Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Read at: /?m=1

-----

Little Treasure's eyes held a determined look as a dense, white energy gathered in his raised right paw.

Bang!

As the paw came down, the tiles shattered cleanly in half.

"Xun!!"

Watching the tiles break into pieces on the ground, Little Treasure imitated the victory pose of a martial arts champion he had seen in videos, raising both paws high and letting out a triumphant cry.

The crowd fell into an eerie silence for a moment, then erupted in enthusiastic cheers, as if the champion had already been crowned.

"Holy crap! It really broke the tiles!"

"That was terrifying! How did a ghost-type pet learn a martial arts move? I thought it was just a rumor."

"This Treasure-Seeking Demon may look a bit undernourished, but it’s way stronger than a regular Treasure-Seeking demon."

"It doesn't make sense. Rumor has it that Qiao Sang's Treasure-Seeking demon had already perfected Brick-breaking back when it was still a Treasure-Seeking ghost. It could even take on seniors in high school. But judging by its power just now, it doesn’t seem that skilled."

"You don’t get it. No one shows their full strength right at the start. Qiao must have taught it how to control its strength."

"That makes sense!"

"Brick-breaking..." Liu Qijia could hardly believe his eyes.

As a Beast Master with a contract with a martial arts pet, he had never believed that Qiao Sang's Treasure-Seeking demon could actually perform the Brick-breaking skill.

Brick-breaking requires specific force, with the body’s strength in perfect harmony. Grip strength, wrist strength, and the explosive power from the limbs all need to be at a certain level to master it.

Ghost-type pets don’t even have muscles, and they rely on energy just to form a physical body.

Given their physical makeup, it should be impossible for them to learn a martial arts skill.

But this understanding shattered the moment the Treasure-Seeking demon broke the tiles.

Liu Qijia, still in shock, stared blankly at the victorious Treasure-Seeking demon, unaware of the Power Monkey standing nearby, who had been watching him intently.

"Yunling..."

Seeing its Beast Master staring at the tiny creature instead of it, the Power Monkey showed a look of dissatisfaction.

"Whistle!"

The referee blew the whistle again.

After the first round, Li Jiang’s Sand Rat from Class Two and Zhao Fangrui’s Water Ring Carp from Class Eight were eliminated, leaving eleven participating pets, all with muscular physiques, except for Little Treasure.

"Go, Treasure-Seeking demon!"

"I love you, Treasure-Seeking demon!"

"Go, Class One! Go, Qiao Sang! Go, Treasure-Seeking demon!"

"Yap yap! Yap yap!"

"Yunling..."

Listening to the crowd cheering for the little guy, the Power Monkey’s nostrils flared with anger.

It looked at the tiles in front of it as if they were its enemies and struck down with a powerful blow.

Bang! The tiles shattered.

"Yunling!" The Power Monkey raised its arm in celebration.

Just as it prepared to bask in the applause, a stream of voices caught its ears.

"Treasure-Seeking demon is amazing!"

"Look at Treasure-Seeking demon, it broke them so easily."

"That was, like, fifteen tiles, right? And Treasure-Seeking demon seemed completely unphased. Incredible!"

"Treasure-Seeking demon is so powerful!"

"Yap yap!"

"Yunling!"

Realizing that nobody was cheering for it, the Power Monkey turned angrily towards Little Treasure.

"Xun?"

Little Treasure blinked innocently as he celebrated.

"Yunling!"

The Power Monkey looked furious, as if to say Little Treasure shouldn’t get too full of itself, the top prize was rightfully its.

"Xun."

Catching the hostile vibe, Little Treasure patted the Power Monkey’s shoulder in a reassuring manner.

Don’t be upset. Next time, the first place can be yours. But this time, first place belongs to him.

"Yunling!!" The Power Monkey was furious.

In the following rounds, the Brick-breaking contest became a display of skills by Little Treasure and the Power Monkey.

By the third round, with the number of tiles increased to twenty, several other pets had been eliminated. By the fifth round, only Little Treasure and the Power Monkey remained.

Now it was the eighth round.

The tiles had increased to thirty-five.

"Vigorous!" The Power Monkey, thoroughly hyped up, was on an emotional high.

"Xun..."

Little Treasure looked at the stack of tiles piled higher than himself and hesitated.

He had never broken this many tiles at once. Could he do it?

"Xun."

Unconsciously, Little Treasure looked toward his Beast Master.

Qiao Sang noticed the look and immediately called out, "Go for it! You’re just one step away from the golden gloves!"

She paused, then corrected herself, shouting even louder, "Pure gold gloves, just one step away!"

"Xun!"

Hearing this, Little Treasure’s eyes hardened, his fighting spirit rekindled.

Liu Qijia: ...

His heart ached as he realized what was happening. So the golden gloves were what motivated the Treasure-Seeking demon.

If the Treasure-Seeking demon won because of those gloves, wouldn’t he be the one suffering a huge loss?

"Come on, Dali!" Liu Qijia shouted.

"Yunling..." The Power Monkey, its spirit already high, was touched to tears upon hearing its Beast Master's cheer.

Finally, it was being noticed!

Whistle!

The whistle blew again.

"Xun!"

"Yunling!"

Little Treasure and the Power Monkey gathered their energy, channeling all their power into their paws.

This time, Little Treasure used his left paw.

Bang!

Tiles shattered everywhere.

The referee stepped forward to examine the remains, carefully clearing away the fragments and announcing, "Treasure-Seeking demon, 35 tiles; Power Monkey, 34 tiles."

"Xun?" Little Treasure blinked, momentarily confused about who had won.

Qiao Sang rushed over, scooping up Little Treasure in a tight hug. "Little Treasure! We won!"

Normally, Qiao Sang wouldn’t be this excited over a mere sports victory. In events like this, participation was key, and winning was merely a matter of honor. But with golden gloves on the line, it was different.

Were they just gloves? No, they were cold, hard cash!

"Xun!"

Realizing he had won, Little Treasure gleefully nuzzled his Beast Master’s cheek.

The watching students erupted in cheers.

This high school brick-breaking contest had been full of surprises.

Regardless of the rumors, seeing a ghost-type pet use a martial arts skill was a sight to behold.

Especially when Little Treasure, so tiny, stood among the muscular martial arts pets, everyone may have said it could win, but deep down, they had doubts.

When it actually won, it was a thrilling, unexpected triumph.

"Yunling.."

The Power Monkey lowered its head in disappointment.

Liu Qijia came over and patted its head in consolation, "You did great. Normally, you can only break thirty-two tiles in practice; this time, you improved by two."

"Yunling..."

Qiao Sang walked over, watching Liu Qijia comfort the Power Monkey without saying a word.

Feeling her gaze, Liu Qijia scratched his head and asked, "What size golden gloves do you want?"

Qiao Sang smiled, extending her hand.

"About this size."

"Xun?!" Little Treasure’s eyes widened.

Weren’t the golden gloves supposed to be for him?!

Qiao Sang glanced at Little Treasure’s paw, which was barely half the size of her palm, and said with a serious expression, "I don’t want anyone else buying your gloves, I want to buy them for you myself."

"Xun~"

Little Treasure happily nuzzled his Beast Master’s cheek.

Liu Qijia: ...

After Liu Qijia left, Qiao Sang made her way toward the 400-meter hurdles.

She had barely taken a few steps when a familiar voice called out, "Qiao Sang, congratulations."

Qiao Sang turned.

It was Shi Gaofeng.

-----

-----