took an airship to his own racetrack to watch the competition.

In just half an hour, Xie Jing returned to his birthplace—a vast, endless grassland, where a magnificent stadium stood.

Earthen Jar came forward to greet him, and when he saw the matchmaker spirit floating behind Xie Jing, he made a few lighthearted jokes.

“Master, not only did you return from Dark City, but you even came back with an unexpected prize! So, how about the prize money, is it ready?”

Money was no issue—Xie Jing was simply too wealthy now! With players from all over DNF helping out, he received a considerable amount of gold every moment. The money needed to host a competition was barely a drop in the bucket.

What puzzled Xie Jing, though, was that as an NPC, making money from the players was incredibly easy. Yet why did he never see other NPCs doing the same?

Earthen Jar explained: In the distant past, someone had indeed tried to trick people from other worlds for profit. However, the moment they made their first earnings, the God of Patches descended, and that person vanished without a trace.

Since then, everyone knew not to lightly swindle outsiders’ money. Earthen Jar had been very worried about Xie Jing’s trip to Dark City, because he didn’t know if the God of Patches would descend upon Xie Jing as well.

But so far, all seemed well!

Upon reaching the racetrack, Xie Jing found it bustling with people, a stark contrast to the desolation when he’d left. Various races had brought all sorts of creatures and crowded both inside and outside the stadium.

It was unexpectedly lively and popular!

Earthen Jar said, “I never imagined your idea would be so effective, Master. But I realize now—people living on the continent lead dreary lives, always struggling for survival. Now that we’ve finally managed to organize a tournament for all, everyone wants to join in the excitement.”

“How did the contestant selection go?” Xie Jing asked.

“The ones you assigned have been training hard and getting familiar with the grounds. I believe the other groups can’t match them, but...” Earthen Jar hesitated.

“But what?” Xie Jing pressed.

With an awkward smile, Earthen Jar replied, “When you left, you assigned those twins to stay behind. I arranged for them to be trained, but no matter how hard we tried, they just can’t ride. They’re so stubborn, we can’t even get them to leave. But now, they’ve come up with a great idea!”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll see for yourself. I must admit, those twins are something else!”

On the way, Xie Jing saw his familiar group. Their outfits were wildly varied—some eye-searing, others downright embarrassing.

“These are all their own choices. We only provided the training; everything else is their doing,” Earthen Jar explained.

Their room, once meant for horses, now contained not a single horse. Instead, there were animals of questionable rideability.

When they reached the twins’ room, the two oafs stood before Xie Jing. The room was filled with wood and plastic; not only were there no horses, but not a single animal could be found.

Then, a wooden horse crafted from timber came walking towards Xie Jing.

“Boss! I’m Upper Ring!”

“Boss! I’m Lower Ring!”

“Our...”

“Team is...”

“Number 8 for the win!”

Xie Jing was speechless.

He turned to Earthen Jar and said loudly, “Put them in the lineup and let them go last. Announce to all contestants: our competition stands for fairness, justice, and openness. Any species can compete—there will be no discrimination of any kind!”

Then, Xie Jing whispered in Earthen Jar’s ear, “It’ll add some comic relief, anyway. They can’t possibly win...”

Earthen Jar nodded. As long as Xie Jing was in charge, he would support all of Xie Jing’s ideas without question.

Leaving the room, Xie Jing and Earthen Jar walked to the VIP booth, where they could overlook the entire racetrack—an excellent vantage point.

“How have you arranged things on your end?” Xie Jing asked.

“Today is our soft opening—eight groups in total. The contestants are all specially selected for their unique qualities. We’ll add our own contestants to the groups and kick things off with a bang!” Earthen Jar replied confidently.

“I don’t care about the rest, only the results!” Xie Jing had no interest in the intricate rules and left everything in Earthen Jar’s hands.

“Let’s go, the competition’s about to start!” Earthen Jar invited Xie Jing to watch.

Looking out, Xie Jing saw that nearly the entire stadium was already filled.

“Most of them are local villagers and contestants who were eliminated in the preliminaries. We gave them all tickets.”

“What a pity, a waste of ticket money,” Xie Jing muttered, glancing at his racetrack.

On the field, eight contestants were poised and ready!

Contestant number one was a burly man on horseback, his muscular body clad only in a red pair of trunks, every muscle taut.

Contestant number two was a scrawny man riding a blue, fierce little dragon, dressed in spiked leather armor and shouting arrogantly from atop his mount.

Contestant number three stood atop a mantis-like creature as tall as a man, a green tongue lolling out and sharp pupils scanning the crowd.

Beside him, contestant number four was entwined with a dazzling, nine-headed serpent, the two locked in an inexplicable emotional dance.

Contestant number five was one of Xie Jing’s picks. Compared to the other contestants’ bizarre mounts, his seemed almost normal in this setting.