Chapter 990: Semifinals
Chapter 990: Semifinals (Combined)
The entire arena was in a frenzy.
The stands were filled with screams and cheers.
"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"
"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"
"Ah! So cool! I knew you could make it to the semifinals!"
"Bond Evolution is so strong! Qiao Sang didn't even issue a command, but Steel Sword Falcon handled everything perfectly."
"A Champion-level familiar using Advanced Skills is basically unbeatable at its rank. I never thought she would lose once she sent out Steel Sword Falcon."
"True, compared to other familiars at the same rank, Steel Sword Falcon just has a ‘I will win’ face."
"It's mainly because of its size, though."
"Don't just look at the size. Qiao Sang's Ghost Ring King won too."
"To be honest, spitting Saliva into the water was more shocking than Holy Sword..."
"Who cares what method it used, as long as it works."
"I was praising its intelligence!"
"Qiao Sang must have instructed it. Familiars wouldn't think of that on their own."
"If Qiao Sang doesn't face Yuan Tianlong in the next match, second place is almost guaranteed."
"Not necessarily. I think the choice of familiars in each match is crucial. Like Chen Tianqin, he used his weakest familiar to challenge Qiao Sang's strongest, but unfortunately, Yan Jiaou triggered Blazing Fire. It's a matter of probability, though."
"This is the semifinals. She's probably the youngest semifinalist since the Regional Tournament began."
In Area A, Row 6.
"Ah! Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"
"Song! Song!"
The young boy and the songbird were cheering excitedly, in stark contrast to the man beside them, who looked grim and remained silent.
Amidst the cheers, Steel Treasure remained unperturbed, its wings spreading out. The purple feathers, which had just shed their ice shells, immediately gathered and reattached to its body.
The bond between them was truly impressive, growing more and more harmonious, and Qiao Sang felt a sense of satisfaction. With a wave of her hand, she recalled Steel Treasure into the Beastmaster Codex.
The ground slowly opened, revealing an entrance tunnel.
Azure Avian, carrying Qiao Sang, flew into the underground.
"The next match will be the final contest to determine the last semifinalist..."
As the tunnel closed, the arena commentator's voice faded away.
Qiao Sang dismounted from Azure Avian.
A staff member approached, bowing respectfully.
"Miss Qiao, after the last match, we will announce the semifinal groupings. We hope you'll join us in the contestant area to watch the grouping process."
Qiao Sang nodded.
"Sure."
She walked inside, unsurprised by the procedure. While the rules of the Regional Tournaments varied slightly across regions, they all generally announced the semifinal groupings in advance to build excitement and engage the audience.
Qiao Sang made her way to the backstage area.
After a few seconds, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from ahead.
Soon, a man appeared, looking to be in his early twenties, wearing a white shirt, with a gentle demeanor and rimless glasses, giving off a scholarly yet somewhat sly vibe.
Yuan Tianlong... Qiao Sang recognized the man walking towards her.
He was one of the contestants in the final match to determine the last semifinalist.
As Qiao Sang passed by him, Yuan Tianlong's voice, tinged with a smile, called out, "We meet again."
Qiao Sang: "???"
She turned, watching Yuan Tianlong's retreating back, utterly confused.
Wait, have we met before?
...
Contestant Area.
Qiao Sang held Fangy and found a random spot to sit down.
She watched the slender shadow of the Azure Avian on the field, recalling the words she had heard in the backstage corridor, and couldn't help but ask:
"Do you have any impression of him?"
According to what the other party had said, they must have met before, but Qiao Sang couldn't for the life of her remember where they had faced each other.
With her photographic memory and no issues with recognizing faces, she would never forget someone she had spoken to.
Moreover, the person in question was Yuan Tianlong, and even if she hadn’t signed up for the Regional Tournament, she had heard of him.
If she had met him, she definitely wouldn’t have forgotten.
"Ya Ya."
Fangy shook her head without hesitation.
"Steel Blade."
Steel Treasure called out, indicating no.
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker followed her Beastmaster's gaze, thinking hard, and then a "I remember" expression appeared on her face.
Qiao Sang's heart skipped a beat, and she asked:
"Where did you see him?"
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker called out confidently.
Online, everyone said he was your strongest opponent in this Regional Tournament.
Fangy, upon hearing this, immediately became more serious as she looked at the distant shadow.
Qiao Sang: "..."
At that moment, a match just ended.
The countdown began.
When the countdown ended, both seals disappeared, and two exceptionally large shadows appeared in the Redstar Array.
"Jujue!"
A powerful roar echoed.
Qiao Sang looked at the Dragon Companion with massive ears, a ring of saw-like patterns around its neck, huge purple wings with serrated edges, a spiral horn on its head, and two sharp fangs visible on its lower jaw. She suddenly remembered the Sawtooth Dragon that had helped her break through her Brain Domain to 50%.
"Ya Ya!"
Just as she was thinking this, Fangy called out, indicating that this one looked very similar to the one that had knocked her out of the air before.
Qiao Sang smiled and her first thought was:
"That's because they are both Sawtooth Dragons."
The Royal Tier form of the Young Sound Dragon is the Sawtooth Dragon.
Steel Treasure looked thoughtful on the side.
Suddenly, a strange thought flashed through Qiao Sang's mind.
It wasn't her own thought.
Qiao Sang was taken aback and looked at Steel Treasure, asking, "Do you think they might be the same one?"
"Steel Blade..."
Steel Treasure was also taken aback.
It hadn't said anything, nor had it communicated its thoughts to its Beastmaster through consciousness. How did its Beastmaster know what it was thinking? Could their bond have grown so strong that her thoughts could be sensed without active communication?
Steel Treasure's expression unconsciously turned serious.
This wasn't a good thing.
If so, wouldn't all the times it privately thought its Beastmaster wasn't very intelligent be known?
Qiao Sang: "..."
I heard that... Qiao Sang conveyed with a mournful look.
Steel Treasure awkwardly turned its head to the side.
On the field, the energy balls fired by the Sawtooth Dragon exploded in the air, turning into massive meteorites that struck from the clouds.
"Bang bang bang!!!"
The deafening explosions snapped Qiao Sang out of her thoughts, and she focused entirely on the match.
Time flew by in the heat of the moment.
All the matches ended.
Yuan Tianlong, without a doubt, won his match and advanced to the semifinals.
"Today's matches have all ended!" the host, riding a Flying-type Companion, appeared in the air, microphone in hand, and announced, "The semifinalists have been decided: Contestant Wen Ruihe, Contestant Wu Tianjiao, Contestant Qiao Sang, and Contestant Yuan Tianlong!"
Every time the Host announced a Contestant's name, the Camera would focus on the corresponding Contestant.
The holographic screen provided a close-up of each one.
Each time the Camera focused on a Contestant, the audience would scream in excitement.
"In the final segment of tonight's event, we will be forming the Semi-finals Groups!"
As soon as the Host finished speaking, the Giant Virtual Screen instantly changed to show the photos of four Contestants.
"Let's welcome the beastmaster notary judge!"
Divisio waved to the audience, then split into two, with his head floating into the holographic screen and disappearing.
"Think we might run into each other in the Semi-finals?" a man's voice suddenly sounded from behind, one that Qiao Sang had heard not long ago.
Qiao Sang turned around, glanced at Yuan Tianlong, then turned back to the Giant Virtual Screen and said, "It's possible."
Yuan Tianlong noticed the girl's somewhat cold attitude and smiled, "Didn't you recognize me?"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Sang turned back and carefully examined Yuan Tianlong. After confirming that she had never spoken to this face in reality, she was about to speak when the miniature version of the Sawtooth Dragon beside Yuan Tianlong called out enthusiastically, "Saw-saw!"
"Ya Ya!"
Fangy's eyes widened, her expression clearly saying, "So it's you."
"Saw-saw", the Sawtooth Dragon nodded.
Qiao Sang was momentarily stunned by the interaction between Fangy and the Sawtooth Dragon, but then she remembered the thought that Steel Treasure had flashed through her mind earlier. She looked at Yuan Tianlong with a puzzled expression and said, "You're the Sawtooth Dragon who suddenly got summoned back while carrying me, right?"
"Saw-saw", the Sawtooth Dragon nodded again.
Qiao Sang looked at Yuan Tianlong.
Before she could ask, Yuan Tianlong realized what she wanted to know and said, "I changed my appearance."
He then sighed, "You know, when a beastmaster gains a certain level of fame, it's not very convenient to move around outside."
So it really was him... Qiao Sang recalled how she had been mobbed for photos whenever she went out recently, and she could relate. Then, she remembered how the Sawtooth Dragon had helped her break through her Brain Domain to 50%, and she looked at Yuan Tianlong with much more warmth, somewhat embarrassed, "I was thinking about it for a while when you spoke to me backstage. I almost thought my memory had gotten worse."
Yuan Tianlong laughed, "I forgot to tell you I had changed my appearance."
Honestly, he never expected that the person the Sawtooth Dragon had been willing to carry would be a beastmaster who had bonded with a Clear Hidden Sprite, someone so young and terrifyingly talented, and who had even made it to the semifinals of the Regional Tournament.
He had almost forgotten about the whole thing...
Qiao Sang asked curiously, "What did you use to change your appearance?"
As a potential opponent, she had gathered information on Yuan Tianlong, and none of his familiars had the ability to alter appearance.
"It's a Face-Molder", Yuan Tianlong said. "I hired one, long-term."
A Face-Molder is generally an Advanced Familiar with no combat abilities, but its face-molding trait is highly favored. It can spit out a white clay that can be absorbed into the skin, allowing the user to mold their face and features as they please.
Despite the Face-Molder's excellent capabilities, they are very rare, and it's almost impossible to see one out in the open.
No wonder, with all his Dragon-type familiars, this mega-rich beastmaster could hire a Face-Molder long-term... Qiao Sang reflected on this internally and was about to ask how he had managed to hire one.
Host’s voice rang out just then:
"The semi-finalists are announced, everyone please look at the big screen!"
Qiao Sang turned her head to look at the giant virtual screen:
[Yuan Tianlong vs. Wen Ruihe]
[Wu Tianjiao vs. Qiao Sang]
"It looks like we'll meet on the Arena", Yuan Tianlong said.
Qiao Sang turned at the sound of his voice, only to see him already standing up and leaving.
"Sawtooth."
The Sawtooth Dragon politely waved its claws and followed its Beastmaster.
Meeting on the Arena... He really trusts me that much... Qiao Sang refocused her attention, her gaze returning to the giant virtual screen.
Wu Tianjiao—among all the contestants, she was the only one with a thunder spirit.
And the thunder spirit was the familiar that appeared in Steel Treasure’s dream during its evolution.
"Steel Blade..."
Steel Treasure sensed its Beastmaster’s thoughts and looked at Wu Tianjiao’s photo.
...
The sun set in the west.
At the Beastmaster Center.
The first thing Qiao Sang did upon returning to her room was to pack up and prepare to move to a new place.
"You’re not staying here anymore?" Migala asked.
Qiao Sang nodded, signing the songbird and briefly explaining how she saw its Beastmaster sitting with her match opponent at the venue. "It seems like too many people know where I’m staying. Since we’re already in the semi-finals, it’s better to move somewhere else."
Ye Xiangting, who had been excitedly chatting with family and friends, put down her mobile phone and became serious. "Actually, a lot of people have approached me, hoping to invite you to stay and play at their place. Some of them are from hotels, offering free accommodation and meals. A few are five-star hotels, and I’ve heard they have high security, with many contestants choosing to stay there. If you want to go, I can contact them."
Qiao Sang didn’t hesitate. "Sure!"
She paused and added, "I’d like to choose one closest to the Skyborne Beastmaster Arena."
For her, the money wasn’t the main concern. The better hotels were mostly booked, and now she could stay in one for free as a contestant, which was quite convenient.
"Alright." Ye Xiangting picked up her mobile phone. "I’ll contact them now."
Qiao Sang continued packing her things.
The Treasure Seeker removed the Ring and helped store the items inside.
Migala, sitting on the sofa, asked casually, "Who came up with the idea of spitting saliva in the water during Steel Sword Falcon’s match?"
"Steel Blade."
Before Qiao Sang could answer, Steel Treasure spoke up, indicating it was its idea.
Migala looked over. "You?"
"Steel Blade." Steel Treasure nodded.
Qiao Sang, reflecting and somewhat proud, said, "I didn’t think of it at the time, but it really worked well."
Migala laughed, rarely offering praise. "That was a good move. You achieved your goal without expending any energy. How did you come up with it?"
Steel Treasure silently glanced at Lulu.
Lulu, feeling the gaze, looked up. "???"
Qiao Sang noticed the exchange and quickly explained, "Lulu is a Water-Type and is very clean, so Steel Treasure thought that all Water-Type Companion Beasts might be the same, and that’s why it used that move."
"Steel Blade." Steel Treasure nodded, confirming that was exactly it.
Lulu turned her gaze back and continued training her Ice Armor. (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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