Chapter 759: Starlink

“The Still Gaze Ladybug has fallen under the onslaught of Ghost Ring King’s Shadow Control!” The commentator exclaimed with passion.

“Will this match end right here?”

The mechanical beast referee flew over to the Still Gaze Ladybug, observed it for a moment, and then blew the whistle that signaled the end of the match.

As soon as the whistle sounded, the commentator’s voice rang out: “Let’s congratulate contestant Qiao Sang on winning this round!”

“Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!”

“Ghost Ring King! Ghost Ring King!”

“Fire Qilu! Fire Qilu!”

Cheers erupted throughout the arena. The atmosphere was electric, the kind of excitement only top-ranking, popular contestants could stir up.

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure, hearing so many people calling his name, was stunned for a second, then enthusiastically waved his claws at the crowd.

---

Qiao Sang returned through the corridor. She had barely taken a few steps when she saw a tall figure leaning against the wall.

“Congratulations on your victory.” Apollon approached quickly, smiling.

Qiao Sang paused in surprise.

“Were you waiting here just for me?”

Apollon was a little surprised by her bluntness. He tucked away his smile, grew serious, and said honestly: “Yes, I have something I’d like to ask of you. Can we talk in private somewhere?”

Qiao Sang took out her phone and checked the time, then looked up.

“Sure, but I might bring someone else along.”

Apollon immediately replied, “No problem!”

---

Twenty minutes later.

At a café.

Apollon, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, sat in a corner.

“Do you want to take off your mask?” Qiao Sang asked.

“I’m worried someone might recognize me.” Apollon replied tactfully.

As he spoke, he glanced oddly at the black-haired girl across from him.

This café wasn’t far from the competition venue. Many fans of the Beast Tamer Star Tournament were in the area, some had even come from afar.

By all logic, the girl sitting before him should be one of the most talked-about contestants recently. But people around them acted like they didn’t recognize her, going about their business. Even those at the neighboring table didn’t seem to notice, something felt off.

She clearly had a memorable face.

At that moment, Pirite took a sip of coffee and calmly said: “Relax, I had my beast scatter Stealth Powder on us.”

Apollon suddenly understood.

Stealth Powder, natural powder from certain grass-type beasts, lowers one’s presence, making people subconsciously forget their appearance, even after direct interaction.

When had that powder been used? He hadn’t noticed at all…

Apollon tensed, instinctively growing wary of the older man Qiao Sang had brought along.

But he quickly remembered why he was here and didn’t dare waste any more time. He removed his mask, looked at Qiao Sang, and said solemnly: “I want Ice Aipalu to help heal someone.”

Just as I thought…

Qiao Sang asked calmly, “Who?”

“My father.” Apollon said, his tone heavy.

“He has pancreatic cancer. It’s in the late stages. Doctors told me the only hope was to find someone with super-tier healing skills. I searched for a long time and finally found one willing to try. But after hearing my father’s condition, they said they couldn’t do it.”

“That’s when I realized… even super-tier healing skills have limitations.”

He looked at Qiao Sang, hope shining in his eyes: “I did my research, Ice Aipalu’s Healing Light can do it. Miss Qiao Sang, if you agree to help, I’ll agree to anything in return!”

Qiao Sang thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright…”

Before she could state her terms, Apollon shot up from his seat, face full of excitement. “Thank you, thank you so much!”

The commotion drew a few glances from nearby patrons, but they quickly lost interest and looked away.

Realizing he had overreacted, Apollon quickly sat back down and tried to compose himself.

“What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to join a beastmaster club.” Qiao Sang said.

Pirite: ???

Pirite gave Qiao Sang a baffled look.

A beastmaster club?

What did she have to do with a beastmaster club?

Qiao Sang remained composed.

She had thought it through, although Yuna had given her a stake in the club only in exchange for joining as a member, Qiao Sang knew that reaching king-level and competing interstellarly could still take a long time.

Right now, the newly established beastmaster club was most in need of talented, well-known members. Apollon, a four-time champion of the pet arena tournaments, had both skill and fame. As someone from Chaosu Star who planned to stay here long-term, his joining would immediately boost the club’s visibility.

“Deal!” Apollon agreed without hesitation.

Then, eager, he asked, “Can you help treat my father today? He’s in a hospital nearby. I can sign the contract with the club right now!”

“No need.” Qiao Sang smiled.

“I’ll give you a contact. You can handle the contract with them directly.”

“My father…” Apollon tensed again.

“The treatment can happen right away.” Qiao Sang reassured him.

“Thank you, thank you so much!” Apollon once again jumped out of his chair, overwhelmed with gratitude.

---

The hospital was only three kilometers away.

They went, completed the treatment, and returned, all within half an hour.

High above the ground, in flight...

Pirite couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Why are you involved with a beastmaster club?

“A high school classmate of mine started one. I’m a shareholder.” Qiao Sang answered frankly.

“I’ll be heading back to Blue Star soon and won’t be much help here, so I wanted to recommend some good talent.”

A high school classmate…

Was this club even legit?

Wouldn’t it collapse soon?

Wasn’t having a four-time arena champion join such a club a huge waste?

Still, if the club would probably go under quickly, trading a brief servitude for his father’s recovery seemed worth it…

Pirite stopped thinking about it and changed the subject: “Did you gain anything from today’s match?”

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said: “I think I should develop more gesture-based commands, just in case the pet can’t hear my verbal commands in the future, gestures can still get the message across.”

As she spoke, something seemed to occur to her. She asked: “What do the runes on Magical Clang and the Still Gaze Ladybug do? I didn’t really feel their impact during the match.”

Pirite was silent for a moment.

“They allow pets to unleash greater energy than usual.”

I see…

Qiao Sang suddenly understood.

Pirite added, “Your Ghost Ring King doesn’t have a decisive attack skill. It mainly relies on Shadow Control, which is more about crowd control.”

He paused, then offered a suggestion: “I think in the near future, you should have Ghost Ring King practice more offensive skills, or create a combo skill using Shadow of Darkness alongside an attack move. The earlier combo of Shadow of Darkness and Shadow Control was very effective.”

Qiao Sang thought about it, found the advice reasonable, and nodded.

“Got it.”

---

10:03 PM.

Qiao Sang returned to the villa and the first thing she saw was the vice principal in the kitchen.

"Vice Principal, you’re home so early today." Qiao Sang said in surprise.

"Thanks to you, the materials were sorted out ahead of schedule." Liu Yao said as he brought out two plates of energy pills.

"Quick, let Yabao and the others come over and try them. These are newly made, let’s see how they taste."

"Yap!"

Yabao instantly jumped out of his beastmaster’s arms and ran to the energy pills, happily munching away.

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure teleported to the other plate of energy pills, reached out a paw, and was just about to grab one when Liu Yao swiftly pulled the plate away.

"Xun xun?"

Little Treasure looked in confusion at the human who usually made delicious food.

"That one’s not for you." Liu Yao said as he brought out another plate from the kitchen and placed it in front of Little Treasure.

Smiling, he added, "This is yours."

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure happily grabbed one and started eating.

Liu Yao looked at Qiao Sang.

"Let your Lubao and Gangbao come out too."

"Lu Ai."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lubao jumped out from behind.

Qiao Sang formed a seal with her hands and summoned Gangbao.

Lubao walked over to the energy pills, took a bite, wagged her tail instinctively, and looked satisfied.

Gangbao took a bite, paused for a moment, then without a word, lowered her head and ate another.

"Are all four of these energy pill types newly customized?" Qiao Sang asked.

"That's right." Liu Yao replied, seeing how much they liked the pills. A rare smile appeared on his usually steady face.

Qiao Sang said immediately, "Thank you, Vice Principal!"

"This is what I should be doing." Liu Yao waved it off casually.

Then, as if he remembered something, he added: "By the way, I’ve finished reading all five of your books. I’ll bring them to your room later."

Finally finished! My points!

Qiao Sang was overjoyed inside, though she only gave a slight smile on the surface.

"No rush. Just hand them to me tomorrow at breakfast."

---

Qiao Sang returned to her room and began thinking about Little Treasure's combo skills.

To be honest, Little Treasure had plenty of offensive moves, but combining them with Shadow of Darkness was quite limiting. After all, Shadow of Darkness was just an illusion, so close-combat moves like Psychic Headbutt or Brick-Breaking were definitely out.

Will-o’-Wisp and Shadow Ball might work. While the power boost wouldn’t be huge, at least visually it would look much scarier when used with the phantom...

And if paired with the Intimidation trait, it might have some useful effect...

Come to think of it, Little Treasure had already trained Will-o’-Wisp to the ultimate level, but she hadn’t seen him use the move much...

Just then, her phone rang.

Qiao Sang picked it up and saw it was a call from Yuna.

She answered, and Yuna’s excited voice came through the speaker: "How on earth did you recruit Apollon?!"

That was Apollon Novitsky, currently the most famous C-rank star beast master!

"He didn’t tell you?" Qiao Sang asked.

Yuna said sheepishly, "I was too excited and forgot to ask."

Qiao Sang laughed.

"He asked me for a shot of Healing Light."

"Ah, that explains it..." Yuna instantly understood.

Recently, Ice Aipalu and Healing Light had both been trending. She had seen them on the hot search.

"I have a suggestion." Yuna said suddenly.

Qiao Sang blinked.

"What suggestion?"

"I suggest that while you're still here, you create an interstellar account." Yuna shared her idea.

"That way, even when you return to Blue Star, people from Chaosu Star can still follow you."

Qiao Sang laughed upon hearing that.

"What a coincidence. I was just thinking the same thing."

She’d gotten the idea tonight while watching the match, seeing all those people who wanted Healing Light charging at her non-stop.

"Once you’ve made it, send me your ID! I want to be your first fan!" Yuna said eagerly.

"No problem."

After a bit more small talk, Qiao Sang hung up the phone, opened the interstellar web, and downloaded an app called Starlink.

Most of the users registering on this app were humans from different stars, and it was one of the most popular apps on Blue Star.

However, logging in required the interstellar net, which cost money, so Qiao Sang hadn’t considered downloading it before.

She thought for a moment at the 'nickname' field, then finally typed in three words: [Genius Yet Again]

"Xun xun~"

Just then, Little Treasure floated over and sweetly asked if he could play on the computer now.

Qiao Sang looked at it and suddenly said, "Give me a feel of your Intimidation."

"Xun xun…"

Little Treasure didn’t understand but instinctively adjusted his aura.

He furrowed his brows and put on a "I’m watching you…" face.

Qiao Sang went quiet for a moment.

"Go practice your intimidation skills first."

Little Treasure: ???

He was confused!

Wasn’t he just asking to play on the computer?

Why did not only he got denied but also be told to go train instead?!

---

The Next Day.

Qiao Sang received the five books the vice principal handed her at breakfast and had Little Treasure teleport to the library during break to return them.

6:30 PM.

Outdoor Beastmaster Arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the live site of the Beast Tamer Star Tournament!" The commentator's passionate voice echoed across the venue.

"Tonight we’ll determine who makes it to the semifinals! Who will the star contenders be?!"

"Apollon! Apollon!"

"Stella! Stella!"

"Ilkayi! Ilkayi!"

"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"

The crowd shouted loudly for their favorite star contestants.

To Qiao Sang’s surprise, the voices calling her name were just as loud as the others.

"Let’s look at the big screen!" The commentator continued.

Photos flashed across a massive virtual screen, shifting quickly until it froze a few seconds later.

Qiao Sang saw her opponent, Stella.

"Stella, 34 years old, C-rank professional beastmaster." Pirite said.

"She has a lot of battle experience, so be careful."

Qiao Sang’s lips curved into a smile.

"Isn’t that exactly the kind of opponent I need?"

Pirite paused for a moment, then smiled.

"You’re absolutely right."