Beast Taming: Starting From Zero
Chapter 956: Another little treasure hunt (two in one)
Exclamations erupted in the stands, and people took out their phones, preparing to record.
There were instances of Ghost-type Pets using Dark Shadow in large-scale competitions, and some even condensed Dark Shadows up to a hundred meters tall, but these were typically only seen on television. Seeing it live was a completely different experience.
Especially since the Pet using Dark Shadow was a Ghost-type Pet only tens of centimeters in size, it created a strong sense of contrast.
“Ghost Ring King has unleashed Dark Shadow,” Tian Yiwan said from the commentary booth, observing the situation on the field. “The enlarged Ghost Ring King looks much more imposing. I wonder if it learned this move specifically because of its small size.”
Tang Xueran chimed in:
“This is also the first time a Ghost-type Pet has used Dark Shadow in this Regional Competition.”
Dark Shadow can manifest an illusion ten or even a hundred times larger than oneself. Its purpose is to put visual pressure on the opponent; the damage taken by the opponent does not increase because of it.
Therefore, this move rarely appeared in competitions.
It only looks powerful visually, but it’s actually nothing… Xiang Wenyi steadied her mind and loudly commanded:
“Attack the main body!”
“Wood Whisk!”
Wood Whisk Flower Monster let out a loud cry.
Countless green-glowing leaves rose from its body, sweeping towards Xiao Xunbao like a fierce storm.
“Xiao Xunbao~”
Xiao Xunbao teleported, easily dodging.
Just as Wood Whisk Flower Monster was about to attack again, it suddenly felt something strange about its body.
It looked down and saw a large Dark Shadow had, at some unknown point, connected with its own shadow.
Dark Shadow Control… Xiang Wenyi’s heart sank slightly.
Originally, she thought that if she attacked Ghost Ring King’s main body, the Dark Shadow would disappear. Even if she couldn’t hit it, the main body wouldn’t be able to control the Dark Shadow effectively while dodging or counterattacking. She hadn’t expected Ghost Ring King to be able to control the Dark Shadow to use Dark Shadow Control while simultaneously teleporting on its own.
She remembered from the video that Ghost Ring King had to extend its short toe to control the Dark Shadow for it to successfully use Dark Shadow Control.
In such a short time, Ghost Ring King and the Dark Shadow could act separately.
Doesn’t that mean there are now essentially two Ghost Ring Kings acting on the field?
“Expand the range!” Xiang Wenyi decided decisively.
As long as Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s powder spread across the entire field, the Dark Shadow would surely break!
Although this would consume a lot of energy, at a time like this, she couldn’t worry about that!
“Wood.”
Before Wood Whisk Flower Monster could finish its cry, thick Dark Shadows wrapped upwards, completely encasing Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s entire body in just a few movements, leaving no gaps.
Immediately after, the darkness extended and enveloped it, quickly binding and wrapping Wood Whisk Flower Monster into a giant black ball.
The thirty-meter-tall Ghost Ring King gently moved its short toe, and the connected black ball was flicked upwards, beginning to spin wildly with the giant Ghost Ring King’s short toe.
At the same time.
Inside the Regional Competition’s official live stream, countless bullet comments appeared:
[This move is so familiar…]
[I didn’t expect Qiao Sang to become a B-level Beast Tamer, yet she still retains the habit of making opponents dizzy.]
[It’s the Regional Competition, these masters can’t possibly get dizzy, right?]
[Qiao Sang’s current Pet is Ghost Ring King, not the Ghost Ring Spirit from before. The dizzying skill is probably version 3.0 now.]
[It’s Ghost Ring King’s Dark Shadow using Dark Shadow Control. Look how thick this shadow is, I think it can make them dizzy!]
[What are you all talking about?]
[Talking about Qiao Shen’s battle tactics, still loves to make opponents dizzy like before.]
[You know Qiao Sang?]
[She participated in the National Campus Pet Beast League a year ago. Many of her opponents were made dizzy by her Ghost Ring Spirit, which is now the Ghost Ring King.]
[Are you students?]
[Yes.]
[Don’t you have evening self-study?]
As soon as this comment appeared, the number of bullet comments immediately halved.
At the competition venue.
“Is Ghost Ring King preparing to make Wood Whisk Flower Monster dizzy directly?!” Tian Yiwan exclaimed, astonished.
“This Ghost Ring King’s Dark Shadow Control is highly proficient; it can directly use a 3D mode through the Dark Shadow. I wonder how Xiang Wenyi will choose to respond next,” Tang Xueyi said.
“Break!” Xiang Wenyi did not appear particularly shocked, issuing the command calmly and coolly, as if she had already anticipated this scene.
The giant black ball spun at high speed under the control of the Dark Shadow.
Suddenly, sharp, green-glowing spikes violently pierced out from the black ball.
Immediately after, with a loud ‘bang,’ the green spikes exploded, and countless Dark Shadows shattered into fragments, scattering and disappearing into the air.
Xiao Xunbao, high in the sky, watched this scene without moving.
The super-enlarged Ghost Ring King lowered its claws.
“Wood Whisk…”
Wood Whisk Flower Monster, feeling a bit dizzy, fell downwards.
Although it broke free from the 3D mode of Dark Shadow Control, the previous high-speed spinning still had some effect on it.
This Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s energy is far superior to Xiao Xunbao’s… Qiao Sang calmly analyzed.
Profound Level Dark Shadow Control is not unbreakable; as long as the power or energy greatly exceeds Xiao Xunbao’s, and the proficiency of the breaking skill is high enough, it can be broken. This Wood Whisk Flower Monster is an example of that.
“Wood Whisk Flower Monster broke through Dark Shadow Control!” Tian Yiwan exclaimed loudly. “First, it pierced the Dark Shadow with spikes, then used the attached explosive powder to blast it open. What a brilliant combination skill!”
Attaching explosive powder to Vine Whip or spikes, then hitting the opponent and detonating it to inflict more damage, was a combination skill Xiang Wenyi had used in the preliminaries, so the commentators and audience were not unfamiliar with it.
Just when everyone thought Wood Whisk Flower Monster would land on the ground and engage in another confrontation with Ghost Ring King, Wood Whisk Flower Monster suddenly stopped in mid-air, then began to swing 360 degrees horizontally at high speed towards the stands.
“Wood Whisk!”
Wood Whisk Flower Monster let out a scream.
Xiang Wenyi: “!!!”
Xiang Wenyi first looked at Ghost Ring King high in the sky, then at the giant Dark Shadow in front of her. When she saw that neither of them was moving, she was utterly bewildered, unable to figure out what was happening.
Then, she suddenly realized something, her gaze falling on Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s shadow on the ground.
It was already dark, and although the stadium lights were bright, it wasn’t as luminous as during the day.
Furthermore, the giant Ghost Ring King in front was simply too tall, drawing most of one’s attention, making it difficult to notice other details.
Xiang Wenyi noticed an extremely thin shadow connecting to Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s shadow.
She followed the direction of the thin shadow and saw the giant Ghost Ring King.
But the giant Ghost Ring King was clearly not moving, and the shadow’s size was wrong… Xiang Wenyi’s mind raced, considering another possibility.
The direction the shadow was connected to was behind the giant Ghost Ring King…
From the panoramic view, behind the giant Ghost Ring King, Xiao Xunbao squatted down, one claw picking its nostril, the other claw touching the ground, connecting to Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s shadow, constantly drawing circles.
At the same time, Xiao Xunbao high in the sky watched Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s direction with an unchanging expression.
Although Xiao Xunbao usually didn’t train very hard, it could always come up with creative ways to use the skills it had already learned.
Qiao Sang only later discovered that Xiao Xunbao’s Substitute could share its vision. When Xiao Xunbao went out to train with her, the Substitute would be in the room playing on the computer, which was essentially like it was playing on the computer.
Thanks to Xiao Xunbao’s various tactics, the Substitute’s proficiency was very high, and it was used with great ease, even when it used Dark Shadow, it could still successfully use it.
In other words, it was already capable of multitasking.
Previously, Wood Whisk Flower Monster attacked Xiao Xunbao’s Substitute with Fly Leaf Knife.
And at that time, Xiao Xunbao was hiding behind the Dark Shadow, using its massive size to conceal itself, successfully controlling the Dark Shadow to use 3D mode Dark Shadow Control.
Judging by the opponent’s reaction, they must have noticed something was amiss… Qiao Sang understood when she saw Xiang Wenyi’s gaze follow the shadow to the Dark Shadow.
There must be something strange behind the giant Ghost Ring King! Xiang Wenyi took a deep breath and shouted:
“Stab the big one!”
“Wood Whisk!”
Wood Whisk Flower Monster was moving at high speed.
It heard its Yu Beast Master’s voice, forced itself to open its eyes despite the dizziness, and pinpointed the opponent’s location.
When it felt a massive presence to its left, about to face it directly, its claw moved, and a wooden spike, only about a meter long and glowing green, instantly shot out from its palm.
In such a short time, it had already spun two more times without launching an attack.
Just as the third circle was about to pass the Dark Shadow’s position, the wooden spike in Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s palm suddenly extended rapidly, reaching a length of over ten meters, successfully piercing into the Dark Shadow.
The Dark Shadow exploded.
Xiao Xunbao’s figure appeared.
Wood Whisk Flower Monster was still spinning at high speed.
This, how is there another Ghost Ring King?!
Xiang Wenyi looked at the Ghost Ring King constantly drawing circles on the ground, feeling her mind go blank for a moment.
She looked up at the sky.
“Xiao Xunbao~”
The Ghost Ring King in the sky grinned, then disappeared.
Xiang Wenyi: “!!!”
Tian Yiwan’s voice sounded at this moment: “Wood Whisk Flower Monster can maintain a clear mind and successfully break through Dark Shadow while moving at such high speed. Amazing! The timing was perfectly grasped, which is very rare in all the matches of the Regional Competition.”
“Xiang Wenyi has finally realized that there’s another Ghost Ring King on the field,” Tang Xueyi said.
The commentary booth was high up, so they naturally saw Xiao Xunbao’s movements behind the Dark Shadow. However, this was a live competition, and the competitors could also hear the commentary. When a competitor hadn’t noticed a certain hidden tactic of the opponent, it wasn’t professional to directly point it out during the match.
“I’ve wanted to say something about this for a long time,” Tian Yiwan chimed in:
“How did Qiao Sang manage to train Ghost Ring King to such a degree that it can use so many skills simultaneously? I really want to learn from her.”
So the Ghost Ring King in the sky was a diversion all along. Was it a clone or a Substitute… Calm down, what needs to be done now is to quickly break free from the control… Xiang Wenyi gathered her thoughts and shouted:
“Stab the ground!”
“Wood Whisk!”
Wood Whisk Flower Monster let out a loud cry, and another green-glowing, meter-long wooden spike condensed in its palm.
Opponents in the Regional Competition are truly extraordinary; any Pet can be controlled and spun by Xiao Xunbao for so long and still remain conscious enough to use skills… Qiao Sang felt a hidden admiration and said:
“Change direction.”
“Xiao Xunbao!”
Xiao Xunbao put its other short toe on the ground and moved it.
At the same time, another thin shadow branched out from the shadow connecting to Wood Whisk Flower Monster on the ground, attaching to Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s claw shadow.
Due to this shadow being too small relative to Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s size, Xiang Wenyi did not notice it.
Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s claw pointed downwards, and the wooden spike in its palm was also perpendicular to the ground.
Immediately after, the wooden spike in its palm suddenly extended.
But at that moment, Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s claw uncontrollably flipped upwards.
The originally vertical wooden spike also suddenly changed direction, stabbing upwards, fiercely piercing into Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s own body.
“Wood Whisk!”
Wood Whisk Flower Monster let out a tragic cry.
Not only that, but it was still spinning at high speed.
A commotion erupted in the stands.
Xiang Wenyi: “!!!”
“Qiao Sang actually made Ghost Ring King control Wood Whisk Flower Monster to attack itself with its own skill!” Tian Yiwan exclaimed. “It looks like the effect is significant!”
The powder that disrupts the Pet’s internal energy is gone, now is a good opportunity to attack… Qiao Sang saw that the green powder on the field had disappeared and issued a command:
“Pull!”
Xiao Xunbao pulled its claw back.
Wood Whisk Flower Monster flew uncontrollably towards Xiao Xunbao’s location.
Because the shadow control specifically adjusted its head’s position, as Wood Whisk Flower Monster flew, its head was face to face with Xiao Xunbao, and it saw a pair of purple eyes.
“Powder!” Xiang Wenyi, seeing this, shouted without thinking.
Other skills might be controlled and change direction, but powder surely wouldn’t change direction!
“Go, use a big attack!” Qiao Sang heard the opponent’s command and changed her previous idea of having Xiao Xunbao attack with its main body.
Wood Whisk Flower Monster, having just been injured and hypnotized, didn’t react immediately to use its skill.
Within these short two seconds, Xiao Xunbao disappeared from its original spot.
Almost in the next second, a massive figure about thirty meters tall descended from the sky, its head condensed with a rich white light, charging straight down towards Wood Whisk Flower Monster!
Seeing this scene on the field, the audience erupted in a clamor.
If they weren’t mistaken, was this Ghost Ring King’s Dark Shadow using Mind Headbutt?!
“Dodge!” Xiang Wenyi’s pupils constricted, her face changing drastically as she shouted.
A thirty-meter-tall figure using Mind Headbutt made it impossible for anyone to remain calm.
One must know that Wood Whisk Flower Monster was only about six meters tall.
From a visual perspective, it was simply a glowing meteorite falling.
Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s head was groggy from Hypnosis. Although it didn’t immediately fall asleep, its reaction capabilities in all aspects were still slower than usual.
With a loud ‘bang.’
The giant Ghost Ring King’s head, condensed with white light, struck vertically downwards, fiercely hitting Wood Whisk Flower Monster’s head, completely enveloping its figure.
The giant Ghost Ring King then dissipated.
“Wood Whisk…”
Wood Whisk Flower Monster swayed twice, closed its eyes, and fell to the ground.
A mechanical referee appeared out of thin air beside Wood Whisk Flower Monster, observed it for a moment, then raised a green flag towards Qiao Sang’s direction.
A giant virtual screen appeared, and the picture of Wood Whisk Flower Monster under Xiang Wenyi’s photo turned from color to black and white.
“Xiao Xunbao!”
“Xiao Xunbao!”
Xiao Xunbao had long prepared for this moment, frantically waving its claws 360 degrees towards the audience in different directions.
“Wow!”
The entire venue erupted in enthusiastic cheers for Xiao Xunbao.