Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

T/N: Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!🎄🎁⛄🥰 Here's your christmas present! Enjoy and gobble it up!

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On the field.

"Hic~"

Little Treasure took a moment to sense his internal condition.

Hmm… It didn’t seem like he was on the verge of evolving. It looked like more effort was needed.

“Xun…”

Little Treasure gazed at his opponent with a serious expression.

The opponent was a Snow Ao Fox, an intermediate-level ice-type pet beast from the Guwu region. It was particularly nocturnal, often performing better at night than in the morning.

Qiao Sang recalled related information about this all-white creature with black circles around its eyes as she examined it.

In the contestants’ area, the audience couldn’t help but discuss Little Treasure, who had yet to step off the stage.

“Why is Qiao Sang still using the Treasure-Seeking Demon?”

“Isn’t the Treasure-Seeking Demon more of a long-game type? Maybe she’s aiming for a quick win and thinks the energy spent in the first match doesn’t matter.”

“She could’ve sent out the Blazing Star Canine or Ice Xilu right away. Why go for the thrill?”

“Genius strategies aren’t something us ordinary people can comprehend.”

“…”

Reaching the divisional competitions meant everyone present was a genius from their respective regions. Yet, compared to Qiao Sang, they all seemed rather average.

For a moment, that comment felt like a dagger piercing everyone’s hearts.

It hurts, a lot.

The most painful part was that no one immediately refuted it.

This implied that, deep down, no one found the statement inaccurate.

As the match began, Little Treasure instinctively tried to vanish. However, remembering his hiccups, he restrained himself.

“Xun… Hic~”

Little Treasure sighed like an old soul trapped in a young body.

These hiccups were so annoying.

“Snow Ao!”

Little Treasure hesitated briefly due to the hiccups, but the Snow Ao Fox didn’t. It immediately opened its mouth and exhaled a burst of white mist.

The mist surged forth, carrying a biting chill, visibly enveloping most of the central field.

Chen Ye exhaled silently, striving to adjust his emotions.

He didn’t have any other thoughts, he just wanted to defeat Little Treasure and force Qiao Sang to summon Ice Xilu for the next match.

Even if Ice Xilu appeared and instantly defeated the Snow Ao Fox, he’d accept it!

The white, icy mist concealed the Snow Ao Fox’s figure.

Frost Mist, an intermediate ice-type skill. The difference between it and regular mist was the lower temperature. As mastery increased, supercooled water droplets and ice crystals could even form within the mist.

Qiao Sang calmly issued a command: “Go invisible.”

Though Little Treasure was still hiccupping, being invisible in the Frost Mist was better than staying visible and constantly on edge about surprise attacks.

At least hiccups weren’t continuous. The intervals would force the opponent to spend time pinpointing Little Treasure’s position.

“Hic~”

Obediently, Little Treasure vanished.

The moment he disappeared, a white ice beam shot toward where he had been moments ago.

Missed?

Hearing no cry of pain, Chen Ye’s heart sank but quickly reassured himself: It’s fine. Not a big deal. If one strike misses, just try again. This hiccupping gives away its position regularly. I just need to hit it during the next hiccup.

“Hic~”

The sound echoed suddenly within the white mist.

“Freeze Ray!” Chen Ye exclaimed with delight.

\x3C!--sse-->\x3C!--/sse-->

The Snow Ao Fox immediately fired the Freeze Ray toward the source of the sound.

The white beam pierced through the mist but hit nothing.

How is this possible? Chen Ye’s heart sank.

Could the Treasure-Seeking Demon see in the Frost Mist? Or did it teleport every time it hiccupped?

It wasn’t a secret that Qiao Sang’s Treasure-Seeking Demon had psychic abilities. Chen Ye had defeated psychic pet beasts before. While psychic abilities were tricky, most psychic beasts would slow down their teleportation after being hit once.

These types of beasts relied heavily on energy, even for movement.

In battle, sustaining an injury or entering the later stages when energy waned made them vulnerable to continuous attacks or sudden bursts of aggression.

With the Frost Mist as cover, it was possible to drag the fight into the later stages. However, attacking also revealed the attacker’s position, making staying in one spot dangerous.

Realizing this, Chen Ye commanded, “Move-”

“Hic~”

Before he could finish the word, the hiccuping sound rang out again.

The Snow Ao Fox instantly shot another Freeze Ray toward the sound’s source but missed once more.

“Hic~”

Chen Ye was about to order a reposition when another hiccup echoed in the mist.

“Hic~”

This was followed by a second hiccup.

Chen Ye froze, a realization dawning on him. His body went stiff.

Something was wrong with the hiccups!

Not only had the frequency increased suddenly, but the positions were off as well! One seemed about ten meters away, while the other was much closer!

“Hic~”

As if to confirm Chen Ye’s suspicions, another hiccup sounded, this time from farther away!

“Move now!” Chen Ye shouted, his face pale.

I can’t lose! If I lose, where else will I find a chance to fight Ice Xilu again? He roared internally.

But it was too late.

The Snow Ao Fox, focused on the sounds, didn’t notice several shadowy figures approaching from the left.

“Snow Ao!”

The Snow Ao Fox struggled briefly before catching sight of a pair of glowing purple eyes.

At that moment, the Frost Mist dissipated, revealing two Treasure-Seeking Demon and the fallen Snow Ao Fox.

A second later, one of the two Treasure-Seeking Demons, positioned farther from the Snow Ao Fox, vanished abruptly.

“Chirp!”

The mechanical referee pet floated over, examined the scene, and blew the whistle, signaling the match’s end.

Qiao Sang glanced at the dumbfounded Chen Ye and smiled.

“It’s not just your pet beast that can create subtitutes.”

While Little Treasure couldn’t make his decoy perform other skills, having it hiccup to mislead opponents was well within his ability.

“Xun~”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Little Treasure nodded proudly.

I just wanted to share the stage with Ice Xilu. Why is that so hard? Chen Ye’s tears suddenly flowed after hearing Qiao Sang’s words.

Why is he crying? Qiao Sang was utterly confused.

This was the first time she’d encountered an opponent who cried after losing a match.

As Chen Ye wept, the spectators discussed the match.

“What? That’s it? I didn’t see anything!”

“I hate mist and smoke. You can never tell what’s happening inside.”

“When the Frost Mist cleared, I saw two ghost-type pets. I have no idea what they did.”

“They were decoys. The Treasure-Seeking Demon used its decoy to hiccup and mislead the opponent while its real body located and attacked the target.”

Among the audience were seasoned beastmasters who easily deduced what had happened.

Amid the murmurs, Qiao Sang left the arena.

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