Chapter 958: Lubao vs. Sky Ice Crow

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

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Snow Cloak characteristic: In snowy weather, movement speed increases, thereby raising the probability of dodging.

Shi Bing felt a surge of joy as he watched the heavy snow filling the sky. The opponent’s pet appeared to have the Snowfall characteristic, it started snowing the moment it appeared. This characteristic was practically a gift to the Sky Ice Crow!

"Go!" Shi Bing commanded.

With a powerful flap of its wings, the Sky Ice Crow released a vast expanse of white, freezing mist. The mist was so thick it quickly permeated the entire arena. A fine layer of frost began to congeal on the ground.

The ice spikes on the Sky Ice Crow's back lit up with an icy blue light. Then, countless ice shards condensed out of thin air within the mist, shooting straight toward Lubao’s looming, half-hidden silhouette.

A combination skill of Ice Mist and Ice Spikes... it uses the ice-element energy in the mist to accelerate the formation of the spikes while using the mist to block vision. It might even cause a freezing effect on the opponent to hinder movement, killing multiple birds with one stone... To use a combo right out of the gate, it’s a good thing I summoned Lubao... 

Watching the ice spikes that seemed to cover half the arena, Qiao Sang remained calm and issued her command: "Defend. Bloom."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The ice spikes struck Lubao's body with unerring accuracy. The audience couldn't see Lubao's specific form or expression, they could only vaguely see tens of thousands of ice shards hitting that magnificent and mysterious pet through the mist. One by one, their hearts leaped into their throats.

Meanwhile, on the official livestream: [AHHH! Ice Emperor Ram! NOOO!]

[What did Qiao Sang say? What Bloom? What skill is that! Why isn't Ice Emperor Ram moving!]

[I remember Qiao Sang's Ice Emperor Ram had the Melting Water characteristic back when it was an Ice Xilu. Why isn't it melting!]

[Everyone calm down! Don't forget Ice Emperor Ram has Healing Light!]

[No! Just because it has Healing Light doesn't mean it’s okay to take damage! That still hurts, okay!]

[So many people from the Guwu region...]

[Wait, how do you all know what skills Qiao Sang’s pet has?]

Back at the match: Why is it just standing there taking the hits... Shi Bing frowned, suddenly sensing that something was wrong.

"Sky Ice!"

Suddenly, the Sky Ice Crow let out a scream of pain. Shi Bing looked up quickly. When he saw the scene high in the air, his pupils shrank, and his heart skipped a beat.

Exquisite ice flowers were growing at an incredible speed all over the Sky Ice Crow’s body.

It’s Ice Flower Seal... Shi Bing quickly realized.

In the blink of an eye, the ice mist dissipated. Lubao was revealed, covered in a layer of steaming ice armor. She didn't look injured in the slightest.

The entire arena broke into an uproar. The previous clash had led them to believe Qiao Sang’s pet would be at least somewhat wounded by the mist and spikes. They hadn't expected that once the air cleared, the pet would be encased in ice armor, completely unscathed. Instead, the Sky Ice Crow was almost entirely covered in ice flowers.

On the commentary platform, Tian Yiwan explained the situation at high speed: "The Sky Ice Crow deployed Ice Mist and Ice Spikes, and contestant Qiao Sang took the opportunity to have Ice Emperor Ram use Ice Armor and Ice Flower Seal to counterattack!"

Tang Xueran chimed in: "Ice Emperor Ram has the Snowfall characteristic, bringing snow with it the moment it appears. Using the snow and the ice mist as cover, Qiao Sang successfully executed an Ice Flower Seal undetected. What a brilliant move."

"Furthermore, the Ice Armor used by Ice Emperor Ram withstood the attack of so many ice spikes. This speaks volumes about the defensive power of this move. Qiao Sang’s King-level pet has truly given us a massive surprise from the very first move."

"I believe many viewers are still unfamiliar with this pet sent out by Qiao Sang." Tian Yiwan introduced. 

"This pet is called Ice Emperor Ram. It is a near-extinct species from the Guwu Region and is extremely rare."

Tang Xueran marveled: "Qiao Sang’s pets truly get more and more rare with each one."

Near extinct? Another wave of clamor erupted in the stands. Shouldn't near-extinct pets be in the hands of top-tier research masters?

In the official livestream, the bullet chat was flooding frantically: [So Ice Emperor Ram used Ice Armor! Scared me to death...]

[The Bloom Qiao Sang mentioned meant Defense and Ice Flower Seal... Only Ice Emperor Ram is smart enough to understand that instantly. I would never have gotten it...]

[I told you God Qiao wouldn't just let Ice Emperor Ram get hit!]

[What’s with this commentator? "Many viewers are unfamiliar"? Does everyone lack common sense? How could anyone not recognize Ice Emperor Ram!]

[I didn't recognize it.]

[Didn't recognize it +1]

[Didn't recognize it +2]

[I finally understand why so many people from the Guwu Region suddenly popped up.]

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While the discussion raged, back at the arena:

Shi Bing automatically tuned out the surrounding noise, focusing entirely on the match. The moment he realized it was the Ice Flower Seal, his heart sank, but he immediately issued a counter-command: "Pierce through!"

"Sky Ice!"

The Sky Ice Crow, whose wings were also covered in ice flowers and was already falling from the sky, let out a loud cry. Instantly, the ice flowers on its body shattered, and from within them flew out incredibly hard, frost-covered ice spikes

This Sky Ice Crow's spikes can actually break an intent-level Ice Flower Seal so quickly... Surprise flashed in Qiao Sang’s eyes.

Unless the energy within this Sky Ice Crow was far beyond Lubao’s, or it had a characteristic like Puncture that significantly enhanced the piercing ability of its spike-type skills.

The Sky Ice Crow flapped its wings, stabilizing its descent. But just then, a massive shadow loomed as a giant ice cone, shaped like a small mountain, appeared above its head. The Sky Ice Crow had just regained its balance, it had no way to dodge such a large-scale Ice Mountain.

Shi Bing made a split-second decision: "Slice!"

The Sky Ice Crow swung its left wing upward with force, carving out a brilliant blade of cold light. The blade sliced into the Ice Mountain, immediately splitting it in two.

"Snow Submerge!" Shi Bing followed up instantly.

"Sky Ice!"

The Sky Ice Crow shot upward through the split ice mountain and flapped its wings downward with all its might. Suddenly, a violent, freezing wind howled. Along with the roaring gale, endless white snow fell from the sky, seemingly intent on swallowing everything on the field in a blizzard.

The Sky Ice Crow flapped its wings again.

Boom!

This time, within the blizzard, a massive wall of snow appeared out of thin air and crushed down toward Lubao's position! Its terrifying scale made it look like a snow-covered mountain had collapsed, forming a catastrophic avalanche!

Wearing her ice armor, Lubao watched the scene with a calm expression, showing no fear. The audience, however, watched with wide eyes, stunned by the spectacle.

"Holy crap! A King-level pet is a King-level pet, any move is a game-changer!"

"Blizzard plus an Avalanche? Even a pet with an Ice Body couldn't withstand this!"

"Ice Body gives an advantage in snowy weather, but does this even count as snowy anymore? It’s a freaking avalanche!"

"The whole arena is going to be buried. Sky Ice Crow really is a King-level pet, its skill range is so wide there’s no way to dodge."

Among the shocked and wide-eyed faces, Mikayla stood out. She showed no change in expression and even picked up a melon seed to crack. Only she knew that Qiao Sang’s Ice Emperor Ram still held a Super-tier skill in reserve. It was impossible for an Ice-type pet of the same level to defeat her.

Blizzard plus Avalanche, they went for the ultimate move so quickly... I guess I have to respond with an ultimate move too... As expected, no King-level pet is easy to deal with... I originally wanted to save this for a B-rank Beast Master... Qiao Sang sighed inwardly and spoke: "Domain."

In the arena, the overwhelming, frantic avalanche swallowed downward like a tidal wave.

"Lu Di."

Lubao let out a call and stepped forward with her left front limb. Freezing air that seemed capable of icing over the entire world spread instantly. The avalanche, nearly a hundred meters high and poised to consume everything, froze into solid ice in the blink of an eye, suspended in mid-air. This included the ground, the raging blizzard, and the Sky Ice Crow looking down from high above.

Wh-what skill is this?! Shi Bing looked at the frozen world before him, his pupils shrinking in total disbelief.

The audience, who had been cheering for the Sky Ice Crow, was suddenly silenced as if someone had hit a mute button. But soon, the silence was broken by a tidal wave of noise from the stands.

"Holy sh*t! Unreal! What skill is that?!"

"Incredible! That's insane! Not only did she freeze the avalanche and the blizzard, she instantly froze the Sky Ice Crow from that distance! I didn't even see it happen!"

"Looking at this, a B-rank Beast Master really is a B-rank Beast Master. Even if a C-rank has a King-level pet, the gap is still obvious."

"Wait, even a B-rank Beast Master would struggle to pull this off! Can someone tell me what the hell that skill is!"

"Ice Field Domain!" On the commentary platform, Tian Yiwan had an expression of shock. For the second time in this tournament, he leaped from his seat in astonishment. 

"Ice Emperor Ram has deployed Ice Field Domain! This is the first time in my career as a commentator that I’ve seen a contestant have two different pets use Super-tier skills! Steel Sword Falcon’s Holy Sword was the first Super-tier skill of this Regional Championship, and I never expected the second one would also come from Qiao Sang!"

Tang Xueran added excitedly: "Ice Field Domain, an Ice-type Super-tier skill. Within the domain, everything turns to ice, and the power of ice is at the user's command! Qiao Sang’s Ice Emperor Ram is practically invincible among Ice-type pets of the same tier!"

Simultaneously, the official livestream was full of exclamation points and "holy crap" and "insane."

[ICE EMPEROR RAM! ICE EMPEROR RAM!]

[Super-tier skill?! Holy sh*t! So strong!]

[I feel like Qiao Sang nurtures all her pets to be so overpowered! Can the Water Luriana Research and Protection Center send a few more Lurianas to Qiao Sang to train?]

[Alright, this match is over. No suspense.]

[Ice Emperor Ram! I love you! Of course, Qiao Sang, I love you too!]

[Ice Emperor Ram is the goat! No arguments!]

[People of Central Hollow, tremble! Have you witnessed the strength of our Ice Emperor Ram!]

[Wait, the people from the Yuhua Region haven't even started bragging yet, what are you Guwu people getting so excited for?]

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Back at the arena, in the contestant area: The C-rank Beast Masters were shocked and marvelling, while the B-rank Beast Masters had grave expressions. When they saw Steel Sword Falcon use Holy Sword, they were shocked, but seeing Ice Emperor Ram use a Super-tier skill made them restless.

As a General-level pet, Steel Sword Falcon could likely only use Holy Sword once, and there were ways to dodge it. But Ice Emperor Ram was different, it was a King-level pet. 

Not only would its power be irresistible to pets of the same tier, but it might also be able to use it more than once. Immediately, the B-rank Beast Masters in the area added Study Ice Emperor Ram to their plans.

On the field, Shi Bing had finally realized what kind of skill had caused this scene, and his face turned ugly. If it were a Domain skill of any other attribute, he might have tried to fight through it, but Ice-type... He took a deep breath and decided to give it one last shot anyway, shouting: "Break!"

Following his command, a giant ice cone appeared above the frozen Sky Ice Crow. With a loud bang, the giant ice cone slammed into the Sky Ice Crow. The Crow fell downward as the ice shattered.

But the moment it hit the ground and the ice shell cracked, freezing air surged, and a thick new layer of ice immediately congealed over its body. Another Ice Mountain appeared in the air and slammed down without hesitation.

Another loud bang. Shi Bing’s heart trembled.

Ice shell shatters, then freezes again, Ice Mountain appears, then slams down. This repeated dozens of times. No matter what skill Shi Bing commanded, the Sky Ice Crow inside the ice remained motionless, as if it were completely sealed away and couldn't hear him.

The audience went from shock to cheering, to biting their nails, and finally to feeling bad for the Crow. Finally, Qiao Sang spoke: "That’s enough."

"Lu Di."

Lubao let out a call, and the freezing air around her dissipated. All the ice in the arena melted, and only the ice shell holding the avalanche shattered, turning into countless ice crystals that rained down.

Lubao stood still, allowing the countless crystals to fall onto her. Her eyes were deep and soul-stirring, her image mysterious and noble. As the starlight-like ice crystals fell on her, she radiated a dreamlike beauty. At this moment, many people were so captivated that they forgot to check if the Sky Ice Crow had finally collapsed.

The rest of the crowd looked at the Sky Ice Crow. On the ground, it had already closed its eyes and fainted.

"It looks like the result of the first match is about to be decided!" Tian Yiwan shouted passionately.

Tang Xueran looked at that mysterious figure on the field and marveled: "It’s truly hard to imagine. From the start of the match until now, Ice Emperor Ram hasn't moved a single step."

As they spoke, a Mechanical-type pet referee appeared out of thin air beside the Sky Ice Crow. After a quick look, it raised a green flag toward Qiao Sang.

Tian Yiwan couldn't wait to shout: "Let us congratulate Qiao Sang for taking the lead in the first round!"

The entire arena erupted in thunderous, deafening cheers. In the center of the field, a giant virtual screen appeared showing photos of Qiao Sang, Shi Bing, and their respective pets. In the next second, the colored photo of the Sky Ice Crow below Shi Bing turned to black and white.

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T/n: Happy Belated New Year everyone, it's 2026!!!!! 🥳🎉✨Sorry I wasn't able to update yesterday🥹 My cousins managed to make me drunk, instead of translating, I was babbling drunk nonsense. I wish you all a bountiful blessings this year!

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