Mingxi's eyes flashed, "Water Dragon Ballad, Bewitching Voice."

Black Pearl, still flying backward, seemed weightless. Using the Impact, it gracefully spun in a way that defied physics, and water waves spread around it as it turned.

Transparent water waves and pure white spray, centered around Black Pearl's tail, formed a transparent and luxurious wedding dress.

Well.

That description might be a bit too bold for a male pet.

But it was true.

Water Dragon Ballad is a mid-level Water-type skill with no offensive power; it's just a skill for dodging using water. However, when using this skill, it significantly enhances the pet's appearance.

Fortunately, Black Pearl was carefree and didn't mind its overly aesthetic appearance at the moment. It opened its mouth and let out an ethereal yet tempting sound.

Now, Bewitching Voice had been mastered by Black Pearl to perfection.

It could perfectly turn Transcendent creatures below its level, and generally could do so at the same level.

However, Flame Crown Falcon was one major level higher than it, so it could only serve to interfere with Flame Crown Falcon's mind and hearing.

But that was enough.

Flame Crown Falcon's movements showed a momentary delay and confusion. Its Flame Jet couldn't aim, and with Water Dragon Ballad suppressing it, Flame Jet did not achieve Nino's desired outcome.

"High-Pressure Water Ball." Mingxi seized this fleeting opportunity!

Black Pearl clapped its hands together, and a highly compressed, rapidly rotating azure High-Pressure Water Ball instantly formed, shooting accurately towards Flame Crown Falcon, which was still under the influence of Bewitching Voice!

"Retreat!" Nino urged anxiously.

But the interference from Bewitching Voice and the stiffness from Water Dragon Ballad made Flame Crown Falcon a beat too slow!

"Boom!!!"

High-Pressure Water Ball hit Flame Crown Falcon squarely.

The water ball exploded.

The immense Impact and Water-type energy, even weakened by the Great Sunny Day, still caused considerable damage.

Flame Crown Falcon cried out in pain, uncontrollably falling from the air, its feathers completely soaked, and the flames around its body dimmed.

Brittany exclaimed, "I wonder if Mingxi calculated it from the start, using Atonas's injury to trigger damage absorption feedback, thereby creating an opportunity, and then combining evasion and interference skills to interrupt the opponent's attack, and instantly counter with high-burst skills. It's simply a chain reaction!"

Xie An Yan: "..."

Is it never-ending?

Nino's expression changed. She hadn't expected her opponent to unleash such a sophisticated counter-attack combination in a desperate situation.

"Fireball, pull yourself together! Get airborne!"

However, Mingxi's offensive was not over.

She had studied all of Nino's previous match recordings. This player's aggressiveness was astonishing; she almost never chose conservative tactics when at a disadvantage, as if every pause was a negation of her own worth.

Nino Abby, from a moderately wealthy family, was strictly raised by her parents from a young age, making her aloof and cold, but confident and competitive, sharp as a burning flame.

She was also the only player in the singles Top 16 without professional team support.

It wasn't that no professional teams had approached her; many consortiums were willing to sponsor her.

But without exception, she refused them all; she seemed to dislike interacting with people.

Her Beast Tamers style was also very distinctive: clear, decisive commands, pursuing high-speed, high-efficiency strong attacks. A strong desire to win drove her to constantly grow stronger, and also made her display extreme aggression and pressure in battle.

All in all, Nino Abby was definitely not a simple opponent.

But she also had a very strange weakness.

Mingxi's eyes darkened slightly: "Curse."

A ghostly light flashed in Black Pearl's eyes, and the light of Curse enveloped Flame Crown Falcon, which was struggling to get up.

Invisible, chilling energy wrapped around Flame Crown Falcon.

It immediately felt its body heavy, as if a Mount Tai was pressing down on it!

"Curse..."

Nino's face visibly became somewhat unsightly.

The reason many Beast Tamers find Ghost-type Transcendent creatures tricky is that they almost all know Curse.

And Curse, a skill whose effects can be great or small, high or low, can easily affect the outcome of an entire match if not handled well.

This type of skill was also one of her most hated, because for someone like her, who was naturally associated with misfortune, Curse almost always brought bad results.

It also constantly reminded her that the situation was spiraling out of control, and victory was slipping away little by little from her fingertips.

What she craved was a clean, overwhelming victory to prove herself, not this draining and disgusting battle of luck!

A wave of irritation and unease seized her.

She absolutely could not fall into a passive state!

"Hot Wind, cover the entire field." Her voice unconsciously rose, carrying a subtle urgency, "Phoenix Perch!"

Phoenix Perch is Flame Crown Falcon's racial skill, named after the phoenix perching on a parasol tree. It is a recovery skill that restores injuries and energy, and can remove negative effects, but this skill is only effective on itself.

Mingxi raised an eyebrow. Nino Abby's command seemed reasonable: first recover, then use a wide-range attack to force out the opponent.

But Phoenix Perch requires a moment to land before it can take effect, and it temporarily loses its Flight attribute.

With a considerable amount of water on the field, having Flame Crown Falcon land was clearly not a wise move.

Especially when Flame Crown Falcon was afflicted with Curse, and could be unlucky at any moment.

Sure enough, Nino was too eager to quickly escape the unfavorable situation and regain the initiative, so she subconsciously chose a strategy that seemed most "efficient" but was actually somewhat reckless.

"Ghost Doppelganger." Mingxi's voice was calm, almost cruel, "Shadow Sneak."

Flame Crown Falcon, rapidly descending, had just begun to glow with a healing white light around its body.

Several illusions of Black Pearl suddenly appeared around it, circling playfully and distracting its mind.

At the same time, the real Black Pearl once again merged into the shadows, and a shadowy claw swiftly struck towards Flame Crown Falcon, which had just landed!

"What?!"

Nino hadn't expected her opponent to react so quickly, precisely seizing the moment of Phoenix Perch!

"Take off."

Flame Crown Falcon was forced to interrupt its recovery process, flapping its wings frantically to ascend. Although Shadow Sneak didn't deal high damage, it successfully disrupted its rhythm.

But Mingxi didn't launch a strong attack at this moment. Instead, she spoke in a volume just loud enough for her opponent to hear: "Black Pearl, don't rush. Let's maintain our distance for now. We'll talk once the Curse takes effect."

She deliberately emphasized the word "Curse."

Sure enough, when Nino heard this, her brows furrowed even tighter, and her fingers unconsciously clenched.

She looked at Flame Crown Falcon on the field, which seemed somewhat timid and fearful of bad luck due to the Curse.

But she didn't know that a part of what she saw was actually a projection of her own anxiety, her insecurity rapidly amplifying.

She took a deep breath, mentally guiding herself.

"Fireball, don't be affected. Brave Bird Attack."

In fact, this sentence was not only to comfort Flame Crown Falcon but also to comfort herself.

This was exactly what Mingxi wanted!

Brave Bird Attack is very strong, but this skill has recoil damage, and in a Cursed state, such a desperate attack is more prone to errors!

"Flame!!"

Flame Crown Falcon suppressed its psychological discomfort, once again erupting in blue-white flames, and charged towards Black Pearl like a warrior!

But the effect of the Curse seemed to quietly take hold; its starting speed seemed imperceptibly slower than usual, and its trajectory was not perfectly flawless!

Mingxi's eyes were sharp, "Ghost Doppelganger, Shadow Sneak."

A thousand tricks are not as good as one unique skill.

Black Pearl's figure flickered, once again splitting into several illusions that were difficult to distinguish between real and fake.

Brave Bird Attack tore through one of the illusions, but the real Black Pearl had successfully submerged into the shadows.

The next moment, it emerged from the shadows to the side and rear of Flame Crown Falcon's Impact path, and its shadowy claw once again struck Flame Crown Falcon's wing!

"I've been expecting that move."

Nino was indeed affected by the Curse, but her personality still contained a calm and rational part; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to break into the Top 16 on her own.

"Turn around, Hot Wind!"

Flame Crown Falcon forcibly twisted its body, and Hot Wind emerged again.

Black Pearl's Shadow Sneak was grazed by the edge of the Hot Wind, but it didn't fully hit the main body!

It rapidly retreated using the air currents from the Hot Wind.

Mingxi: "Water Blast."

Black Pearl casually conjured a high-burst skill.

Its Water-type was countered by Fire-type, but its Fire-type was also affected by Water-type.

Mingxi: "Water Dragon Ballad."

The Great Sunny Day's counter to Black Pearl was indeed quite severe, so before the Curse took effect, this 'cage predicament' had to be resolved first.

And Water Dragon Ballad was the method to counter it.

Water currents surged, rolling into waves.

"Roar!"

A dragon's roar whistled softly.

A lifelike water dragon spiraled upwards. Its eyes, its aura, its charm – if one hadn't seen with their own eyes that it was made of water waves, they might have thought it was a real, existing giant dragon.

The water dragon, topped with a defensive shield, remained suspended in mid-air.

"Splash!"

Below the water dragon, rain poured down.

What if Black Pearl didn't have rain-type skills? Water Dragon Ballad could still create the environment it wanted.

"Atonas's skill is quite interesting. Such a large water dragon, so cool!"

"Water Dragon Ballad, it is said, can simulate any environment, but the environment itself only has certain auxiliary capabilities and no offensive power whatsoever."

Water Dragon Ballad was not a common skill; in fact, it was quite rare.

So not all spectators recognized it.

"Although it has no offensive power, this greatly weakens the Great Sunny Day's counter-effect on Atonas, and with this rain, Flame Crown Falcon will be affected somewhat."

"It's not just 'a little,' it should be 'a lot.'"

Flame Crown Falcon was indeed affected by Water Dragon Ballad.

If Nino was 'stressed' by the Curse, then as a Firebird, it was 'stressed' by the rain.

Its condition was further affected.

Nino naturally understood her pet's situation and quickly reassured it: "Calm down, Fireball. This rainwater is just ordinary water and cannot extinguish your flames."

"Fire Meteor."

Flame Crown Falcon opened its mouth, spewing out scorching white flames, but their power was significantly weakened by the rain.

"Volume Water." Mingxi responded calmly.

A high-speed water vortex appeared.

Flames collided with the water vortex, stirring up steam everywhere.

The battle stage instantly became shrouded in mist.

"Into the steam."

Mingxi's command changed again, "Water Sonic."

"As~" Black {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Pearl immediately flashed into the dense steam. The next second, sound waves penetrated the mist, accurately striking towards Flame Crown Falcon!

Visibility was already low, and sound waves were even harder to dodge!

"Fire Shield." Nino reluctantly used another defensive skill.

The Fire Shield blocked Water Sonic.

The steam gradually dispersed, and Atonas's figure had already disappeared from the battle stage.

Nino frowned.

The Curse mark on Fireball's body still affected her after all.

She felt as if she wasn't fighting Mingxi, and Fireball wasn't fighting Atonas; they were fighting an invisible force called misfortune.

"This can't continue."

She gritted her teeth, "Fireball, Fire Pillar, Phoenix Perch!"

It had to be dispelled before the Curse erupted.

"Boom!"

The Fire Pillar of a Saint-level pet had extraordinary power.

Twelve Fire Pillars shot up into the sky, almost covering the entire battle stage.

They almost blocked Black Pearl's movement routes.

Flame Crown Falcon took this opportunity to land on the field again.

However, it didn't know that Mingxi had been waiting for it to land all along.

"Extreme Speed Water Arrow."

Several Water Arrows shot towards Flame Crown Falcon, which had just landed, accurately hitting its left wing.

Flame Crown Falcon had no choice but to interrupt Phoenix Perch again, flapping its wings vigorously.

But the Curse effect truly manifested at this moment!

As it got up, one of its feet tripped over a small pebble shattered by the previous battle.

Its movement was delayed for a split second!

"Puff puff puff!"

All the Extreme Speed Water Arrows hit!

In the blink of an eye, Flame Crown Falcon was pierced like a large hedgehog.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Without Mingxi's command, Black Pearl began to unleash control and high-damage skills as if they were free.

Netherworld Water Prison, Burial Sea Elegy, Sea Monster Frenzied Rhapsody... whatever skill was powerful, it used it!

It had been eager for this for a long time.

Did it really think that it, the Water-type Little Prince, would fear a big fire bird like you?

If it weren't for its master not wanting it to expose its full strength, it would have slapped it dead with one tail long ago.

Now, it could finally let this annoying fire bird witness the might of its Imperial-level Merman Little Prince!

٩(๑`^´๑)۶

Facing the empowered Black Pearl, Flame Crown Falcon had no way to counterattack.

Even if Nino tried to turn the tide, Black Pearl's attack speed was simply too fast, and it unleashed a barrage of attacks without regard for consumption.

Flame Crown Falcon was like a turtle trapped in a jar; it had no choice but to passively endure damage.

"Flame--"

The poor Flame Crown Falcon finally let out a mournful cry, and at last, powerlessly collapsed to the ground, losing its combat capability.

"Nino Abby vs. Mingxi, Round 1 goes to Mingxi! Score: 0:1."

Nino stared blankly at the fallen Flame Crown Falcon, her hands trembling slightly.

She lost.

Not because of insufficient strength, but because of a Curse.

She felt as if she was truly enveloped by something called "misfortune."

"I don't know what's going on with you, but if you keep dwelling on irrelevant things, and get confined by your own pathological thinking even in a match, then I suggest you just surrender."

Mingxi never liked talking to opponents during Beast Tamers matches, let alone initiating conversation.

This was her first time breaking her own principle.

She couldn't help but complain again, "Someone like you, I don't know how you got into the Top 16!"

She wasn't fond of Nino or trying to be a caring big sister; it was just that with such an awkward match, she could win one round, but she didn't want a second.

She had promised Black Pearl that if it could win, she would let it keep playing.

She also wondered why Nino was so wary of 'Curse.' Could it be that she had made a fool of herself because of a Curse before?