Chapter 951: Ice-Haired Chestnut

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

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While the audience cheered, they engaged in heated discussions about the match that had just taken place: "This Ghost Ring King uses Shadow of Darkness and then a Substitute; you can't figure out which one is the main body at all."

"Exactly. He is a Ghost-type pet, so he has invisibility and Teleportation, it's incredibly hard to even land a hit on him."

"If someone has a skill that covers the entire field, that might work."

"I noticed the Ghost Ring King's only big offensive move seems to be Psychic Headbutt, which requires close contact. If a pet can withstand that move, they might find a chance to grab him."

"In my opinion, if Yanwei Tata had used a wide-range move during that last wave, it probably could have damaged the main body hiding behind the Substitute."

"Xiang Wenyi definitely saw it, but there was no time to say anything."

"Now that you mention it, I realized Qiao Sang didn't really give many commands this match. That last sequence was all the Ghost Ring King's own doing."

"Some professional Beast Masters set their tactics before the match. As long as the situation is under their control, they won't issue commands."

"She's only 17, yet she acts like those veteran Beast Masters. It's terrifying, a true nightmare for professional Beast Masters..."

"If you hadn't said it, I almost forgot her age..."

"Ghost Ring King is so cute, don't you guys feel it?"

"What are you trying to say?

"I want to contract one."

"..."

Amidst the chatter, Qiao Sang coughed on the field.

Little Treasure turned his head.

Are you still okay? Qiao Sang asked with an inquiring look.

Although Little Treasure hadn't been injured just now, he had released many skills, and his energy was likely depleted. She wasn't sure if he could handle another intense battle.

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure let out a cry with a determined look in his eyes.

He was good to go!

Hearing this, Qiao Sang immediately dropped the idea of recalling him.

Tian Yiwan's slightly excited voice rang out: "Contestant Qiao Sang still hasn't chosen to recall the Ghost Ring King. She’s preparing to let him stay for the third round, is she going for another clean sweep like in the preliminaries?"

Tang Xueran added: "If the Ghost Ring King wins this third round, Qiao Sang will become the first contestant in this year's Regional Championships to achieve two consecutive clean sweeps."

"I wonder what pet Xiang Wenyi will send out to respond in the third round, Tian Yiwan said."

I've lost two in a row... Xiang Wenyi stared at her opponent in the distance and slowly exhaled, adjusting her state of mind.

She knew where the problem lay. Aside from the Ghost Ring King’s erratic movements, the difficulty of landing hits, and the confusion between the Substitute and the main body, the fact that Qiao Sang barely gave commands was a major factor.

Because of this, she couldn't use the opponent's commands to make general predictions; she could only adjust her response after seeing what skill the Ghost Ring King had already cast. This meant Yanwei Tata's actions were always a step slower than the Ghost Ring King's.

Unless her pet didn't need to wait for her commands, unless its own mobility and adaptability could keep up with the Ghost Ring King...

In a flash of thought, the light and shadow of 10 appeared in the center of the field. Simultaneously, the mechanical voice sounded: 9, 8, 7... 3, 2, 1.

The light faded. Xiang Wenyi formed hand seals. An orange-yellow star array lit up.

A pet about six meters tall appeared in the star array. It stood on two feet, covered in fluffy white fur. The fur on its face was thick and long, almost covering its entire face, leaving only a pair of deep green eyes visible.

Ice-Haired Chestnut, a General-level Ice-type pet. It dislikes contact with the outside world and mostly lives in mountain ranges with perennial snow. It can condense ice blocks on its belly that taste like popsicles, eating them provides a short-term resistance to cold... Information about the distant pet appeared in Qiao Sang's mind.

She was not unfamiliar with the Ice-Haired Chestnut, Xiang Wenyi had sent it out during the preliminaries.

"Xun xun!"

The moment the opponent appeared in the star array, Little Treasure immediately clapped his paws together upward. A thirty-meter giant Ghost Ring King appeared instantly.

The giant phantom’s eyes were cold, and an invisible pressure descended. This caused the Ice-Haired Chestnut, which had been preparing to attack, to inevitably feel a sense of dread, preventing it from attacking immediately.

The audience in the distance might not feel the pressure, but Xiang Wenyi, facing the giant phantom head-on, could. Fortunately, the pressure wasn't aimed at her, so she only felt a chill in her heart before shouting: "Snap out of it!"

Her voice acted like a ringing bell in the Ice-Haired Chestnut's ears. Its internal fear vanished instantly, and it slammed its fists together. Visible cold air diffused from between its fists.

At that moment, a thick black shadow lunged forward!

"Li li!"

The Ice-Haired Chestnut thrust its frost-condensed claws forward and grabbed the thick shadow. Where it held the shadow, a layer of ice crackled and formed, rapidly spreading forward.

"Split!" Qiao Sang issued the command.

Almost the next second, the parts of the shadow not yet frozen suddenly split apart, forming dozens of eerie black shadows that frantically and violently coiled around the Ice-Haired Chestnut.

"Freeze!" Xiang Wenyi's eyes turned sharp as she shouted.

Dozens of black shadows quickly enveloped the Ice-Haired Chestnut, leaving no gaps. With a flick of the giant phantom's finger, the resulting black sphere was lifted.

However, at that moment, visible cold air radiated from inside the shadow. Before Little Treasure could start spinning it, the black sphere froze from the inside out, turning into a ball of ice.

Crack!

Next, fractures appeared on the surface of the ice ball, spreading like a spiderweb until they covered the entire surface.

"Li li!"

With a roar, the ice ball shattered completely. Shards of ice fell as the Ice-Haired Chestnut landed firmly on the ground.

The audience gasped, everyone marveling that the Ice-Haired Chestnut could break through such a thick Shadow Control so quickly. Only Ye Xiangting’s eyes were full of worry.

"The Ice-Haired Chestnut broke through the Ghost Ring King's Shadow of Darkness control! Tian Yiwan commentated. It looked effortless, and the time taken was remarkably short. Has this Ice-Haired Chestnut's energy reached the late or peak General-level stage?"

"Xun xun..."

Seeing this, Little Treasure couldn't help but regret pushing himself to fight the third round. Shadow Control was his signature skill, the fact that the opponent broke it so easily caused his confidence to dip.

This Ice-Haired Chestnut's internal energy is also far beyond Little Treasure's... Qiao Sang's heart sank. Little Treasure had already fought two rounds, depleting his energy, and facing an opponent far stronger in energy was going to be difficult.

It seems I have to end this quickly...

Thinking of this, Qiao Sang spoke: "Phantasm."

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure, standing atop the giant phantom's head, extended his digit. The giant phantom mirrored the movement. A beam of multi-colored light instantly shot from its finger toward the landing Ice-Haired Chestnut.

"Ice Wheel!" Xiang Wenyi ordered.

"Li li!"

The Ice-Haired Chestnut slammed its fists together, and a layer of crystal-clear ice instantly condensed over its body. It rolled forward, the ice shell growing thicker as it moved.

Bang!

The multi-colored light hit the Ice-Haired Chestnut head-on, causing a powerful explosion. Amidst the shockwave, the giant ice ball shot out, continuing to roll forward, seemingly unharmed.

That's not just Ice Wheel, it's Ice Armor too... Qiao Sang recognized the skills. Ice Wheel is a high-level Ice-type skill that allows the user to charge at an opponent while covered in a smooth ice shell, dealing damage with a chance to freeze the target. Adding the defensive skill Ice Armor not only increased the impact of the charge but also protected it while smashing through obstacles.

A fine offensive-defensive combination... Qiao Sang secretly admired it but issued her command with an unwavering face:

"Net."

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure crossed his digits. The giant phantom did the same. Dozens of black shadows erupted from the ground, quickly weaving together to form a massive net in its path.

The giant ice ball slammed into the net. The super net formed by the shadows was struck and dented inward. A ten-meter radius of the black net around the impact point instantly froze, and the ball came to a halt barely a centimeter in front of the giant phantom.

This scene triggered a clamor from the stands

"I didn't expect Shadow Control could wrap an opponent to spin them either. Qiao Sang's Ghost Ring King always uses skills in unexpected ways."

"Xiang Wenyi's Ice-Haired Chestnut seems really strong."

"When Xiang Wenyi entered the Regionals five years ago, the Ice-Haired Chestnut was still a Snowcake. It was only high-level then but could hold out for five minutes against a General-level pet. It's very strong. I heard it evolved right after the tournament."

"Xun xun..."

During the discussion, Little Treasure focused his intent, and the giant phantom took a large step back. The thirty-meter-tall super net collapsed downward. Just as it was about to cover the Ice-Haired Chestnut, the ice frozen at the point of impact shattered with a loud crack.

"Lock." Qiao Sang said calmly.

"Xun xun!"

Blue light flickered simultaneously in the eyes of Little Treasure and the giant phantom. Instantly, a semi-transparent barrier formed around the Ice-Haired Chestnut, trapping it inside. 

The Ice-Haired Chestnut couldn't see it clearly from the inside, but under the stadium lights and from the wide-angle perspective, the audience saw it with perfect clarity.

The clamor in the stands exploded: "Holy crap, this Ghost Ring King can use Spatial Lockdown too!"

"It feels like he knows so many high-level skills."

"A Ghost-type pet knows so many Psychic-type skills!"

"I want to cry, my Superpower King has been trying to learn Spatial Lockdown for half a year and still hasn't got it..."

Superpower King, a pure Psychic-type pet.

"The Ghost Ring King used Spatial Lockdown." Tang Xueran remarked. 

"This Ghost Ring King’s talent in the Psychic attribute must be extraordinary. You should know that a skill like Spatial Lockdown is hard for many pure Psychic-type pets to learn."

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure didn't know what everyone was saying, he was fully focused on the match, knowing his internal energy was running low.

Spatial Lockdown... don't panic. The Ice-Haired Chestnut's energy is far above the Ghost Ring King's... Xiang Wenyi’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly steadied herself and shouted: "Charge!"

"Li li!"

The Ice-Haired Chestnut, which had stopped rolling, started again, faster and faster. The black shadows in front, which were already fractured from the ice, shattered completely. The Ice-Haired Chestnut shot through the hole and slammed into the barrier.

"Contract." Qiao Sang commanded.

The blue light in Little Treasure’s eyes deepened. Simultaneously, the semi-transparent barrier around the Ice-Haired Chestnut shrank smaller and smaller. The Ice-Haired Chestnut rolled incessantly against the barrier. With a crack, a tiny fissure appeared on the barrier.

Little Treasure's energy is low, this move must finish the Ice-Haired Chestnut... Qiao Sang shouted: "Full force collision!"

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure understood his Beast Master's meaning. The next second, he controlled the giant phantom to teleport into the air.

In the high sky, the Ghost Ring King looked down with cold eyes as his size continued to swell and expand until it was about 60 meters tall. A colossal shadow cast down.

Xiang Wenyi stared up at the behemoth that seemed to blot out the moonlight entirely. Her mouth hung open, her expression dazed.

The stadium went silent for two brief seconds. Almost everyone’s mouth was agape, including the two commentators.

While the power of skills cast by Shadow of Darkness doesn't increase technically, for Little Treasure, the surface area increased dozens or even a hundred times. In a way, the effectiveness had improved by several grades.

The sixty-meter giant phantom’s head condensed intense white light and dove straight down toward the barrier. It was like a giant meteor streaking through the night sky, whistling as it crashed down.

Xiang Wenyi was terrified and screamed: "Break it! Break it quickly!"

Crack!

The Ice-Haired Chestnut channeled its energy and increased its rotation speed. The semi-transparent barrier shattered.

BOOM!!!

At that exact moment, the massive white light slammed heavily into the ground. The Ice-Haired Chestnut was driven straight into the earth, disappearing from sight. The entire ground caved in. The field trembled, and stone fragments flew everywhere. 

The powerful, chaotic airflow caused the hair of the spectators in the first two rows to blow backward.

The 60-meter giant phantom vanished.

In the crater, the Ice-Haired Chestnut lay unconscious with its eyes closed. Little Treasure floated outside the giant pit, looking down at the defeated opponent with a calm expression, as if everything was under control.

On the commentary stand, Tian Yiwan swallowed and said: "We can see the Ice-Haired Chestnut has fallen under the super-boosted Psychic Headbutt. Is the third round decided?"

As he spoke, the mechanical referee appeared beside the Ice-Haired Chestnut and then raised the green flag toward Qiao Sang.

The giant virtual screen appeared. Xiang Wenyi’s photo vanished, leaving only Qiao Sang’s enlarged photo in the center.

"Let us congratulate contestant Qiao Sang for winning with another clean sweep and successfully advancing to the next round!" Tang Xueran shouted passionately.

The audience finally reacted, erupting in a tidal wave of noise.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure used every ounce of his strength to lift his paw, putting on a winner's smile and waving forward. Then he turned his head and frantically signaled his Beast Master with his eyes: Recall me quickly! Recall me quickly! I can't hold it anymore! I'm about to collapse!

Qiao Sang’s mouth twitched slightly. With a wave of her hand, she recalled Little Treasure into the Beast Codex.

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