Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 171: Finding a Sparring Partner

Friday, 7:00 AM.

Qiao Sang opened her eyes in bed and picked up her phone to check the time. Too early. Without a second thought, she put the phone back down and went back to sleep.

Lately, she didn’t know what was going on, she could wake up naturally without an alarm, and her mind was always sharp with no drowsiness.

If she had to go to school for training, that would be one thing. But on days when she could sleep until the afternoon, waking up this early seemed pointless.

The school team had given them a five-day training period, and now three days had already passed.

Thinking about how she only had two more days to sleep in, Qiao Sang couldn't help but resent her internal clock.

She lay there for more than ten minutes. Though her eyes were closed, her mind was racing with thoughts she couldn't control.

Right now, Yabao’s skills were sufficient for the current stage.

Her basic physical attributes were honed daily with plenty of training at school, so the focus should now be on improving skill proficiency and gaining more combat experience.

When it came to real battles, it was still more reliable to go to a battle club and find a professional sparring partner.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered her teammates from the school team, but if she wanted to make real progress in combat, she needed to find a beastmaster who was at least on par with her or even stronger.

After these past few days of training at school, she had a good understanding of her teammates’ capabilities.

While they might be the cream of the crop among their peers, they really couldn’t compare when standing against Yabao, who possessed fire, psychic powers, and gold-finger-enhanced skills like the Meteor Rain.

As for Little Treasure, there was much more work to be done.

First, he needed to train his Will-o'-the-Wisp and forge the ring into two parts.

Secondly, both Hypnosis and Telekinesis required more practice. Little Treasure had been focusing on these two skills recently, and as long as one of them reached mastery, facing opponents of the same level would be no problem.

Even surpassing opponents of higher levels would be common.

As for physical training, it wasn’t a priority. For beast pets, skills were the most important thing.

Being a ghost-type pet with the traits of intangibility and teleportation, the key to gaining an edge in strength lay in improving the proficiency of current skills and learning new ones.

A new skill had already been placed in front of her.

Shadow Control. If Little Treasure could learn this skill at the beginner level, it would be ideal.

But even if he couldn’t, that would be fine, after all, except for Yabao, she hadn’t seen any beginner-stage pet beasts master advanced skills.

Qiao Sang thought for a long time and concluded that Little Treasure only needed to split the ring into two, and increase his proficiency in Hypnosis or Telekinesis to the mastery level before he could prepare for evolution.

In the meantime, she planned to visit a battle club. Improving combat skills would also earn points, which could be stored.

Once Little Treasure met these two goals, she could max out the points and evolve him right away. How satisfying would that be!

The more Qiao Sang thought about it, the more excited she became, and sleep became impossible. She shot up from bed.

Then she noticed Little Treasure lying on the floor, sound asleep.

Qiao Sang was momentarily puzzled. Ghost-type pets rarely slept, especially at night, and Little Treasure was no exception. But that didn’t mean he never slept.

Because he was still young, he would nap for a couple of hours late at night or at midday.

But this was the first time she’d seen him sleeping this early in the morning.

“Little Treasure?” Qiao Sang called softly.

“Xun...” Little Treasure, a light sleeper, recognized the familiar voice and groggily stirred, only to flop back down.

Qiao Sang: ...

Looks like he’s really tired… Qiao Sang got up and gently moved him to the bed.

---

9:45 AM.

Hongying Beastmaster Battle Club.

“Hello, how can I help you?” The receptionist greeted her with a bright smile, showing eight perfectly aligned teeth.

“I’m looking for a beginner-level sparring partner.” Qiao Sang said.

The battle club categorized its sparring partners based mainly on the level of the beast pets.

Beginner-level sparring partners typically had a beginner or intermediate pet beast.

“Do you have any specific requirements for the beginner sparring partner you’re looking for?” The receptionist asked, still smiling.

“I want the best, most expensive one.” Qiao Sang said with confidence.

Who would’ve thought that just two months ago, she couldn’t even afford the 1000 Alliance Coins hourly sparring fee?

Now, she didn’t even ask the price before requesting the most expensive option.

Qiao Sang remained calm, showing a clear indifference toward money.

“All our beginner-level sparring partners are priced the same.” The receptionist explained.

“But if you’re looking for someone better, you could consider an intermediate-level sparring partner. They have more experience in battles.”

Intermediate-level sparring partners typically had at least two pet beasts, one of which would be at the advanced level, a significant difference from beginner-level partners.

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and asked, “How much does an intermediate-level sparring partner cost?”

“Our intermediate-level sparring partners are also priced uniformly, at 3000 Alliance Coins per hour.” The receptionist answered with a smile.

3000 Alliance Coins, about three months of her allowance before she became a beastmaster…

Even though she had money now, it wasn’t wise to burn through it like this…

Regaining her senses, Qiao Sang said, “I’ll just go with a beginner-level partner.”

“Alright. Do you have any specific requirements for the beginner sparring partner?” The receptionist asked again.

“I want someone with an intermediate-level pet beast.” Qiao Sang responded.

---

The efficiency at Hongying Beastmaster Battle Club was impressive. Qiao Sang hadn’t been in the vast indoor battle arena for long before her sparring partner arrived.

It was a tall, handsome young man, about 23 years old.

“Hello, I’m Lin Yuanqi, your sparring partner for today.”

The moment Lin Yuanqi saw Qiao Sang, he was slightly disappointed.

He had hurried over, excited to spar with a girl, but didn’t expect her to be such a young child.

A kid this age wouldn’t have financial freedom yet, nor could they appreciate his charm. No long-term customer potential here.

“Hello.”

Qiao Sang, on the other hand, was satisfied with her sparring partner.

Not bad. He’s old enough, and his combat experience should be rich.

“You’re quite rare, training your pet beast so diligently at such a young age. Most kids your age are still playing with their pets. When I was your age, all I did was play all day.” Lin Yuanqi said, trying to make conversation and build rapport, though he no longer saw Qiao Sang as a potential long-term client.

“How old are you? You look like a middle schooler. I heard you wanted to train with an intermediate-level pet beast. In my experience, it’s better not to battle against a beast stronger than yours. I have a…”

Qiao Sang cut him off, “Has the timer started?”

Lin Yuanqi: ...

His usually foolproof social skills had failed. It seemed this young kid couldn’t appreciate his good looks…

“It starts now.” Lin Yuanqi summoned his pet beast.

“Come out, Double-Tailed Land Turtle.”

A Double-Tailed Land Turtle, huh? Yabao had already studied it thoroughly back when he was still a Fire Fang Dog.

No challenge here… Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said:

“Little Treasure, it’s your turn.”

“Xun~"