Chapter 473: The fifth stage of the national competition (two-in-one)

Dragon-type Pet Beasts have increasingly longer evolution cycles the further they progress.

Regardless of the type of Dragon-type Pet Beast, evolving from Beginner to High Level, even with top-tier talent and resources, would take several years.

Logically speaking, High Level Dragon-type Pet Beasts should absolutely not appear in the high school section of the National Campus Pet Beast League.

Unless they bypass the cultivation process and directly contract a High Level Dragon-type Pet Beast.

Zhao Chuanyu was precisely like that.

His Scarlet Horned Dragon was not cultivated from a Beginner Pet Beast, the little Scarlet Dragon; instead, he contracted the Scarlet Horned Dragon, which had already grown into a High-level Pet, one month after the National Campus Pet Beast League ended last year.

This instantly made him a strong contender for the champion of this year’s National Campus Pet Beast League’s third-year high school section.

Later, after deep digging, everyone knew that the reason Zhao Chuanyu had delayed contracting his second Pet was for the Scarlet Horned Dragon.

Most contestants who can participate in the second-year high school section of the National Campus Pet Beast League are Yu Beast Masters with two Pets, but Zhao Chuanyu only competed with one Pet at that time.

As for why he waited until after the last National Campus Pet Beast League ended to contract the Scarlet Horned Dragon, there were roughly two guesses online.

One was that Zhao Chuanyu’s goal was the champion of the third-year high school section.

If he contracted the Scarlet Horned Dragon too early, its strength would be exposed in the second-year high school section, and then in the third-year high school section, others would have too much pre-obtained combat data, making it possible for them to make very targeted and detailed arrangements.

The second was that the Scarlet Horned Dragon was only willing to contract with Zhao Chuanyu at that time.

Human brain regions are too fragile, especially for Yu Beast Masters in the early stages, when they haven’t experienced many feedbacks and only a few pages of the yu beast codex have been developed.

If the Scarlet Horned Dragon was unwilling, not only would the contract fail, but Zhao Chuanyu’s brain region would also suffer very severe damage.

The contestants from the Chong Dao Area are truly formidable; they can even get their hands on High Level Dragon-type Pet Beasts… Qiao Sang sighed inwardly, changed to a comfortable position on the bed, and continued watching the matches.

…

Fifty minutes later, all the afternoon matches concluded. Qiao Sang opened the official forum of the National Campus Pet Beast League to check for news.

There were many posts on the forum that were updated in real-time according to the match situation.

As soon as the matches ended, the official posted an announcement on the forum:

ChapterNational Campus Pet Beast League Third-Year High School Section Top 9 List# Chapter

This post had not been out for long, but it had already been stickied and overloaded, with comments instantly soaring to 99+, and the readership still increasing at a rate of dozens per second.

They’re really fast… Qiao Sang clicked on the post.

[Disclaimer: This ranking is based on the order of results from this round and is unrelated to strength.]

[1: Yuhua District, Qiao Sang]

[2: Zhiya District, Zhou Shanliang]

[3: Chongdao Area, Zhang Wandi]

[4: Chong Dao Area, Tang Yi]

[5: Tuwei District, Xu Jie]

[6: Liaoxi District, Liao Qiang]

[7: Chong Dao Area, Zhao Chuanyu]

[8: Dongjia District, Sun Yi]

[9: Chong Dao Area, Xia Fengyuan]

Aside from Wu Chongyu and Cui Pingkun not making it into the top 9, the rest of the people on the list were pretty much as everyone had guessed… Qiao Sang scrolled down the screen to read the comments:

[It still has to be the Chong Dao Area. Even without Wu Chongyu, they still occupy 3 spots in the top 9.]

[It’s not surprising at all, okay? If it weren’t for a pervert suddenly emerging from the Yuhua District this time, our Chong Dao Area would have at least 4 in the top 9.]

[Don’t be discouraged! Although there aren’t 4 from our Chong Dao Area in the top 9, there’s still hope for 4 in the top 10. Isn’t there still a resurrection match? Wu Chongyu might have a chance to come back. Look how fiercely he fought Qiao Sang from the Yuhua District today; they even destroyed the venue.]

[Don’t even think about the top 10. Cui Pingkun is in the loser’s bracket this time. If there’s no surprise, he’s definitely the candidate for the top 10.]

[Damn it! Our Lianbo District has no one left!]

[My heart is chilling. How many years has it been? Our Beilun District still doesn’t have anyone in the top 9.]

[The commenter above needs to calm down. I also thought our Yuhua District would have no chance in this year’s third-year high school section, just like before, but then such a big surprise came out.]

[Then your surprise is a bit too much, directly producing a champion candidate.]

[Anyway, our Ancient Mist District has no one left. I’ll just say it: everyone in the top 9 except Qiao Sang is trash.]

[Don’t mind the people from the Ancient Mist District; there’s something wrong with their brains. I saw it once at the match venue: their cheers for their own district’s contestants weren’t as loud as their cheers for Qiao Sang. You wouldn’t know it, but you’d think Qiao Sang was from their district.]

[From an overall strength perspective, the Chong Dao Area is still the strongest, with Tang Yi in front and Zhao Chuanyu behind.]

[What’s the use of strong overall strength? This is an individual competition. Do I need to explain what an individual competition is?]

[Tang Yi is already not good, okay? Forget Zhao Chuanyu and Qiao Sang; I estimate he might not even be able to beat Zhang Wandi now.]

[Look at you people, changing faces so fast. You used to shout ‘Tang Yi is invincible’ every day, and now you don’t even mention Tang Yi, and when you do, you mock him.]

[Tang Yi is invincible’ was shouted by you people from the Chong Dao Area, right? Our Chong Dao Area has never shouted that.]

[Our Zhiya District hasn’t shouted it either.]

[That being said, Tang Yi was indeed invincible before. If he hadn’t gotten arrogant after winning the championship and gone into a secret realm, causing his Pareolulu to be severely injured and recuperating in the Yu Beast Center for two months, losing two months of training time compared to other people’s Pets during the most crucial period, perhaps Tang Yi would also be a strong contender for the championship this time.]

[I don’t know what he was thinking, going to a secret realm even though he wasn’t even a D-level Beastmaster.]

[I heard Tang Yi’s family had some problems, and all his resources were later provided by the school, but not for free; he had to achieve some results. Going to the secret realm was probably also to obtain some resources.]

[Suddenly I understand. The path of a Yu Beast Master is really difficult if the family can’t provide resources. I have a cousin who awakened on her own, but because her family just went bankrupt, she contracted a Sand Sliding Worm worth only about 20,000, which is not even as good as my Pet.]

[Actually, I think Tang Yi is still amazing. His ace Pet hasn’t trained for two months, and he can still fight to this extent.]

[Mainly, he was too invincible last year, and everyone had very high expectations for him. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment, so they feel he’s not as good as before in every aspect.]

So Tang Yi was in this situation. No wonder no one mentioned last year’s champion… Qiao Sang pondered.

A family in decline but with extremely high talent, encountering setbacks midway through his most brilliant phase, making others think he’s no longer capable—isn’t this a typical male protagonist setup?

It seems this person needs attention… Qiao Sang thought cautiously.

According to the male protagonist setup, when others think the protagonist is down, the protagonist often turns the tables against the odds and slaps them in the face.

…

The next day was the day to select one person from the loser’s bracket to advance to the top ten.

After breakfast and washing up, Qiao Sang took Ya Bao and the others to the 15th floor of the hotel to start their training.

Although the training was incredibly boring, Ya Bao and Lu Bao never showed any signs of fatigue.

Xiao Qunbao, on the other hand, wanted to rest several times midway, but when he turned around and saw Ya Bao and Lu Bao training, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

Qiao Sang felt a little emotional; whether it’s studying or training, the influence of the environment is indeed important.

…

In a flash, it was the day of the fifth stage of the National Campus Pet Beast League.

As only ten contestants remained, all matches were scheduled for the afternoon.

At 2 PM, figures appeared in the Shouyao Arena.

There were significantly fewer students from various districts, wearing unified school uniforms as cheerleaders, but the audience numbers did not decrease; the seats were still packed.

Any competition has its viewing audience.

Although the high school section of the National Campus Pet Beast League is not the strongest in terms of contestant level among all currently ongoing competitions, it is the most watched and highest-tier competition at the high school stage.

There are tens of millions of families with high school students in Longguo every year, plus junior high school students interested in Pet Beast competitions, so there is no shortage of people following the National Campus Pet Beast League.

Attending the National Competition live does not require tickets; it relies on connections.

As soon as news of an open seat comes out, it will be reserved by the leaders of various high schools.

Under the all-encompassing camera angles, the Host stood on a white Flying-type Pet, announcing the competition rules as usual. Immediately, the match list appeared on the virtual screen.

[Zhiya District, Zhou Shanliang VS Chongdao Area, Zhang Wandi]

[Chong Dao Area, Tang Yi VS Tuwei District, Xu Jie]

[Liaoxi District, Liao Qiang VS Chong Dao Area, Xia Fengyuan]

[Dongjia District, Sun Yi VS Chong Dao Area, Zhao Chuanyu]

[Yuhua District, Qiao Sang VS Liaoxi District, Cui Pingkun]

…

The fifth stage of the National Competition had a total of five groups and ten contestants.

After yesterday’s intense matches, Cui Pingkun successfully advanced from the loser’s bracket to become the tenth qualified contestant.

With the announcement of the match list, the venue erupted in an uproar.

“Our only seedling from the Dongjia District! Why did he run into Zhao Chuanyu!”

“Was Cui Pingkun sanctioned by the system? Last time he met Zhao Chuanyu, this time he meets Qiao Sang!”

“I seriously suspect there’s a problem with the system! Why are the three people from the Chong Dao Area all separated?!”

“I’ve already noticed that as long as there are enough contestants, players from the same district are generally not put together.”

“The first match is a battle between two sole seedlings, interesting.”

Cui Pingkun… Looking at her opponent, Qiao Sang’s interest was immediately piqued. Cui Pingkun was the only contestant in the National Competition who possessed a High Level Mechanical-type Pet.

And she had never fought against a Mechanical-type Pet before.

The matches proceeded excitingly and intensely, and the list of those advancing to the top five emerged one by one as time passed.

They were Zhang Wandi, Tang Yi, Liao Qiang, and Zhao Chuanyu.

The Host stood on the white Flying-type Pet and announced loudly:

“Next, let’s welcome the last group of contestants! Qiao Sang from the Yuhua District and Cui Pingkun from the Liaoxi District!”

Deafening cheers immediately erupted.

“Go Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang’s might! Qiao Sang must win!”

“Cui Pingkun! Who are you afraid of? Cui Pingkun! You are the best!”

Now it was the top ten competition, and the audience from various districts were almost screaming their throats out, desperately shouting, afraid that their momentum would be outdone by their opponents.

Amidst the cheers, Qiao Sang and Cui Pingkun walked to their respective sides of the arena and stood in their designated positions.

“qu!”

As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Qiao Sang and Cui Pingkun simultaneously formed hand seals.

Soon, both sides’ Pets appeared in their respective star formations.

At the same time, a war of words began in the audience stands.

“I’d say your district’s Cui Pingkun is really unlucky. He finally advanced back from the loser’s bracket, only to be eliminated again.”

“Don’t speak too soon. It’s not certain who will be eliminated.”

“Huh? You think Cui Pingkun from your district can beat Qiao Sang from our district?”

“Is there a problem? When Cui Pingkun was dominating the arena, your district’s Qiao Sang was probably still in junior high, getting scolded by teachers every day for failing exams.”

“Say that again? Who…” The speaking boy looked as if his idol had been insulted. He stood up, eyes blazing, wanting to overwhelm the other person with his aura, but before he could finish, the girl next to him suddenly tugged his sleeve and whispered, interrupting him:

“Don’t argue with people from the Liaoxi District. I heard that some Mechanical-type Pets in the Liaoxi District can transform their bodies into digital data and move freely in cyberspace. Even browsing history on phones and computers can be found.”

“Some people were socially ruined because they offended people from the Liaoxi District, and their chat records and browsing history were all exposed.”

Exposed, exposed chat records and browsing history?! The boy’s heart trembled, and he quietly sat down:

“Forget it, I’m too lazy to argue with you. I’m going to watch the match.”

…

On the field.

“Ice Ke.” Lu Bao’s expression was cold.

“Suan Suan.”

On the other side, Suan Tao looked at the opponent in front of him, and a pile of data immediately appeared in his two red eyes.

[Name: Ice Kexilu]

[Height: 3.3 m]

[Weight: 223kg]

[Beep beep, starting analysis… Energy gathers most in the tail and forehead, weakness, eyes…]

Suan Tao, a High Level Mechanical-type Pet, can analyze the opponent’s weaknesses by scanning. The groove on its chest is where the cartridges are stored, and Cui Pingkun always inserts attribute cartridges that counter the opponent’s Pet’s attribute… Qiao Sang glanced at the Pet covered in red metal, with two double-bladed swords crossed on its back and slender limbs, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind:

I have three Pets. This guy shouldn’t be so accurate as to guess that I’ll send out Lu Bao first, right…

“qu!”

The whistle signaling the start of the match blew at this moment.

Lu Bao opened her mouth, and a thick blue Water Gun immediately sprayed towards Suan Tao.

Liao Xing Hound, Ghost Ring Spirit, Ice Kexilu. Qiao Sang has been sending out her Pets equally since the National Competition. Last match, she had already sent out the Liao Xing Hound and the Ghost Ring Spirit, so this time it’s indeed Ice Kexilu… Cui Pingkun pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, and the lenses reflected a gleam of wisdom.

“Suan Suan.”

Suan Tao quickly drew out the two double-bladed swords, about one meter long, from his back and swung them forward forcefully.

As he swung them, yellow electric arcs crackled along the blades of the two double-bladed swords.

The sword light flickered under the yellow electric arcs.

The speed was so fast that it instantly struck the Water Gun more than ten meters away.

The Water Gun was directly pierced into three parts and continued to slash towards Lu Bao’s location.

PS: One more chapter will be updated tomorrow.