Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

"You... you all saw... you saw it, right..." A student in the audience was the first to snap out of it, stammering as he spoke.

With the first voice came a second.

The grand hall of Shengshui High fell silent for over ten seconds, and then, like a dormant volcano erupting back to life, it suddenly exploded with deafening noise.

"Holy crap! What the heck was that just now?!"

"Why did it look so much like Shadow Control?!"

"Do you think it’s possible that it actually was Shadow Control..."

"Nonsense! Shadow Control is a high-level skill! The Treasure-Seeking Ghost is a low-level beast. Are you seriously telling me a low-level pet learned a high-level skill?!"

"Then what kind of skill do you think that was?"

The student next to him was stunned for a moment. Resting his elbow on his knee and holding his head in his hand, he muttered in a daze, "No way, that's just impossible..."

Though, yes, the skill the Treasure-Seeking Ghost had just used did indeed look like Shadow Control, but this was a Treasure-Seeking Ghost! A low-level pet! How could it possibly learn a high-level skill?!

He might believe it if it were an intermediate ghost-type pet.

Either this was all just a dream, or he didn’t know as much about ghost-type pet skills as he thought.

Yes, that had to be it...

He wasn’t the only one refusing to accept reality.

"Old Liu, did you see that?" Wang Weidou asked hesitantly.

"I saw it." Liu Yao murmured.

"What do you think that skill was?" Wang Weidou asked curiously.

"It really looked a lot like Shadow Control."

Liu Yao took a deep breath and replied, "Shadow Control."

"Huh?" Wang Weidou was stunned, then laughed as he clapped Liu Yao on the shoulder.

"Didn't expect you to start cracking jokes now."

Liu Yao shot him a look.

"You're the principal, for crying out loud. Don’t tell me you genuinely didn’t see it."

Wang Weidou fell silent for a few seconds, his voice unconsciously lowering.

"It's not that I don’t believe it, it's just too far-fetched. Do you know what this means?"

As he said this, Wang Weidou couldn't stop himself from trembling inside.

Teaching a low-level pet a high-level skill, forget students at Shengshui High, no beastmaster in the entire country had ever achieved that.

How could he believe it? How could he dare believe someone like that was at their school?

After a moment, Liu Yao murmured, "It means we might actually beat Litan Academy this year, with Qiao Sang’s team taking first place."

Wang Weidou: !!!

Meanwhile, Qiao Sang waited for someone to step up, but no one did. The line that had been forming had completely disappeared, with everyone quietly returning to their seats.

Was her threat earlier still not enough?

Qiao Sang shifted her gaze toward the female teacher next to her.

The teacher paused for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and handed her the microphone.

Smart teacher, she didn’t even need to be told to understand what Qiao Sang wanted...

As Qiao Sang took the microphone, she said to the freshman section, "You all scared already?"

The freshmen immediately fell silent, too afraid to make a sound and attract attention.

Shadow Control!

That was Shadow Control!

They had only just become beastmasters, being able to command their pets in battle was achievement enough.

Who in their right mind would challenge a ghost-type pet that could perform high-level skills?

It would be sheer masochism!

If anyone had thought Qiao Sang was arrogant before, no one felt that way now.

She was strong enough to back it up!

If their pets could pull off something like that, learning high-level skills at the low level, they’d be ten times more arrogant than her!

But still, with no one stepping up, Qiao Sang grew anxious, was it really going to end like this?

She hadn’t earned nearly enough points yet!

At this point, Principal Wang Weidou stood up and picked up the microphone.

"If no one is willing to challenge her, then Qiao Sang will be officially accepted as the first new member of this year’s school team."

After he finished, he turned to Qiao Sang with a friendly smile.

Thinking of how Qiao Sang might lead them to finally defeat Litan Academy and bring glory to the school, Wang Weidou’s smile grew even wider.

Why was he smiling? She hadn’t even fought enough yet!

Seeing no other choice, and not knowing when she’d have another chance to earn points like this, Qiao Sang took a deep breath, looked at the principal, and asked, "Is it open for everyone to challenge?"

Wang Weidou paused.

"Of course."

"Good."

Qiao Sang turned her gaze to the sophomore and junior sections, smiling as she said, "Since the freshmen don’t dare, how about the sophomores and juniors?"

Wang Weidou: !!!

The entire hall was stunned.

Arrogant! Way too arrogant!

Even though the Treasure-Seeking Ghost had mastered a high-level skill, it was still a low-level pet, whereas many of the sophomores and juniors had two pets each, and some of those pets had even reached intermediate levels.

The gap between low-level and intermediate-level pets went beyond just the number of skills.

Strength, endurance, reflexes, internal energy, they were all on a different scale.

Even if the Treasure-Seeking Ghost knew Shadow Control, they could deal with it by dodging, using an intermediate pet’s durability, or deploying a pet with an elemental advantage over ghost-types to crush it.

This junior was way too bold.

"If we beat you, would you give up your spot on the school team to us?" A sophomore student shouted.

"Naturally." Qiao Sang replied.

Wang Weidou’s face stiffened.

This couldn’t happen! He was counting on Qiao Sang to lead them to victory over Litan this year.

"No-"

Wang Weidou barely got the word out before Liu Yao took the microphone from him.

"What are you doing?" Wang Weidou snapped.

"Let her try." Liu Yao replied calmly.

"Try? If they beat her and claim her place, how will I win against Litan!" Wang Weidou shouted.

"It’s one thing for her to act impulsively, but why are you encouraging her?!"

Liu Yao answered steadily, "Qiao Sang has another pet."

Wang Weidou frowned.

"I'm not blind. I noticed the gray star pattern when she summoned it. But what good is another low-level pet? Are we seriously expecting her to win?"

Liu Yao cast him a sideways glance.

"Maybe if you paid more attention to the school team, you'd know. Qiao Sang’s other pet is intermediate level."

Wang Weidou stood there, stunned.

"An... an intermediate pet?"

Liu Yao nodded.

"But one intermediate pet isn't enough, it's not a guaranteed win! We can’t let her compete like this!" Wang Weidou replied anxiously.

Are you kidding?!

A treasure like that shouldn’t be risking anything!

Liu Yao remained calm.

"This is a great chance for real combat. Training sessions won’t bring as much progress as live battles. Our school team thrives on the principle of survival of the fittest, you’re the principal. Who stays on the team is up to you."

"Whoever beats her can be an alternate on their class team. I don’t think anyone would refuse."

Wang Weidou blinked, realizing, oh, right, he was the principal...

At that moment, the student who had challenged Qiao Sang earlier shouted again, "You don’t get to decide! This has never been the rule. Ask the principal if he agrees."

Qiao Sang looked at the principal with eager eyes.

Liu Yao promptly handed the microphone to Wang Weidou.

Wang Weidou hesitated for two seconds, then took the microphone and announced, "If anyone beats Qiao Sang, they can join their year’s school team."

The older students: !!!