I was terrified! Raising a colossal star beast in the Beast Taming World

Chapter 144 The Girl's Summoning Technique

Lanzhi Courtyard, Garden.

The afternoon sun shone through the blue iris trellis, scattering golden light across the ground.

Two girls wearing uniforms from the Moon Orchid Pet Alliance sat side by side on a bench, their heads close together, watching the live broadcast of today's quarterfinals match on a virtual screen projected by their wristbands.

A faint floral fragrance floated in the air, strangely intertwining with the roar of battle coming from the screen.

There are a total of eight matches to be played today: Yougui Academy I vs. Aomori Academy I, Yueyou Academy I vs. Canglan Academy I, Leiming Academy I vs. Shuangjing Academy I, and Fentian Academy I vs. Lanzhi Academy I.

After the four quarterfinal matches, the four eliminated teams cannot rest and must immediately enter the four semifinal matches to determine the order of the top five to the top eight.

The schedule was so tight that it gave people almost no chance to breathe – for the first three days of the main competition, eight matches were scheduled every day.

At this moment, we have reached the end of the third match of the day – the battle between Thunder Academy I and Frost Crystal Academy I.

Or, strictly speaking, this doesn't even qualify as an ending.

The match had barely begun when Lei Ying instantly defeated four members of the Frost Crystal Academy team. With a flash of lightning, the four fell to the ground before they even had time to react.

Then, she deliberately left behind Bai Qinxue, the ninth seat of the Ten Heavenly Kings, trapped on the field to slowly torture and toy with her, playing with her casually like a cat with a mouse.

Each strike is precisely controlled to a level of power that is "enough to cause pain but not enough to immediately incapacitate her," leaving her opponent struggling in despair time and time again.

However, this is consistent with the usual style of the Lightning Princess and is not intentionally targeting Frost Crystal Court.

The audience was already used to it.

Although the league officials do not encourage this kind of behavior that is almost like "fountain harassment," as long as you can win and as long as your strength is enough to crush all doubts, no one will really stand up and say anything.

The older girl sighed, looked away from the screen for a moment, and rubbed her sore eyes: "The quarterfinals were pretty much a foregone conclusion. Lei Ying is as dominant as ever, easily wiping out an entire team by herself. That kind of extreme speed makes it impossible to even think of putting up a fight just by watching."

The older girl wasn't just marveling at this one match.

In the previous two matches, both Yūkiin and Getsuyouin secured their victories with an absolute advantage on paper. This is the third round of the quarterfinals so far, and there hasn't been a single upset. The gap in strength is clearly laid bare before everyone, cruelly undeniable.

The younger girl nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed. It's unbelievable that someone as skilled as Lady Lei Ying was defeated by Lady Bai Xue Ji during the preliminary rounds."

She paused, then sighed softly, her voice lowered, tinged with regret and resentment: "If Lady Shirayuki hadn't disappeared, the next match would probably have been a foregone conclusion as well."

Indeed, these two were the girls who had guided the Lanzhiyuan group off the airship. In the following days, they continued to take care of the Lanzhiyuan group's daily life, delivering meals, cleaning, and relaying messages. Gradually, they became quite familiar with the Lanzhiyuan group.

The older girl was called Little Red, and the younger girl was called Little Green. Of course, these weren't their real names, but rather code names used by guests for convenience when working within the Alliance.

Before the Lan Zhiyuan group set off for the competition venue, they specifically asked them for a favor: if Xue Youyou returned, please be sure to tell her to head to the venue immediately.

So the two of them watched the game while waiting with not much hope. The wait itself was slim; what chance was it that someone who had been missing for a day and a half would reappear at this time?

Xiao Hong said, "Yes, who would have thought that the two autographed items we got would become rare so quickly?"

Little Green lowered her voice, as if afraid of being overheard: "It's strange, really. I heard that the Alliance's investigators concluded that Lady Snow White's last traces of activity were in this garden, and that no other traces of unidentified creatures were detected around her at the moment she disappeared. She just vanished into thin air."

Xiao Hong crossed her arms and suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck: "It feels like something very strange."

Little Green suddenly adopted a mysterious expression, her eyes darting around. She leaned close to Little Red's ear and whispered, "Do you think... it's possible that Lady Snow White's ghost is secretly watching us from somewhere in the garden?"

After she finished speaking, she suddenly made an extremely exaggerated and frightening expression, her facial features twisted into a knot, and she stretched out her hands in front of Xiao Hong.

Xiao Hong jumped up, almost falling off the bench: "Damn it, don't scare people like that!"

Xiao Lü stopped making faces and put on a rather serious expression: "This is not an exaggeration. When I was little, my grandmother told me that a soul can only manifest in the world when it has a vessel. A spirit without a vessel is like a ship without an anchor; it cannot be seen by the living."

"Possession?"

Little Red looked completely bewildered, having no idea what Little Green was babbling about.

Seeing that her usually serious senior finally looked confused, Xiao Lü suddenly perked up.

She straightened up, cleared her throat, and explained with great interest: "Simply put, it's something like a relic—an item that carries that person's strong will or bond, and can become a coordinate for the soul to return to the present world."

Xiao Hong was completely bewildered, her brows furrowing even more deeply: "A relic?"

Xiao Lü nodded vigorously, her eyes flashing with an almost fanatical light: "Yes! For example, the amulets that Lady Shirayuki gave to the two of us are her sacred relics."

As she spoke, she unbuttoned her uniform and carefully retrieved the autographed bra she had received a few days earlier from beneath her undergarments. Xue Youyou's signature was clearly visible on the white lace fabric, gleaming softly in the afternoon sunlight. Xiao Lü held it in her hands as if it were a rare and precious relic.

Xiao Hong nodded, somewhat bewildered. Although something felt off, she felt she vaguely understood the concept of "relics"—they were probably important items that carried memories related to someone, right?

Then, she saw Xiao Lü carefully and gently lay the bra flat on the ground, and a new question arose in her mind: "Why did you take it out and put it on the ground?"

Little Green raised her head, her face serious, her eyes bright and alert: "I'm preparing the ritual to summon Lady White Snow. I have the sacred relic; the next step is to prepare the offerings."

Xiao Hong was even more puzzled: "Sacrificial offerings?"

Xiao Lü hummed in agreement, stood up, brushed the grass clippings off her skirt, and turned to run towards the kitchen: "I'm going to get some fresh scallions and duck blood. Wait for me, it'll be ready soon."

By the time she uttered the word "soon," she had already run more than ten meters away. Xiao Hong opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, she saw Xiao Lü's figure disappear around the corner of the garden. She looked down at the bra neatly laid out on the ground, then looked in the direction Xiao Lü had disappeared, and thought that she was just too outrageous.

In less than two minutes, Xiao Lü came running back with a bowl of bright red blood and a brush for brushing oil. The blood in the bowl was still steaming slightly, with a layer of fine foam on the surface, clearly freshly drawn. The big green onion duck in the kitchen was probably in trouble.

Xiao Hong looked at the bowl of steaming blood, raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to be amazed by her efficiency or her execution.

Next, Xiao Lü dipped a brush into the blood in the bowl, and, with the bra on the ground as the center, bent over and meticulously drew a magic circle.

Her movements were fluid and focused, as if she had practiced countless times. Every arc landed precisely in its place, and in no time, a bright red and intricate magic circle was formed on the ground.

The winding, intersecting rune lines shimmered with a moist, dark red luster in the sunlight, possessing an eerie beauty that was hard to describe.

While Xiao Hong found the sight fascinating, she inexplicably shivered. She didn't know if it was because the runes genuinely exuded an eerie aura, or because Xiao Lü's overly serious expression made her instinctively uneasy.

Xiao Hong couldn't help but ask, "And then what? Is there anything else we need to do?"

This time, Little Green remained silent.

She knelt on the ground and slowly closed her eyes. The surrounding wind seemed to freeze for a moment; the petals stopped falling, and the air became heavy. She clasped her hands together, focusing all her attention on one point, and then began to pray devoutly. Her voice was not loud, but each word was enunciated with extreme steadiness and clarity, as if she had practiced for a long time and finally awaited her moment to perform:

"Stars do not hide their secrets, dust does not conceal their names—"

On the strings of the souls, you once trembled.

It is snowing softly.

Also Snow White,

It is a memory that keeps me awake at night, a memory that refuses to fade away.

At this moment, with a single, unbroken thread of the contract,

To trace the outline of your departure,

His name will not fade, his spirit will not perish.

Stardust, heed my command!

Back in your positions!