Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

The entire arena fell into complete silence.

A few seconds later, a tidal wave of noise erupted from the stands.

“A high-level pet beast defeated a general-level one? Damn, that’s the first time I’ve seen it live.”

“Whiteplume Goose is simply a disgrace to general-level beasts…”

“Let’s not be too harsh. Whiteplume Goose does have some strength. There are general-level beasts weaker than it.”

“The real issue is that Steel-Slash Giant Falcon is absurdly strong for a high-level beast. The combo of Air Absorption and Heavy Slam, if used against beasts of the same level, that move alone could end a battle.”

“No kidding. A normal high-level beast averages around three meters in height, but it shot up to eight meters. Using Heavy Slam gives it a natural advantage.”

“I actually think Whiteplume Goose could’ve still fought, but it looked at its appearance on the virtual screen and seemed to faint from rage…”

“Hahaha! I saw that too, Steel-Slash Giant Falcon even pointed it out!”

“From the moment Steel-Slash Giant Falcon started plucking Whiteplume Goose’s feathers, I knew this match wasn’t going to be simple.”

Then someone suddenly said, “Hey, did you guys notice that throughout the whole match, Qiao Sang didn’t give a single command?”

Everyone paused for a second, then started responding with surprise: “Holy crap, you’re right! I didn’t even notice, she didn’t say a word!”

“Usually only those who are super confident in their beasts’ abilities refrain from giving commands. Has she really reached that level?!”

A red-haired man couldn’t hold back and spoke up: “Hey, hey, don’t get carried away. This was a cross-tier battle. No matter how confident you are, you wouldn’t just let your pet fight alone. Steel-Slash Giant Falcon, like Steel Guardian Falcon, evolved through a bond evolution. I’ve heard that beasts with bond evolution can communicate mentally. Qiao Sang was probably giving commands through the mind.”

Someone nearby glanced at him.

“How do you know?”

The red-haired man explained: “My pet beast identifier can identify the evolutionary path of the target’s current form. Steel-Slash Giant Falcon evolved through bond evolution.”

Everyone believed him.

There were indeed pet beast identifiers with such functions.

And that perfectly explained why Qiao Sang didn’t say a word during the whole match.

“Bond evolution, huh… I give up. I was planning to contract a Little Steel Falcon for my next beast.”

“You better do some research on Little Steel Falcon's reputation. Most people wouldn’t dare make a contract with that type.”

“True. Making one bond evolve is already hard enough. But evolving it through bond evolution twice? That’s almost impossible to imagine.”

The conversation shifted from the battle to discussions about the Little Steel Falcon's species.

Even though Steel-Slash Giant Falcon's looks, power, and intelligence were incredibly attractive, the bad reputation of the Little Steel Falcon's and the fact that it had undergone bond evolution made everyone hesitate.

---

Amid the crowd’s chatter, Qiao Sang waved her hand and recalled Gangbao back into the Beast Codex.

The next battle would probably be a tough one… Tao Jun recalled Whiteplume Goose while watching Qiao Sang’s movements, her heart trembling.

To be honest, that previous match had crushed her confidence.

She couldn’t even win with a general-level pet against a high-level one. How was she supposed to deal with the other three beasts Qiao Sang had left?

At that moment, a mechanical voice rang out in the arena: “3, 2, 1, battle start!”

Tao Jun’s mind went blank. She began forming seals at the fastest speed of her life.

The star array in front of her lit up first.

In terms of seal speed, she was still faster! Tao Jun felt a flicker of joy and shouted: “Poison Mist!”

“Evil.”

A six-meter tall, deep purple toad-like beast with green eyes and razor-sharp red claws let out a cry and opened its mouth.

A wave of purple poison mist burst from its mouth, rapidly spreading across the arena.

Just as it engulfed most of the field, Lubao appeared on the battlefield.

Snowflakes began to fall.

“Qiao Sang has summoned the endangered beast from Blue Star, Ice Aipalu!” The commentator shouted excitedly.

“Will it use the Ice Field Domain once again to end the match instantly?!”

The audience exploded with excitement.

“Ice Aipalu! Ice Aipalu!”

“Ice Field Domain! Ice Field Domain!”

“Crush Tao Jun! Crush Tao Jun!”

Nearly everyone was hoping to witness a general-level beast unleash a transcendent skill live.

Tao Jun: …

Seriously, I didn’t even do anything to you people… Hearing the chants, Tao Jun was speechless.

In the contestant area.

Pirite frowned slightly.

He was worried Qiao Sang might be influenced by the crowd.

Super-tier skills were powerful, but Ice Aipalu, though a general-level beast, had limited energy. Over-reliance on that move wasn’t good.

Not to mention, if every battle started with Ice Aipalu using Ice Field Domain, then regardless of the opponent’s strength, Ice Aipalu would only last for one fight. It only had enough energy to use Ice Field Domain once, and couldn’t fight another match afterward.

That wouldn’t help it grow at all.

---

Slower with the seals again… Watching the poison mist creeping closer, Qiao Sang felt a little discouraged but quickly regained her focus and called out: “Hold your breath.”

Lubao puffed up her cheeks, holding in a breath as instructed.

Qiao Sang’s brain kicked into high gear.

Evilwater Toad, the key danger with poison-type beasts is getting hit with their toxic skills. Even if no further attacks come, you’ll keep taking damage over time…

Lubao did have Healing Light, but if the opponent turned the battlefield into a poison zone, even after healing, just one breath would result in poisoning again.

Lubao would have to keep healing non-stop. But during that time, the opponent would have plenty of chances to strike…

The match needed to end quickly.

“Seal it.” Qiao Sang gave the order.

At that moment, the thick purple mist filled the entire field, growing denser and completely obscuring the view.

“Tao Jun’s Evilwater water Toad has taken the initiative with Poison Mist. Ice Aipalu is now trapped!” The commentator narrated the situation.

To unleash a super-tier skill, a general-level beast must use all its energy and maintain intense focus. But with Ice Aipalu inside the poison mist, its condition would worsen and energy become unstable. There was no way it could activate Ice Field Domain in that state… This was her chance… Tao Jun eagerly shouted:

“Toxic Surge!”

Ice Aipalu likely had healing skills and was probably using them now. This was the perfect time to strike!

“Evil water.”

Evilwater Toad opened its mouth wide and sprayed out large amounts of green corrosive toxin. The poisonous liquid cut through the mist and began melting snowflakes on contact, spraying forward toward where Ice Aipalu was.

The audience couldn’t see anything clearly through the purple fog, so they turned to each other and began to discuss.

“Why does it feel like Ice Aipalu hasn’t moved at all?”

“Yeah, why hasn’t it used Ice Field Domain yet? I was waiting for it to freeze the entire field and that toad along with it.”

“You guys don’t get it. Using transcendent skills isn’t easy for general-level beasts. They need to be in peak condition. Ice Aipalu’s trapped in poison mist, it can’t possibly use Ice Field Domain now.”

“Wait, then isn’t Ice Aipalu in danger?!”

“Also… has anyone noticed the snow’s getting heavier?”

Everyone looked up at the sky.

Ice Aipalu’s snowy entrance had impressed them before, but now that they were familiar with its snowfall trait, they weren’t as shocked as first-time viewers.

Combined with the dense purple fog and the anticipation of Ice Field Domain, most had ignored the snowfall.

But now that someone mentioned it, they finally realized, the snow really was getting unusually heavy.

“I thought snowfall traits were supposed to get weaker over time and eventually fade?”

“Maybe Ice Aipalu has a higher-tier snowfall trait?”

“The snow’s supposed to peak in the first ten seconds. It shouldn’t get heavier later.”

“Then what’s going on with this snow?”

At that moment, one spectator guessed: “Could it be that Ice Aipalu is using a snow-based skill?”

---

On the field.

A large amount of bluish corrosive venom pierced through the poisonous mist.

The Evilwater Toad’s green pupils contracted now and then, clearly capturing the scene within the purple fog.

Just as the venom was about to hit its opponent, the other party dodged to the side and avoided the attack.

“Evil.”

The Evilwater Toad didn’t hesitate. Its limbs tensed, and it leaped dozens of meters into the air.

“Puh puh puh…”

It opened its mouth and continuously spat out glowing green acid bombs toward the ground.

The highly corrosive acid rained down like a torrential storm from above.

In the middle of its barrage, the Evilwater Toad suddenly felt a chill. Its body shuddered involuntarily.

It didn’t see that a single ice flower had silently bloomed on the top of its head.

“The Evilwater Toad has jumped into the air after launching a venom attack and is now continuously unleashing acid bombs!” The commentator maintained his professional tone as he passionately explained the match.

Suddenly, as if he had spotted something, his eyes widened, and an excited expression appeared on his face. His voice surged with genuine excitement: “An ice flower has appeared on the Evilwater Toad’s body! No, within just a moment, it’s completely covered in ice flowers! It seems that Ice Aipalu unleashed an Ice Flower Seal within the poisonous mist!”

In the wide-angle view, snowflakes fell in clusters, and the Evilwater Toad, which had leaped high into the air, was now entirely covered in delicate ice flowers.

It looked just like a piece of ice sculpture artwork falling vertically from the sky.

Boom!

A loud crash echoed as purple mist surged.

“Holy crap! I was wondering why the snow was falling so heavily, it turns out Ice Aipalu used Ice Flowers Seal!”

“This move is a total kill when paired with a pet beast that has snow-producing traits. You can’t even tell it’s happening!”

“Actually, the move can be identified. All pet beast skills have activation gestures, it’s just that the poisonous mist blocked the view.”

“Tsk, but if you can’t see it clearly, you’ll end up like this Evilwater Toad,rushing straight into the snowstorm.”

“If it had stayed down on the ground, it might not have been sealed so fast. After all, the poison mist is still corrosive.”

“Judging by how quickly the ice flowers covered it, this skill has to be at least mastered, or even at the ultimate level.”

The crowd buzzed with lively chatter, voices overlapping and noisy.

Tao Jun felt her heart sink completely.

She hadn’t expected that, besides its Ice Field Domain, Ice Aipalu had another high-proficiency move, Ice Flower Seal.

Stay calm, it’s not over yet. The poisonous mist hadn’t completely dissipated. It should still be able to corrode the ice flowers a little. Plus, she had drawn a spirit rune on the Evilwater Toad that, when the creature was in an abnormal state, would automatically channel energy to its tongue to stimulate saliva secretion...

Tao Jun took a deep breath and calmed herself a bit.

To be honest, she had drawn that rune after learning the opponent was Qiao Sang.

Of all Qiao Sang’s pet beasts, the one she remembered most clearly was Ice Aipalu.

That rune had been designed specifically to counter Ice Aipalu’s ice-type skills, and now it had truly come in handy.

Purple mist swirled around the ice-flower-covered Evilwater Toad. Though it hadn’t dispersed, it had thinned significantly.

Inside the ice flowers, the Evilwater Toad maintained a spitting posture, completely frozen in place.

No one noticed a droplet of corrosive saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth.

When the saliva touched the ice flowers, it immediately melted a small section, leaving corrosion marks behind.

Just then, a massive ice spike, shaped like a small mountain, suddenly appeared above the Evilwater Toad.

BOOM!!

The giant ice spike slammed down violently, shattering into countless shards of flying ice.

Yet the ice flower imprisoning the Evilwater Toad remained intact.

The purple mist finally cleared.

It revealed Lubao, cold-faced but faintly exuding purple mist.

Still got poisoned… Qiao Sang saw Lubao’s state and instinctively tensed.

“Lu Ai…”

Unlike past matches, Lubao didn’t immediately take the chance to heal. Instead, she gave a single cry.

In the next second, another mountain-sized ice spike appeared above the Evilwater Toad.

BOOM!!

The ice spike crashed down again.

And then, yet another one formed in the exact same spot.

Tao Jun: !!!

This is way too brutal!

BOOM!!!

With another huge crash, a fourth massive ice spike appeared.

Audience: !!!

Tao Jun was numb.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One giant ice spike after another smashed down.

No one knew how long it continued before the chaos finally ceased.

The camera zoomed in for a close-up

At that moment, the ice flowers on the Evilwater Toad had completely shattered, and its eyes were closed, it appeared to be completely unconscious.

The commentator swallowed hard and said, “After being hit by continuous massive ice spikes, the Evilwater Toad seems to have fallen into a deep coma. Is the match over?”

As he finished speaking, a mechanical-type referee beast approached the Evilwater Toad, observed briefly, and then blew the match-ending whistle.

“Let’s congratulate contestant Qiao Sang for winning this match!”

“Lu Ai…”

Lubao’s expression didn’t change much, but she finally relaxed on the inside.

She had seen it very clearly, despite being sealed, the opponent’s dripping saliva had managed to melt part of the ice flower.

Thankfully… thankfully I have other offensive moves now…

Just then, her Beast Master’s voice rang in her ear: “Heal yourself quickly!”

“Lu Ai…”

Lubao finally realized that something was wrong with her condition.

She let out a call and her forehead gem began to glow.

A blue light enveloped her body.

Soon, the light faded and Lubao stood tall and refreshed, looking just like she did at the start of the match.