Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

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!

---

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.