As the match concluded, both sides shook hands in a show of sportsmanship.
“Way too strong.” Lin Hao recalled his Electric Mouse and gave a bitter smile. “I guess everything they said on the forums was true.”
Liu Yi nodded slightly. “Thank you for the match.”
Ziyue returned to Liu Yi’s side, leaping gracefully onto her shoulder and tilting her little head up with pride.
...
Liu Yi took Ziyue back to the contestant rest area and found a seat with a good view.
Although her match for the day was over, staying allowed her to observe other contestants’ battles to gain more insight, as she might encounter them in future rounds.
Dozens of screens were suspended in a ring above the rest area, broadcasting live matches from various arenas.
Liu Yi held Ziyue in her arms. Ziyue rested her paws on Liu Yi’s arm, and both of them stared intently at the screens.
“Arena 1 in District B looks interesting.” Liu Yi pointed to one of the screens.
In the footage, a Fire-feathered Bird was in a fierce clash with a Little Rock Monster.
The Fire-feathered Bird wove nimbly through the rocks thrown by the Little Rock Monster, occasionally counterattacking with bursts of fire.
“Fire-type versus Rock-type—the elemental disadvantage is clear. If even one of the Little Rock Monster’s skills hits the Fire-feathered Bird, it’ll deal massive damage,” Liu Yi analyzed in a low voice.
“However, this Fire-feathered Bird is extremely agile. If the Little Rock Monster keeps missing with its skills, it might eventually lose the match by running out of energy.”
Ziyue’s ears twitched as she nodded seriously.
Just then, a voice called out from nearby:
“Liu Yi? It really is you!”
Liu Yi turned and saw a girl wearing a baseball cap waving at her excitedly.
A Thunder-patterned Hound was crouched at the girl’s feet.
“You are...?” Liu Yi felt the girl looked somewhat familiar.
“I was at the Qinglan Advanced Beast Taming Academy Secret Realm too! I even saw you run into Ji Xiaoyao. It’s a pity you two didn’t end up fighting.”
The girl sat down beside her with familiar ease and said, “I’m Qi Zimeng, and this is my partner, Diandian!”
“Lei lei.”
The Thunder-patterned Hound let out a cry.
Liu Yi remembered now; this girl had indeed appeared at the entrance of the supply station.
Qi Zimeng asked curiously, “When does your match start?”
Liu Yi replied, “My match for today is already over.”
“Wow! So fast?” Qi Zimeng asked again, “Then why haven’t you gone home yet?”
Liu Yi smiled. “To observe potential opponents.”
“I’d expect nothing less from you.” Qi Zimeng gave her a look of admiration. “Diandian and I aren’t up until this afternoon. Right now, I’m watching my friend’s match—ah! That one!”
She suddenly pointed to the screen for Arena 2 in District A.
In the footage, a girl with long hair was commanding a Candle Spirit Child against an opponent’s Water Spirit Shell.
“That’s my friend, Huo Nanyun!” Qi Zimeng introduced her excitedly. “Her Candle Spirit Child is really strong too!”
Liu Yi raised an eyebrow and focused her gaze on the screen.
The Candle Spirit Child was nimbly dodging Water Gun attacks from the Water Spirit Shell while a cluster of ghostly blue flames gathered at its fingertips.
“Candle Spirit, Ghost Fire Flash!”
The blue flames instantly split into five wisps, striking the Water Spirit Shell from different angles.
The Water Spirit Shell hastily closed its shell in defense, but the continuous burn effect from the ghostly fire kept its shell glowing a scorching red.
“Water Spirit Shell is unable to battle! The winner is Huo Nanyun!” the referee announced.
Qi Zimeng straightened up proudly. “Heh heh, impressive, right?”
Liu Yi nodded along and said with a smile, “It’s a pity I didn’t get to challenge you two in the Secret Realm.”
“Ah... well, that’s quite alright.” Hearing this, Qi Zimeng instantly deflated.
She just liked bragging about her best friend; a challenge from Liu Yi was something she definitely didn’t want for herself. If Liu Yi wanted to challenge someone, she should just go find Huo Nanyun alone.
“By the way, did you know? There are several contestants in this tournament whose pets have already reached the Intermediate stage!” Qi Zimeng leaned closer to Liu Yi and lowered her voice.
Liu Yi replied, “I’ve seen some mentions of that online.”
“What’s online is just the surface!” Qi Zimeng winked mysteriously and said:
“One of them is named Cui Xiangming. He’s actually a graduate from our middle school’s previous class. He also participated in last year’s Longwu High School Entrance Tournament but was knocked out in the Top 8.”
“He wanted to apply for Yunhai International Beast Taming Academy, but because he didn’t make the top three in the tournament and failed their written exam, he couldn’t get in.”
“So, last year, he chose not to enroll in any high school at all. This year, he’s back to compete again with his Blazing Flame Mouse, which has evolved to the Intermediate stage.”
Liu Yi nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Do you know any details about his Blazing Flame Mouse?”
“Uh...” Qi Zimeng froze awkwardly. “I’m not too sure about that, haha.”
“Oh!” Qi Zimeng scratched her head and said sheepishly, “But there is one thing I know. When his Flame-tail Mouse evolved into the Blazing Flame Mouse this year, it supposedly learned a B-rank skill: Blazing Charge.”
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the rest area.
The crowd parted automatically to create a path as a boy in a red tracksuit strode over, a fiery-red Blazing Flame Mouse perched on his shoulder.
“Speak of the devil.” Qi Zimeng shrunk her neck and lowered her voice. “That’s Cui Xiangming.”
Liu Yi’s gaze fell upon the Blazing Flame Mouse. At the Intermediate stage, it was a size larger than a Junior stage Flame-tail Mouse.
The flames on its tail were a deep orange, and its eyes were sharp and full of aggression.
Cui Xiangming seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look at Liu Yi.
His eyes lingered on Ziyue in Liu Yi’s arms for a few seconds, and a disdainful smile curled on his lips.
Cui Xiangming walked straight up to Liu Yi. The Blazing Flame Mouse leaped from his shoulder to his arm and spat a small puff of flame toward Ziyue in a provocative manner.
“I heard you’ve become quite famous lately?” Cui Xiangming sized Liu Yi up. “I hope I run into you in the later rounds.”
Ziyue immediately sat up straight, her purple eyes staring directly at the Blazing Flame Mouse.
Liu Yi responded, “I hope so too.”
Cui Xiangming huffed and left a final remark before turning away: “I hope your strength lives up to your reputation.”
Once Cui Xiangming was far enough away, Qi Zimeng said crossly, “Wow, what was with that look on his face? So arrogant!”
Liu Yi, however, remained calm. “If someone has the strength to back it up, they certainly have the right to be proud.”
Besides, trash talk before a match was meaningless; who was stronger would be clear as day once the battle was over.
“Oh, right!” Qi Zimeng suddenly remembered something and pulled out her phone. “Let me add you to a group. It’s full of contestants from this tournament, and people who get eliminated share intel on their matches.”
Liu Yi thought for a moment before taking out her phone to scan the QR code. She joined a group chat named “77th Longwu High School Entrance Tournament.”
The group had over 300 members, and messages were refreshing constantly:
【My run in the Longwu High School Entrance Tournament is over. I ran into a monster in the first round; their pet was actually at the Intermediate stage!】
【Who? That’s insane.】
【Is it Cui Xiangming? If it’s him, it makes sense. He awakened his Beast Taming Space and contracted his pet last year.】
【No, it wasn’t him. It was a girl...】
Rate on N.U.
