Chapter 943: Appearance

As soon as the words fell, four super-large virtual screens appeared, facing the audience in different directions.

Each giant virtual screen displayed the names of over four hundred contestants, along with their photos.

The list on all four virtual screens was identical; this was simply to ensure that the audience sitting in different directions could see clearly.

Qiao Sang's gaze swept rapidly across the list one by one.

There were names that had appeared in marketing articles, as well as names that had never appeared before.

Very quickly, she saw herself in the second position of the third row from the bottom.

As Ye Xiangting browsed quickly, she asked, "Have you found your name?"

"Second in the third row from the bottom," Qiao Sang said.

Ye Xiangting looked in the direction indicated.

When she saw her daughter's photo and name, her eyes lit up. She quickly took out her phone, opened the camera function, zoomed in, and precisely aimed at the photo to take a picture.

"The 432 Beast Tamers on this list are all the participating contestants for this year's Regional Tournament!" the host said loudly, holding the microphone. "Some of them have already experienced ten Regional Tournaments, while others are participating for the first time this year."

"Who exactly will emerge victorious in this feast of the highest-level beast taming battles in the region! You will all bear witness together!"

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

"First, we will conduct the preliminary grouping!" the host continued. "Let us invite the judges from the Beast Taming Notary Office!"

Beast Tamers in the Beast Taming Society have many methods at their disposal.

In the Liao Xi region, there was once an incident where a contestant used a Mechanical-type pet beast to enter the system during the Regional Tournament to arrange their own opponents.

Since then, all Regional Tournaments in the Dragon Kingdom have invited judges from the Beast Taming Notary Office, allowing their Mechanical-type pet beasts to enter the system to conduct on-site grouping, ensuring no one can pull such petty tricks again.

As the host finished speaking, the audience quieted down, each person showing anticipation, wishing they could see the group matches immediately.

A woman in formal attire and a pet beast with a humanoid metal body, about two meters tall and composed mainly of two spheres, stood up in the front row and waved at the audience.

Afterward, the woman nodded at the humanoid metal-bodied pet beast.

"Divide."

The humanoid metal-bodied pet beast let out a sound, and immediately, its head and body split into two.

The head floated toward the giant virtual screen, entered it, and disappeared.

Only the lower half of the body remained standing outside, motionless.

The Fen Tong Ji is a high-tier Mechanical-type pet beast that can directly enter systems to operate. During the operation process, if it encounters viruses or other pet beasts hidden within, its body color will change from silver-white to black.

For those who have watched large-scale beast taming competitions while guarding their TV sets, the Fen Tong Ji is no stranger.

Ye Xiangting was not aware of this.

Although the Yu Hua region also has Mechanical-type pet beasts with similar functions, they are not Fen Tong Ji.

Seeing the scene before her, she couldn't help but exclaim, "This pet beast is quite special, leaving half its body outside."

"This is a Fen Tong Ji," Qiao Sang explained. "If it encounters viruses or other pet beasts when entering the system, not only will its head turn black, but the body left outside will also change color. This is to let everyone know immediately if there is a problem with the system during the grouping."

Over the past few days, she had specifically learned about the Regional Tournaments of the Zhong Kong region from previous years, so she was not unfamiliar with the Fen Tong Ji.

Once these words were spoken, Ye Xiangting immediately looked at her daughter with newfound respect.

She felt that her daughter had grown not only in strength but also in knowledge.

"It seems I can ask you about anything I don't understand in the future," Ye Xiangting joked.

"Not necessarily, not necessarily..." Qiao Sang replied with a smile, "Feel free to ask."

Liu Yao listened to the conversation from the side, feeling very moved inside.

Thinking back to those years, Qiao Sang couldn't even distinguish the most basic food for pet beasts. Now, she was well-versed in pet beasts from other regions and had even become a B-rank Beast Tamer.

And this "those years" was only two years ago.

During the conversation, the Fen Tong Ji had finished the grouping.

The virtual screen displayed the grouping situation for each group.

Ripples appeared on the screen, and the Fen Tong Ji's spherical head floated out from the virtual screen, merging with its body; the color had not changed.

The host announced loudly: "The list is effective, and the preliminary battle list has been matched."

Almost at the same time, everyone's gaze turned to the giant virtual screen.

Qiao Sang saw herself among the people in the first few groups.

【Tang Chao VS Wang Yike】

【Sheng Taozhe VS Nian Dingding】

【Lu Fengba VS Qiao Sang】

Lu Fengba, 36 years old, C-rank Beast Tamer, had participated in the Regional Tournament twice before. The first time, he stopped at the preliminaries; the second time, he achieved a good result in the top 100... Looking at the dark-skinned, thick-browed, and big-eyed man in the photo, information related to him flashed through Qiao Sang's mind.

She had seen information about this person in a marketing article.

She remembered that the last time he participated in the Regional Tournament was two years ago. In two years, strength could undergo leaps and bounds of change, so past data references had lost their significance.

At the same time, five rows behind, the thick-browed and big-eyed man saw the name and photo of his opponent, froze for a moment, and then felt delighted.

Qiao Sang, never heard of her. It seems she is participating for the first time. This photo is so young, like a child. It seems she is a relatively talented Beast Tamer who received nourishment at a very young age, causing her appearance to age more slowly.

However, being this young means her actual age is probably not particularly high either.

This match should be stable.

The host said loudly:

"Next, I will announce the battle rules. Contestants are only allowed to use registered pet beasts for the competition. Pet beasts cannot use potions, props, or spirit patterns. If any are used, the qualification for the competition will be directly canceled. If a pet beast evolves during the battle, it cannot be interrupted. The competition will be presented in a 3V3 format. Each contestant will choose three pet beasts to participate. After each battle, the contestant can choose whether to recall the pet beast into the Beast Taming Codex. The side whose three pet beasts all fall first will be eliminated..."

"Tonight's preliminary round will be opened by the contestants of the first ten groups for this battle feast!"

The opening ceremony of the Regional Tournament is basically held at night.

Originally, according to the initial hosting method, the battles were all held on the second day.

However, later, too many people protested, wanting to see the battle matches immediately.

Since the opening ceremony only takes about an hour or two, and there is still time to watch a few battles, the official rules were later changed, and the first ten groups on the battle list are directly selected for competition each time.

This not only allows everyone to see the battles immediately but also saves everyone from staying up late to watch them.

The vast majority of contestants hope to appear on the list of the first ten groups.

Regarding the battles, everyone is already prepared and is not afraid of when they take place.

And the battles of the first ten groups take place directly after the opening ceremony, which almost everyone in the Zhong Kong region will watch, making it the most talked-about topic. Even if they have no fame, Beast Tamers participating in the Regional Tournament for the first time will have a high degree of topicality.

Otherwise, the subsequent battle list will precisely arrange the date, whether it is morning, afternoon, or evening, and many people will specifically watch the battle contestants they are interested in on time.

Qiao Sang counted on the virtual screen and found that she was in the fifth group, so it would be her turn tonight.

Almost at the same time she counted her order, the contestant list on the giant virtual screen dispersed one by one, leaving only the names and photos of the contestants in the first ten groups.

The whole venue cheered, all shouting the names of the contestants they were interested in from the first ten groups.

No one shouted her name... Qiao Sang pricked up her ears to listen, feeling not at all surprised.

After Ye Xiangting finished looking at the list, she looked at her daughter with burning eyes, her face even showing some nervousness.

To be honest, although she felt her daughter's beast taming talent was extremely high and participating in the Regional Tournament was normal, after all, no one in the entire Dragon Kingdom could become a C-rank Beast Tamer at such a young age.

But realizing that she was really about to see her daughter appear in the Regional Tournament, she still felt a sense of unreality.

The Regional Tournament, a competition that gathers the most outstanding young Beast Tamers in the entire region, her underage daughter, who used to fail exams, was actually going to compete...

Ye Xiangting took a deep breath, just wanting to say something like "compete well" or "good luck," but what came out was:

"Don't be nervous..."

Mom, it seems like you are the one who is nervous... Qiao Sang saw her mother's slightly nervous expression and comforted her:

"I'm not nervous."

She was telling the truth; she was excited, but really not nervous. Her opponent was a full level lower than her; she had no reason to be nervous.

The one who should be nervous now should be her opponent.

This is the Regional Tournament; how could she not be nervous... Ye Xiangting didn't believe it at all.

Just as she was about to say something, Liu Yao, who was on the side, spoke up:

"Qiao Sang's mom, don't be nervous, Qiao Sang can win."

In the preliminary stage, it is basically impossible for a B-rank Beast Tamer to face another B-rank Beast Tamer; it's a sure advancement.

Ye Xiangting was suddenly speechless.

Was her nervousness that obvious... She took another deep breath, wanting to refute the vice principal.

Although Ya Bao recently evolved into the King-tier, it couldn't guarantee a 100% victory in battle. Being so sure that her daughter could win, would it put too much pressure on her?

In her view, her daughter being qualified to participate in the Regional Tournament at this age was already extremely excellent; whether she won or not was not that important.

Just as Ye Xiangting was about to organize her words, wanting to tell her daughter not to feel too much pressure, a staff member walked over and said:

"Please, contestants of the first ten groups, follow me to the backstage to prepare."

The contestants on the list stood up one after another.

Qiao Sang stood up and said:

"Mom, Vice Principal, I'll go first."

As soon as these words were spoken, the contestants and their families sitting around looked over, sizing her up with surprised eyes.

Previously, they were all focused on their own group situations and didn't pay attention to others. Only now did they discover that there was actually someone among this year's contestants who looked like a minor.

The man with the crew cut encountered at the contestant passage was even more stunned, with only one thought in his mind:

Out of the three people, this girl is actually the contestant?!

"Go ahead." Liu Yao nodded.

Ye Xiangting had ten thousand words in her heart, but in the end, she only said two: "Good luck!"

Qiao Sang gave a heavy "Hmm," turned around, and followed the staff member away, heading toward the backstage passage.

The contestant backstage was exceptionally spacious and had good soundproofing, so almost no sound from outside could be heard.

Against the wall was a giant virtual screen that took up almost half the wall, live-streaming the scene outside.

Some contestants were chatting, while others were staying quietly by themselves, looking like they didn't want to be disturbed.

Very quickly, two of the contestants followed the staff members in different directions.

On the virtual screen, two people were sitting in front of the commentary desk.

A man in formal attire with handsome features said: "Hello everyone, I am the commentator for this time, Tian Yiwan."

"I am the commentator, Tang Xueran," the woman next to him with long chestnut hair, who looked very capable, smiled.

"This Regional Tournament will be commentated by us for everyone." Tian Yiwan looked at the list and said with a smile: "The opponents appearing in the first group are Tang Chao and Wang Yike. Tang Chao is already participating in the Regional Tournament for the third time and can be considered a familiar face. I remember he stopped at the second round last time he participated."

"That's right. I don't know if he has made progress in this year's competition and stepped into a higher ranking," Tang Xueran said in cooperation.

Tian Yiwan continued:

"The name Wang Yike is very unfamiliar. This is her first time participating in the Regional Tournament this year, and she is also very young, only 27 years old."

Tang Xueran smiled: "I have expectations for every Beast Tamer participating in the Regional Tournament for the first time, hoping they can bring us different surprises."

At this moment, the camera zoomed out to the venue.

They saw the ground on both sides of the venue automatically open to a width of about two meters.

Tian Yiwan looked at the venue and said: "They are here."

As soon as the words fell, two blue bird-type pet beasts, about two meters tall and looking exactly the same, flew out from the ground with a "whoosh" at the same time, soared straight into the sky, stopped at a height of about ten meters, and hovered steadily in mid-air.

Two figures were standing on them respectively.

They were exactly Tang Chao and Wang Yike.

The Regional Tournament in the Zhong Kong region has such unique characteristics, even using Flying-type pet beasts for the entrance... However, commanding from a Flying-type pet beast is also quite good. The pet beast is large, and only by being high up can one better see the overall situation... Qiao Sang stared at the entrance scene on the giant virtual screen, a series of thoughts flashing through her mind.

Suddenly, a voice sounded beside her:

"Hello, I am Lu Fengba."

Qiao Sang turned her head, saw the opponent she was about to battle, and responded: "Hello, Qiao Sang."

"I know," Lu Fengba smiled. "We two are opponents later. Speaking of which, you look really young. Is it convenient to ask how old you are?"

Before the match, after knowing who their opponent was, many people would try every possible way to obtain information about their opponent.

Qiao Sang thought for a moment; age didn't seem to be particularly important information, so she said honestly:

"17 years old."

Lu Fengba froze for a moment and laughed: "You are really humorous."

What was I humorous about? Qiao Sang didn't understand.

Seeing that the other party didn't report her real age, Lu Fengba suddenly felt it was a bit boring. He put on a social smile and said: "See you on the competition field later."

After speaking, he turned and left.

Qiao Sang turned her head and continued to look at the virtual screen.

Time passed minute by minute, and the competition was in full swing.

When the contestants of the fourth group left the field, Tian Yiwan said: "The next group of contestants is Lu Fengba and Qiao Sang."

When reading the names of this group of contestants, his tone was obviously more excited than before, and his speaking speed was much faster:

"Lu Fengba is also a familiar face. This year is his third time participating in the Regional Tournament. The first time, he stopped at the preliminaries, but the second time, he directly entered the top 100. This time, his strength should be even more powerful."

"And the other contestant, Qiao Sang, is participating in the Regional Tournament for the first time. She is not from our Zhong Kong region, but she signed up for the first Regional Tournament she is participating in in our Zhong Kong region."

As commentators for the Regional Tournament, they would receive a detailed file about the contestants before the match, so they didn't need to look at the data specifically; they could rattle off the contestants' information.

"Contestant Qiao Sang can be said to be one of the contestants I am most looking forward to in this year's Regional Tournament," Tang Xueran continued. "She is the youngest contestant in our Zhong Kong region's history, 17 years old."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole venue was in an uproar, each person showing shock and astonishment on their faces.

17 years old?

Successfully signed up for the Regional Tournament at 17?

Doesn't that mean she became a C-rank Beast Tamer at 17?!

Ye Xiangting listened to the relevant introduction, held her head high, and showed pride on her face.

"Not only that," Tian Yiwan took a deep breath and said word by word: "She is also a B-rank Beast Tamer!"

The entire competition venue instantly quieted down.

It was clearly a venue that could accommodate 172,000 spectators, but at this moment, it was as quiet as if there was no one there.

Ye Xiangting: "?!!"

B-rank Beast Tamer?

Who?

Her daughter?

Only Liu Yao maintained his previous expression.

As early as a few days ago, he had already received such outrageous news.

He looked at the confused faces around him and felt balanced in his heart.

"They are appearing," Tang Xueran said.

As her words fell, two blue bird-type pet beasts soared straight up from the ground. ===== CHAPTER 944 =====