The beast starts from zero

"Next, let's welcome the contestant for the second match of the round-robin stage in this year's Master Challenge," Nephthys said with great enthusiasm: "Serana from Tianyuan Star!"

Auror continued, "Serana has won sixty-five championships in her career; she has spent almost her entire life in Beastmaster battles!"

As he finished speaking, a beam of white light descended from the platform, and Serana appeared before everyone.

Instantly, the entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers and screams:
"Serana! Serana!"

"And Josan from Earth!" On the high platform, Nefertis's voice was even more passionate than before.

"Josang, a rising star in the world of beast taming!" Auror's tone was equally passionate: "At only 18 years old, she is the youngest A-level professional beast tamer in history! This is her first time appearing in the public eye, participating in an interstellar competition, yet she has achieved unparalleled results and made it this far! Becoming one of the top three contestants!"

A beam of white light descended from the high platform on the other side.

Qiao Sang appeared up there.

A louder sound wave than before instantly swept across the entire area like a tsunami. Everyone and their pets screamed at the top of their lungs, and the deafening sound wave was filled with fervor.

"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"

"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang!"

Amidst the calls of the crowd and their pets, the two hosts and their beloved pets vanished into thin air and reappeared on the commentary stage.

"Heart~"

Listening intently to the sounds from the audience, Zhi Ai exclaimed with emotion, expressing how enthusiastic everyone was.

Nefertis said with a smile, "Judging from everyone's reaction, both Serana and Jossan have extremely high popularity."

"Heart~"

Zhi Ai nodded, indicating that it understood.

Auror asked, "My dear, I heard you've been following the Masters Challenge recently and should be familiar with these two players. What do you think will happen in this match?"

"Heart~"

"Heart~"

The Heartfelt Heart pondered for a moment, then barked twice, indicating that both contestants were very strong. Serana had a wealth of combat experience, while Josang, though young, seemed to have combat experience that rivaled that of older professional beast tamers. It sensed that the competition would be intense, but Serana would likely win by a narrow margin, given that she had one more royal-level pet than Josang, and even her weakest pet was king-level, stronger than Thunder Dragon.

"It seems that Heartfelt Heart has been watching both Serana's and Jossan's matches carefully," Nefertis said with a smile.

During the conversation between the host and guests, a mechanical-type pet wearing a referee's badge appeared on the field and blew the whistle to signal preparation.

The light and shadow of the number "10" appeared in the air, constantly changing accompanied by mechanical sounds.

"9, 8, 7..."

Serana… Jossan gazed at the figure on the distant high platform, his heart beating faster and faster involuntarily.

She knew it was due to excitement.

At the beginning of the competition, she only wanted to get along well with her opponent because she had no idea that she would win. But now that she has come this far, she only wants to win and wants to win.

Serana nodded slightly to her, and even though they were far apart, she could feel Josan's burning gaze.

"3, 2, 1." The light and shadow disappeared.

Josang and Serana simultaneously formed hand seals.

Two mysterious and profound purple star arrays lit up simultaneously on the field.

The audience fell silent as if controlled, everyone focused on the stage, waiting for the pet to appear.

Before long, two enormous, imposing beasts appeared in the star array.

"Teeth!!!"

Toothpick roared excitedly in the star array, then stomped down hard with its paw.

"boom!!!"

In an instant, countless streams of molten lava erupted from the ground, engulfing the entire area.

The figures on the other side of the field were instantly swallowed up.

Dark red magma pressed down layer by layer like a surging tide, the air scorching and distorted.

Barriers were erected around the venue to prevent the terrifying lava from flowing into the stands.

A commotion suddenly arose.

"Good heavens, the Burning Emperor actually used the super-tier skill Lava Purgatory right from the start! Is he that powerful?!"

"Do you think the Nightmare Serpent will be killed outright?"

"Impossible, but he might be seriously injured. After all, the Burning Emperor's Lava Purgatory is not only a super-level skill, but his proficiency with it is also quite high."

Why didn't the Nightmare Serpent dodge just now?

"How can it dodge? The entire area is covered by lava, and it can't fly or teleport."

"Don't forget, Serana's Nightmare Serpent has a super-level defensive skill."

"The Burning Emperor unleashed Lava Inferno right from the start!" Nephthys exclaimed from the commentary booth. "The Nightmare Serpent blocked it with Dream Eater Barrier!"

"Dream Eater Barrier is a super-level defensive skill, and it's also a rare super-level skill with both poison and ghost attributes." Auror said, "Any long-range attack can be corroded by the Dream Eater Barrier, while any pet that comes into contact with the barrier at close range will be swallowed up by the Dream Eater Barrier and trapped in a dream."

"Xin Xin." Xin Xin looked at the scene and called out, indicating that it seemed that the power of the Lava Purgatory that the Burning Emperor had used was still superior, and the Dream Devouring Barrier had not completely blocked the magma.

On the field, magma that seemed capable of scorching everything surged down from the Nightmare Serpent.

It was shrouded in a dark purple spherical barrier, on which craters were burned. Some of the magma flowed into the barrier and, with a hissing sound, dissolved and disappeared inside, releasing purple poisonous gas.

However, even after the poison gas dissipated, the Nightmare Serpent still had some burn marks left on its body.

The Nightmare Serpent, a unique Ghost-type Royal-level pet, differs from ordinary Nightmare Serpents in that its body is incomplete and cannot become invisible or float like ordinary Ghost-type pets. However, it also possesses the Poison attribute, which other Nightmare Serpents lack, making it a unique dual-attribute Royal-level pet... Qiao Sang looked at the snake-like pet in the distance, which was about thirty meters long, with a semi-transparent blackish-purple gel-like body containing irregular markings, unbranched dragon horns on its head, and a deep black tail. After recalling relevant information about it, his gaze fell on the irregular markings visible within its body.

It is said that the Nightmare Serpent can invade other people's dreams, turning their beautiful dreams into nightmares, and then devouring the real nightmares into its own body, turning them into energy for its own use. Each mark in the serpent represents a dream that has been devoured.

……

VIP room.

"Xia Xia!"

Xia Lala exclaimed excitedly.

In its view, Toothball's attack was very successful.

Michaela stood to the side, looking at the view outside the floor-to-ceiling window with a somewhat solemn expression.

"Investigate further."

Jiu Bugu appeared beside him, called out, and indicated that there was nothing to worry about; it was just a ghost-type pet that couldn't hide.

"Haven't you heard of the Nightmare Serpent of Serana on Tianyuan Star?" Michaela asked.

"Jiujiu." Jiu Bugu called out, indicating that this Nightmare Serpent was of the same gender as it, and it never paid attention to creatures of the same gender. Michaela: "..."

Penjami: "..."

Dragon King: "..."

Xia Lala stopped cheering, turned to look at Jiu Bugu, and then, as if she had thought of something, silently moved two steps to the side.

“Serana’s Nightmare Serpent is a dual-type pet with Ghost and Poison attributes.” Michaela stared at the field and said slowly, “Although it is fragile compared to other royal-level pets, as long as you hit it, whether it is a ranged attack or a melee attack, you will be cursed with bad luck or poisoned. It is a character that is harder to fight as the game drags on.”

"Investigate further."

After hearing this, Jiu Bugu exclaimed, indicating that Ya Bao had the sacred fire that could lift the curse.

Although it doesn't usually appear, Ya Bao and the others train every day, so it still has some understanding of their skills.

“Ya Bao’s proficiency with Holy Fire isn’t particularly high,” Michaela said in a deep voice. “And this Nightmare Serpent in Serana has reached the S-rank in terms of bad luck. As long as you attack it, there’s a more than 90% chance that you’ll become unlucky. Even if Holy Fire can remove the curse, it probably won’t be enough to purify it every time.”

"Grind."

The Dragon King roared, indicating that there was nothing to be afraid of; at worst, he would be unlucky enough to not be able to activate his Fiery Fury ability.

Michaela gave it a look that said, "Can't you speak properly?"

The Dragon King looked at his beast tamer, his eyes seeming to say: Why are you looking at me?

"Puff."

At this moment, Penjami cried out, indicating that the Nightmare Serpent was fragile and that Toothpick should be able to defeat it without unleashing its raging flames.

Michael looked at Penjami, smiled, and said, "You're right."

……

On the field.

The tattered barrier on the Nightmare Serpent disappeared.

At the same time, starting from its location, the dark red magma around it turned blackish-purple at a visible speed and rapidly spread wildly throughout the entire area.

“Mars,” Josan said.

Toothbear vanished instantly, reappearing high in the sky. It tilted its head back slightly, opened its mouth, and a terrifying crimson light instantly condensed deep within its throat.

However, at that moment, countless purple poison needles shot upwards from the body of the Nightmare Serpent.

Just as the poison needle was about to strike Toothbear, flames suddenly surged outwards from its body, forming a spherical flame barrier that enveloped it.

"Bang bang bang!"

The poison needle struck the barrier, and as it exploded, purple poison gas rapidly spread outwards.

At the same time, a crimson energy ball containing terrifying power shot out from the gap left above the flame barrier.

With a "bang," the crimson energy ball exploded at its highest point.

Countless fiery rains fell, the temperature in the air soared, and the entire venue and sky seemed to be bathed in red light.

The Martian Rain spell was successfully cast, but Josan's expression turned serious.

There's more and more poison gas on the field...

Previously unnoticed, now the air, besides reflecting red, also contains purple...

Josan looked at the discolored lava and the toxic air, and a video of Sera's past match flashed through his mind.

At the time, the Nightmare Serpent was battling a dragon-type pet. Initially, it was no match for that dragon-type pet. When it was about to collapse and could no longer stand up, the dragon-type pet, which was preparing to unleash a powerful attack to end the match, suddenly could not use its skills. Its entire body turned purple, it collapsed from poisoning, and fell into a dazed state, directly reversing the outcome of the battle.

Thinking of this, Qiao Sang spoke up:

"screen!"

High in the air, Ya Bao held his breath.

"I've found out..." Serana laughed.

Hold your breath, but how long can you hold it...?

“Divine Mist,” Serana said.

Divine Mist, a neurotoxic mist, is a high-level poison skill that can dull the target's reaction, reduce skill hit rate, and even cause hallucinations... Information about "Divine Mist" flashed through Qiao Sang's mind, but he did not issue any commands.

As long as Tooth can hold his breath, these poison gas-type skills don't need to be worried about, since there's no better way.

However, the pace of the battle needs to be sped up... Josang gathered his thoughts and issued the command:
"Continuous attack."

Toothball opened its mouth, and a golden-red beam of light instantly pierced through the rain of fire and struck downwards.

A dark purple barrier instantly enveloped the Mold Nightmare Serpent.

"Bang bang bang!"

One loud bang after another rang out. The barrier not only blocked the golden beam of light, but also kept the rain of fire outside.

High in the sky, Toothbear teleported away and appeared behind the Nightmare Serpent, opening its mouth.

Purple poisonous gas filled the air, and before Ya Bao could make any move, it suddenly disappeared with a "bang".

This is learning from the Underworld Lord's use of a substitute to divert attention. The Burning Emperor just now should not be a substitute, but an clone. The real Burning Emperor... Serana looked up at the sky and sure enough, she saw the second "sun" that suddenly appeared.

"Just go for it," she decided quickly.

The Burning Emperor is not easy to deal with, especially for a pet like the Nightmare Serpent, which has low defense and slow movement. However, every pet has its own fighting style. Just because it is not as strong as the Burning Emperor doesn't mean it is helpless.

"Moldy."

As the Nightmare Serpent gazed at the rain of fire filling the sky, it slowly exhaled a breath of poisonous gas, and then the purplish-black barrier around its body disappeared.

"Bang bang bang!"

Countless streams of fire rained down on it.

The Nightmare Serpent frowned, enduring the pain.

At the same time, it raised its tail, opened its mouth, and different colored toxic gases spewed out from its mouth, tail, and gelatinous body.

Purple, black, red, and green toxic gases mingled and spread around it at a visible speed.

"The Nightmare Serpent has unleashed a mixed poison gas!" Nefertis exclaimed from the commentary booth.

"Mixed Poison Gas isn't a single skill; rather, it's the Nightmare Serpent simultaneously unleashing and fusing four of its advanced poison gas skills, spreading them throughout the air," Auror explained. "Corrosive Poison Gas corrodes the target and inflicts continuous damage; Neurotoxic Mist slows the target's reactions and causes hallucinations; Stress Poison Gas drastically reduces the target's speed, making it difficult for flying-type pets to take off; and Memory Poison Mist shrouds the target's brain in a fog for a period of time, preventing the Beastmaster from immediately associating commands with their skills."

"If the Burning Emperor is hit by these four poison gas skills together, he will have lost most of the match."

He paused, then added, "However, this is on the premise that the Nightmare Serpent can withstand or evade the Blazing Sun Impact of the Burning Emperor." (End of Chapter)