The awarding ceremony was held after the exhibition match between Sha Duo and Gao Xu Lu.
As Qiao Sang left the stage, a staff member hurried over to ask about her seat in the audience, saying they would invite her up to receive an award later. Unlike the strict and formal ways of award presentations in her past life, the current Beast Master society preferred flashy and extravagant appearances.
The Beast Master Competition was somewhat more subdued, only adding flair for the award presentation. However, the Coordination Competitions required participants to creatively devise their own entrance, making it distinct. In contrast, the entrance for the Beast Master Competition was handled by the organizers, allowing the award recipients to simply remain quiet and wait for their cue.
When Qiao Sang returned to her seat in the audience, Bai Yun Miao had yet to say anything before a friendly uncle sitting nearby spoke up: "Child, which school are you from? You performed wonderfully! Much better than my good-for-nothing son."
Just as Qiao Sang was about to reply, an aunt sitting in front turned her head and asked, "Child, are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
"Qiao, do you have any plans for the summer vacation? If not, come to our Long Wu Junior Pet Training Center. Your Fire Tooth Dog can play to its heart's content there. I can give you a discount," said a young man also sitting in front.
Before she knew it, voices around her filled the air with conversation. Qiao Sang responded to each person, though she wasn’t used to interacting with so many strangers. In her previous life, living in a bustling city meant strangers had a strong sense of personal boundaries, and people were generally indifferent.
It wasn’t uncommon that even if you lived in the same neighborhood, you might not greet the neighbor across the hall when you ran into each other. But the strangers talking to her now were warm and well-meaning. Qiao Sang somewhat understood that this was due to her winning first place, but more importantly, people in her previous life often had their own affairs to attend to.
Everyone had their own circles of life. Sometimes these circles shrunk to the point that after leaving school or work, there was no one left to chat with because there were no common topics to discuss. Now, however, the shared interest in contract beasts tightly linked them all.
As the background music started playing, the announcer declared that the exhibition match between Sha Duo and Gao Xu Lu had officially begun. The audience around her settled down, their focus shifting back to the arena.
"Qiao the genius, you're even better than the latest graduates from our school! They wouldn't stand a chance against you," Bai Yun Miao said, her face full of admiration.
"Don't flatter me too much. The really strong ones probably didn’t come to compete at this stage," Qiao Sang replied as she casually removed the sunglasses from her Fire Tooth Dog's face. She had felt that the sunglasses on her beast had looked awkward for quite some time.
"Yah?" The Fire Tooth Dog sensed the change in Qiao Sang's gaze, lowered its head, and grabbed the sunglasses back, putting them on again.
Qiao Sang: "…"
Wasn't it the same dog that stubbornly refused to wear them before?
"After all, the timing of the Interstellar Cup overlaps with this competition. So even if we don’t mention the first few, your competitors like Hou Xiang Yu and Wei Wen Ya—one from Litan High School and the other just accepted into Yong Da—who can compare with you? How old are you, really? Normal people…"
Bai Yun Miao's words were interrupted by Qiao Sang.
"Look quickly, Sha Duo sent out the Four-Cornered Swallow!"
Bai Yun Miao immediately fell silent, turning her attention to the arena.
The red star array in front of Sha Duo had just disappeared. Before any Beast Master revealed their rank insignia, the color of the star array served as a standard for determining the Beast Master's level. F-Rank Beast Masters had a white star array, E-Rank had gray, D-Rank had green, and C-Rank had orange-yellow. The red color represented a B-Rank Beast Master, indicating that Sha Duo was capable of contracting five beasts.
Gao Xu Lu's star array was also red. Under her red star array, a three-meter-tall beast appeared, its back a crimson color, abdomen a grayish-white, and the tips of its wings and tail feathers pure white. Moreover, its feathers were adorned with somewhat eerie markings. It didn't look like it was a natural growth but rather had been deliberately inscribed. Qiao Sang, limited in her knowledge, vaguely understood that this kind of marking was quite expensive.
Many professions had emerged from the field of companion beasts, and the Beast Spirit Engraver was one of them. They could use special techniques to inscribe various markings on beasts that produced different effects. These markings could accelerate energy gathering, enhance defense or attack power, increase or inhibit reproduction capabilities.
In short, there were many corresponding effects, but they came with limitations on time and frequency. In official competitions, it's not allowed to inscribe markings on competing beasts because that power is akin to the effect of wearing equipment, considered external rather than belonging to the beast itself. However, since this was an exhibition match, even inscribing markings wasn't frowned upon, and wearing equipment was perfectly fine. This was because exhibition matches did not require a winner; a simple display was sufficient.
Nevertheless, some supporters of Sha Duo, like Bai Yun Miao, expressed confusion. "Gao Xu Lu is stronger than Sha Duo already. Why send out a marked Fire Arrow Owl? Isn’t that just bullying?"
"Maybe the markings don’t enhance strength," Qiao Sang speculated.
"That makes sense," Bai Yun Miao quickly conceded.
The two refocused their attention on the fierce clash occurring mid-air between the Four-Cornered Swallow and the Fire Arrow Owl. Although the Four-Cornered Swallow was slightly smaller than the Fire Arrow Owl, it matched its presence without any loss.
The two beasts clashed in rapid succession, releasing skills as if they required no energy at all. After each skill collision, they deftly distanced themselves from one another before flying to a different angle to attack again, prompting cheers from the onlookers.
Neither Sha Duo nor Gao Xu Lu issued commands throughout. After about ten minutes of this back-and-forth, the Four-Cornered Swallow dodged an attack from the Fire Arrow Owl’s air flames and unexpectedly veered toward the audience.
The Fire Arrow Owl chased closely behind, using a skill called Fiery Gale during the pursuit. The Four-Cornered Swallow didn’t look back, but sensing danger, it flapped its wings and dodged at the last moment.
It was thrilling, especially as the two flying beasts headed towards the audience, amplifying the excitement of the crowd.
“Whoa!”
“Oh my!”
“Ahhhhh!”
“Help!”
The two beasts aimed for the A section of the audience, causing everyone to duck and cover their heads, fearing they might get hit. The Four-Cornered Swallow flew extremely low, brushing closely past the spectators with every move. Thankfully, the Fire Arrow Owl did not cast any more skills.
But the sight of the two beasts chasing each other just above the audience was more thrilling than a roller coaster ride. Qiao Sang watched, heart pounding. As the Four-Cornered Swallow approached the C section, Qiao Sang hugged her Fire Tooth Dog with one hand while pulling Bai Yun Miao down with the other, squatting down in preparation.
In mere seconds, the Four-Cornered Swallow had reached the C section of the audience. Qiao Sang felt the air above her roiling violently, and when the Four-Cornered Swallow flew past her, it sent her ponytail swaying wildly in the wind.
Fortunately, the Four-Cornered Swallow quickly flew away. Qiao Sang sighed in relief, but just as she lifted her head, she was suddenly yanked from her seat, lifted high into the air.
“Ahhhh!”
“Yah!!!”
Qiao Sang was frightened, while her Fire Tooth Dog was filled with excitement.
Six seconds later, Qiao Sang, pale-faced, appeared on stage at the awarding platform, standing next to Wei Wen Ya, who looked equally ghostly.
"I hereby declare the award ceremony of the Bai Xin Match officially begins!"
(End of Chapter)