Chapter 124: Challenging the House

Shen Duo looked at the room full of magical beasts and sighed with a sense of shame.

She called out Ben Yi and had him let out a few roars; the room, which had been noisy just a moment before, fell instantly silent. The beasts locked in their cages saw Ben Yi baring his fangs and began to tremble on the ground in fear. Shen Duo suddenly felt as if she were using an anti-aircraft gun to swat a mosquito.

Lei Hang was also quite speechless. Had Eleanor really just dumped them here and left? Feng Jun, however, looked unconcerned; as long as he was by Shen Duo's side, it made no difference where they were.

"Brother Lei, Feng Jun, shall we go out and take a look?"

Lei Hang agreed with both hands. The room was filled with the stench of low-tier magical beasts, and it was truly unpleasant. Hearing this, Ben Yi cast a mournful glance at Shen Duo, feeling aggrieved that she had left him alone among this pack of low-tier beasts. Master Ben Yi had been in a foul mood for days, having been scolded by Lou Jingbai several times and forbidden from cultivating, so he had been venting his frustration on these untamed beasts.

Because they had been in a rush when they arrived, Shen Duo had not properly toured Eleanor’s tamer shop. While it looked small from the outside, the interior covered several thousand square meters. Staff and apprentices hurried back and forth, among whom were several beast tamers.

Shen Duo had intended to observe how ordinary beast tamers tamed phantom beasts, a desire she had harbored since her time with the Blazing Mercenary Group. However, the magical beast tide had arrived so quickly that she had simply lacked the time.

"How is Uncle Aodefan? Has his apprentice advanced?" Shen Duo chatted with Lei Hang as they walked.

Lei Hang gave a handsome smile. "Xiao Duo, not only has Bingxue successfully advanced, but in the past few months, Uncle Aodefan has also made a breakthrough. He is now a high-tier master tamer, capable of taming up to eight-star holy phantom beasts."

There was pride and joy in Lei Hang’s voice as he spoke. Aodefan was the only beast tamer in the Blazing Mercenary Group; his progress was the progress of the entire group. This meant that in the future, more of the group's powerful phantom masters would be able to be equipped with phantom beasts that matched their own strength. It was thrilling news for the development of their mercenary group.

As they spoke, the three reached a small taming room. After some inquiries, they learned that a high-tier beast tamer was currently taming a phantom beast inside.

Just as they entered, they collided with a young man rushing out. When the young man looked up, it turned out to be Linton. Seeing this clumsy fellow, Feng Jun and Lei Hang both frowned.

Linton felt the overwhelming pressure emanating from them and hurriedly lowered his head to apologize. These two were both Heaven-tier experts; even though he was now a beast tamer, he could not afford to offend them.

"I am terribly sorry. I am in a hurry to check on the situation. I apologize for bumping into you, lords."

His face was clearly etched with worry. Shen Duo asked in surprise, "What happened?"

Linton knew the strength of these three. Although Eleanor’s shop was famous in Lorcadan, there were no Heaven-tier experts within the shop itself. If malicious individuals came to cause trouble, there would be no immediate way to handle it. Yet, unless someone had lost their mind, who would dare to offend a group of beast tamers? If he could secure the help of these three, he wouldn't have to tangle with the two lunatics causing the scene.

With a quick thought, Linton briefly explained what was happening in the main hall.

The three were increasingly surprised as they listened. They never expected that two beast tamers would come to challenge the shop!

There were only three beast tamer shops in the entire city of Lorcadan, and Eleanor’s was the largest, as well as the one with the best reputation and expertise, a fact acknowledged even by the Beast Tamer Guild. Eleanor alone had helped countless powerful individuals in Lorcadan tame high-tier phantom beasts, including members of the royal family. Which blind beast tamer would dare to stir up trouble here?

Shen Duo and her two companions followed Linton to the taming hall. Because they were still being tracked by the two great family investigation teams, they did not step out into the open, but instead found a spot to suppress their auras and watched from the shadows.

Suddenly, a haughty and familiar girl’s voice reached Shen Duo’s ears.

"And you call yourselves the number one beast tamer shop in Lorcadan? With this kind of taming ability and speed? Aren't you afraid of being slapped in the face? I don't need my father to step in; I can defeat you myself!"

With long black hair draped over her back and wearing a pale yellow dress, she would have looked like a charming and lovely girl if not for her arrogant tone. Behind her stood a lean, middle-aged man wearing brown phantom master robes with a gleaming gold beast tamer badge on his chest.

It was Leo and his daughter, whom Shen Duo had encountered on the "Sailing Ship."

Shen Duo narrowed her eyes slightly. How did this father and daughter end up in Lorcadan? And why choose this moment to challenge the shop?

Eleanor walked up to Aisha and looked at her coldly. "Little girl, it is better not to speak too soon!"

Aisha was, after all, only about twenty years old. Even with her usual arrogance, she could not match the imposing presence Eleanor had honed over many years. She immediately recoiled in shock.

"What is it, Master Eleanor? Are you dissatisfied with my daughter?" Leo stepped forward, his face darkened as he spoke to Eleanor.

"Leo, I advise you to leave quickly. Do you think Lorcadan is a place where you can do as you please? Do you think I, Eleanor, can be bullied so easily?" As she spoke, there was a hint of anger in Eleanor’s voice.

Leo, however, treated the warning as wind in his ears. He gave a sinister smile. "Eleanor, as fellow beast tamers, surely you know the rules of the Beast Tamer Guild?"

Shen Duo looked at Linton beside her in confusion.

Linton sighed. "The Beast Tamer Guild has an unwritten rule that applies to all its members. As long as they do not cross tiers, beast tamers may challenge each other's taming capabilities at will. If the challenger wins, they gain all the rights of the defeated party. Leo and my teacher are both master tamers. If Leo issues a challenge, the teacher must accept. If the teacher loses, this shop will likely have to change hands."

The rule was crudely set. Shen Duo understood that the person who established it probably wanted to encourage competition and mutual supervision among peers to accelerate the growth of everyone's taming skills. However, it now seemed that this bizarre rule did more harm than good. Someone like Leo was clearly malicious, deliberately trying to seize others' wealth without any effort.

Eleanor could never have imagined that Leo would be so shameless. They had crossed paths in the Cass Empire before; even then, Eleanor had felt that Leo was a petty man. They had gone their separate ways after graduating from the academy and hadn't heard of each other for years. Who would have thought that their next encounter would be him coming to challenge her shop?

But since someone had brought the arrogance to her doorstep, how could a strong-willed woman like Eleanor endure it? Even if she had to risk everything, she would compete with Leo.

"Leo, don't think I don't know what kind of scheme you're plotting. Let me tell you, I will absolutely not lose today! I will never hand over my shop to you!"

"That is not up to you; this is a matter of strength." Leo laughed triumphantly. The expression on his gaunt face looked terrifying, like a dried corpse crawling out of a thousand-year-old coffin.

The onlookers, seeing that two master beast tamers were about to compete, wisely kept their mouths shut. Although they didn't know who Leo was, his status as a master beast tamer was not something ordinary people could afford to offend.

According to the customs of the Beast Tamer Guild, a competition between beast tamers involved taming phantom beasts; the one who tamed a beast of the same level in the shortest amount of time would be the winner.

"What is your stake?" Eleanor asked coldly.

Leo was incredibly arrogant. Eleanor had been exhausted from the recruitment season over the past two days and had just finished taming a phantom beast; her mental energy was depleted, making this the perfect time for him to strike. He was certain he would not lose to this woman!

"Hmph, provided it doesn't endanger our lives, if I lose, you can make any request of me!" Leo placed a heavy bet. At this moment, he had nothing else to offer besides demands and promises, as he had lost his wealth to Shen Duo on the "Sailing Ship." This time, he was here to win without making any investment.

His words seemed light, but they were terrifying. If Eleanor won, she could demand that he never tame phantom beasts for anyone again, or that he quit the Beast Tamer Guild, or even that he sever ties with his only daughter, Aisha. He could not defy the request Eleanor made; otherwise, after swearing the oath, he would be punished by the laws of heaven and earth and fall into hell.

The onlookers became tense. Whether it was Leo’s request or Eleanor’s shop, this was a high-stakes gamble. The food shop next door had even opened a betting pool on who would win.

"Fine!" Eleanor agreed loudly. To her surprise, Leo was so desperate. She could no longer avoid this match; regardless of the odds of winning, she would do her best.

Aisha followed behind her father, staring at Eleanor with disdain. She had heard her father say that morning that Eleanor had consumed much of her mental energy taming beasts and hadn't recovered, and that the biennial recruitment season for the Josselin Academy had added to her burden.

Eleanor's taming ability was nothing to fear now. They only had to wait to take possession of the largest tamer shop in Lorcadan. Thinking of this, the girl couldn't help but look triumphant.

It was all the fault of that Shen Duo on the "Sailing Ship" for making them lose so much face. If not for that person, how would they, dignified beast tamers, be reduced to snatching a shop from a peer! Aisha thought indignantly, secretly deciding that the next time she encountered that damned Shen Duo, she must find a powerful person to kill her!

While the young Miss Aisha was cursing viciously, she did not realize that the object of her curse was watching them from a hidden corner.

Eleanor’s shop had more than one beast tamer. Once the two agreed to the competition, the tamers began to prepare suitable magical beasts according to the guild's rules. Because both were master tamers, and to minimize the time for the competition, they selected eight-star Spirit Phantom Beasts: Golden-Maned Leopards.