Chapter 991: Semi-finals
Chapter 991: Semi-finals (Combined)
As they chatted, Ye Xiangting finished her search and asked:
"How about the Emperor Hotel? It’s a five-star place, and it’s super close to the Skyborne Beastmaster Arena. I heard you can even see the arena from the room."
The hotel actually invited me too... Qiao Sang nodded and said:
"Sure, let’s go with that one."
Back then, she and Coach Tao had a meal at the Emperor Hotel, so she was familiar with its location. It was indeed very close to the Skyborne Beastmaster Arena.
...
7:00 PM.
Emperor Hotel.
Led by the staff, Qiao Sang and her group entered the Presidential Suite.
"Our hotel has a prime location, and you can see the Skyborne Beastmaster Arena from the window. Additionally, each Presidential Suite is equipped with a dedicated butler. If you need anything, just press the service button, and the butler will assist you promptly", the staff said respectfully.
"Servicat!" a cat-like familiar, about 1.5 meters tall, wearing a work uniform and a bow tie, called out.
Servicat, a Psionic Familiar, has a very high IQ and is excellent at taking care of children. It dislikes conflict and battles, and it works hard to care for people and familiars to seek joy and gratitude, deriving positive Emotional Energy from such activities... Qiao Sang recalled the familiar’s information and nodded slightly, then politely said:
"Understood."
"Then I won’t disturb you." The staff turned and left.
"Servicat!" the Servicat called out, following and considerately closing the door behind it.
As soon as they stepped out, the staff’s expression became extremely excited. They pulled out their mobile phone and quickly sent a message in a group:
"Ahh! Qiao Sang is so kind! And Clear Hidden Sprite is so cute! I didn’t dare to look at them openly, though."
After sending the message, the staff turned to the Servicat and instructed:
"She’s a very important person, so you need to take good care of her, okay?"
"Servicat!"
The Servicat nodded.
The staff looked around and lowered their voice:
"Many people in the hotel are her fans. If you take good care of her and she stays here for a few more days, the positive energy you collect will be more than usual."
"Servicat!"
The Servicat nodded and then placed its claws on the staff’s body, immediately absorbing a surge of Pink Energy into itself.
In fact, it had noticed that everyone in the hotel had been much happier since this human stepped in. The air was filled with pleasant scents.
...
Presidential Suite.
"Xunxun~"
"Qingqing."
Treasure Seeker and Qingbao floated curiously from room to room.
"Mom, why don’t you stay here too?" Qiao Sang said, glancing at the room layout.
Besides the study and living room, there were two bedrooms, each with a double bed.
Ye Xiangting immediately replied, "Sure, I’ll check out later."
Living together would indeed be much more convenient for her.
"I’ll leave first. Get some rest early", Migala said.
"Teacher, why don’t you stay here too?" Ye Xiangting tried to persuade her.
Migala declined, "No, I’m only here for a short while."
Her main purpose was to better position herself, making it easier to come and go.
"Teacher, get some rest early", Qiao Sang said.
Migala’s expression relaxed, and she smiled at Qiao Sang before disappearing on the spot.
Ye Xiangting was taken aback:
" Spatial Shift? Where’s your Teacher’s familiar? I didn’t see it at all."
"It’s a Psychic-type familiar and usually stays invisible", Qiao Sang explained.
Ye Xiangting thought for a moment and asked:
"Can Treasure Seeker use Spatial Shift while invisible?"
Qiao Sang was unsure, "I think so."
During matches, Treasure Seeker usually teleported from one place to another while invisible. However, it typically used Spatial Shift after becoming visible. She had never seen it use Spatial Shift while invisible.
But as long as it was proficient in both Invisibility and Spatial Shift, it shouldn’t be a problem.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker overheard the conversation and floated over, extending a short toe to wag it.
It's not that it should be able to, but it can.
"Xunxun?"
It called out to its Beastmaster's mother, as if asking a question.
Qiao Sang translated:
"It's asking if you want to check out now, and it can take you."
Ye Xiangting was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "Sure."
Treasure Seeker gave its Beastmaster a "watch me" look, then vanished.
The next second, the mother disappeared from sight.
Qiao Sang: "…"
I knew you were going to do that…
Qiao Sang went to the bathroom to freshen up, then returned to the bedroom to brief Fangy and the others on their opponent's situation:
"Wu Tianjiao has two King-level familiars, one Champion-level familiar, one Advanced familiar, and one Basic familiar."
"We don't need to worry about the Advanced and Basic familiars. Let's focus on her King-level and Champion-level familiars…"
Qiao Sang continued explaining, and Fangy, Lulu, Steel Treasure, and Qingbao sat in a row, listening attentively.
When Ye Xiangting returned via Spatial Shift, she saw this scene. She watched for a couple of seconds without interrupting, then dragged her luggage to another bedroom.
"Xunxun! Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker floated over, calling out in dissatisfaction, indicating why they didn't wait for it to come back before discussing such confidential matters.
Qiao Sang looked at it:
"In this round, I'll have Steel Treasure go up."
"Xunxun…"
Treasure Seeker immediately calmed down.
So it doesn't have to go up. That's fine…
"Xunxun…"
But then it became sulky again.
Little Brother has already gone up in this round, and it wants to go too.
Qiao Sang patiently explained:
"Steel Treasure dreamed of an evolution scene. If I'm not mistaken, it's likely to happen during tomorrow's match."
"Ya Ya!"
Fangy's eyes lit up, showing a "really?" expression.
"Steel Blade."
Steel Treasure nodded.
"Ice Emperor."
Lulu called out, congratulating it.
Qingbao looked puzzled and curious.
Dreamed of an evolution scene?
What does that mean?
Can dreams come true?
"Xunxun?!"
Just as it was about to ask, Treasure Seeker took a step back, alarmed.
What?
Evolution?!
Then, Little Brother will be stronger than it?
It will become the fourth one?
Images flashed through its mind.
"Ya Ya." Big Brother Yabao called out.
Fourth One.
"Ice Emperor."
Lulu called out.
Fourth One.
"Steel Blade."
Steel Treasure called out.
Fourth One.
"Qingqing."
Qingbao called out.
Fourth Brother.
The world seemed to darken!
For a moment, Treasure Seeker felt dizzy and hopeless about the future.
"Steel Blade."
At that moment, Steel Treasure extended its wings and patted Treasure Seeker, showing a sincere expression, calling out to reassure it that no matter what happens in tomorrow's match, it will always be its Big Brother.
"Xunxun…"
Treasure Seeker looked at Steel Treasure, tears welling up in its eyes, filled with gratitude.
"Steel Blade."
Seeing this, Steel Treasure turned to its Beastmaster and called out, indicating that it was okay to continue.
"Qingqing…"
Qingbao looked at Steel Treasure, then at the still moved Treasure Seeker, seeming to understand something.
Steel Treasure is better at comforting now… Qiao Sang cleared her throat and continued discussing the opponent's familiars:
"Thunder Spirit, an Electric-type Champion-level familiar, with extremely fast attacks and speed. According to the data, it has the Volt Absorb and Swift Legs traits. Volt Absorb is something I've mentioned before, so you should all know it. Swift Legs means that when a familiar with this trait is in an abnormal status, its speed increases."
When describing this familiar, she specially looked at Steel Treasure:
"Speed is definitely faster than you, so at the start of the match, it's best to maintain Iron Wall. Otherwise, you might not even have the chance to cast Defend."
"Steel Blade."
Steel Treasure nodded solemnly.
Qiao Sang continued:
"Additionally, if the fur on its body stands up, it's a sign that it's about to release Thunder Skills."
"You can judge whether it's about to launch a lightning attack based on its fur."
"From the information I found, Thunder Spirit is Wu Tianjiao's second familiar, but it isn't one of the two King-level familiars..."
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker, who was in the midst of feeling touched, instantly snapped back to reality, once again feeling a sense of despair.
It was also its Beastmaster's second familiar, yet it hadn't become Royal Tier and was about to be ranked fourth in terms of strength...
Just then, the second half of its Beastmaster's sentence reached its ears:
"This means that Thunder Spirit's strength can't be measured by a regular Champion-level familiar. It's most likely already in the late stages of General Class or even late-stage perfection. The only reason it hasn't become Royal Tier is because the Evolution conditions are too stringent..."
At this point, Qiao Sang noticed that Treasure Seeker was staring at her intently. A thought crossed her mind, and she added:
"Or perhaps, like Treasure Seeker, it wants to achieve perfect Evolution but can't because the Evolution Artifacts are too rare and hard to collect, so it hasn't become Royal Tier..."
"Xunxun..."
Treasure Seeker's eyes lit up, and it suddenly felt enlightened.
So, it was because it needed perfect Evolution that its Evolution was slower than Big Brother Yabao and the others!
Qiao Sang glanced at Treasure Seeker's expression, a smile flickering in her eyes, and returned to the main topic:
"This Thunder Spirit is the familiar that appeared in Steel Treasure's Evolution Scene. If everything goes as planned, Steel Treasure will battle it."
She looked at Steel Treasure and outlined the battle strategy:
"Its energy is higher than yours, so dragging the match out won't give us a chance to win. Given Thunder Spirit's battle style, it will likely launch a fierce attack in the early stages. To win, our best method is to use Air Absorption to slow down its Speed, then launch our attack."
"However", Qiao Sang added, "if the prophesied scene is tomorrow, the course of the match might not be as I've analyzed."
Based on the data, for a familiar to Evolve during a battle, it typically faces an uphill battle.
If it were to easily defeat Thunder Spirit, Steel Treasure probably wouldn't Bond Evolution.
"Tomorrow's match might be very difficult for you", Qiao Sang said.
"Steel Blade."
Steel Treasure's eyes were filled with determination.
It understood.
Suddenly, Qiao Sang's mobile phone vibrated.
She picked it up and saw a message from Rong Yuhua:
【Wu Tianjiao.txt】
There was nothing else.
Qiao Sang opened the file and read through it. When she saw a particular piece of information, her expression turned serious, and she replied with two words:
【Thank you.】
This information was a great help to her.
...
The next day.
2:30 PM.
Skyborne Beastmaster Arena.
"Respected guests, national audience, good afternoon!" the host, holding a microphone, stood on a blue bird familiar and announced loudly:
"Today, we will witness the second Semi-final of this Regional Tournament, between Contestant Qiao Sang and Contestant Wu Tianjiao. This is the eighth round of matches hosted by the Skyborne Beastmaster Arena and the penultimate match of this Regional Tournament. The winner of today's Semi-final will remain at the Skyborne Beastmaster Arena for the final showdown. Who will advance to the final round?"
"Let's give the warmest applause to Contestant Qiao Sang and Contestant Wu Tianjiao!"
The entire venue erupted into a deafening roar of cheers and screams.
"Ah! Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"
"Wu Tianjiao! Wu Tianjiao!"
"Qiao Sang! You have to win! I bet all my savings on a 3-0 victory for you!"
"Damn, you really dare to bet. This is the Semi-finals, and you're still betting on a 3-0 win."
"Great wealth comes from taking risks. You just don't understand."
"A 3-0 win here is unlikely. Wu Tianjiao made it to the finals in the Zhitia Region during the Regional Tournament."
"Can Zhitia Region compare to our Hollow Plains?"
"Don't forget, Qiao Sang isn't from our Hollow Plains."
"..."
Family Section.
"Xunxun!"
"Xunxun!"
The Treasure Seeker, using Invisibility, shouted excitedly.
Why is there a sound like the Ghost Ring King... The people around turned their attention over.
"Cough, cough..." Ye Xiangting cleared his throat.
"Xunxun..."
The Treasure Seeker's voice faded.
I didn't expect to need Invisibility even in the audience stands. But he understood; if the opponent had eyes as sharp as his Beastmaster's and spotted him in the stands, they might guess he wouldn't participate and send a targeted opponent.
With this thought, the Treasure Seeker suppressed his urge to shout.
Amidst the deafening cheers, two Azure Avians carried Qiao Sang and Wu Tianjiao up into the sky, appearing on the field.
Commentator Booth.
Tian Yiyi said, "Contestant Qiao Sang and Contestant Wu Tianjiao have made their entrances. The first final spot of this Regional Tournament has already been secured by Yuan Tianlong. It remains to be seen who will secure the last final spot."
Tang Xueran added, "One is Wu Tianjiao, a contestant who has participated in multiple regional tournaments, with unquestionable strength and popularity. The other is Qiao Sang, the youngest contestant and a first-time participant in a cross-regional tournament, who has made it to the Semi-finals with a string of victories."
"Whichever of them advances to the final, I won't be surprised."
As they spoke, the number "10" appeared in the air.
A mechanical voice followed.
Wu Tianjiao... Qiao Sang looked at the woman with long, smooth black hair and sharp features in the distance.
If Rong Yuhua's information is accurate, then her first familiar...
Her thoughts raced as the number in the air reached "1."
The number vanished.
Please don't make any mistakes... Qiao Sang could faintly hear her own heart pounding.
She formed seals with her hands.
A massive Crimson Star Array lit up on the ground.
From the two Crimson Star Arrays, two large familiars soon emerged.
"Thunderling."
"Steel Blade."
Wu Tianjiao's eyes flashed with surprise upon seeing the familiar that rivaled a Royal Tier in size.
But then, she smiled.
Although it deviated from her original plan, the Steel Sword Falcon would allow her to win the first round.
"Contestant Wu Tianjiao has sent out a thunder spirit, and Contestant Qiao Sang has sent out a Steel Sword Falcon", Tian Yiyi said, somewhat surprised from the Commentator Booth.
"Both sides have simultaneously dispatched Champion-level familiars in the first match. Is this a coincidence?"
The audience couldn't help but exchange glances, all seeing the surprise and confusion in each other's eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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