Chapter 941: Appearance

Read at: https://blogspot-translatedstories.blogspot.com/?m=1 

-----  

The moment the words left the host's mouth, four oversized giant virtual screens appeared, facing the audience in different directions.

Each giant virtual screen displayed the names and photos of more than four hundred contestants. The lists on all four screens were identical, provided simply so that spectators sitting in different sections could see clearly.

Qiao Sang’s gaze swept quickly across the list. There were names she had seen on marketing accounts and names that had never appeared before. Soon, she spotted herself in the second slot of the third row from the bottom.

Ye Xiangting asked while scanning rapidly, "Did you find your name?"

"Third row from the bottom, second one." Qiao Sang said.

Ye Xiangting looked toward the specified position. Her eyes lit up when she saw her daughter’s photo and name. She quickly pulled out her phone, opened the camera, zoomed in, and precisely snapped a photo of the image.

"These 432 Beast Masters on this list are all the contestants for this year's Regional Championships!" The host shouted into the microphone. 

"Some of them have already experienced ten Regional Championships, while others are participating for the first time this year."

"Who exactly will emerge victorious in this highest-level regional beast battle feast! It will be witnessed by you, together!"

Thunderous applause erupted from the stands.

"First, we will conduct the preliminary grouping!" The host continued. 

"Please welcome the referees from the Beast Notary Office!"

There are many methods available to Beast Masters in society. There had once been an incident in the Liaoxi Region where a contestant used a Mechanical pet to enter the Regional Championship system and arrange their own opponents. 

Since then, the Regional Championships in all regions of Dragon Country have invited referees from the Beast Notary Office to let their Mechanical pets enter the system for live grouping, ensuring no one could pull such small tricks again.

As the host finished speaking, the audience fell silent, faces filled with anticipation, itching to see the match-ups immediately.

A woman in a formal suit and a pet about two meters tall, a humanoid metal body composed primarily of two spheres, stood up in the front row and waved to the audience. Then, the woman nodded to the humanoid metal pet.

"Fen Fen."

The humanoid metal pet let out a cry, and immediately its head and body split into two. The head floated toward the giant virtual screen, entered it, and vanished. Only the lower body remained outside, standing still.

Base-Divider Unit, a high-level Mechanical pet. It can directly enter a system for operations. During the process, if it encounters a virus or a hidden pet, its body color changes from silver-white to black.

The Base-Divider Unit was not unfamiliar to anyone who had watched large-scale beast competitions on television.

Ye Xiangting, however, didn't know. Although the Yuhua Region had Mechanical pets with similar functions, they weren't Base-Divider Units. Seeing this, she couldn't help but remark, "This pet is quite special, leaving half its body outside."

"That's a Base-Divider Unit." Qiao Sang provided the background knowledge. 

"If it encounters a virus or another pet while inside the system, not only will its head turn black, but the body left outside will too. This is to let everyone know immediately if there's a problem with the system during grouping."

Over the past few days, she had specifically looked into past Central Hollow Regional Championships, so she wasn't a stranger to the Base-Divider Unit.

Hearing this, Ye Xiangting suddenly looked at her daughter with new eyes. She felt that her daughter was growing not only in strength but also in knowledge.

"It seems I can come to you whenever I don't understand something in the future." Ye Xiangting joked.

"Not necessarily, not necessarily..." Qiao Sang replied with a smile. 

"But feel free to ask."

Liu Yao listened to the conversation from the side, feeling deeply emotional. Thinking back, Qiao Sang couldn't even distinguish the basic food for pets; now, she was intimately familiar with pets from other regions and had even become a B-rank Beast Master. And only two years had passed since then.

During their talk, the Base-Divider Unit finished the grouping. The preliminary match-ups appeared on the virtual screen. Ripples spread across the screen as the Base-Divider Unit’s spherical head floated out and merged with its body, its color unchanged.

The host loudly announced, "The list is finalized. The preliminary battle list has been matched."

At nearly the same time, everyone’s eyes fixed on the giant virtual screen. Qiao Sang saw herself in one of the early groups.

[Tang Chao VS Wang Yike]

[Sheng Taozhe VS Nian Dingding]

---

[Lü Fengba VS Qiao Sang]

Lü Fengba, 36 years old, C-rank Beast Master. Participated in the Regional Championships twice; stopped at the preliminaries the first time, but reached the Top 100 the second time... Looking at the man with dark skin, thick eyebrows, and large eyes in the photo, relevant information flashed through Qiao Sang’s mind.

She had seen this person's information on a marketing account. She remembered his last participation was two years ago. In two years, strength can undergo leap-like changes, so past data wasn't very meaningful as a reference.

Meanwhile, five rows behind her, the man with thick eyebrows and large eyes froze when he saw his opponent's name and photo, then broke into a grin.

Qiao Sang? Never heard of her. Looks like a first-timer. And the photo looks so young, like a child. Probably a genius Beast Master who received feedback at a very young age, causing her appearance to age slowly.

However, since she was this young, her actual age couldn't be that great. This match should be in the bag.

The host shouted: "Next, I will announce the battle rules. Contestants are only allowed to use registered pets. Pets may not use potions, props, or spiritual seals. Any users will be immediately disqualified. If a pet evolves during battle, it may not be interrupted. The matches will be in a 3V3 format, with each contestant selecting three pets to compete. After each match, the contestant can choose whether or not to recall the pet to the Beast Codex. Whichever contestant's three pets are all defeated first will be eliminated..."

"Tonight's preliminary round will be kicked off by the first ten groups of contestants!"

The opening ceremonies of the Regional Championships are basically always held in the evening. Originally, according to the initial format, battles were held the next day. 

However, later on, too many people protested, wanting to see matches immediately. Given that the opening ceremony only takes about an hour or two, there was indeed time to watch a few battles. Thus, the officials later changed the rules so that the first ten groups on the battle list would compete immediately. This allowed everyone to see battles right away without having to stay up all night.

Most contestants hoped to appear in the first ten groups. They were all prepared for battle and weren't afraid of when it happened. Furthermore, since the first ten battles occurred right after the opening ceremony, almost everyone in the Central Hollow Region would be watching, giving it the highest trending potential. 

Even without existing fame, a Beast Master participating for the first time would gain a lot of attention. Otherwise, later match-ups would be precisely scheduled for specific dates and times, and many people would only tune in specifically for contestants they were interested in.

Qiao Sang counted on the virtual screen, she was in the fifth group, so it would be her turn tonight. Almost the instant she counted her order, the full contestant list on the giant virtual screen faded away, leaving only the names and photos of the first ten groups.

The whole crowd cheered, everyone shouting the names of the contestants they were interested in among the first ten groups.

No one was shouting for her... Qiao Sang pricked up her ears to listen, feeling not at all surprised.

After reading the list, Ye Xiangting looked at her daughter with burning eyes, her face appearing somewhat nervous. 

To be honest, regarding the Regional Championships, even though she felt her daughter’s talent was incredibly high and participating was normal, after all, no one in Dragon Nation could become a C-rank Beast Master at such a young age, actually seeing her daughter about to step onto that stage made her feel a sense of unreality.

The Regional Championships, a competition that gathered the most outstanding young Beast Masters of the entire region... her underage daughter, who used to fail her exams, was actually going up there.

Ye Xiangting took a deep breath. She wanted to say something like "fight well" or "good luck," but what came out was: "Don't be nervous..."

"Mom, I think you're the one who's nervous..." 

Seeing her mother’s slightly anxious expression, Qiao Sang comforted her: "I'm not nervous."

She was telling the truth. There was excitement, but really no nervousness. Her opponent was a full rank lower than her, she had no reason to be nervous. The one who should be nervous right now was her opponent.

"This is the Regional Championships, how could you not be nervous..." Ye Xiangting didn't believe her for a second.

Just as she was about to say more, Liu Yao spoke up from the side: "Qiao Sang's mother, don't be nervous. Qiao Sang can win."

In the preliminary stage, it was basically impossible for a B-rank Beast Master to be matched against another B-rank Beast Master. It was a guaranteed advancement.

Ye Xiangting was momentarily speechless. Was her nervousness really that obvious? She took another deep breath, wanting to argue with the Vice Principal. Although Yabao had recently evolved to the King-level, it didn't guarantee a 100% victory in battle. 

Being so certain her daughter would win might put too much pressure on her. In her eyes, the fact that her daughter was even qualified to participate at this age was already exceptional; winning or losing wasn't that important.

Just as Ye Xiangting was organizing her words to tell her daughter not to feel too much pressure, a staff member walked over and said: "Contestants from the first ten groups, please follow me to the backstage to prepare."

The contestants on the list stood up one after another. Qiao Sang stood up and said: "Mom, Vice Principal, I'm heading off then."

As soon as she spoke, the contestants and families sitting nearby all looked over, their gazes filled with surprise. Previously, they had been focused on their own groupings and hadn't noticed others. Now they realized there was actually a contestant among them this year who looked like a minor.

The man with the buzz cut she had encountered in the passage was even more stunned. Only one thought was in his head: Out of those three, this girl is actually the contestant?!

"Go on." Liu Yao nodded.

Ye Xiangting had ten thousand words in her heart, but in the end, she only said two: "Good luck!"

Qiao Sang gave a heavy "Mm," turned, and followed the staff member toward the backstage passage.

---

The backstage was exceptionally spacious and well-soundproofed; the noise from outside was almost inaudible. A giant virtual screen took up most of one wall, broadcasting the live feed from outside.

Some contestants were chatting, while others stayed quiet and alone, looking unapproachable. Soon, two of the contestants followed staff members in different directions.

On the virtual screen, two people sat at the commentary desk. A man in a formal suit with handsome features said, "Hello everyone, I am your commentator, Tian Yiwan."

"And I am Tang Xueran." A woman with long chestnut hair who looked very capable smiled beside him.

"We will be your commentators for this year's Regional Championships." 

Tian Yiwan looked at the list and said with a smile, "The first pair of opponents to appear are Tang Chao and Wang Yike. As for Tang Chao, this is already his third time in the Regional Championships, so he’s a familiar face. Last time he participated, I remember he stopped in the second round."

"That's right. I wonder if he has improved this year to reach a higher rank." Tang Xueran said in coordination.

Tian Yiwan continued: "The name Wang Yike is very unfamiliar. This is her first time in the Regional Championships, and she’s very young, only 27 years old."

Tang Xueran smiled. 

"I always have expectations for Beast Masters participating for the first time; I hope they can bring us a different surprise."

At this point, the camera zoomed out to the field. The ground on both sides of the field suddenly opened up to a width of about two meters.

Tian Yiwan looked at the field and said, "They're here."

The moment the words fell, two blue avian pets about two meters tall and identical in appearance swooshed out from underground simultaneously, rising into the sky. They stopped at a height of about ten meters, hovering steadily in mid-air.

Two figures were standing on them respectively. They were Tang Chao and Wang Yike.

---

The Central Hollow Regional Championships really have their own unique characteristics, even using flying pets for appearances... But commanding from a flying pet is actually quite good. Since the pets are large, you can only see the whole board better from a high vantage point... Qiao Sang stared at the screen, a series of thoughts flashing through her mind.

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside her: "Hello, I am Lü Fengba."

Qiao Sang turned and saw her upcoming opponent. She responded, "Hello, Qiao Sang."

"I know." Lü Fengba smiled. 

"We're opponents in a bit. By the way, you look really young. Is it okay to ask how old you are?"

Before a match, after finding out who their opponent is, many people find ways to fish for information. Qiao Sang thought about it; age didn't seem like particularly vital information, so she said honestly: "17 years old."

Lü Fengba was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly. "You're very humorous."

What was humorous about it? Qiao Sang didn't understand. Seeing that she didn't give her real age, Lü Fengba immediately felt it was uninteresting. He gave a social smile and said, "See you on the field then." After speaking, he turned and left.

Qiao Sang turned back to the virtual screen. Time passed minute by minute, and the matches proceeded fervently. Once the fourth group of contestants left the field, Tian Yiwan spoke: "The next group of contestants is Lü Fengba and Qiao Sang."

When he read the names of this group, his tone was noticeably more excited than before, and his speaking speed increased: "Lü Fengba is also a familiar face. This is his third time in the Regional Championships. He stopped in the preliminaries the first time, but reached the Top 100 the second time. This time, his strength should be even greater."

"On the other hand, contestant Qiao Sang is participating for the first time. She isn't from our Central Hollow Region, yet she registered for her first Regional Championships right here."

As commentators for the Regional Championships, they receive a detailed dossier on the contestants before the match, so they can rattle off information without even needing to look at their notes.

"Contestant Qiao Sang can be said to be one of the contestants I'm most looking forward to in this year's championships." Tang Xueran followed. 

"She is the youngest contestant in the history of our Central Hollow Region, at the age of 17."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire stadium went into an uproar. Faces everywhere showed expressions of shock and astonishment.

17 years old? Successfully registered for the Regional Championships at 17? Doesn't that mean she became a C-rank Beast Master at 17?!

Ye Xiangting listened to the introduction with her head held high and a look of pride.

"Not only that." 

Tian Yiwan took a deep breath and said word by word: "She is also a B-rank Beast Master!"

The entire stadium instantly fell silent. Even though the venue was packed with 172,000 spectators, at this moment, it was as quiet as if no one were there.

Ye Xiangting: ?!!

B-rank Beast Master? Who? Her daughter?

Only Liu Yao maintained his previous expression. He had received this ridiculous news days ago. Looking at the sea of dazed faces around him, his heart felt a sudden sense of balance.

"They are appearing." Tang Xueran said.

As she spoke, two blue avian pets rose straight up from underground.

-----

Previous Chapter_Next Chapter

-----