Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 584: Pet Battle 2v2 Combat Test

Read at: /?m=1

-----

As they left the Beast Taming Center, Qu Zhuo seemed unwilling to waste a single moment. He turned and left coldly and mercilessly.

Tang Yi watched Qu Zhuo's retreating figure, deep in thought.

"What kind of dangerous mission did the teacher take on to end up in that state?"

Qiao Sang shrugged.

"It's definitely not something at our level that we can interfere with."

After saying that, she turned around and added, "I'm going to buy a pet identifier device here. Want to come along?"

Tang Yi was briefly stunned before quickly following.

The two soon arrived at a nearby pet accessories store.

"Do you have any new pet identifier devices?" Qiao Sang asked directly.

The staff enthusiastically recommended, "Of course! Recently, Hongxi released its latest dynamic pet identifier device. You can wear it like a watch, and to identify a pet, you just need to aim it at the pet."

As she spoke, she walked to the counter and was about to take out a black, watch-like pet identification device.

Qiao Sang quickly declined politely.

"Do you have anything else?"

Are you kidding me? Holding out your wrist like that to scan a pet, it looks way too much like an anime transformation pose. Too cringy!

The staff member took out another pet identifier device—a pink, ultra-thin model, and introduced it, "This one is lightweight and easy to carry. It's a new model from Aichuang this year."

Just as Qiao Sang was about to try it, Tang Yi asked, "Do you have the latest model of the StarLens series with full pet identification?"

The staff member was momentarily stunned.

"No, the newest StarLens models require pre-orders. If you want, I can call the main store to place an order. It should be available for pickup in about a week."

After spending enough time around wealthy people, Qiao Sang had learned a thing or two.

The StarLens series could identify all interstellar pets, but it cost ten times more than a regular pet identification device. Unless someone was traveling across the galaxy, the extra functions were practically useless.

It would be nice to have a full interstellar pet identifier, she could even use it when she returned to Blue Star but waiting a week was out of the question. She'd just get one back in 3rd District.

Just as she was about to leave, she caught sight of Little Treasure still looking dejected, mourning over his newfound third-place status.

Qiao Sang spoke up.

"Little Treasure, pick out a pet identifier device you like."

"Xun"

Little Treasure's ears perked up, his spirits instantly lifted as he floated over to the counter and carefully began selecting.

Fortunately, they had money now. Distracting Little Treasure first, then buying a better one back in 3rd District, it was a solid plan. Qiao Sang watched Little Treasure's back with a smile in her eyes.

---

The next day.

At 9 AM.

Beast Taming Center.

Outdoor Training Grounds.

The beast tamers in the lower ten districts were constantly on the move, solving real-world problems. Few had time to train in peace, so at this hour, the training grounds were nearly empty, with only a handful of people scattered around.

The training area was vast, and everyone was spaced far apart, not interfering with each other.

After ensuring that all recording equipment was set up, Qu Zhuo followed protocol and announced, "This 2V2 pet battle test will be fully monitored and uploaded in real-time to Central Hollow University. Three other professors on Blue Star will supervise remotely."

"During the assessment, every pet must be summoned on-site."

"The test lasts 20 minutes. The longer you endure in battle, the higher your score."

He turned to Qiao Sang and Tang Yi.

"Which of you wants to go first?"

Qiao Sang raised her hand.

"Alright." Qu Zhuo nodded slightly.

"Then you go first."

"No, wait."

Qiao Sang explained, "Teacher, what if I win within 20 minutes?"

Qu Zhuo's mouth twitched.

"Then you get full marks."

Qiao Sang stepped forward seriously.

"I'll go first, then."

Tang Yi felt touched.

It was well known that in an assessment with only one examiner, the first participant was at a disadvantage.

Though, for students like them, national champions and runners-up of the Campus Beast Mastering League, unless something unexpected happened, the test wouldn't be a problem. Still, Tang Yi couldn't help but feel moved.

Qiao Sang took her position on one side of the battle arena.

"Head Head!" Head Rocker, doubling as the referee, raised a green flag and swung it down.

Qiao Sang and Qu Zhuo simultaneously formed hand seals, summoning two bright orange star arrays.

The next second, Lubao appeared, along with an eagle-like flying pet about three meters tall, with gray-black feathers, white wingtips and tail feathers, and a pair of piercing black eyes.

Peering Wave Eagle, a high-level flying pet from Chaosu Star. Its eyes were extraordinarily sharp, with a special structure that allowed it to see clearly up to a kilometer away, even the intricate patterns on an insect's wings.

Qiao Sang recalled its data in her mind.

She had spent enough time on Chaosu Star to recognize many of its local pets. The Peering Wave Eagle was one of them.

Using Ice Xilu' Healing Light to drag out the battle? Qu Zhuo's thought flashed briefly.

Almost simultaneously, Lubao and the Peering Wave Eagle moved.

Lubao lifted her head slightly and fired a Water Gun.

The Peering Wave Eagle, already flapping its wings to approach, dodged in a flash and split into three identical copies, Shadow Clone.

The three identical eagles dived sharply toward Lubao with a fierce momentum.

Lubao leaped into a water droplet on the ground and instantly disappeared.

Using Ice Xilu's melting water trait to evade? Not bad… Qu Zhuo mentally scored her strategy.

The Peering Wave Eagle struck empty air. Without hesitation, it stabilized itself and flapped its wings hard, sending a powerful gust downward, lifting all the water droplets from the Water Gun off the ground.

"Icy Wind." Qiao Sang commanded.

At her words, a single water droplet, floating less than five meters ahead of the Peering Wave Eagle, suddenly revealed Lubao!

She opened her mouth, releasing an intensely cold gust aimed at the three identical eagles.

"Enhanced Gale." Qu Zhuo spoke calmly.

The left and right clones disintegrated under the icy attack. The real Peering Wave Eagle did not dodge. Instead, it flapped its wings and surged forward, glowing with a cyan light, dramatically increasing its speed.

The icy wind barely formed a thin frost layer on its feathers.

It slowed slightly.

But in the next instant, it spread its wings and flapped powerfully.

The fierce gust it generated instantly shattered the Icy Wind, sending a vastly stronger windstorm surging across the battlefield.

A Brave Bird Attack combined with Gale… Qiao Sang found this troublesome.

For the first time, she was facing an opponent who used combination techniques in battle…

---

Meanwhile, on Blue Star, the three remote examiners watched the scene unfold on a virtual screen.

"Using combination techniques in a special recruitment test, doesn't that make it too difficult? Did previous years do this too?" Asked a new examiner.

"It depends." Answered a senior examiner with graying hair.

"Campus Beast Mastering League champions are strong. Without extra difficulty, the test would be too easy for them. The combination techniques are to gauge their limits."

The young examiner beside him added, "And to remind them that in university battles, combos are the key."

"If only certain candidates face combo techniques, wouldn't it be unfair if their matches end too quickly?" The new examiner asked.

"Match duration is only one factor. The real assessment is based on overall performance."

The younger examiner chuckled.

"Qiao Sang is the national champion. If she lost to a simple combo, she wouldn’t be champion in the first place."

---

As they spoke, the Peering Wave Eagle, glowing with cyan light, dived toward Lubao with a powerful storm.

Qiao Sang instantly knew, Lubao couldn’t dodge this.

But she remained calm.

For unavoidable, contact-heavy attacks, Lubao knew what to do.

"Ice Armor."

Lubao braced herself.

A violent collision followed.

But instead of Lubao being blasted away, both Lubao and the Peering Wave Eagle went flying together!

Lubao and the Peering Wave Eagle cried out in pain at the same time.

The scene that Qu Zhuo had imagined, where Ice Xilu would be knocked back and then struck again by the raging wind, did not happen.

Instead, on the battlefield, Ice Xilu was sent flying backward due to the collision.

But strangely, the Peering Wave Eagle seemed to be stuck to it, following Ice Xilu as they tumbled backward together!

Qu Zhuo was momentarily stunned.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that Ice Xilu had grown more than a dozen ice spikes, most of which had embedded themselves into the Peering Wave Eagle.

It was precisely these ice spikes that caused the Peering Wave Eagle to be dragged along with Ice Xilu as they fell back.

Ice Spike Armor… Realizing what had happened, Qu Zhuo's pupils shrank sharply.

At that moment, Qiao Sang gave a command:

“Healing Light.”

Lubao struggled to open her eyes.

A soft blue glow radiated from her body.

When the glow dissipated, Lubao was completely unscathed. She swiftly leaped backward, putting some distance between herself and the Peering Wave Eagle.

Only the heavily wounded Peering Wave Eagle remained in place.

“Ice Flower Seal.” Qiao Sang immediately followed up with another command.

“Lu.”

Lubao lifted her head, beginning to gather energy.

“No need.”

Suddenly, Qu Zhuo waved his hand, recalling the badly injured Peering Wave Eagle back into his Beast Taming Codex.

Qiao Sang looked at him in confusion.

Qu Zhuo cleared his throat and said, “That was a good performance. Let's move on to the next match.”