The atmosphere in the spectator stands was split into two due to the Healing Sound: harmony in the front rows and noise in the back.
"Qiao Sang won..."
"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"
"Bing Lugia sang so beautifully just now..."
"Bing Lugia! Bing Lugia!"
"Liu Zeru really messed up this time. His Bewear clearly put in a lot of hard work training its Anger Energy, but unfortunately, it ran into Bing Lugia, which can calm emotions. I wonder how high Bing Lugia's proficiency with Healing Sound is to be able to smooth over such intense Anger Energy..."
"Holy crap! Is Healing Sound actually that overpowered? It literally sang a Bewear into a little puppy!"
The scene was somewhat fractured, but those on the field seemed unaffected.
Both sides had already summoned their second competing pets. Qiao Sang still deployed Lubao, while Liu Zeru summoned a Snow Guard Bear.
Qiao Sang looked at the pet before her—entirely white and about two meters tall—as its information flashed through her mind.
Snow Guard Bear, Ice-type Intermediate Pet. Its energy is better in colder environments; when sleeping, it likes to breathe frost onto the ground to freeze it before lying down.
Most Ice-type pets possess powerful attack power, but they often feel like "glass cannons"—hitting hard but being too fragile.
However, the Snow Guard Bear was relatively outstanding in terms of defense among Ice-type pets. Besides its own large amount of fat, it possessed the characteristic "Frozen Body."
Pets with Frozen Body can slowly recover their condition during hail or snowy weather.
Logically, this was a sustain-type characteristic, but because the prerequisite was hail or snow and the recovery was slow, the trait seemed practically useless.
The ground sank, transforming into a field made entirely of water.
This was her first time encountering a Water Field... Qiao Sang felt a sense of inner peace.
Liu Zeru suddenly said gently, "You're really lucky."
Qiao Sang glanced at him and gave a faint smile. "My strength is also good."
Liu Zeru nodded with a smile. "I think so too."
Seeing that the opponent was being so polite, Qiao Sang said softly, "Your strength is quite good as well."
Liu Zeru replied warmly, "I'm very happy that you praised me."
The spectators in the back rows were bewildered by this scene.
"What's going on with those two? What are they talking about? Did anyone hear?"
"How could we hear from this far away? But I feel like them smiling back and forth is a bit eerie. Who smiles like that during a match?"
"Liu Zeru is the weirdest. It's understandable that Qiao Sang is smiling because she won, but why is he smiling after losing?"
"Qu!" The whistle signaling the start of the battle sounded.
Liu Zeru's expression changed, as if he had just woken up.
Holy crap!
What the hell was he just doing?!
Right, the match! Liu Zeru had no time to dwell on where he had gone wrong. With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Freezing Wind!"
The Snow Guard Bear opened its mouth, and a massive amount of cold air surged out. The water's surface was instantly frozen over with a thick layer of frost, which rapidly spread forward in a fan shape toward Lubao's position.
Now that the surroundings were all water, there were only a few scattered floating stones to serve as footholds.
If one stayed put without moving, they would inevitably be frozen by this wide-range Freezing Wind.
Without a word, Lubao jumped into the water.
This jump actually disrupted Qiao Sang's original layout slightly.
*Good grief, I forgot about the Water Field! When I arranged the tactics yesterday, I didn't expect to run into this field...* After the whistle blew, Qiao Sang's expression remained unchanged, but she was grumbling internally.
But it was fine; a Water Field actually allowed Lubao's advantages to be better utilized.
At the exact moment Lubao jumped into the water, a giant virtual screen appeared in the air ten meters above the front of the spectator stands, broadcasting the scene underwater.
Lubao was swimming. The water was clear enough that even though the surface was frozen, the scene beneath the ice was fully visible.
It stared at the white figure on the floating stone. The current surged, and before long, the water enveloped its entire body.
Immediately after, the water-wrapped Lubao suddenly shot upward, darting toward the Snow Guard Bear.
Simultaneously, the Snow Guard Bear standing on the floating stone raised its paw and slammed it hard against the ice. A cold aura condensed in the air, rapidly forming dozens of incredibly sturdy ice pillars at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In the next second, the ice pillars fell, smashing down across a wide area of the ice surface.
The ice layer shattered, but the speed of the falling pillars did not diminish.
In the spectator stands.
"Just how many tricks is this Liu Zeru hiding? He's even learned Ice Pillar Crash," Xu Yixuan said with a frown.
Ice Pillar Crash, an Ice-type Intermediate skill; among all attack-type intermediate skills, it was considered one of the more powerful ones.
He Datao looked up and stared nervously at the virtual screen, not responding.
"Speaking of which," Xu Yixuan continued, "why didn't he use this move when he fought you?"
He Datao froze.
Before he could speak, Xu Yixuan answered her own question. "Look at me asking. He won without even using this move."
He Datao: "???"
What does that mean?
What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Tell me!
Xu Yixuan ignored the fire in He Datao's eyes and looked at the virtual screen, feeling somewhat worried for Bing Lugia.
For some reason, even though Bing Lugia's strength wasn't weak, whenever it entered a battle, it always felt like it was the one at a disadvantage...
On the field.
*First use Freezing Wind to lock Lubao's movement to the bottom of the water, then launch wide-range attacks into the water. Breaking the ice takes time, so in this situation, the pet can only choose to dodge underwater. Lubao should be choosing Water Melt now...* Qiao Sang's thoughts raced as she watched the ice surface being continuously smashed by the pillars, thinking that if Lubao used Water Melt, the probability of being hit would be much lower.
At that moment, the noise in the spectator stands suddenly became chaotic.
"Holy crap! Such a hard head!"
"No way, is it really that brave?!"
"Bing Lugia is way too fierce!"
"Damn, did you see that? It didn't even dodge!"
*What are they talking about?* Hearing the voices reaching her ears, Qiao Sang was a bit confused.
Could it be that Lubao didn't choose Water Melt...
Just as she was pondering, Lubao, utilizing Water Jet, burst through the ice surface—and on its head, it was bracing an ice pillar several centimeters thicker than its own body!
Qiao Sang: "!!!"
"Lu..."
Lubao gritted its teeth, memories of several times it had been so weak that it needed Yabao to save it flashing through its mind.
"LU!!!"
Lubao's gaze became increasingly determined, and the water current on its body suddenly expanded several times over.
*Crack!*
In the next second, the ice pillar shattered.
Lubao, still utilizing Water Jet, did not stop and lunged violently toward the Snow Guard Bear, which had not yet reacted to the scene.
"Snow Guard!!!"
Under the impact, both the Snow Guard Bear and Lubao plummeted into the depths of the water.
The entire venue fell silent for a moment.
Someone was the first to mutter, "Badass."
Immediately after, the spectator stands erupted with a "whoosh" of boiling cheers.
(End of Chapter)