The staging area wasn't very crowded; a few contestants in different school uniforms were sitting in front of screens watching replays.
Li Chengying found a spot with the best view, settled down, and immediately operated the terminal in front of her to pull up the recording of the match that had just ended.
“Let’s see... Pei Yingwu’s match... District E Battle Zone 3... Found it!”
She pressed play, and a holographic projection unfolded before everyone.
On the screen, District E Battle Zone 3 consisted of five floating islands of varying sizes, currently rotating slowly clockwise.
Pei Yingwu, standing on a maglev skateboard, hovered above the largest floating island, his expression indifferent, hands in his pockets.
Across from him, a girl stood on another floating island.
The moment the battle began, Pei Yingwu summoned his Nightblade Wolf, and the girl summoned a Rock-armored Lizard.
A dark figure leaped out from the Beast Taming Space, landing steadily on the edge of the floating island.
It was a giant wolf over three meters long, with jet-black fur like the deepest night. Dark red patterns were faintly visible along its spine, and its fangs gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
After landing, it didn't attack immediately. Instead, it lazily scanned its surroundings before finally fixing its gaze on the Rock-armored Lizard across from it.
Its blood-red eyes held clear disdain.
“Rock-armored Lizard, Rock Cannon!” the girl across from him commanded first.
The Rock-armored Lizard opened its mouth, and a cluster of earthy yellow energy rapidly condensed, forming a rock cannonball that shot towards the Nightblade Wolf.
The Nightblade Wolf couldn't even be bothered to dodge.
It merely turned slightly sideways; the rock cannonball grazed its fur and exploded into a shallow crater on the floating island behind it.
“Shadow Claw,” Pei Yingwu’s voice came from above, his tone flat.
The Nightblade Wolf’s ears twitched, but it made no move.
It simply took a few slow steps towards the Rock-armored Lizard, a hint of playfulness flashing in its blood-red eyes.
“Shadow Claw!” Pei Yingwu repeated, a hint of impatience in his voice.
The Nightblade Wolf finally reacted.
It glanced back at Pei Yingwu in the air, its gaze...
Liu Yi narrowed her eyes slightly. There was no respect in that gaze, only a condescending scrutiny.
Then, it turned back and continued its leisurely walk towards the Rock-armored Lizard.
The girl across from him seized the opportunity: “Continuous Rock Cannon!”
The Rock-armored Lizard fired three rock cannonballs in succession, and this time, the Nightblade Wolf finally moved.
It suddenly accelerated, its dark figure weaving between the floating islands, easily evading all attacks. Then it stopped abruptly, appearing before the Rock-armored Lizard.
Its right claw glowed with a dark purple light, and it swiped down!
“Boom!”
The Rock-armored Lizard was sent flying, crashing heavily onto another floating island, with several deep cracks appearing on its carapace.
But the Nightblade Wolf didn't pursue.
It simply stood there, licked its paws, and then looked up at Pei Yingwu in the air, its gaze as if saying: See? I can fight on my own.
Pei Yingwu’s expression was rather grim.
Over the next few minutes, similar scenes played out repeatedly.
Pei Yingwu gave commands, but the Nightblade Wolf either ignored them, delayed execution, or simply followed its own rhythm.
Twice, the Nightblade Wolf could have ended the match with a single strike but deliberately slowed its attack tempo, giving the Rock-armored Lizard a chance to get back up and fight again.
It was like a cat toying with its prey, completely absorbed in its own world.
The girl opposite was already drenched in sweat from anxiety, and the Rock-armored Lizard was covered in wounds, yet the Nightblade Wolf simply refused to end the match.
“This...” Li Chengying watched, dumbfounded, “This is too outrageous, isn’t it? An Advanced pet fighting a Junior one, and it’s almost ten minutes and still not over?”
Gao Xue frowned, “It’s not that it can’t win, it’s that it doesn’t want to.”
Ouyang Qin crossed her arms and said calmly, “It’s testing Pei Yingwu’s limits. Inherited Advanced pets are masters at testing a new master’s strength. If Pei Yingwu can’t keep it in check, it will only become harder to control in the future.”
On screen, the match finally concluded at nine and a half minutes.
The Nightblade Wolf lazily knocked out the Rock-armored Lizard with a single paw, then stood in place and looked back at Pei Yingwu in the air.
In its blood-red eyes, there was no joy of victory, only a cold scrutiny.
Pei Yingwu’s expression betrayed no emotion; he simply silently recalled the Nightblade Wolf and left the battle zone on his maglev skateboard.
The screen froze on the empty floating island.
The staging area was silent for a few seconds.
Li Chengying broke the silence first: “Well... even though he won, it really did look strange.”
Gao Xue nodded, “Pei Yingwu couldn’t truly command the Nightblade Wolf even once from start to finish. That Nightblade Wolf fought entirely according to its own will.”
Ouyang Qin looked at Liu Yi: “What do you think?”
Liu Yi remained silent for a moment, her gaze still fixed on the empty floating island on the screen.
“That Nightblade Wolf is very strong,” she said slowly, “but its strength doesn’t belong to Pei Yingwu.”
She paused, then continued, “That final gaze... it wasn’t scrutinizing its opponent, but rather its own Beast Tamer.”
Li Chengying listened, dumbfounded: “What does that mean?”
“It means,” Gao Xue interjected, “it doesn’t recognize Pei Yingwu. Not yet, at least. If this continues, it will eventually cause problems in a match.”
...
Li Chengying stood up, patting her clothes. “Alright, alright, we’ve seen it all. I need to go prepare. Do you three want to stay and cheer me on?”
“Of course,” Gao Xue rolled her eyes at her. “Why else would I be in District E?”
Ouyang Qin picked up her now-cold coffee and said calmly, “Go on, don’t be nervous.”
“Nervous about what?!” Li Chengying declared indignantly. “My Mianmian is Advanced stage; no matter how strong the opponent is, can they be stronger than Advanced?”
As she spoke, she walked towards the teleportation point deeper in the staging area. Her Cloud Howler Sparrow flew from her shoulder, circled once above her head, letting out a crisp cry. Her Lightning Leopard followed at her feet, its steps nimble, tail held high.
Liu Yi watched her retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips.
“Chengying is actually a little nervous,” Gao Xue suddenly said, a hint of helplessness in her tone. “When she’s nervous, she talks a lot and loves dragging people around.”
“I can tell,” Ouyang Qin said calmly. “But her strength is undeniable, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Liu Yi nodded, her gaze falling on the large screen on the staging area wall.
The screen was displaying the real-time status of various battle zones in District E.
Li Chengying’s match was in District E Battle Zone 5. The energy barrier had already activated, glowing with a faint blue light.
【District E Battle Zone 5 · Contestant Information】
【Tianqi Beast Taming High School · Third-Year Contestant · Li Chengying】
【Registered Pets: Cloud Howler Sparrow (General + Flying-type · Advanced stage), Lightning Leopard (Electric-type · Intermediate stage)】
VS
【Palunke 8th Beast Taming High School · Third-Year Contestant · Ren Songyue】
【Registered Pets: Lotus Water Spirit (Grass + Water-type · Intermediate stage), Moonspring Deer (Water + Psychic-type · Intermediate stage)】
Liu Yi looked at the battle information displayed on the screen, a slight smile playing on her lips, and couldn't help but chuckle.
Rate on N.U.
