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The audience fell into a brief silence, unsure of what to say.
It was common for advanced beasts to crush intermediate beasts, but this was the national championship, every contestant's intermediate beast was capable of exchanging blows with an advanced beast.
Moreover, Qiao Sangâs Ghost Ring Phantom had only recently evolved.
Wu Chongyuâs Ice Dragon was a rare and powerful dragon-type beast that many had high hopes for, it was one of the most popular beasts in the championship.
While no one expected Wu Chongyu to use Ice Dragon to defeat Qiao Sangâs Ghost Ring Phantom, no one could have predicted that Ice Dragon would lose the battle in under thirty seconds!
âI take back what I said about Wu Chongyu making it to the top five.â
âIn the last match, I didnât expect Wu Chongyuâs Electric Slash Beast to put up such a fight against Qiao Sangâs Blazing Star Canine. And now, I didnât expect Ice Dragon to be defeated like this.â
âSame hereâŠâ
âLook at that Ghost Ring Phantom, it didnât even move from its position from start to finish.â
âThatâs the weakest dragon-type beast Iâve ever seenâŠâ
âIf youâve watched Ice Dragonâs other matches, youâd know itâs not weak at all. Itâs just that Qiao Sangâs Ghost Ring Phantom is way too overwhelming. Its Shadow Control and Hypnosis skills are at an insanely high level. Forget intermediate beasts, even most advanced beasts wouldnât be able to withstand them.â
âTo be fair, Ice Dragon is the most miserable pet Iâve seen in this national competition so far. It only managed to fire off one Ice beam before getting knocked out!â
Amid the crowdâs noisy discussions, Qiao Sang turned and walked toward the contestant passageway, heading back to the contestant area.
As soon as she stepped into the passageway and took just a few steps, she suddenly remembered something. Forming a hand seal, she prepared to summon Lubao to heal Yabao.
Just as she completed the first hand gesture-
âTap, tap, tapâŠâ
Footsteps echoed in the quiet contestant passage, followed by a cheerful voice:
âQiao Sang, that was an amazing match! I knew youâd win.â
Who is that�
Qiao Sang lowered her hands and looked up, spotting a somewhat familiar figure, Zhou Shanliang, a contestant from the next match.
At this stage of the competition, only a few contestants remained, and each had at least some understanding of the others.
Zhou Shanliang was from the Zhidiya Region.
Despite his name meaning
kind-hearted
, both of his contracted beasts were ghost-types.
One of them, the Masked Nightmare Ghost, was infamous in the Zhidiya Region for its eerie nature.
It loved sneaking into peopleâs bodies at night, gradually draining their body heat.
Once targeted by it, a person would feel cold 24/7. It also had a habit of cursing those it found interesting, and it was rumored to be filled with cursed energy.
Zhidiya was the region in the Dragon Nation with the most ghost-type beasts.
For a ghost-type beast to be notorious even in that region, the Masked Nightmare Ghost must have been unsettling beyond common acceptance.
And for Zhou Shanliang to contract such a beast⊠He might not be as kind-hearted as his name suggested.
After all, it was well-known that beasts often took after their masters.
Even if they didnât, a long-term contract would cause certain traits of the beast and the beastmaster to influence each other over time.
However, having contracted Little Treasure herself, Qiao Sang felt that the worldâs perception of ghost-type beasts was a bit one-sided.
She also didnât believe that just because a beastmaster had a beast with a bad reputation, it meant the beastmaster was a bad person.
âThanks! Good luck in your match later.â Qiao Sang replied with a smile.
Zhou Shanliang was briefly stunned before flashing a bright, cheerful grin.
âI will.â
With that, he lifted his leg and continued walking toward the passage exit.
Qiao Sang was about to take a few more steps inside and resume summoning Yabao and Lubao.
But suddenly, Zhou Shanliang seemed to remember something. He stopped, turned around, and said:
âBy the way, since you have ghost-type beasts, you should visit Zhidiya someday. Youâll gain a lot from the trip.â
Qiao Sang was slightly taken aback.
âGot it.â
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Qiao Sang returned to the contestant area, holding a fully recovered Yabao.
By then, the second match had already begun.
She watched Zhou Shanliang on the battlefield and fell into thought.
The Zhidiya Region was known for its abundance of ghost-type beasts, and its resources for ghost-type training were particularly rich. Even if Zhou Shanliang hadnât mentioned it, she had already planned to visit one day.
However, she wouldnât have time in the near future.
If, at the beginning of the national campus beast mastering league, she had been uncertain about her chances, she now felt confident that she could secure a spot in the interstellar exchange program.
If she won that spot, she would likely spend a long time on another planet.
When that time cameâŠ
Just then, Sun Boyi suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
âHow did the Blazing Star Canine defend itself in that final moment against the thunderstorm?â
âYap.â
Hearing someone mention his heroic moment, Yabao smirked, lifting his right paw in a proud gesture.
âXun~â
Little Treasure immediately understood his big broâs meaning. He removed a round ring and pulled out a dark green triangular pair of sunglasses, placing them onto Yabaoâs outstretched paw.
âYapâŠâ
Yabao put on the sunglasses, tilted his head up at a cool 45-degree angle, and let out a confident growl, as if saying that the story of his defense was long and complicatedâŠ
âIt was a Counter Shield. Ning Yuâs Explosive Tortoise used it before. Teacher Zheng was the one who had me learn it." Qiao Sang explained.
Counter Shield�
Sun Boyi was stunned.
As a professional coach, he knew exactly what a Counter Shield was. But he couldnât figure out how any version of it could withstand an attack at the center of a thunderstorm.
Just as he was about to ask further, Liu Yao suddenly spoke.
âTeacher Zheng Guoping taught you that?â
âYeah.â Qiao Sang nodded.
Liu Yao glanced at Sun Boyi in silence.
Sun Boyi said nothing more.
Yabao: âŠ
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Ten minutes later, as expected, Zhou Shanliang won his match.
His opponent, Liu Yongming, was strong, but his ace beast was a fighting-type.
Ghost-types counter fighting-types. The fact that he held out for so long was already a testament to his strength.
Time flew by.
One by one, the contestants for the next round were decided.
There wasnât a single weak contender left.
Whenever Qiao Sang thought one contestant had a higher chance of winning, the other would suddenly unleash a trump card and turn the tables.
By noon, six contestants had secured their spots in the next round.
The most anticipated match between Zhao Chuanyu and Cui Pingkun was scheduled for the afternoon.
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Qiao Sang didnât attend the afternoon matches in person. Instead, she watched the live stream from her hotel room.
On-screen, a massive, predominantly red dragon-type beast was soaring into the sky, clutching a fully mechanical beast in its arms while spinning at high speed.
Visually, it looked like a giant flaming fireball.
Seconds later, the dragon-type beast stopped spinning and dove straight down, still holding the mechanical beast.
The sheer speed of the descent created a high-pressure airwave in its wake.
As they neared the ground, the dragon-type beast suddenly released its grip---
The mechanical beast plummeted headfirst into the battlefield.
BOOM!!!
A deafening crash shook the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
When the dust settled, the camera zoomed in to reveal the mechanical beast, unconscious with its eyes closed.
At the same time, the camera shifted back to the imposing red dragon-type beast.
Meanwhile, the live chat was flooded with â666â and âAwesome!â
Qiao Sang turned off the chat and focused on the red dragon-type beast on the screen.
Crimson Rush Dragon, Zhao Chuanyuâs beast, and the only advanced dragon-type beast in the national campus beast mastering league.
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