Chapter 52: Did She Win?
Chapter 52: Did She Win?
There were many F-Class Beastmasters qualified to participate, and despite the efficient preliminary matches held yesterday, the competition was not yet over.
However, only about 60 contestants remained, and the preliminary rounds could be completed within an hour at most.
Qiao Sang arrived at Row 9, Zone C.
Bai Yunmiao had also signed up for the Newcomer Competition and successfully passed the preliminary round.
The two, both having made it through the preliminary round, had arranged to meet up.
"Qiao Genius, I've heard that the contestants who pass the preliminary round will have their names shuffled on the big screen, and those paired together will be in the same group", Bai Yunmiao pointed to the screen above the arena.
Ever since learning Qiao Sang's name, Bai Yunmiao had been referring to her as "Qiao Genius" online.
Qiao Sang nodded. Randomly assigned matches by the system were quite common in various competitions.
"You look so... nice today", Qiao Sang remarked.
To be precise, she looked more formal.
Bai Yunmiao sat down in a very ladylike manner, her makeup and hair perfectly done, wearing a little black dress and a pair of bright high heels, a perfect outfit for a formal event.
"Isn't it for the cameras? I watched the replay from yesterday, and it was just a death cam. I looked so terrible, not even a third of my beauty was captured", Bai Yunmiao complained.
Indeed, live broadcast cameras without filters could sometimes be like a mirror that exposed every flaw.
Bai Yunmiao continued, "And with half the contestants gone today, I think I have a high chance of being interviewed."
Interview...
Qiao Sang thought back to the recent events and felt a pang in her heart, not wanting to speak anymore...
...
Inside the arena, Qiao Sang unexpectedly saw someone she knew among the contestants in the ninth preliminary group—Dai Shushu.
If not for seeing her here, Qiao Sang would have almost forgotten about her...
Dai Shushu's familiar was not one of the five standard choices for a novice Beastmaster but a Water Shrimp.
Water Elemental Familiars were not all amphibious extraordinary beings, and even those that could move freely on land generally couldn't unleash their full potential due to the arena's limitations.
Few Beastmasters were willing to allocate their first Bond Slot to a Water Elemental Familiar because of these constraints.
Qiao Sang watched intently.
She couldn't deny that, deep down, she still considered Dai Shushu a rival.
56 seconds later.
"Contestant Chen Cheng wins."
Qiao Sang was stunned.
This was completely different from what she had expected!
She hadn't even begun to analyze Dai Shushu's and the Water Shrimp's combat skills, and the match was already over!
The opponent's familiar, a Puffbird, had hit the Water Shrimp with two consecutive Air Strikes, rendering it unable to fight. It was a typical, unremarkable preliminary match!
Was Dai Shushu really that weak?!
Qiao Sang was dazed.
Why had she considered Dai Shushu a formidable opponent back then...
Qiao Sang tried to recall.
At that time, they were both Spontaneous Awakeners, and the only difference was...
Cultural scores...
Cultural scores...
Dai Shushu was indeed still a formidable opponent...
The matches proceeded at the same efficient pace as yesterday, and within an hour, all the names of the contestants who advanced from the preliminary rounds were logged into the system.
The photos of the contestants on the central screen above the arena shuffled wildly.
Six seconds later.
The photos settled.
All the groups were formed, and Qiao Sang saw her opponent among them.
The person in the photo had beady eyes and a slightly receding hairline, looking older than their actual age.
Xie Jianyin.
Qiao Sang recognized him immediately; he was one of the 21 Beastmasters she had recorded in her notes.
This was good luck, and it hadn't been in vain for her to research so thoroughly...
The matches for the top 64 began soon after.
The contestants who made it through the preliminary rounds were slightly stronger than those who were eliminated, so the matches lasted longer, increasing from one minute per match to two or three minutes.
"Who do you think has a better chance of winning between contestants Qiao Sang and Xie Jianyin?" the middle-aged commentator with a slicked-back hairstyle asked Sha Duo.
Qiao Sang and Xie Jianyin had taken their positions on the field.
As a member of the third group, Qiao Sang had already made her way to the backstage when the first group's match began.
Sure enough, it was her turn right away...
"Xie Jianyin has been an F-Class Beastmaster for three years. Whether in terms of experience or strength, he has a better chance of winning against Qiao Sang", Sha Duo commented.
"Too bad, out of all the contestants, she had to face someone with an Intermediate Familiar."
"I remember Xie Jianyin's familiar is a Longtail Serpent."
"Just thinking about such a pretty girl losing to such an ugly man makes me sad."
"But she's only 18, and she's a boy."
The audience started to murmur, mostly in support of Qiao Sang.
Although strength was the ultimate measure, when both were F-Class Beastmasters, people still favored the contestant with the higher looks.
Moreover, everyone still remembered Fangflare, Qiao Sang's familiar, because it was the only fire-type familiar to have appeared in the Newcomer Competition so far.
...
Following the referee's command to summon their familiars, a gray Star Array lit up in front of Xie Jianyin.
Fangflare's energy gathered within, ready to act.
Last night, it had spent hours with its Beastmaster, planning strategies for different opponents.
Now, it just had to wait for that black, ugly guy to appear...
But inside the gray Star Array, a fully red familiar with an oval-shaped head and a long black stripe running from its head to its tail appeared.
Huh?
Where was that black, ugly guy?
Fangflare was confused.
Why was this different from what its Beastmaster had described?
Qiao Sang was speechless as she looked at the opponent's familiar.
A Fire Chain Snake, a fire-type Beginner Beast.
She had spent the whole night studying the Intermediate Familiar Longtail Serpent, only to find herself facing a Junior fire-type familiar?
And in knowing that she only had Fangflare, he sent out a familiar with the same attribute.
This must mean he didn't take Fangflare seriously...
Indeed, Xie Jianyin didn't take Fangflare seriously, or rather, he didn't take Qiao Sang seriously.
His second familiar, the Fire Chain Snake, had been bonded for two months.
As a Beastmaster with two familiars, he intended to have both of them take turns in the competition!
A middle school graduate who had just bonded a familiar—any familiar he summoned would be more than enough to deal with her.
The moment the referee announced the start, Qiao Sang gave the command to follow their original plan.
At the same time, Xie Jianyin ordered the Fire Chain Snake to shoot flames.
Fangflare's energy was already building up.
So it released its skill faster than the Fire Chain Snake.
From the audience:
"That's the Spark of Minor Mastery!" the commentator exclaimed.
While the Fire Chain Snake's flame was still forming in its mouth, Fangflare's Spark had already shot out, heading straight for the flame.
The two forces collided, causing a loud explosion.
The center of the explosion hit the Fire Chain Snake, sending it flying backward.
"Chain!!!"
Fangflare didn't care that the Fire Chain Snake had crashed to the ground. It immediately used Shadow Clone to create four copies, preparing to surround the opponent.
Following the strategy it had discussed with its Beastmaster the previous night, it would use two Shadow Clones to confuse the opponent, while the real one and another clone...
"Qiao Sang wins!" the referee declared.
"Fangflare?"
The Shadow Clones, which hadn't yet formed a complete circle, stopped in unison.
Did she win?
(End of Chapter)
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