Qu!

On the field.

The crimson Energy Ball shot into the sky and exploded violently upon reaching a certain height.

Rain of fire descended, and the temperature surged. The blazing flames seemed to set the heavens alight, delivering an overwhelming visual impact and a devastating sense of destruction, as though the arena had been severed from the spectator stands into two separate worlds.

If that hit Palei'aoke, even a General-level Pet Beast would be done for... The audience could not help holding their breath, staring fixedly at the action on the field.

Especially the spectators from the Zhongkong Region. They barely dared breathe, afraid Palei'aoke would be gone the very next second.

Palei'aoke tilted its head upward, looking at the sky as its vision was completely swallowed by a sea of flames.

"Palei..."

It wanted to move, but it simply could not.

Tang Yi somehow sensed Palei'aoke's condition. In an instant, he came to a realization: the Ghost Ring Spirit from the previous match must have possessed the Cursed Body trait!

Flame Charge was certainly powerful, but it should not have left a General-level Pet Beast unable to move for this long. It seemed Palei'aoke had been afflicted by Cursed Body as well... Qiao Sang's thoughts stirred as she looked at Palei'aoke, half its body still buried in the ground.

Cursed Body had a 30% chance of immobilizing the target upon being attacked, rendering it unable to act for a period of time... Little Treasure was amazing! It had actually triggered both traits on Palei'aoke!

Maybe she could end this match outright while she had this chance!

"Thunder Web!" Tang Yi gave his command at that moment.

As he issued the order, he clenched his fist, then slowly loosened it.

Don't panic. Even if Palei'aoke had been afflicted with Cursed Body and could not move for a short time, the energy within its body could still circulate. As long as it could still use its skills, the situation was not too serious... Looking on the bright side, even if Palei'aoke could move right now, with a body that large, it could not possibly evade such a dense Spark Rain through movement alone.

Tang Yi's voice rang clearly in Qiao Sang's ears. She immediately made her decision.

"Destructive Ray!"

Little Treasure had created only one opportunity. She absolutely could not let Palei'aoke escape it!

Yellow arcs of electricity appeared across Palei'aoke's body. Lightning flashed wildly before converging in an instant into an enormous semicircular Thunder Web, covering the space roughly one meter above Palei'aoke.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The flames fell in a dense, frenzied barrage, setting the entire semicircular Thunder Web ablaze as fiery explosions erupted without end.

Quite a few flames slipped through gaps in the web and landed on Palei'aoke's body.

"Palei!!!"

"Ah!!!"

Crimson flames rapidly ignited across Palei'aoke's body. Palei'aoke and Tang Yi screamed in agony at the same time.

Hearing its Beastmaster's agonized cry, Palei'aoke glanced in Tang Yi's direction despite its pain.

After that one glance, it looked upward, gritted its teeth, and frantically circulated the energy within its body. Yellow arcs flickered, lightning flared brightly, and the Thunder Web instantly became much denser.

Just then, a thick white beam over two meters wide shot down from midair. Its power was so immense that it blasted straight through the Thunder Web formed from countless electric arcs and struck Palei'aoke with precision!

"Palei!!!"

"Ah!!!"

Palei'aoke and Tang Yi screamed again in unison.

The Thunder Web dispersed, leaving Palei'aoke with no protection whatsoever. The rain of fire continued to fall mercilessly onto its body.

So Bond Evolution was this brutal... Looks like what people said online was true. When a Pet Beast hurt, its Beastmaster hurt too. Though the Beastmaster's pain probably was not as severe as the Pet Beast's, or who would dare send a Bond-Evolved Pet Beast into battle... As she watched Tang Yi writhe in pain, Qiao Sang grumbled inwardly but also felt a little relieved.

Thinking about it seriously, although Palei'aoke was a General-level Pet Beast, Tang Yi also felt pain because of its Bond Evolution. That pain would distract him and prevent him from issuing the proper commands at the first opportunity.

Of course, that was because they had gone straight into battle after the Bond Evolution. If they had spent some time adapting, training, or received more feedback, this situation would not have happened.

Besides, there was nothing particularly frightening about Palei'aoke gaining a Dark-type attribute.

Tang Yi did not have a Golden Finger. There was no way he could immediately know what new skills Palei'aoke had gained, and Palei'aoke could not instantly become familiar with and master new skills like Ya Bao and the others.

At most, he needed to be wary of whatever Dark-type trait it had gained.

But there probably was no need to worry about that anymore... Qiao Sang's heart began beating faster uncontrollably as she watched Palei'aoke's motionless form, no longer crying out.

Spark Rain and Destructive Ray, bolstered by Moonlight Power, were the strongest skills Ya Bao could currently unleash. If Palei'aoke still did not go down after this, all she could say was, "Damn."

The rain of fire was still falling. The audience sat dumbfounded, hardly daring to believe what they were seeing.

Even the spectators from the Yuhua Region could not help doubting their own eyes.

A General-level Pet Beast—the only General-level Pet Beast in the National Tournament so far—was being completely suppressed?

There had not even been any intense clash. It was just getting beaten up?

A General-level Pet Beast! This was a General-level Pet Beast!

"I don't understand. I seriously don't understand. Does anyone understand what's happening? Why has Palei'aoke been lying on the ground without moving? Could it have been smashed so badly by the Blazing Star Hound's Flame Charge at the start that it can't move?"

"Use your brain. That's impossible. It's a General-level Pet Beast, for crying out loud. How could it be that weak?"

"Then why is it just staying there? I can understand the Spark Rain wave, since there was fire everywhere and it might as well stay put and block it with Thunder Web. But I can't understand why it didn't dodge the Destructive Ray afterward. It can't possibly have failed to react in time. It's a General-level Pet Beast. I refuse to believe its reactions are that slow."

"Do you think the Ghost Ring Spirit's curse effect from before is still active?"

"No way, right? What kind of curse effect could make Palei'aoke look nothing like a General-level Pet Beast?"

"No idea. We'll have to go back and watch the replay commentary later."

"Qiao Sang won this match, right...?"

The Zhongkong Region spectators fell silent all at once. With the situation on the field like this, they could no longer shamelessly insist that Tang Yi would definitely win.

Meanwhile, the Yuhua Region spectators' eyes shone. Their breathing suddenly quickened, and their faces flushed red with excitement.

Palei'aoke lay on the ground with its eyes shut, its entire body covered in burns.

Tang Yi recovered from the pain and looked at the unmoving Palei'aoke. His breathing caught.

Palei'aoke had clearly evolved...

He had clearly known that a Beastmaster would also feel pain when a Bond-Evolved Pet Beast suffered. He had already prepared himself mentally, so why had he still failed to endure it...

If he had endured it and issued a command in time, Palei'aoke would not be in this state now...

It was all his fault...

For a moment, Tang Yi felt as though something was lodged in his throat, making him feel unbearably awful.

At the same time, a sorrowful emotion seemed to materialize inside Palei'aoke's body.

Its Beastmaster was sad.

Why was he sad?

Was it because they were about to lose?

"Palei."

An inexplicable power surged within Palei'aoke.

The next second, Palei'aoke slowly opened its eyes and dragged its battered body upright.

Qiao Sang: "!!!"

Tang Yi: "!!!"

The entire arena was shocked!

"Yap!"

High in the air, Ya Bao's eyes suddenly lit up. It stared at its opponent rising to its feet, excitement written all over its face.

Holy shit! Palei'aoke could still stand after taking such serious injuries?! No, she had to finish it off! She had to strike while the iron was hot! Qiao Sang took a deep breath and quickly gave the command.

"Flame Charge!"

"Yap!"

Ya Bao cried out. Flames swept around its body as it pushed hard with all four limbs, but just as it was about to attack, it realized it could not move.

Ya Bao blinked its watery eyes at its Beastmaster.

Qiao Sang: "!!!"

She had gotten too excited and nearly forgotten that Ya Bao could not move for a period after using Destructive Ray!

But it would be over soon—just a few seconds. As long as it attacked before Palei'aoke could retaliate!

If Palei'aoke had been in peak condition, even a one-second gap would have been enough for Ya Bao to be hit. But it was so badly injured now that there was no way it could still move as fast as before!

Two seconds. It just needed to wait another two seconds!

"Get ready!" Qiao Sang shouted.

"Yap!"

Ya Bao barked. Though it made no movement in midair, the flames around its body burned fiercely, waiting only for the immobility period to end before launching its attack.

Sensing Palei'aoke's resolve, Tang Yi's spirits rose. He swept out his hand and shouted.

"Destructive Ray!"

At that moment, he and Palei'aoke seemed to be of one mind.

He knew this was their only chance!

The Blazing Star Hound had just used Destructive Ray and could not move.

And given Palei'aoke's condition, it could only launch one attack.

Palei'aoke was still a General-level Pet Beast. As long as it unleashed all the energy in its body through Destructive Ray, the Blazing Star Hound, an Advanced-level Pet Beast, would undoubtedly lose!

"Palei!"

Dragging its battered body, Palei'aoke's gaze was resolute as all the energy in its body began to boil.

A white light containing terrifying energy suddenly bloomed deep in Palei'aoke's throat.

"Yap..."

Amid its excitement, Ya Bao felt an unprecedented sense of danger high in the air.

Palei'aoke opened its mouth wider and wider, and a blinding white beam shot out!

But when the white beam had traveled less than half a meter, a strange purple energy suddenly appeared inside Palei'aoke's body.

"Palei..."

Palei'aoke's expression and body abruptly froze.

The next second, its energy receded instantly, and all strength left its body.

Under the full-view camera angle, the Destructive Ray dissipated as though it lacked sufficient energy.

Palei'aoke's body shrank and transformed, reverting into Paleilulu's form!

A streak of fire came crashing down from the sky and slammed viciously into Paleilulu's body!

Bang!

With a loud boom, Paleilulu was sent flying dozens of meters and went still.

"Yap!"

The spectator stands were terrifyingly silent.

"Qu!"

Amid that eerily silent atmosphere, the Mechanical Type Pet Beast wearing a referee badge blew its whistle.

PS: The update was late because I wanted to finish writing the match!