Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Read at: https://blogspot-translatedstories./?m=1

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If the Fire Summer Bird's Fire Absorption trait reaches grade A or higher, it would make sense to pit it against advanced fire-type beasts, even at an early stage.

But that wouldn’t be a real battle, it would be a test of the Fire Summer Bird's ability to endure and absorb fire!

Liu Yao turned to Qiao Sang and said, "That's exactly my point. If that's the case, I recommend not using your Blazing Star Canine against it."

Yabao's ears twitched as he ate.

Liu Yao continued, "The Blazing Star Canine's most powerful skills are fire-type. While it has some psychic-type skills, none are particularly destructive."

"Even though its Meteor Rain skill has reached the ultimate level, if the Fire Summer Bird’s Fire Absorption trait is as strong as you suspect, there are two possibilities."

"First, if its trait is at grade A, then at the same level, the Meteor Rain might inflict some damage, but it won’t be fatal. Instead, it would likely enhance the Fire Summer Bird’s fire-based abilities."

"Second, if its trait is at grade S, the Meteor Rain will feel like nothing more than a refreshing rain to it, perhaps even more comfortable than actual rain."

"Either way, it's extremely disadvantageous for the Blazing Star Canine."

"Yap..."

Yabao looked up at that, his appetite suddenly dulled.

Liu Yao pressed on: "I haven’t attended your matches in person, but I’ve been watching the live streams. I’ve noticed that you often send out beasts in disadvantageous matchups despite knowing the opponent’s capabilities."

"For example, in this regional league, you had both the Blazing Star Canine and the Ice Xilu, but most of the time you relied on Treasure-Seeking Demon."

He softened his tone: "I understand you want your beasts to grow faster."

Qiao Sang thought to herself: You’re overthinking it, I just wanted more points. Little Treasure racks up points faster while Yabao and Lubao crush weaklings for fun.

"But the national championship is coming up, and every move matters." Liu Yao said, his tone becoming serious.

"If you want to train your beasts, there will be plenty of time after the competition. For the national championship, winning should be your top priority." ṟ

"Only losers say things like it’s the participation that counts."

"I hadn’t planned on bringing this up, but the situation is different now." Liu Yao said, fixing Qiao Sang with a firm look.

"You have a significant chance of becoming the first high school freshman to win the National Beast Mastering Championship in the senior division. This has never been achieved since the competition began."

"If you succeed, your future will be limitless!"

No wonder he’s the vice principal… Sun Boyi discreetly glanced at him, impressed.

He’d long noticed this issue with Qiao Sang, but since she kept winning and never relied on him for training advice, he felt like a redundant coach. He hadn’t found an opening to bring it up until now.

But the vice principal was cunning, starting with criticism and ending with encouragement. He hit the nail on the head in just a few sentences.

The vice principal made sense. There would always be time to earn points, but the chance to win the championship as a freshman came only once.

After a moment of thought, Qiao Sang nodded solemnly, "Understood."

After Liu Yao and Sun Boyi left, Qiao Sang picked up her notes and started reviewing them.

"Yap?"

Yabao wandered over to look at the papers with her. After a while, realizing he couldn’t understand, he barked, asking who wasn’t afraid of fire.

"This one." Qiao Sang pointed to a photo of a red avian beast on a dossier about Song Xinyue.

"Yap…"

Yabao stared intently at the photo.

Qiao Sang didn’t notice his reaction and continued reading.

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By 2 a.m., Qiao Sang was still wide awake.

The glow of her phone illuminated her face in the dark room.

On the screen was the official forum for the National Beast Mastering Championship.

New posts appeared by the minute, indicating a lively discussion among night owls from all regions.

Most posts revolved around contenders likely to win the championship.

The most popular thread was titled #Which Senior Contender Has the Best Shot at the Title?#

In the comments, users passionately debated their region’s top talents:

"The top contender has to be Zhao Chuanyu from Zhongkong Region. Two advanced beasts! Who can top that?"

"Get with the times! In Yuhua Region, we have a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy, 15 years old, three beasts, two of which are advanced. Just won first place in the Guwu Regionals!"

"Yuhua’s high school senior division needs a freshman to carry them? Shameful."

"Don’t be salty. If your seniors lost to our freshman, isn’t that your problem?"

"Have you all forgotten Zhang Wandi from Zhongdao Region?"

"Zhang Wandi? Perpetual runner-up material."

Qiao Sang skimmed the thread but found little useful information about the beasts.

She made a mental note of a few names mentioned before leaving the forum. She then searched for the upcoming Mukui Auction’s items.

Typing Mystic Auction into the search bar, she hit enter.

"Sorry, the content you’re trying to access doesn’t exist."

"...So mysterious." She muttered, glancing at the time before shutting her phone.

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The Next Day

On the 15th floor of the Moting Hotel, in the pet training arena, Yabao wore a lightweight miniaturization bracelet, reducing his size to his Fire Fang Dog form as he controlled several heavy steel balls with telekinesis.

The bracelet not only shrank his size but also significantly limited his energy output.

"Yabao, why aren’t you practicing fire skills today?" Qiao Sang asked, noticing he had Little Treasure fetch the steel balls as soon as they arrived.

The store-bought items had their perks, like these steel balls that weighed 20 kilograms each despite their small size, perfect for honing telekinetic precision.

"Yap!"

Yabao barked, still manipulating the balls. If his opponent wasn’t afraid of fire, he would use psychic skills to defeat them!

Qiao Sang blinked.

"You mean the Fire-Subduing Bird?"

The Fire-Subduing Bird, a more advanced form of the Fire Summer Bird.

"Yap!"

Yabao nodded firmly.

Qiao Sang: ...

How am I supposed to explain this? Should I just admit that if we encounter it, I wasn’t planning to let you fight at all…?

After some thought, Qiao Sang finally chose a more tactful approach:

"Actually, there are many opponents. We might not even run into it."

"Yap!"

Yabao let out a serious cry, insisting there was still a chance and that they needed to prepare early.

Qiao Sang: ...

Just as she was about to speak frankly, a pet beast lazily walked in. It had colorful feathers with red as the dominant color, a green crest on its head formed by two feathers, and eyes that were half-closed, as if it hadn’t slept well.

The pet battle arena at the Moting Hotel was a public space, accessible to any hotel guest.

The Fire-Subduing Bird...

Qiao Sang froze when she saw the pet beast enter.

"Yap!"

At the same time, Yabao also spotted the Fire-Subduing Bird. He immediately stopped his training, his eyes lighting up. He barked at the Fire-Subduing Bird with excitement, issuing a battle challenge.

The Fire Subduing Bird stopped, stared at Yabao for two seconds, then opened its beak and yawned.

Yabao: ...

"Why haven’t you gone in yet?"

A lazy-sounding female voice rang out from behind the Fire-Subduing Bird.

The next moment, a girl with messy hair and delicate features appeared in Qiao Sang’s line of sight.

For a moment, the girl’s appearance overlapped with the image of Song Xinyue from the dossier in Qiao Sang’s mind.

Qiao Sang: !!!

She was stunned. She never expected to encounter Song Xinyue here!

She had thought the Fire-Subduing Bird was just from the same species. Who would have imagined that this Fire-Subduing Bird was the very one?

"Fire—"

The Fire-Subduing Bird turned and called out to Song Xinyue.

Following its gaze, Song Xinyue spotted a dazzlingly beautiful pet beast, about 60 centimeters tall, standing not far away. It resembled a miniature version of a Blazing Star Canine.

Song Xinyue blinked, suddenly wide awake.

This… this looks just like a scaled-down Blazing Star Canine!

Her gaze then shifted, and sure enough, she recognized the figure standing nearby, the same figure her coach had repeatedly mentioned.

“Qiao Sang…” Song Xinyue whispered the name.

“Yap Yap!”

Yabao barked again, issuing another battle challenge with renewed vigor.

Though Yabao wasn’t allowed to participate in the official competition against the Fire-Subduing Bird, there was nothing stopping them from having a private match. Qiao Sang glanced at Yabao, then walked over to Song Xinyue with a polite smile. She got straight to the point:

“Hi, would it be possible for my pet to spar with your Fire-Subduing Bird?”

Song Xinyue hesitated for a moment, recalling her coach’s warning:

“Qiao Sang from Yuhua District may be young, but in certain aspects, she’s as capable as a professional trainer. Her Ice Xilu is likely to be your biggest obstacle in the national finals.”

Ice Xilu…

After a brief pause, Song Xinyue nodded.

“Sure.”

“Yap!”

Hearing this, Yabao's face lit up with excitement.

Once both sides were ready, Yabao stepped forward. His eyes glowed blue as he focused on the lightweight miniaturization bracelet on his paw, preparing to unleash his power.

“Wait! Are you sending out your Blazing Star Canine?” Song Xinyue’s surprised voice broke the tension.

Qiao Sang wasn’t surprised that Song Xinyue recognized Yabao, it was only natural, given her earlier mention of Qiao Sang’s name.

“Is there a problem?” Qiao Sang asked.

“Yap?”

Yabao paused, his glowing blue eyes dimming as he tilted his head in confusion.

Song Xinyue hesitated briefly before explaining, “My Fire-Subduing Bird doesn’t like battling fire-type beasts. It feels there’s no challenge in it.”

Qiao Sang: ???

Tooth Treasure: ???

As if to prove Song Xinyue’s point, the Fire-Subduing Bird glanced lazily at Yabao, then covered its beak with a wing to yawn again before turning to leave.

Qiao Sang: !!!

Tooth Treasure: !!!

“Sorry!” Song Xinyue apologized hastily before chasing after her beast.

“Don’t go! If you won’t fight, at least finish your training!”

Qiao Sang: ...

“Yap! Yap! Yap!”

Yabao, who had never been so blatantly dismissed, barked furiously at the Fire-Subduing Bird’s retreating figure, his face flushing with anger.

Qiao Sang quickly picked him up, soothing him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ll face it in the competition and show it how strong you are!”

“Yap! Yap!”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Yabao pointed his paw in the direction the Fire-Subduing Bird had gone, whining in frustration, as if to say they might not even encounter it during the championship!

Qiao Sang reassured him with firm conviction.

“We will!”

“Yap?”

Yaban's ears perked up, his watery eyes brimming with hope as he stared at his trainer.

Qiao Sang clenched her teeth.

“We definitely will!”

“Yap!”

Yabao, reinvigorated, jumped out of Qiao Sang’s arms and wagged his tail as he returned to his training with renewed enthusiasm.

I shouldn’t have approached Song Xinyue for a battle… Qiao Sang sighed, regretting her earlier decision.

Still, since she’d promised Yabao, she had no choice but to let him face the Fire Subduing Bird if the opportunity arose.

For now, though, she needed to devise a strategy tailored specifically for Yabao to counter the Fire-Subduing Bird. If they waited until competition day to learn their opponent was Song Xinyue, it might be too late.

Lost in thought, Qiao Sang began planning.

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