Gu Xiaoyue VS Jiang Yi
"Hmm? A duel with whom?"
Gu Xiaoyue came back to her senses. She had been hoping that there wouldn't be a fight today; it would have been perfect if Xiao Jiu didn't have to appear, and she wouldn't have to reveal it.
She pointed at herself. "You want to duel me?"
Chu Li, standing nearby, flushed slightly, trying to hold back a laugh—Jiang Yi really knew how to pick, choosing the strongest one right off the bat!
Jiang Yi nodded and said, "Gu Xiaoyue's poster looks great. I wonder if her strength is as stunning as what's shown on the poster."
Gu Xiaoyue nodded in satisfaction. Although Jiang Yi's eye for choosing opponents was poor, he certainly knew how to appreciate beauty.
"Alright, let's have our duel then."
Jiang Yi added another condition: no use of the Qingluan's summoning skill.
It seemed he really was targeting her and had done his homework.
Gu Xiaoyue agreed.
'Sigh'—she would still have to expose Xiao Jiu.
The referee's whistle blew. Jiang Yi quickly drew his summoning circle, while Gu Xiaoyue, by contrast, drew hers unhurriedly and reluctantly.
[Name]: Three-Headed Snow Wolf
[Quality]: Heaven-tier, top grade
[Attribute]: Water attribute, Ice attribute
[Skills]: Water Blade (Advanced), Water Mist (Advanced), Ice Spike (Advanced)
[Level]: Mature stage, Tier 1, Mid-phase
Some students under the stage were whispering, "A Heaven-tier Three-Headed Snow Wolf; no wonder Jiang Yi could lead Yuanquan to defeat Jiangchuan Academy!"
Mature stage, Tier 1 pet beasts were not rare in the top five academies.
However, compared to other academies where even those at Young life stage 9 or 10 were coming to participate in the National Competition, that was indeed quite powerful.
When Gu Xiaoyue's pet beast—Xiao Jiu, looking like a small mountain—appeared on the arena stage, not only the onlookers below but even Chu Li was startled.
"What kind of pet beast is that?"
"I've never seen it before, the brain can't even scan it!"
"Looking at its size, it shouldn't just be at the early phase of the Mature stage, Tier 1."
"A nine-headed snake, ugh!"
Gu Xiaoyue looked at Jiang Yi, and she saw a flicker of panic in his eyes.
It seemed he hadn't expected Gu Xiaoyue to use a nine-headed snake in battle.
Furthermore, the level of this pet beast was likely higher, not lower, than his Snow Wolf.
Hearing the comments about Xiao Jiu from below, Gu Xiaoyue raised her hand and stroked the head closest to her. "Don't mind them. In my eyes, you are the cutest!"
The baby she raised herself—of course she had to pamper it herself!
Preparing for the battle, Gu Xiaoyue took a few steps back, moving out of Jiang Yi's attack range.
"Little Wolf, Water Mist!"
Jiang Yi gave the command to his pet beast, and suddenly, Xiao Jiu was shrouded in mist.
The audience below exclaimed, "Is it ending already?!"
"Once trapped in the Water Mist, it can only take a beating!"
"What's the use of being big? What's the use of a high level? The brain has no record of it; it's not a useful pet beast!"
Gu Xiaoyue curled her lips. Water Mist—she would just evaporate it!
Before she could even command Xiao Jiu, it swept its flames, and the mist surrounding it completely dissipated.
Jiang Yi hadn't expected the nine-headed snake, which had just been trapped in the Water Mist, to disperse it instantly. He had to quickly throw out a Water Blade.
In Gu Xiaoyue's view, the damage and accuracy of this Water Blade were not very high.
She saw one of Xiao Jiu's heads spray a jet of water, neutralizing the force of the Three-Headed Snow Wolf's Water Blade and absorbing it directly into its own water jet.
Jiang Yi's palms were sweating. He commanded the Three-Headed Snow Wolf to fire several Water Blades in succession at Xiao Jiu's different heads.
Attacks from different angles—any other pet beast might have been hit by at least one, but Xiao Jiu was a nine-headed snake!
With nine heads, where could there be a blind spot?
All the Water Blades had their damage neutralized by its water jets.
"What now? Jiang Yi's Water Blades are completely useless!"
"Is he out of options?"
"Come on, Jiang Yi!"
The audience couldn't help but feel anxious for Jiang Yi; some simply started cheering for him.
Seeing this, Zhuang Yanxin and Ye Wanrou also started cheering for Gu Xiaoyue.
"You think it's over?" Jiang Yi smiled confidently, meeting Gu Xiaoyue's calm gaze.
The Water Blades fired by the Three-Headed Snow Wolf and the water sprayed by Xiao Jiu were visibly freezing on the ground.
The ice was forming rapidly, reaching around Xiao Jiu's body, and even spreading upward, threatening to freeze Xiao Jiu's entire body.
"So Jiang Yi was planning to freeze this nine-headed monster!"
"If it freezes, Jiang Yi wins!"
The previously indifferent Gu Xiaoyue revealed a slight smile. This smile fell into Jiang Yi's eyes, and his heart sank—did she have a backup plan?
As it turned out, Jiang Yi's guess was correct. Just as the freezing water touched Xiao Jiu's body, one of its heads spewed out a sky-filling Fire Sea.
Forget the ice; even the surrounding water was evaporated without a drop left!
The Three-Headed Snow Wolf was terrified by the giant Fire Sea before it and retreated with whimpering howls.
Wolves were naturally afraid of fire, let alone a Snow Wolf!
Jiang Yi wanted to urge the Three-Headed Snow Wolf to continue fighting, but it lay on the ground, covering its eyes with its paws, making whimpering sounds and even trembling!
"Get up!"
Jiang Yi shouted at the Three-Headed Snow Wolf, frustrated at its lack of resolve, but it didn't move at all, having already lost its will to fight.
"Alright, are you happy now? No more throwing tantrums, okay!"
As Gu Xiaoyue said this, no one knew who she was talking to, and everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Jiang Yi was also bewildered. Who was she talking to?
Gu Xiaoyue walked over to Xiao Jiu, affectionately stroked it, and recalled it into her Yu Beast Space.
Everyone was stunned. Gu Xiaoyue was talking to her pet beast, and the tone clearly implied that the pet beast was throwing a tantrum at her!
Low-level pet beasts were like combat machines, only following the Beastmaster's commands to fight.
High-grade pet beasts might express basic emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
The intelligence of Gu Xiaoyue's pet beast was actually high enough to throw a tantrum at her!
"What kind of pet beast is this nine-headed snake, anyway?"
The audience below asked Gu Xiaoyue loudly.
She didn't answer and walked straight to the referee. "Jiang Yi's pet beast has lost its will to fight. Aren't you going to declare me the winner?"
The referee had also been shocked by Gu Xiaoyue's words just moments ago.
In his career as a referee, he had indeed seen a few pet beasts with high intelligence that could communicate with their Beastmasters.
But they were all Beastmasters above the quasi-legendary level; there were none at Gu Xiaoyue's age!
Gu Xiaoyue's words brought the referee back to his senses. He blew the whistle to end the match—Nanya Academy wins!
She looked at Jiang Yi. His expression was a bit disappointed. Perhaps he also knew that Yuanquan's overall strength was definitely not as good as Nanya's, which was why he asked for a duel.
It was just a pity he chose the wrong opponent; maybe against someone else, he might have had a chance, instead of this one-sided crushing defeat.
That night, all the matches of the preliminary rounds concluded, and the top ten academies and their points were released.
The top five academies in the nation all had perfect records, while the other five teams had only lost one match each.
The teams advancing to the finals were Chengbei Academy from Group A, Luoshui Academy from Group B, Sheng Tao Academy from Group D, and Yiheng Academy from Group E.
Of course, the most talked-about one was Yuanquan Academy, which was once ranked 26th and had now squeezed into the national top ten.
That night, Chu Li went to draw lots to determine the first match of the finals the next day.
The finals were still based on a points system, and the highest score would be the national champion.
In the end, it was still about getting a perfect record; strength was the ultimate truth.
The captain of Huaqing specifically approached Chu Li and said to him, "I am very much looking forward to the battle against Nanya."