The Ice Crystal Deer leaped gracefully, pale blue light gathering between its antlers, and an extremely cold beam shot out, colliding with the flames in the air.
"Boom!"
Ice and fire intertwined, erupting in a large amount of white steam that instantly enveloped the entire battle platform.
A gasp of surprise rippled through the spectator stands.
"This steam..." Gao Xue narrowed her eyes slightly. "Was the Ice Crystal Deer doing that on purpose?"
Sure enough, the Ice Crystal Deer's figure flickered in and out of sight within the steam, its movements becoming elusive.
The Three-tailed Blaze Fox cautiously pricked up its ears, its three tails swaying simultaneously, forming a flame barrier around itself.
Suddenly, an Ice Spike shot out from the steam!
The Three-tailed Blaze Fox flicked its left tail, and normal flames instantly vaporized the Ice Spike.
But the next second, dozens of Ice Spikes attacked simultaneously from all directions!
"It used the steam to create multiple ice crystal reflections!" Ouyang Qin's eyes flashed with admiration.
The Three-tailed Blaze Fox's three tails erupted simultaneously, red, orange, and gold flames intertwining into a firewall that blocked all the Ice Spikes.
But the moment the flames collided with the Ice Spikes, a figure burst from the steam—the Ice Crystal Deer had closed the distance!
Its antlers pressed against the flame barrier, the extremely cold beam and high-temperature blazes continuously clashing, ice and fire fiercely consuming each other's energy at the point of contact.
"They're testing their energy reserves," Gao Xue whispered. "Let's see who gives out first."
The entire venue held its breath.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds...
Both pets' breathing grew ragged, the Three-tailed Blaze Fox's flames began to fluctuate unstably, and fine frost crystallized on the Ice Crystal Deer's antlers—a sign of energy overexertion.
Just as everyone expected a draw, the Three-tailed Blaze Fox suddenly let out a clear cry.
The golden tail behind it suddenly burst with unprecedented light—its soul heartfire was fully unleashed!
The Ice Crystal Deer's extremely cold beam was instantly suppressed, and its entire body was engulfed by flames.
But the moment the flames touched its body, the Ice Crystal Deer suddenly transformed into countless ice crystal fragments, dissipating into the air.
"That was... an Ice Crystal Doppelganger?!" an observant audience member exclaimed.
The real Ice Crystal Deer burst out from the steam on the other side, its antlers concentrating the last of its extremely cold beam.
The Three-tailed Blaze Fox had just unleashed its soul heartfire and was in a brief period of weakness, with no time to dodge.
"Bang!"
The extremely cold beam hit precisely, and a layer of ice began to spread over the Three-tailed Blaze Fox.
The entire venue fell silent.
The next second, cracks appeared on the ice's surface, and the Three-tailed Blaze Fox shattered the ice, shook its fur, and gently swayed its three tails.
The Ice Crystal Deer also nodded softly, and both pets bowed to the audience simultaneously.
"Splendid!" The host led the applause. "The Ice Crystal Deer's incredibly realistic Ice Crystal Doppelganger tricked the Three-tailed Blaze Fox's soul heartfire, ultimately turning the tables and winning! Let's hear it for both contestants!"
Thunderous applause erupted.
Li Chengying was so excited she almost stood up: "That was incredible! How did it do that Ice Crystal Doppelganger?"
Gao Xue pondered, "It must be an extremely precise control of Ice-type energy, creating a doppelganger with an identical energy fluctuation to its own."
Liu Yi's gaze fell on Ziyue.
Ziyue was staring intently at the battle platform, her purple eyes reflecting the dissipating and reforming ice crystal fragments of the Ice Crystal Deer, her ears twitching slightly, and the tip of her tail unconsciously swaying.
Liu Yi was very familiar with this reaction; Ziyue always acted this way whenever she took an interest in a particular skill.
"Ziyue?" she called softly.
Only then did Ziyue snap out of it, turning her head to look at Liu Yi.
In those purple eyes, a strange gleam now shone, like that of an explorer discovering a new continent.
"Bingbing! Bingbing!"
It rubbed its head against Liu Yi's hand, then looked at the battle platform again, gently patted Liu Yi's arm with its paw, and pointed in the direction where the Ice Crystal Deer had vanished.
"You want to learn that? Ice Crystal Doppelganger?"
"Bingbing!"
Ziyue nodded vigorously, her two tails wagging excitedly, her eyes full of anticipation.
Chiying also came closer, its crimson eyes darting between Ziyue and Liu Yi, then nodding thoughtfully.
"That skill really suits you," Liu Yi said, gently rubbing Ziyue's ear. "But we don't have the facilities to practice now. When we get back to the hotel, we can analyze its principles first."
"Bingbing~"
Ziyue rubbed against her palm, narrowing her eyes contentedly.
Seeing this, Li Chengying, who was sitting opposite, leaned over curiously: "What's going on? What's wrong with Ziyue?"
"She wants to learn that move the Ice Crystal Deer just used," Liu Yi replied truthfully.
Li Chengying paused, then her eyes widened: "Ice Crystal Doppelganger? But that's an A-rank skill! Ziyue is only at the Intermediate stage, can she learn it?"
Gao Xue set down her lemon sparkling water and said thoughtfully, "Theoretically, skill learning is linked to a pet's energy Level, and the most crucial factors are their mastery over their own energy and their comprehension. And did you forget? Ziyue already mastered the A-rank skill Snowfall, so she might very well be able to learn this Ice Crystal Doppelganger."
Ouyang Qin also nodded slightly. "Furthermore, the essence of Ice Crystal Doppelganger is to create a doppelganger with Ice-type energy that has an identical energy fluctuation to the user, which demands extremely high Energy Control. Judging by Ziyue's previous performance in the Tower of Trials and the training base, her Energy Control has indeed reached a very high standard."
Li Chengying listened, bewildered, and finally managed to blurt out, "Can you two please say something I can understand?"
Gao Xue gave her a helpless glance. "Simply put, Ziyue might be able to learn it."
"Oh!" Li Chengying suddenly understood, then turned to Ziyue and gave her a thumbs-up. "Go, Ziyue!"
The third exhibition match quickly began.
This time, two common Flying-type pets from the Monte Region appeared: a Hurricane Eagle and a Thunder Feather Falcon.
The two pets engaged in a high-speed aerial chase, and the air currents generated by their clashing skills made the restaurant's energy shield tremble slightly.
The Hurricane Eagle used its size advantage to suppress its opponent head-on, while the Thunder Feather Falcon relied on its agility to maneuver and counterattack, ultimately ending the match with the Thunder Feather Falcon's victory.
After the exhibition match, the atmosphere in the restaurant grew even livelier.
Li Chengying, still not satisfied, flipped through the menu: "Should we order something else? All the desserts here look so delicious..."
"You've already had three servings," Gao Xue said expressionlessly, pointing to the empty plates in front of her.
"Well, that's because they're good!"
Liu Yi smiled, picked up her phone, and searched for information related to "Ice Crystal Doppelganger."
Several pages of search results appeared on the screen.
【Ice Crystal Doppelganger: An Ice-type A-rank skill that creates an ice crystal doppelganger with identical energy fluctuations to the user's main body, capable of confusing opponents and withstanding one attack. While the doppelganger exists, the main body can conceal its presence to launch a surprise attack or retreat.】
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