Flares of light from the upgrades rose and fell, one after another.

When the light faded, the training ground was now paved with a layer of hard granite, and the surrounding walls had grown even taller.

The biggest change was to the fighting ring on the northern side. Its base area had expanded by more than four times. While the previous ring was only suitable for one-on-one duels and felt a bit crowded for group sparring, the new one was perfect for it.

Then, Qin Ziwen took out the card for a new building: the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena.

He’d had this Card for a while but hadn’t used it yet, limited by space constraints and other priorities.

Now, thanks to the Sand Expansion Card, he finally had the 80x80 meter area required for the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena.

Within his Home, he used the Card right at the edge of the newly expanded sandy area.

The moment he used the Card,

A vast, unbroken expanse of light shot into the sky, illuminating the darkness of the Home.

Li Tieshan, who was hammering away at a piece of iron in the Sword and Saber Workshop of the Yanwu Military Equipment Supervisor, looked up. He curiously set down his hammer and walked outside.

There, he saw that a vast, sprawling expanse of sand had appeared sometime at the eastern end of the Military Equipment Supervisor’s grounds.

Upon the sand stood a new, square-shaped building that looked like a small fortress gatehouse.

The outer walls were covered in dense spikes, and the structure itself was mottled with bloodstains. Beyond the wide main entrance, several massive steel portcullises were visible.

Just looking at it gave Li Tieshan a heavy, oppressive feeling.

’Is this a new building the Lord summoned?’ Li Tieshan thought, standing on his tiptoes. He spotted the Lord’s figure in the distance.

In front of the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena, Qin Ziwen was examining the attributes of the building he had just summoned with the Card.

[Level 1 Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena: Level 1 Blood Valor, Level 1 Inspiration, Level 2 Stamina Recovery] (Beast Fighting: By embedding Challenge Cards or Summon Cards, beasts can be anchored within the Beast Fighting Arena. Anchored beasts cannot die and do not feel hunger. They retain their memories and combat experience. After any battle within the arena concludes, all fallen combatants will be resurrected.)

’So that’s another way to use Challenge Cards and Summon Cards.’

’They go from being one-time sparring partners to permanent ones that can never truly die.’

’He and the others could enter the Beast Fighting Arena to fight different types of beasts, using all sorts of tactics to hone their skills.’

After a moment of thought, Qin Ziwen took out the Tyrannosaurus Challenge Card and chose to embed it into the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena.

The Challenge Card transformed into a beam of light and fused with the Beast Fighting Arena.

ROAR~

An earth-shattering roar echoed through the skies of the Home.

Peering through the gap in the Beast Fighting Arena’s iron portcullis, Qin Ziwen’s gaze met that of the Tyrannosaurus in the center of the grounds.

The Tyrannosaurus lowered its head and slowly walked toward Qin Ziwen, its massive head peering at him through the bars of the portcullis.

It suddenly sniffed the air, as if it had caught a scent.

ROAR...

The Tyrannosaurus’s roar suddenly grew deep and low, tinged with a hint of a tremor, and confusion.

Qin Ziwen had a guess as to why.

"Wait here."

He turned and headed to the farmland, where he found Black next to a pumpkin larger than its entire body.

The little creature was hugging a large pumpkin, fast asleep.

’This little one sure can sleep. Out cold again.’

He picked it up and returned to the entrance of the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena. As he drew closer, the Female Tyrannosaurus grew increasingly agitated, pacing restlessly by the gate.

Finally, it lowered its head, its enormous pupils fixed on Black.

A hot breath gusted through the gap, washing over Black.

Black rolled over, woken by the blast of hot air.

It lifted its eyelids, and the sight of the Female Tyrannosaurus made Black jump in fright!

It immediately burrowed into Qin Ziwen’s arms.

ROAR. The Female Tyrannosaurus called out.

It had recognized Black’s scent, and its cry softened.

Black, at first confused, soon grew curious.

"I’m going to raise him," Qin Ziwen said to the Female Tyrannosaurus. "You can teach him some hunting skills in your spare time."

’He wasn’t a Tyrannosaurus, after all. When it came to this, another Tyrannosaurus would be the best teacher.’

Qin Ziwen stepped through the portcullis and into the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena. Seeing the human trespasser, a ferocious glint flashed in the Female Tyrannosaurus’s eyes as it prepared to strike.

Qin Ziwen raised his hand, and the Female Tyrannosaurus instantly transformed into a beam of iridescent light, solidifying into a Card where it stood.

He walked forward and pinched the Card between his fingers. "If you don’t behave, you’ll stay a Card. But if you’re obedient, you can see him every day. As long as you do your job here in the Beast Fighting Arena, it could be another form of companionship, couldn’t it?"

With that said, Qin Ziwen tossed the Card out. It spun in mid-air, fused with the Beast Fighting Arena, and reformed into the Female Tyrannosaurus.

The Female Tyrannosaurus planted its feet on the ground, seemingly not yet having processed what had happened.

Upon reappearing, the Female Tyrannosaurus charged menacingly toward Qin Ziwen.

Qin Ziwen just shook his head, unwilling to indulge it. With a wave of his hand, he turned the Female Tyrannosaurus back into a Card and pocketed it.

"You’d best stay quiet for a while."

’From now on, I’ll only embed it when I need it for a fight. Otherwise, I’ll keep it retracted.’

’One should never underestimate the wild nature of a beast.’

’Even though Black was its offspring, thinking he could "hold the emperor hostage to command the vassals" was naive. At its core, it was still a wild beast; it wouldn’t submit so easily.’

’But it didn’t matter. The Beast Fighting Arena just needed beasts to fight in. The angrier it was, the more authentic its combat performance would be.’ 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After leaving the Beast Fighting Arena, Qin Ziwen went to the Student Union early the next morning to find Teacher Luo.

Qin Ziwen said, "We’ve now completed two Level 2 Hunting Tasks and seven Level 1 Hunting Tasks from the Hunting Celestial List. We just need to finish any one more task to complete the hunting challenge."

Luo Gang remarked with some feeling, "You’re all moving even faster than I imagined."

Qin Ziwen replied, "It’s because everyone is coordinating so well. The final task isn’t difficult; we can finish it anytime. But I’m wrestling with a question. I’m not sure if completing all the tasks will immediately end our time on this map and start the countdown to our third transmigration.

Judging by the difficulty curve, the tasks we’ll face after future transmigrations will likely become more complex. So, finishing faster isn’t necessarily better.

Besides, based on the matchmaking mechanics, if we finish faster, does that mean our future competitors will be on the same tier as us?"

Luo Gang understood what Qin Ziwen was getting at. "So, you want us to slow our progress. That way, if we do have to face other Gated Communities in the next stage, our opponents might be weaker."

"It’s just making rational use of the rules. Besides, we’ve worked hard to establish a foothold in this Gobi Desert. It would be a waste not to retrieve more from the Oasis before we leave."

"I agree with your thinking," Luo Gang said, nodding. "I’ll tell the others to hold off on completing that last task for now."

"I won’t go see Zou Jianghe myself. Teacher Luo, could you please tell him for me?"

Luo Gang grew thoughtful at his words. ’Did Qin Ziwen have a falling out with Zou Jianghe?’ he wondered. He didn’t press the issue, though. "Alright, I’ll go see him."

...

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