Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 44: A Delicious Treat

“Haha, haven’t I been spending time training Fire Fang Dog? Otherwise, how could I have ranked first in the special admission exam? Isn’t that right, Fire Fang Dog?”

Qiao Sang forced a couple of awkward laughs, secretly giving Fire Fang Dog a gentle pat.

Now that she’s graduated, explaining things to her homeroom teacher no longer matters; explaining to her mother is what’s truly important.

“Yap.”

Fire Fang Dog nodded earnestly, responding in perfect coordination.

Before her mother could speak, the homeroom teacher said, “Ranking first in the special admission exam is truly impressive.”

He smiled at Qiao Sang, but his words were directed at her mother, “Qiao Sang’s mother, how’s your health?”

Qiao Sang’s heart skipped a beat; the homeroom teacher was definitely doing this on purpose!

Her mother shot Qiao Sang a knowing glance, then turned to smile, “I’m doing quite well.”

“Mom, Aunt’s calling me. I’ll go over.” Seizing the opportunity as someone at another table called her, Qiao Sang quickly excused herself.

“Third Aunt, did you call me?” Qiao Sang sighed in relief as she reached the nearby table.

Most of the people at this table were her mother’s relatives.

Her mother had three older brothers and a younger sister.

Apart from the third brother, Qiao Sang’s Third Uncle, who stayed behind, the eldest and second uncles and her younger aunt had all moved to other provinces.

Even though Third Uncle also didn’t live in Hanggang City, he resided in Qitang Town, about 90 kilometers away.

Qitang Town, Qiao Sang’s hometown, was where her mother was born.

Third Uncle had stayed in that small town his entire life, not for any other reason but to take good care of their grandparents. Third Aunt had accompanied him there all along as well.

They had two children, and even though their eldest son was already in college, they still hadn’t had a proper vacation.

For Qiao Sang, among her mother’s relatives, she was closest to Third Uncle’s family.

After all, they were still in the same province and would visit each other during holidays.

“Qiao Sang, how about coming over during the summer break? Your grandparents really miss you. If it weren’t for their health issues, which I had to stop them for, they would have come to see you this time.” Third Aunt said with a smile.

Third Aunt wasn’t a Beast Tamer, and without a Beast Tamer’s codex or the benefits from a pet beast, the traces of time were especially visible on her face.

“Sure, I’ll come in mid-July.” Qiao Sang agreed, even offering a specific date.

Actually, she had already planned to spend the summer break at her old home.

Qiao Sang’s current home was on the sixth floor, and training Fire Fang Dog downstairs was inconvenient.

Since it was a fire-type pet beast, a casual flame could easily damage the greenery in the neighborhood.

But Qitang Town was different.

Her old home had a large courtyard in the back.

A short bus ride would take her to a small forest in Tanan Township nearby, an ideal place for training.

Qiao Sang had already calculated the timing.

On June 30th, there would be a competition in Hanggang City for F-rank Beast Tamers, which she could participate in before returning to her hometown.

For Qiao Sang, this competition wasn’t about winning; it was about earning points!

“Alright, we’ll be waiting for you." Third Aunt said with a smile, her gaze shifting to the pet in Qiao Sang’s arms.

“Is this the pet beast you’ve contracted? It’s adorable.”

She reached out to pet it.

Fire Fang Dog squinted its eyes comfortably.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang felt relieved. Sometimes, whether a pet liked someone or not could be a mystery.

---

After the banquet, while her mother accompanied Third Aunt and the others for some shopping, Qiao Sang returned home first.

Not daring to ask Fire Fang Dog for help, she cleaned the entire house inside and out by herself.

Only when the house looked spotless did Qiao Sang’s anxiety begin to ease.

Now that the high school entrance exam was over and she had been accepted into Shenshui High school, the past was behind her.

Even though she had secretly taken nearly two weeks off, seeing the house so clean should prevent her mother from saying too much...

Qiao Sang took Fire Fang Dog downstairs, intending to continue their usual speed training.

“Yap.”

Fire Fang Dog shook its head, showing reluctance.

It had gone through so much effort to look this handsome; one session of training, and all that sweat would ruin everything!

“Who knew you had such an image to maintain." Qiao Sang said, squatting down to pat Fire Fang Dog with a smile.

Usually, Fire Fang Dog was the one insisting on training, but this time, it didn’t want to train to preserve its appearance, so Qiao Sang didn’t push it.

“Yap~”

Fire Fang Dog fidgeted a little.

“I’ll take you to eat something nice.” Qiao Sang said, picking up Fire Fang Dog.

“Yap?”

Fire Fang Dog called out in confusion.

Didn’t we just eat? More food?

It turned its head and thought for a moment.

Well... maybe it’s not a bad idea...

Without resistance, Fire Fang Dog followed Qiao Sang to a specialty snack shop.

“Boss, three skewers of the Super Crazy Spicy Wings, please.”

“Coming right up!”

Qiao Sang found an empty seat and sat down with Fire Fang Dog.

“Yap?”

Fire Fang Dog blinked its big, watery eyes.

Just three skewers?

“That’s enough.”

Qiao Sang said with a smile, adding, “After eating, try releasing Ember, focusing the energy into a single point, compressing it, and then releasing it.”

Her real purpose for coming wasn’t to eat but to experiment with her idea for skill development.

Since she had a golden finger, Qiao Sang wasn’t worried about not mastering the skill. Lately, she had been thinking about how to teach Fire Fang Dog new skills.

The vice principal of Shenshui High had mentioned herbal baths, but she couldn’t afford them.

Going to a special skill-learning institution was also out of her budget, and there were no elders with fire-type pet beasts around to teach her.

So, she had to rely on herself to figure out how to develop new skills.

There were plenty of skills that beginner fire-type pet beasts could learn, but Fire Fang Dog currently only knew Fire Fang and Ember.

A few days ago, Qiao Sang had asked Fire Fang Dog to try compressing the energy while releasing Ember.

However, aside from increasing the power a bit, there wasn’t much difference.

Ember was still just Ember.

That’s when Qiao Sang thought of the Super Crazy Spicy Wings.

The spicy oil used wasn’t ordinary but extracted from the seeds of a plant-type pet beast called Jiao Yao Vine.

Even non-fire-type pet beasts might spit fire after eating it.

If a real fire-type pet beast ate it, wouldn’t it mobilize all the energy in its body?

When the energy was then focused, compressed, and released, the effect should be different.

Although Fire Fang Dog didn’t fully understand its Beast Tamer’s plan, concentrating energy and releasing Ember was no difficult task for it, not even requiring a drop of sweat.

Since it wouldn’t affect its appearance, Fire Fang Dog nodded without hesitation.

Soon, the Super Crazy Spicy Wings were served.

The wings, coated in red oil, were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, emitting an irresistible aroma.

Fire Fang Dog’s mouth began to water instantly, and it reached out its paw to grab a skewer.

Qiao Sang quickly snatched up all three skewers.

“Yap?”

Fire Fang Dog looked confused. Weren’t we supposed to eat?

“We’ll eat outside.” Qiao Sang said.

If they ate here, how would they practice compressing and releasing the energy?

If things got out of control and it spewed fire, they’d be stuck washing dishes to pay for the damage.