Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

It was the same arena, on the same day, with the same topic of discussion, but the conversation had completely changed.

"How long do you think he can last?"

There was no clear indication whether he referred to a male or female, but everyone understood who was being discussed.

"Three minutes, maybe."

"I think it's two."

"With the experience from the first time, it should be at least five minutes."

"Is there really no chance of winning?" Asked one of the candidates who had been defeated by Lu Liangye.

"You’re still here?" The person who guessed five minutes turned his head in surprise.

Defeated candidate: "…I’m waiting to leave with a Blackbeak Sparrows after you're all done."

"Bubbles!"

As soon as Sun Boyi announced the start of the match, Lu Liangye, with a serious expression, was the first to issue a command.

Water Ring Carp lifted its front limbs slightly, and dozens of transparent water bubbles instantly appeared in the air, forming a dense barrier between itself and Fire Fang Dog. The bubbles reflected a mix of blue and red… afterimages.

"What’s up with this Fire Fang Dog?!" An exclamation arose from the stands.

In reality, Fire Fang Dog had initiated its attack first. Even before the bubbles formed in the air, it had already launched itself forward with all its strength at an incredibly fast speed.

The bubbles then enveloped Fire Fang Dog.

Fire is afraid of water. Some fire-type pets go their entire lives without bathing because they dislike water.

But Fire Fang Dog's steps didn't falter; it charged right into the midst of the bubbles without hesitation.

It kept moving forward at high speed, its maneuvers incredibly agile, avoiding all the bubbles without any of them touching its fur.

Qiao Sang wasn’t surprised. Over the recent period, Fire Fang Dog’s speed and explosive power had improved significantly.

It had already reached a point where even a four-setting automatic baseball pitching machine could barely land a ball on it. These slow-moving bubbles were nothing in comparison.

What was the point of having so many of them? At most, they were just stationary obstacles.

Water Ring Carp continued to hold up its front limbs, controlling its energy output.

The bubbles not only blocked Fire Fang Dog's figure but also obscured some of Water Ring Carp’s vision.

"Dodge quickly!"

At the sudden and urgent command of its Beast Master, Water Ring Carp tried to comply, but before it could lower its front limbs, a fierce impact sent it flying.

“Bubbles!!”

As it was sent flying, Water Ring Carp was both in pain and bewildered.

How did it end up flying?

"Finish it." Qiao Sang spoke her first words of the match.

A searing flame condensed into a fist-sized ball and mercilessly struck the still-wailing Water Ring Carp.

After struggling for two seconds, Water Ring Carp lay motionless.

"Water Ring Carp!"

Lu Liangye dashed over to his pet, anxiously calling out, "Teacher! Teacher!"

Qin Wen calmly approached the Water Ring Carp and said, "It's okay, just needs a lick."

With that, she summoned out the Tonguetip Drip…

---

"Holy crap, did you guys just see that?"

"Yeah, Lu Liangye didn't even last two minutes."

"That Fire Fang Dog is impressive."

"No, it’s the Beast Master! She didn’t even give a command at the start, and the Fire Fang Dog just attacked on its own!"

Typically, in battles between novice Beast Masters like them, the pets would wait for their master’s command before taking the next action.

For example, if the command was Fire Fang, the pet would know whether to defend, dodge, or counter-attack.

But that girl didn’t issue any command, and the Fire Fang Dog executed a powerful charge on its own.

The subsequent coordination and outcome clearly showed it wasn’t acting independently but rather attacking with her implicit approval.

Such a scenario is usually only seen in high-level matches.

Experienced Beast Masters often study their opponent’s pets beforehand and devise a series of combo moves to throw off their opponent during the match.

This is one of the reasons why high-level matches typically don’t require an order of attack to be predetermined.

It’s all for the thrill.

There are also some advanced Beast Masters who, instead of studying their opponents, fully trust their pets to handle things on their own, only stepping in during critical moments.

But such strategies are generally reserved for high-level Beast Masters.

And yet, the girl in question was just a novice…

---

"What’s her name?" Liu Yao asked.

"Qiao Sang, from Wencheng Junior High." Sun Boyi replied after glancing at the candidate information in his hand.

"I remember Wencheng Junior High had a student who was recommended to our school this year." Zheng Guoping said.

"Yes, there is one. Her name is Dai Shushu. Her parents are ordinary people, so she stood out in my memory." Sun Boyi replied.

"Ordinary people?! There are still kids born from ordinary people who can awaken their abilities on their own? What’s her brain development level?" Zheng Guoping asked in shock.

"5%." Sun Boyi said.

"This kid is promising. If her high school entrance exam results are solid, she should be placed in the Elite Beastmaster class." Liu Yao suggested.

"Is that really appropriate? Even if she's an independently awakened Beast Master born to ordinary parents, her brain development is only at 5%. Our Elite Beastmaster class was established to compete with Litan High School. We need to consider all aspects, like the strength of her contracted pet, her combat skills, and her…” Zheng Guoping trailed off as he noticed Sun Boyi looking at him like he was an idiot.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Zheng Guoping asked, annoyed.

Sun Boyi slowly replied, "The vice-principal was talking about her entrance exam scores. Do you think someone who’s been recommended needs to take the exam?"

Zheng Guoping: "..."

Oh, so it was about Qiao Sang…

Given the Fire Fang Dog’s and her own battle performance, it seems there’s no issue with her joining the Elite Beastmaster class…

But I was just looked down on…

So annoying…

Meanwhile, the focus of the conversation, Qiao Sang, was busy pulling out a bottle of Qiyuan Milk from her backpack to give to Fire Fang Dog.

After two battles, she had secured one of the five special recruitment spots at Shengshui High School.

But her goal wasn’t just one of the spots; it was the top spot.

The second to fifth place candidates still had to score 50 points above the minimum requirement in the high school entrance exam, while the first place only needed to meet the minimum requirement.

She understood the difference.

Fifty points!

How many practice problems would she need to solve to make up for that!

Right now, she was just one step away from those 50 points!

Fire Fang Dog, wearing its triangular sunglasses, lounged on the seat, sipping milk with its paws, looking quite content.

The second match had just begun, featuring a Small Fat Dove and a Long-Eared Cat.

"Ya!"

"Ya ya!"

"Ya ya!"

Fire Fang Dog sat up, holding the milk with one paw, while waving the other in support.

It would cheer, take a sip of milk, and then cheer some more.

Its cheers were directed at the Small Fat Dove.

Back home, the Family Fat Dove and it had a good relationship. Every time they ate, after finishing its own meal, Fire Fang Dog would push its energy meal towards Fat Family Dove.

As a fellow member of the Fat Dove family, the Small Fat Dove naturally deserved its support.

"Ya!"

"Ya ya!"

"Ya ya!"

Ten minutes later.

Despite Fire Fang Dog's enthusiastic cheering, Small Fat Dove lost…

-----

-----