Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

"Yap?"

Yabao tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what his little companion was up to.

"Seek~"

Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost sweetly called out to Wind Eagle.

Wind Eagle didn't recognize Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost, but it knew Qiao Sang.

As one of the creatures responsible for maintaining order in Qitang Town, Wind Eagle wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of gesture.

It had encountered people trying to bribe it with food and drinks many times before, but it always righteously refused.

But this little creature was the pet of the master's younger sister, basically family. Shouldn't it at least accept the gesture out of politeness?

Wind Eagle was conflicted. It looked at the small bottle of milk in front of it. As a bribe, this seemed a little too cheap.

A young thing still drinking milk couldn't have any ill intentions.

Wind Eagle quickly figured it out. It spread its large wings slightly, lowered its head, and used its beak to unscrew the milk bottle. Then, in one gulp, it downed the entire bottle of milk.

After catching the empty bottle with its wing, Wind Eagle smiled kindly at Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost.

"Seek!"

Seeing Wind Eagle finish the milk, Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost happily let out a chirp. Then it pointed at Wind Eagle's tail and began gesturing.

"Seek."

"Seek Seek."

"Seek."

A gust of wind blew past, and Wind Eagle froze like a statue. So that’s what this little one was after!

It suddenly took a step back and shook its head vigorously, like a rattle.

"Seek Seek!"

"Seek!"

Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost pointed at the empty bottle still held by Wind Eagle.

Wind Eagle stood frozen, torn between two instincts. Its master had taught it that as a public servant, it shouldn't accept things from others, or risk getting reported.

If that happened, its master’s job might be in danger...

After a long internal struggle, Wind Eagle reluctantly extended its wing behind itself.

Wooosh!

Qiao Sang and Ye Ranran, who had been deep in conversation, were startled by the sudden noise.

When they turned around, they saw Wind Eagle, teary-eyed, and Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost with an innocent expression.

Yabao watched the entire scene unfold, dumbstruck. For the first time, he found himself deeply confused.

So… this was an option?

---

Qiao Sang's family home wasn’t in the town center but located on Shuimao Road, near the Liugan River.

The houses here weren't tall buildings but old-style homes with courtyards. The mountains, water, and fresh air were all nice, but it made things like ordering food delivery or getting services a bit inconvenient.

A few years ago, her eldest uncle had made some money from his business and renovated the old house, making it look grander than the other homes lined up beside it.

After dropping Qiao Sang off at the family home, Ye Ranran suggested she come along to check out her blind date, to help her judge the guy.

Qiao Sang flatly refused, wasn't that just asking her to be the third wheel?

Her third aunt had already tidied up the room Qiao Sang used to stay in. After putting her things away, Qiao Sang went to visit her grandparents.

Both were in poor health and didn’t get out much anymore. Her grandmother, who used to be quite strict, had mellowed with age.

In the past, if she saw any of the younger generation unable to control their contracted pets, she’d probably chase them around with a shoe.

But now, she just smiled and made casual conversation.

Her grandfather, once full of ambition in his youth, had participated in many competitions.

But after entering a C-level danger zone assigned by the league, he lost his first contracted pet inside.

After that, he never quite recovered and gave up his former ambitions, choosing instead to settle down in Qitang Town, get married, and raise a family.

It was said that his pet, a Powerful Owl, could have escaped but stayed behind to save its master, holding off the enemy at the cost of its own life.

After a long silence, her grandfather looked at Yabao and Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost gathered around Qiao Sang and said only, "Take good care of them."

---

After lunch, Qiao Sang took Yabao and Little Treasure Ghost out to the courtyard for some unrestrained training.

But when she saw the yard full of flowers, vegetables, and fruits, she was dumbfounded.

Was the yard always like this…?

Just then, her third aunt came over with a watering can. She smiled at Qiao Sang, who was still in a daze, and asked, "What do you think? Looks nice, right?"

Snapping back to reality, Qiao Sang asked, "Aunt, when did you plant all of this?"

Her aunt beamed with pride. "This is all for your cousin Jingwen, who's preparing to apply to Southern Plant University to become a Spirit Plant Specialist. Your uncle brought these plants over for her to study."

Qiao Sang: ...

A Spirit Plant Specialist is someone who specializes in cultivating energy-rich plants.

Her third aunt had two children. Ye Jingwen, the younger daughter, hadn’t awakened her brain domain when she turned fifteen.

In a family of ordinary people, that would have meant she had no further connection to such things.

But with so many Beast Tamers in the Ye family, Jingwen could still learn about pets and related knowledge.

Typically, you needed to be a Beast Tamer to apply to universities offering pet-related majors. The Spirit Plant major was no exception.

However, there was an alternative: independent admissions. This path was more focused on professional skills, giving hope to those who weren’t Beast Tamers.

Because of household registration issues, Ye Jingwen attended high school in Qitang Town.

Now that she’d just finished her second year and was starting her third, it was normal for her to be thinking about independent admissions in the coming year.

"Where's Jingwen? I didn’t see her at lunch." Qiao Sang asked.

"She went to a tutor's house for extra lessons. The tutor lives in town, so it’s easier to eat there." Her aunt replied.

So dedicated… Qiao Sang couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

This courtyard was even less suitable for training than the area around her apartment.

At least those plants were just regular ones, but these were all spirit plants...

This must’ve cost a fortune…

---

Liugan River.

About a kilometer from the family home, this secluded spot was so quiet you could stand there for twenty minutes without seeing anyone.

"Yabao, use Shadow Clone followed by Fire Whirl. Keep going until you’re out of energy." Qiao Sang instructed.

Yabao nodded and skillfully began his training. Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost watched curiously from the side.

Qiao Sang took out her phone, ready to jot down notes in her memo app.

The purpose of today’s training wasn’t to improve Fire Whirl but to test how many times Yabao could use it at full strength before running out of energy.

Once the Fire Whirl was recorded, she would also track how many times it could use moves like Ember and Flame Charge.

This way, she could effectively gauge Yabao’s energy capacity and know its limits in future battles.

Before long, Yabao was completely drained.

Seeing Yabao panting heavily, Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost deftly took out a bottle of milk from its ring and handed it over.

Yabao froze, took a step back, and then hurried over to its Beast Tamer.

"Yap."

Yabao’s eyes were filled with longing.

Understanding instantly, Qiao Sang pulled a bottle of Qiyuan milk from her bag, opened it, and handed it to Yabao.

Only then did Yabao relax and start drinking.

"Seek?"

Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost tilted his head in confusion.

Why had things changed since this morning?

Qiao Sang hadn’t noticed the subtle tension building between her two pets.

She was too focused on her notes.

For Fire Whirl, Yabao could create seven duplicates and cast the move a total of fifty-six times.

However, Fire Fang consumed more energy despite requiring less firepower than Fire Whirl.

Qiao Sang didn’t ponder this for long.

Fire Fang had already reached a mastery level, whereas Fire Whirl was still at the proficient stage.

The more skilled the move, the greater its power and energy consumption. There was nothing strange about that.

Just as Qiao Sang figured it all out, her phone rang. She answered absentmindedly, "Hello, Mom."

"Sweetheart, did you give the special gifts to your uncle and grandma?"

"Yes, I did."

"And what about Mrs. Wang?"

Qiao Sang: ...