"Go, go, go!!!"

"...Dammit, go Liu Yuhang!"

Their voices were lost in the roar of the crowd. Liu Yuhang couldn’t hear them. Or perhaps he knew his classmates were cheering for him, and all he had to do was focus completely on the match...

None of that mattered.

Fang Yuan calmly gathered his thoughts.

「The race light turned from blue to green—」

"DING!"

"SWOOSH—"

The instant the Race Bell rang, a blast of air erupted on the stage.

transformed into a blurry white shadow and shot straight for Xue Li. She didn’t bother with feints or roundabout paths; a straight line was the cleanest, most powerful, and most confident route of attack.

In all her previous matches, including the quarterfinals, 004 had used the same tactic: a rapid assault to mow down her opponents effortlessly.

For one, the city league’s schedule was packed. High-intensity blitzes could quickly finish off opponents, saving time and stamina.

For another, it helped preserve Fang Yuan’s core competitive edge.

Of course, 004 knew more than just blitz tactics. But unless absolutely necessary, Fang Yuan had no intention of giving his future opponents material to study before the finals.

The Strong Attack assault was a straightforward strategy. The counter was simple: just be faster and stronger. But because of its simple brutality, all of 004’s previous opponents had been helpless against it.

"SWISH SWISH SWISH—"

004’s fists left several trails of flashing white light in the air.

Fang Yuan, who had been full of disdain just a second ago, widened his eyes in surprise.

Facing 004’s surprise attack, Xue Li had actually dodged every blow with equally fast reflexes!

Although her evasive maneuvers involved a lot of backpedaling—essentially trading space for time—she hadn’t been forced into a passive position at all!

"Quack!" (Eat my beak!)

Xue Li sidestepped 004’s Jab and thrust her beak forward in a vicious peck.

instinctively raised a claw to block, but Xue Li’s beak clamped down on her Rune Chain instead.

Then, Xue Li twisted her body, putting force into her neck, and flung 004 toward the edge of the arena!

However, that wasn’t enough. Telekinesis Element Pet Beasts could all levitate, making it hard to knock them out of the ring with a simple throw.

"Quack!"

Xue Li stomped her foot and spread her wings. A pillar of water shot up from the ground, striking viciously at 004 in midair.

A Water Element High Level Extraordinary Skill, Towering Waves!

The crowd erupted in an uproar. Xue Li had used this move in previous matches, but it had never been this ferocious.

Everyone had just thought of Liu Yuhang as a slightly more talented than average person and hadn’t paid him much mind...

Now was his moment to shock them all!

"SPLASH—"

The sound of an impact came from within the torrent of water, but there was no sign of 004.

A moment later, a blurry white shadow flashed by—004 appeared at Xue Li’s flank. A flame shaped like a sharp arrow gathered in front of her and shot howling toward Xue Li.

White Flame·Blade Form!

This was another one of 004’s standard defensive counter-tactics: use a Telekinesis Clone to bait the opponent into a continuous offense, then wait for an opening to break their rhythm with a sudden strike.

A Pet Beast is at its most defenseless, both mentally and physically, when it’s in the middle of unleashing a Skill.

However, faced with 004’s aggressive counter, Xue Li dodged with a fluid side-hop.

At the same time, the torrent of water changed direction, transforming from Towering Waves into a Flowing Shield that intercepted the subsequent flickers of White Flame.

Thanks to the hellish training regimen designed by Du Gang, Xue Li’s control over the Water Element had long since surpassed the standard for her tier!

"WHOOSH—"

The Flowing Shield flew out in the opposite direction, whistling as it rushed toward 004.

Faced with a Flowing Shield that covered half the arena, even a Pet Beast with 004’s agility could only dodge in one predictable direction.

Lying in wait, Xue Li had already taken aim with High-pressure Water Gun. The moment 004 appeared, she fired a volley of powerful streams!

With no room to dodge, 004 could only take the hit head-on, getting knocked back again and again.

"The Hao Waterfowl’s counterattack is incredibly fierce and relentless! We’re seeing the popular Pet Beast 004, who mowed down opponents in the early rounds, forced onto the back foot for the first time!"

So said the commentator for this semifinal match.

The bullet comments were also more than a little lively:

[Viewer38128: This Hao Waterfowl has some tricks up its sleeve! To think it could push 004 this hard!]

[Frost Shadow Qtm: I heard the ones fighting are God Su’s classmate and his bro?]

[Annihilation: Spill the tea on the bro!]

[Day after Day: I saw the two of them shopping and eating together. It was pretty cute...]

[Jade Balance 001: I don’t get it, but I’m shook.jpg]

[Tricolor Wanzi: Where did you guys come from? Why are you talking about such weird stuff all of a sudden...]

In the stands, seeing Xue Li thwart two of 004’s attacks in a row, Shao Ya and Su Zhi shared a hard high-five.

They both froze for a second, blinked at each other, and then turned back to the match.

"Xue Li’s performance is amazing. Liu Yuhang must be using some Pet Synchronization techniques, right?" Su Zhi asked curiously.

Pet Synchronization isn’t a Skill, but a state where the Beast Tamer’s Spirit and Pet Beast become deeply aligned during command.

This allows the Beast Tamer to maintain an objective viewpoint while also deeply sensing the Pet Beast’s condition, enabling them to subconsciously make the most rational decisions and micro-adjustments.

"That’s right. The class rep’s fighting style has always leaned toward Pet Synchronization. It puts a heavy strain on the body and Spirit, which I think is why Teacher Zhou had Senior Du Gang train him."

Shao Ya nodded but frowned slightly.

"But it’s still going to be tough."

"Tough? She’s already doing great, isn’t she?"

"She is. But don’t forget, there’s a definite gap between Xue Li’s Energy Value and 004’s. Sometimes, Energy Value can decide everything."

Shao Ya puffed out her cheeks slightly. "Xue Li is fighting very well, but she’s actually draining very little of 004’s energy. If this keeps up, the outcome is still hard to say."

"Hiss... True..."

"It’s the White Flame Battle Spirit’s Racial Skill! White Flame Soldier’s Blade! 004 is drawing its sword!"

The commentator’s passionate voice drew the audience’s attention back to the arena—

Facing the surging High-pressure Water Gun, 004’s hands transformed into twin blades amid a shimmer of pale pink light.

With a flash of blades, all the streams of water were sliced into harmless splashes.

Amidst the falling spray, 004’s blade work was calm, precise, and elegant, like a waltz.

Born of Fire, forged by Telekinesis, sharpened by battle. A blade forged from the secrets of three elements—this was the White Flame Soldier’s Blade!

From his command position, Fang Yuan finally turned his gaze to Liu Yuhang on the opposite side, his feelings somewhat complicated.

Fang Yuan had to admit that this unremarkable-looking boy with the Wooden Sword was causing him unexpected trouble.

He wasn’t some random mob that could be dealt with easily, but a worthy opponent.

Looking at Liu Yuhang’s clear and focused gaze, Fang Yuan composed himself and focused his own Spirit to an even higher degree.

’In that case,’ he thought, ’before I defeat Su Zhi, I will defeat you first!’

"WHOOSH!"

brandished her twin blades and became a white shadow, lunging straight for Xue Li.

Xue Li used High-pressure Water Gun to intercept, but 004 sliced it apart with a head-on slash!

"BOOM!"

The blade edge struck the ground, creating an explosive roar. A gash was forcibly gouged into the solid arena floor!

"Don’t get drawn into a close-quarters fight! Create some distance!"

"Quack!"

Xue Li leaped into the air, evading the attack.

At the same time, a light-blue energy glowed, and a monstrous wave erupted between her and 004.

There was a considerable gap in their Real-time Energy Values. Even though Towering Waves was a powerful Water Element Output Skill, it didn’t cause much damage to 004.

However, using the recoil from the water current, Xue Li successfully launched herself high into the air, creating distance from 004!

Twenty meters, thirty meters, forty meters...

As she neared the ceiling of the venue, Xue Li faced the arena below, spread her wings, and her petite body was covered in Lan Guang.

Simultaneously, a huge, light-blue Light Array slowly materialized directly beneath her. It was so large that it was even a full circle wider than the twenty-meter diameter standard arena below.

Runes flowed across it, and the Light Array grew progressively brighter...

For the first time since the competition began, a hint of panic appeared on the usually expressionless face of Fang Yuan:

"Use Refusing Flame Blessing’s support! Prepare to withstand the impact!"

At his command, 004 quickly spread her arms. One after another, small, basketball-sized pink Light Arrays appeared around her, rotating slowly.

Refusing Flame Blessing, a White Flame Battle Spirit Racial Skill. It was a Fire and Telekinesis Element Middle Elite Skill.

Each Light Array possessed a certain amount of Defense Power. When the White Flame Battle Spirit was attacked, the damage would be transferred to the Light Arrays first, until they shattered.

However, this Skill didn’t give Fang Yuan much confidence—

"QUACK!"

Xue Li spread her wings, her body instantly enveloped in a light-blue radiance.

Water poured down from the Light Array. In an instant, a colossal pillar of water twenty meters in diameter covered the entire arena, like a flood from mythology!

The Hao Waterfowl’s Racial Skill, a Water Element Middle Elite Skill—

Broken Waterfall Judgment!

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Day 8 of writing 10k words a day! This Broken Waterfall Judgment is basically a high-pressure water gun with a 20,000-millimeter caliber. Yep, you can just imagine that.