"Hmm." Xia Heng nodded, his gaze deep, "He is Chen Yuan."

Mulate looked towards the well-known Chen Yuan, scrutinizing him several times, and slowly spoke, "He does indeed seem quite extraordinary, but can he be an opponent for this Pet Beast?"

Xia Heng momentarily suppressed the mystery of why Chen Yuan appeared at Flame Mountain, slowly shaking his head, "I do not know."

After a brief pause, he spoke again, "But if it’s him, perhaps there’s a chance of winning."

"Is this person truly that impressive?" Hearing this, Mulate smacked his lips privately.

Though he suffered a defeat, Xia Heng held immense admiration for this champion of Qin Province, as if no beastmaster in the world could challenge him.

Xia Heng adjusted his turbulent thoughts, giving a slight smile, "His prowess will be revealed in this battle."

Mulate placed a hand on Xia Heng’s shoulder, baring his large white teeth, "Whether he’s formidable or not doesn’t concern me much; instead, as my friend, I care more about you."

"From my interactions with you these days, I can deeply feel your complex emotions towards him, but rest assured, you’ve made great progress recently."

"Now you can completely stand in front of him and issue a second challenge, making him aware of the progress you’ve made during this period."

"I believe in you, my friend."

Xia Heng’s lips slightly curled, nodding slightly, "Hmm."

Under the eyes of all, Chen Yuan passed through a group of Wandering Fire Ash Spirits, arriving at the barren open field, and looked distantly toward the opposite Blazing Soul Flame Monarch.

It must be said, the Blazing Soul Flame Monarch was the most imposing Pet Beast Chen Yuan had encountered so far.

The tall and erect flame body, blazing white spots forming its eyes, and the Flame Heavy Sword gripped tightly in its right hand.

A gentle breeze blew, making the flames on its body sway gently, while the flames on its shoulders surged upwards, together with various body parts constituting a formidable physique.

Upon seeing Chen Yuan appear, the Blazing Soul Flame Monarch raised its Flame Heavy Sword, lightly drawing a line on the ground, where flames immediately rose.

This action seemed to remind Chen Yuan to attack first.

This was silent disdain.

Meanwhile, the observing beastmasters engaged in continuous discussions.

"Next challenger, please."

"Gale Hunting Dog? Flame Cloud Falcon? Neither of these Pet Beasts seems capable of defeating this guy."

"Appearance is not the only standard to judge strength."

"Do you feel like we’re just experience points providers, one after another helping this guy consolidate his strength? The competition committee probably didn’t expect this situation to occur."

The competition committee indeed did not anticipate the sudden emergence of the Blazing Soul Flame Monarch.

Inside a building, several high-definition screens displayed different images, but some images remained normal while others exhibited intermittent blackouts and flickering faulty signals.

"Chairman, the current technology is still immature; we can’t sustain stable signals or ensure picture transmission efficiently yet."

"So the blackouts you see are normal occurrences."

A technician stood in front of the Fire State Beastmaster Association’s Chairman, reporting the current situation.

Chairman Maimaiti eased his stern expression, squeezing out a smile, "No worries, it’s common for any technology to encounter bumps at the start; as long as the core function is maintained, it’s fine."

This new technology hails from coastal regions, allowing certain equipment to transcend geographical limits to connect field and urban signals.

However, the technology is not mature yet, unable to deliver real-time broadcast imagery.

Fortunately, the basic function remains stable, with machines capable of collecting competitors’ viewed images in real-time and calculating scores via artificial intelligence without manual operation.

"Are there images from these beastmaster teams?" Chairman Maimaiti looked up at the leaderboard screen, focusing on the top three teams.

The technician immediately responded, "Yes, but they are extremely unstable."

"Because they have all reached the foot of Flame Mountain, the farthest from the signal tower, where the signal is the most unstable."

The further the location from the signal tower at the Flame Mountain Beastmaster Office, the less stable the signal.

Chairman Maimaiti was only asking casually and nodded, seeing he couldn’t view the images, getting ready to conclude this inspection.

Lately, things have been hectic, with dispatches from the Imperial Capital preparing to investigate the anomalies at Flame Mountain in-depth, so he must prepare in advance.

Suddenly, a technician exclaimed in surprise, "Wild Wolf Roar Team’s images have come through."

The moment the voice rang out, all personnel raised their heads, even Chairman Maimaiti stopped his steps, looking upwards.

On a large screen, the image flickered and tore for a while before stabilizing, depicting a scene.

The blazing Flame Mountain lay ahead, large patches of mountain fires burning all around, the scorching heat waves wrapping scorching high temperatures could be felt even through the screen.

Numerous Wandering Fire Ash Spirits hovered around, closely nestled together, like countless fireflies drifting on the desolate land.

Chairman Maimaiti exclaimed with feeling, "So many Wandering Fire Ash Spirits, it seems this competition isn’t simple."

The main person in charge of the competition committee stood beside the Chairman, hearing the remark, smiled, and spoke, "Chairman, don’t underestimate the capability of these kids."

"Even though the Wandering Fire Ash Spirits are numerous, this competition won’t be difficult with the right approach."

"Unless...."

This person’s eyes flickered, hesitating to continue.

Chairman Maimaiti turned his head, "Unless what?"

The in-charge lifted his eyes, speaking slowly, "Unless a Morning Star Quality Pet Beast named the Blazing Soul Flame Monarch emerges, which might plunge this contest into turmoil."

His face showed a smile, not believing the Blazing Soul Flame Monarch would easily come into being, "But the conditions for the Blazing Soul Flame Monarch’s emergence are extremely demanding, and it’s unlikely to appear at this time."