Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Shengshui Highschool

Qiao Sang was filled with frustration and regret.

"So this is why you suddenly attacked the TV?"

She lifted Fire Fang Dog's head, ready to give him a proper scolding.

Just then, there was a click as the door opened.

Qiao Sang slowly turned her head and forced a stiff smile.

"Mom, you're back."

"Coo!"

The family's fat dove immediately flew over to Qiao Sang's mother, rubbing against her affectionately.

Her mother looked at the mess in the living room, remaining silent for a few seconds before turning her gaze towards Qiao Sang with a gentle expression.

"Is there something you'd like to explain?"

Qiao Sang quickly raised Fire Fang Dog to shield herself.

"It was all his doing!"

Fire Fang Dog blinked his innocent, wide eyes.

Her mother locked eyes with Fire Fang Dog for a moment, then said, "I'll deduct it from your allowance."

Qiao Sang stared at her mother with a look of grievance.

"Do you have any objections?" Her mother asked.

"No," Qiao Sang answered, going against her conscience.

She certainly had objections. Her monthly allowance was only 1,000 Alliance Coins, and the TV cost at least 4,000.

Losing four months' worth of allowance all at once—of course she had objections.

Her mother walked over and sat down on a single-seater sofa, with the fat dove following close behind.

"Is something wrong?" Qiao Sang asked.

Fang Sisi had mentioned something about this in her message.

Her mother didn’t answer that question directly, instead asking, "Do you have any high schools you're interested in attending?"

Qiao Sang paused, then thought for a moment before saying, "Hanggang Sixth Royal Beast Academy."

The Sixth Royal Beast Academy wasn’t actually ranked sixth among the high schools in Hanggang; it was just named that way.

In terms of overall strength, it was considered a mid-tier school among all the Royal Beast high schools in Hanggang.

Her choice was purely because it was close to home.

Given her previous academic performance, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to get into a school like this, but now that she had awakened her powers independently, she could try for a special admission.

Her mother pulled a brochure out of her bag and placed it in front of Qiao Sang.

"I think you should consider applying to this school."

Qiao Sang picked it up and glanced at it, her eye twitching. "Hanggang Shengshui High School?"

Her mother remained calm.

"Yes."

"Mom, aren't you overestimating me?" Qiao Sang said helplessly, placing the brochure back on the coffee table.

Shengshui High School was the top-ranked Royal Beast high school in Hanggang, and second in the entire Zhejiang Sea Province, with an acceptance rate as high as 98.73%. It was one of the most prestigious schools around.

Naturally, only the best students in Hanggang could get into this school.

If there were still six months left before the entrance exams, Qiao Sang might have been willing to work hard, but with only 19 days left, there was no way she could get in.

So why waste time trying to pass the special admission test?

Qiao Sang couldn’t understand. Even though she had awakened her powers independently, wasn't her mother’s expectation of her a bit unrealistic?

Her mother looked at Qiao Sang calmly and said, "You don’t need to get in; just give it your best shot, and I won’t deduct your allowance."

Qiao Sang picked up the brochure again and said, "Who cares about the allowance? I just want to give it a try."

Her mother’s lips twitched.

"Then go ahead and sign up online."

"Sure thing," Qiao Sang said, picking up Fire Fang Dog as she headed out.

As she watched her daughter’s retreating figure, Ye Xiangting’s eyes gleamed with amusement, but when she recalled what had happened at the school that afternoon, her expression darkened.

---

Qiao Sang went to her room, opened her computer, and signed up for both Hanggang Sixth Royal Beast Academy and Shengshui High School.

The two schools had vastly different rankings, and their special admission requirements were equally different.

Qiao Sang focused on the section for independent awakening.

The conditions for Hanggang Sixth Royal Beast Academy were relatively simple.

Once she submitted proof of her independent awakening online and it passed the review, her exam score could be adjusted based on the development level of her brain domain.

With 5% brain domain development, she could have 100 points deducted from the minimum passing score for the Hanggang entrance exam; with 6% development, 200 points could be deducted.

Last year, the minimum passing score in Hanggang was 332. If Qiao Sang could develop her brain domain to 6%, she would only need to score 132 points on the entrance exam to be specially admitted.

Given Qiao Sang’s current grades, this didn’t seem like a big problem.

As for Shengshui High School, it was more complicated. The special admission for independent awakeners only accepted five students.

After passing the registration review, they would have to participate in a pet beast battle at a specified time and place.

Students who ranked second to fifth would need to score 50 points higher than the minimum passing score to be admitted.

The first-place winner had it a bit easier—they only needed to meet the minimum passing score for Hanggang.

Although independent awakeners were extremely rare, when considering the entire Zhejiang Sea Province, there were still about 40 or 50 each year.

After excluding those who were guaranteed admission or chose other schools' special admissions, there were always about a dozen who applied to Shengshui High School each year.

After all, it was the top-ranked school in Hanggang, with a reputation to match.

Qiao Sang noted that the special admission exam for Shengshui School was scheduled for June 10th, a week before the entrance exam—just 12 days away.

A pet beast battle, huh?

Qiao Sang thought for a moment. The participants in the special admission would all be people who had just awakened this year, and their pet beasts would also be beginner-level.

She had contracted a fire-type pet beast, so she wasn’t entirely without an advantage.

Thinking of Fire Fang Dog, Qiao Sang hesitated for a moment, then directed her consciousness into the Beast Tamer Codex.

Name: Fire Fang Dog

Attribute: Fire

Level: Beginner (115/1000) +

Skills: Bite (Beginner 73/100) +, Charge (Intermediate 135/500) +, Fire Fang (Beginner 2/100) +, Ember (Beginner 3/100)

Points: 0

Qiao Sang exited the manual, looking at Fire Fang Dog with a strange expression.

"Did watching TV scare you into learning the Ember skill?"

4,000 Alliance Coins in exchange for a skill—was it worth it?

Actually, it was pretty worth it…

A pet beast's potential was limited. Just by looking at its appearance, it was impossible to tell if it had good aptitude.

A pet beast with good aptitude would learn skills and awaken new abilities much faster than ordinary ones.

If someone were unlucky enough to contract a pet beast with mediocre aptitude, they might not even be able to learn a single skill in a year.

Qiao Sang looked at Fire Fang Dog, lost in thought.

Her Fire Fang Dog seemed to have decent aptitude. Should she take him to watch a horror movie next time?

Fire Fang Dog shivered involuntarily. Why did it suddenly feel cold?

---

10:12 PM.

The night was quiet and still.

Qiao Sang lay in bed, her hands under her head, a look of anticipation gleaming in her eyes.

After tossing and turning for a while, she finally sat up and looked at the still wide-awake Fire Fang Dog beside her.

Fire Fang Dog, having been stared at for quite a while, looked puzzled.

"Yap?"

Qiao Sang whispered softly, "I don't blame you for what happened this morning. Do you want to watch TV again?"

Fire Fang Dog remembered the incident from the morning and knew he had done something wrong. The things on the screen wouldn't come out, after all.

"Yip." He nodded, indicating that he wanted to watch.

Qiao Sang picked up her phone from the bedside and searched for the latest popular horror movie, placing it in front of Fire Fang Dog

Fire Fang Dog watched intently.

In a fog-shrouded forest, a young girl dressed in white was walking. From her perspective, a faint black shadow floated in the air…

Qiao Sang didn’t watch along with him. Instead, she placed her right hand on the phone, observing Fire Fang Dog’s reaction and ready to intervene at any moment.

A heavy silence and darkness covered the surroundings, creating an eerie stillness. The black figure suddenly drew closer, emitting a sinister laugh.

It had no limbs, just a body the size of a human head floating in the air, with dark red eyes fixed on the girl in white like she was prey.

In the next moment, the limbless body sprouted a hand with only two fingers, reaching for the girl's heart.

The hand passed through the girl's body, but it came up empty.

The black figure’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The girl lifted her head, and a faceless visage slowly came into view on the screen...

“Yap!”

The fire fang dog leaped into Qiao Sang's arms.

It didn't want to watch anymore!

Qiao Sang stroked its head, feeling a bit disappointed...

---

The next two days were the weekend. Qiao Sang declined Fang Sisi’s invitation to hang out and stayed home to study.

Apart from taking some time to register herself as a beast master and register the fire fang dog at the Beast Master Center, she spent nearly all her time buried in books.

Perhaps due to the awakening of her brain domain, her memory seemed much better than in her previous life. She only needed to read something once to mostly remember it.

Soon, it was time to return to school.

“Fire Fang dog, be good. I'll let you out as soon as school’s over,” Qiao Sang coaxed.

Since it got bored with the game of going in and out of the Beast Master Codex, the fire fang dog refused to go back inside.

This time, when Qiao Sang tried to get it to return, it resisted.

It much preferred being outside.

“Yap.”

The fire fang dog shook its head, indicating it didn’t want to go back in.

Qiao Sang sighed in resignation. The school didn’t have a strict rule against bringing contracted beasts, but with most students not yet contracted, the fire fang dog would attract too much attention.

Qiao Sang didn’t want to be the center of attention.

“If you go back in, I’ll buy you some red awl fruit when I get home,” Qiao Sang tempted.

The fire-toothed dog haughtily turned its head away.

It didn’t want them.

Qiao Sang’s lips twitched.

Her mother had bought six red awl fruits. Qiao Sang fed four to the fire fang dog on the first day, and then one each on the following two days.

Could it already be tired of them?

“If you don’t go back in, I’ll have to leave without you.”

“I’m going.”

“I’m really leaving now.”

Qiao Sang crouched by the front door, putting on her shoes as if she was about to walk out.

“Yap!”

The fire fang dog pounced into Qiao Sang’s arms, looking up at her with sad, watery eyes.

“If you want to come with me, you’ll have to go back in for now. I promise I’ll let you out as soon as school’s over.” Qiao Sang said.

“Yap.” The fire fang dog lowered its head and let out a weak response.

Qiao Sang’s heart melted into a puddle.

It’s still just a child.

Qingcheng Garden was within the school district of Wencheng Middle School, just 9 kilometers away.

You could get there directly by taking bus routes 23, 36, 57, or metro lines 5 or 7.

Qiao Sang didn’t take the metro as usual.

On bus 36, the fire fang dog poked its head out of the window from Qiao Sang’s arms, happily letting the wind blow through its fur.

It was thrilled to see the outside world.

“Remember, you have to behave and go back in when we get to school, okay?” Qiao Sang laughed.

“Yap!”

The fire fang dog responded energetically.

Qiao Sang couldn’t help but stroke its head.

Once they arrived, the fire fang dog obediently let Qiao Sang store it back in the Beast Master Codex, even happily wagging its tail.

---

Class 37, Wencheng Middle School.

“Have you finished your homework? Let me copy it.”

“Can’t you see I’m still copying?”

“...”

“Did you watch the match in the Lianbo District yesterday?”

“Of course. I was in front of the TV at 7 PM sharp. Lin Jinyang’s Bloodscale Dragon was absolutely badass!”

“Totally! And that Scale-Eating Ant? It was gold-colored! I’ve never seen a golden Scale-Eating Ant before! Almost blinded me!”

“...”

“I heard Dai Shushu from Class 9 got accepted into Shengshui High School.”

“Didn’t the rumor say it was Litan Beast Master High School?”

“Looks like she didn’t make the cut there.”

“No surprise, Shengshui High is the top school in our province. Even Dai Shushu couldn’t get in.”

“Let’s see you get into Shengshui High School.”

“...”

A slender figure appeared at the classroom door.

As the figure walked in, the chatter suddenly quieted down.

Qiao Sang sat in her seat, noticing some of her classmates sneaking glances at her.

Sensing the strange atmosphere in the classroom, Qiao Sang rubbed her nose and whispered to Fang Sisi, “Did you tell the class about my awakening?”

Fang Sisi, still furiously scribbling down homework, only noticed Qiao Sang when she heard her speak.

“Boss, you’re finally here.” Fang Sisi’s eyes lit up as she scooted closer.

“I wouldn’t say anything without your permission. Do you need me to make an announcement?”

“Please don’t.”

Qiao Sang quickly shook her head, then asked, “So why is everyone staring at me?”

“Your mom came to school twice, and then you took a day off and skipped another day. Everyone’s wondering if something happened.” Fang Sisi explained.

Qiao Sang paused. “Skipped a day?”

“Yeah.”

Qiao Sang had guessed that her mother might have forgotten to call in for her, but realizing she was right still left her feeling a bit deflated.

The homeroom teacher would probably call her into the office for a scolding again...

At that moment, Fang Sisi added, “And also, everyone knows you’re the one who scored a zero on the last mock exam.”

The homeroom teacher hadn’t called out Qiao Sang by name to spare her some dignity, but had asked the class monitor to summon her to the office and later called in her parents.

If things had ended there, no one might have paid much attention—Qiao Sang’s poor grades weren’t a secret, and being called to the office wasn’t new.

But when parents are called in, it’s serious.

Normally, the homeroom teacher wouldn’t involve parents unless there was a major issue, like fighting or serious misconduct.

When Qiao Sang took a day off and then skipped the next day, the gossip spread quickly, and soon everyone knew what had happened.

Qiao Sang couldn’t help but laugh, though she didn’t feel embarrassed.

In school, news spread like wildfire. Getting a zero on a test and having her parents called in wasn’t exactly scandalous.

At this age, some kids might feel ashamed, but Qiao Sang wasn’t worried.

“By the way, did you do your plant analysis homework? Let me copy it.” Fang Sisi nudged Qiao Sang with her elbow.

“I didn’t even come to school, how would I know about any homework? And isn’t it embarrassing for someone ranked fourth from the bottom to copy from someone third from the bottom?” Qiao Sang replied, exasperated.

“Boss, don’t talk about yourself like that.” Fang Sisi scolded her, then pouted.

“I just thought your mom might have brought your homework when she came on Friday. I’m so jealous of people who can skip homework.”

Qiao Sang: “...”

Ignoring Fang Sisi’s antics, Qiao Sang fell into deep thought.

She still didn’t know why her mother had come to school last time.