Chapter 690: Was It Just an Illusion?
Chapter 690: Was It Just an Illusion?
The woman waved her hand, summoning her Money Turtle back and losing her interest in chatting. With an unhappy expression, she turned and left.
Although this was just an entertainment project, the situation that arose right after she introduced her familiar made her feel a bit embarrassed.
Qiao Sang, unaffected, looked at Lulu.
"Whoosh."
In the Pond, a water arrow shot through the air, aiming for the button on Lulu's chest.
Lulu didn't dodge. Instead, she wrapped her tail in water and swung it forward, easily shattering the blue arrow.
Then, a water ball came from the left.
Lulu jumped into the water, and the water ball hit another Water-type Companion Beast with a single horn on its forehead.
The water ball wasn't very powerful; the Water-type Companion Beast just shook its head, showing no signs of injury.
At the same time, Lulu leaped out of the water, appearing in front of the Water-type Companion Beast that had launched the water ball. She swung her water-covered tail forward with force.
The Water-type Companion Beast that had launched the water ball was sent flying backward like a cannonball. Its chest button lit up, and it fainted on the spot.
It seemed that most of the participants in the Sky Battle on Water were Low-level and Intermediate Familiars... Qiao Sang observed the dozens of familiars in the Pond and noticed that, apart from Lulu, none of the other familiars wore a Miniaturization Band.
Now, Lulu wouldn't gain many points from defeating Low-level and Intermediate Familiars, but if she defeated a large number of them in a single round, she should still accumulate quite a few points...
After about seven minutes, the Sky Battle on Water ended.
As the only Advanced Familiar among the thirty Water-type Companion Beasts, Lulu predictably lasted until the end.
Qiao Sang held Lulu and re-joined the long queue.
Soon, Lulu was back in the game.
Qiao Sang returned to her original seat.
Seven minutes later, she was once again holding Lulu in the queue.
This cycle repeated eleven times, and finally, one of the other tourists couldn't take it anymore.
"You've played so many times already, why are you still playing?" A new round of the Sky Battle on Water had just started, and a blonde girl deliberately sat down to ask.
"Exactly", a young man beside her chimed in. "You've won so many first places, can't you give us a chance?"
His expression was a mix of anger and a bit of cowardice.
He was angry because, while the first place didn't matter much, under normal circumstances, a single round of the Sky Battle on Water would take about fifteen minutes. However, due to the strength of the girl's Water-type Companion Beast, the time had been cut in half. He had come here to train his familiar, but with the time halved, the cost of the game remained the same, and after so many rounds, he was thoroughly fed up.
His cowardice stemmed from noticing that both the Water-type Companion Beast that had played multiple rounds and the Fire Pet Beast beside the girl wore Miniaturization Bands...
Qiao Sang remained calm and asked, "Did you bring your familiars here to play or to train?"
The people around her spoke up:
"Of course, to train!"
"Definitely to train."
"Who would bring their familiars to play?"
"Exactly", Qiao Sang said calmly. "For familiars to achieve good training results, they need to train with stronger opponents. If the opponents are at a similar level, the training effect will be minimal."
That made sense... The people around her, including the young man who had been angry and a bit cowardly, looked thoughtful.
Qiao Sang thought to herself that she had managed to get away with it...
After this round ended, Qiao Sang left the area with Lulu in her arms.
She was afraid that if she played a few more times, the others would realize what was happening and start to get angry. She wasn't afraid of the crowd, but she did feel a bit guilty.
After all, Lulu playing against a group of Low- and Intermediate-level Water-type Companion Beasts did feel a bit like bullying...
...
The next day, Qiao Sang's moral qualms from last night had mostly faded. She brought Lulu to the Nine Realms Amusement Park to continue playing Sky Battle on Water.
During the game, they encountered a few of the tourists they had met the previous night. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened, smiling and nodding in greeting.
However, after two hours, the smiles started to fade.
As the people around them grew increasingly sullen, they all seemed to be seething with unspoken anger. Qiao Sang checked the time and took Lulu away.
On the third day, Qiao Sang brought Lulu to the amusement park as usual.
The familiar faces from the previous days no longer bothered to maintain a pretense. They turned their faces black and kept their distance.
On the fourth day, the staff responsible for equipping the Water-type Companion Beasts began to look at Qiao Sang and Lulu with complicated expressions.
On the fifth day, as soon as Qiao Sang and Lulu finished queuing and sat down at the viewing stand, a newspaper conveniently floated in front of her.
In a place as advanced as the First District, they still used newspapers... Qiao Sang, out of curiosity, grabbed the paper and glanced down. She saw the headline "Nine Realms Amusement Park Witnessed an Unknown Water-type Companion Beast Bullying Incident" prominently displayed, making it hard to ignore.
Below the headline was a distant photo of a familiar back.
Qiao Sang immediately recognized it as Lulu.
We've been following the rules, so how did this become a bullying incident... Qiao Sang furrowed her brow slightly.
At that moment, she sensed something and turned her head. She saw a nearly silver-white, box-shaped familiar that looked a bit like a small printer.
"Beep beep..."
The silver-white familiar, noticing Qiao Sang's gaze, stiffened and buried itself in its Beastmaster's arms.
Beep Beep Kas, an Intermediate Mechanical Familiar, could automatically generate related written content based on human brain waves. Due to its trait, it was highly favored by literature enthusiasts... Qiao Sang recalled the information about the silver-white familiar and then realized something. She looked up and recognized the person intimately interacting with Beep Beep Kas as the young man who had been annoyed with her on the first day.
The man averted his gaze, avoiding eye contact.
Well, it seems this newspaper was intentionally shown to me... Qiao Sang thought to herself and casually placed the newspaper aside.
For her, the most important thing was to help Lulu quickly accumulate points and improve its mindset.
By the sixth day, Lulu's appetite had returned, and it was eating even more than before.
At the dining table, Liu Yao couldn't help but comment, "You really have a talent for being a Familiar Trainer. A familiar as... unique as Icechill..."
Given that Lulu was right there, Liu Yao swallowed his original words and said, "A unique familiar, you managed to adjust its state so quickly."
Do personality and state have a connection... Qiao Sang wondered inwardly but smiled and said, "Who can blame me for being its Beastmaster?"
Liu Yao said seriously, "Not all Beastmasters understand their familiars. Believe me, you have a real talent for being a Familiar Trainer."
Qiao Sang joked, "Then should I take a minor in breeding?"
Liu Yao was taken aback, looking unusually conflicted.
"Maybe don't rush into a decision. Your Beast Mastery is the highest I've ever seen. Now that you're in the Beast Mastery Department, you should focus your time and energy on being a Beastmaster."
If Qiao Sang had said this six months ago, he would have wholeheartedly agreed.
But Qiao Sang's progress had been too astonishing. In just half a year, her brain domain had reached 39%, and she had even evolved Blazing Star Hound and Ghost Ring Specter to the General Class. He couldn't bear to suggest that such a talented Beastmaster divert her energy to another field, even if she had a talent for it.
I was just joking, don't take it so seriously... Seeing the Vice Principal's expression, Qiao Sang opened her mouth but ultimately chose to quietly eat her rice, keeping her thoughts to herself.
...
After finishing his meal, Qiao Sang returned to his room and began meditating cross-legged.
"Icechill?"
Lulu waited for a while, seeing that her Beastmaster had no intention of leaving, she couldn’t help but call out.
Are we still going today?
Qiao Sang opened his eyes and said, "No, we’re not going today. School starts tomorrow, and there’s supposed to be an evaluation. We need to be in our best condition."
"Icechill."
Lulu nodded, understanding, and then turned to jump into the water tank.
At this moment, Qiao Sang’s mobile phone vibrated.
Qiao Sang grabbed the phone beside him, checked the caller ID, and answered.
"Hello, Mom, why are you calling me?"
"I want to discuss something with you", her mother’s voice came through the speaker.
"What is it?" Qiao Sang asked.
Ye Xiangting organized her thoughts and said, "Well, you remember the two villas you bought at Qinglu Manor? Someone is offering 8 million more than the original price to buy the villa we live in, number 16. Do you want to sell it?"
Qiao Sang was taken aback and blurted out, "Is this person crazy? To offer 8 million more than the original price?"
She had bought the property in the suburbs, and it was a villa. Houses in less desirable areas rarely had good financial attributes; it was hard enough to sell them, let alone at a higher price.
She couldn’t believe someone would be so eager to spend 8 million more than the original price.
Isn’t that just being a fool?
Ye Xiangting laughed, her tone slightly proud, "Now that you’re a student at the Imperial Beastmaster Academy, even the textbooks you used in school are being sought after for a high price."
Qiao Sang: "…"
To be honest, she never expected that entering the Imperial Beastmaster Academy would make her house a valuable asset.
Qiao Sang then thought of something and asked, somewhat worried, "You haven’t sold it to anyone, right?"
Ye Xiangting knew what her daughter was asking and laughed, "Don’t worry, I wouldn’t feel right selling the textbooks you used. They’re full of your notes."
"That’s good..." Qiao Sang felt relieved.
"Do you want to sell the villa at number 16?" Ye Xiangting asked.
"Sure, if you want to sell it, go ahead", Qiao Sang said indifferently.
Earlier, she had considered the potential size issues of her familiar, so she had also bought villa number 17. Now that she had the Miniaturization Band, selling villa number 16 wouldn’t be a problem; villa number 17 would be enough.
Ye Xiangting paused, then shared her thoughts, "I do want to sell it. With the money, I was thinking of buying a house near the Imperial Beastmaster Academy for you. Since you’re in the Beast Mastery Department, you’ll be staying there for five years. Having a place nearby would be convenient. I heard that many students in the Beast Mastery Department live off-campus."
Qiao Sang was taken aback and giggled, "Mom, I don’t think we have the qualifications to buy a house there."
Ye Xiangting smiled gently, "I’ve already checked. As long as you’re a student at the Imperial Beastmaster Academy, you can buy a house, even if you’re not from Blue Star."
Qiao Sang: "!!!"
"Then I want a large one, preferably with an open training ground!" Qiao Sang’s face lit up as she quickly stated her requirements.
"Sure, what other requirements do you have for the house? Tell me", Ye Xiangting said, smiling as she took out a piece of paper and a pen to prepare to take notes.
In the room, Qiao Sang excitedly listed her requirements over the phone.
Steel Treasure, who was training in the Iron Wall technique, looked at her Beastmaster and couldn’t help but be infected by her enthusiasm. His eyes flashed with a smile.
"Steel Guardian."
Suddenly, Steel Treasure sensed something and looked down at his belly.
It felt like the energy inside him had just boiled up.
But the feeling came and went quickly, as if it had never been there.
"Steel Guardian?"
Steel Treasure looked hesitant.
Was it just a hallucination?
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report