Read at: https://blogspot-translatedstories.blogspot.com/?m=1
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Room 708.
Qiao Sang sat half-upright on the bed, watching her pet beasts and weighing who would be best to field for the B-rank Beast Master assessment.
Besides the two battle formats Teacher Mikayla had mentioned, there was another rule, any pet that fought in the 1v1 assessment may not appear again in the 2v2 team match.
Right now, Lubao, being the only King-level beast on her team, was the safest pick for the 1v1.
For the team battle… Her eyes landed on Yabao, Little Treasure, and Gangbao.
Honestly, Yabao and Little Treasure made the best pair, one offense, one control.
Yabao and Gangbao could also pair well. Gangbao had just awakened the super-tier skill Holy Sword; in raw attack power she already outclassed Little Treasure.
The problem was Yabao and Gangbao hadn’t trained as a duo much, so their coordination likely wouldn’t match Yabao and Little Treasure’s.
“Qing qing?”
In that moment of hesitation, Qingbao raised a paw and called out, as if to say: Why aren’t you looking at me? Didn’t you consider me?
Qiao Sang: …
At least you noticed… She answered gently.
“You’re still too small. There's plenty of battles ahead.”
“Qing qing…”
Qingbao lowered her paw, looking disappointed.
“Xun xun~”
Little Treasure, seeing this, floated over and patted Qingbao’s head like an older comrade, comforting her.
Don’t be sad. I went through the same.
Qingbao glanced at Little Treasure and then pointed at him, calling, “Qing qing.”
I’m not that small either.
“!!!”
Little Treasure recoiled as if struck.
Qiao Sang cleared her throat.
“He just looks little, he’s actually older than you.”
That one line sank straight into Little Treasure’s heart again.
“Gang Zhan.”
Gangbao glanced at her boss’s expression and sent a thought to Qiao Sang: She’d only just evolved, and her newly awakened skills weren’t yet steady. To secure the best chance of victory, it would be safer to send Yabao and Little Treasure this time. After all, the regional tournament wasn’t far off, that’s when Gangbao could shine.
Gangbao had no doubts Qiao Sang could complete the task.
Unstable mastery, that matched Qiao Sang’s worry about Holy Sword. Gangbao was right. Excluding Lubao, the safest combo was Yabao and Little Treasure.
Decision made, Qiao Sang said, “For the 1v1, Lubao goes. For the 2v2, Yabao and Little Treasure.”
“Xun xun!”
Little Treasure instantly perked up.
“Lu Di!”
Lubao called out seriously.
“Yap…”
Yabao, who’d been all excitement, froze and shot Lubao a long, meaningful look.
With the roster decided, Qiao Sang booked the indoor training arena for 7 p.m.
---
7 p.m. Beast Center, Indoor Training Arena.
“Xun xun!”
“Xun xun!”
Little Treasure buzzed around Qingbao, nagging her to watch carefully and remember his heroic stance.
Whether he actually fought wasn’t the point, this was about proving his strength to his future junior. That fired him up.
“Qing qing.”
At first Qingbao nodded dutifully, but Little Treasure’s endless chatter wore her down; her nods slowed, her smile grew thin. Finally she dissolved into wind and vanished.
“Xun xun?”
Little Treasure froze, then looked to Qiao Sang for reassurance.
“She’s fine. She’s still here.” Qiao Sang said.
“Xun xun…”
Little Treasure relaxed.
“So you’ve decided, Fire Qilu and Ghost Ring King?” Mikayla asked from the side.
Qiao Sang nodded.
“Yabao as main attacker, Little Treasure as control. Little Treasure’s Extrasensory Perception trait makes him well suited for doubles.”
“Do they have combo moves?” Mikayla pressed.
“Yabao’s clones can use different skills, while Little Treasure’s Substitute lets him manipulate shadow control.” Qiao Sang explained.
“Not bad… but not enough.” Mikayla spoke slowly.
“For a B-rank assessment you must have at least one King-level beast. The examiner’s 1v1 will definitely be King-level. In the 2v2, the examiner may send one King-level or possibly both.”
Qiao Sang blinked.
“Both King-level? How would we fight that?”
Rumors online mentioned there’d always be at least one King in a B-rank exam and that formats weren’t only 1v1. But nobody had said both 2v2 opponents might be Kings.
“That’s rare.” Mikayla reassured.
“Mostly only one King is sent.”
Qiao Sang still felt uneasy. I’m Qingbao’s beast master. Given how obsessed the Central Hollow crowd is about Qingbao, if they know who I am, sending two Kings wouldn’t surprise me…
“Don’t overthink. The exam is under Alliance supervision, they won’t deliberately make things impossible. Examiners only send two Kings when the challenger already owns multiple Kings.” Mikayla said, reading her.
Ah, that made sense. Qiao Sang breathed easier, though her expression soon turned serious again.
Facing one King is already tough. Yabao and Little Treasure are still General-level, in early stages, managing a King while also defending against another General-level attacker is hard.
Maybe she should take Mikayla’s earlier advice and finish other missions in other cities first, the deadline was before the regional tournament, after all.
“Yap!”
“Xun?”
But Yabao and Little Treasure looked at her with eager faces, asking when training would start. Her hesitation dissolved.
She’d already registered. Worst case she’d fail and try again.
“Let’s start training,” Qiao Sang said, moving to one side of the arena.
“Only by fighting will I quickly learn their best skill pairings.”
Mikayla smiled and took the opposite side.
“I’ll spar with your Lubao and Gangbao.”
“Lu Di.”
“Gang Zhan.”
Lubao and Gangbao stepped forward.
“Yap…”
Yabao’s eager grin turned serious at the sight of Lubao.
“Xun…”
Little Treasure flinched, but when he saw Gangbao he bared his teeth and squared up. I can lose to many but not to my junior! How else will I stay boss?
“Qing qing…”
Feeling the tension, Qingbao reappeared at Qiao Sang’s side.
---
Outside the arena, a crowd pressed to the windows, craning to see.
“Do you see it?”
“Ahh! Qingqing Ni! It’s really Qingqing Ni!” Someone murmured, trembling.
Below, others clamored: “Switch! Let me see!”
The people at the window paid them no heed.
“The beast master of Qingqing Ni definitely isn’t from Central Hollow. None of her pets are local.”
“Stop hogging the view! Switch already!”
“This is our region’s legend, Qingqing Ni belongs to Central Hollow!”
Inside, the air chilled suddenly.
“What’s that blue three-tailed beast?” Someone exclaimed.
He raised his beast scanner and froze.
The whole row at the glass fell silent.
“Hey, move!” A voice below tugged at the man with the scanner.
But the man toppled, his face instantly encased in a thick sheath of ice, like a frozen mask.
“!!!”
Panic swept the crowd as people were pulled down, every face had frozen solid.
Silence dropped over the onlookers.
---
Inside the arena.
Lubao flicked her tail.
The ice covering Yabao and Little Treasure melted away.
“Ice Field Domain is basically unsolvable for General-level beasts.” Mikayla said.
“Should I forbid Lubao from using it in training?”
“No.” Qiao Sang answered without hesitation.
If you forbid what scares you, what then when the examiner’s King has super-tier moves? You can’t ban both sides.
“Yap…”
Yabao panted, glaring at Lubao.
There was a counter: If you anticipate Ice Field Domain and cast Lava Purgatory first, the molten fury can breach the domain’s ice on the ground. But Lubao was a whole level higher; even if Yabao broke through, he’d be frozen again soon.
Still, the bigger issue was teamwork, getting Yabao and Little Treasure to coordinate better.
At that moment Mikayla asked, “Have you tried having your Fire Qilu fuse its fire skills together?”
Qiao Sang blinked.
“You mean having his clones cast different fire moves and merge them?”
“No.” Mikayla corrected.
“Clones are flashy but weak compared to the real body. I mean the Fire Qilu himself fusing fire skills.”
“…No.” Qiao Sang shook her head.
To be honest, Yabao’s ultimate moves already handled most opponents, especially with Lava Purgatory. She hadn’t considered fusion skills, she’d been too busy rushing missions.
“I know your Fire Qilu has Lava Purgatory.” Mikayla said.
“But that only affects ground targets. In Central Hollow, nearly everyone has a Flying-type. The examiner will likely send one. You’ll need an aerial move with power comparable to Lava Purgatory. Fire skill fusion is a good option.”
“It won’t be easy.”
She added seriously, “But I think you should try.”
So much faith, with only a week left… Qiao Sang looked at Yabao and Little Treasure and nodded.
“I understand.”
---
They trained deep into the night before Mikayla left.
“Want to rest?” Qiao Sang asked.
“Yap!” Yabao shook his head.
“Xun!” Little Treasure glanced at Gangbao and Qingbao, bit his lip, and shook his head too.
“Then let’s try again.”
“Yap!”
Yabao opened his mouth and expelled a spinning whirl of fire.
Immediately after, a golden-red beam erupted.
In an instant the beam caught up to the whirl.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rattled the hall.
Failed again. Qiao Sang looked exhausted.
She’d tried fusing Yabao’s two most common fire moves, but they repelled each other, no fusion at all. Explosive Flame Bomb explosive force was simply too violent to meld with the Fire Whirl.
Maybe if she reversed the order, Explosive Flame Bomb first, then Fire Whirl layered over it, the gentler Fire Whirl could be blended in. But the Whirl was too slow to catch Explosive Flame Bomb.
Would Explosive Flame Bomb have to be trained to peak mastery before fusion worked?
While she pondered, Yabao began another round.
Training went on through the night until dawn.
“Xun…”
Worn out, Little Treasure teleported to Qiao Sang’s side and weakly said he couldn’t go on. While Yabao practiced fire fusion, Little Treasure had been sparring relentlessly with Gangbao and even Lubao.
Qiao Sang’s eyes were rimmed in red as she stared.
“Xun!”
Seeing her look, Little Treasure panicked and urged he could continue.
“No.” Qiao Sang shook her head, but a wild excitement flared in her bloodshot eyes.
“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!”
The exhausted excitement made her look almost manic.
“Xun…”
Little Treasure nervously teleported to Lubao’s side and nudged her awake.
Lubao stirred, looked at him, then at Qiao Sang.
“Lu Di.”
The gem on her brow glowed blue, casting a soft light over Qiao Sang.
The redness in her eyes eased.
“I figured it out!” Qiao Sang cried to Yabao.
“Make the Fire Whirl hollow!”
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