“So there you have it,” Sheng Mingxi said, brushing the spice crumbs from her hands. “What does it matter if his Nightblade Wolf is Advanced rank? We’ll only know once we fight.”
She took a few freshly grilled skewers from the vendor and handed one to Liu Yi: “Try it, it’s really good.”
Liu Yi took it and bit into it. The meat was tender, the spices flavorful; it was indeed quite good.
“How is it?” Sheng Mingxi asked.
“Delicious,” Liu Yi replied truthfully.
Sheng Mingxi nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Ziyue and Chiying: “Do you two want some too?”
Ziyue sniffed the grilled meat skewer, hesitated, then shook her head. She had already eaten quite a bit, and her belly was round; she simply couldn’t fit any more. Chiying also politely declined.
“Alright, never mind then,” Sheng Mingxi said, not pressing the issue, and took another bite herself. “Are you two also here to eat?”
“Yeah, we won our matches today, so I brought them out to relax a bit,” Liu Yi said.
Sheng Mingxi glanced at Ziyue: “I saw it. Your Silver Snow Fox’s Extreme Cold Storm at the end was really powerful. Fang Mingming was completely frozen stiff.”
Ziyue’s tails wagged.
“I watched your match too,” Liu Yi said. “Your Ghost-Mask Moth’s Phantom Poison Scales were well-used.”
Sheng Mingxi paused, clearly not expecting Liu Yi to have paid attention to her match. She scratched her head, a little embarrassed: “It was alright.”
The two continued to eat and chat, slowly walking along the snack street. Ziyue and Chiying followed beside them, occasionally glancing at the dazzling array of delicacies on the stalls.
When they reached the end of the street, Sheng Mingxi stopped and checked the time on her phone.
“I need to head back; I have a match tomorrow.” She finished the last bite of her skewer and tossed the bamboo skewer into a trash can. “What about you? Who’s your opponent tomorrow? Have you checked?”
Liu Yi shook her head: “Not yet.”
“Well, you should go back and check quickly, it might be another second-year,” Sheng Mingxi said, waving at her. “Good luck with your match tomorrow.”
“You too.”
Sheng Mingxi turned and walked a few steps, then looked back as if remembering something: “Oh, right, my opponent tomorrow is that guy from earlier…”
She pointed in the direction Pei Yingwu had left, her expression subtle: “Do you think he genuinely believes I’d be scared by his words and actually concede?”
Liu Yi thought for a moment: “Probably.”
“Then he really underestimates people,” Sheng Mingxi pouted.
She waved at Liu Yi, and this time, she really left.
Liu Yi watched her back disappear into the crowd, then looked down at Ziyue: “What do you think?”
Ziyue tilted her head and let out a cry.
“Bingbing.”
He’s so noisy.
Liu Yi chuckled: “Indeed.”
Chiying also nodded in agreement.
“Let’s go.” Liu Yi turned and walked in another direction. “Let’s browse a bit more and see what else looks good.”
Ziyue immediately followed, her tails perked up again. Chiying hovered beside her, its crimson eyes scanning the surrounding stalls.
They wandered for another half an hour, and even bought some local Monte Region specialty snacks that could be mailed directly, sending them back to Auntie Chen, Fluffy Butler, and Boxing Bunny.
The bustle of the snack street gradually faded behind them, as Liu Yi, Ziyue, and Chiying walked back along the floating island’s edge walkway.
The night breeze blew from deep within the cloud sea, carrying a hint of high-altitude crispness. Ziyue’s belly was round from eating, and she walked a little slower than usual, her two tails drooping lazily behind her, occasionally sweeping the ground with a faint rustling sound.
Chiying hovered beside Liu Yi, also looking quite sated.
Back at the Cloud Dream Hotel, a few school team members were still chatting quietly in the lobby. Seeing Liu Yi enter, some waved at her, and she nodded back.
As the elevator doors closed, Ziyue finally couldn’t hold on any longer and flopped directly onto the floor.
Liu Yi looked down at her and couldn’t help but chuckle: “That’s what you get for eating so much.”
“Bingbing...” Ziyue let out a weak cry, too tired to even wag her tails.
Chiying floated past her side and gently patted Ziyue’s head with its tail.
Back in her room, Liu Yi didn’t rush to rest. She sat on the sofa, pulled out her phone, and opened the school team group chat.
Sure enough, the battle schedule had already been posted.
She tapped on the image, her gaze quickly scanning the list, and found her name.
【National High School League First Stage · Monte Competition Zone · Week Two · Day Two Battle Schedule】
【Time: October 14, Tuesday, 17:00】
【Venue: Sky Colosseum · District B Battle Zone 2】
【Tianqi Beast Taming High School · First-Year Contestant · Liu Yi】
【Registered Pets: Silver Snow Fox (Ice attribute · Intermediate stage), Moling Dragon (Dragon + Poison attribute · Intermediate stage)】
【Current Total Personal Points: 75 points】
VS
【Blazing Sun High School · Second-Year Contestant · Shui Heyu】
【Registered Pets: Blazing Feather Eagle (Fire + Flying attribute · Intermediate stage), Molten Blast Lizard (Fire attribute · Intermediate stage)】
【Current Total Personal Points: 70 points】
Liu Yi stared at the screen for a few seconds, and Sheng Mingxi had indeed been right; it was another second-year contestant.
Shui Heyu, a second-year contestant from Blazing Sun High School, had 70 personal points, with a perfect seven-win record.
Both of his pets were Fire attribute. The Blazing Feather Eagle was Fire + Flying-type, and the Molten Blast Lizard was pure Fire-type.
Fire-type.
Liu Yi’s fingers lightly tapped on the armrest. Ice-type against Fire-type, the attribute disadvantage was clear.
Ice-type skills dealt half damage to Fire-type pets, while Fire-type skills dealt double damage to Ice-types. If Ziyue were to face the Blazing Feather Eagle or Molten Blast Lizard, a head-on confrontation would be very disadvantageous.
Moreover, Blazing Sun High School was a strong school in the Yongyang Region, renowned for cultivating Fire-type Beast Tamers. His understanding and application of Fire-type pets would definitely be superior.
However, she still had Chiying.
...
Liu Yi stood up and went to the bathroom for a quick wash.
Afterward, she sat cross-legged on the bed, closed her eyes, and her consciousness sank into her Beast Taming Space.
In the white space, everything was as usual.
Ziyue’s and Chiying’s pet rooms stood quietly, and the stone platform pool shimmered with colorful light.
A silvery-white device emitted a warm orange glow. Through its transparent observation window, the Blazing Lion pet egg inside was visible.
Liu Yi walked to the incubator and squatted down.
Through the transparent observation window, the Blazing Lion pet egg inside could be seen.
The control panel displayed the latest data:
【Fire-type Pet Egg Detected】
【Energy Fluctuation: Stable】
【Hatching Progress: 93%】
【Estimated Hatching Time: 4-10 days】
Liu Yi reached out and gently stroked the incubator’s casing.
The silvery-white metal felt cool and smooth to the touch, but through her fingertips, she could feel a faint pulsation emanating from within.
It was the pet egg’s life fluctuation, steady and rhythmic, like a tiny heart beating.
She sat cross-legged beside the incubator and began to meditate.
Her Beast Taming Space development progress was already at 29%, just one step away from 30%.
So, starting today, besides the fixed two hours of meditation every morning, she would also utilize all other free time.
At the same time, she could also spend some time with the Blazing Lion.
Because ever since she discovered the anomaly in the incubator’s position last time, she felt that the Blazing Lion, in its current incubation stage, might already possess a faint consciousness capable of perceiving the outside world.
Liu Yi’s breathing gradually became long and steady, her consciousness wandering through the space, sensing every wisp of energy flow.
What she didn’t notice was that as she began to meditate, in the portable incubator beside her, the Blazing Lion egg’s flickering frequency began to synchronize with her breathing.
Flickering on and off.
One breath in, one breath out.
The golden-red patterns lit up and dimmed with Liu Yi’s breathing rhythm, each flicker brighter and more powerful than the last.
Inside the eggshell, a small silhouette could vaguely be seen.
It was curled up, peacefully sleeping, but every heartbeat was telling the outside world that it was preparing, accumulating strength, and awaiting the day it would hatch.
Rate on N.U.
