Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 591: Mission's Hidden Truth

Qiao Sang's hand, which had been forming a seal, suddenly paused.

Damage to battle or training grounds at the Beast master Center was common. Usually, unless it was severe, the center wouldn't make a fuss. After all, ground- or rock-type beast masters frequently restored the terrain.

But to wreck the field beyond recognition like this? That was rare. The Beast master Center had no choice but to intervene.

Looking at the utterly unrecognizable battlefield before her, Qiao Sang felt a sudden pang of guilt.

Just as she was about to step forward and admit responsibility, Qiu Zhuo walked over and calmly said,

"It was our battle that caused this damage. I'll cover the costs. Give me two minutes, I need to talk to these two first."

"Understood, sir." The staff member replied politely before stepping aside.

Clearly, anyone capable of this level of destruction was no low-level beast master. If not for his job, he wouldn't dare bring up compensation with such a powerful individual.

Qiao Sang looked at Qiu Zhuo, suddenly finding him more reliable than ever.

"Now, go pack up. We'll meet at the Beast master Center entrance in an hour, I’ll take you back to 3rd District."

Tang Yi was surprised.

"Teacher, you're personally taking us back?"

Qiu Zhuo gave him a steady look.

"I brought you here, so it's my responsibility to see you home safely."

Such a dependable adult..

"You don’t have to." Qu Zhuo replied with a smile.

"I chose this field, and you were only here for the university’s assessment."

"But-" Qiao Sang started, but Qiu Zhuo cut her off.

"Don't worry about it. Central Hollow University reimburses these expenses."

Since he put it that way, Qiao Sang let the matter drop.

After confirming the meeting time, she and Tang Yi left the outdoor training ground.

Once they were gone, the staff member approached, took out his phone, and entered the already-calculated compensation amount.

Just as he was about to show it to the beast master-

Qiu Zhuo quickly formed a hand seal, summoning his Sandstorm Armor Beast back. Urgently, he called out, "Hurry, hurry! Let’s fix this! We leave in an hour!"

"Sandstorm!"

The staff member silently watched as the powerful beast master and his unfamiliar pet dashed toward the wrecked field.

---

Three hours later, Qiao Sang boarded a plane, holding Yabao, who had been healed by the Healing Light.

The plane hadn't taken off yet.

Leaning back against her seat, Qiao Sang replayed the past few days of assessments in her mind, estimating her possible score.

For the Pet Energy Test, worth 50 points, assuming no surprises, she should get full marks. Yabao's energy level was close to the limit for high-level battle pets.

For the Mission Evaluation, worth 200 points, she figured she’d score at least 170. The mission itself was beyond her level, yet she completed it and even earned a five-star review from the mission issuer.

170 was a conservative estimate. If the examiners weren’t overly strict, she might even get over 190.

For the Pet Doubles Battle Test, worth 150 points, she was likely to score the full amount. She had lasted the entire assessment duration and defeated one of the examiner’s pets.

As for the 2v2 Pet Battle Test, also worth 150 points...

To be honest, this was the one she was least confident about. If scoring was based purely on wins and losses, it’d be fine but it wasn’t.

In her first match, she had performed decently. However, in the second match against the Steel-Slashing Monkey, if not for the time limit, she would have lost.

After some thought, she decided to be cautious and assume she scored only 120 points.

That brought her estimated total to around 490 points.

The maximum score for the special admissions test was 550…

Was that too low? The thought made Qiao Sang feel a bit heavy.

At that moment, Tang Yi, sitting beside her, suddenly commented while looking at his phone, "I didn't expect something like this to happen in 25th District."

Qiao Sang immediately forgot about her scores and perked up with curiosity.

"What happened?"

Her little pet, Little Treasure, also popped out, ears twitching eagerly, mirroring Qiao Sang's gossip-loving expression.

"A beast master of F-rank pretended to be a C-rank for over twenty years before finally getting exposed." Tang Yi said.

Qiao Sang was shocked.

"How? Wouldn't the star array on his pet give him away instantly?"

"Not sure." Tang Yi speculated.

"Probably because he rarely summoned his pets in public. According to the report, he had a deal with a general-tier pet, and for a long time, he always appeared with it. Since people assumed he had a general-level pet, no one doubted he was a C-rank beast master."

"Who would think someone with a general-level pet would fake their rank?"

"How was he exposed?" Qiao Sang asked curiously.

Tang Yi scrolled through his phone.

"Someone reported him. The person was a married woman he had been relentlessly pursuing. She had been posting a mission to drive out some Mura Monster for a long time, but this guy kept interfering to stop others from taking it, using his pursuit of her as an excuse."

"A few days ago, an outsider finally accepted the mission and discovered that her home had already turned into a lair for Scale Moths."

"But that beast master was apparently quite strong, they dealt with the moths easily. Before leaving, they even warned the woman that something was off about the guy."

"So she secretly investigated him and found out he had been faking his C-rank status."

Wait a minute…

Wasn’t that her mission? Qiao Sang was stunned.

Tang Yi suddenly turned to her with a sly look.

"Do you know where all those Scale Moths in her house came from?"

Qiao Sang shook her head.

"No idea."

"That guy deliberately set up a nest for them." Tang Yi said conspiratorially.

"The general-level pet he had a deal with was a Scale Hunter Moth, the leader of that whole swarm. Their agreement was to find a safe place for the swarm to evolve."

Now it all made sense.

No wonder that Nada Pong guy was so weak. No wonder he always showed up just in time to block others from taking the mission. He was probably using his so-called pursuit as a pretense to get close to the mission issuer…

Qiao Sang felt a wave of realization wash over her.

She hadn’t expected this mission to have so many hidden layers…