Chapter 33: If We Meet Again

What a master!

The crowd wanted to step forward to introduce themselves, but they felt a bit awkward since the person was a girl.

"Li Yang, did that Lu Liangye really awaken more than half a year ago? You couldn't have mistaken him, could you?" a delicate-looking boy asked doubtfully.

"Maybe it's just a namesake..." Li Yang wasn't sure either.

He had first learned about Lu Liangye because his mother had shoved a newspaper in his face to show him. Afterward, she spent three days a week sighing about how she wished Lu Liangye were her own son, only settling down after about ten days.

If it truly were *that* Lu Liangye, there was no way he could have lost so miserably.

Thinking about it now, the Lu Liangye before them seemed a bit taller, darker, and uglier than the one in the newspaper...

At this moment, the Lu Liangye who was being suspected of being a namesake was looking worriedly at the Water-Ring鲢 (Water-Ring Silver Carp), asking, "Teacher, is my Water-Ring Silver Carp okay?"

"It's fine, it will recover soon," Qin Wen replied.

...

From Qiao Sang's perspective, the only female teacher on the field approached the Water-Ring Silver Carp and performed a hand seal, causing an orange-yellow star array to light up on the ground.

This was the mark of a C-rank Beast Tamer.

Of course, it could also be that her Beast Manual had reached the level of a C-rank Beast Tamer, but she hadn't yet passed the Alliance's assessment to officially become one.

A white pet beast about three meters long appeared atop the orange-yellow star array.

Its head was teardrop-shaped and looked very small in proportion to its body; it had bean-sized eyes, a mouth that stretched to its ears, and a tongue nearly half its body length hanging out.

It approached the Water-Ring Silver Carp and used its thick, long tongue to lick the fish from head to tail.

That wasn't enough; after licking it once, it used its tongue to flip the Water-Ring Silver Carp over and licked it from head to tail again.

How disgusting...

Qiao Sang's slightly groggy head gave a jolt, and she woke up completely.

This white pet beast was called She-She-Di (Tongue-Drop), and the mucus secreted by its tongue could cause external wounds to heal extremely rapidly.

If she ever aspired to become a doctor, contracting a She-She-Di would definitely be a great choice.

Under the two rounds of She-She-Di's tongue healing, the Water-Ring Silver Carp had already stood up again, using its tail to prop itself up and hopping twice; it had clearly regained its spirit.

If it weren't for the fact that the Water-Ring Silver Carp looked like it had just been fished out of the water, one really wouldn't be able to tell that something had happened to it.

Qiao Sang unconsciously hugged the Fire-Fang Dog in her arms a little tighter.

"Ya?"

The Fire-Fang Dog turned its head to look at Qiao Sang.

"It's nothing, I'm just glad you aren't hurt," Qiao Sang said.

"Ya~"

The Fire-Fang Dog's watery eyes showed emotion.

"Don't you dare let yourself get hurt in the upcoming battles," Qiao Sang instructed seriously.

"Ya!"

The Fire-Fang Dog nodded in promise.

Since its Beast Tamer was so worried about it, it wouldn't let her down!

Seeing the Fire-Fang Dog's touched expression, Qiao Sang held back her last sentence.

*If it gets hurt, I won't hold it anymore...*

...

The ten people were divided into five groups for matches, leaving four more matches to be played.

Qiao Sang looked into the arena; every person coming up next could potentially be her opponent in the next round, so she had to observe carefully.

Although she had great confidence in the Fire-Fang Dog, underestimating the enemy was a major taboo; otherwise, she wouldn't have made the Fire-Fang Dog put on sunglasses as soon as they stepped out.

The second group consisted of two boys, and their pets had already been summoned.

A Short-Tailed Snake and a Sand-Flicker Mouse—both were standard equipment for novice Beast Tamers.

"Big shot, who do you think will win?" a female voice rang out from the left.

Qiao Sang turned her head to look. Someone was sitting in the previously empty spot next to her; it was the bob-haired girl who had spoken to her before the match.

"If there are no surprises, it should be the Short-Tailed Snake," Qiao Sang answered.

"Big shot, by 'surprises,' do you mean someone like you?" Zheng Yining teased.

The Short-Tailed Snake's nature naturally countered the Sand-Flicker Mouse, just as the Water-Ring Silver Carp's attributes countered the Fire-Fang Dog, yet the Fire-Fang Dog had won—and it was a crushing victory. Wasn't that exactly what a surprise was?

"My name is Qiao Sang," Qiao Sang introduced herself, hoping the girl would change how she addressed her.

"Alright, Big Shot Qiao," Zheng Yining nodded.

Qiao Sang: "..."

"Big Shot Qiao, my name is Zheng Yining," Zheng Yining continued.

Qiao Sang: "...Mm."

The match result didn't involve any surprises, just as Qiao Sang had said.

The moment the Sand-Flicker Mouse popped out of its burrow, the Short-Tailed Snake's venomous fangs accurately bit into the mouse, causing it to faint.

The third match was between Zheng Yining and a boy.

Zheng Yining's pet was a Long-Eared Cat.

Its back and tail were pale pink, with only its belly being milky white. Its ears, which were longer than an ordinary rabbit's, stood up on either side like two antennae, and its gem-green eyes were lazily squinted, nearly melting Qiao Sang's few remaining traces of girlish sentiment.

The boy's pet was a Sky-Leaping Pig, with a grayish-white body and a pair of similarly grayish-white wings on its chubby frame—a pet with both Ground and Flying attributes.

"Fire-Fang Dog, who do you think will win?" Qiao Sang asked.

The Fire-Fang Dog had been watching the match leisurely, but hearing the conversation, its eyes sharpened as it seriously observed the two pets that had already begun fighting.

After comparing them, it chose the Sky-Leaping Pig, which looked larger and could fly.

Sixteen minutes later, the Sky-Leaping Pig collapsed.

"Ya."

The Fire-Fang Dog let out a depressed cry.

It had actually misjudged.

"Even though the Sky-Leaping Pig you chose looked stronger, it has a clear weakness: it lacks stamina, and it's slow. As long as you wear it down slowly, it will run out of energy over time. Look, the Long-Eared Cat chose to dodge its moves at first, and then waited until the Sky-Leaping Pig was exhausted before launching its attack," Qiao Sang analyzed to the Fire-Fang Dog.

"Ya."

The Fire-Fang Dog listened with wide eyes.

So that was it!

The winners of the fourth and fifth matches were both boys, with their pets being a Little Fat Pigeon and a Platform Bee, respectively.

Qiao Sang recalled the matches she had just seen, thinking about the opponents she might encounter next.

As expected... they aren't much of a threat...

Realizing her thought, Qiao Sang quickly shook her head.

She had just promised not to underestimate the enemy...

Among the five losers on the field, one more person had to be decided.

The matches did not last as long as Qiao Sang had expected; the "five-into-one" competition ended mostly through one-sided victories.

The winner was Lu Liangye.

Now, Li Yang no longer doubted that this Lu Liangye was the same one his mother spoke of.

His coordination and moves completely overwhelmed the other four; there was no sign at all of the one-sided beating he took in the first round.

It seemed the problem lay with that girl...

Li Yang looked at the girl walking leisurely toward the center and prayed silently.

Please, don't let him encounter her first!

He still wanted to make it into the top three!

Just as Qiao Sang arrived on the field, Lu Liangye walked over and made a bold claim: "Next time we meet, I won't lose!"

Qiao Sang cooperated quite well. "I hope so."

Lu Liangye: "..."

He felt like she was looking down on him, but he had no proof.

They drew lots just like when the ten people were divided into five groups; those with the same number would form a team.

Qiao Sang drew her lot, looked at it, and saw it was number 1.

A good number.

Lucky.

"Who is number 1?" Qin Wen asked.

"Me," the speaker was Lu Liangye.

"Me too," Qiao Sang said.

Everyone looked over.

Lu Liangye: "...!"

Even if they were to meet again, there was no need for it to be this soon!