Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

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The flow of energy shifted, preventing the originally intended air blade from being released.

The yellow lightning was inches away.

Just as the lightning was about ten centimeters from Gangbao, Little Treasure curled his short toes inward. The Thunderfur Hound's body leaned backward, its legs facing the sky. The yellow lightning traced a perfect arc upward, narrowly missing Gangbao.

"Gang..."

Gangbao lifted her head, staring blankly at Little Treasure in the air.

"Xun~"

Noticing Gangbao's gaze, Little Treasure grinned at her.

At that moment, Gangbao suddenly understood the concept of teamwork. Her expression turned serious again as she channeled energy and launched consecutive air blades at the Thunderfur Hound, which was still bound.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions erupted, accompanied by the Thunderfur Hound’s agonized cries. Eventually, it unwillingly closed its eyes.

Applause echoed from the audience.

No one was surprised by this outcome.

They had predicted it even before the battle began.

However, when Steel Falcon was caught in Ghost Ring Phantom's attack, they briefly entertained the thought that Du Silan might at least take it down before losing.

But even then, they didn't think Du Silan could win.

The Ghost Ring Phantom and Steel Falcon duo relied on the Ghost Ring Phantom's control. If it could be restrained, the possibility of another outcome might exist.

However, the Ghost Ring Phantom had Psychic-type abilities, could teleport, and even perform spatial shift.

On top of that, it was a Ghost-type pet, making its whereabouts nearly impossible to track. Expecting two lower-level pets to contain it was sheer fantasy.

On the battlefield, hearing the applause, Little Treasure suddenly had an idea. He placed a paw on his forehead, feigning exhaustion, and slowly floated to the ground in a weak state.

"Gang..."

Seeing Little Treasure’s act, Gangbao seemed to recall something. She staggered, clutched her chest with her wings, and appeared to belatedly feel the aftereffects of injuries sustained during the battle.

The match was already over, yet they were still pulling this stunt... The acting was way too exaggerated! Gangbao wasn’t like this before, had she been influenced by Little Treasure?

Qiao Sang’s lips twitched as she silently averted her gaze, unable to watch any longer.

---

An hour later, all the matches concluded, and the top nine competitors were determined.

The principal of Sahel Academy stepped into the center of the arena. Without any preamble, he got straight to the point:

"We will select one contestant to receive a bye in the next round. The nine victorious competitors, please step forward."

A drawing? Qiao Sang's eyes lit up, hope igniting in her heart.

She stood up, about to walk toward the stage.

At that moment, Magee turned his head with a smile.

"Relax, the one getting the bye is definitely you."

"I think so too."

"This is just for show. But I’m curious how they’ll rig the selection."

The nearby Hulis and others chuckled in agreement.

Qiao Sang: ...

Due to the conversation, Qiao Sang stepped onto the stage with less-than-pleasant emotions.

Once the nine contestants took their positions, the principal clapped his hands.

Nine birds, primarily yellow-feathered with large, pouch-like beaks resembling nets, flew in from the far end of the arena and lined up before them.

"Each of you will choose a Pouch bird. One of them holds a slip of paper with the word 'bye.' Whoever selects it will receive the bye." The principal smiled.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Sang’s eyes lit up again.

This method seemed fair, no room for manipulation!

The other eight contestants glanced at the Pouch birds before them, their expressions calm.

In the audience, people murmured.

"They’ve probably already decided that Qiao Sang from Sainan High is getting the bye. Why bother with this charade?"

"As long as everyone knows, they just need to put on a show."

"Qiao Sang deserves the bye. Otherwise, whoever faces her is doomed."

"I'm not doubting her strength, but they could’ve just announced it outright. There’s no need to bring in Pouch birds, everyone knows they all hold slips of paper. If the predetermined contestant doesn’t pick the right one, the bird just keeps the slip under its tongue."

"Qiao Sang seems unaware."

"Of course she doesn’t. She’s from Blue Star."

On stage, Qiao Sang was fully focused on the nine Pouch birds, blocking out the surrounding chatter. She carefully examined them, searching for any distinguishing features.

The selection order followed the sequence of that day’s matches.

Qiao Sang was third.

The first two contestants didn’t even hesitate, they just picked the birds in front of them.

When it was Qiao Sang’s turn, she eyed the remaining six birds, then looked down at Yabao in her arms.

"Which one do you think I should pick?" She asked.

"Yap!"

Yabao adopted a serious expression, then pointed confidently at a Pouch bird.

This one!

Alright, that means I shouldn’t pick this one...

To be sure, Qiao Sang asked, "Besides this one?"

Yabao, without suspecting anything, pondered again before pointing at another bird.

"Yap!"

Got it. This one’s also off the list...

Continuing this process, Qiao Sang had Yabao pick five different Pouch birds. Then, she pointed at the only remaining one and said, "I’ll take this one!"

"Yap...?"

Yabao looked confused.

The audience was baffled by her selection process, curiously eyeing the peculiar Blazing Star Canine at her side.

Did this pet have some kind of special detection ability?

On stage, Qiao Sang watched the Pouch bird intently.

Under her gaze, the Pouch bird slowly opened its beak, revealing a slip of paper.

Four words were written on it:

[Congratulations on the Bye]

Qiao Sang fell silent.

She never expected Yabao’s choices to actually be correct...

"It looks like we have our contestant for the bye." The Sahel Academy principal announced with a smile.

"Let’s congratulate Qiao Sang from Sainan High."

"Clap, clap, clap..."

The audience applauded.

---

At 6 p.m., Qiao Sang returned to her hotel room, utterly drained. She shut the door, collapsed onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

On the bright side, she had come to this friendship match for points. The discovery of the score system was just a bonus, if she could achieve her main goal, the trip wouldn’t be in vain.

Gangbao had only gained a few extra points, but there would be future team battles... Right, she still needed to check if the Rolling Leopard’s points had been added to Gangbao's tally.

Qiao Sang closed her eyes and entered the Beast Tamer Codex.

Flipping through the pages, she quickly found Gangbao's section and glanced at the last line.

Points: 360

Only an 80-point increase, so the Rolling Leopard’s points hadn’t counted...

Qiao Sang sighed and casually glanced upward.

Suddenly, she froze.

Wait, what did I just see...?!

Her eyes widened in disbelief, locking onto a new entry in the skill list.

[Air Absorption (Beginner 1/100) +]

Air Absorption?

Gangbao had learned Air Absorption?!

When did this happen?

Why didn’t I know about it?!

Qiao Sang's eyes snapped open. She turned to look at Gangbao, who was practicing Inner Suspension Technique.

"When did you learn Air Absorption?" She asked in shock.

"Gang?"

Gangbao hesitated.

Had she learned it?

How come she didn’t know?

Qiao Sang: ???

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