Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

July 5th.

Qiao Sang sat in the same spot she had occupied two days ago at the Pet Beast Arena, not surprised to find Bai Yunmiao there as well.

Since Bai Yunmiao came for San Duo, she would have found a reason to be there even if her parents hadn’t argued.

“Did you bring the mirror?” Qiao Sang asked as she sat down.

“I did.” Bai Yunmiao took out a mirror from her bag and handed it over, watching as Qiao Sang carefully checked her reflection.

Surprised, she asked, “Genius Qiao, why are you suddenly so concerned about your appearance?”

It wasn’t that Qiao Sang didn’t care about her appearance before.

But usually, she just wore her hair in a ponytail, took the bus to Shouke Park, and liked sitting by the window to feel the breeze.

As a result, even though her hair was tied up, the front part would often look a bit messy by the time she arrived at the Pet Beast Arena.

This contrasted with others who were meticulously dressed, giving the impression that she didn’t care much about her appearance.

After confirming that she didn’t look any different from usual, Qiao Sang hesitated and said, “I don’t know if I’m just being narcissistic, but I feel like a lot of people are staring at me today.”

Her Fire Fang Dog, sitting beside her, noticed that she had put down the mirror and grabbed it with its paw to look at itself.

“Yap.”

As it admired its reflection, it nodded in agreement.

A lot of people were staring at it too.

Bai Yunmiao understood and laughed, “San Duo praised you so much yesterday, it’s normal for people to pay attention to you. There have already been several news articles about you today.”

“Is the celebrity effect really that strong?” Qiao Sang asked.

“You’re lucky, people are only giving you a few extra glances. Last time, a new Beast Master praised by Wang Dian’ao was tracked down by fans to his home and challenged to duels at his doorstep.”

Bai Yunmiao sighed, “And it wasn’t just one-on-one; they took turns challenging him in a wheel battle for an entire week.”

Qiao Sang was stunned for a moment and then said seriously, “I’m grateful that San Duo isn’t as famous as Wang Dian’ao.”

Bai Yunmiao: …

---

Only eight contestants remained in the Bai Xin Competition.

For F-rank Beast Masters, the match times are short. Even with Pet Beast Performers extending the duration, it’s impossible for only four matches to decide the final four in one day.

The organizers had already announced the schedule in advance.

On the morning of July 5th, they would determine the final four, and in the afternoon, the final three.

Today was the last day of the Bai Xin Competition.

As time passed, more and more people arrived.

Looking at the packed audience surrounding the Pet Beast Arena, Qiao Sang sighed, “I wonder where the organizers found so many people to watch.”

Yesterday, a quarter of the seats were empty.

Bai Yunmiao turned to her and asked, “Don’t you ever keep up with the news?”

She still remembered when she first added Genius Qiao, she didn’t even get a reply to her messages.

Later, she learned that there were indeed people in this world who could resist checking their phones.

“I do, but I didn’t check yesterday.” Qiao Sang replied.

She had spent her time training Fire Fang Dog and researching her opponents.

“Yesterday, the official platform announced that Gao Xulu and San Duo would be having an exhibition match today. After the match, five lucky audience members will be chosen to take photos and get autographs with them.” Bai Yunmiao explained.

Qiao Sang immediately understood why there were so many people.

Gao Xulu was also a participant in this year’s Yuhua Regional Competition.

Although she didn’t make it into the top ten, her ranking was still respectable.

The most important part was that Sana Duo had been defeated by Gao Xulu before.

The organizers’ marketing strategy was really something.

Qiao Sang looked over at the commentary booth.

She noticed that the two commentators were now joined by a third person.

A woman with short chestnut-colored hair.

It was Gao Xulu.

---

As the opening ceremony ended, the large screen above the arena flickered with images.

In no time, the first match-up appeared on the screen.

Hou Xiangyu versus Yang Qi.

Both were Beast Masters with two mid-level pet beasts each and strong contenders for the championship.

Qiao Sang watched the match intently.

When these two faced off, they were sure to pull out all the stops.

In their previous matches, due to the disparity in strength, they had both won in overwhelming victories.

The pet beasts hadn’t shown much of their true abilities, making it hard to analyze their data effectively.

This was one reason why Qiao Sang wasn’t confident about facing them.

However, Qiao Sang didn’t stay focused for long.

Because just a minute into the match, the referee announced the result.

Yang Qi, who had dominated others, was in turn crushed by Hou Xiangyu…

Hou Xiangyu’s Scale Control Doll used a single Illusion Ray to throw Yang Qi’s Faithful Owl into confusion.

Then, while the Faithful Owl was disoriented, the Controlled Puppet used telekinesis to slam it into the ground, ending the match.

Qiao Sang fell into deep thought.

Illusion Ray is a skill exclusive to Psychic-type pet beasts.

It can damage the opponent and has a certain chance of causing confusion, but the probability isn’t very high.

To confuse a pet beast of the same rank so quickly, it either meant bad luck for the opponent or that the Illusion Ray was at least at a proficient level.

Whether the move succeeds largely depends on luck.

After all, Illusion Ray isn’t a guaranteed confusion-inducing skill.

But...

Fire Fang Dog’s luck...

Qiao Sang recalled how Fire Fang Dog’s opponents would lose whenever it pointed at them and couldn’t help but sigh.

The saying the match lasts a minute, the performance half an hour fit perfectly here.

Because the first match ended so quickly, the organizers had to extend the Pet Beast Performers’ show time.

Fortunately, the Pet Beast Performers were professionals and didn’t let the atmosphere cool down.

The second match was between Wei Wenya and Luo Xinlin.

Wei Wenya was the last of the three Beast Masters with two mid-level pet beasts.

Against Luo Xinlin’s Fat Dove, Wei Wenya sent out her Electric-type pet beast, Electric Tough Cat, which was the perfect counter to the Flying-type.

The advantage of having two mid-level pet beasts was evident at this moment.

A Beast Master with only one pet beast has no choice, but a Beast Master with two can choose the pet beast with the upper hand against their opponent.

The result was no surprise.

Wei Wenya won the match.

After the Pet Beast Performers finished their act, the third match-up appeared on the big screen.

Chen Qian versus Qiao Sang.

In the guest seats:

“Song Yuan, you have a good eye. This Fire Fang Dog looks pretty cool with those sunglasses. With so many media outlets here today, if it performs well, it could bring significant traffic to your new online store.”

“This Chen Qian’s pet beast is a Two-Tailed Land Tortoise, but it’s a bit under-leveled. This will be tough.”

“Qiao Sang has experience defeating mid-level pet beasts, and Chen Qian’s Two-Tailed Land Tortoise only recently evolved. It should be a good match.” One of the guests, who had been watching since the early rounds, commented.

“By the way, Song Yuan, what did Qiao Sang say when you contacted her yesterday? Are the live streaming fees calculated per session, or do they depend on sales commission?”

“Song Yuan?”

“Song Yuan, why aren’t you talking?”

Song Yuan: …

She really didn’t feel like talking...

Was she supposed to tell them she got hung up on several times and then blocked?

She would definitely be ruthlessly mocked...

On the field.

Both sides had taken their positions.

At the referee’s command, a two-meter-tall Two-Tailed Land Tortoise with a brown shell appeared before Qiao Sang.

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