Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 559: As Expected, I Shouldn't Have Hope

Read at: /?m=1

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The fortune teller on the street said the same thing... Qiao Sang couldn't help but complain inwardly.

Just as she was about to refuse, Magee, who was walking ahead, turned around with a smile and asked:

"Ms. Madeleine from Sahel School, her divination, Ze Youlais, is rare to come by. Her office is just ahead. Do you want to check it out?"

Beside him were other teachers and students from various schools, along with a few volunteer students from Sahel Academy, all turning to look at her.

Logically, only the teacher leading the team needed to decide, but since the topic of conversation among the visiting schools had all started with discussions about Qiao Sang, Magee instinctively asked for her opinion.

With so many people staring at her, could she really say no?

Qiao Sang nodded.

---

The group arrived at Madeleine’s office.

The office door was tightly shut, and a crowd of students in different school uniforms stood outside, chatting in small groups, making the place seem more like a tourist attraction than an office.

As soon as Qiao Sang arrived, all eyes turned toward her and Yabao.

The previous match wasn't exactly spectacular, but her pet beasts were unlike anything the students had ever seen.

The beast identifier even identified one of them as an endangered species. Adding to that, the presence of an orange-yellow star array, something that shouldn't appear at a high school level, left a deep impression on everyone.

"She looks even younger up close."

"People from Dragon Nation always look younger than their actual age."

"That's right. I once met a woman from Dragon Nation who looked like she was in her twenties. Turns out she was 42. I originally thought she must be at least a C-rank beast master to look that young, but she was only an E-rank." 𝐫ΆΝ𝖔βÊ𝘴

It was well known that low-level beast masters hardly benefited from any age-defying effects.

"Yeah, some people from Dragon Nation look well-maintained even if they aren't beast masters."

Just then, the office door opened.

Five students, all dressed in white shirts and silver-gray jackets, stepped out.

"Lulu."

Behind them, a pet beast that looked like a large egg with a milky-yellow body scanned the area before calling out to a few students in dark red uniforms. It then turned and walked back inside.

Even if they couldn't understand what it was saying, its gesture made it clear, it was inviting them in.

As the dark red-uniformed students entered, Qiao Sang turned and asked, "There’s no need to line up?"

The students outside weren’t queuing at all. The egg-shaped pet beast simply picked people at random, as if the process was entirely arbitrary.

"No need."

Alva explained, "Ms. Madeleine only performs divinations for those she deems fated. They say that if people queued in order, it would affect the accuracy of her Ze Youlais."

It was the first time Qiao Sang had heard such reasoning.

So… did that mean Yuna’s Ye Zomu divination was inaccurate because she wasn’t ‘fated’?

No, that one was probably just inaccurate in general. It wasn’t even about her, after all.

Thinking of this, Qiao Sang asked, "What’s the difference? Does the order of the readings affect accuracy?"

Was it really just a matter of going in sooner or later?

"No." Alva shook her head.

"Ze Youlais has a fixed number of readings per day. No one knows the exact number, but not everyone here will get a turn."

Qiao Sang: ...

Understood. Basically, there's no need to line up because you might not get a turn anyway…

---

Meanwhile, at a massive training ground…

Thompson entered, looking rather grim.

A black-haired student, wearing boxing gloves and sparring with his pet beast, stopped and asked, "What’s wrong? You look upset."

"That Qiao Sang from Sainan High has a ghost-type pet beast." Thompson walked to a bench at the edge of the arena and sat down.

"A ghost-type?" The student approached, surprised.

"That’s an unexpected attribute. I thought most girls wouldn’t like ghost-type pets."

"That’s not the issue." Thompson's voice was low.

"The problem is, that ghost-type also has psychic attributes."

The student sat beside him, stunned for a moment before responding calmly, "You sure you didn’t mistake it for a beast that just knows a couple of psychic moves? There's a big difference."

"I’m not an idiot, Radko." Thompson frowned.

"That ghost-type beast used Telekinesis. A non-psychic beast can’t learn that move."

Radko paused while removing his gloves, then sighed.

"What kind of background does she have to get so many rare pet beasts?"

Thompson scoffed.

"She even contracted a Steel Falcon."

Radko looked at him.

"You went to pick a fight with a Steel Falcon just now?"

Thompson remained silent.

Radko sighed, immediately understanding his friend's unspoken admission.

He had grown up with Thompson and knew more about his family situation than most.

Thompson’s hatred for Steel Falcons wasn’t just because of his father, it was something deeper that no one else knew.

As a child, Thompson had loved Steel Falcons. Before awakening his Beast master Codex, he had always said he would contract one as his first pet beast. His family even prepared a young Steel Falcon hatched from an egg just for him.

He and the little falcon spent a long time together. But later, his father’s Solid Armor Steel Emperor forcibly broke the contract and took the Steel Falcon away.

Thompson had been there, witnessing everything. The falcon had left willingly.

The betrayal had devastated him. The more he had once loved Steel Falcons, the more he now resented them. Ever since then, he had never treated any Steel Falcon kindly.

But messing with someone’s pet required considering the owner. And Qiao Sang from Sainan High clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Radko opened his mouth, about to analyze the pros and cons for his friend.

Thompson sneered, "I know it's an exchange competition. But I just happened to see that Steel Falcon on the way, so I had Venomous Hawk spit some saliva at its head. Who knew it would dodge?"

"That’s a good thing." Radko relaxed, smiling.

"With so many schools gathered here, causing trouble wouldn’t be wise."

Thompson scoffed.

"What’s the big deal? Who can prove I did it on purpose? Besides, Venomous Hawk’s spit would only make its feathers fall out for a week. That Steel Falcon already looked a bit bald, what's a little more?"

As he spoke, a thought crossed his mind. He formed a hand seal and summoned Venomous Hawk.

"How did you miss a simple spit attack?" Thompson glared up at it.

"Venom…"

Venomous Hawk lowered its head, looking guilty.

Just then, a cold breeze swept through the training ground.

"Venom… Qiu!"

The hawk’s nose twitched, and it sneezed uncontrollably.

Droplets of saliva splattered down.

"Venom!"

Realizing its mistake, the hawk flapped its wings to deflect the falling spit.

But no matter how careful one was, mistakes happened.

A single drop still made it through.

Thompson suddenly felt a cold sensation on his head.

At the same time, his heart went cold.

His expression froze as realization dawned.

"Cyril, you…" Radko hesitated, looking at his friend’s head.

"Venom… venom".

Venomous Hawk took a step back, slowly retreating.

Thompson took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and reached up to touch his hair. Then, he pulled.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!"

---@@novelbin@@

Two seconds later, a scream echoed across the entire training ground.

The office door opened, and several students in identical school uniforms walked out.

A pale yellow pet beast looked around. When its gaze passed by the small steel falcon, the falcon gave its brightest smile.

"Lulu."

The pale yellow pet beast paused for a moment, then called out to Qiao Sang and her companions, signaling that they could go inside.

"How lucky." Alva remarked.

"I can't believe it's your turn so soon. I won't be going in, I’ll wait for you outside."

Their luck was indeed good, she had thought they might not get their turn... Qiao Sang mused as she stepped forward, following the group inside.

Inside, she saw a woman with high cheekbones, thin lips, black hair, and brown eyes, along with a pet beast about seventy centimeters tall. Its body was mostly white, and it held a stack of cards in its right hand.

Although its appearance was different, the floating ribbons on its body and the cards in its hand bore a slight resemblance to Ye Zomu.

Ze Youlais? That small? Qiao Sang glanced at its wrist and, as expected, saw a lightweight miniaturization bracelet.

Madeline smiled and said, "Sit wherever you like."

There was a sofa nearby. Once everyone had taken their seats, Madeline spoke:

"Do you have any questions? To ensure accuracy, Ze Youlais can only perform divination for two questions."

So it wasn’t one reading per person. No wonder the previous students finished so quickly... Qiao Sang thought.

Magee pondered for a moment before looking to the others.

"Do you have anything you’d like to ask?"

The group exchanged glances. Gerta spoke up first.

Seeing that no one else was immediately responding, Magee said, "Then you go first."

Gerta stood up, walked over to Ze Youlais, and asked seriously, "I want to know, will I inherit my family's business in the future?"

Ze Youlais didn’t move.

Madeline smiled.

"Distant matters are unpredictable. Ze Youlais can only divine events within the next two days."

Hearing this, Gerta looked a bit disappointed.

"Then I’ll ask whether I’ll get a chance to participate in the upcoming friendly match."

Madeline nodded at Ze Youlais.

Receiving its trainer's signal, Ze Youlais tossed the stack of cards into the air.

The cards froze in midair, seemingly defying gravity.

For a moment, time itself seemed to stand still.

Then, one card suddenly lit up with a blue glow and flew back to Ze Youlais.

"Zeyou." Ze Youlais said after glancing at the card.

Madeline translated, "You will participate."

Gerta smiled politely.

"Thank you, I have no further questions."

"Does anyone else have a question?" Madeline asked.

As she finished speaking, she looked at Qiao Sang with a playful smile.

"Aren't you curious to experience the divination abilities of our Chaosu Star pet beasts?"

During the morning match, Madeline had been present and knew the girl before her wasn't from Chaosu Star.

Sensing fate calling her? Qiao Sang hesitated before asking,

"Can it divine something that exists but is unknown to me?"

Madeline chuckled.

"Isn’t that the purpose of divination, to shed light on the unknown?"

That made sense. Qiao Sang nodded.

"Then I want to know, does the next stage of the Blazing Star Canine's evolution have multiple forms or just one?"

Yabao's evolution was entirely new, with no set path. However, since she had the Beast Master’s Codex, she could directly allocate points to ensure evolution without obstacles.

But she wasn’t sure whether a better evolution path existed for Yabao, which was why she was accumulating points to exchange for the Dream Enlightenment Stone.

Although the evolved Flame Hound and Blazing Star Canine had never appeared on Blue Star, the Beast Master’s Codex had consistently displayed their names.

This led her to suspect that these forms had appeared on other planets.

Perhaps an even higher evolutionary form existed.

Of course, if Ze Youlais divined that there was only one path, Qiao Sang would still accumulate points for the Dream Enlightenment Stone.

After all, given Ye Zomu’s precedent, she didn’t completely trust Ze Youlais’s divination abilities.

The others in the room were momentarily stunned, unsure why Qiao Sang was asking this question.

"That’s a Blazing Star Canine, right?" Madeline looked at Yabao and asked with certainty.

She had used a pet beast identifier during the morning match. Now, she was just confirming.

"Yap." Yabao nodded.

Yes, it is me.

"It is." Qiao Sang replied.

Madeline nodded at Ze Youlais.

Ze Youlais once again tossed the cards into the air.

The cards froze.

Ze Youlais closed its eyes.

This time, it kept them shut for a long while.

Ze Youlais furrowed its brows, and sweat formed on its forehead.

Unseen to the others, its internal energy was rapidly depleting.

The room remained silent for half a minute. Then, suddenly, Ze Youlais's eyes snapped open, and all the floating cards crashed to the ground.

Hulis and the others exchanged bewildered glances.

"Zeyou..."

Ze Youlais shook its head at its trainer.

Madeline's expression became complicated as she glanced at Qiao Sang and the Blazing Star Canine.

"Ze Youlais has exhausted its energy. It won’t be able to divine anything else today. When you leave, please inform the others not to wait anymore."

Qiao Sang: ...

She knew she shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up.

---

7:00 PM.

A five-star hotel within a kilometer of Sahel Academy.

Room 2703.

Qiao Sang stood by the massive floor-to-ceiling window, admiring the first district under the night sky.

Sainan High School had been generous, booking a five-star hotel and giving each student a private room.

This was quite different from last time when she had to share a room with Yang Jiayi. It felt a little strange.

She turned around and saw Little Treasure carefully applying strengthening oil to Gangbao.

It seemed that the past two days of team battle training had really strengthened the bond between them… Qiao Sang thought with satisfaction.

After watching for a while, Qiao Sang asked, "I see you two have built quite a bit of teamwork. Want to test it in tomorrow’s match?"