A massive beast, primarily white, standing roughly three meters tall with sharp, elongated ears, four paws, and a silver pocket watch hanging from its neck, materialized in the glowing array.
Upon seeing the creature, Qiao Sang’s heart sank. Only two words echoed in her mind: I’m doomed.
Tablema, a general-level psychic beast. Its pocket watch amplifies and projects mental power. With sufficient training, it can even predict an opponent's moves in advance.
Three general-level beasts... Qiao Sang suddenly felt a pang of regret.
The orange star array indicated that the opponent could bond with four beasts. Assuming no surprises, one of the slots was likely reserved for Luckbringer.
Although this villainous uncle and she both currently had three beasts, the disparity was clear: His trio was all general-level beasts!
The gap between a C-rank Beastmaster with one general-level beast and one with three was immense.
Qiao Sang sighed inwardly. She couldn’t back down now, not in front of Yabao and Little Treasure. Keeping her expression neutral, she decided to bluff her way through:
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What a noble and selfless spirit!
In that moment, Qiao Sang’s image in his mind became almost saintlike.
“I’ll wait for you!” Wu Chang shouted, mounting Sensory Bird.
“Yun Yun…” Luckbringer, nestled in the container, peeked out from beneath the cloth. Transparent claws grasped the device as it gazed at the unfamiliar humans and beasts before it, eyes brimming with tears of gratitude.
Too bad Qiao Sang couldn’t see it. Otherwise, her regret might have eased slightly.
“Don’t let him escape.” Zhang Rongtang ordered, his gaze locking onto the ascending Wu Chang.
“Tablema.” The psychic beast fixed its glowing blue eyes on the fleeing figure. Slowly, it raised its paw and began swinging the pocket watch rhythmically. A burst of invisible energy surged toward Wu Chang mid-flight.
“Uncle, don’t ignore me!” Qiao Sang called out with forced bravado.
Yabao responded with a fiery whirl from its jaws, aiming straight for Tablema’s pocket watch. This forced the psychic beast to pause its motion and defend itself.
Tablema remained unfazed as the flames approached. Its eyes gleamed a deeper blue.
Abruptly, the raging fire froze mid-air and reversed course, hurtling toward Sensory Bird instead.
Little Treasure appeared a few meters ahead of the flames, his eyes flashing blue as he intercepted the attack. The fire halted again, caught between two opposing forces of psychic energy. Ȑ
Zhang Rongtang’s shock was palpable.
“This Treasure-Seeking Demon has psychic abilities too?”
A Fire/Psychic Flame Hound was already rare enough. Now there was a Ghost/Psychic Treasure-Seeking Demon in the mix? Did this girl also have an invisible Luckbringer aiding her?
Even more astonishing was the stalemate between Tablema and Treasure-Seeking Demon. Despite a two-level gap, the Treasure-Seeking Demon’s psychic force was holding its ground.
“Could its mastery of psychic energy have reached the ultimate level?” Zhang Rongtang nearly lost his composure at the thought.
The psychic beast’s eyes deepened in color, its amplified mental energy overpowering Little Treasure’s hold on the flames. The fire surged toward Sensory ry Bird once more, forcing Little Treasure to teleport away.
By now, Wu Chang and Sensory Bird had gained some distance, moving out of Tablema’s effective range. The flames dissipated into the night.
Qiao Sang exhaled in relief. At least Wu Chang had managed to escape. As long as he got Luckbringer to safety, she reasoned, her own situation might not turn dire.
After all, this villainous uncle didn’t seem particularly ruthless. If he were, he could’ve simply ordered his beasts to attack her outright.
But just as she thought the worst was over, Sensory Bird, carrying Wu Chang, turned around and slowly glided back to the ground.
“Why are you back?!” She exclaimed, utterly bewildered.
Wu Chang looked equally confused.
He genuinely had no idea. Sensory ry Bird had been flying fine, but then it suddenly reversed course and refused to respond to his commands.
Qiao Sang’s heart sank. Her gaze dropped to Sensory ry Bird. Its eyes were dull and unfocused, as if in a trance.
This seems eerily similar to those beasts that Little Treasure hypnotized earlier…
Hypnosis had three levels of proficiency:
At its most basic, it put the target to sleep.
Advanced users could manipulate dreams.
The pinnacle of mastery allowed simultaneous dream manipulation and real-world behavioral control.
For a hypnosis of this caliber, the skill must have reached perfection.
A realization struck Qiao Sang like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes snapped to the Phantom Fiend standing beside Zhang Rongtang.
“Whisper…” The ghostly beast, sensing her gaze, rolled its crimson eyes, which flickered briefly with purple light before returning to red. It grinned, drooling menacingly.
Sensory Bird’s eyes cleared, and it shook its head in apparent disorientation before blinking at its surroundings in confusion.
So it was Phantom Fiend all along… But when did it manage to land such a perfect hypnosis?
Qiao Sang felt a headache brewing. The odds were stacked against her.
Just then, Zhang Rongtang spoke.
“This wasn’t what I wanted.”
Not what he wanted? What does that even mean?
Before she could process his words, Stronghold Sky Owl ascended rapidly into the sky, its curved legs glowing with teal light.
Meanwhile, Tablema vanished into thin air.
Little Treasure felt a foreboding presence behind him. Turning stiffly, he found himself face-to-face with a gleaming silver pocket watch.
Zhang Rongtang silently finished the thought he hadn’t voiced aloud.
I didn’t want to do this, but those two beasts are too much trouble.
He glanced at Qiao Sang, his resolve hardening.
A mere child dares obstruct my path to Luckbringer?
“Whisper!” He commanded.
The Tablema’s eyes snapped open, glowing an ominous purple.