Darling of the Wind

Qiao Sang said without hesitation:

"If I win the championship, I'm definitely going. Who'd turn down something free?"

Mikala: "..."

I'm talking about fate, and you're thinking about not having to pay.

"Mo Mo."

At that moment, Dragon Overlord let out a cry, indicating that if they were going, it would go too.

After saying that, it stared fixedly at Mikala, waiting for her response.

Mikala fell silent for two seconds before saying:

"Alright."

To be honest, after not seeing Dragon Overlord for so many years, she did miss it a little...

Now that Dragon Overlord was doing everything it could to get a Little Mota Dragon from its clan to contract with Qiao Sang, it presumably would not do anything too excessive in front of her.

As these thoughts flickered through her mind, the host had already moved on to the team selection process.

A massive virtual screen appeared out of thin air in the arena.

The photos displayed on it quickly shuffled and switched places.

After roughly ten seconds, the photos froze in pairs.

Qiao Sang swept her gaze over them and immediately spotted her opponent.

Dasha VS Qiao Sang

My opponent is finally a person... Qiao Sang thought.

"Qing Qing?"

Qingbao could not read, but it recognized the people in the photos. It turned and called sweetly, asking whether they should review their opponent's matches from the previous rounds before the battle.

Now that it had stabilized emotionally, it really was different. It had become so much more motivated about competing... Qiao Sang felt both touched and pleased as she said:

"Of—"

Before she could finish, the host's voice rang out:

"The quarterfinal matchups have been decided! Let us welcome the competitors of the first match! Contestant Dasha! And contestant Qiao Sang!"

Qiao Sang changed course with a smile.

"We're in the first match, so it looks like there's no time to watch."

"Qing Qing."

Qingbao called reassuringly, saying that it was fine—it still remembered this opponent's matches.

Qingbao was so nice when it wasn't stirring up wind... Qiao Sang said gently:

"Let's go. It's our turn."

With a wave of her hand, she recalled Qingbao into her Pet Beast Codex.

"Xun Xun~"

Little Treasure beside her did not need any reminder. Blue light glowed in its eyes.

The next second, Qiao Sang appeared in the arena.

At the same time, a brown-haired woman with freckles on her face stood atop a brown bird-type pet beast and shot into the arena with a whoosh.

Dasha jumped down from the brown bird-type pet beast and waved her hand, recalling it into her Pet Beast Codex.

In the spectator stands, some people cheered while others discussed the match.

"There's no suspense in this one, right? A C-rank Pet Tamer against a B-rank Pet Tamer—there's no way she can win."

"Speaking of which, did any of you find information on that Clear Hidden Fairy?"

"Nothing at all. No matter which app you search on, it only says it's a Fairy-type Advanced Pet Beast from Blue Star. There's nothing more."

"I couldn't find anything on the Star Network either. Clear Hidden Fairies must be pretty rare on Blue Star. Hardly anyone talks about them."

"I couldn't find its information, but I took footage of Clear Hidden Fairy's match yesterday and asked around. A Professional Pet Tamer said that its ability to alter the direction of Fairy Wind is called Wind Control, and it's an incredibly powerful ability."

"Wind Control? Just like it sounds?"

"Yeah. It seems that when the Wind Transformation trait reaches a certain level, it gains that ability."

"Holy crap, wouldn't that make it unbeatable against Flying Type pet beasts?"

"Not unbeatable. It can't control the opponent's wind-type skills."

Amid the lively discussion, a pet beast wearing a referee badge appeared out of thin air in the arena and waved a green flag toward the center.

Qiao Sang and Dasha formed Hand Seals with both hands.

A dazzling Scarlet Star Array and an orange-yellow star array lit up simultaneously.

Before long, two pet beasts of noticeably different sizes appeared within their respective star arrays.

Battle Owl, an Advanced Flying Type pet beast. Fierce by nature and fond of living alone, it had highly developed leg muscles and powerful wings, allowing it to easily seize pet beasts its own size and fly with them at high altitudes... Qiao Sang looked at the bird-type pet beast about three meters tall in the distance, with sharp eyes, predominantly brown plumage, and a white crest atop its head. Information about it surfaced in her mind.

Battle Owl looked at its opponent, whose size resembled that of a beginner pet beast, its eyes full of fighting spirit.

Its Pet Tamer had shown it footage of its opponent's previous matches, so it knew that this fellow was a formidable enemy.

"Qing Qing."

Seeing its opponent looking at it, Qingbao gave it a polite smile.

Battle Owl froze for a moment.

"Chirp!"

The referee's whistle sounded at that exact moment.

Battle Owl instantly transformed into a streak of White Light and charged fiercely toward Qingbao.

Just as it was about to collide with Qingbao, Qingbao used Wind Transformation and vanished.

"Battle!"

Battle Owl was not surprised in the slightest. It spread its wings and let out a piercing screech.

As it cried out, rotating airflow immediately rose around its body. The current spiraled upward, swiftly reaching nearly six meters in height.

Then, the tornado swept around the arena, spinning at high speed without any apparent target.

Every speck of dust in its path was drawn into it.

Wind Transformation was far too rare and troublesome an ability, but it was not without countermeasures. Mei Chou Ni had forced Clear Hidden Fairy to reveal itself with its stench the day before yesterday. Battle Owl did not have a similar skill, but it could attack with tornadoes. As long as a tornado swept up the wind Clear Hidden Fairy had transformed into, it could not only force it to reveal itself but also directly damage it... Though she thought her plan was quite good, Dasha still looked nervous.

She simply could not help being nervous.

This was her first time battling a B-rank Pet Tamer.

Guest Area.

The host said:

"Battle Owl has unleashed Tornado. Can this move damage Clear Hidden Fairy while it is using Wind Transformation?"

Leonard looked at the situation in the arena and said:

"If the tornado can sweep Clear Hidden Fairy into it, then yes. But the tornado's range is limited, and Battle Owl is attacking without a target. Clear Hidden Fairy should be able to avoid it."

"Pseudo-Cry."

Pseudo-Crying Ghost nodded, indicating that it thought so too.

However, in the next second, Battle Owl spread its wings again and again.

One current after another formed tornadoes around its body, sweeping toward different areas of the arena.

They seemed to be attacking at random, yet they avoided colliding with one another with remarkable coordination.

"Pseudo-Cry."

Seeing this, Pseudo-Crying Ghost gave an approving cry.

Translations were simultaneously transmitted through the earpieces of the host and Leonard.

Leonard analyzed:

"With so many tornadoes attacking the arena at once, even if Clear Hidden Fairy is faster than the tornadoes, it will sooner or later be swept into one of them. It seems—"

His voice abruptly cut off.

Leonard's eyes widened as he stared at the scene in the arena, his face filled with astonishment.

The host and Pseudo-Crying Ghost looked the same.

W-what is this...? Everyone stared at the arena. Faces filled with shock, disbelief, and surprise all went blank.

In the arena, every rapidly spinning tornado suddenly changed direction in unison, converging on Battle Owl, the one that had created them!

Qingbao's Wind Control did not control only its own wind-type skills. It controlled wind-type skills used by all pet beasts. As long as a wind-type skill did not exceed Qingbao's energy by too much, Qingbao could control it. This was the legendary Darling of the Wind... Qiao Sang watched the situation in the arena with a calm expression.