Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Another officer of similar age blurted out, "Reinforcements to die alongside us?"

Silence returned once again.

Though harsh, his words struck a chord. Based on the sheer scale of that earlier fiery rain, their small town simply didn\'t have the firepower to match.

"Report it first." Said the oldest officer in the group.

"You all stay here and wait. I\'ll go check out the situation."

"No way!" The young officer shouted.

"Captain, it\'s too dangerous for you to go alone. I\'ll go with you!"

The captain considered for a moment before nodding.

"Alright."

The young officer fell silent, his face tense.

The captain summoned a wind eagle. The two straightened their backs and climbed aboard, their expressions somber, as though heading to certain doom.

Everyone watched them depart, the atmosphere heavy with dread.

Just as they were about to take off, Wu Chang spoke up, "I\'ll go too!"

"Don\'t make trouble." The young officer retorted, glancing back from atop the wind eagle at the location where the fiery rain had occurred. The firestorm had ended, and the night sky had returned to tranquility, but his expression remained grave.

"This isn’t a simple civil dispute. Did you see that fiery rain just now? Whoever caused it clearly isn’t ordinary. If you go, you’ll only make things worse. Don’t worry about your friend… We’ll bring her back."

They would bring her back but didn’t say safely

All present were seasoned officers, well aware of what those words implied.

A beast tamer who could create such destruction was undoubtedly powerful. The best-case scenario was that this person’s goal was merely to contract a wild beast, and that they were rational enough to communicate. In that case, the girl might sustain some injuries but remain alive.

The worst-case scenario, however, was that the beast tamer was ruthless.

If that were true, the girl’s life would be in danger, and their captain and colleague might not make it back unscathed either.

A heavy sense of foreboding hung over everyone.

Wu Chang hesitated before explaining, "But that meteor rain was caused by my friend."

The officers: ???

The atmosphere shifted abruptly.

"What did you just say?"

"What do you mean caused by your friend? Isn’t your friend the same age as you?"

"You said your friend is a high school student!"

"You said she’s a girl!"

All eyes turned to Wu Chang.

After a brief moment of confusion, Wu Chang realized the misunderstanding and clarified, "That guy doesn’t have a fire-type beast. He only has a Phantom Fiend, a Stronghold Sky Owl, and a Tablema. As for my friend, she’s a high schooler from Shengshui High. She has a Flame Hound. That fiery rain was probably her Flame Hound’s Meteor Rain."

Given that Qiao Sang was currently the hottest topic in Hanggang City, Wu Chang had naturally looked up her details online.

Among the numerous posts, some true, some false, was one claiming that Qiao Sang’s Flame Hound could use Meteor Rain.

At the time, Wu Chang hadn’t taken it seriously, assuming it was a fabrication. But after witnessing the earlier scene, that post suddenly seemed very plausible.

His intuition screamed that it was true.

The officers’ faces went blank as they struggled to process the revelation.

The captain was the first to recover. Taking a deep breath, he bellowed, "Report this immediately! Everyone, move out with me!"

At such a young age, she had raised the only known Flame Hound and taught it Meteor Rain. Someone like that absolutely couldn’t be allowed to meet an untimely end in their jurisdiction!

Taking advantage of the opponent\'s distraction, Qiao Sang summoned Little Treasure, allowing Lubao to heal him.

The swelling on Little Treasure\'s head visibly subsided, and he slowly opened his eyes to see a familiar face in front of him.

"Xun Xun!"

Little Treasure snapped to full consciousness and leaped excitedly into his beast tamer\'s arms.

Although Qiao Sang wanted to ask where Little Treasure had wandered off to earlier, she knew now wasn’t the time.

She quickly instructed, "Yabao, head to the ground and use your sensory ability to see if you can locate Luckbringer."

"Yap." Yabao responded, running toward the ground.

While an evolved beast\'s call might remain the same, his voice often changes in tone.

Hearing the unfamiliar sound, Little Treasure turned his head in confusion, only to freeze in shock at what he saw.

"Xun Xun!"

Why did Big Brother Yabao look so different?!

"It’s just evolution." Qiao Sang explained.

"Xun?"

"Xun?!"

Little Treasure was stunned before his jaw dropped in disbelief.

Evolution? Evolution?!

How could he evolve in such a short time while he wasn’t around?!

"Yap yap." Yabao grinned proudly, flashing a smug expression.

"Lu Lu." Lubao interrupted, pointing at the ring on Little Treasure’s head with her paw.

Qiao Sang froze in surprise. Lubao claimed to have seen Little Treasure put Luckbringer into the ring.

"Is that true?" Qiao Sang asked Little Treasure, her voice filled with excitement.

"Xun Xun~" Upon hearing the question, Little Treasure momentarily forgot about Yabao\'s evolution. With a showy call, he removed the ring and pulled out a transparent container, as if showing off.

It was purely accidental, just something he had scooped up in passing.

"Yun Yun!"

Inside the container, Luckringer looked at the humans outside, its eyes brimming with relief.

It felt saved at last!

Lubao’s vision was truly remarkable. Considering how far away Little Treasure had been and the fire obscuring the view, it seemed the potion made from Blue Dew Crystals was working after all. Qiao Sang decided it was necessary to test Lubao\'s vision when they returned.

Snapping back to the present, she quickly pushed the newly revealed Q back into the ring and ordered seriously, "Yabao, let’s get moving!"

"Yap..."

Yabao responded listlessly, clearly drained of energy.

"Xun Xun!"

Before Qiao Sang could figure out how to proceed, Little Treasure was suddenly yanked upwards by an invisible force, dragged tens of meters into the air.

"Xun Xun!"

Little Treasure struggled desperately but couldn’t break free.

Once he stopped ascending, he hesitantly turned his head, only to be confronted by a terrifyingly large face.

"Xun!"

His eyes rolled back, and he feigned unconsciousness on the spot.

Qiao Sang looked up and saw Tablema holding Little Treasure in one claw and a man in the other.

Narrowing her eyes, she was about to speak when the man’s voice echoed down from above:

"I saw everything. You have two choices: Either your Treasure-Seeking Demon opens the ring and hands over Luckbringer, or I’ll take your Treasure-Seeing Demon with me."

Zhang Rongtang didn’t want to make an enemy of such an obviously extraordinary child, but he had no choice. Once something was stored inside a Treasure-Seeking Demon’s ring, only the ghost itself could retrieve it.

Having been granted this rare opportunity to capture Luckbringer, he wasn’t about to let it slip through his fingers. Making an enemy? No problem. Once he contracted Luckbringer, no one could touch him!

"Yap!"

Yabao bared is teeth, glaring fiercely at the figures above. The flames on his shoulders flared slightly.

Just as he was about to leap into action, Qiao Sang gently stroked his fur, signaling him to stay calm.

"Yap..."

Under his beast tamer’s soothing touch, Yabao stayed put, though he continued to snarl threateningly at the figures above.

Yabao’s energy was nearly depleted. If he attacked now, he would only make things worse. Although Qiao Sang could recall Little Treasure into her Beast Codex, doing so would provoke an immediate attack from Zhang Rongtang.

Weighing her options, she decided it was better to stall for time. She gazed up at Zhang Rongtang, feigning hesitation.

"I’m not wasting any more time." Zhang Rongtang declared, his voice cold.

"I’ll count to three."

Without waiting, he began counting:

"One."

"One minute! Just give me one minute to think!"

"Two."

"Thirty seconds! Thirty seconds, okay?!"

"Three."

This time, Qiao Sang said nothing. Her mouth slowly opened as she stood frozen, staring dumbfounded at the sky above.

More precisely, at the spot behind Tablema.

Yabao mirrored her expression exactly.

Suddenly, the pitch-black night sky cracked open, forming a tiny fissure. The rift grew larger and larger, as though being torn apart by an invisible, colossal hand.

The crack revealed an abyss-like darkness beyond, vast and unfathomable.

Qiao Sang’s mind buzzed with chaotic thoughts, all jumbled together. Yet one clear realization emerged:

Damn! A secret realm rift!

The moment she identified it, Qiao Sang quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the sky.

A freshly-formed secret realm rift! Her first time seeing one! This was definitely social media-worthy!

"Hey, Uncle! Move aside a bit; I need a clear shot of the rift!" She called out mid-photo session.

Secret realm rift? Zhang Rongtang’s heartbeat quickened. He had already sensed something was off while counting to three. However, because he was confronting the child below, he hadn’t turned around to look.

Could it really be a secret realm rift?

Just as he was about to turn, the child below suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs: "Run!"

Run? Zhang Rongtang froze in confusion.

Tablema didn’t hesitate. Instinctively sensing danger, it vanished instantly, carrying its beast master away.

The next second, a massive steel claw with only four toes emerged from the rift, swiping ferociously at where Tablema had just been.

Qiao Sang shivered and quickly waved her hand, recalling Little Treasure into her Beast Tamer Codex.

The enormous steel claw was overwhelmingly large. Even though Tablema had teleported quite a distance, it was still completely within the claw’s range.

Qiao Sang watched, wide-eyed, as the claw stretched, grabbed, and pulled both Tablema and Zhang Rongtang into the rift.

She didn’t notice a five-centimeter-long slip of paper falling out of Zhang Rongtang’s pocket.

Before Qiao Sang could process what had happened, a beast’s head emerged from the rift. It resembled a full-body silver suit of armor, with a razor-sharp blade-like nose and piercing yellow, vertical pupils.

One glance was enough to tell that the head and the claw belonged to the same pet beast.

Qiao Sang instinctively held her breath, not daring to move.

The beast’s yellow eyes scanned its surroundings as though dissatisfied with the environment. Moments later, it retracted its head back into the rift.

If I don’t run now, when will I? Qiao Sang thought. Just as she was about to flee, she remembered something. Forming a hand seal, she summoned Little Treasure and instructed, "Take Luckbringer out."

"Xun Xun..." Little Treasure, who had been about to leap into her arms and cry about how terrifying things had been, froze mid-air. Obediently, he removed the ring and took out the device containing Luckbringer.

"Yun Yun..."

The moment Luckbringer emerged, it seemed to sense something. Its body stiffened, and it abruptly raised its head.

The giant rift resembled a terrifying abyss, yet Qi Yunla’s tears flowed uncontrollably as it stared at it.

It’s finally here...

"Do you want to go back?" Qiao Sang asked.

She had overheard parts of the conversation between Zhang Rongtang and Wu Chang earlier and knew that Luckbringer had been waiting for this secret realm rift for nine years.

"Yun Yun!" Luckbringer nodded firmly.

Without further comment, Qiao Sang placed the device on the ground and signaled to Lubao with a nod.

"Lu."

Lubao understood instantly. Water swirled around her tail, which whipped fiercely at the device.

The transparent device remained undamaged.

"Lu!"

Lubao froze for a moment, then focused her resolve.

A moment later, she covered herself entirely in water, launched into the air, and descended in a powerful dive onto the device.

The transparent container shook slightly but remained unscathed.

"Lu..."

Lubao looked bewildered, standing still in confusion.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang turned to Yabao and said, "Your turn."

"Yap!"

Yabao nodded. He opened ihis mouth, energy gathering as flames engulfed his sharp teeth.

Simultaneously, a massive fiery head materialized, his mouth wide open and teeth bared, biting down.

CRACK!

The transparent device shattered.

"Yun Yun!"

Luckbringer’s face lit up with excitement. Without hesitation, it dashed toward the rift.

"Wait!" Qiao Sang called out.

"Yun?"

Qi Yunla paused, turning back with a puzzled expression.

Though she couldn’t see Luckbringer’s face, Qiao Sang knew it must be staring at her.

"Lubao, Healing Light." She said.

"Lu..."

Lubao obeyed, casting a gentle blue glow over Luckbringer.

"Yun..."

As the light faded, Luckbringer seemed startled by the improvement in its condition.

Qiao Sang spoke softly, "Wu Chang said you were injured and asked me to heal you. Consider this my way of fulfilling his request."

"Yun Yun..."

Luckbringer’s overwhelming emotions subsided a little as it recalled Wu Chang.

If only I could see him one last time before returning home...

"Yun Yun! Qiao Sang!" Wu Chang’s voice rang out from afar.

"Yun..."

Luckbringer’s eyes reddened as it quickly floated upward.

Spotting Wu Chang running toward them, it paused briefly in the air.

After a long, firm look, Luckbringer turned decisively and flew toward the rift.

Just before entering, it waved a paw toward Qiao Sang.

Because of the white cloth still draped over Luckbringer, Qiao Sang could see the gesture clearly.

"Qiao Sang! Are you okay? Where’s Yun Yun?" Wu Chang arrived, flanked by a group of police officers.

Qiao Sang pointed to the sky.

"There."

Everyone followed her gaze.

The police saw the secret realm rift, while Wu Chang’s eyes locked on the white figure hovering near it.

"Yun Yun~"

For a moment, Qiao Sang thought she heard Luckbringer’s voice.

"Did you hear that?" She asked.

"I did." Wu Chang murmured.

No one else heard anything.

Though many knew Luckbringer could bring good fortune, few were aware that when it gave its true blessing, only those who could hear its voice would be bestowed with luck.

"Yun Yun~"

With one last call, Luckbringer vanished into the rift.