Free Web NovelIt wasn't that Mingxi wasn't strong enough; rather, the doubles match was a greater test of the two Beast Tamers' cooperation and synergy.
And synergy often requires time to develop.
In this regard, Mingxi was precisely what was most lacking.
Of course, it's still that same saying.
In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks are nothing.
Moreover, Mingxi didn't think her Beast Tamers' synergy was any worse than others'.
What she truly feared was the unknown... hidden in the shadows.
“Xiao Xi, the quarter-final match list is out.”
Shen Linhua reminded the Xiao Guniang, who was explaining tactical intentions to her Beast Tamers.
Mingxi looked up, watching the updated match schedule on the screen opposite.
Whether intentional or not,
she was scheduled for the first match.
Mingxi VS Feng Fangfang
Actually, the overlap between the doubles quarter-finals and the singles quarter-finals was quite high.
After all, players who could sweep the singles matches wouldn't be far behind in doubles.
However, some players, to better focus all their energy on singles, doubles, or team competitions, only registered for one or two events.
Besides Mingxi and Feng Fangfang, the other six players in the doubles quarter-finals were Lu Meiti Yaliya, Wu Ling Shuang, Xiao Zhi Nayue, Tan Ding Kete, Mo Gu Mo, and the handsome and delicate Xinglan Bei Yi.
“Feng Fangfang? He’s a very anticipated opponent.”
Because Feng Fangfang was also a semi-finalist in the singles match, Mingxi had done detailed research on him.
As the only 'intruder' not affiliated with the six major planets, his existence, besides Mingxi who garnered attention due to age and other issues, was absolutely the most eye-catching!
And his experience was the most arduous and winding among all the contestants.
If Mingxi were to evaluate him from a personal emotional perspective, he was a person worthy of admiration and respect!
...Half an hour later, Feng Fangfang stood at the other end of the battle arena.
From a distance, he looked like a stone statue unearthed from ancient ruins, bearing traces of time.
He maintained the appearance of being around thirty years old.
If one only looked at his facial features, he was the typical handsome man of Eastern aesthetics: sword-like brows, starry eyes, thin lips, and a straight nose. He also carried a contradictory yet familiar scholarly aura unique to Dragonflower Country people.
In fact, tracing his roots, he was indeed a Dragonflower Country person.
His physique was perfectly slender and lean, the kind that was neither too thin nor too heavy.
His short, silver-grey hair was tough and unruly, while his skin was a cold white, typical of someone who lacked sunlight for many years, which seemed slightly at odds with his rugged appearance.
But anyone with normal values would never mock him for it, because it was proof of his companionship with the desolate planet once called White Moon Star as it slowly faded into oblivion.
His hair color, his skin, and his eyes were all unique.
Especially his eyes, their color was a nearly transparent light gray, which gave people the feeling of being watched by a non-human when he looked at them.
And what caused him to look this way was that planet, which had completely fallen into silence.
White Moon Star, a name already erased from the Alliance's star map.
More than six hundred years ago, when human civilization discovered it, there was no longer a clear blue sky, only an eternal, dim yellow hue stained by radioactive dust.
The former civilization had become continuous, wind-eroded skeletons of reinforced concrete.
There, the day and night temperature difference was extreme; the scorching sun during the day could melt metal, and the cold currents at night could freeze blood.
The air was thin, radiation exceeded limits, and water resources were a more precious currency than life itself.
Ordinary flora and fauna had long gone extinct; those that could struggle for survival there were almost exclusively a tiny minority of Transcendent creatures that had undergone extreme mutation or were inherently incredibly resilient.
And their daily mode of survival was a constant battle for every morsel of food and every drop of water.
There were no “communities,” no “civilization,” only the most naked law of survival.
When Blue Star civilization discovered White Moon Star, the humans on that planet had already gone extinct or migrated.
Yes.
Human civilization must have existed there, because the planet not only had steel cities and remnants of civilization, but also a large number of human remains were found.
Scientists speculated that White Moon Star must have experienced an accident similar to a super nuclear leak or nuclear explosion, leading to the entire planet being polluted by super radiation, causing humans to mutate, fight each other, and eventually die.
Gradually, only a portion of Transcendent creatures survived on the planet.
Because the environmental pollution was too severe and unsuitable for human survival, even though many scientists wanted to study the history, humanities, geography, etc., of White Moon Star,
they had to consider their own lives and chose to withdraw from this dying planet.
Until one day, a spaceship landed on that land.
It was a scientific research team composed of scientists from various Blue Star countries, who came here with the highest reverence for science and a spirit of exploration.
Their research lasted for decades.
During this period, some died, some left, and some were born.
Feng Fangfang was the child born to Longhua Country scientists Feng Jing'an and Hua Rong, a couple in this research team, on White Moon Star.
Undoubtedly, his parents were cruel to let him be born in such a harsh environment.
Because no one could be sure what their intentions were when Feng Jing'an and Hua Rong allowed him to be born under those circumstances.
Were they reluctant to part with him?
Or were they using this child as a test subject?
Perhaps both.
Sometimes, scientists are rational to the point of cruelty!
Fortunately, regardless of Feng Jing'an and Hua Rong’s intentions, before their passing, they gave Feng Fangfang all their love.
They taught him, nurtured him, and respected him.
Perhaps because of this, even with an incredibly harsh living environment, and even knowing that he could have had a rich, safe, happy, and carefree life, Feng Fangfang did not become a madman seeking revenge on society.
When he was fourteen, his parents were attacked by a hungry Snow Shimmer while out, and died from their severe injuries.
The people who loved him most in this world had left him forever.
He officially took over his parents' work.
When he was eighteen, as White Moon Star's magnetic field became increasingly chaotic and nuclear magnetic explosions occurred continuously, the last group of the research team decided to end their exploration and research of White Moon Star and return to Blue Star.
But he refused. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
He not only wanted to continue the research and exploration of White Moon civilization, fulfilling the cause for which his parents lost their lives,
but also because in his heart, White Moon Star was where he was born and grew up, it was his true home, the resting place of his parents, and the only world he understood and accepted.
He chose to stay.
After the team members' persistent persuasion proved fruitless, they could only compromise, leaving him enough supplies for decades of survival and a spaceship before withdrawing from White Moon Star.
From then on, Feng Fangfang became the only human on that planet.
“White Moon Star Survival Guide”
“Overview of White Moon Star in the α03B91 Star System”
“A Glimpse into White Moon Star's Curse-Matter Civilization”
“Detailed Analysis of White Moon Star's Transcendent Creatures”
“White Moon Star: Six Thousand Years of History”
“Chronicles of a Desolate Star: White Moon Star in Destruction”
...These documents were all penned by the player opposite Mingxi.
He accompanied White Moon Star from its twilight years to its death for a full 327 years.
Regardless of whether his persistence and companionship were worthwhile, no one could deny that he was a great scientist and a powerful Beast Tamers.
When he appeared in the Starsea Cup, more than one person asked him: “Why are you participating in the Starsea Cup?”
Feng Fangfang clearly didn't seem like someone who would be interested in the Starsea Cup.
He was a scientist, a knowledgeable and meticulous scientist.
He smiled and replied, “To bid farewell to my deceased mother star, and to greet my newly met mother star.”
Clearly, the former referred to the former White Moon Star, and the latter referred to the current Blue Star.
Both indeed counted as his mother stars.
“Match start.”
The whistle blew.
Both players summoned their respective Beast Tamers for the match.
Mingxi's side sent out her double support combination.
Little Silver Flower and Emerald Green.
On Feng Fangfang's side, however, the Beast Tamers that appeared made the entire audience gasp.
These were two Transcendent creatures that had never appeared in a match before.
“What kind of Transcendent creature is this? My Beast Tamers identifier can't recognize it.”
“Mine either!”
“Holy crap! Me too.”
“These two Beast Tamers... could they be unrecorded evolved forms?”
“Two completely unknown Beast Tamers, this battle just got interesting!”
At this moment, Mingxi was also a bit stunned; she understood the players' desire to hide their trump cards.
But to directly hide two Beast Tamers that are completely unknown to everyone else, this is no longer just a dirty trick; it's an extreme dirty trick, completely outrageous!
And you say you're hiding them, so why not keep hiding them?
You didn't even pull them out against Lu Meiti in the singles semi-finals, but you're pulling them out against me in the quarter-finals?
Did I kill your whole family, or dig up your ancestral grave?
Mingxi felt wronged, Mingxi was speechless.
“Don’t misunderstand, I just think you’re more worthy of my full effort.”
As a scientist, Feng Fangfang's observational skills were naturally very strong, and he immediately saw through Mingxi's thoughts.
Mingxi was speechless: “Thank you very much.”
Really, she actually didn't need her opponent to value her so much.
Mingxi's gaze swept over the two unfamiliar Beast Tamers on the battle platform. Judging by their energy fluctuations, both were Saint-level Beast Tamers.
Through the handsome, intelligent, non-cheating but helpful commentator Guangguang, Mingxi learned the species names of these two Beast Tamers.
They carried the brutal aesthetic unique to desolate stars, evolved for survival.
Rock Devourer, a Steel and Rock dual-type Transcendent creature, shaped like a giant arthropod.
Its carapace was a dull mixture of rock and metal.
Its joints flickered with unstable energy light.
A massive mouth nearly occupied half its body, filled with layers of sharp teeth for crushing and devouring minerals.
The other one was called Dark Crystal Hunter, a Fighting and Ghost dual-type Transcendent creature.
It had a streamlined, jet-black body, covered in dark crystals that absorbed light and energy. Its four limbs were close to the ground, moving silently, and the tip of its tail was a black diamond-like barb constantly dripping corrosive fluid.
“Both of these Beast Tamers are Transcendent creatures unique to the former White Moon Star, now in a semi-extinct state. Normal Rock Devourers and Dark Crystal Hunters don't look like this; their differentiated mutation is likely due to the desolate star environment.”
Guangguang said so.
“Because you’re in a match, I won’t say anything else. Good luck! ^0^~”
Mingxi didn't object.
Letting Guangguang cheat also didn't align with her principles.
“Alright.”
As Mingxi and the audience observed these two unfamiliar Beast Tamers, they had already begun to move.
Feng Fangfang gave no commands, only a short, deep guttural sound.
This was Feng Fangfang's unique command style.
Besides him and his Beast Tamers, no one could discern his tactical intentions through language.
The Rock Devourer and Dark Crystal Hunter, as if receiving the most precise instructions, instantly launched their attack.
“Ugh.”
The Rock Devourer's massive mouth opened, not for an energy beam, but to spew a wide-ranging, high-speed swirling storm of rock and metal mixture!
What was astonishing was that this rock-debris storm wasn't a pure energy burst.
Instead, it was ejected from its mouth.
It looked more like... regurgitated digestive matter from its stomach.
Mingxi: “...”
Emerald Green: ⚆_⚆
Little Silver Flower: ₍₍ (̨̡ ‾ᗣ‾ )̧̢ ₎₎
This skill was a bit... heavy-tasting.
Without Mingxi's command, Emerald Green and Little Silver Flower moved as if they had fire wheels under their feet (tails), darting around like they were going to cause a ruckus in the sea.
Sharp rock fragments and metal shards, carrying a strong saliva odor, instantly covered the entire field.
Whether it caused damage or not was unknown, but ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ it greatly interfered with Little Silver Flower and Emerald Green's vision.
At the same time, the Dark Crystal Hunter's figure flickered, disappearing as if merging into the wind.
It was Shadow Stealth!
It wasn't completely invisible, but rather moved in the shadows at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, under the cover of the rock-debris storm.
“Wing Control: Waltz.”
“Leaf Storm.”
Little Silver Flower's light wings behind it instantly detached, breaking down into countless shimmering silver blades.
They rapidly rotated around itself and Emerald Green, forming an absolute defense perimeter, deflecting and cutting the incoming rock debris.
Wing Control: Waltz was a practical maneuver after Little Silver Flower's wings evolved into light wings.
Light wings decompose, light wings become blades.
They can be used for attack or defense.
Emerald Green, on the other hand, spread its forearms, and countless shimmering, cold-lighted leaves poured down like a storm onto the opponent's half of the field, providing indiscriminate firepower coverage.
However, a smirk played on Feng Fangfang's lips.
He had already calculated the trajectory of Leaf Storm; for a scientist accustomed to calculations, this was not difficult.
“Uhuhaha.”
His unique guttural sound was transmitted.
The Rock Devourer and Dark Crystal Hunter immediately understood his meaning.
The Rock Devourer did not dodge, enduring some of the leaves, leaving marks on its carapace, but its massive body provided perfect cover for the shadow behind it.
Just as Leaf Storm briefly subsided, the Dark Crystal Hunter emerged like a phantom from the Rock Devourer's shadow.
Its target was Little Silver Flower, who was in the midst of casting Holy Radiance Prayer!
“Crystal Poison Sting.”
The black diamond-like barb on the Dark Crystal Hunter's tail came straight at them, carrying a deadly cold glint.
Mingxi anticipated his anticipation, “Picking Leaves and Flying Flowers, cover.”
Emerald Green flicked its fingertips.
One by one, green leaves and petals, condensed from energy, arrived first despite being launched later, at a speed beyond visual perception, accurately striking the side of the poison barb that was attempting to pierce Little Silver Flower.
The Dark Crystal Hunter's attack trajectory shifted slightly, grazing Little Silver Flower's wing bone.
Little Silver Flower's skill was not interrupted; sacred radiance began to fall.
