When Huo Nanyun pushed open the door to the rest area, beads of sweat still clung to her forehead.
Her Candle Spirit Child followed closely behind, the ghostly blue flame atop its head flickering and dancing.
“Nanyun! Over here!” Qi Zimeng waved excitedly.
Huo Nanyun walked over, her gaze lingering on Liu Yi for a moment. “And this is...?”
“Liu Yi! She’s the one I told you about—”
“Liu Yi, the one who took second place in Secret Realm points,” Huo Nanyun cut in, extending her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Liu Yi shook her hand. “Your Candle Spirit Child is very impressive.”
Ziyue stared at the sweat on Huo Nanyun’s forehead for a moment, then silently began to radiate a chill from her body toward the girl.
Huo Nanyun paused for a second before saying, “It’s still far from your Ice Fox.”
She turned to Qi Zimeng. “Zimeng, what time is your match?”
“Three o’clock!” Qi Zimeng checked the time. “It’s only a little past eleven now. Shall we go eat? The athlete’s cafeteria has a special pet energy meal today!”
...
The athlete’s cafeteria.
The three of them found a seat by the window.
Ziyue sat on the chair next to Liu Yi, a bowl of specially made Ice-type energy jelly placed before her.
“So,” Huo Nanyun said, cutting into her steak. “You really aren’t planning to apply to Qinglan Advanced Beast Taming Academy? That’s what they’re saying on the forums.”
Liu Yi nodded. “There’s another school I want to go to.”
“Yunhai International?” Huo Nanyun raised an eyebrow. “The written exam for that school is very difficult.”
“No.” Liu Yi didn’t elaborate, instead asking, “Are you two applying to the same high school?”
Qi Zimeng, her mouth full of food, said muffledly, “Mhm, mhm! We’ve been classmates since elementary school all the way through middle school. We promised to get into Longwu No. 1 Beast Taming High School together.”
Huo Nanyun elegantly wiped the corners of her mouth and added:
“But the admission standard for Longwu No. 1 is a Beast Taming Space development progress of 11% or higher, or reaching the Top 8 in this entrance tournament.”
“So, Zimeng and Diandian still need to work harder.”
...
2:55 PM, Arena 1 in District D.
Qi Zimeng stood nervously on the battle stage.
The opposing contestant was a tall boy whose pet was a burly Rock Gorilla.
The referee raised the flag. “Qi Zimeng versus Ding Tianhua. 3, 2, 1—Begin!”
Qi Zimeng shouted, “Diandian, Lightning Dash!”
The Thunder-patterned Hound turned into a streak of gold and blue light, instantly charging in front of the Rock Gorilla and slamming hard into its body.
Bang!
The Rock Gorilla was knocked back two steps, but it quickly stabilized itself.
“Rock Gorilla, use Earth-Rending Tremor!” Ding Tianhua yelled.
The Rock Gorilla raised its arms high and slammed them violently onto the ground.
A fissure rapidly spread toward the Thunder-patterned Hound’s position.
Qi Zimeng hurriedly called out, “Jump to avoid it!”
The Thunder-patterned Hound leaped nimbly, just barely dodging the fissure.
However, the Rock Gorilla had already predicted its landing point and opened its arms, prepared to catch it.
At that critical moment—
“Thunder Fang!”
The Thunder-patterned Hound suddenly twisted its body in mid-air. Blinding arcs of electricity erupted between its fangs as it bit down hard on the Rock Gorilla’s shoulder!
“Roar—!”
The Rock Gorilla cried out in pain, its movements faltering.
The Thunder-patterned Hound took the opportunity to kick off and jump back, putting distance between them.
A wave of exclamations broke out from the spectator stands.
“Beautiful counterattack,” Liu Yi commented softly while watching the screen in the rest area.
Huo Nanyun breathed a sigh of relief. “Zimeng has been training that move constantly, but this is the first time she’s pulled it off in an actual match.”
On the field, Qi Zimeng seized the opportunity to press her advantage. “Diandian, Charging Roar!”
The Thunder-patterned Hound took a deep breath, gathering the electricity it usually stored in its body, and then—
Boom!
A thunderous roar swept toward the Rock Gorilla. The sound waves left the Rock Gorilla dizzy and disoriented, its movements visibly slowing down.
“Now! Lightning Dash into a Thunder Fang combo!”
The Thunder-patterned Hound turned into a flash of light once more. This time, it didn’t just ram into its opponent; at the moment of contact, it opened its electricity-coated jaws and bit down firmly on the Rock Gorilla.
“Roar!”
The Rock Gorilla thrashed its body in agony, trying to break free.
But the Thunder-patterned Hound held on tight, continuously injecting electric currents.
Five seconds... ten seconds...
“Rock Gorilla is unable to battle! The winner is Qi Zimeng!” the referee announced loudly.
Qi Zimeng froze for a second before jumping up excitedly. “We won! Diandian, we won!”
“Lei lei! Lei lei!”
The Thunder-patterned Hound let go of the Rock Gorilla. Although it was exhausted, it barked twice with pride.
After the match, Qi Zimeng returned to the rest area.
She held her Thunder-patterned Hound, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “Did you see that? Diandian’s final Thunder Fang was so cool!”
“I saw it.” Huo Nanyun offered a rare smile. “The special training paid off.”
Liu Yi nodded. “A very impressive performance.”
“Hehe...” Qi Zimeng scratched her head, embarrassed by the praise.
...
At Qi Zimeng’s suggestion, Liu Yi added both of them as friends on Beast Link.
After Qi Zimeng and Huo Nanyun left, Liu Yi remained in the contestant rest area, focusing on the live broadcasts of the matches from various arenas.
Ziyue lay on her lap, her head turning as she looked from one screen to another.
Liu Yi’s gaze shifted rapidly across the screens, searching for opponents worth noting.
In Arena 3 of District A, a Windbell Bird was fighting a Vine Monkey. The Windbell Bird’s flight path was incredibly tricky, allowing it to accurately dodge every entanglement attempt from the Vine Monkey with each dive.
In Arena 1 of District C, a Rock-armored Turtle was facing off against a Little Fire Fox. The Rock-armored Turtle’s defense was airtight, and the Little Fire Fox’s flames simply couldn’t break through.
In Arena 3 of District D, Liu Yi’s gaze suddenly stopped—
On the screen, Cui Xiangming was standing by the edge of the field with his arms crossed, looking relaxed.
His Blazing Flame Mouse hadn’t even moved; it just stood in place as the flame on its tail suddenly surged, turning into a spear of fire that instantly evaporated the incoming Water Gun.
The opponent’s Spiky Shell was clearly panicked, its aim with the Water Gun faltering as its shell opened and closed erratically.
“Blazing Charge,” Cui Xiangming said indifferently.
The Blazing Flame Mouse suddenly turned into a streak of fire, reaching the Spiky Shell in the blink of an eye. It slammed down a claw strike wreathed in intense flames!
Bang!
The Spiky Shell was sent flying, leaving a charred mark on its shell.
“Spiky Shell is unable to battle! The winner is Cui Xiangming!” the referee announced.
The entire battle had lasted less than thirty seconds.
The crowd in the rest area began to buzz with discussion.
“Is this the power of the Intermediate stage...?”
“That’s insane! The Spiky Shell is a Water-type; it should have the elemental advantage over a Fire-type, yet it got one-shotted?”
As the camera remained on the smug Cui Xiangming and the Blazing Flame Mouse beside him, Liu Yi stared at the mouse for a while.
Then, her eyes brightened slightly, and the corners of her mouth curved upward.
Today’s observations had been very productive.
Rate on N.U.
