Chapter 756: Opponent, Pay-to-Win Whale

Fully recovered already?

In the audience.

Some people exchanged confused looks, while others were still immersed in the brutal display from Ice Aipalu just moments ago.

“I thought the match was over once the Evilwater Toad was sealed by Ice Flower Seal, but then Ice Aipalu came in with so many consecutive Gianticies Ice Spikes...”

“That’s called caution.”

“This Ice Aipalu is kind of ruthless. In this season’s Beast Tamer Star Tournament, probably only Apollon Nowitzki could hold his own against Qiao Sang.”

“Are you crazy? How’s he going to fight that? Did you forget Ice Aipalu has the super-tier skill Ice Field Domain?”

“Uh, what I meant was that the Ice Field Domain can probably only be used once. If she wins this match with it, maybe Apollon could pull a comeback in the next round.”

“I think that’s a long shot. Qiao Sang’s other two general-tier beasts don’t look easy to handle either.”

“By the way, what’s that healing skill Ice Aipalu used? It seems really effective.”

“Not sure, probably a talent skill.” The speaker said this while saving a clip of the match he had just recorded, trimming it down to the moment Ice Aipalu emitted a blue light and was restored to full health, and uploading it with a caption:

[Does anyone know what healing skill this is?]

---

Half an hour later.

On the way back.

“I didn’t expect your Ice Aipalu to have trained Ice Flower Seal to the ultimate level.” Pirite said, trying to keep his voice calm.

To be honest, he had seen many geniuses, some even considered monsters, but someone like Qiao Sang, who was beyond even monstrous, was a first.

Let’s not even talk about her age, mental capacity, or the fact that she’s already raised three general-level beasts, some of which even learned super-tier skills. Just the fact she trained a high-tier skill to ultimate within a year was surreal.

“It’s been focusing on that skill for a long time.” Qiao Sang replied.

A long time? How long? You’ve only been a Beast Master for a year!

Pirite nearly exploded, but he forced himself to stay calm.

Because he understood, this girl in front of him defied all logic. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been placed into the Imperial Class at the age of sixteen.

“Anything you want to ask about today’s two matches?” Pirite remembered his role as her mentor.

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and asked: “Tao Jun is a rune master, right? Logically, both her beasts should’ve had runes, but I didn’t see any on the Evilwater Toad. Was it not inscribed?”

When battling the Evilwater Toad, she’d originally planned to destroy the rune first, but she never saw it.

“The rune on the Evilwater Toad was drawn on its tongue.” Pirite explained.

He had received feedback-enhanced senses, including exceptional eyesight. He saw the anomaly inside the toad’s mouth when it released its poisonous mist.

So it was on the tongue... Even if discovered, that would be hard to destroy. It’s not like you can cut out a beast’s tongue... Tch. That’s actually a clever place to draw a rune...

Qiao Sang asked again, “What was the rune’s effect?”

Pirite paused for a few seconds and said: “If I’m not mistaken, it causes the tongue to automatically secrete saliva...”

He paused, then added: “But only when the beast is in trouble will the rune activate.”

He turned his gaze to Qiao Sang and said: “The Evilwater Toad’s saliva is extremely poisonous. Even if it was frozen, it could use the saliva to corrode the Ice Flower Seal. Those final Gigantancides Ice Spikes from your Ice Aipalu were well-timed and prevented that from happening.”

Huh? What? That was a thing...?

Qiao Sang was stunned.

No wonder Lubao used so many Giant Ice Spikes at the end. She thought Lubao just wanted to test out her new offensive move..

.

But now it looked like Lubao sensed something was wrong...

Could she have seen the venom dripping and the Ice Flower Seal starting to corrode?

That actually wasn’t impossible...

Lubao had used Blue Dew Crystal before and always had good eyesight. She could track even the fastest projectiles with precision...

But there was still that bit of purple mist at the time, would it be too much to think Lubao could see all that from such a distance?

While she was thinking, Pirite’s voice came again: “Ice Aipalu used Healing Light during the live broadcast across the entire web. Over the next while, a lot of people may try to contact you. Don’t agree to treat just anyone. If you really have to, contact me, I’ll go with you.”

Qiao Sang blinked.

“Why? I’ve still been treating people every night recently.”

Pirite said in a low voice: “The people you’ve been helping are introduced by the Dean of Yulianton Medical Department. With her as an intermediary, there’s a layer of security. But if you start agreeing to meet strangers privately, things could go very wrong.”

“This is a super-tier skill that can cure terminal illnesses. For that, many people will stop at nothing.” He said gravely.

Qiao Sang nodded.

“Got it.”

Right. When you’re facing death, there’s nothing you won’t do.

---

The next day.

12:00 noon.

Yulianton University.

Qiao Sang waited under a landmark structure in the university, holding Yabao, as per the message from Lamar Skoriva.

Students passing by kept sneaking glances at her, the rate of turning heads was ridiculously high.

Qiao Sang kept a calm face, now used to this kind of attention.

Suddenly, a girl with long chestnut hair, slightly curled at the ends, looking around 20, ran over with an excited expression.

“Sorry! The teacher kept me after class to ask some questions.” She bent over with her hands on her knees, catching her breath as she explained.

“Lamar Skoriva?” Qiao Sang asked for confirmation.

“That’s me.” Lamar straightened and smiled brightly.

She looked at Yabao.

“This must be Fire Qilu.”

Recognized, Yabao casually stretched out his paw.

“Xun~”

The next second, Little Treasure appeared, removed the ring, dug around in it with his paw, and quickly pulled out a pair of dark green triangle sunglasses and respectfully placed them in Yabao’s paw.

Then he disappeared again.

“Yap.”

Yabao put on the shades, struck a cool pose, and gave a little bark to say

yes, it’s me.

Qiao Sang: ……

Lamar’s eyes lit up.

“Your Fire Qilu is perfect for sunglasses!”

I almost forgot you’re a coordination student..

. Qiao Sang thought to herself, then got straight to the point: “Do you have a beast that knows Wave of Peace?”

“I do!” Lamar formed a seal with her hands.

An orange-yellow star array lit up.

Soon, a familiar beast appeared in the array.

“Fairy Treasure Butterfly?” Qiao Sang sounded a little surprised.

“Yap..”

Seeing the beast, Yabao instantly went on alert.

“Yup, it’s a Fairy Treasure Butterfly.” Lamar said with a smile.

“But mine’s female, different from Groki’s.”

“Fairy~”

The Fairy Treasure Butterfly gave a little cry in greeting.

Qiao Sang gave it a once-over, then looked to Lamar and asked, “I’d like to train with Wave of Peace for an hour each day. What time are you available?”

The training time of one hour per day was mentioned in the task post. Without thinking, Lamar said, “How about every noon? You’ve got evening matches lately, right? You probably don’t have time then.”

How thoughtful…

Qiao Sang felt a bit awkward.

“So you’ve been watching the matches too?”

“Of course!” Lamar’s eyes sparkled.

“I’m basically your looks-fan now. Both Ice Aipalu and Fire Qilu are perfect for coordination contests! Especially Ice Aipalu! That entrance with the snow, and its looks? I feel like it could pass the first stage of a coordination contest without even trying!”

“Xun Xun~”

Just as she finished, Little Treasure reappeared, paw on his forehead, striking a pose.

What about him?

Lamar was caught off guard by the Ghost Ring King’s dramatic move and asked: “What did it say?”

Qiao Sang paused for two seconds and translated, “It asked if he’s suitable for coordination contests too.”

She was about to give Lamar a secret look to say

just say yes.

But before she could, Lamar replied earnestly: “Of course! Every beast has its own unique charm. Ghost Ring King has plenty of charm! Honestly, if the coordinator is willing to put in the effort, no beast is unsuitable for coordination contests.”

Then she suddenly got excited, turning to Qiao Sang: “Wait, is Ghost Ring King interested in entering coordination contests? Why don’t you take it and give it a shot?”

“Xun Xun!”

Hearing that, Little Treasure stopped posing and looked expectantly at his beast master.

Don’t look at me. I have way too much on my plate to enter any coordination contests right now...

Qiao Sang muttered internally, but outwardly she stayed calm, pulled out her phone to check the time, and smoothly changed the subject: “There’s not much time left on our lunch break. Let’s head over to my dorm and start training.”

“Okay!” Lamar nodded.

The two walked side by side toward the premium area.

“Xun Xun?”

Little Treasure followed behind, confused, glancing back and forth between his beast master and the human who just said he had charm.

Wait, what?

Why’d they stop talking?

Weren’t we talking about whether I should join the coordination contest?

Why’d it end like that??

---

Special-Class Zone.

Dormitory No. 100.

“Fairy Treasure Butterfly, Wave of Peace.” Lamar said aloud.

“Fairy.”

Fairy Treasure Butterfly let out a cry.

A pink ripple immediately spread out like a wave from its antennae toward Yabao.

I don’t really feel anything…

Once the pink wave faded, Qiao Sang checked herself and found that her mood hadn’t changed. She then turned to Yabao and asked: “Do you want to compete in tonight’s match?”

“Yap…”

Yabao looked at his beastmaster with a confused expression, then seemed to realize what was being asked and nodded.

He could.

The Wave of Peace still had such a strong effect on Yabao…

Qiao Sang sighed inwardly, then suddenly thought of something and turned to Lamar:

“Is the 1 point per hour settled on the same day, or is it tallied up at the end?”

Lamar quickly replied, “I almost forgot to mention, I don’t want any points.”

Qiao Sang was taken aback.

“Then what do you want?”

Lamar smiled.

“In about half a month, 1st District will hold a Coordination Tournament. When the time comes, could you go with me?”

Qiao Sang confirmed, “You just want me to go with you to watch the competition?”

Lamar nodded.

“Mm-hmm.”

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said, “Alright.”

She didn’t know why the other party made this request, but it was just to watch a match together, definitely not a loss.

About ten minutes later, while Qiao Sang was in the restroom, Lamar sat on the sofa, holding her phone, and sent a text message: [She agreed.]

---

6:20 PM.

Qiao Sang sat in the player area and saw several people rush toward her, only to be dragged away by security.

Almost thirty seconds after one young man was removed, a middle-aged man came running over, visibly emotional: “Qiao Sang! Help me! I have kidney failure! Let Ice Aipalu treat me!”

As soon as he said this, a bear-like pet wearing a security uniform used Quick Attack, turning into a white flash and speeding past him.

In just a

whoosh

, the white light moved toward the arena’s exit, and the middle-aged man vanished from the field.

Qiao Sang: …

When I participated in the National Campus Beast Mastering League back then, I never ran into anything like this…

Qiao Sang sighed, then suddenly thought of something and pulled out her phone to check the trending searches.

She saw that the hashtag #IceAipalu, HealingLight# was ranked third.

At that moment, Pirite spoke up: “The Beast Tamer Star Tournament is under nationwide attention. More and more people will notice you. But it’s nothing to worry about, your goal is to compete in the Interstellar Cup, so these things were bound to happen eventually.”

That’s true. Although the National Campus Beast Mastering League she joined before was nationwide, it was mostly watched by students, parents, and teachers. It wasn’t nearly as hyped as the Beast Tamer Star Tournament, and the audience here came from all walks of life, anything goes…

Qiao Sang put her phone away and nodded.

“I understand.”

Right as she said that, a large bird-like pet flew overhead.

A blond woman in a yellow windbreaker stood atop it, shouting through a megaphone: “Qiao Sang! I need Ice Aipalu’s Healing Light! We can discuss any price! My contact info is-”

Just then, a transparent barrier covered the sky.

The sound from above was instantly cut off, completely inaudible now, though the blond woman could still be seen mouthing words into her megaphone.

Qiao Sang: …

Why not just contact me directly? Why go through all this in public… Wait, I guess this is the only place they can reach me…

Qiao Sang’s expression turned contemplative.

People not affiliated with Yulianton University can’t freely enter the campus, and her dorm had a professional security system…

Maybe I should just register a social media account so people can contact me easily, and also leave a message about what kind of compensation I accept…

As she was thinking this, the announcer’s voice rang out: “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the live scene of the Beast Tamer Star Tournament! Enough talk, let’s see who’s facing off in today’s matches!”

With that, a huge virtual screen lit up over the center of the arena, displaying 16 photos.

The photos began shuffling and swapping positions.

After about ten seconds, they stopped, forming eight match-ups.

Qiao Sang saw her opponent: Elan Prio.

“Elan Prio, 35 years old, B-rank Appraiser.” Pirite explained.

“Though his combat ability isn’t great, he spares no expense on his pet beasts. During matches, he equips them with item sigils and enchantments, he’s made it this far by spending.”

Got it, he’s a pay-to-win player…

Qiao Sang thought to herself.