Goldie waddled back into the house at nightfall .

Flamy swallowed a huge, fat fish from its bucket in one gulp and frowned at Goldie . For some reason, the duck seemed awfully weary .

Goldie plopped down on the ground and stared lifelessly at the food in front of it .

I'm such a dunderhead .

Goldie could feel tears welling up in its eyes . However, it knew that it had to stay strong . Big ducks don't cry, it reminded itself .

Gao Peng decided not to pay Goldie any mind for now . He had already let the duck keep the winnings for his bet on Zhang Yi . Instead of doing the sensible thing, like saving the money for a rainy day, it had gone behind his back and blown all of its money on a losing bet .

"Serves you right!" muttered Gao Peng .

Goldie tearfully looked at Gao Peng, as if it was expecting a word of consolation from him . When it heard what he said, it nearly burst into tears .

"Let me ask you something—how did you get the shop owner to let you place your bet? He shouldn't have been able to understand you," asked Gao Peng curiously .

Not too far away, Stripey shuddered when he heard Gao Peng interrogating the duck .

I knew it, the duck's going to rat me out .

Stripey squirmed uncomfortably as it observed Gao Peng's face, trying to figure out if he had found out about its involvement .

Then it scuttled out of the house before anyone noticed its absence .

"Stripey is smart . Its writing was so beautiful," Goldie stammered .

Outside the house, Stripey nearly fainted when it heard the duck say its name . It quickly dug a hole in the backyard and buried itself inside .

This has nothing to do with me . I'm innocent, thought the spider . Gao Peng would definitely come after it as soon as he was done grilling the duck for information .

"I see, so Stripey helped you," said Gao Peng, nodding . He went into the backyard and stomped on a freshly disturbed patch of dirt a couple of times . He said to it, "Cut the act, Stripey . I know you helped Goldie write the message . Instead of poking your nose in other people's business, why don't you focus more on your studies?"

The next day, Goldie was reading a magazine t.i.tled "Finance and Wall Street . " It had been reading the magazine for three whole hours . Finally, it stood up and threw the magazine into the trash can .

"Screw this!" grumbled Goldie . It looked down at its puffed-up chest and paused there for a moment, as if it had come to an epiphany . It was me . I was the one who messed up .

. . .

The tournament's third round commenced that day . Unlike the first two rounds, all contestants would be matched against each other, regardless of region of origin, in the third round .

Sixteen contestants now remained in the tournament .

Those who managed to make it this far were considered to be the cream of the crop .

On average, every region had three to four finalists advancing to the third round . However, some of the teams had been completely wiped out .

The Huaxia region had four contestants remaining in the tournament: Zhang Yi, Jun Moyi, Gao Les.h.i.+, and Long Binyu .

Each finalist had their own ace familiar .

Zhang Yi's strongest familiar was the Fire-type Skyfire Hound, who had been nicknamed "h.e.l.lhound Emperor" by fans . However, according to rumors, Zhang Yi didn't like the name .

Jun Moyi's main familiar was the Black Anaconda, while Gao Les.h.i.+'s was a Perfect-grade Commander-tier Bloodhorn Armor Wolf .

Long Binyu's was a Perfect-grade Polar Scarab .

Only Zhang Yi's Skyfire Hound was an Epic-grade monster . The rest were only Perfect-grade . Even in such a large-scale event, an Epic-grade monster was extremely rare among the contestants .

Apparently luck was on Huaxia region's team, as none of its members were matched against each other .

When their matches were announced, all four of them let out a collective sigh of relief . None of them had Gao Peng as their referee .

Among all eight partic.i.p.ants from the Huaxia region who had been disqualified, six of them had matches that had been refereed by Gao Peng .

Of course, all of them had been eliminated from the tournament due to a lack of skill . However, the fact that all the matches that Gao Peng had refereed had ended in Huaxia's defeat was way too unlikely to be a coincidence .

Even the less superst.i.tious ones in the stands had begun whispering about it .

Gao Peng didn't know whether to laugh or cry . This had nothing to do with him . He was also a citizen of the Huaxia region . He had no reason to undermine his own region .

In the name of unbiased refereeing, he simply couldn't take matters into his own hands every time a Huaxia contestant lost his or her match .

Gao Peng didn't know what to do about this . In truth, his job as a referee wasn't as exciting as he had been led to believe .

Zhang Yi's opponent was Brandy from the Yinglie region . Brandy was the one who had defeated Huaxia's Yu Ge in the first round, so a lot of people in the stands were eager to watch this match .

The match between an Epic Fire-type familiar and an Epic Wood-type familiar had gone just as everyone had expected . Zhang Yi's Skyfire Hound had the upper hand from the start . Waves of fire billowed from it, roasting the Wailing Serpent Snake alive .

The Wailing Serpent Snake let out a terrible shriek from the hole in its trunk . In the end, Brandy conceded, and his familiar was carted off of the field to have its injuries treated .

Every match ended surprisingly quickly in the third round as the spectators cheered uproariously for their teams from the stands .

Commander-tier familiars were all capable of Elemental Discharge . Despite not being as powerful as Lord-tier familiars, most of their abilities were flashy enough to put on a good show for the audience .

All this reminded Gao Peng of the underground monster fighting rings back home, which weren't too different from this .

One was simply held under an official flag, while the other was illegal .

Goldie waddled back into the house at nightfall . Flamy swallowed a huge, fat fish from its bucket in one gulp and frowned at Goldie . For some reason, the duck seemed awfully weary . Goldie plopped down on the ground and stared lifelessly at the food in front of it . Im such a dunderhead . Goldie could feel tears welling up in its eyes . However, it knew that it had to stay strong . Big ducks dont cry, it reminded itself . Gao Peng decided not to pay Goldie any mind for now . He had already let the duck keep the winnings for his bet on Zhang Yi . Instead of doing the sensible thing, like saving the money for a rainy day, it had gone behind his back and blown all of its money on a losing bet . Serves you right! muttered Gao Peng . Goldie tearfully looked at Gao Peng, as if it was expecting a word of consolation from him . When it heard what he said, it nearly burst into tears . Let me ask you something—how did you get the shop owner to let you place your bet? He shouldnt have been able to understand you, asked Gao Peng curiously . Not too far away, Stripey shuddered when he heard Gao Peng interrogating the duck . I knew it, the ducks going to rat me out . Stripey squirmed uncomfortably as it observed Gao Pengs face, trying to figure out if he had found out about its involvement . Then it scuttled out of the house before anyone noticed its absence . Stripey is smart . Its writing was so beautiful, Goldie stammered . Outside the house, Stripey nearly fainted when it heard the duck say its name . It quickly dug a hole in the backyard and buried itself inside . This has nothing to do with me . Im innocent, thought the spider . Gao Peng would definitely come after it as soon as he was done grilling the duck for information . I see, so Stripey helped you, said Gao Peng, nodding . He went into the backyard and stomped on a freshly disturbed patch of dirt a couple of times . He said to it, Cut the act, Stripey . I know you helped Goldie write the message . Instead of poking your nose in other peoples business, why dont you focus more on your studies? The next day, Goldie was reading a magazine t.i.tled Finance and Wall Street . It had been reading the magazine for three whole hours . Finally, it stood up and threw the magazine into the trash can . Screw this! grumbled Goldie . It looked down at its puffed-up chest and paused there for a moment, as if it had come to an epiphany . It was me . I was the one who messed up The tournaments third round commenced that day . Unlike the first two rounds, all contestants would be matched against each other, regardless of region of origin, in the third round . Sixteen contestants now remained in the tournament . Those who managed to make it this far were considered to be the cream of the crop . On average, every region had three to four finalists advancing to the third round . However, some of the teams had been completely wiped out The Huaxia region had four contestants remaining in the tournament: Zhang Yi, Jun Moyi, Gao Les.h.i.+, and Long Binyu . Each finalist had their own ace familiar . Zhang Yis strongest familiar was the Fire-type Skyfire Hound, who had been nicknamed h.e.l.lhound Emperor by fans . However, according to rumors, Zhang Yi didnt like the name . Jun Moyis main familiar was the Black Anaconda, while Gao Les.h.i.+s was a Perfect-grade Commander-tier Bloodhorn Armor Wolf . Long Binyus was a Perfect-grade Polar Scarab . Only Zhang Yis Skyfire Hound was an Epic-grade monster . The rest were only Perfect-grade . Even in such a large-scale event, an Epic-grade monster was extremely rare among the contestants . Apparently luck was on Huaxia regions team, as none of its members were matched against each other . When their matches were announced, all four of them let out a collective sigh of relief . None of them had Gao Peng as their referee . Among all eight partic.i.p.ants from the Huaxia region who had been disqualified, six of them had matches that had been refereed by Gao Peng . Of course, all of them had been eliminated from the tournament due to a lack of skill . However, the fact that all the matches that Gao Peng had refereed had ended in Huaxias defeat was way too unlikely to be a coincidence . Even the less superst.i.tious ones in the stands had begun whispering about it . Gao Peng didnt know whether to laugh or cry . This had nothing to do with him . He was also a citizen of the Huaxia region . He had no reason to undermine his own region . In the name of unbiased refereeing, he simply couldnt take matters into his own hands every time a Huaxia contestant lost his or her match . Gao Peng didnt know what to do about this . In truth, his job as a referee wasnt as exciting as he had been led to believe . Zhang Yis opponent was Brandy from the Yinglie region . Brandy was the one who had defeated Huaxias Yu Ge in the first round, so a lot of people in the stands were eager to watch this match . The match between an Epic Fire-type familiar and an Epic Wood-type familiar had gone just as everyone had expected . Zhang Yis Skyfire Hound had the upper hand from the start . Waves of fire billowed from it, roasting the Wailing Serpent Snake alive . The Wailing Serpent Snake let out a terrible shriek from the hole in its trunk . In the end, Brandy conceded, and his familiar was carted off of the field to have its injuries treated . Every match ended surprisingly quickly in the third round as the spectators cheered uproariously for their teams from the stands . Commander-tier familiars were all capable of Elemental Discharge . Despite not being as powerful as Lord-tier familiars, most of their abilities were flashy enough to put on a good show for the audience . All this reminded Gao Peng of the underground monster fighting rings back home, which werent too different from this . One was simply held under an official flag, while the other was illegal .