Chapter 54: Alsuis

“Contestant Qiao Sang?” the reporter asked again.

“Go ahead and ask,” Qiao Sang said.

Beside her, Bai Yunmiao’s expression turned disappointed.

“May I ask why you are participating in the Baixin Competition?” the reporter asked, turning to signal the cameraman to prepare for filming.

“Because of someone,” Qiao Sang replied.

“Oh? And may I ask who that is?” The reporter’s eyes lit up.

As a qualified journalist, she possessed a keen ability to capture news; from Qiao Sang's answer just now, she had already thought of the headline.

【Fire-type Favorite Qiao Sang Joins Baixin Competition—Turns Out It Was All For Him!】

“Bai Yunmiao is my friend, and also my opponent,” Qiao Sang said, reaching out to pull Bai Yunmiao to her side.

The camera lens moved naturally.

Bai Yunmiao: “!!!”

Genius Qiao, I love you!

...

The afternoon continued with the Round of 64 matches.

Qiao Sang took a car to the open-air pet training grounds she had been frequenting lately instead of going to the venue.

Two days ago, because she had run out of money, Fire-Fang Dog's training volume had stagnated.

Without Qiqi Milk to replenish its stamina, whether it was speed training or skill release training, its physical strength would be exhausted after only an hour or so, and it would take more than half a day to recover.

Fortunately, today was July 1st, the day her allowance was distributed.

Early in the morning, her mother had transferred 5,000 Alliance Coins to her.

After contracting Fire-Fang Dog, her monthly allowance had directly quintupled.

Although 5,000 Alliance Coins was a mere drop in the bucket for nurturing pets, for Qiao Sang, who had just run out of money, it was a timely rain.

After eating the "Super Invincible Perverted Spicy Roasted Wings Meteor Shower" for several days without any progress, Fire-Fang Dog finally listened to Qiao Sang's persuasion and returned to its regular training.

Four hours later.

【Name: Fire-Fang Dog】 【Attribute: Fire】 【Level: Junior (156/1000)+】 【Skills: Bite (Beginner 74/100)+, Tackle (Proficient 344/500)+, Fire Fang (Intermediate 563/2000)+, Spark (Intermediate 697/2000)+, Shadow Clone (Beginner 62/100)+, Flame Vortex (Beginner 92/100)+】 【Points: 141】

Because the fire sprayed by Fire-Fang Dog during its self-training with the roasted wings two days ago was almost entirely Flame Vortex, the value following that skill had risen rapidly.

The points at the bottom had increased by 32 due to having participated in two battles.

This time, it actually divided evenly...

The skill levels of the battling pets must have been similar.

After training, Qiao Sang went home and immediately used her phone to watch the replays of the afternoon's Baixin Competition.

After watching for a while, she felt something was slightly off.

Five minutes later.

Qiao Sang understood.

Why were the bullet comments missing?

Normally, although there weren't many viewers, the bullet comments would still cover half the phone screen; today, there were only a few scattered single digits.

After a moment, a single comment floated by.

【Brothers, hold the line, I'm leaving first. God Ya's match is starting.】

God Ya.

In the Dragon Kingdom, only one person was addressed this way: Lin Ya, who had represented the Dragon Kingdom in the Interstellar Cup three times.

Qiao Sang quickly turned off her phone, went to the living room, and turned on the TV.

There was no need to change channels; as soon as the Interstellar Cup matches began, almost every channel was broadcasting them.

On the screen, an avian pet with orange feathers, a purple crest, a short black pointed beak, and three pillar-like protrusions on its back was panting heavily in mid-air.

Its entire body was covered in terrifying lightning, forming a daunting magnetic field.

Even through the screen, one could feel the sheer terror of this power.

Qiao Sang recognized it at a glance: this was the Emperor-class pet, Purple-Crested Electric Falcon.

As God Ya's pet, everything from when it was contracted to when it evolved had been thoroughly scrutinized; even its romantic history had not been spared.

When it had first been dumped, it made the headlines of all major news outlets the very next day.

It truly had zero privacy.

Floating several hundred meters away from the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon was a white, humanoid pet.

One must know that most transcendent creatures grow larger as they evolve.

An Emperor-class pet like the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon was nearly a hundred meters in size.

Yet, the white pet opposite it was not only human-sized, but its stature was comparable to that of an adult human male.

It was quite rare.

The difference between the two pets in the same frame was stark; the white pet was not even as large as one of the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon's claws.

The humanoid pet in the footage raised its claw-like hand upward, and the entire arena instantly darkened, causing its white silhouette to vanish.

Startled, Qiao Sang quickly took out her phone to search.

As a participant in the Interstellar Cup, all pet data could be found online.

Qiao Sang soon found the information for the white pet.

Its name was Albus.

Upon closer inspection, she was shocked.

This humanoid white pet was actually a Dark-type pet!

Aren't Dark-types supposed to be black?

Why was it white?!

However, Qiao Sang didn't dare question it for too long; after all, she was a poor student...

"Fire-Fang Dog, come here!" Qiao Sang called out.

"Ya?"

After taking a leisurely sip of milk in the kitchen, Fire-Fang Dog wandered over.

"Who do you think will win between these two?" Qiao Sang asked, pointing at the TV.

The two pets on the screen were already clashing.

Albus moved continuously through the darkness, occasionally revealing white afterimages.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang couldn't help but complain.

*If only you were a normal black Dark-type, you could hide in the darkness and no one would see your afterimages.*

On the other side, the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon let out a long cry toward the sky, and terrifying bolts of lightning descended like fire-clad lightning snakes, darting wildly through the dark environment created by Albus.

The thunder roared, sounding incredibly intimidating.

After watching for a while, Fire-Fang Dog made a judgment.

"Ya."

It pointed at the purple-crested falcon and barked seriously.

Qiao Sang suddenly had a bad feeling.

God Ya... isn't he going to lose, is he...?

After the two pets had clashed for three or four minutes, the energy of the lightning gradually subsided, and the white figure still faintly emerged from the darkness.

"A-Zi, dodge!"

After watching for so long, Qiao Sang finally heard Lin Ya's command.

Suddenly, a black hole appeared above the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon's head. A white, claw-like hand abruptly extended from the black hole, holding a rapidly spinning sphere of Dark-type energy.

In the next second, this energy slammed viciously into the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon's head.

"Zi-yi!!!"

"My God! What am I seeing! Albus suddenly appeared above the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon! Two Albus! Was the Albus in the black mist just now a fake?!" the commentator shouted excitedly.

As the Purple-Crested Electric Falcon fell from the sky, the original black mist dissipated, and there were no more white afterimages to be seen.

Instead, a figure slowly walked out of the black hole.

It was none other than Albus.

"Let us congratulate Kleika for winning this match! Becoming the second contestant to enter the Top Ten of this Interstellar Cup!"

As the commentator's voice fell, Qiao Sang turned to look at the innocent-looking Fire-Fang Dog beside her.

An immature thought suddenly popped into her head.

Perhaps she could let Fire-Fang Dog choose the winner first, and then use that to bet on the Interstellar Cup...

(End of Chapter)