Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

He tried to wake up his beastmaster.

"Let me sleep a bit longer." Qiao Sang mumbled groggily, turning over.

Hearing this, Fire fang Dog hesitated but then carefully covered her back up with the blanket.

Forty minutes later, Fire fang Dog jumped back onto the bed and pulled the blanket off again.

"Yap Yap!"

"Just a bit longer, just one more... Ah!"

---

At the dining table, Fire fang Dog finished the last bite of his energy meal, contentedly patting his belly with his paw.

Since she had some free time during the holidays, Qiao Sang had learned to make two different types of energy meals from her mother.

Both were the simplest recipes, requiring only the right balance of ingredients to be chopped, mixed, and combined with a little energy gel to complete the dish, similar to making a salad.

Every time Qiao Sang made one, Fire fang Dog would graciously eat at least half.

But this time, he had finished the entire meal, a clear sign of just how hungry he had been.

"Yabao, a girl\'s face is important. Don\'t jump on it so casually next time, okay?" Qiao Sang said earnestly.

Fire fang Dog tilted his head and blinked his big, wet eyes at her.

"Yap?"

Qiao Sang understood his confusion and explained, "Yabao is your name. I just gave it to you yesterday. Did you forget?"

"Yap."

Fire fang Dog suddenly remembered and responded with a cheerful bark.

Qiao Sang, still a bit shaken from the feeling of having her face squashed that morning, looked at her obedient pet and consoled herself.

At least it was Fire fang Dog, with his soft body. If she had contracted a beast like Titanstone, she\'d be disfigured by now.

---

At 9:45 AM, in a shady spot below Qincheng Jiayuan Apartments:

"You\'ll use Shadow Clone first, then have all your clones use Fire Fang." Qiao Sang instructed.

She had spent most of yesterday thinking about it and concluded that the issue likely lay with Shadow Clone. All the data pointed in this direction.

First of all, Fire fang Dog gaining 30 points in one day wasn’t unusual. From the previous experience of feeding him Red Awl Fruits, she knew that under normal conditions, Fire fang Dog could grow.

Even after he stopped eating the fruits, its level would still increase by 1 or 2 points daily.

Given this, it wasn’t strange for Fire fang Dog to have grown after the intense battle with the Scale Controller Doll, especially since he had activated his trait for the first time. The battle had pushed him to grow stronger.

However, the skill data for Charge, Fire Fang, and Fire Whirl were the only ones that deviated from the usual pattern.

The key difference? Yesterday, Fire fang Dog\'s shadow clones had used these skills.

If her hypothesis was correct, this meant that once the shadow clones disappeared, the experience points from their skill use were returned to the main body, just as if the main body had used the skills itself.

In past battles, Fire fang Dog had used skills with its shadow clones, but Qiao Sang hadn’t checked the stats in the beast codex immediately after each match.

Instead, she waited until after training at night, which made it seem like the changes were caused by the training alone.

Fire fang Dog nodded and promptly followed her instructions.

Seven shadow clones, along with the original, all simultaneously unleashed Fire Fang.

Qiao Sang opened the beast codex.

[Fire Fang (Progress: 653/2000)]

Although she had anticipated this outcome, seeing the number change from 645 to 653 still made her excitedly shout.

Nearby, a young boy of about four or five who had come specifically to see Fire fang Dog was startled by her yell and ran crying toward his mother.

From a distance, the boy\'s mother, sitting on a bench, thought he had been scared by Fire fang Dog.

"I told you that fire-type beasts are scary! See if you\'ll still run up to one next time."

Fire fang Dog\'s nose twitched; it suddenly felt a little itchy.

---

At 2:45 PM, Qiao Sang took the subway with Fire fang Dog to the Hanggang Beast Base.

Each district of Hanggang City had its own dedicated beast breeding base, with plenty of private sellers offering beast eggs.

However, the most popular and successful business was the Hanggang Beast Base, where the Bai Xin Competition prize vouchers were redeemable.

Last time, she had come early and coincidentally arrived just as the place opened, so there weren’t many people.

But this time, Qiao Sang immediately noticed the difference. While the reception hall wasn’t overcrowded, small groups of people stood talking with one another.

Qiao Sang glanced around and saw that each group had a staff member in business attire assisting them.

Just as she was about to go to the service desk, a woman in her twenties, dressed in a professional suit, walked over.

"Hello, do you have an appointment?"

The staff member smiled, treating Qiao Sang with complete respect, not underestimating her because of her young age.

To work at the largest beast base in Hanggang City, one’s observational skills had to be sharp.

It wasn’t about judging people based on appearances but having a necessary skill for recognizing potential clients.

The girl before her might be young and plainly dressed, but with a Fire fang Dog in her arms and that calm demeanor, she was clearly no ordinary child.

Most people who came to visit the base didn’t come alone. But if someone was here to buy a beast egg to contract, the girl already had a Fire fang Dog, so it wasn’t likely she was here for a second contract.

The staff member guessed that Qiao Sang was either meeting someone or already had a beast in mind and had come early to reserve it.

"I don’t have an appointment. I’m here to buy a beast egg." Qiao Sang replied.

The staff member\'s energy spiked. She wasn’t just here to browse, she was a potential buyer!

"Have you decided on a specific beast egg?" The staff member asked eagerly.

"Yes, I’d like to see the Cherry wood Cotton." Qiao Sang answered.

Not only a buyer but a major one! If this purchase went through, she would meet her sales target for the month early.

Just as the staff member was about to lead Qiao Sang into the base, someone called her name from behind.

She suddenly remembered she hadn’t finished helping her previous client. She had only come over while the client was in the restroom.

However, she wasn’t willing to hand over such a big opportunity.

Thinking quickly, the staff member made a hand sign, summoning a Blue Delight Butterfly.

"Miss, let it accompany you into the base for now. I’ll come over as soon as I’ve finished here."

Beastmasters and their beasts shared a bond that allowed them to sense each other.

As the brain develops, this bond becomes stronger, and the range over which they can sense each other increases.

Qiao Sang didn’t mind. She had no other plans for the day, and a tour of the base sounded nice.

The Blue Delight Butterfly fluttered in place, spinning around once before leading Qiao Sang and Fire fang Dog down the path into the beast base.

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