Chapter 998: The Finals

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

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This skill hasn't been heard of much, could it be a Super-tier one... Qiao Sang's heart stirred, and she couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Both Yabao and Lubao already possessed Super-tier skills, and Gangbao had awakened one back at the General level. It didn't seem impossible for her to awaken another one now at the King level...

She reined in her thoughts and returned her consciousness to reality. Remembering something, she checked the time on her phone and said to Gangbao: "Stay in this form for now. I want to see how long you can maintain it."

Knowing how long Gangbao could sustain her King-level form would allow her to better control the flow of the battle.

"Gang Zhan." Gangbao nodded.

Qiao Sang paused: "Your call hasn't changed?"

Gangbao was also stunned for a moment, then tried calling out again: "Gang Chief?"

Qiao Sang: ...

Even the call has to be consciously changed...

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure listened to the conversation from the side, looking melancholy. Although having a King-level subordinate was a happy thing, from his beast tamer's tone, it was guaranteed that his subordinate would be taking the stage in tomorrow's match.

He couldn't beat Big Brother Yabao or Lubao. With only three slots available for the match, it looked like he wouldn't get to play...

"Gang Chief?"

Gangbao noticed Little Treasure's mood and turned to give a call. Boss, what's wrong?

Little Treasure's spirit jolted, and he quickly called out with forced energy: "Xun xun!"

Boss is fine!

"Once the competition is over, we'll go to the Zidia region." Qiao Sang said with a smile.

"Xun xun!"

Hearing this, Little Treasure floated in a happy circle. Zidia! Zidia!

So easy to coax... Qiao Sang thought with a sigh, her eyes reflecting her smile.

"Gang Chief." Gangbao expressed agreement in her mind.

Qiao Sang withdrew her gaze, picked up her phone, and entered the words Steel Beam into the search engine while keeping an eye on the time.

Soon, the page loaded, displaying the relevant information: Steel Beam: A Steel-type Super-tier skill. The pet gathers the metal power within its body into energy and fires it like a beam. Its power is equivalent to a missile, and the damage is immense.

It really is a Super-tier skill... Although she had her suspicions, Qiao Sang couldn't stop her lips from curling upward.

The difficulty of awakening and learning a Super-tier skill was common knowledge. Otherwise, in a Regional Competition gathering the strongest young beast tamers, there wouldn't be so many pets unable to use one...

Wait, besides her, there was one other person whose pet knew a Super-tier skill.

The figures of Yuan Tianlong and his Sawtooth Dragon flashed through Qiao Sang's mind.

Even though Yuan Tianlong's Sawtooth Dragon had never displayed a Super-tier skill in this Regional Competition, the data sent by Wu Tianjiao and Rong Yuhua mentioned that the Dragon had awakened a move called Dragon Sonic Blast upon evolution.

This move could attack the opponent with terrifying sonic waves. It not only destroyed the opponent's nervous system, causing tinnitus, but also rendered them unable to think, leading to an immediate blackout and loss of combat capability.

In other words, the brain stops thinking, and the ears can no longer hear the beast tamer's commands. Even if a pet with strong willpower held on without falling, once these effects kicked in, they would be a sitting duck, bound to lose eventually.

The most terrifying part was that this move wasn't just a sonic attack; it also included a sonic boom. Even if a pet used a specific sound-blocking skill to resist the waves, the Dragon Sonic Blast would still explode around them, unleashing massive destructive power.

Yuan Tianlong's Sawtooth Dragon hadn't used this move in the matches yet. It was said that although it was awakened, the execution was unstable, not a 100% success rate.

"Gang Zhan."

Gangbao's voice rang out. Qiao Sang checked the time, put down her phone, and looked up. Gangbao had already returned to her General level form.

One minute...

Regardless of whether the Sawtooth Dragon could successfully use Dragon Sonic Blast, she had to treat it as if the opponent could pull it off perfectly.

Yabao had excellent hearing, which meant this move would cause even more damage to him. Gangbao's King-level defense was terrifying, but she was a temporary evolution, her mental strength was far inferior to the Sawtooth Dragon's. She might withstand the sonic boom, but not necessarily the sonic waves.

And Gangbao could only maintain her King-level form for about a minute.

Only Lubao, as long as she wasn't one-shot by the Dragon Sonic Blast, could use her Healing Light to recover from damage at any time...

I hope Lubao matches up against the Sawtooth Dragon tomorrow... Qiao Sang thought.

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The Next Day. Early Morning.

"Yap yap!"

Yabao called out beside his beast tamer. Qiao Sang kept her eyes closed and didn't respond.

"Yap yap!" Yabao raised a paw and pushed his beast tamer, calling again.

"What is it..." Qiao Sang opened her eyes, full of sleepiness.

The moment she saw Yabao, her head cleared a little, followed by a sudden thought: Yabao actually woke up earlier than me...

"Yap yap!"

Yabao pointed out the window and called out. He was saying it was light out, time to get up!

Qiao Sang: ...

Qiao Sang picked up her phone and checked the time: 7:01 AM. Her expression turned strange: "You woke up this early today?"

"Yap yap!"

Yabao gave a high-energy call, saying it wasn't early, the sun was up, and it was time to prepare for training. The finals were tonight!

Qiao Sang was silent for two seconds, then started putting on her shoes.

"Let's eat first. Training should be light, don't use too much energy, otherwise, it'll take too long to recover. We have the match tonight."

"Yap yap!"

Yabao listened and nodded, then looked toward Little Treasure.

"Xun xun~"

Little Treasure understood perfectly. He took off his ring, preparing to pull out energy pills.

"Knock knock~"

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and it was pushed open slightly. Her mother stood at the door, smiling: "I heard voices out here, you guys really are awake."

Qiao Sang was surprised: "Mom, you're up this early too?"

"Just thinking about the finals today, I was so excited I couldn't sleep." Ye Xiangting smiled, sporting two large dark circles under her eyes. 

"Since you're up, I was just about to ask the Service Meow to bring some food. What do you want? Let's order together."

"Yap yap!" Yabao called out excitedly.

Little Treasure silently pulled his paw back out of his ring. Energy pills could be eaten every day, but the good stuff in the hotel couldn't. He knew Big Brother Yabao would choose the latter. Because he chose the latter, too.

"Xun xun! Xun xun!"

Little Treasure raised his paws, excitedly reporting what he wanted to eat. After Qiao Sang finished translating, she went to the bathroom for a quick wash.

By the time she was done, the Service Meow had already pushed the food in, placing it on the living room dining table with incredible efficiency.

"You're up so early today, were you unable to sleep too?" Ye Xiangting asked while eating.

"No, Yabao woke me up." Qiao Sang said.

"Yap yap..." Yabao's mouth was stuffed with food, but he didn't forget to call out in agreement.

"Yabao must have been thinking about the match, that's why he woke up so early, right?" Ye Xiangting looked at Yabao and asked with a smile.

"Yap yap!" Yabao swallowed his food and nodded.

Qiao Sang took a sip of porridge and said helplessly: "The match is in the evening."

"I know." 

Ye Xiangting said, then added curiously, "But this is the final. Aren't you nervous at all?"

She realized her daughter's mindset was now incredibly stable. Back when she participated in the National Campus Beast Taming League, she could still see signs of nervousness. Now, this was a Regional Competition, the final level, yet Qiao Sang looked completely unbothered.

Qiao Sang said easily: "I've already made it to the final. Whether I win or lose, it’s already exceeded my original expectations. What's there to be nervous about?"

To be honest, making it this far had surpassed her own goals. Before signing up for the Central Hollow Regional Competition, Lubao hadn't even evolved yet, and she was still a C-level beast tamer. Forget the finals; she hadn't even thought about making the top 30. Besides, the point of entering was for training, not to become the champion.

"Gang Zhan."

Suddenly, Gangbao's voice rang in her mind. You're lying.

Qiao Sang turned to look at the approaching Gangbao and smiled: "You're awake."

"Gang Zhan." Gangbao replied, walked over, and began eating her energy meal. She was gracious enough not to mention the lying comment out loud.

"Yap yap!"

At that moment, Yabao gave a serious call, saying she was wrong, she clearly was nervous and wanted to be the champion.

Qiao Sang: ...

She looked at Yabao with a complex expression. It was one thing for Gangbao, who had Bond Power and could sense her thoughts, but she didn't expect Yabao, who usually seemed so easy to fool and lacked Bond Power, to know she wasn't being truthful...

"What is Yabao saying?" Ye Xiangting asked.

Qiao Sang sighed and told the truth: "He says I'm wrong, that I'm clearly very nervous."

Ye Xiangting was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "If you're nervous, you're nervous. There's no need to deny it."

So she is nervous after all, her face management is just very good...

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment, then said: "I was afraid your expectations were too high, and you'd be disappointed if I didn't win."

At first, she really hadn't thought about winning, or even making the top 30. But as the matches went on and she reached the finals, with only one match left for ultimate victory, it would be a lie to say she didn't want to win. 

However, she didn't have absolute certainty. Rather than letting her mother get her hopes up and be disappointed, she'd rather her mother stay relaxed.

Ye Xiangting was stunned again, then said with a smile: "You've already made the final, what is there for me to be disappointed about? The fact that you could even participate in the Regional Competition was already a huge surprise for me."

She added seriously: "Whether you win this match or not, you're already amazing."

"Yap yap!" Yabao called out, saying that with him there, his beast tamer would definitely win.

Qiao Sang looked at her mother, then at Yabao, and smiled: "I know."

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7:30 PM. Yuhua District. Hangang City.

Inside an office building, Qiao Wangyang sat at his desk, staring intently at the livestream on his laptop, terrified of missing the start.

"Old Yang, you're not off work yet?" A thinning-haired man nearby picked up his briefcase, stood up, and came over. 

"What are you watching?"

"Watching my daughter's match." Qiao Wangyang said.

Central Hollow Regional Competition-Finals... The thinning-haired man saw the title of the stream and, hearing the claim, his lip twitched. Not wanting to engage further, he said:

"Well, enjoy. I'm heading out." With that, he turned and left.

Another man, also with thinning hair, quickly caught up to him. They walked side by side, chatting casually: "I heard a new seafood buffet opened and it's quite good. Want to go?"

"Nah, I have to go home to my wife."

"Then I'll go ask Old Yang."

"Don't bother, he wants to watch his daughter's match."

"...Qiao Sang?"

The first thinning-haired man nodded.

"Does he really not need to see a doctor? How can he have such an outrageous delusion that Qiao Sang is his daughter?"

"Maybe work stress has been too high lately."

"I think something's wrong with his head. I almost believed him at first and told him to make a call, but he couldn't even provide a number. Delusions should have limits."

"Speaking of Qiao Sang, my wife told me to hurry home to watch the match with her. She and my two kids are all fans of hers now."

"Forget it, I won't go to the buffet either. I'm going home to watch. I heard today is the final of the Central Hollow Regional Competition. If Qiao Sang wins..."

The voices of the two men grew distant until they vanished. Qiao Wangyang stared at the computer screen with a grim face.

Why does nobody believe Qiao Sang is actually my daughter...

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7:50 PM. Central Hollow District. Yukong Beast Taming Arena.

Neon lights and shadows swept through the arena. Everywhere they touched, there was a sea of heads. Every face was full of excitement, and the air was thick with loud, animated conversation.

"Aaah! Ten more minutes! Ten more minutes!"

"Yuan Tianlong and Qiao Sang, it's thrilling just thinking about it. I really don't know who will win."

"Definitely Yuan Tianlong. He can take down three opponents with just his Sawtooth Dragon."

"Bullshit, those were just ordinary King-level pets."

"No King-level pet is ordinary."

"Qiao Sang is the only contestant with three King-level pets."

"That Steel Sword Falcon is just a temporary bond evolution; it might not even be able to evolve again."

"You-!"

"Stop arguing, the host is coming out!"

Front row of Section A. Three of Qiao Sang's acquaintances sat together. Yu Ke and Yu Le looked at the glow stick in Rong Yuhua's hand with strange expressions.

Rong Yuhua glanced at them: "Why are you two looking at me like that?"

The Rong and Yu families had a history, so he wasn't a total stranger to these two younger girls.

"Are you a fan of Goddess Qiao?" Yu Ke asked cautiously, looking at the Qiao Sang-themed glow stick.

"A fan?" Rong Yuhua shook his head. 

"No, I'm her friend."

When did Goddess Qiao become friends with him... Yu Ke and Yu Le looked at each other.

Just then, the host's voice rang out:

"Distinguished guests, viewers nationwide, good evening! Welcome to this year's Regional Competition! We are live for the grand finale! Tonight, at the Yukong Beast Taming Arena in Tianan City, we will crown the final champion of this Regional Competition!"

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T/n: Everyone, beware of sickness! Don't be dumb like me!!! I got a damn heavy fever and didn't realized it (I was lazing on bed so I didn't really noticed, thought it was the cold weather getting to me), only after my paps checked that I realized I have one! Notice the signs early, everyone!!! Take medicine and rest!!!

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