Chapter 124

On the third day of the preliminaries, the fourth round of the initial competition officially began.

On the battlefield, He Yu hadn’t expected to face a seeded contestant right at the start of the fourth round. His expression darkened slightly.

Perhaps sensing its Beast Master’s emotions, the Timid Shroom grew even more fearful, trembling in place before the battle had even begun.

Mu Huiyue stepped onto the battlefield. Others might underestimate the creature due to its display of cowardice, but she knew this was a tactic often employed by its Beast Master.

The more terrified it became, the denser the Night Wandering Phosphorescence produced by its ability, prolonging its blinding and hallucinatory effects.

However, such tactics wouldn’t affect the outcome of this battle. Whether it was the Timid Shroom’s phosphorescent ability or any other skill, they wouldn’t even have a chance to hit her pet beast.

“Ellen.” She softly called to her shadow.

The shadow beneath the girl’s feet suddenly expanded. From the rising black mist emerged a tall, imposing skeleton with an air of elegance. It stood firmly on the battlefield, a flickering blue flame igniting in its right eye socket.

He Yu instinctively swallowed. It was here—one of Mu Huiyue’s signature pet beasts, the monarch-class White Fang Soldier!

He wasn’t sure if he felt more nervous or relieved. At the very least, Mu Huiyue hadn’t sent out her Frostnight War Wolf, a high-tier monarch-class beast that looked even more troublesome to deal with.

The referee took position and officially announced the start of the battle.

The White Fang Soldier slipped into the shadows, leaving only the trembling Timid Shroom on the battlefield.

He Yu clenched his palm to steady himself. Having made it smoothly through the first three rounds of preliminaries, he was no naive rookie Beast Master—he knew he had to strategize against a formidable opponent.

While the White Fang Soldier was elusive in Shadow Stealth, it couldn’t drag its opponent into the darkness with it.

No matter where it hid, the moment it attacked, it would reveal itself.

As long as Timid Shroom’s phosphorescent ability landed just once, he would have a chance to counter and seize victory!

“Ellen, attack.” Mu Huiyue’s voice was calm.

In an instant, wisps of black mist rose across the battlefield. The White Fang Soldier used the shadows to move at high speed, appearing next to Timid Shroom in the blink of an eye.

The skeletal warrior emerged from the darkness, raising its bone blade.

“Now! Timid Shroom, release phosphorescence!” He Yu shouted.

Timid Shroom let out a shriek of sheer terror. The sight of a mushroom screaming was eerie enough, but even stranger was the phosphorescent glow gathering within its body.

As it moved, a smoky burst of phosphorescent spores suddenly sprayed outward, covering the White Fang Soldier’s face entirely.

At such close range, taking a direct hit from Night Wandering Phosphorescence—no matter how formidable its defenses—meant there was no escaping its effects.

He Yu’s face lit up with joy. Seizing the moment, he commanded, “Timid Shroom, Cap Strike!”

Normally, after releasing its phosphorescent ability, Timid Shroom would be paralyzed by extreme fear, unable to move. But He Yu had enhanced their contract’s influence using Thunderfruit, reinforcing his control.

Under the Beast Master’s command, Timid Shroom forcefully ignored its instincts, lifting its mushroom cap and charging straight at the White Fang Soldier.

This move had worked like a charm throughout the competition—he had broken through all three previous rounds using it.

The C-rank Wood-type attack skill [Cap Strike] landed a direct hit.

With a single impact, the White Fang Soldier shattered. Its pale bones scattered across the battlefield.

He Yu’s eyes widened slightly—something was off.

Mu Huiyue’s White Fang Soldier was a monarch-class pet beast. How could it have crumbled so easily from just one Cap Strike, as if it were a mere low-tier warrior-class White Fang Soldier?

He was about to warn Timid Shroom to be careful—but it was already too late.

From the center of the white mushroom’s body, a jet-black bone blade suddenly emerged.

At some point, Ellen had silently stepped out of the shadows, having already executed its Beast Master’s command.

Bone Blade Piercing—direct hit!

Timid Shroom finally stopped trembling. It crashed heavily to the ground, unconscious.

The referee stepped forward to check the pet beast’s condition, then raised a hand toward the White Fang Soldier.

“Timid Shroom is unable to battle! White Fang Soldier is victorious! This match goes to Mu Huiyue—!”

Though the preliminaries weren’t publicly broadcast, the few Beast Masters watching from the sidelines erupted into murmurs of astonishment. Even the referee, despite making the official call, showed a hint of surprise.

Everyone knew there was a gap in strength between regular contestants and seeded players, but no one had expected He Yu—who had successfully made it through three rounds—to be defeated in a single turn by Mu Huiyue and her White Fang Soldier.

This wasn’t just a matter of pet beast species rankings or latent power values—it was a complete, all-encompassing domination, including combat strategy and Beast Master experience.

At last, He Yu realized the truth.

The White Fang Soldier that had attacked Timid Shroom at the start wasn’t its real body—it had been a decoy, created through a skill.

B-rank Undead-type control skill—Necromantic Summon!

And yet, Timid Shroom was already at Stage Six of its growth phase—it shouldn’t have been knocked out by a single hit…

Just as He Yu was thinking this, he saw Mu Huiyue’s White Fang Soldier retract its bone blade. A sharp, inky-black liquid flowed across its surface, and as it shifted, ghostly blue sparks flickered along the edge.

C-rank Steel-type enhancement skill—Bone Fluid, combined with B-rank Fire-type attack skill—Netherflame.

Timid Shroom was a Wood-type pet beast, meaning a direct hit from a Fire-type skill would trigger a type disadvantage, dealing massive damage.

At first glance, it had seemed like a simple Bone Blade Piercing, but in reality, it had carried the combined power of three different skills. No wonder Timid Shroom had lost consciousness instantly.

Realizing this, He Yu felt a chill run down his spine.

He recalled Mu Huiyue’s initial command—she hadn’t named a specific skill. Instead, she had simply said:

“Ellen, attack.”

In a battlefield setting, issuing such a vague order was risky. An inexperienced pet beast might hesitate, while a well-trained one would instinctively choose its most familiar attack.

This was generally considered an uncontrollable command, not the kind a seasoned Beast Master should give.

And yet, Mu Huiyue’s White Fang Soldier had not only executed the attack flawlessly but had also incorporated a feint into a fully coordinated battle strategy.

He had never seen a pet beast execute multiple skills simultaneously while maintaining such seamless tactical coordination.

Behind this one-hit KO lay an insurmountable gap in talent and experience between the two Beast Masters and their pet beasts.

Could a battle of this caliber really be happening in the “Preliminary Round”?

The more He Yu thought about it, the more shaken he felt. But no matter what, he had to admit—he had lost, fair and square.

He stepped forward and extended his hand toward the black-haired girl.

“I lost… You’re really amazing, Mu Huiyue.”

“My Timid Shroom… will probably never be able to fight as brilliantly as your White Fang Soldier.”

Mu Huiyue also extended her hand and gave him a brief, polite handshake.

Over the past few weeks, she had used “Energy Refinement” on Ellen twice, and the results were evident—the flow between skills had become even smoother, and simultaneous execution felt completely natural.

Hearing He Yu’s words, she glanced at the unconscious Timid Shroom. The little creature hadn’t even had a chance to struggle before being taken out by Bone Blade Piercing.

She looked back at him and said, “If it had been a properly trained Timid Shroom, it would have noticed something was off during the feint.”

“After evolving from a Cowardly Shroom, their personality becomes even more cautious and timid. But that also means their perception sharpens—any trace of danger should have been sensed in advance.”

“That is—if you hadn’t used your contract to suppress its instincts.”

He Yu froze in place.

Mu Huiyue knew about the Thundercry Fruit?!

“…Thinking about Frostnight Battle Wolf, she had personally participated in the Beastmaster Flow Tournament, so it wasn’t surprising that she knew about the Thundercry Fruit.

But the fact that Timid Shroom’s cowardly and cautious trait could actually be used to sense danger—who would have thought?

‘A pet’s trait is not a weakness—it’s only a matter of how you use it. Forcibly suppressing their instincts might let you win a battle or two by sheer trickery,’ Mu Huiyue paused before continuing, ‘but it will never get past me.’

With that, the Bladefang Soldier melted into the shadows of its Beastmaster, and together, they left the battlefield.

…

Mu Huiyue’s match had ended early. She headed to the main hall to check on Wen Li’s match schedule, planning to see how her friend had fared today.

To her surprise, Wen Li had also finished quickly. Before she even reached the battlefield, Wen Li was already bounding toward her with Flame Pounce Cat in tow.

‘How was your fourth-round match?’ Mu Huiyue asked with a smile.

Wen Li proudly gave her a thumbs-up. ‘Of course, I won!’

‘Meow!’ Flame Pounce Cat mimicked the same gesture, raising its paw.”

“The Firefluff Moth perched atop the Flame Pounce Cat’s head, gently flapping its wings. They seemed to be getting along well.

‘My opponent was a student from Lizhou University, the Beastmaster of the Guava Blossom. Huiyue, you’ve met them before, right?’ Wen Li walked up and chatted with her friend.

Mu Huiyue nodded. Guava Blossom was a wood-type pet, completely countered by Wen Li’s fire specialization. No wonder the match ended so quickly.

Both of them had smoothly advanced to the Top 32. Tomorrow, they would be stepping onto the grand stage of the Starlight Battle Arena, under the watchful eyes of countless spectators.

The qualifiers didn’t draw as much attention as the official national tournaments, but thanks to its established reputation, it still had a strong following. Especially since the matches were held at the Starlight Battle Arena, many beast battle enthusiasts were willing to buy tickets to watch in person.

The Beastmasters who stood out in the qualifiers were often destined to become stars in the national or even world championships. Getting an early glimpse of these young talents in their formative years—or placing early bets on potential rising stars—was a thrilling experience for enthusiasts.

‘They should be announcing tomorrow’s matchups soon…’ Wen Li muttered nervously. ‘I really hope I don’t have to face a student from Capital University too soon. I wonder if our teammates made it into the Top 32?’

This year, the trainee members of Jingzhou University’s Battle Society needed to reach at least the Top 16 to qualify as official members. Everyone was pushing themselves to the limit.

As the two chatted, a familiar face approached from below the battle stage.”

“It was Chen Jiashu, accompanied by his Chaos Thundercloud. Beside him was another pet with the appearance of a fire elemental—the Little Spark, a high-tier battle general species that he had only contracted this semester.

Mu Huiyue had faced both Chaos Thundercloud and Little Spark many times during the daily training sessions at the Battle Society, so she was quite familiar with them.

Unlike their somewhat awkward Beastmaster, the two pets had no reservations. Upon seeing Mu Huiyue and Wen Li, they floated over, circling around the two girls a few times as a way of greeting.

Chen Jiashu, realizing he couldn’t avoid them, had no choice but to steel himself and walk over.

He had just won his fourth-round match in less than three turns, making his performance one of the best among the competitors.

Strictly speaking, he owed much of that to Mu Huiyue.

Every week in the Battle Society, he had sparred against her—and every single time, he had been utterly crushed.

Back in Changning First High School, he had at least been a core member of the school team. But after arriving at Capital University, he was completely outclassed by his peers. No matter how much he trained, he still couldn’t win a single match against Mu Huiyue.

As a result, when he faced his opponents in the qualifiers this time…

He actually found them quite easy.”

After experiencing the intense, mountain-like pressure during his matches with Mu Huiyue—the suffocating feeling that any unnoticed flaw could lead to failure—ordinary battles now seemed like child’s play. He didn’t even feel nervous.

However, there was absolutely no way Chen Jiashu would ever thank Mu Huiyue to her face. No matter what, he couldn’t lose his resolve. One day, he would win a match against Mu Huiyue…!

…Even if it’s just one round!

Mu Huiyue and Wen Li didn’t notice the intricate thoughts running through Chen Jiashu’s mind. The three of them exchanged a few casual words, and once the fourth round of the preliminary contest ended, the thirty-two finalists would be randomly paired in the system for the first round of the elimination match.

A message notification rang on Mu Huiyue’s phone, and she received the information for her opponent in the first round of the thirty-two.

She raised an eyebrow involuntarily. What a coincidence, it was another familiar face.

Fang Xuyang, first-year from the Battle Department of Hongzhou University.”