Beast Taming: Starting From Zero-Chapter 760: Ice Aipalu vs. Douleng Duck
Information on celebrity contestants was easy to find, a quick search turned up everything.
However, since Qiao Sang wasn’t familiar with these contestants from the Chaosu Star, it was hard to tell if the information she found was real or fake. But one thing was consistent across all reports online: Their contracted pet beasts.
Although she had already gotten a rough idea of each contestant before, after confirming who her opponent was that day, Qiao Sang picked up her phone and searched for Stella’s name again.
[Stella, female, 34 years old, born in District 9, Class C Beastmaster, pet performance artist, actress, singer. Awakened independently at age 14. Her family spent six months to find a purebred Gel Duck for her to contract with…]
As she was reading, Pirite suddenly spoke up beside her: “You should contract purebred pet beasts in the future too.”
Clearly, he had glanced at her phone... Qiao Sang muttered in her heart, then said, “I care more about fate when it comes to contracting pet beasts.”
Talent was important, of course, but since she had a golden finger (cheat ability), whether the beast was purebred or not wasn’t such a big deal.
Unless the beast had something obviously superior compared to others, like that time the dean of the Item Department tempted her with a purebred Thundercrack Dragon egg, otherwise, she rarely got tempted.
Fate? Maybe others could say that, but you’re aiming for the Interstellar Cup and you’re still talking about fate? All the top players in the Interstellar Cup, whose pet beasts aren’t carefully selected? Hearing this, Pirite felt it was both absurd and exactly the kind of thing Qiao Sang would do.
He wanted to explain that choosing pet beasts wasn’t something so simple, but then he saw the Fire Qilu in her arms, and recalled her other three pet beasts…
Pirite fell silent.
Forget it, maybe the ones 'fated' to be with her just happen to be exceptional too...
Just then, Qiao Sang asked: “Are purebred pet beasts more likely to awaken innate skills?”
Pirite gave a sound of affirmation.
Qiao Sang asked again, “What’s the Gel Duck’s innate skill?”
Pirite thought for a moment and said, “Impact Absorption. The feathers on its head have a shock-absorbing quality. Generally, it uses its head to take hits when attacked.”
In that case… aim for other parts of the body instead. Qiao Sang pondered.
---
Half an hour later.
The announcer's passionate voice rang out in the arena: "Now entering the arena: Contestant Stella! And Contestant Qiao Sang!"
"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"
"Stella! Stella!"
As soon as the two walked onto the stage, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Both Qiao Sang and Stella were extremely popular contestants.
As they took their positions, some of the audience began excitedly discussing: "Who do you think will win?"
"Probably Stella. Qiao Sang is strong, but her sealing speed is a weakness. If Stella gets the first move, the match might be over right then and there. After all, matches between professional beast masters can be decided in an instant."
"True for a standard match, but Stella probably won’t have her pet beast come out and immediately use a big move to end it quickly."
"Why not?"
"Are you stupid? This is the Beast Tamer Star Tournament. So many media outlets are covering it. Stella has sponsorships for all kinds of gear, she has to use them all in front of the public. If she ends it too quickly, none of those products get showcased."
"But if her opponent is Qiao Sang, and she doesn’t use her sealing speed advantage to finish it quickly, wouldn’t the rest of the match be tough?"
"That depends on what Stella decides."
---
On the field.
Stella… Qiao Sang looked straight ahead, her gaze landing on the woman wearing a leather jacket and pants, with naturally wavy brown hair.
Qiao Sang… Stella's heart grew heavy, though she maintained a polite smile on her face.
She didn’t underestimate her opponent just because she was underage.
On the contrary, as a professional beast master, she knew better than anyone how tricky this girl could be.
A mechanical voice echoed across the arena: “3, 2, 1, battle start!”
As soon as the voice fell, Qiao Sang quickly formed seals.
The recent training had improved her hand speed significantly, at least compared to before, but against an experienced veteran like Stella, she was still a bit slower.
An orange-yellow star array lit up first in front of Stella.
A six-meter-tall, dark-blue duck-type pet beast appeared from the array. Its head had silvery-white feathers styled like bangs, its waist and ankles bore pale blue wave-like patterns, and three teardrop-shaped feathers shimmered brightly at the end of its tail
Douleng Duck. Water and Fighting-type. General-level pet beast. The evolved form of the Gel Duck… Qiao Sang’s hands froze in the final sealing pose as she gazed at the creature, its profile flashing through her mind.
Pulling out her ace right away? She really thinks highly of me…
Without a single command from Stella, the Douleng Duck's eyes glowed deep blue.
Suddenly, six water jets burst from the ground like furious serpents, writhing violently as they lashed at a still-forming figure.
"The Douleng Duck makes the first move!" The announcer’s voice echoed with excitement.
"And now, Qiao Sang’s summoned beast is...Ice Aipalu!"
As Lubao appeared, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
The Douleng Duck paused for just a moment before continuing to control the water jets toward its target.
The six streams were now only half a meter away from Lubao, who had just barely emerged.
Seeing the attack so close, Lubao’s pupils shrank. Just then, she heard her master’s voice: “Jump!”
“Lu Ai!”
Without time to think, Lubao leapt into the oncoming water attack, then disappeared.
The six jets hit nothing, splashing across the ground.
Melting Water trait… Stella’s brows furrowed.
"Ice Aipalu dove into the water burst! But it didn’t get knocked away, it just melted in and vanished from sight!" The announcer exclaimed passionately.
"But clearly, Ice Aipalu took a serious hit too. Still, since it didn’t reappear, Douleng Duck can’t follow up with another direct attack."
The announcer was right. With its legs tensed, Douleng Duck had been about to charge in and attack up close, but it now paused on the spot.
This short exchange sparked lively discussions from the crowd: "I didn’t expect Ice Aipalu to have the Melting Water trait!"
"Why didn’t it just use Ice Field Domain?"
"Didn’t you see how fast the water attack came? There was no time to charge up energy."
"Wait, can Melting Water really absorb water attacks like that?"
"No, that trait must be A or S-level. Normally, pet beasts with Melting Water can’t melt into water that fast, especially not water charged with elemental energy. Even if they do, they’d get hit by internal impacts and be forced out of the state."
"Then why didn’t Ice Aipalu get forced out?"
"Didn’t you hear the announcer? It must be holding on through sheer willpower."
---
Lubao had water storage properties, and since it had reached B-level, she should have been able to withstand the impact of the Water Surge just now without injury… Qiao Sang calmly sensed Lubao's condition and location.
Ice Aipalu was injured too. It was uncertain whether it could still use the Ice Field Domain in its current state… But for now, one thing was certain: The tempo was still in her hands… Stella said without a moment’s hesitation: “Shake!”
“Dou Leng!”
Hearing its beastmaster’s command, Douleng Duck raised its lower right limb, and blue energy instantly gathered as it lifted.
Then, it stomped down hard.
The ground trembled.
The droplets of water scattered across the ground from the previous Water Surge attack suddenly floated into the air!
Douleng Duck made a move, bursting forth at incredible speed, turning into a blur as it used both hands and feet, striking the airborne water droplets with Fighting-type moves.
Because Douleng Duck was so fast, it attacked the majority of the water droplets in a flash, making them seem frozen in midair.
Almost there… Qiao Sang focused entirely on the scene before her, heart racing, not daring to be careless.
Just as the blur that was Douleng Duck appeared in a specific location, Qiao Sang shouted: “Now!”
As the words rang out, it was as if Douleng Duck understood. The muscles in its striking arm suddenly swelled to twice their size.
Water droplets burst apart.
Yet, the figure they expected to appear did not show up.
Douleng Duck froze for a moment.
It didn’t notice that from a puddle on the ground, Lubao’s head suddenly shot out!
At that moment, a massive surge of water instantly enveloped it!
“Below!” Stella’s voice rose sharply.
But it was already too late. In the instant her voice rang out, the massive column of water struck Douleng Duck right in the rear!
“Dou Leng!”
The impact sent Douleng Duck screaming as it was launched a considerable distance into the air, then began to fall.
Just as it was about to crash into the ground, Stella shouted: “Use water to cushion!”
Douleng Duck, head facing down, fired a water gun.
The force of the water gun greatly slowed its descent.
Suddenly, everything around Douleng Duck seemed to darken.
In a wide-angle view, a massive ice spike, like a small mountain, appeared directly above it!
“Above!” As soon as the massive spike appeared, Stella shouted a warning.
“Dou Leng!”
Douleng Duck, with its head facing downward, couldn’t see the danger above, it only knew something was up there.
It continued spraying its water gun.
At the same time, the muscles in its lower limbs tightened, gathering a thick layer of white energy.
Boom!
Douleng Duck landed headfirst, performing a handstand, and used its legs to hold up the mountain-sized ice spike.
Well damn, that’s impressive… Qiao Sang looked at the pose Douleng Duck had struck and was almost tempted to take out her phone to snap a photo, but she knew this wasn’t the time for that.
“Again!” Qiao Sang called out excitedly.
“Dou Leng!”
Douleng Duck bent its knees slightly, then explosively kicked upwards with even greater force!
Crack! A sharp cracking sound followed as the ice spike instantly became covered in fractures.
But at that moment, another mountain-sized ice spike appeared atop the previous one!
“Ice Aipalu has used Gigantancide Spike again! Can Douleng Duck handle it?!” The commentator exclaimed with excitement.
“Dou Leng…”
Veins bulged on Douleng Duck’s forehead as it grit its teeth and held on.
Then, yet another massive ice spike appeared in the air and slammed hard onto the second spike.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the first spike shattered completely, and Douleng Duck’s head sank deep into the ground.
This isn't good… Stella's heart sank as she shouted: “Use an item!”
The fourth, fifth, sixth…
By the time the seventh giant ice spike slammed down onto Douleng Duck, its entire body had been driven into the earth.
Oof, that’s brutal… The scene prompted many in the audience to pull out their phones and start snapping pictures and recording.
“Douleng Duck has been crushed under one Gigantancide Spike after another! Will this be the end of the match?!” The commentator's voice rang out.
Douleng Duck had an innate skill to absorb impact, and Stella had just called for an item to be used, but since Douleng Duck hadn’t moved much, the item was likely used to protect its head… Was it a defensive item? Qiao Sang looked at the field and thought: It might still be too soon to declare this over.
She gave Lubao a signal.
Lubao immediately understood.
“Lu Ai!”
She opened her mouth, raised her head slightly, and cried out.
The temperature across the field suddenly dropped.
Snowflakes, which had stopped earlier, began falling again, large and full of chilling energy.
Ice Flower Seal… This won’t do. I have to act before the Ice Flower Seal settles… Stella knew the battle had reached a critical juncture and couldn’t help but shout: “10 seconds!”
This was a cue Douleng Duck recognized, it meant it had only 10 seconds to end the match.
“Dou Leng!”
Buried underground, Douleng Duck’s head was now coated with a solid white light, as if wearing a helmet.
It gave a shout, and a strong current of water suddenly surged from its body.
At the same time, all its muscles swelled, covered in a white energy. Then, it began to twist and spin.
It spun faster and faster, becoming a massive, rotating vortex of water.
BOOM!!!
Just when everyone thought the match was over, a spinning torrent burst from underground, shattering one giant ice spike after another!
Then, it suddenly changed direction, charging straight at Ice Aipalu!
Too fast to dodge… Qiao Sang instinctively shouted: “Aurora Veil!”
Earlier, Lubao could melt water into Douleng Duck’s Water Surge because that was purely a special attack. But this time, Douleng Duck was inside the spinning torrent, clearly a mix of special and physical attack. If it hit, Lubao would be seriously hurt.
Trying to dodge with a water gun-style movement would be pointless, she’d be caught in under a second.
Even using her melting water trait wouldn’t work. At this speed, the attack would lock onto the last known location and strike there.
Qiao Sang didn’t know why, but although it resembled Water Gun, something about it felt far more dangerous.
She had only one thought: This must not be taken head-on!
Since that’s the case, the only option left… is defense!
Aurora Veil could only be used during hail or snowfall.
And Ice Flower Seal was snow!
“Lu Ai!”
Lubao cried out, and in an instant, the space around her seemed to unfold like a celestial curtain, blooming with infinite, dazzling colors.
The stunning scene on the field caused gasps from the audience. One by one, people raised their phones to capture the moment.
The conditions to use Aurora Veil were too strict for the Chaosu Star people, who lived in a land of constant temperate weather, nearly 90% of them had never seen it used live.
Most had only heard about it.
Boom!
With a loud bang, Douleng Duck smashed directly into Lubao.
Lubao was knocked flying, pebbles flying everywhere.
Hit! Stella’s eyes lit up.
But in the next second, she saw Ice Aipalu slowly rise from the ground, seemingly not seriously injured at all.
Aurora Veil! That damn Aurora Veil! Stella’s face darkened and she almost coughed up blood.
She knew that if this attack failed to knock out Ice Aipalu, then this match, was lost.
Looking again at Douleng Duck, just after completing its attack, the water around its body hadn’t even fully dispersed when it was instantly covered in delicate ice flowers, like an exquisite work of art resting in the snow.
