Read at: https://blogspot-translatedstories.blogspot.com/?m=1
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Exclamations rang out across the stands as people pulled out their phones to record the moment.
It wasn't that cases of Ghost-type pets using Shadow of Darkness were unheard of in major tournaments, there were plenty of examples of phantoms reaching a hundred meters in height, but seeing it on TV is one thing, seeing it in person is a completely different sensory experience.
Especially when the pet performing the move was a Ghost-type only dozens of centimeters tall, the contrast was incredibly striking.
"The Ghost Ring King has manifested a Shadow of Darkness." Tian Yiwan said, observing the situation on the field.
"The giant version of the Ghost Ring King certainly looks much more domineering. I wonder if it learned this move specifically because of its small stature."
Tang Xueran added: "This is also the first time a Ghost-type pet has used Shadow of Darkness in this year's Regional Championships."
Shadow of Darkness manifests a phantom ten or even a hundred times the pet's size. Its primary function is to apply visual pressure on the opponent; the actual damage dealt does not increase. Because of this, the move is actually quite rare in competitive matches.
It only looks impressive visually, but it's nothing substantial... Xiang Wenyi steadied her nerves and shouted: "Attack the main body!"
"Mu xu!"
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster let out a loud cry. Countless leaves glowing with green light rose from its body, sweeping toward Little Treasure like a torrential rain.
"Xun xun~"
Little Treasure used Teleportation, dodging easily.
Just as the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster prepared to attack again, it suddenly felt something wrong with its body. It looked down and saw a massive dark shadow had already merged with its own shadow.
Shadow Control... Xiang Wenyi’s heart sank slightly.
She had originally thought that attacking the main body of the Ghost Ring King would either make the Shadow of Darkness disappear or force the main body to stop controlling the phantom while dodging.
She hadn't expected the Ghost Ring King to control the Shadow of Darkness to perform Shadow Control while simultaneously using Teleportation.
She remembered from videos that the Ghost Ring King usually had to extend its short digits to control the Shadow of Darkness for this to work. In such a short time, the Ghost Ring King and its shadow could already act independently.
Did that mean there were essentially two Ghost Ring Kings acting on the field?
"Range expansion!" Xiang Wenyi ordered decisively.
As long as the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's powder covered the entire field, the Shadow of Darkness would be broken! Although this would consume a massive amount of energy, she couldn't worry about that now!
"Mu..."
Before the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster could finish its cry, a thick black shadow wrapped upward, entangling its entire body in two or three strokes, leaving no gaps. Immediately after, the darkness extended and enveloped it, quickly binding the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster into a giant black sphere.
With a slight flick of the thirty-meter-tall Ghost Ring King's digit, the connected black sphere was swung upward and began to spin frantically at the tip of the giant phantom's finger.
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Meanwhile, in the Regional Championship's official livestream, countless comments appeared: [This move looks so familiar...]
[I didn't expect Qiao Sang to keep her habit of spinning opponents dizzy even after becoming a B-rank Beast Master.]
[This is the Regionals, these experts can't possibly be spun dizzy, right?]
[Qiao Sang has a Ghost Ring King now, not the Ghost Ring Spirit from back then. The dizzying skill is probably version 3.0.]
[The one using Shadow Control is the Ghost Ring King's Shadow of Darkness. Look how thick that shadow is, I bet it can spin them dizzy!]
[What are you all talking about?]
[Talking about God Qiao's battle tactics. She still loves spinning opponents dizzy just like before.]
[You guys know Qiao Sang?]
[She participated in the National Campus Beast Tamer League a year ago. Many opponents were spun dizzy by her Ghost Ring Spirit. The Ghost Ring Spirit is now the Ghost Ring King.]
[Are you students?]
[Yeah.]
[Don't you have evening self-study?]
Once this comment appeared, the density of the bullet chat immediately dropped by half.
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At the match: "Is the Ghost Ring King planning to spin the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster dizzy directly!" Tian Yiwan spoke with a face full of amazement.
"This Ghost Ring King’s proficiency in Shadow Control is very high. It can manifest a 3D mode directly through the Shadow of Darkness. I wonder how contestant Xiang Wenyi will choose to respond." Tang Xueran said.
"Break it!" Xiang Wenyi didn't show much shock, she issued her command calmly, as if she had already anticipated this scenario.
The giant black ball was rotating at high speed under the control of the Shadow of Darkness. Suddenly, green glowing spikes burst violently from within the ball. Immediately after, with a loud "Bang," the green spikes exploded. Countless black shadows shattered into pieces, flying in all directions and dissipating in mid-air.
In the high sky, Little Treasure watched this scene without moving. The super-sized Ghost Ring King lowered its paw.
"Mu xu..."
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster fell downward, looking somewhat lightheaded. Although it had broken the 3D mode of Shadow Control, the high-speed spinning had still affected it.
This Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's energy is far above Little Treasure's... Qiao Sang analyzed calmly.
Ultimate-level Shadow Control is not unbreakable. As long as the strength or energy far exceeds Little Treasure's and the proficiency of the breaking skill is high enough, it can be done. This Wood-whiskered Flower Monster was a prime example.
"The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster broke through the Shadow Control!" Tian Yiwan shouted.
"First using spikes to pierce it, then using explosive powder attached to them to blow it open. What a brilliant combination move!"
Explosive powder attached to vine whips or spikes to deal extra damage upon impact was a combination move Xiang Wenyi had used in the preliminaries; the commentators and audience were well-acquainted with it.
Just as everyone thought the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster would land on the ground to begin a fresh clash, it suddenly stalled in mid-air. Then, it began to be swung horizontally at high speed in a 360-degree arc toward the audience.
"Mu xu!" the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster screamed.
Xiang Wenyi: !!!
Xiang Wenyi first looked at the Ghost Ring King in the sky, then at the massive Shadow of Darkness in front of her. Seeing that neither had moved, she was completely bewildered, unable to figure out what was happening. Then, she suddenly realized something and fixed her gaze on the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's shadow on the ground.
It was dark now, and although the stadium was brightly lit, it wasn't as clear as daylight. Furthermore, the giant Ghost Ring King was so enormous it drew most of the attention, making it hard to notice subtle details.
Xiang Wenyi noticed an extremely thin shadow connected to the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's shadow. She followed the direction of the thin shadow and saw the giant Ghost Ring King.
But the giant Ghost Ring King hasn't moved, and the shadow's size is wrong... Xiang Wenyi’s mind raced, thinking of another possibility. The shadow was connected to something behind the giant Ghost Ring King.
In the wide-angle view, behind the giant Ghost Ring King, another Little Treasure was crouching. One paw was picking its nose while the other was touching the ground, connected to the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's shadow, drawing circles incessantly.
At the same time, the Little Treasure high in the sky watched the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster with an unchanging expression.
Although Little Treasure didn't work very hard in training, it could always pull off some creative tricks with the skills it already knew.
Qiao Sang had only later discovered that Little Treasure's Substitute could share his vision; normally, when Little Treasure followed her out to train, the Substitute would stay in the room playing on the computer, which was essentially Little Treasure playing on the computer.
Thanks to these antics, the proficiency of the Substitute was very high and used with great ease. Even while manifesting the Shadow of Darkness, it could be deployed smoothly. In other words, Little Treasure was now capable of triple-tasking.
Earlier, the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's leaf blades had attacked Little Treasure's Substitute. Meanwhile, the real Little Treasure was hiding behind the Shadow of Darkness, using its massive frame to stay hidden while controlling the shadow to manifest the 3D Shadow Control.
Looking at the opponent, she seems to have noticed something is wrong... Qiao Sang realized as she saw Xiang Wenyi's gaze follow the shadow to the back of the Shadow of Darkness.
There must be something fishy behind that giant phantom! Xiang Wenyi took a deep breath and yelled: "Stab the big one!"
"Mu xu!"
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster was still being moved at high speed. Hearing its Beast Master's voice, it forced itself to open its eyes despite the dizziness to identify the opponent's location. Sensing a gargantuan object to its left, it moved its paw, and a green glowing wooden spike about a meter long suddenly shot out from its palm.
In that short time, it had spun two more times without attacking. Just as the third rotation was passing the Shadow of Darkness, the spike in its palm suddenly extended rapidly to a length of over ten meters, successfully piercing the Shadow of Darkness.
The Shadow of Darkness burst and disappeared. Little Treasure's figure was revealed. The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster was still spinning at high speed.
Wait, how is there another Ghost Ring King?!
Xiang Wenyi looked at the Ghost Ring King drawing circles on the ground and felt her mind go blank for a moment. She looked up at the sky.
"Xun xun~"
The Ghost Ring King in the sky grinned and then vanished.
Xiang Wenyi: !!!
Tian Yiwan’s voice rang out: "The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster managed to stay clear-headed under such high-speed movement and successfully broke the Shadow of Darkness, impressive! The timing was perfect, which is very rare in any match in the Regional Championships."
"Contestant Xiang Wenyi finally realized there was another Ghost Ring King on the field." Tang Xueran said.
The commentary booth was high up, so they had naturally seen Little Treasure's movements behind the shadow. However, in a live match where contestants can hear the commentary, professionals don't point out hidden tactics until the contestant notices them.
"I've been wanting to say this for a while." Tian Yiwan continued.
"How exactly did Qiao Sang train her Ghost Ring King to the point where it can perform so many skills simultaneously? I’d really love to learn from her."
So the one in the sky was a distraction all along, was it a Doppelganger or a Substitute? Stay calm, the first priority is to break free from the control... Xiang Wenyi focused her thoughts and shouted: "Pierce the ground!"
"Mu xu!"
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster cried out, and another meter-long green wooden spike began to form in its palm.
Regional Championship opponents are indeed different, any pet controlled and swung around for this long by Little Treasure can still stay conscious enough to use skills... Qiao Sang felt a hint of respect and said: "Change direction."
"Xun xun!"
Little Treasure placed another short digit on the ground and flicked it.
Simultaneously, the shadow connecting to the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster on the ground branched out another tiny shadow, connecting to the shadow of the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's paw. Because this shadow was too small relative to the pet's size, Xiang Wenyi didn't notice it.
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's paw was pointed downward, and the spike in its palm was vertical to the ground. Then, the spike shot out. But at that moment, its paw turned uncontrollably, flipping upward. The vertical spike suddenly changed direction, shooting straight up and piercing into the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster itself.
"Mu xu!"
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster let out a miserable scream. Despite this, it was still being swung at high speed.
A wave of commotion broke out in the stands.
Xiang Wenyi: !!!
"Contestant Qiao Sang actually had the Ghost Ring King manipulate the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster into attacking itself with its own skill!" Tian Yiwan exclaimed.
"It looks like it was remarkably effective!"
The powder that destabilizes energy is gone now- now is the chance to attack... Seeing the green powder had vanished, Qiao Sang issued the command: "Pull!"
Little Treasure retracted its paw. The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster flew uncontrollably toward Little Treasure. Because the shadow control had specifically adjusted its head position, as it flew, its head was face-to-face with Little Treasure, seeing a pair of purple eyes.
"Powder!" Xiang Wenyi shouted without thinking. Other skills might have their directions changed by control, but powder surely couldn't be!
"Go, use a heavy attack!" Hearing the opponent's command, Qiao Sang changed her mind about having Little Treasure use its main body to attack.
Because the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster had just been injured and was being hypnotized, it didn't react immediately to use its skill. In those two brief seconds, Little Treasure vanished from the spot.
Almost the next second, a massive figure about thirty meters tall fell from the sky, its head glowing with an intense white light, diving straight down at the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster!
Seeing this, the crowd's clamor reached a peak. If they weren't mistaken, was that the Ghost Ring King's Shadow of Darkness performing Psychic Headbutt?!
"Get out of the way!" Xiang Wenyi’s pupils shrank, her face pale as she screamed.
Seeing a thirty-meter-tall entity perform Zen Headbutt made it impossible for anyone to stay calm. Remember, the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster was only six meters tall. Visually, it looked like a glowing meteor falling from the sky.
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster’s head was groggy from the Hypnosis, although it didn't fall asleep immediately, its reaction time was much slower than usual.
With a massive "Bang," the giant Ghost Ring King’s head, condensed with white light, slammed vertically down, striking the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster's head and completely covering its frame.
The giant phantom then dissipated.
"Mu xu..."
The Wood-whiskered Flower Monster wobbled twice and collapsed to the ground, eyes closed.
The mechanical referee appeared out of nowhere beside it, checked it twice, and then raised a green flag toward Qiao Sang. The giant virtual screen updated, the image of the Wood-whiskered Flower Monster under Xiang Wenyi's photo turned from color to black and white.
"Xun xun!"
"Xun xun!"
Little Treasure had long been prepared for this moment, frantically waving his paws 360 degrees toward every section of the stands.
"Whoa!"
The entire stadium erupted in enthusiastic cheers for Little Treasure.
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Thanks for the chapter.
ReplyDeleteNow Shadow of Darkness can even use other skills aside from Shadow Control.