Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

"Snow... Snow Centipede is unable to battle. Qiao Sang wins!" The female teacher announced with a trembling voice.

He lost… Xue Chuhua withdrew his Snow Centipede into the Beast Codex, looking utterly devastated.

At that moment, the entire Shengshui Hall erupted. Nearly every student was losing their mind.

"Oh my gosh! How is Qiao Sang this strong?!"

"Flame Hound is so cool!"

"By the way, what was that just now? Was I seeing things? How did Flame Hound suddenly vanish?"

"I saw it too! And that Fire Fang! Why did it seem a bit different from the usual Fire Fang?"

"Don’t you guys think Flame Hound’s movement to Snow Centipede looked a lot like the teleportation move of the Treasure-Seeking Ghost?"

"You… you mean…"

"!!!"

"Old Yao."

Principal Wang Weidou asked, his eyes fixed on Qiao Sang on the field, "How do you think she compares to Litan's Ding Yanjing?"

After some thought, Liu Yao replied, "If they were the same age, then Qiao Sang would naturally be stronger. Give Qiao Sang another six months, and she might even surpass Ding Yanjing. But right now, Qiao Sang isn’t at his level."

Ding Yanjing, the pride of Litan Beast Taming High School, was a senior this year.

Back in his freshman year, he ranked first in the province at the National Campus Beast Mastering League, and later achieved remarkable results in the regional competitions.

Now, he was just waiting to pass the D-Class Beast Tamer certification before he could take the test for top-tier universities. With his strength, admission into one of these schools was almost certain.

To Litan High School, he was a treasure, and to Shengshui High School, he was an exceptional presence.

While Shengshui was often outmatched by Litan, the gap between them hadn’t always been too vast.

But ever since Ding Yanjing’s year in the National Campus Beast Mastering League, the disparity had become painfully clear.

Whenever someone faced him in a match, there was simply no hope of winning.

And as if that weren’t enough, Ding Yanjing had a quirk, he liked hearing his opponents admit defeat verbally.

If they refused, he’d repeatedly torment their pet beast during the match. It was because of a loss to him in freshman year that Xue Chuhua left the school team.

This behavior had sparked disapproval from many school administrators at the time, including Wang Weidou.

Not giving up, Wang Weidou continued, "What if I let Qiao Sang participate in the senior-level competition of this year’s National Campus Beast Mastering League?"

Typically, the National Campus Beast Mastering League was divided by grade levels. If there were no surprises, Qiao Sang would be competing in the freshman division.

"Think carefully." Liu Yao warned with a sidelong glance.

"Qiao Sang has a 99% chance of claiming first in the provincial freshman division. But if she joins the senior division, the odds of taking first place are slim."

Wang Weidou fell silent.

Although he was eager for his school to defeat Ding Yanjing, he wanted even more to beat Litan High School in front of the media and shed their eternal runner-up title.

"Is anyone else stepping up?" Seeing no one volunteering, the female teacher asked into the microphone.

Everyone exchanged looks, nudging each other.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go? Hurry up, then."

"Didn’t you say you were going? You go first."

"I was just playing along for the atmosphere. I didn’t actually mean it."

"I was only kidding too. I’m ranked in the top 100 in school, I can get into a first-rate college. Why bother with the school team?"

Bah, just admit you don’t have the courage.

Heh, same goes for you...

The two exchanged glances and then looked away in silent agreement.

---

On the field.

"Yap!"

With a wagging tail, Yabao looked eagerly at his Beast Tamer. Where’s the opponent? He remembered that as long as he didn’t lose, he could keep fighting!

Hold on, all she had to do was say something bold, and she was good at that... Qiao Sang gave Yabao a reassuring glance to be patient.

But before she could do anything, the teacher beside her asked, "Would you like the microphone?"

Qiao Sang paused.

"Yes."

The teacher's expression seemed to say, I knew it.

Qiao Sang: ...

It wasn’t like she wanted to say anything!

But if she didn’t, no one would step up, and without any challengers, how would she earn her points?

With so many people here, she’d better take the chance to collect as much as possible. Who knew when she’d gather enough points to evolve Yabao into a high-level beast?

She’d already upset enough people anyway. One more wouldn’t matter…

Qiao Sang took the microphone from the teacher, lifted her head, and asked, "Is there really no one left?"

Silence.

Why even bother? Fighting against a Treasure-Seeking Ghost was tough enough; now she had a fire-type and psychic-type Flame Hound? How were they supposed to win?

It’s just a spot on the school team! Can’t they just let it go?

Seeing the lack of reaction, Qiao Sang grew puzzled.

Yabao hadn’t even shown his ultimate move yet, so why was no one stepping up?

After a moment of thought, Qiao Sang decided to raise the stakes.

"Anyone who beats me gets a teleportation skill manual."

A teleportation skill manual?!

Everyone looked stunned.

Nowadays, learning a skill often cost a fortune.

Many beast tamers led frugal lives, spending every penny to teach their pets new skills.

If this was a real teleportation skill manual, it would be worth at least six figures!

Even if their own pet couldn’t learn it, they could sell it and make a fortune!

All the students, and even the teachers, seemed restless.

This manual was worth more than a year’s salary for some of them!

No one doubted Qiao Sang’s words. One pet knowing the move could be a coincidence, but two clearly pointed to the manual’s legitimacy.

Suddenly, it wasn’t just seniors rushing forward; even freshmen and sophomores crowded around.

Sure enough, people were driven by temptation... Qiao Sang felt quite proud of her cleverness as she watched the growing crowd.

"Hey, stop pushing!"

"I got here first, okay!"

"Aren’t you a freshman? Do you even have an intermediate-level pet? What are you doing here?"

"I want to. Got a problem?"

"Everyone, quiet down!" Qiao Sang waved her hand.

Since the person who caused this commotion was speaking, everyone respectfully quieted down.

"Ahem."

Qiao Sang cleared her throat and continued, "I have an idea. As you just saw, beating me is quite difficult. So, here’s the deal: If anyone manages to win in the end, I’ll give every single person who stepped up a teleportation skill manual."

All the teachers and students: !!!

All 3,000 students in the school were tempted.