Chapter 948: Back on the Trending List
Chapter 948: Back on the Trending List (Combined)
The next day, Qiao Sang woke up at nine in the morning.
"Seems like everyone had a good night's sleep. They must be busy with the preliminary rounds and haven't started their real actions yet."
After having breakfast, she turned on the TV in her room to watch the live stream of the Regional Tournament.
Out of the more than 400 opponents, she had only seen about half of them on the Marketing Account's list. She could only learn more about the others by watching the preliminary rounds.
Contestants could enter the venue on their match day and watch the entire event live, but they had to buy tickets for the other days.
Qiao Sang couldn't get a ticket, so she opted to watch the live stream.
"Fangy"
Fangy was sitting beside her, watching intently.
Suddenly, there were two knocks on the door.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker floated to the door, phased his head through it to take a look, then pulled back and opened the door.
Ye Xiangting walked in, giving Treasure Seeker a curious glance and asked:
"Does Treasure Seeker always open the door like that?"
Treasure Seeker blinked his innocent big eyes, not quite understanding.
Qiao Sang coughed and changed the subject:
"Mom, why are you here?"
"Of course, to see you." Ye Xiangting put down the snacks she had brought and sat on the sofa, saying, "I forgot to ask you yesterday. Since you're already a B-Class Beastmaster, what is your fifth bonded familiar?"
"Qingbao", Qiao Sang called out.
"Qingqing~"
Qingbao appeared instantly, giving Ye Xiangting a sweet smile as a greeting.
Ye Xiangting's eyes lit up, and she asked:
"What's this familiar's name? It's so cute."
"Her name is Qingfeng Ni, and she's a Fairy Companion", Qiao Sang explained.
"That's a lovely name." Ye Xiangting waved at Qingbao, "Come here."
"Qingqing."
Qingbao, recognizing her Beastmaster's mother, didn't refuse and floated over. Before Ye Xiangting could do anything, Qingbao landed on her lap, looking up with her pure, sky-blue eyes, looking incredibly well-behaved.
Ye Xiangting was taken aback, her heart melting at the sight of the familiar with eyes as clear as the sky. She had seen many familiars, including some that were quite cute, but none as adorable as this one.
For a moment, her attention was entirely on Qingbao, and she absentmindedly stroked the Cloud Steps on Qingbao's body, forgetting to speak.
Qiao Sang continued watching the live stream of the Regional Tournament.
"Qingqing……"
Qingbao, after being petted for a while, found it hard to maintain her smile. She turned to look at her Beastmaster, only to see that Qiao Sang was still watching the TV. When she turned back, her pleading gaze met Treasure Seeker's.
"Xunxun?"
Treasure Seeker perked up, sensing an opportunity to gain favor with his future little brother. He floated in front of Qiao Sang's mother and pretended to be curious about the snacks on the coffee table, trying to draw her attention.
Ye Xiangting's attention was successfully diverted, and she explained:
"These are some snacks. You can try them now."
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker opened the bag on the coffee table.
Qingbao took the chance to use Wind Transformation and disappeared.
Feeling the softness disappear from her hand, Ye Xiangting was taken aback. She remembered the other reason for her visit and said:
"I heard that staying at the Beastmaster Center can be disruptive. Would you like to stay at the hotel I booked? It's a bit far from the arena, but at least it's quiet."
"No need", Qiao Sang declined. "Apart from those hotels with excellent privacy, staying at other hotels isn't much different from the Beastmaster Center. Plus, the location is inconvenient for going to other places."
She had specifically looked into it a few days ago. Only a few hotels provided maximum privacy, while ordinary hotels could be easily breached by Beastmasters' various methods.
Those high-privacy hotels were already fully booked by the contestants.
Just as Ye Xiangting was about to say something, she noticed a mysterious familiar she had never seen before, possibly Lulu, standing by the window, radiating cold air and forming an ice armor. She was taken aback, immediately forgetting what she was about to say, and asked hesitantly:
"Is this Lulu?"
Qiao Sang turned her head to follow her mother's gaze and replied with a nod, then casually added:
"I forgot to mention, Lulu has also undergone Evolution."
Yesterday, her mother's kind and understanding demeanor had made her forget some of the past.
Ye Xiangting looked utterly confused.
Lulu has Evolved?
Lulu actually Evolved?
Lulu was previously a General-Class Beast Companion, so after Evolution, doesn't that mean she's now a Royal Beast?!
So, her daughter already has two Royal Beasts?!
Ye Xiangting's thoughts were in turmoil, filled with shock, disbelief, and confusion.
Her daughter, who was only 17, had somehow become a Beastmaster with two Royal Beasts...
After a long while, so long that Qiao Sang had already watched two matches, Ye Xiangting finally asked:
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Qiao Sang was taken aback for a moment, then realized what her mother meant and replied:
"It happened during the past six months."
Ye Xiangting said with a hint of disappointment:
"I know, but couldn't you have found a moment to call and tell me about it during those six months?"
No, Mom, you were so understanding yesterday, saying it was normal that I didn't have time to call because I was so busy. Did you forget that already? Qiao Sang tried to jog her mother's memory:
"I was extremely busy during those six months. I just returned from a mission in the Hidden Realm a short while ago."
Ye Xiangting fell silent for a moment:
"Does anyone else know?"
Qiao Sang shook her head:
"Just Teacher Mikara and the others. I haven't posted anything on social media."
She paused and then asked:
"Mom, do you want to take a photo and post it on social media?"
Lulu didn't say anything; she just quietly dispelled her Ice Armor.
Ye Xiangting glanced at her and said:
"Why post? You're participating in the Regional Tournament. It's better if fewer people know your true strength."
Although she hadn't participated in a Regional Tournament herself, she knew that contestants feared having their information exposed before the competition.
Qiao Sang was taken aback, suddenly remembering that her mother hadn't posted anything about Fangy's Evolution yesterday...
Lulu re-condensed her Ice Armor.
Ye Xiangting picked up her mobile phone and snapped a photo of Lulu with a "click."
Qiao Sang looked at her, her eyes saying: Didn't you say you wouldn't post it on social media?
Ye Xiangting understood her daughter's unspoken question, put down her phone, and explained:
"I won't post it now. I'll just save the photo. I'll share it when you send Lulu into the arena."
Qiao Sang: "…"
Lulu: "…"
…
9:00 PM.
Suburban villa.
Qiao Sang was training in the Open Training Ground.
Yu Le, looking through the floor-to-ceiling window at the shadow in the Training Arena, said thoughtfully:
"Sis, I never expected the person you invested in to become a god so quickly."
"I didn't expect it either..." Yu Ke replied, equally thoughtful.
She had always believed in Qiao Sang's potential, but she never imagined it would come to fruition so quickly.
Yesterday's match, Qiao Sang had dominated the trending charts.
A new Beastmaster topping the trends during the preliminary round was a rare occurrence in the history of the Regional Tournament.
"Don't go over there and disturb the others. They're all training here now", Yu Ke reminded her.
"I understand", Yu Le said. "I haven't even told anyone that Qiao Sang is training here. Otherwise, those guys would be coming over every day."
Yu Ke thought of something and asked:
"Is the person who recently booked all the remaining Training Fields in Tianan City from the Rong Family?"
"It's him", Yu Le said, gossiping. "He must be participating in the Regional Tournament for the first time and wants to do well, so he did this. But no one knows, and people online are saying the Regional Tournament is so crowded that the Training Arenas are fully booked. Even if the Rong Family member hadn't done this, someone else would have. It's not that surprising."
Although she was young, the environment she was in was complex, and she always managed to learn about the intricacies of major matches from others.
"Should we tell Qiao Sang about this?" Yu Le asked.
"There's no need", Yu Ke said without hesitation. "The most important thing for her right now is the match. We shouldn't bother her with these matters."
While the two were talking, Qiao Sang arranged for Fangy and Lulu, as well as Treasure Seeker and Steel Treasure, to spar and went to watch them from the side.
"Qingqing?"
At that moment, Qingbao appeared and called out, wondering if it didn't need to train.
Qiao Sang was taken aback for a moment and quickly said, "Of course you need to train. Start with Fairy Wind."
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao didn't leave right away but called out dejectedly, wondering if it wouldn't get a chance to compete.
Qiao Sang hesitated, not sure how to respond.
The Regional Tournament gathered the strongest youths under forty from the region, and the worst a contestant would send out was an Advanced Familiar. Qingbao, being an Intermediate Familiar, naturally wouldn't stand a chance. Otherwise, it would just be giving away points.
Qiao Sang could see that Qingbao wanted to compete. She organized her thoughts and said gently, "Not necessarily. The match will last for a while. If you can become stronger during this time..."
Meaning, if Qingbao could evolve, it would have a chance to compete.
"Qingqing?"
Qingbao's eyes lit up, then it showed a puzzled expression.
How could it become stronger?
Do I have to be so explicit? Qiao Sang steeled herself and said, "Wait until you evolve."
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao's spirits instantly fell. Having lived in the Hidden Realm for so long, it knew how difficult evolution was.
Looks like there's no chance to compete...
Qingbao was enveloped in a cloud of low spirits and drifted to the side to start training in Fairy Wind as its Beastmaster had instructed.
"Wait!" Qiao Sang, seeing Qingbao's dejected back, couldn't bear it and called out.
"Qingqing?"
Qingbao turned around.
Qiao Sang cleared her throat and said, "Actually, evolving in a short time isn't that hard."
"Qingqing?"
Qingbao's eyes lit up, and it quickly floated over, staring at its Beastmaster with hopeful eyes.
"Do you fear hard work?" Qiao Sang asked.
"Qingqing." Qingbao shook its head.
"Good. From now on, we'll spend 10 hours a day training skills and two hours in battle", Qiao Sang said.
With her Golden Finger, as long as she had enough points, she could easily make Qingbao evolve into an Advanced Familiar in a short time. Fangy and the others had also evolved to Advanced Familiar within a few months thanks to points.
The current match only required three familiars, and with Fangy and the others, she had more than enough. Thus, she hadn't considered making Qingbao accumulate points through battles to evolve.
Having too many Beastmaster familiars was like this. Unless the familiars bonded earlier had exhausted their talents and were progressing slowly, it was hard to allocate more time to the later bonded familiars.
Qiao Sang hadn't initially planned to have Qingbao compete in the Regional Tournament. However, since Qingbao expressed a desire to compete, she naturally wanted to help it achieve its goal.
Back in the Hidden Realm, Qingbao had accumulated a significant number of points by working with Steel Treasure to use skills and harvest wild familiars. It already had enough points to evolve to Advanced.
However, for a perfect evolution, two conditions were still unmet: one, its skill proficiency hadn't reached Mastery, and two, the evolution materials from Hollow Plains hadn't arrived yet.
"Qingqing?"
Qingbao showed a puzzled expression.
So, it could evolve quickly like this?
In its experience, evolution always required consuming various energy-rich materials.
"Do you trust me?" Qiao Sang asked.
“Qingqing.”
Qingbao stared at his Beastmaster for two seconds, then nodded.
If he didn’t trust her, he wouldn’t have come out of the Hidden Realm in the first place.
“Trust me and train,” Qiao Sang said seriously.
“Qingqing.”
Qingbao stared at his Beastmaster for another two seconds, then turned and began preparing to train.
“Wait!” Qiao Sang called out again.
Qingbao turned his head.
“Don’t train Fairy Wind,” Qiao Sang said. “Train Tailwind.”
Tailwind was now Qingbao’s most proficient skill, and it could help him reach mastery the fastest.
“Qingqing.”
This time, Qingbao didn’t ask why. He nodded, turned into Wind Transformation, and began training.
Qiao Sang wondered when the evolution materials for Qingbao would arrive as she watched him disappear.
Suddenly, her mobile phone vibrated.
Qiao Sang took it out and saw it was her mother calling. She picked up, and before she could say anything, her mother’s excited and slightly trembling voice came through the speaker.
“Qing, is Qingbao, Qingfeng Ni, a Legendary Familiar?”
Finally, she knows… Qiao Sang responded with a “Mm-hmm,” and asked, “Mom, how did you find out?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.
After a few seconds, her mother’s voice finally returned.
“I saw it on the trending topics. You, my child, bonded with a Legendary Familiar, such a big deal, and you didn’t even tell me…”
It’s trending again… Qiao Sang gathered her thoughts and said, “Qingbao is still at the Intermediate stage, far from reaching his Divine Form.”
Even if he’s far from his Divine Form, he’s still a Legendary Familiar… Ye Xiangting felt that her daughter was being a bit too humble.
She felt both proud and conflicted, wondering how she could have given birth to such a prodigy.
Qiao Sang chatted with her mother for a few more minutes, then hung up and opened the trending topics.
#Qiao Sang, Qingqing Ni#
#Qiao Sang Definitely Bonded Qingqing Ni in Secret Realm 16#
Two trending topics about her and Qingbao stood out among the many related to the Regional Tournament, ranking first and third.
Qiao Sang opened the third trending topic:
[I, a Rune Master who was fortunate enough to enter Secret Realm 16 this year, everyone knows that Secret Realm 16 has Qingqing Ni. I went there specifically for Qingqing Ni, and even formed a group with others who were also looking for Qingqing Ni.]
[Qingqing Ni, a Legendary Familiar, even if I couldn’t bond with him, just seeing him would be great.]
[With this mindset, I met Qiao Sang.]
[That’s right, the strongest dark horse in the Regional Tournament!]
[When I first saw her in the Hidden Realm, I thought she was a young-looking old witch, and my companions and I didn’t dare to attack her. It turned out she was really that young!]
[Of course, it’s a good thing we didn’t attack…]
[She may be young, but she’s a B-Class Beastmaster. Who would have thought?]
[I met her three times in the Hidden Realm. It was quite a coincidence, and now I think about it, maybe Qingqing Ni was bonded with her back then!]
[Our team had a member who could sense special winds. Each time he sensed Qingqing Ni’s direction, he saw Qiao Sang. We should have realized it then…]
[Now, I regret it a thousand times! What a great opportunity to get her contact information!]
[Getting sidetracked… After I left the Hidden Realm, I saw the news about Qingqing Ni appearing at various Beastmaster Centers. There were photos, and I immediately recognized her as the person I met three times in the Hidden Realm. At that time, I only knew her appearance, not her name.]
[Yesterday, while watching the Regional Tournament, I immediately recognized her as the same person I saw in the Hidden Realm, and the same person everyone secretly photographed as the Beastmaster of Qingqing Ni.]
[I swear on my life, she is the one who bonded with Qingqing Ni.]
[And here’s another piece of information for you: she has a Ghost Familiar that can Spatial Shift.] (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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