Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

"Echo Bat, close your eyes!"

Just as the female teacher announced the start of the battle, Chen Dongjun immediately issued the command.

Qiao Sang raised her eyebrow; it seemed her classmate had come up with a countermeasure for Little Treasure after watching a dozen battles.

Echo Bat, a dual Poison and Flying-type beast, could release ultrasonic waves for echo-location, allowing it to act freely even in darkness.

For Little Treasure, who needed eye contact to effectively cast Hypnosis, simply closing its eyes rendered not only an advanced Hypnosis ineffective but even an ultimate-level Hypnosis useless.

However, Little Treasure wasn't limited to just that trick…

Obediently, Echo Bat closed its eyes.

"Keep releasing ultrasonic waves just like that!" Chen Dongjun shouted.

Echo Bat flapped its wings and opened its mouth wide. A wave-like energy pulse surged forward, but just as it was about to touch Little Treasure, the ghostly figure vanished from the spot.

"Not bad, looks like someone might finally last more than five seconds."

"Does ultrasonic sound work on ghost-types that have turned invisible?"

"Not sure. All I know is that ultrasonic waves can cause confusion."

"According to the books, ultrasonic detection works by bouncing sound waves off solid objects and using the echoes to locate them. Ghost-types have a phasing trait, so ultrasonic waves shouldn’t affect the Treasure-Seeking Ghost, right?"

"It depends on the proficiency level of the ultrasonic wave. Didn’t any of you watch the competition on the Lenke Channel recently? Mao Yin used her Sonic Moth’s ultrasonic waves to detect the location of Black-Eyed Doll."

"The beast's traits come in levels too. It was likely that Sonic Moth's ultrasound proficiency was high, while Black-Eyed Doll’s phasing trait was low."

"But aren't you all curious why Qiao Sang hasn’t issued a single command despite this situation?"

This remark made those around him feel slightly uneasy.

Wasn’t it obvious? Clearly, her level of battle command was on an entirely different level than theirs.

As novices who had only recently become beast tamers, they needed to guide each move of their beasts during battles. But experienced beast tamers with years of battle experience didn’t.

Clearly, Qiao Sang was aiming to become a professional beast tamer.

In the tournament, professional beast tamers let their beasts respond based on their battle instincts, only giving commands at critical moments.

And what did that mean? It meant Qiao Sang thought the current situation didn’t even require her to step in!

In the field, Chen Dongjun felt a twinge of panic when Little Treasure vanished.

He quickly reassured himself: It’s fine. Once the Treasure-Seeking Ghost attacked, he’d be able to find its position!

Ultrasound could detect all tangible objects via echoes, not just the beast itself but any tangible moves it used.

As a low-level beast, the Treasure-Seeking Ghost ’s skills were limited to Shadow Ball and Lick.

With ultrasound, the starting point of Shadow Ball could be detected.

Even if the Treasure-Seeking Ghost used Lick while cloaked, it would become corporeal the instant it extended its tongue.

If he seized that moment to counter, his odds of winning were still high.

Worst-case scenario, if the Treasure-Seeking Ghost’s reaction speed was fast enough to dodge Echo Bat’s attacks, it would just be a stamina showdown, and whoever exhausted their energy first would lose.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Little Treasure reappeared eerily behind Echo Bat.

“Echo Bat, it’s behind you!” Chen Dongjun shouted in a panic.

"Eeek!"

Echo Bat jumped in shock, turning sharply and flapping its wings hard, unleashing two air blade attacks toward Little Treasure.

But the attack hit nothing.

“Xun~”

Little Treasure covered his mouth, chuckling at Echo Bat’s terrified reaction, not even bothering to dodge the approaching air blades.

Just as the blades were about to strike, Little Treasure vanished again.

“Quick, use ultrasound!” Chen Dongjun reminded.

Before Echo Bat could release an ultrasonic wave, it suddenly felt something poke its wing.

Then it heard its trainer shouting, “Above you! Dodge!”

“Eeek!”

Startled, Echo Bat flinched and hurriedly changed direction.

“Xun~” Little Treasure giggled and vanished again.

In the front row, Principal Wang Weidou muttered softly, “This Treasure-Seeking Ghost seems unnaturally fast.”

Vice-Principal Liu Yao, who had begrudgingly invited him to observe the school’s dedication to the national campus tournament, rolled his eyes.

Despite the training lasting a month, Wang hadn’t even bothered to learn the basics about the team members.

“Isn’t that reaction speed too high?” Wang continued, ignoring Liu.

“If the Echo Bat couldn’t respond, it should’ve taken advantage and attacked right then, but it just poked him.”

“It’s playing.” Liu Yao muttered, exasperated.

Wang Weidou: ...

On the field, Qiao Sang watched as Little Treasure continued to toy with Echo Bat, finally unable to resist saying, “Little Treasure, enough playing.”

Time is points! Qiao Sang thought to herself.

“Xun~”

The invisible Little Treasure responded.

Then he suddenly appeared on the ground.

He manifested right where Echo Bat’s shadow was cast.

While everyone else was still marveling at his unreal speed, Little Treasure extended a short toe, which cast a twisted shadow on the ground. Immediately, that shadow shot straight, linking to Echo Bat’s shadow.

“Echo Bat, Air Blades!”

Chen Dongjun shouted excitedly as soon as Little Treasure appeared, “It’s about three meters below you, in front!”

“Eeek…”

But just as Echo Bat opened its mouth, before it could even gather energy, a mysterious force yanked it downward, smashing it to the ground.

“Eeek…” Although stunned, Echo Bat managed to get up.

“Echo Bat, hang in there!” Chen Dongjun was momentarily dazed but quickly realized the battle wasn’t over and encouraged his beast.

“Eeek…”

Having fallen to the ground, Echo Bat opened its eyes. It glanced at Little Treasure, grinning at it not far ahead. Little Treasure twitched his short toe.

“Eeek!!!”

In the next instant, Echo Bat screamed in terror.

Everyone watched Echo Bat twirling wildly mid-air, instinctively swallowing.

Shortly after, Echo Bat’s cries fell silent.

“Xuun~”

Seeing his opponent lose its voice, Little Treasure lowered his toe, and the connected shadows split apart.

“Thud!”

Echo Bat crashed to the ground, no longer making a sound. It was well and truly out cold…

The entire arena fell silent.

Seeing everyone frozen, Qiao Sang spoke up:

“Next one.” (t/n: Damn, arrogant!!!)