"Hello, everyone, and welcome to livestream channel 03501. I’m your commentator, Lu Dongjie!"

At 3:30 p.m. sharp, Lu Dongjie started the stream right on time.

A few viewers had been waiting for a while. The moment the stream went live, the bullet chat exploded—

[Frost Shadow Qtm: Front row!]

[Golden Rare: Damn it, that was my spot!]

[Dandan’s Noob Dog Sauce: Coming through~ Get your sunflower seeds, peanuts, and mineral water~]

[Jade Balance 001: Huh, this match is an internal affair for Number One High. Su Zhi’s opponent seems to be from there too.]

[Annihilation: To the person above: God Su doesn’t have an alma mater. God Su fights for himself!]

[Gummy Bear: But Su Zhi’s opponent looks tough, too.]

These were all "old fans" who had been watching since the morning. A smile spread across Lu Dongjie’s face as he saw the familiar IDs.

Viewer retention was a key metric for evaluating commentators. If this kept up, he had a good chance of winning the "Grand Commentator Award" for the event.

It would be a powerful stepping stone for his future career in commentary or hosting.

And it was all thanks to his junior, Su Zhi!

’No, God Su! My God Su!!’

[User 13412: I came because I heard good things. Is it true there’s an independent contestant named Su who’s a total badass?]

[User 38128: Probably just hype. We all know how independent contestants usually fare.]

[User 23134: Why is his Pet Beast a Yu Dian Dog? Can that kind of Pet Beast really be competitive before it evolves?]

The arrival of a few clueless newcomers quieted the lively chat of regulars for a moment.

Then...

[Annihilation: Ah, what the hell! I’ll let you guys in on a secret. I watched him this morning, and honestly, he wasn’t that good!]

[Jade Balance 001: Yup, he only looked good because his opponents were even worse!]

[Dandan’s Noob Dog Sauce: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Su Zhi is total garbage.]

[Golden Rare: Trust me, just bet it all on Su Zhi’s opponent. You can’t go wrong.]

[Annihilation: Yep, yep, yep.]

[Frost Shadow Qtm: Mhm, that’s right.]

[Butterfly Fan Bone: +1]

[User 38128: Alright, let’s open the betting then. It’s a no-brainer, just bet on the guy from Number One High.]

[User 13412: True, this one isn’t even a tough call.]

’What a bunch of trolls, setting up the new viewers...’ Lu Dongjie used all the self-control he’d learned in two and a half years of new media work to keep a straight face and suppress his laughter.

"Please refrain from gambling on Pet Beast battles and embrace a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining a positive environment in the stream requires everyone’s cooperation!"

Having said that, Lu Dongjie immediately turned around and bet everything he had on Su Zhi.

’So satisfying.’

...

On the stage, Su Zhi glanced at the scan results on his phone, raising an eyebrow slightly—

[Pet Beast: Terror Demon (Eye of Fear)

Attribute: Mental Element

Race: Middle Elite

Real-time Energy Value: 832]

"You’re... Wang Zihao from Class Nine?"

Su Zhi sized up his opponent curiously. The iconic curly hair was a dead giveaway.

Su Zhi had almost forgotten about him; he never expected to run into him in the arena.

"WOOF!"

Seeing a familiar person—no, a familiar eye—Yu Bao wagged his tail excitedly.

"SKREEE!" The Terror Demon retreated two steps as it recalled the horror of getting a brick to the eye.

"...So it really is you."

Wang Zihao froze for a moment, then gave a complicated smile.

"I thought you weren’t going to make it. I never expected we’d meet again here."

"Must be fate," Su Zhi replied with a polite smile.

His opponent had clearly matured. The wild arrogance from their first encounter was gone, replaced by a sense of stability.

Aside from Liu Yuhang, Su Zhi hadn’t paid attention to the other two semi-finalists from the qualifiers. But the Eye of Fear’s Real-time Energy Value was impressive; Su Zhi wasn’t surprised at all that he’d made it to the City League.

"Yu Bao, this fight won’t be as easy as the one with Xu Mingzhi. This guy’s a true elite," Su Zhi warned him through the Beast Taming Space.

"Arf-woof!"

Yu Bao’s bark meant he was born to fight elites!

The livestream chat was buzzing:

[User 38128: Holy crap, an Eye of Fear! This guy’s rich!]

[User 13412: No way some clown actually bet on the Yu Dian Dog, right?]

[Jade Balance 001: Right? Right?]

[Golden Rare: Mhm.]

[Butterfly Fan Bone: I’ll be laughing at whoever bet wrong for the next two and a half years.]

[Frost Shadow Qtm: So, commentator, who are you betting on?]

Although the consensus on who would win was still... lopsided, some viewers subtly expressed their concern.

The Eye of Fear was undeniably powerful. Even though Su Zhi’s performance this morning had been impressive, was his victory a sure thing?

Lu Dongjie began his analysis in a grave tone:

"The Eye of Fear is a powerful crowd-control Pet Beast. Its eye can unleash various attacks that interfere with an opponent’s mind, while its tentacles can be used to physically restrain them.

"This type of Pet Beast struggles most against opponents with high Mental Resistance, or those who are too durable to be damaged even when restrained.

"The Yu Dian Dog is a balanced Pet Beast, a sort of all-rounder in terms of offense and defense. It might struggle against the Eye of Fear’s attacks."

—All of the above was him talking complete nonsense with a straight face, because he had seen a video of Yu Bao absolutely wrecking an Eye of Fear.

"When two champions meet, the bolder one prevails. Let’s wait and see who comes out on top!"

On Arena 35, the light turned from red to blue.

"Sorry, but I won’t be holding back!" Wang Zihao said grimly.

"Same here." Su Zhi’s gaze sharpened instantly.

"DING."

The light turned from blue to green. The match was on!

"Terror Demon, Thorny Grip!"

"SKREEE!"

The Eye of Fear let out a rasping shriek as its tentacles instantly multiplied, surging toward Yu Bao.

After the semi-finalists were decided in the qualifiers, the "exhibition match" between Su Zhi and Liu Yuhang had stunned the crowd.

Wang Zihao had been one of them.

He knew that Su Zhi had a diverse array of trump cards; his own chances were almost zero.

Wang Zihao, who had once dominated by relying on his high-level Pet Beast, was now experiencing that same suffocating despair himself.

But—

If you stepped into the arena, you fought to win.

Even against an unbeatable opponent, you had to show your blade!

The Terror Demon’s abilities were excellent, after all. If he hadn’t run into Liu Yuhang in the second round of the qualifiers, he might have actually made it to the semi-finals.

Faced with the overwhelming wave of tentacles, Yu Bao had no choice but to use Desert Concealment to evade.

Simultaneously, it unleashed a Tier Two Sandstorm from its flank.

The massive sandstorm swept across half the arena, batting away dozens of tentacles, but more swarmed in to fill the gaps in the attack.

The Terror Demon focused its tentacles to defend itself, and the Sandstorm swept past without managing to harm its main body!

"Nice work."

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wang Zihao shouted, "Multiple Deterrent Light Wave!"

He knew exactly how powerful those battle-saber-shaped sand blades were. He absolutely could not let Yu Bao get a chance to use them!

FWOOSH—

Countless dark purple Light Arrays materialized around Yu Bao, each with an eyeball-like pattern swirling at its center.

Then, all the eyeballs lit up at once, firing an inescapable barrage of light at Yu Bao.

The Tier Two Multiple Deterrent Light Wave was free from the restriction of being fired from the main eye, allowing it to control an opponent from any angle!

This move took a huge toll on the Eye of Fear. Once used, it would have little combat strength left for a while.

This was an all-or-nothing, kill-or-be-killed gambit.

And it seemed fate had rewarded his gamble.

Maybe it was overconfidence on its part, or maybe there was truly no escape...

Pinned by the combined assault of the tentacles and the Deterrent Light Wave, Yu Bao was successfully frozen in place for a brief moment!

"SKREEE!"

The Eye of Fear let out a triumphant shriek, maneuvering its tentacles to bind Yu Bao completely.

Wang Zihao was ecstatic—he had defeated a god!

The next second, however, the body of Yu Bao bound by the tentacles suddenly dissolved into a cloud of sand.

"Damn it! Behind you—" Wang Zihao instantly realized what was happening, but it was too late.

The Terror Demon whipped its head around, only to see a Quicksand Shield hurtling toward it, already too close to dodge...

"BAM!"

[Annihilation: What kind of strategy is this?? Using Sandstorm as a feint to cover the escape route from Desert Concealment?]

[Day after Day: Shouldn’t the real point be that a Yu Dian Dog somehow knows both Sandstorm and Desert Concealment...?]

[Jade Balance 001: And what was with that clone??? Is that an original Skill??]

[Frost Shadow Qtm: Why did that shield look so much like Flowing Shield... Is Yu Bao secretly a duck?!]

[A Scum White Hair: You guys just don’t get it, do you? Su Zhi has always been a master of creating his own custom Skill sets!]

And while some people were marveling at Yu Bao’s skills, another group was questioning their very existence:

[User 13412: Teacher Su, what just happened?]

[User 38128: I’m so foolish, truly...]

[User 23134: Damn it! My money!!]

[User 31674: Hello, staff? It’s getting pretty windy up here on the roof of the Battle Hall.]

[Golden Rare: Hahaha! Finally, someone else gets to experience the shock and pain I went through!]

Livestream channel 03501 was buzzing with activity.

Lu Dongjie smiled. "Let’s congratulate Su Zhi on advancing to the third round! That concludes this afternoon’s battles. We’ll see you all again tomorrow morning."

"And a friendly reminder from this channel: please refrain from gambling on Pet Beast battles and live a healthy life~"

·

Back on the stage, the two opponents hadn’t left yet.

"We lost. You have my complete respect." Wang Zihao walked over to Su Zhi and bowed deeply. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"You have your own distinct advantages, we were just more well-rounded," Su Zhi replied with a smile, graciously shaking his hand.

After that first showdown, the two had gone their separate ways, fading from each other’s lives.

It was a strange feeling, meeting again in the arena after so long. It was almost like reuniting with a long-lost friend. They were like two travelers who had parted ways at the start of a path, only to meet again by chance while climbing the same mountain.

Wang Zihao was silent for a moment before shaking his head with a wry laugh.

"I don’t know if you heard, but your spot in the tournament was given to someone who hadn’t originally qualified."

"...That was you?" Su Zhi blinked, the realization dawning on him.

That night, he’d only heard Cao Mingyu describe Old Zhou’s furious rampage. Su Zhi hadn’t paid attention to who ended up with his spot, nor had he really cared.

Now that the other man mentioned it, Su Zhi vaguely recalled.

"Honestly, I felt really guilty, like I’d stolen something from someone else."

Wang Zihao shook his head. "But I really didn’t want to miss the opportunity to compete in the City League... so I took it."

"Don’t be like that. It wasn’t your fault."

Su Zhi chuckled.

"Besides, I don’t think you got a free pass. You’re strong enough to have earned your place in this arena.

"For me, losing my qualification was an injustice, a result of dirty tricks. But for you, maybe it was a stroke of destiny?"

"Yeah... Thanks for saying that."

Wang Zihao scratched his head, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

"Maybe this was fate, huh? Losing to you is like returning the spot to its rightful owner. I actually feel relieved now. It’s not so bad.

"This is probably my limit. But you’ve got way more to go. You should make it to the semi-finals, the finals. Maybe even win the whole thing.

"Keep going! Don’t stop now!"

"Yeah. I hope you’re right!"

The two of them patted each other on the shoulder and walked off the stage together.

"WOOF!" Yu Bao wanted to give the Terror Demon a pat, too.

The Terror Demon yelped in terror and instantly flashed back into its Beast Taming Space.

·

·

Author’s Note: Su Zhi asked me to change the cover, so I reluctantly did. I hope you all like the energetic Emperor Shao~

The old cover will be put in a bonus Chapter as a historical artifact!