🌀 Federation Beast Arena – Preliminaries Begin
———
The announcer's voice echoed again through the arena's vast surround-casters, crisp and commanding:
🎙️ "Prepare your bonded beasts. All classifications permitted—Soul Constructs, Arcane-Class, and Myth-Class Beasts. Two rounds: First, Co-Combat Engagement. Second, Command-Only Tactical Duel. Multi-beast handlers will be matched accordingly. Students with Sky-Class Aerial Bonds, report to Sky Stadium, Gate Seven."
———
I grinned, watching Mystic's lightning crackle above, golden arcs threading across the overhead drift-shields like a living pulse.
"Looks like it's time to let the kiddos shine," I said, reaching for Lufei and Maxius' soul-links.
Jin Minhe just pointed upward toward the suspended arena vaults.
"You might want to give her a warm-up charge. Or three. …Maybe seven, actually."
He turned around, squatting on the alloy-tiled floor drawing circles and mumbling Jin-Minhe-brain-thoughts. Food.
But—he wasn't wrong.
Fan Yumei crossed her arms and studied the digital match array as students began checking their slot allocations. Mystic floated behind her, already alert despite not being called yet. Lufei and Maxius stood at her flanks like silent sentries.
Jin Minhe strolled up beside her, arms loose at his sides, but his eyes weren't lazy—they were running facial scans across the crowd.
"You're tracking competition signatures," he noted.
Fan Yumei gave a barely-there nod.
"We won't get much on them. S-Class and SS-Class profiles are locked behind Officer-level access."
He frowned. "Of course they are."
"But I know a few flags," she added, tone even, gaze fixed ahead. "Watch when they step into rotation."
She gestured subtly toward the far-left sector where students stood in a quiet, spaced-out formation—cleaner gear, reinforced insignia, and that eerie confidence you only get from upper-tier training protocols.
"The girl in the white-silver phase-thread nano armor? Qin Yuyan. Northern Glacier Sector rep. Ice affinity, dual-elemental core. Her bond is rumored to be a Frost Serpent composite—bloodline-enhanced."
Fan Yumei tracked the figure. Qin Yuyan was calmly adjusting a long silver ribbon encoded with stabilizer runes. Her eyes were shut, but the way others gave her a wide berth said everything.
"She has a suppression field around her qi signature. Dampens presence and sound. Basically a stealth-mode cast that kicks in at engagement start."
"Logged," Jin murmured. "What else?"
She turned slightly, indicating a tall boy with dual bronze kinetic cuffs on his wrists.
"Han Zeduo. Division 8. Elemental Caller and Combatant—Military Track. Heavy earth-qi density with enhanced reinforcement core. Doesn't flash much, but once he roots, he's practically a bunker. His beast's an Armored Stone Lion variant."
Maxius flexed his spectral wing. Lufei sniffed and snorted faintly.
"Red cloak, triple braids. Designation: Tian Rou. Also D8. SS-Class. Born with full elemental channeling frame. Rare. Doesn't deploy her bond much. Qi projection alone classifies her as artillery."
Fan Yumei tracked her easily. Tian Rou's posture was relaxed, but the air around her shimmered faintly with heat blooms.
"She's unstable over time. Qi flare loses structure. Collateral risk spikes after extended combat. They only send her in for lockdowns or no-return matches."
Jin raised an eyebrow. "You memorized all their match-risk profiles? That's exhausting. I feel hungry just listening."
Fan Yumei shrugged.
"Only those who pre-map enemy signatures stay three moves ahead."
His Glutton Panda rumbled behind him and rolled closer.
"One more," she said, quieter now.
"Su Cheng. SS-Class. Doesn't wear Federation gear. Doesn't need to. Look for the jade flute. No beast on record. No registry trace. He's flagged as 'Battle Tamer – Silent-type Support,' but that's just theory."
She frowned.
"No footage. No trace data. No ID lock."
Jin nodded. "Correct. No public signal. But I saw him. Three years ago. Unauthorized provincial trial. He muted ten combatants before anyone realized he'd breached the dome."
Fan Yumei stayed silent.
"If you draw him," he added, "don't engage upfront. Force a reveal."
Fan Yumei nodded slowly.
"So that's the threat index."
"No," Jin said, "That's just the visible bandwidth."
Yumei exhaled and flexed her gloves.
"Perfect," she muttered. "I was worried today might be dull."
She was still memorizing Su Cheng's name when a crackle of golden charge pulsed beside her.
Mystic, who had been lazily hovering in her default form, flared with translucent resonance. The air flexed—
Pop.
In the next blink, Mystic condensed to the size of a large hover-stone, fins folding tight to her sides, cloudlike form lowering softly onto the arena tiles like a sentient cushion. Compact. Elegant. Still smug.
Yumei's jaw twitched.
"She… actually did it."
Maxius tilted his head. Lufei gave a soft pwhff—a sound halfway between a sneeze and a snort—then cautiously trotted over to nudge Mystic's condensed form with her antlers. Mystic responded with a pleased trill, tail twitching with soft gold sparks.
Jin stood frozen.
"Wait—she absorbed that modulation chip last night."
Yumei nodded, eyes still on her bonded myth-class.
"Yeah."
"And she already learned to downscale her combat form… on command?"
Mystic floated slightly, spun in midair, then compacted just a bit more—showing off. Lightning danced across her fins like a living circuit.
Jin slowly turned to his panda, who was flat on its back, chewing another nutrient bun like none of this was his business.
"You lazy little—do you realize it took you three months to learn that same morph discipline?"
The panda blinked and offered him half a bun.
Mystic made a sound halfway between a smug prrph and a laugh.
Jin dragged his hand down his face.
"Three. Months. I memorized every instruction strand, demoed the casting posture, even spoon-fed him for behavioral bonding. And you—"
He jabbed at Mystic.
"—just casually reinvent the molecular physics of your species overnight?"
Yumei crouched beside Mystic, inspecting her condensed form glowing with internal qi lines.
"I figured she might need weeks—maybe longer. Most myth-classes resist artificial skill chips. But size modulation? Guess it's second nature to her species."
Maxius huffed. Lufei settled down next to Mystic, ears flicked forward in interest.
Jin glared again at his panda.
"You scammed me. I thought we were building tactical trust. Turns out you were running a long-con for extra rations."
The panda rolled onto its belly. Zero shame.
Yumei stood again, crossing her arms.
"I'm starting to think Mystic's not just gifted. She's operational. Calculating. Probably already organizing our meal prep schedule."
Mystic glowed in agreement, sparks flaring gently off her fins.
Jin sighed.
"You win. Your bond wins. I've been outclassed, outpaced, and out-schemed by a sentient weather system."
Yumei raised an eyebrow.
"Want to borrow a discipline scroll?"
"No," he said dryly.
"I want to borrow her attitude."