“Guwu, Yuhua, Lianke, Xilu—the young talents of the four great regions will hold a hearty feast of battles right here!”
“The pet battle arena above the Blue Sea. Today, the regional qualifiers of the National Campus Pet Taming League kick off as scheduled.”
“Which region's youth will secure a ticket to the national finals? Let us turn our gaze to the big screen!”
As soon as the blue-haired man finished speaking, the arched LED ceiling covering the entire venue transformed into a holographic blue ocean.
Immediately following this, over a hundred holographic photos emerged, crisscrossing and shuffling at high speed.
Finally, all the photos froze in pairs, with their respective regions and names displayed beneath them.
【Yuhua Region, Wang Chengrao VS Xilu Region, Zhao Sa】
【Lianke Region, Zhang Xueming VS Yuhua Region, Zhu Tong】
【Guwu Region, Li Wenqian VS Lianke Region, Song Hanyue】
【Lianke Region, Zhao Tong VS Guwu Region, Chen Zhe】
...
【Yuhua Region, Qiao Sang VS Lianke Region, Tang Zhongyi】
Xu Yixuan stared at the list appearing on the field and remained silent for a long time: “I suddenly regret it so much.”
Although Xu Yixuan didn't say it explicitly, Qiao Sang knew what she meant.
She regretted not photoshopping her picture properly.
Qiao Sang cast her gaze toward the clearly visible battle list above.
The entire venue was massive; each holographic photo had to be magnified N times for everyone to see clearly.
And every photo really was magnified N times...
The pores, pimples, blackheads, and even the upper lip hair on many people's faces were clearly visible.
*Fortunately, I'm naturally beautiful...* Qiao Sang secretly gave herself a boost of confidence.
The entire contestant area also erupted in chaos due to the visual impact of the photos.
“Holy crap! Why are the photos magnified this much?!”
“Why is there eye booger in my photo?!”
“Are you kidding me! Magnification is one thing, but why is the resolution so clear?!”
“Guwu Region has gone too far! The regional qualifiers weren't like this when I participated before!”
“There's something strange about this year's qualifiers. Logically, there shouldn't be many spectators, but look now—the place is packed.”
“It is weird. The qualifiers from the last two years wouldn't give us a venue of this scale. This year, not only are there fireworks and pet performances, but there's even a professional host. I know that blue-haired handsome guy; his name is Yi Ao. He's quite famous in the hosting circles of the Guwu Region. He has both the eloquence and the looks, and he mostly hosts large-scale competitions.”
“I just want to know when these photos will be taken down! I finished reading the battle list ages ago!”
The noise was quickly suppressed because Yi Ao had already announced for the contestants of the first match to take the stage.
The regional qualifiers used a hybrid system.
Everyone was paired up for an initial knockout stage.
The winning half would then enter a points-based system to select the top 40 contestants to advance to the national finals.
It could be said that the first match was crucial.
The staff in charge of the competition had clearly matched the photos with the faces of the contestants.
The contestant area was divided into four sections by region, with roughly thirty to forty people in each. Knowing the contestants' regions beforehand made it easy to find them.
As soon as Yi Ao finished speaking, two beams of white light descended upon the contestant area.
In the next second, the two named contestants were already standing on opposite sides of the field.
This entrance style immediately earned a round of cheers.
“The scale of this year's qualifiers is quite grand...” Xu Yixuan remarked.
In previous qualifiers, there was no such stylish entrance at the start; you were lucky if you weren't made to wait at the entrance for half a day.
This was Qiao Sang's first time participating in the regional qualifiers, so she had no idea about the differences from the past. She simply felt that this way of entering was both time-saving and cool.
After both sides entered, following the countdown of the holographic image above, they simultaneously formed hand seals and summoned their pets.
Qiao Sang's gaze swept quickly, then lingered on the pet summoned by one of the contestants.
This pet was about 3 meters tall, with orange fur covering its face and chest. Its aura was so powerful that it was clearly a High-rank pet.
In contrast, the pet summoned by the other contestant felt significantly weaker in presence.
*High-rank pet versus Mid-rank pet, there's no suspense...* Qiao Sang analyzed silently.
At this stage of the regional qualifiers, High-rank pets were no longer rare cases.
According to the data, there were 21 contestants across the four regions who possessed High-rank pets.
Given the government's attitude, barring any accidents, contestants with High-rank pets would not be matched against each other during the first knockout round.
The match played out without suspense. The contestant with the High-rank pet won two consecutive rounds with an overwhelming advantage over the opponent who only had two Mid-rank pets.
Qiao Sang wore an "as expected" expression.
She lost interest in the subsequent matches and was about to take out her phone to look up the information on her opponent, Tang Zhongyi.
At that moment, the host Yi Ao announced loudly: “Second match, Lianke Region's Zhang Xueming, Yuhua Region's Zhu Tong, please take the stage!”
As Yi Ao's words fell, white light showered down, and two figures appeared on the field.
Qiao Sang immediately looked up at a certain slender figure on the field.
Lianke Region's Zhang Xueming: one Fairy-type Mid-rank pet, and one Ice-type High-rank pet.
“Fairy-type, huh? This is the first time I've seen one in a match so far,” Xu Yixuan whispered, leaning in. “I heard her Fairy-type pet even beat a High-rank pet during the provincial competition.”
By now, both sides had summoned their pets.
“A formidable opponent,” Qiao Sang said.
Among the data of so many contestants, Zhang Xueming was one of the ones that left a deeper impression on her.
One High-rank pet and one Fairy-type pet with the combat power of a High-rank pet—neither could be underestimated.
Zhang Xueming was a girl with delicate features.
The pet in front of her was small, with oval eyes and cyan, curly ears.
It didn't look like it had much lethality.
Qiao Sang had learned from the data that this pet was called a Mimicry Sprite.
As for Zhu Tong, she was a girl with short hair and wheat-colored skin, looking somewhat like a tomboy.
Her pet was a massive Gluttonous Bear. The moment it appeared, it formed a stark contrast with the Mimicry Sprite.
Once the battle began, the Gluttonous Bear launched a fierce charge with a violent aura.
The Mimicry Sprite remained unhurried and blew it a flirtatious wink.
The Gluttonous Bear stopped instantly, hearts appearing in its eyes.
“That Gluttonous Bear's vision is pretty good; it can receive the Mimicry Sprite's charm while attacking,” Xu Yixuan complained.
Qiao Sang wore a thoughtful expression and asked, “Is this Mimicry Sprite male or female?”
Charm, a mid-tier transformation-type skill, can seduce opponents of the opposite sex, significantly reducing their attack power, but it is useless against the same sex.
Xu Yixuan thought for a moment and said, “The data I checked didn't seem to mention it, but once Zhu Tong comes back, we can just ask if her Gluttonous Bear is male or female.”
*That's the only way...* Qiao Sang thought.
There was no reversal in the match. Both of Zhu Tong's pets were charmed by the Mimicry Sprite. With their attack power greatly diminished, she lost the match within a few short minutes.
*This move is really tricky. Poor Zhu Tong, both her pets just happened to be the opposite gender of the Mimicry Sprite...* As a fellow contestant from the Yuhua Region, Qiao Sang mourned for her in her heart for a few seconds.
(End of Chapter)