Chapter Ninety-Four: Opponent in the Semifinals

"It's about to hatch!"
"It's cracked!"
"This is..."
A fierce bolt of lightning struck from the sky, landing precisely on the eggshell in Qin Xiaochuan's hands. Strangely, although he was holding the Spirit Beast's egg, the lightning didn't touch him at all—the entire force seemed to be absorbed by the egg itself.

With enough power to break the shell, a dazzling light burst from the egg in Qin Xiaochuan's hands, so intense that everyone was blinded, as if a ten-thousand-watt incandescent lamp had suddenly flashed. After the light faded, Qin Xiaochuan felt the egg in his hand become lighter. Opening his eyes, he saw only a few fragments of eggshell left in his palm—the Spirit Beast had vanished.

"What...?"
Realizing the Spirit Beast was no longer in his hands, Qin Xiaochuan and Little King Yan anxiously searched around. Where had the little creature gone? To be so mischievous right at birth—it was worrying. Hopefully it wasn't too ugly to show its face, otherwise, how could he take it in...

"It's on your head!" As Qin Xiaochuan looked around, Xia Dan suddenly pointed at his head and shouted. There, atop Qin Xiaochuan's head, stood a strange-looking creature—it was evidently the Spirit Beast newly hatched from its shell.

"Ah-boo! Ah-boo! Ah-boo..."
From the little creature's mouth came sounds like "Ah-boo," apparently its first words after birth. While chirping, it flapped its plump little wings, seemingly trying to take flight, but its body was so round and fat that its neck was nowhere to be seen—the head grew directly out of the body, forming a small ball of flesh. A tiny, conical beak poked out from its chubby face, making it look both comical and adorable. It seemed to be a bird species, with two round, blinking eyes curiously observing its surroundings. After chirping twice, the little ball bounced and spun atop Qin Xiaochuan's head, its intentions unclear.

"Is this little thing about to poop on you? Hahahahaha!"
Seeing the Spirit Beast standing on Qin Xiaochuan's head, Little King Yan and Xia Dan couldn't help but clutch their stomachs and burst out laughing. The creature was simply too cute—who would have expected such an oddity to be born? With Qin Xiaochuan's bad temper, they'd thought he would hatch something hideous, but instead, it was this adorable little thing.

"Ouch! That hurts! Why did you hit me so hard? I'm a girl, you know!"
"No laughing!"
Qin Xiaochuan gave Xia Dan a hard thump, feeling a bit annoyed. He'd been so anxious, and now they dared to laugh, making his worry seem pointless. How infuriating!

After a night of rest, the arena welcomed a new round of elimination matches. Though the morning's competition wasn't as spectacular as Qin Xiaochuan's previous battle, the scene was just as bloody and brutal. Perhaps only blood could excite the monsters in the stands. Watching the scoreboard show three to zero, White Shadow turned to Feiyan and asked, "Well? Do you feel confident?"

"They've been hiding their strength."
"Yeah, only two minutes and the match was basically over."
"What are you two talking about?"
As White Shadow and Feiyan discussed the match, Qin Xiaochuan arrived with the Spirit Beast perched on his head. The creature had clung to him all night, even accompanying him to the restroom, amusing Susu and the others to no end. Perhaps it had mistaken Qin Xiaochuan for its mother. Even when thrown out the window, it would fly back and settle on his head again, leaving Qin Xiaochuan helpless—he simply had to take it everywhere he went.

Trailing behind him were Zhang Yang and the masked contestant. The semifinals were scheduled for the next morning, so after a night's rest, Qin Xiaochuan, Zhang Yang, and the masked contestant came to the arena to observe their next opponents. Unexpectedly, White Shadow and Feiyan had arrived early.

"So it's over already? It's only been five minutes!"
"Two minutes," White Shadow corrected Zhang Yang. "These guys act fast, and they haven't even shown a tenth of their real strength. But that thing on your head..." Turning to look at the Spirit Beast atop Qin Xiaochuan's head, White Shadow nearly laughed aloud. "Does it just stick to you all the time?"

"It's infuriating," Qin Xiaochuan grumbled, grabbing the Spirit Beast and tossing it aside. But the little creature flipped in midair and flew right back to his head, chirping "Ah-boo, ah-boo," as if complaining about being thrown. "See? Since yesterday, it hasn't left me for a moment. No matter how I throw it, it always flies back. It's maddening."

"Ha! Maybe it thinks your head is its nest."
"Hmph..."
Qin Xiaochuan could only cross his arms in frustration, clearly unable to deal with the little Ah-boo. "By the way, White Shadow, how's your injury?"

"It's alright, I've applied some herbal medicine. Should be fine by tomorrow."
"Oh, come on," Feiyan shot White Shadow a sideways glance. "An injury from fighting with Frost won't heal so quickly. You're pushing yourself."

"Heh, it'll probably be fine. How's your arm?"
"None of your business."
As White Shadow rolled her eyes, Zhang Yang sidled up. "Why don't you and Feiyan let Miss Feixue treat you? Her healing arts are amazing—she healed my wounds. Look, look," he said, pulling up his shirt to reveal his bandaged torso, flexing proudly. After moving around, he continued, "If you use your herbal medicine along with Miss Feixue's healing, you'll recover in no time. By the way, I heard she's been searching for her long-lost brother. I've decided—after the tournament, I'll help her search. Miss Feixue's cause will be mine; I swear I'll help her find her brother!"

"Is that so? Maybe we could join in, Feiyan?"
White Shadow glanced at Feiyan. "With you, the search should go quickly!"

"... ..."
Pulling Qin Xiaochuan aside, Feiyan whispered with a serious face, "Why did you tell the most troublesome person, White Shadow?"

"Well... don't misunderstand. I thought he already knew. He acts like he knows everything... you know how he is, right? Heh..."

"Really, we need to find a chance to get rid of that guy!"
"... ..."
As the two spoke, the match below had ended. The New World team defeated the Hell Warriors five to zero, all instant kills. Aside from the time for contestants to enter and the referee to announce the start, the actual fighting lasted less than five seconds.

Having qualified for the semifinals, the New World team gathered to bow to the audience. Spotting Qin Xiaochuan and his group, one member with a long blade stood at the edge of the ring, pointed at them, then provocatively gestured with his thumb downward, as if to say: "You're no match for us."

Provoked, Zhang Yang refused to back down. At school, he'd dealt with plenty of outsiders who tried the same, and they'd always disappeared the next day. Staring at the opposing group below, Zhang Yang returned the gesture with his middle finger, refusing to lose out in any confrontation.

As the two teams exchanged gestures, a commotion arose in the arena. Several figures emerged from the entrance corridor—it was the previous tournament's champion team, arriving onsite. Their appearance instantly electrified the atmosphere.

"Look, look, is that the Sikong team?"
"Yeah, who are they watching?"
"It's Qin Xiaochuan's team—they're eyeing each other."
"Their presence is intimidating!"
"Who's that armored one?"
"No idea! But he looks formidable!"
"And the long-haired one beside him—is that a man or a woman?"
"A woman, probably! Men don't have such lovely hair!"
"Yeah, they're so handsome!"
"So stylish!"
"Sikong, you're amazing!"
"Sikong!"
"Sikong!"

"Sikong!"
"Sikong!"
"Sikong!"
...
Some diehard Sikong fans shouted their team's name in unison, making the atmosphere even more intense, nearly overshadowing the New World team. The focus of the tournament shifted to the Sikong team and Qin Xiaochuan's group.

Apparently here to greet Qin Xiaochuan, Sikong Lang raised his arm, pointed at Qin Xiaochuan, then gestured for him to come over, exuding a commanding aura—as if to say: "I'm right here. You, climb over. It's still a long way!"

"Look, look, Sikong Lang is provoking them!"
"Yeah, he's challenging Qin Xiaochuan's team!"
"That's rare!"
"Such presence!"
"I'm mesmerized by his aura! So manly!"
"What does that gesture mean?"
"It means 'come over if you dare—I won't let you off.' Can't you tell, idiot?"
"Oh, I see!"
"So cool!"
"I love you, Sikong!"
"So manly!"
"Sikong!"
"Sikong!"
"Sikong!"
"Sikong!"
...