Almost the instant Mingxi’s command was issued, Xue Qingting understood her intention.

Even though its bond with its Beast Tamer wasn’t as deep as its other companions, perhaps due to its rich combat experience, it often achieved a subtle, telepathic understanding with its Beast Tamer.

Sometimes, this tacit understanding fascinated it even more than the bond itself.

“Difficult.”

Xue Qingting’s mouth curved into a perfect arc as it switched to its normal form.

The light in its glass-like compound eyes flared brightly, and a distorted, chaotic, and colorful illusory beam of light was not aimed at the enemy, but precisely struck the shadow beneath it—a shadow that had appeared due to its enlarged size and was about to be infiltrated by Noctis!

“Buzz—!!!”

It directly hit Noctis, who was already adhering to and entering the shadow.

Illusory Ray’s main function is actually to create a confusing field of vision and disorienting senses through changes in space, light, and perspective.

It is a mental control and attack skill.

However, this skill also has a well-known drawback: when the skill is used, it requires very high precision in manipulating changes in space, light, and perspective; the more varied and complex the changes in the target’s current field of vision, the better the effect!

Conversely, the worse the effect.

Not only does it demand a lot from the environment, but it also requires extremely high control and judgment abilities from the Transcendent creature releasing the skill!

In other words, this is a skill with a very high upper limit, but it demands even more from the Transcendent creature itself.

Because it’s simply too difficult.

Thus, this skill gradually became a “chicken rib” (something of little value), discarded by many Beast Tamers and pets, and even relegated to a “sewer skill.”

But Mingxi was never a supporter of this view, and Xue Qingting, being a wild type, certainly wasn't either.

It’s still the same old saying: there are no useless skills, only useless Beast Tamers and pets.

And now.

Illusory Ray, used at this moment, was simply a surprise box.

The moment Illusory Ray hit Noctis, its world transformed; its most familiar shadow was temporarily distorted and chaotic.

In Noctis’s eyes at that moment, everything within the shadow was no longer a simple shadow, but had become an ever-changing area filled with false images and disorienting sensations.

Noctis was equivalent to crashing headfirst into a vortex of forcibly twisted mind and shadow!

Its senses would be magnified several times in this shrunken world.

“Nos?!!!”

Noctis let out a shriek of utter terror.

In the narrow shadow space, it was falling into an endless nightmare corridor.

Its sense of direction, distance, and even control over its own energy were all spiraling out of control!

The wind-up for Shadow Burst had long been interrupted.

It was trapped in its own world, immersed in its own illusions.

Attacked, controlled, tormented, like a weak, pathetic ant.

“Arno! Wake up quickly!”

Karon Karman hadn’t expected his pet to be trapped by such an outdated skill, and tried to rouse his pet through their bond (a verbal roar).

But the shadow now was like a completely independent space.

A space that belonged only to it.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Noctis finally managed to be “squeezed” out of its shadow state, stumbling, its eyes still filled with pain.

Its condition was very poor.

There were no physical injuries, but its mental sea had likely suffered severe damage.

The entire pet was dazed and disoriented.

Blood was gushing from its ears, nose, mouth, and eyes.

“Bastard!”

Karon Karman’s eyes almost popped out; he simply couldn’t understand how his pet could suffer such a huge setback from a “sewer skill.”

As he questioned reality, Mingxi and Xue Qingting both knew it was time to end it.

“Giant God Illusion Insect, Moon Burst!”

Xue Qingting erupted with astonishing light, its body instantly expanding.

Taking advantage of Noctis still being in a confused state and unable to effectively etherealize and become invisible, Moon Burst was unleashed.

This time, it was for a decisive kill!

“Bang!!”

The ground exploded as if struck by a meteorite!

Noctis couldn’t even let out a scream before it was blasted into a massive crater by that terrifying power, infused with the elemental energy of fairies!

It lay at the bottom of the pit like a broken ragdoll, completely losing all combat ability.

Even though it was Venerable-level, even though it was recognized as powerful among Ghost-type creatures, it lost the strength to struggle against such a simple and brutal attack.

The battle ended.

Absurd!

Speechless!

Dumbfounded!

“Did it... game over just like that?”

“Is that really Noctis? Not a fragile glass doll?”

“Ghost-types are inherently more fragile, and with Nanshaluo doing that, severe damage is natural. Its problem is that it didn’t even get to display its own strength, it was taken down like a weakling.”

“Is Illusory Ray really that powerful of a skill?”

“How should I put it? It’s a skill that relies heavily on conditions. One can only say that this time, time and place were both on Nanshaluo’s side.”

“Regardless, this round was truly outrageous.”

“It... shocked me for ten thousand years! I never thought a Venerable-level VS Saint-level battle would end in such a... how should I describe it? Simple? Hasty?... way.”

“I took off my pants, just for this!?”

“Humans cannot, or at least should not.”

“A dignified Venerable-level pet is just this? Just this? How many minutes was that?! Did it show any of the Conqueror’s Haki belonging to a Venerable-level pet?”

“Karon Karman! RNM! How could you do this to me?! Refund my money!”

They went crazy.

Everyone went crazy.

It wasn’t that Karon Karman couldn’t lose.

His match with Mingxi wasn’t particularly favored to begin with; the gamblers who bet on his victory were far fewer than those in Mingxi and Lu Meiti’s match.

But to lose like this, for some viewers who genuinely believed in him, was a knife plunged into their hearts.

It made people question everything.

Meanwhile, in the commentary booth, Xin Zhuang was practically dead.

Strike while the iron is hot, then the momentum wanes, and finally, it’s exhausted.

He was completely ‘exhausted’ now.

He couldn’t even hear Xie An Yan’s provocations, as if his soul had left his body.

Xie An Yan even felt a bit sorry for him and didn’t continue to twist the knife in his heart.

There was no more room to twist.

Couldn’t twist it at all.

“...Mingxi wins!”

With the end of this unexpected, yet in hindsight, reasonable match, all of Mingxi’s group stage matches in this Starsea Cup concluded.

She entered the top sixteen in both singles and doubles.

However, her match with Karon Karman was not the last match of the group stage.

It wasn’t until 9:45 PM that the top sixteen for singles, doubles, and team competitions were finally decided.

The smoke of the Starsea Cup group stage began to dissipate.

The lists of the top sixteen for the singles, doubles, and team events were like gilded honor rolls, hung in the most conspicuous position in the main venue.

The audience was excitedly shouting the names of their favorite contestants!

But among the contestants, a different kind of pressure, more condensed and tense than in the group stage, began to spread.

After the top sixteen came the final knockout rounds.

The final rounds adopted a direct elimination system.

One loss meant going home, with no room ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) for reversal.

In the contestant aisle, the usual relaxed banter had disappeared, replaced by solemn expressions, hushed strategic discussions, and sharp gazes as they sized each other up.

Mingxi could clearly feel countless gazes, overt and covert, falling upon her.

Curiosity, scrutiny, apprehension, fighting spirit... As one of the most dazzling dark horses in the group stage, and due to her age, she had already become an object of wariness and caution for all contestants aiming for the championship.

It felt a bit like being a target of public criticism.

The pressure was immense.

Is this the difficulty of being a peerless beauty?

Alas!

₍ ₍ ( ̨ ̡ ‾ ᗣ ‾ ) ̧ ̢ ₎ ₎

The group stage ended without giving contestants time to rest and prepare; the intense and exciting matches began the very next day.

However, because many contestants participated in two, or even all three events, and the final rounds, unlike the group stage, couldn’t be staggered due to fewer participants.

So they could only compete one event after another.

The team competition started first, then the singles, and finally the doubles.

Each event only lasted two days, so it didn’t take too much time.

This also meant Mingxi had two days of buffer and rest time.

“Xiao Zaizi.”

During the team competition, Mingxi didn’t go to watch the matches in person.

When Chu Kuangsheng came looking for her, she was watching a live broadcast with her eight treasures.

“Instructor, looking for me to train?”

It’s unclear if the wish charm Mingxi gave Chu Kuangsheng had worked, but in the last singles group stage match, Litrubang evolved into Venerable-level Lixilu at the last moment, defeating its opponent by 1 point.

It successfully advanced to the final rounds as one of the top sixteen.

So Mingxi thought he had come to ‘challenge’ her.

“We’ll talk about fighting later.”

Chu Kuangsheng walked into the room and sat on the sofa where Bright Crystal was sprawled, casually rubbing a certain smooth little head and even snatching its snack.

He received an angry glare from a certain creature. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

A truly singular glare!

Chu Kuangsheng snorted, tore open the snack bag, and said while eating, “The thing you asked me to look into, I’ve got a lead.”

Mingxi’s heart stirred, but her expression remained calm: “Formless Chess?”

Chu Kuangsheng nodded: “Just as you suspected, this Formless Chess isn’t just one white piece; it should be a complete set.”

“Anything else?”

“Currently, I’ve only heard about the Formless Chess Canisters, a pair!”

Chu Kuangsheng: “According to scattered ancient records and cross-verified intelligence, the last confirmed appearance of this pair of Formless Chess Canisters was in the hands of a person named Morpheus.”

“Which planet, which country? And is he... still alive?” Mingxi searched her memory, certain she had never heard of such a person.

“You’re quite lucky. He’s likely still alive, and he’s from the Sinnoh region of Anji Country on Blue Star.

But he’s not a famous person, and he can’t even be considered a Beast Tamer.”

“An ordinary person?”

Chu Kuangsheng shook his head: “Not exactly. He actually awakened naturally before undergoing Hongmeng Awakening, but he has never contracted a pet.”

“Huh?”

Mingxi expressed her surprise that such a person existed in this world, saying she had learned something new.

“Why is that?”

“Because his family was murdered by Transcendent creatures, and it happened right in front of him, a cruel slaughter. He was only seven years old at the time.

So he harbors a deep hatred for Transcendent creatures, especially Ghost-type and the four major psychic-type abilities.”

That makes sense then.

For this Morpheus, contracting with a Transcendent creature would be betraying his tragically deceased family, making a deal with his enemies.

It would indeed be very difficult to overcome such a psychological barrier!

Chu Kuangsheng continued:

“He has lived in seclusion for years in a mist-shrouded castle deep within the Eterna Forest in the Sinnoh region.

It is said that the castle was once the ruins of an ancient Beast Tamer sect obsessed with mechanisms, and its interior is complex, filled with ancient mechanisms and mazes.

Morpheus himself has an extremely eccentric and reclusive personality, rarely interacting with outsiders, guarding those ruins alone with his pet, reportedly to study ancient mechanisms.”

“Are you sure what he has are the Formless Chess Canisters?”

Chu Kuangsheng nodded: “Highly probable.”

Mingxi frowned: “Then why would this matter be exposed? Could it be that he also realized Formless Chess is a set, so he deliberately exposed it to find the other parts?”

Since this Morpheus awakened, it means he possesses a Pet Space and a mental sea.

Which also means he can contract items.

His resistance to Transcendent creatures doesn’t mean he also resists items.

It’s plausible he wants to enhance his strength through items.

Of course, a Beast Tamer who has never even contracted a pet can at most borrow the power of a divine artifact like Mingxi uses Formless Chess, but truly contracting it is basically impossible.

Although it’s a big world and anything can happen.

But no matter how strange, fundamental laws must be followed.

Using a divine artifact consumes mental power, and contracting one does too.

And a Beast Tamer without even a pet absolutely cannot cultivate their mental power to a level sufficient to contract a divine artifact.

If he forcibly contracts it, the divine artifact will drain him dry.

“That’s the problem.”

Chu Kuangsheng gave a wry smile, “The fact that Morpheus has a pair of canister-shaped divine artifacts was indeed spread by him, but his purpose probably isn’t to complete the set.

His actions seem more like he wants to attract Beast Tamers with this pair of Formless Chess Canisters.

And according to our investigation, almost all the Beast Tamers who went to find him for those chess canisters have disappeared.

Most likely, those people are already dead.

Because of this, that ancient castle is also a famous haunted castle in the area.”

That fierce?!

So, spreading the news about the chess canisters was just to lure people in and kill them?

Could it be that Morpheus became psychologically twisted due to his childhood trauma? Is he seeking revenge on all Beast Tamers for his parents’ deaths?

And how did he, an ‘ordinary person,’ make those Beast Tamers ‘disappear’ without a trace and avoid being caught?

Isn’t that ridiculous?

Mingxi’s dormant sense of mystery was ignited.

“Instructor, do you have Morpheus’s exact address?”

“Yes, you still want to go find him?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

“You really are a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.” Chu Kuangsheng looked helpless.

He had already warned her that all the Beast Tamers who went to find Morpheus for the chess canisters had disappeared, yet this Xiao Zaizi still didn’t believe it.

Should he call her bold, or confident?

“It’s just a thought for now; I’m not that stubborn, actually.” Mingxi argued.

Chu Kuangsheng flicked her forehead with his finger.

“Alright, I know you well.”

“I’ll send you the address later, but you must notify me before you leave. I’ll go with you.”