Chapter 355: The Group Stage Concludes

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Qiao Sang stood frozen in place, utterly baffled.

While everyone else’s attention was drawn to the sudden snowfall, she only glanced at it briefly before her focus returned to Lubao.

And then she was stunned.

Snowfall?

What Lubao just cast... was that snowfall?!

In that moment, Qiao Sang began to seriously question the content of her textbooks.

Could it be that advanced skills aren’t actually that hard to learn?

Thinking back carefully, of her three battle pets, the one that took the longest and struggled the most to learn an advanced skill was Yabao when learning Meteor Rain. But even that only took about a month.

Were advanced skills truly difficult to master, or was that just what the textbook authors believed?

A flurry of thoughts swirled through Qiao Sang’s mind as she contemplated this.

While Qiao Sang was lost in thought, Lubao tilted her head to admire the snow she had summoned. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, but she quickly remembered something, reined in her expression, and opened her mouth.

A dark, ominous cloud instantly appeared overhead.

Thunder rumbled, and icy rain poured down in torrents.

As the rain fell, the murmuring audience’s attention was drawn back to the battlefield, their discussions of the snowy-furred creature quickly forgotten.

Rain?!

Most people froze in astonishment.

Wang Weidou’s eyes lit up abruptly.

"Is it... really raining?!" Someone in the audience murmured in disbelief.

It had only been a moment, and no one had forgotten the command Qiao Sang had just issued.

So, Ice Qiya really could cast Rain Prayer?!

“It’s already a rare species, and now it’s this talented too? Why couldn’t it have been mine…” Muttered a man nearby, his jealousy practically seeping through his pores.

A woman standing to his right shot him a glance and asked, “You haven’t watched Qiao Sang’s previous matches, have you?”

The man paused, then nodded.

He was a local. His daughter attended Huicheng Beast Taming High School, but she wasn’t part of the school team.

If this year’s National Campus Beast Mastering League group stage hadn’t been assigned to his daughter’s school, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to the competition. 𝙍

It wasn’t that the league wasn’t prestigious enough, it just felt too far removed from him and his daughter’s world to warrant concern.

The woman on his right continued, “A pet’s talent is important, sure, but it also depends on the beast tamer. A skilled tamer can unlock a pet’s full potential. Qiao Sang isn’t just strong because of Ice Qiya. Her Treasure-Seeking Demon has also learned the advanced skill Shadow Control.”

Shadow Control?

The man was dumbfounded.

The woman added, “Even if Ice QIya were your pet, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to teach it Rain Prayer.”

This left the man speechless. After a moment, he furrowed his brow and asked, “Who are you?”

The woman, dressed in a white trench coat, smiled faintly. “I’m her mother.”

The man: ???

On the battlefield, completely unaware that her mother was in the audience, Qiao Sang steadied herself as rain began to fall. Maintaining her composure, she issued another command, “Water Stream Jet!”

“Lu!”

Lubao locked her gaze on the airborne opponent. In the next moment, a stream of blue water enveloped her body.

Boom!

In an instant, Lubao became a blue jet, shooting straight into the sky.

“Shi-shi!”

The Sensory Bird glanced down, only to see a blue torrent rushing toward it. Startled, it flapped its wings frantically to dodge, its movements so abrupt that a feather fell loose.

Luobao flipped mid-air and dove downward.

Its already incredible speed surged again, making the surrounding raindrops seem to slow in comparison.

The Sensory Bird had barely flapped its wings when the water-cloaked Lubao closed the eight or nine-meter gap and struck the bird squarely on its back.

“Shi shi!!!”

The Sensory Bird plummeted to the ground, leaving a crater upon impact.

The rain, interspersed with snowflakes, ceased at that moment. A referee’s mechanical beast flew over from the sidelines to inspect the crater.

“Coo!” Three seconds later, the whistle signaling the end of the match blew.

The audience erupted into a tidal wave of noise.

“How is Ice Qiya so fast?”

“Yeah! It’s used Water Stream Jet before, but its speed today is on a completely different level!”

“What was Wu Chang doing? After it started snowing, he just froze up and stopped giving commands.”

“Who knows? I blinked twice, and the match was over!”

“Ice Qiya was insane today!”

“Not just insane, it’s utilizing the Swift Swimmer Trait.” A middle-aged man in the front row said in a low voice, seated among the leadership.

“Principal Wang, it seems your Shengshui High School has produced a prodigy who can overshadow Litan Beast Taming High School.” Joked the vice-principal of Xiongding High School.

“They say Ding Yanjing’s Guwei Blossom excels in endurance and mid-match recovery, but I think Qiao Sang’s Ice Qiya is the real powerhouse.”

“Indeed.” Another man added, his tone tinged with jealousy.

“With Healing Light, Rain Prayer, and Swift Swimmer, it has healing, speed, and offense all in one package. How could it not be strong?”

Wang Weidou chuckled.

“Ah, Qiao Sang, that kid, every time I see her, her strength has grown by leaps and bounds.”

“Don’t mention overshadowing Litan Beast Taming High. She’s just a first-year. Competing in the senior bracket, against students two years older than her, and making it this far is already impressive.”

He tilted his head slightly with a hint of pride.

The vice-principal of Xiongding High School twitched at the corners of his mouth.

This old man... He said overshadow? What he really meant was crush. That’s a huge difference!

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On the field, Wu Chang took a deep breath. If he wasn’t mistaken, Ice Qiya had cast Snowfall before using Rain Prayer.

A mid-tier pet beast, this terrifying?

Wu Chang cast a deep, meaningful look at Qiao Sang.

While others might not realize it yet, he was keenly aware that the girl in front of him was already strong enough to reach the National Finals of the Campus Beats Mastering League.

Once the elimination rounds ended, the gap between their levels would likely ensure they never faced each other again.

After a moment of silence, Wu Chang asked, “Can we exchange contact information?”

“Sure.” Qiao Sang replied cheerfully.

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An hour later, the week-long group stage finally came to an end.

On the large virtual screen above the audience seats, the list of those advancing to the next round was promptly displayed.

Qiao Sang saw her name at the very top of the first column.

“Well done. All three of you advanced.” Sun Boyi said with a smile.

“But the elimination rounds in three days are where things really count. Especially you, He Dadao. Don’t slack off.”

He Dadao muttered under his breath, “Why not say that to Qiao-”

He paused, remembering Qiao Sang’s Flaming Hound evolution, and corrected himself: “Xu Yixuan.”

Xu Yixuan: ...

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind them.

“Qiao Sang, come meet someone.”

Qiao Sang turned to see her principal, practically radiating the aura of wealth, alongside a middle-aged man.

“Hello, I’m the vice-principal of Xiongding High School.” The man said with a friendly smile.

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