The spectator stands.
"Your school's Zhou Jing has impressive observation skills."
"This student is hardworking. Most students scatter as soon as training ends, but she's the only one who keeps practicing," the Vice Principal of Pinghai High School said with a smile, looking at Zhou Jing on the field.
Yesterday, Qiao Sang from Shengshui Middle School had decided every match in a single move, ending battles in the blink of an eye.
Zhou Jing from their school was the first contestant to see through the opponent's movements and avoid being insta-killed, so he was naturally very gratified.
This child, Zhou Jing, was diligent and hardworking, though her academic grades had always been mediocre.
This year was the child's final National Campus Beast-Taming League. During this period, she had trained countless times harder than in the previous two years, placing almost all her hopes on this competition.
Long after others had left, she would still be drilling with her pet beast; every time he passed the training grounds, he could see the silhouettes of her and her beast through the window.
If she couldn't achieve good results in the National Campus Beast-Taming League, her academic scores would likely prevent her from getting into a good university.
They say hard work can create miracles, and just now, Zhou Jing had used her Sea-Gnaw Otter to win a match against He Datao from Shengshui Middle School.
One must remember that He Datao had a perfect winning record yesterday and had ranked around the top 30 in the province during the previous two leagues.
The protagonists in movies are often ordinary people who surpass geniuses through their own efforts.
He believed that Zhou Jing could continue to create her own miracles!
The Vice Principal of Pinghai High School drifted off, imagining the scene of his school's Zhou Jing defeating Qiao Sang, his inner monologue brimming with passion.
"TWEET!!!"
Just then, the sound of the whistle and the successive gasps from the surrounding crowd yanked him out of his reverie.
"Holy— *cough cough*... Incredible! Is that Fire Fang?! I've never seen Fire Fang in this form in real life!"
"Is this reasonable? Is this reasonable?! You're telling me this is a tenth-grade student?!"
"How was this trained?! Both Spark and Fire Fang have been trained to the Secret Art level! He's cheating!"
"Just for this move alone, this year's National Campus Beast-Taming League is going to be a sight to see."
"Look at that guy Wang Weidou, he's grinning ear to ear..."
What happened?
Fire Fang?
Secret Art?
The Vice Principal of Pinghai High School looked at the center of the field with a face full of confusion, and then he was stunned.
He saw that the Star-Spotted Turtle had its eyes tightly shut, collapsed on the field.
It was over?
He had just given Zhou Jing his deepest recognition in his heart, and the moment his attention shifted slightly from the field, it was over?!
Rewind time to half a minute ago.
On the field.
The Star-Spotted Turtle rotated at high speed, circling behind Yabao. Then, the circular spots on its body ejected water simultaneously, making it look like a large, high-speed rotating shuriken condensed from water.
Beyond the increase in power, because the water was spraying outward, the attack range had expanded roughly threefold.
It was easy to see that if one were hit by this move, a fire-type beast of the same rank—which suffered an elemental disadvantage—would definitely be severely wounded and knocked down.
However, Yabao's ears twitched. As if it had eyes in the back of its head, it vanished on the spot just as the "large high-speed rotating shuriken" was 0.1 centimeters away.
The Star-Spotted Turtle's attack hit nothing, but it didn't stop immediately. Instead, it continued rotating at high speed until it reached its own beast-tamer, only then stopping to poke out its head and limbs.
But the moment it poked out its head, the vanished Yabao suddenly appeared above it with its mouth wide open.
Flames instantly erupted from its sharp fangs!
"Harden!" Zhou Jing's panicked voice rang out across the field.
Harden, a basic skill, allows the user to harden its body to increase defensive capabilities.
Zhou Jing responded well, and the Star-Spotted Turtle's reaction time was fast.
However, its usual training habit was to retract its limbs and head into its shell before activating Harden.
This created a time gap.
The Star-Spotted Turtle's head and limbs did retract into the shell, but it didn't have time to execute Harden before Yabao's flame-shrouded fangs clamped down on its shell.
If it were just that, it wouldn't be a problem.
The Star-Spotted Turtle already had decent defense, and being a water-type, a bite from an ordinary Fire Fang would at most cause light damage to the shell, without harming the body inside.
Just as everyone thought the Star-Spotted Turtle would be fine, in the next second, the fire flared brilliantly!
A violent aura of flames permeated the area around Yabao and the Star-Spotted Turtle.
A massive head of a Flame-Listening Hound made of fire appeared, mouth open and fangs bared, swallowing the Star-Spotted Turtle's entire body!
And then came the scene the Vice Principal of Pinghai High School witnessed.
Two Machamp Pigs wearing white coats came up and carried the Star-Spotted Turtle away on a stretcher.
For pet beasts that had to participate in another match on the same day, timely treatment was necessary.
The competition had to continue.
Zhou Jing took a deep breath and summoned her second pet beast—the Sea-Gnaw Otter.
"Gnaw gnaw!"
The Sea-Gnaw Otter snapped its two large front teeth at Yabao, wearing a provocative expression.
"Ya ya!"
Yabao refused to be outdone; it opened its mouth and showed off its own two sharp fangs.
The actions of the two beasts sparked discussion among the crowd.
"Who do you think has stronger teeth, the Flame-Listening Hound or the Sea-Gnaw Otter?"
"The Flame-Listening Hound, probably. Look how shiny those teeth are."
"Based on scientific evidence, the Sea-Gnaw Otter's teeth should be stronger, but pet beasts rely on skills. Given that move from the Flame-Listening Hound, who dares say its teeth aren't strong?"
At this moment, Wang Weidou, who had been grinning without saying a word, spoke up
"What scientific evidence are you basing that on? As far as I know, there is currently only one Flame-Listening Hound in the entire world. No researcher has published a study on whether its teeth are strong or not."
The person who had been speaking was stunned for a moment, then laughed awkwardly: "I subconsciously substituted the Flame-Listening Hound for a Growlithe."
Wang Weidou looked at him kindly: "It's fine. Just don't speak randomly about things that have no scientific basis next time."
He was smiling on the surface, but he was roaring in his heart.
Bah!
What "Sea-Gnaw Otter's teeth are stronger than Flame-Listening Hound's teeth"!
Utter nonsense!
The Flame-Listening Hound's teeth are the strongest!
The person who had spoken nodded seriously: "Understood, I'll be careful next time."
As expected of the Principal of Shengshui Middle School! His attitude toward knowledge was so rigorous!
On the field.
Zhou Jing issued the command first.
The crowd stopped discussing, their gazes focused on the field, afraid to blink.
After all, there had been a precedent where a match ended just as someone turned their head to say a sentence; no one dared to shift their gaze again.
The Sea-Gnaw Otter put its arms back and began running toward the Flame-Listening Hound in a ninja-like posture.
Then, 1 became 2, 2 became 4, 4 became 8.
Finally, the 8 Sea-Gnaw Otters split, becoming 16.
"Wow, your school's Zhou Jing isn't simple. She kept such a trump card; with so many clones, the proficiency must be—"
The Vice Principal of Pinghai High School had just adjusted his mindset and was about to mention again how hardworking Zhou Jing was, but he noticed the person next to him stopped mid-sentence. The man was staring blankly at the center of the field with wide eyes, looking like an idiot.
A bad premonition surged in his heart, and he looked stiffly toward the field.
"!!!"
Holy crap!
Why are all 16 Sea-Gnaw Otters being controlled to fly up into the air?!
(End of Chapter)