Beast Taming: Starting From Zero
Chapter 763: Elastic Bear

6:25 PM.

Open-air Beast Taming Arena.

Contestant Area.

Many people’s eyes were focused on a certain red pet beast whose appearance was clearly different from before.

Yabao held his head slightly high, enjoying the attention from the crowd.

Pirite hesitated for a while, then couldn’t help asking, "Where did you get that styling done?"

Qiao Sang paused for a moment.

"Xieli Pet Salon, at 221 Kurga Street."

Pirite also paused.

Are you being serious right now…? Qiao Sang looked at Pirite with a slightly complicated expression.

To be honest, if she hadn’t invested in that Xieli Pet Salon herself, she probably wouldn’t ever go there again in her life.

Yabao usually had such a cool head, but they turned him into a firecracker.

Yabao puffed out his chest even more after hearing their conversation.

He was quite pleased with his new look.

Pirite resisted looking at Fire Qilu and got back to the main topic.

“Do you feel confident about the upcoming match?”

“I’m confident, but not absolutely certain.” Qiao Sang said.

It wasn’t that she lacked confidence, but the remaining three contestants were all slightly stronger than her in areas besides pet skill mastery.

Especially hand speed...

Thinking of this, Qiao Sang raised her hand and began practicing hand seals.

Pirite paused when he saw her but then smiled in satisfaction.

At that moment, the announcer’s passionate voice echoed across the arena: “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the live broadcast of the Beast Tamer Star Tournament! Tonight! We’re entering the semifinals of this season’s tournament! Who will be the two contestants advancing to the final showdown?!”

Cheers and screams erupted as the crowd shouted out the names of their favorite contestants.

“Let’s look to the big screen!” The announcer continued.

Following his words, a giant virtual screen lit up above the central arena, displaying four photos.

The images quickly shuffled.

Ten seconds later, they froze in place.

Qiao Sang looked at the photo of her opponent, a square-faced man with thick eyebrows and dark red hair.

Compared to the other well-groomed and polished contestants, this one had a rougher, more rugged vibe.

Just then, Pirite spoke: “Wakhe, a Class-C professional beast tamer. Unlike the others, he specializes in the Fighting type, all his contracted pets are of that type. He’s basically a Fighting-type expert.”

“I know.” Qiao Sang said seriously.

She had done her research. The guy had participated in various Fighting-type tournaments. Later, in a beast arena championship, he’d even defeated a Psychic-type beast using a Fighting-type one, making his name in one bold move.

Beating a same-level Psychic-type with a Fighting-type? This opponent was definitely no joke.

Pirite kept a calm expression and said, “Just go at your own pace. Don’t let him disrupt your rhythm.”

Qiao Sang nodded.

“I understand.”

After speaking, she didn’t wait for the staff to come over and walked toward the passageway with Yabao in her arms.

Now that only four contestants remained, there wasn’t much waiting time, it would soon be her turn.

---

Fifteen minutes later.

The announcer’s voice echoed into the corridor: “Now entering the field: Contestants Wakhe and Qiao Sang!”

Qiao Sang waved her hand and stored Yabao back into her Beast Codex, then stepped outside the passageway.

At the same time, Wakhe was waving to the audience and confidently striding into the arena.

Cheers and shouting surged.

The match hadn’t even started, but the crowd was already fired up.

The semifinal contestants had been announced the night before, and those who managed to grab tickets today were all die-hard fans.

“Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!”

“Wakhe! Wakhe!”

“Qiao Sang! Check your DMs!”

“Wakhe! Fighting never admits defeat!”

Aside from the fans of Qiao Sang and Wakhe, the other two semifinalists’ supporters were relatively calm.

“Do you think Qiao Sang will use Fire Qilu this match?”

“Probably. That Fire Qilu even got styled up, if she doesn’t send it out, wouldn’t that styling go to waste?”

“By the way, that look is really unique! Where’d she get it done?”

“Who knows? If you like it, just take a photo and show it to a beast salon for a copy.”

“Who do you guys think will win between Qiao Sang and Wakhe?”

“Qiao Sang, I’d say. Her pets have diverse and rare attributes. Forget about Ice Aipalu and Fire Qilu, just that Ghost Ring King alone could probably take on two in a row.”

“True. Ghost-type and Psychic-type both counter Fighting-type, and all of Wakhe’s pets are Fighting-type. It’s a natural counter.”

“But I’m not so sure. Even if Wakhe’s pets are all Fighting-type, that doesn’t mean they’re purely Fighting-type. And Ghost Ring King is kind of a glass cannon, if it gets hit by a non-Fighting-type ultimate, the match could be over.”

“Ghost Ring King isn’t that fragile though.”

“I watched Wakhe’s famous match. He got crushed early on, but then took the win with one final move. It’s not that Ghost Ring King is weak, it’s that Wakhe’s Fighting-type pets have ridiculously strong ultimates.”

As the crowd continued to chatter, a mechanical voice announced: “3, 2, 1, Battle start!”

The audience instantly fell silent.

---

On the Field.

Qiao Sang’s hands moved rapidly to form seals.

By now, her hand-sealing movements had become muscle memory, she didn’t even need to think.

Two orange-yellow star arrays lit up on the field almost simultaneously.

I’m actually not slower than the other person... At that moment, Qiao Sang was pleasantly surprised.

She had originally prepared to be at a disadvantage right from the start.

Her sealing speed has improved this much... Wakhe was shocked inside.

As the most talked-about contestant recently, it was hard not to know about her. Nearly all his friends had said that if you went up against Qiao Sang, your first move had to deal heavy damage right off the bat...

From within the orange-yellow star array, a figure with a brown-and-white coat appeared.

Qiao Sang didn’t even have time to clearly see what the opponent looked like before it rolled forward, its body glowing with white light, turning into a giant white sphere barreling toward her.

It moved so fast that it reached her almost in the blink of an eye.

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure appeared at nearly the same moment as the opponent, so he wasn’t fazed.

He grinned widely.

In the next second, he vanished into the air.

The white ball didn’t stop rolling. Instead, it carved a semi-arc line into the ground and bounced on the spot with great elasticity, leaping higher and higher each time.

A general-level Fighting/Dark dual-type beast, Elastic Bear... Even though its full form hadn’t appeared yet, Qiao Sang had already recalled its data in her mind.

Elastic Bear: Hot-tempered and impulsive, the type that settles things with brute force. It 'speaks with its fists.' Its body is extremely elastic and can bounce higher and higher. If allowed to bounce uninterrupted, it can easily reach hundreds of meters in height...

Qiao Sang's expression grew serious.

If that were all, it wouldn’t be too bad, but she had seen Wakhe’s battle two days ago.

He liked to use the bear’s elasticity in combination with Mountain Crash (a high-powered body slam).

What’s more, Elastic Bear had Dark-type moves, which directly countered Ghost-types. If it hit Little Treasure, especially with Mountain Crash enhanced by its elasticity, it could be a one-hit KO...

I mustn’t follow his rhythm...

---

Meanwhile, in the audience seats, as Ghost Ring King appeared mid-air, people were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Hahahahaha…”

“LOL! What’s going on with Ghost Ring King’s hair?”

“Who styled it? A genius!”

Ghost Ring King had two tiny symmetrical pigtails of golden-yellow hair tied on top of its head.

A hairstyle extremely common on children, when seen on a general-level Ghost-type beast known for being eerie, it was hilariously out of place.

In this moment, no one felt the slightest chill from the Ghost-type beast.

“Pfft!”

In the contestant zone, Pirite spat out his mouthful of water.

---

On the field.

Elastic Bear bounced higher and higher, almost reaching Little Treasure's altitude.

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure teleported to the ground beneath the bear’s bounce and was just about to use 2D Shadow Control to link up…

At that moment, Elastic Bear’s descent suddenly accelerated.

Sensing danger, Little Treasure had no time to execute Shadow Control and disappeared from his position.

Boom!

In the next second, a massive crater was blasted into the ground.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure appeared dozens of meters away, patting his chest and making a that scared me to death face.

Elastic Bear bounced out of the crater, soaring into the air, and when it landed again, it had shifted to a flat area.

“Elastic Bear sensed Ghost Ring King’s approach and used Mountain Crash while descending!” The commentator explained with excitement.

“Looks like Wakhe has done his homework, he knows not to let Ghost Ring King near its shadows. What will Qiao Sang do to respond?”

Wakhe smiled.

Ghost Ring King's most troublesome moves were Shadow Control and Hypnosis.

The first one could be evaded by constant bouncing and movement, making it hard to trap the bear. The second, though only a mid-tier skill, was used with terrifying mastery. In a match like this, even being hypnotized for two seconds could flip the outcome. But with the bear’s bounce speed, eye contact for hypnosis was basically impossible.

This match, there’s a chance!

Can’t let the rhythm keep falling into his hands… Qiao Sang’s expression turned serious: “3D Form!”

3D Form? Wakhe frowned, instantly on alert.

Qiao Sang was someone who either gave no commands, or every command served a critical purpose.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure responded to his beastmaster’s call.

A moment later, a massive Ghost Ring King over six meters tall, also sporting two silly pigtails, appeared on the field.

The entire audience roared with laughter again.

Watching the Shadows of Darkness skill unfold, even Qiao Sang twitched at the corners of her mouth.

Wakhe couldn’t help but have his attention drawn to the oversized Ghost Ring King’s ridiculous hairstyle.

At the moment he got distracted, the big Ghost Ring King reached out its stubby toes.

At the same time, Qiao Sang shouted: “Block!”

Two wide black shadows suddenly burst from the ground and rapidly expanded and split.

Dozens of wide shadows stretched violently in crisscrossing directions toward the sky!

And right then, Elastic Bear was just landing!

She’s trying to form a shadow net mid-air to catch it… Wakhe quickly grasped Qiao Sang’s intent.

He opened his mouth to respond, but the bear, now just a blur of motion, suddenly bounced up again, colliding directly with the shadow net.

The instant they touched, the crisscrossing shadows began to converge downward.

The upper web of shadows ballooned into a dome.

Seeing the bear about to be trapped, Wakhe shouted: “Roll!”

Qiao Sang blinked. Did he just curse?

But right then, Elastic Bear dropped with a speed faster than the shadows could wrap it, escaping through the only exit.

This time, it didn’t bounce back up but instead began rolling rapidly across the ground.

Qiao Sang: …

Oh. That kind of 'roll.'

“Ghost Ring King formed a shadow net to block Elastic Bear from above!” The commentator narrated passionately.

“Although it didn’t catch the bear, it did change its trajectory, forcing it to roll across the ground!”

“Block again!” Qiao Sang ordered.

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure wiggled his stubby toes.

The giant Ghost Ring King mirrored the action.

The shadow net above expanded rapidly, increasing its coverage.

At the same time, dozens of shadow tendrils shot down toward the ground.

Elastic Bear’s white glow hadn’t faded. It kept rolling like a huge glowing ball, weaving through the falling shadows.

Boom!

Several shadows struck the ground, causing the terrain to shatter.

Shadows rose again and repeatedly pierced toward Elastic Bear.

The rhythm’s off… Wakhe’s heart tightened as he saw that a third of the arena was now covered in downward-arcing shadows.

Elastic Bear’s movement area was shrinking from the relentless attacks. At this rate, it would soon be trapped by Shadow Control...

I have to take back control of this match!

Determined, Wakhe shouted: “Close-range Dark Ambush!”

There’s no skill called ‘Close-range Dark Ambush’... only a high-tier Dark move called Vital Ambush... Qiao Sang’s brain quickly dissected the meaning.

So he wants to get close before using Vital Ambush... If that’s the case, and he’s heading for Little Treasure's position, then… this is a chance!

She stared intently at the field, not daring to relax.

“Elastic!”

Elastic Bear suddenly bounced off the ground again.

But this time, as it launched, a dozen identical bouncing figures appeared mid-air.

The shadows hit some of them, causing them to instantly disappear, illusions.

Little Treasure was beneath the crisscrossing shadow net.

Three fast-moving spherical figures burst through the falling shadows, approaching Little Treasure from three different directions.