292: Most children from aristocratic families have no choice

Gu Xiaoyue's expression was a little troubled. How did she inexplicably get this nickname?

It was the same during the National Competition. Was she really that cold?

Her expression management should have been fine!

She glanced at Chu Li, who was stifling a laugh, and Duan Yao, who was openly laughing, beside her. "Watch your manners while eating, don't choke!"

Even though Gu Xiaoyue hadn't truly summoned her pets for battle, her reputation in her competition group was spread far and wide, and her nickname was mystifyingly exaggerated.

It's just that the popularity wasn't as high as the other competition group. Not only were their strengths more formidable, but there were also more emotional gossip stories.

Gossip is human nature, so the other competition group's popularity was much higher.

The female contestants at the next table continued their discussion, and every word reached Gu Xiaoyue's ears.

"There's a gossip weekly that interviewed Duan Zhuochen from Long Country, mentioning his romantic life.

It's said that he currently has a girlfriend, but his family still wants to arrange a marriage alliance for him."

"He didn't admit it! I was right there during the interview. He ended the interview directly, and that reporter was furious, already threatening to release news about Duan Zhuochen acting like a diva.

Too much popularity is also very troublesome. Some unscrupulous media will even fabricate scandals if there are none!"

"He's not afraid at all!

The Duan Family's influence in Long Country is immense. You should worry about that reporter instead!"

They had almost finished eating, chatting as they took their trays to the cleaning area.

Gu Xiaoyue looked at Duan Yao with confusion, noticing that her expression seemed a little unnatural. She must have also heard the conversation just now.

She leaned close to Duan Yao's ear and whispered, "Does Duan Zhuochen really have a girlfriend?"

Seeing Duan Yao nod slightly, Gu Xiaoyue's confusion reached its peak.

"Didn't you say before that the Duan Family intended—"

"That's what they say, but neither of us agreed!"

Duan Yao faced Gu Xiaoyue seriously, "We both have people we like, but the Duan Family head has invested heavily in resources for me and Brother Zhuochen.

If we don't obey the family head's arrangements, then at the very least, we need to show the ability to defy his wishes, and also return sufficient benefits to the Duan Family. No one would do a losing business, right?"

When Duan Yao was kidnapped by Xiao Hongjun and Xiao Yun, she said that all of her God-Rank Pets were companion beasts.

Even if that statement was true, and she had God Rank talent, it would be impossible for her to raise the Vermilion Bird and Azure Dragon to mature eighth-tier mid-stage in just three years.

Duan Yao's situation was understandable, but Duan Zhuochen must have received even more resources.

No wonder he didn't participate in the World Championships before and only came out this time.

On the surface, it was to bring glory to Long Country, but in reality, he wanted to use his strength to demonstrate the Duan Family's unshakeable position in Long Country.

Also, the World Championships offer generous prize money and might attract many brand endorsements.

After working hard for a few years to repay the Duan Family's investment, he could be free from the family head's restrictions.

Gu Xiaoyue thought a lot. She felt that things wouldn't be so simple.

Children from large families and royal families of other countries are often not in control of their own lives and cannot live according to their own wishes.

"Are you done eating? We should go prepare for the competition."

Duan Yao saw that Gu Xiaoyue was a bit distracted and reminded her.

Soon, it would be their two single Thunder Attribute matches.

Duan Yao's opponent was a contestant from a small country.

Gu Xiaoyue's opponent was Noah Jones from Lijian Country. They had met once before, but she didn't expect to be arranged for a Thunder Attribute showdown.

"Noah is a hot favorite to win the single Thunder Attribute. We can take this opportunity to learn more about his combat strength. We're very likely to encounter him in the team competition later!"

Shui Lingyu didn't rush Gu Xiaoyue to eat faster. They all believed in her strength; even if she couldn't win, she would at least be on par with Noah.

However, in a competition where two contestants are equally matched, who can definitively say who will win?

"Lv Hao won against the contestant from Bingjiang Country yesterday and specially came to show off to me!

What strength does that small country of Bingjiang have?

Winning is expected, losing is what's embarrassing!"

Duan Yao grumbled beside her, and after Gu Xiaoyue finished eating, she even chewed a few more bites of fruit.

This was fruit she had packed to take to the arena to eat, and since Gu Xiaoyue hadn't finished, she ate a few more bites here.

"You're overthinking it, he just looked at you after reporting to Coach Huo."

Chu Li couldn't help but defend Lv Hao, "He didn't mean to show off at all."

"How could it be such a coincidence (chew, chew, chew), I don't believe it!"

Chu Li shrugged, ignoring Duan Yao's rebuttal.

Perhaps girls are more sensitive; he truly didn't see that much into it.

After Gu Xiaoyue finished eating, they left the dining hall together.

Shui Lingyu and Chu Li were going to participate in the single Dark Attribute competition. They separated a few steps after leaving the dining hall, each heading to their respective competition stadiums.

Gu Xiaoyue had checked Chu Li and Shui Lingyu's schedule in advance; they shouldn't lose today.

As for herself, on the surface, her strength seemed similar to Noah's.

Her Xiao Qi was Lord-level, both of its Thunder-type skills were already perfect, and the Thunder Net had never been used, which was her trump card.

But Noah was the son of the Lijian Country's Prime Minister, practically akin to a prince.

How many trump cards did he have that hadn't been fully revealed—

Gu Xiaoyue was still in the waiting area for contestants, contemplating her battle plan, when Duan Yao had already achieved victory.

"You don't need to be too fixated on winning or losing. Sometimes, losing is winning!"

Coach Huo patted her shoulder. He also hoped for Gu Xiaoyue to win, but Lijian Country had always been first in the World Championships, and their strength and position were truly difficult to shake.

Shui Lingyu and Coach Huo shared the same idea. It would be good if the two of them could have a back-and-forth battle.

Allowing Noah to fully unleash his combat power for Long Country to study tactics would also be a good thing.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Short Play:

Gu Xiaoyue woke up to the sky falling.

All of her pets had turned into 40-centimeter Q-version dolls, each looking up at her from beside the bed.

"Xiao Yue, my pets—"

Chu Li and Shui Lingyu pushed the door open and entered, but Gu Xiaoyue used Wind Control to blow them out of her room.

"No matter how urgent, you should knock! Did your pets also turn into dolls?"

She sighed, got up, and put on a jacket before opening the door for them.

"Yes! They did. Don't tell me you also—"

Chu Li was sweating profusely, completely disregarding Gu Xiaoyue's action of just kicking them out of the room.

Gu Xiaoyue gestured with her hand, showing them that all twelve of her pets were here.

"I also got hit, and I didn't even summon them, they just appeared here!"

"What's going on? It seems not all Beastmasters are like this."

Shui Lingyu frowned and spoke, apparently he had already asked others, and currently, only the three of them were known to be abnormal.

"This must be a conspiracy targeting powerful Beastmasters like us!

I suspect we've been poisoned!"

Chu Li looked at Gu Xiaoyue worriedly, but she wasn't anxious at all.

"Have you tried your pets' combat power? Has it changed?"

Gu Xiaoyue stroked Xiao Qi and Xiao Lan's heads. She thought they were so cute!

Yinglong and Hou usually had fierce expressions, but now they had a fierce yet adorable look.

This made Gu Xiaoyue unable to resist kissing, hugging, and lifting them one by one.

"Combat power hasn't changed, it's just that the bond isn't as deep as before, and they're not as easy to command and control."

"Then it's fine. At worst, we'll just stay home for now and not take commissions from the Beastmaster Association.

I think it's a magnetic field disturbance, or maybe they're just tired and want a vacation!"

Before Gu Xiaoyue finished speaking, Chu Li's Fire Phoenix Q-version doll appeared out of thin air, wiggling its way towards Qingqing.

It gave her a big bear hug when it reached her side. The faces of the two dolls were flushed as if they had blush on, looking vibrant and lively.

Youming Tiger also came out, waddling to Gu Xiaoyue's side and hugging her leg.

"You, you guys—"

Chu Li's face turned completely red with embarrassment at their actions. One was only thinking of his lover, and the other seemed to want to change owners!

Gu Xiaoyue glanced at the brain on Fire Phoenix and Youming Tiger's wrists, then asked Shui Lingyu, "Do your Nine-Tailed Fox and Jade Kirin also have brains equipped?"

Shui Lingyu was puzzled but nodded in affirmation.

Gu Xiaoyue held Xiao Lan in her arms, took off its brain, and opened it, clearly seeing a group name: "Pet Alliance."

She scrolled through the chat history for a while, then raised her hand and poked each pet's little head.

"If you wanted to rest, you could have just said so! You even ate the Foaming Snow Grass Buds I brought back last time. It's hard to believe you're so coordinated!"

Foaming Snow Grass Buds were pet wish-granting herbs that could fulfill one wish of the pet that ate them, with a ten-year cooldown.

Gu Xiaoyue encountered a patch of Foaming Snow Grass Buds during an adventure in a secret realm and collected them all into her Yu Beast Space.

She found it fun and even shared some with Chu Li and Shui Lingyu, never expecting that the pets of the three of them would conspire to prank them.

Once the Foaming Snow Grass Buds were completely metabolized from their bodies, the time limit would expire, and everything would return to normal.

It was hard to believe they even created a group chat for this purpose to discuss their strategy.

Wasn't this a premeditated strike!

Gu Xiaoyue looked at Chu Li and Shui Lingyu, speaking word by word.

"I plan to kill five thousand—no, ten thousand fierce beasts once they recover, and also cut off their snacks for two months. What about you?"