Qiao Sang had exceptional hearing and clearly caught the words "Freezing Touch."
Subconsciously, she wanted to tell Lubao to stop its attack.
But it was already too late!
Lubao was only three meters away from the Ice Sea Lion; the water jet was firing at an extreme speed, striking the Ice Sea Lion's body almost before a blink of an eye.
The Ice Sea Lion radiated a chilling aura from its entire body, remaining motionless.
The moment the water surrounding Lubao touched the Ice Sea Lion, a thick layer of ice shell froze over it at a speed visible to the naked eye.
*Bang!*
In the next second, the frozen Lubao crashed heavily onto the ground.
Freezing Touch, a mid-tier Ice-type skill, could freeze any opponent that contacted it using a physical attack.
None of the thirty-one sets of data provided in the group chat mentioned that the Ice Sea Lion knew Freezing Touch. Judging by the power of the move just now, its proficiency was certainly not low. Without a "golden finger," one would have to practice for years to reach this level... Qiao Sang frowned slightly.
The twelfth grade was different from the tenth; this was the third National Campus Beast-Taming League they had participated in.
The growth of the contestants each year followed a traceable path.
She hadn't expected that even now, during the regional qualifiers, someone would still be hiding a skill without having used it.
After the brief clash, a commotion erupted in the spectator stands.
They were no longer as agitated as before when Lubao got hurt.
Since Ice-Creselia was a masochist, getting injured during a battle wouldn't be a painful experience for it.
The thought that Ice-Creselia was actually happy suppressed their urge to curse whenever they saw it get hurt.
...
In the contestant area.
The moment they saw the Ice Sea Lion freeze Ice-Creselia, people began to discuss fervently
"I remember Zhang Xueming's Ice Sea Lion has never used Freezing Touch in a match before, right?"
"Indeed, it hasn't."
"I didn't expect Zhang Xueming to have a trick like that up her sleeve..."
"To be able to instantly freeze a Water-type pet of the same level with such a fierce offensive, could the proficiency be at the Perfection stage?"
"Qiao Sang's pet also has the Ice attribute. Pets with the Ice attribute have a certain resistance to freezing-type skills. To still be frozen like this, maybe the proficiency has reached the Secret Art stage."
"Secret Art? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"Since it's impossible, then Ice... uh, what was the evolved form of Ice-Lugia called again?"
"I just heard the audience shouting; I think it's called Ice-Creselia."
"Since it's impossible, then why hasn't Ice-Creselia broken free from the frozen state yet? Look, the Ice Sea Lion is about to attack again."
...
On the field.
At the same level, even if an Ice-type pet is frozen, it will eventually break free. One must use a finishing move to one-shot the opponent while they are still frozen. If they can't be one-shot, the moment the opponent uses that god-tier skill, Healing Light, all the effort will have been for nothing...
Just as this thought popped into Zhang Xueming's head, the Ice Sea Lion seemed to sense its tamer's thoughts. It exerted force with its limbs and leaped into the air.
Another Mount Tai Press...
Qiao Sang sensed Lubao and knew it was currently conscious, with more than half of its energy remaining, capable of forcibly breaking the ice shell at any time.
However, Lubao didn't seem to have any intention of breaking free.
Given Lubao's desire to win, it wouldn't stay in the ice shell for no reason; it must be waiting to pull off something big... Lubao didn't have any surprise moves in its skill set, but it had evolved and had new skills... It seems it learned some bad habits from Little Treasure-Hunter... After a moment of hesitation, Qiao Sang played along, pretending to look panicked.
Despite knowing Ice-Creselia was a masochist, the audience's hearts leaped into their throats at this moment.
If this Mount Tai Press actually hit, Ice-Creselia would likely be knocked unconscious instantly. Would it still be able to enjoy the pleasure brought by the pain then?
No one noticed that Lubao's eyes inside the ice shell shifted slightly.
The Ice Sea Lion's fur bristled as it descended vertically with a whistling wind.
The momentum was so great that even the spectators in the middle and back rows could hear the terrifying howl.
*Ssh!*
Just as the Ice Sea Lion was about to land on Lubao, a dozen ice spikes, each about a meter long, suddenly erupted from Lubao's body, piercing through the ice shell and stabbing directly into the Ice Sea Lion.
"Ice Sea!!!"
The Ice Sea Lion let out a shrill scream of agony.
Due to the resistance of the ice spikes, the Ice Sea Lion's descent slowed down abruptly.
But it was only delayed for an instant.
In the next second, the ice shell shattered, and the Ice Sea Lion's entire body crashed heavily onto Lubao.
"Ice-Cres!!" Lubao screamed in turn.
The scene of both sides being wounded was too brutal, and the audience gasped in unison.
"Hiss... it looks so painful just watching..."
"Being crushed by an Ice Sea Lion's Mount Tai Press, will Ice-Creselia really feel happy..."
"Ice Spike Guard, that's a skill Ice-Creselia only learns after evolving, right? As expected of Ice-Creselia, it can master a newly learned skill so quickly!"
"The timing of Ice-Creselia's ice spikes was clearly calculated. It waited for the exact moment the Ice Sea Lion hit it. It wants to enjoy the pleasure without forgetting to deal a blow to the opponent. Impressive!"
"But being hit directly by Mount Tai Press, Ice-Creselia should have lost, right..."
"Not necessarily. Although Freezing Touch restricted Ice-Creselia's movement, to some extent, that layer of ice acted as a form of protection. Combined with the ice spikes acting as a buffer, the power of Mount Tai Press was definitely weakened. As long as Ice-Creselia has a shred of consciousness, its Healing Light can completely cure its injuries."
Just as this person finished speaking, a dazzling blue light erupted from beneath the Ice Sea Lion.
Holy crap! I hate healers the most!
Once Zhang Xueming realized this light was Healing Light, her hard-won composure collapsed again.
The first time, she thought she won, then came Healing Light.
The second time, she thought she won, then came an evolution.
The third time, she thought she won, and then damn it, another Healing Light!
How do I fight this?
Can someone tell me how to fight this!
This time was different from the previous two; the Ice Sea Lion was injured!
It wasn't a healer; forget Healing Light, it didn't even know the lowest-level healing skill. Although it had thick fat for some defense, that was only compared to most Ice-type pets.
Looking at the Ice Sea Lion, which was unable to move for a moment due to the pain while still pinning Ice-Creselia, Zhang Xueming suddenly remembered something and shouted frantically
"Come back quickly!"
Ice-Creselia knew Ice Spike Guard; staying on top of it might result in another strike the next second. It had to leave immediately!
"Ice Sea..."
A dozen ice spikes over a meter long had genuinely stabbed into the Ice Sea Lion's body.
Although the spikes couldn't be maintained while Lubao cast Healing Light, the massive damage they caused remained.
Hearing its tamer's words, the Ice Sea Lion endured the excruciating pain and shifted off Lubao.
Just as the Ice Sea Lion moved, Qiao Sang's voice rang out across the field
"Ice Flower Seal!"
Ice Flower Seal?
Zhang Xueming paused, remembering the single ice flower that had bloomed on the Ice Sea Lion's forehead a while ago. Her collapsed spirit recovered slightly.
An Ice Flower Seal that can only bloom one flower—how is that any different from being useless?
Using this move was simply a waste of energy.
Although Qiao Sang was highly talented, she seemed to lack understanding of certain skills, thinking that high-tier skills were all powerful.
The early stages of Ice Flower Seal are completely useless... the audience sighed.
"Ice-Cres!"
Regardless of what others thought, Lubao executed its tamer's command immediately.
The Ice Sea Lion, enduring the pain, moved away and did not obstruct it.
The temperature on the field plummeted, and pure white snowflakes began to fall incessantly.
The temperature dropped lower and lower, and snowflakes drifted through the air.
The Ice Sea Lion let the snow fall upon itself.
It liked the cold... the Ice Sea Lion's thoughts stopped there.
Its entire body lost all sensation. Its left front limb remained in a raised position, unable to move a single millimeter.
From the panoramic view, ice flowers were seen blooming across the Ice Sea Lion's body.
One flower, two flowers... dozens of exquisite ice flowers.
From its head to its tail, one after another, like a breathtaking piece of art.
For a moment, the audience fell collectively silent.