https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-954-Interviewing-Treasure-Seeker/13456944/
Chapter 953: Ice Chestnut
Chapter 953: Ice Chestnut (Combined)
The audience cheered and enthusiastically discussed the match they had just witnessed:
"This Ghost Ring King, with its Dark Shadow and Substitute abilities, is completely unpredictable."
"Who's arguing? And it’s a Ghost-type Familiar, not only invisible but also able to teleport. Attacking it is incredibly difficult."
"An area-of-effect skill that covers the entire arena might do the trick."
"From what I've seen, the Ghost Ring King's offensive ultimate move is a Psychic Hammer, which requires close contact. If someone can withstand that move, they might have a chance to catch the Ghost Ring King."
"I think if Flametail Taptap had used a wide-area move in the final wave, it could have damaged the Ghost Ring King's original form even while it was using Substitute."
"Xiang Wenyi must have seen that, but there was no time to say anything."
"Come to think of it, Qiao Sang didn't give many commands during this match. The Ghost Ring King seemed to handle everything on its own."
"Some professional Beastmasters set their strategies before the match. As long as the situation is under their control, they won't issue commands."
"Despite being only 17, she acts like a seasoned Beastmaster. It's terrifying, a nightmare for professional Beastmasters..."
"I almost forgot how young she is..."
"Ghost Ring King is so cute, don't you think?"
"What are you getting at?"
"I want to bond."
"..."
As the audience chatted, Qiao Sang cleared her throat.
Treasure Seeker turned to look at her.
"Are you okay?" Qiao Sang asked with a subtle gesture.
Although Treasure Seeker hadn't been injured, it had used too many skills and must have expended a lot of energy. She wasn't sure if it could handle another intense battle.
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker called out with a determined look in its eyes.
It was ready!
Hearing this, Qiao Sang decided against recalling it.
Tian Yiyi's slightly excited voice rang out:
"Contestant Qiao Sang has not chosen to recall Ghost Ring King. She is preparing for the third match, aiming to achieve a one-through-three like in the preliminary round!"
Tang Xueran added, "If Ghost Ring King wins the third match, Contestant Qiao Sang will be the first to complete a one-through-three in two consecutive matches at this Regional Tournament."
"Let's see what familiar Contestant Xiang Wenyi will send out for the third match", Tian Yiyi said.
Xiang Wenyi, having been one-through-two, stared at her opponent, took a deep breath, and adjusted her status.
She knew where the problem lay. Besides the Ghost Ring King's unpredictable movements and the difficulty in distinguishing its Substitute from its original form, Qiao Sang's minimal commands were a significant factor.
Without commands, she couldn't make accurate predictions based on the opponent's actions. She could only react after seeing what skills the Ghost Ring King used.
This made Flametail Taptap's responses slower than the Ghost Ring King's.
Unless a familiar could act independently and react as quickly as the Ghost Ring King...
As these thoughts flashed through her mind, the number "10" appeared in the center of the arena.
The mechanical voice announced, "9, 8, 7... 3, 2, 1."
The number disappeared.
Xiang Wenyi formed a seal with her hands.
The Amber Star Array lit up.
A familiar appeared in the Star Array, standing on two legs, about six meters tall, covered in fluffy white fur. The fur on its face was particularly dense and long, almost covering its entire face, with only its deep green eyes visible.
Ice Chestnut, an Ice-type General-class Beast Companion, rarely interacts with the outside world and primarily lives in the Eternal Snowy Mountains. It can condense ice blocks from its belly that have a texture similar to ice pops, which can provide temporary resistance to cold... Qiao Sang recalled the familiar's information.
She wasn't unfamiliar with Ice Chestnut. Xiang Wenyi had sent it into battle during the preliminary round.
"Xunxun!"
The moment the opponent appeared in the Star Array, Treasure Seeker immediately merged its claws and raised them upward.
A massive Ghost Ring King, around thirty meters in size, suddenly appeared.
The massive Ghost Ring King's eyes were cold, and an intangible Oppressive Aura descended, making Ice Chestnut, which was preparing to attack, inevitably feel fear and fail to launch its assault in time.
The audience in the distance might not have felt the Oppressive Aura, but Xiang Wenyi, facing the massive Ghost Ring King head-on, certainly did.
Fortunately, the Oppressive Aura wasn't targeting her, so she only felt a chill in her heart before shouting:
"Snap out of it!"
Her Beastmaster's voice rang in Ice Chestnut's ears like a bell.
Its fear dissipated instantly, and it clenched its fists, striking them together.
A visible chill aura spread from between its fists.
At that moment, a thick Shadow was charging straight at them!
"Li Li!"
Ice Chestnut extended its claws, which were condensing chill aura, and grabbed the thick Shadow with one swift motion.
Wherever it gripped, a layer of ice shell formed and continued to spread forward.
"Split!" Qiao Sang issued the command.
Almost as soon as she spoke, the part of the Shadow that hadn't been frozen suddenly split, forming dozens of strange Shadows that fiercely wrapped around Ice Chestnut.
"Freeze!" Xiang Wenyi's eyes narrowed, and she shouted.
The dozens of Shadows quickly wrapped around Ice Chestnut, leaving no gaps.
The massive Ghost Ring King moved its finger, and the black ball formed by the Shadows was lifted up.
But at that moment, a visible chill aura began to emanate from the Shadow, spreading from the inside out.
Before Treasure Seeker could start spinning the ball, it was completely encased in an ice shell, transforming from a black ball to an ice ball.
"Crack!"
Then, cracks appeared on the surface of the ice ball, spreading like a spider web.
"Li Li!"
With a roar, the ice ball shattered completely, and Ice Chestnut landed steadily on the ground.
In the audience stands, the crowd let out a chorus of exclamations, amazed that Ice Chestnut could break through such a thick Shadow so quickly.
Only Ye Xiangting's eyes were filled with worry.
"Ice Chestnut broke through the Ghost Ring King's Dark Shadow control!" Tian Yiyi explained. "It looked so effortless, and it took such a short time. Could this Ice Chestnut have already reached the late General-Class or even Perfection level?"
"Xunxun..."
Seeing this, Treasure Seeker couldn't help but regret its decision to fight the third match.
Shadow Control was one of its signature skills, and the fact that the opponent had so easily broken through it severely undermined its confidence.
The energy within this Ice Chestnut was far superior to Treasure Seeker's... Qiao Sang's heart sank.
Treasure Seeker had already fought two matches and had expended a lot of energy. Facing an Ice Chestnut with far superior energy, this battle would be tough.
It seemed they needed to end this quickly...
With that thought, Qiao Sang said:
"Illusion."
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker stood on the head of the massive Ghost Ring King and extended its Short Toe.
The massive Ghost Ring King synchronized, extending its Short Toe as well.
Beams of light in various colors shot out from its Short Toe, aiming straight at Ice Chestnut, which had just landed.
"Ice Wheel!" Xiang Wenyi issued the command.
“Lili!”
Ice Chestnut’s fists collided, and a layer of crystal-clear ice shell immediately condensed around its entire body. Then, it rolled forward, and the ice shell on its body grew thicker.
“Bang!”
A burst of multicolored light struck Ice Chestnut head-on, causing a powerful explosion.
Amidst the shockwave, the giant ice ball shot out and continued rolling, seemingly unharmed.
This was not just Ice Wheel, but also Ice Armor... Qiao Sang recognized the skills on Ice Chestnut’s body.
Ice Wheel, an Ice-Type Advanced Skill, allows the user to condense a perfectly smooth ice shell around their body and charge at the opponent, dealing damage and potentially causing the Freeze Status.
When combined with a defensive skill like Ice Armor, it not only enhances the attack’s power but also prevents damage when breaking through obstacles along the way.
What a well-rounded combination of offensive and defensive techniques... Qiao Sang was inwardly impressed but remained calm as he issued his command:
“Net.”
“Xunxun!”
Treasure Seeker’s short toes intersected.
The giant Ghost Ring King synchronized with this action.
Dozens of shadows emerged from the ground, quickly intersecting to form a large net in front of them.
The giant ice ball charged into the net.
The super-sized net, formed by shadows, was pushed inward, and a layer of ice shell condensed over a ten-meter radius around the point of impact. The ice ball came to a halt just a centimeter in front of the giant Ghost Ring King.
This scene caused a commotion in the audience stands.
“Who knew Shadow Control could be used like this, quite enlightening...”
“I didn’t expect Shadow Control could wrap and spin the opponent entirely. Qiao Sang’s Ghost Ring King always uses its skills in unexpected ways.”
“It seems Xiang Wenyi’s Ice Chestnut is really strong.”
“When Xiang Wenyi participated in the Regional Tournament five years ago, Ice Chestnut was still Snowy Puff. It was only at the Advanced stage then, but it managed to hold its own against a General-Class Beast Companion for five minutes, which was impressive. I heard that after the match, Snowy Puff evolved into Ice Chestnut.”
“Xunxun...”
As the audience discussed, Treasure Seeker’s intent rose, and the giant Ghost Ring King took a large step backward.
A super-sized net, over thirty meters tall, descended.
Just as it was about to cover Ice Chestnut, the ice shell at the point of impact shattered with a “click.”
“Lock,” Qiao Sang said calmly.
“Xunxun!”
Treasure Seeker and the giant Ghost Ring King’s eyes synchronized, glowing blue.
In an instant, a semi-transparent barrier formed around Ice Chestnut, enclosing it.
While Ice Chestnut was still unclear within the barrier, the audience could see it clearly under the lights and panoramic view.
The audience stands erupted in noise:
“Damn, this Ghost Ring King can even use Spatial Lockdown!”
“It seems to know a lot of Advanced Skills.”
“A Ghost Familiar actually knows so many Psychic-Type Skills!”
“I feel like crying, I’ve been learning Spatial Lockdown for half a year and still haven’t mastered it…”
Overpower, a genuine Psychic-Type familiar.
“Ghost Ring King has used Spatial Lockdown,” Tang Xueran reflected. “This Ghost Ring King must have exceptional talent in Psychic-Type skills. After all, even many familiars with Psychic as their main attribute find it difficult to learn skills like Spatial Lockdown.”
“Xunxun…”
Everyone's comments on Treasure Seeker were unclear, as it was fully focused on the match, aware that its energy was running low.
Spatial Lockdown... Don't panic, Ice Chestnut's energy far surpasses Ghost Ring King's... Xiang Wenyi's heart skipped a beat, quickly steadying his nerves and shouting:
"Charge!"
"Chestnut, chestnut!"
The Ice Chestnut, which had stopped rolling, began to roll again, and its speed increased rapidly.
The ice shell that had already started to crack on the shadow in front of it shattered completely.
Ice Chestnut burst through the large hole and collided with the barrier.
"Retreat", Qiao Sang commanded.
The blue light in Treasure Seeker's eyes intensified.
At the same time, the semi-transparent barrier surrounding Ice Chestnut began to shrink.
Ice Chestnut continued to roll on the barrier.
With a "click", a small rift appeared in the barrier.
Treasure Seeker's energy was running low; this move had to finish off Ice Chestnut... Qiao Sang shouted loudly:
"Full power crash!"
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker understood its Beastmaster's intent.
In the next second, it controlled the massive Ghost Ring King to teleport into the air.
The Ghost Ring King, now in the sky, looked down coldly, its body continuously expanding until it reached about 60 meters in size.
A huge shadow loomed over the arena.
Xiang Wenyi, looking up at the colossal figure that seemed to block out the moonlight, opened his mouth in shock, his expression stunned.
The entire audience fell silent for two seconds, everyone's mouths agape, including the two commentators.
The power of the skills cast using Dark Shadow wouldn't increase, but for Treasure Seeker, the area of effect would multiply by ten or even a hundred times, which, in a sense, significantly increased the power.
The 60-meter-tall Ghost Ring King, its head condensing a dense white light, charged straight down toward the barrier, like a massive meteor streaking through the night sky, roaring as it descended.
Xiang Wenyi's heart raced, and he screamed, "Break it! Break it quickly!"
"Click!"
Ice Chestnut increased its energy, speeding up its rotation, and the semi-transparent barrier shattered instantly.
"Bang!!"
At that moment, the massive white light slammed down.
Ice Chestnut was crushed into the ground, disappearing from sight.
The entire ground sank.
The arena trembled, and debris flew everywhere.
The powerful airflow from the impact made the hair of the audience in the first two rows fly backward.
The 60-meter-tall Ghost Ring King vanished.
In the sunken area, Ice Chestnut lay unconscious with its eyes closed.
Treasure Seeker floated outside the large crater, looking at its unconscious opponent with a calm expression, as if everything was under control.
In the commentator booth, Tian Yiyi swallowed hard and said:
"We can see Ice Chestnut falling under the super-strengthened Psychic Hammer. Has the third match been decided?"
As he spoke, a mechanical referee appeared beside Ice Chestnut and raised a green flag toward Qiao Sang's direction.
The giant virtual screen then appeared.
Xiang Wenyi's photo disappeared, leaving only Qiao Sang's enlarged image in the center.
"Let's congratulate contestant Qiao Sang for winning three consecutive matches and successfully advancing to the next round!" Tang Xueran shouted with enthusiasm.
The audience finally reacted, erupting in a sea of cheers.
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker used all its remaining strength to lift its claws, a victorious smile on its face, and waved forward.
Then, it turned its head and desperately signaled to its Beastmaster:
Quickly take me back! Quickly take me back! I can't hold on much longer! I can't hold on much longer!
Qiao Sang's lips twitched, and with a wave of his hand, he returned Treasure Seeker to the Beastmaster Codex.
(End of Chapter)
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