Chapter 46: Wounded in Body and Soul

Qiao Sang ran for two whole streets while clutching the Fire-Toothed Dog before finally coming to a stop.

The Fire-Toothed Dog looked up at its Beast Tamer with a bewildered expression.

"Let's change locations for training," Qiao Sang said, panting heavily.

...

An open-access pet training ground five kilometers away.

Qiao Sang opened her panel.

【Name: Fire-Toothed Dog】

【Attribute: Fire】

【Level: Junior (152/1000)+】

【Skills: Bite (Beginner 74/100)+, Ram (Proficient 334/500)+, Fire Fang (Intermediate 539/2000)+, Spark (Intermediate 659/2000)+, Shadow Clone (Beginner 42/100)+, Flame Vortex (Beginner 1/100)+】

【Points: 109】

The Fire-Toothed Dog's panel was vastly different from how it had been in recent days.

Among its skills, both Fire Fang and Spark had already reached the Intermediate stage.

One must realize that even for a low-tier skill like Spark, progressing from Proficient to Intermediate would typically take over half a year, yet the Fire-Toothed Dog had reached the Intermediate stage in just about two weeks.

Not to mention Fire Fang.

As a mid-tier skill, increasing its proficiency was not something that could be achieved overnight.

Normally, it would take at least a year for a mid-tier skill to go from Proficient to Intermediate, but the Fire-Toothed Dog had achieved in less than half a month what others took about a year of training to reach.

Qiao Sang's gaze did not linger on the other data; after all, she checked for updates every night before sleeping.

She had long known about the increase in proficiency for Spark and Fire Fang.

【Flame Vortex (Beginner 1/100)+】

Qiao Sang's eyes landed directly on the newly appeared data, which hadn't been there last night.

As expected, it had learned a new skill!

Qiao Sang felt a surge of excitement. The Fire-Toothed Dog was fundamentally different from other pets.

When other pets learned a new skill, they hadn't mastered it yet and couldn't necessarily release it every time.

But as long as the Fire-Toothed Dog learned a skill and had released it once, it would definitely be able to release it accurately the next time.

That was the case with Fire Fang and Shadow Clone.

It seemed her idea of eating those super-duper insanely spicy roasted wings was correct!

Qiao Sang gave herself a mental pat on the back and withdrew her consciousness from the Beast Manual.

"Fire-Toothed Dog, release Flame Vortex five times," Qiao Sang commanded.

"Ya?"

The Fire-Toothed Dog tilted its head.

"The move you just learned from eating those roasted wings," Qiao Sang explained.

The Fire-Toothed Dog understood. It recalled the surging sensation within its body just now.

Opening its mouth, a rotating, scorching flame appeared on the empty training ground.

Soon, the five Flame Vortexes were released.

"Ya!"

The Fire-Toothed Dog wagged its tail, staring at its Beast Tamer with exceptionally bright eyes.

"Great job," Qiao Sang praised, pretending not to understand its meaning. "You must be tired. Let's go home."

Her skill development experiment today was very successful; the Flame Vortex had a 100% success rate, just as she had expected.

Now she had to hurry home to research ways to make money.

Qiao Sang turned around and was about to step forward when her right foot felt a weight.

Looking down, she saw that the Fire-Toothed Dog was biting the hem of her pants.

"Ya ya!"

"Ya ya!"

Seeing its Beast Tamer stop, the Fire-Toothed Dog quickly let go and began gesturing with its paws.

It didn't want to go back!

It hadn't learned Fire Meteor Shower yet!

Qiao Sang: "..."

What should she do when her pet is this serious...

Qiao Sang could only squat down and explain, "You just learned a new skill, you've done great. Everything takes time. We'll practice Fire Meteor Shower next time."

She had to coax the Fire-Toothed Dog away quickly. Even if they stayed here training all night, there wouldn't be a shred of progress in Fire Meteor Shower.

As a high-tier skill, if it could be figured out that quickly, would it even be considered high-tier?

The fact that Fire Meteor Shower was classified as a high-tier skill meant its power and difficulty were directly proportional.

"Ya!"

The Fire-Toothed Dog took a step back and shook its head.

It wanted to practice Fire Meteor Shower!

Its Beast Tamer lacked ambition; they had only practiced for a little while, and satisfied with learning one small skill, they wanted to go home.

How could this be allowed!

It was the Fire-Toothed Dog that intended to challenge the world and be unrivaled!

Feeling helpless, Qiao Sang handed over the already cooled roasted wings.

Since the Fire-Toothed Dog had made its stance so clear, what else could she do?

Naturally, she could only accompany it.

The Fire-Toothed Dog's body stiffened, and it bit into a roasted wing with forced courage.

The next second.

"YAAAA!!!"

...

Qingcheng Garden.

7:30 PM.

The Fire-Toothed Dog lay weakly on the sofa, looking completely listless.

"Jiu~"

The Fat Home Pigeon approached worriedly and nuzzled it with its head.

"Is the Fire-Toothed Dog okay?" her mother asked.

"It's fine, just physically and mentally exhausted," Qiao Sang replied.

Mother: "..."

*That* is called being fine?!

Qiao Sang sat cross-legged nearby, watching TV.

To practice Fire Meteor Shower, the Fire-Toothed Dog had eaten six whole super-duper insanely spicy roasted wings, but she only had three bottles of Qi-Source Milk left.

Even if the Fire-Toothed Dog endured the spiciness, its frantic release of flames meant the replenishment couldn't keep up with the consumption.

She couldn't afford more Qi-Source Milk, so she could only buy seven or eight bottles of water for it to drink.

But after tossing around all afternoon, the Fire-Toothed Dog's throat was so irritated from the spice that it was nearly hoarse, and there was still no sign of it learning Fire Meteor Shower.

While it hadn't learned Fire Meteor Shower, the proficiency of Flame Vortex had jumped by 45 points.

The Fire-Toothed Dog had simply wilted.

Qiao Sang could do nothing but watch from the side.

The Fire-Toothed Dog was stubborn; if she tried to stop it from training, it wouldn't work. It would only give up once it tried and failed on its own.

As its Beast Tamer, all she could do was not interfere.

"The room is quite tidy. You can talk about your two-week leave of absence now," her mother said.

Qiao Sang snapped out of her thoughts and spoke cautiously, "Didn't I already say? It's to train the Fire-Toothed Dog. Otherwise, how could I have taken first place in the special recruitment for Shengzhong Middle School? Right, Fire-Toothed Dog?"

"Ya."

The Fire-Toothed Dog gave a hoarse response.

Mother gave Qiao Sang a faint glance, stood up, went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, handed it to the Fire-Toothed Dog, and said gently, "Drink some water first."

Qiao Sang: "..."

Why did her mother's gaze feel like she was blaming her for not treating the Fire-Toothed Dog well...

Fortunately, her mother didn't say anything more, likely giving her some credit for cleaning her room and getting into Shengzhong Middle School...

Qiao Sang breathed a sigh of relief.

An advertisement was playing on the TV.

It was regarding the registration time and competition venue for F-class Beast Tamers in Hanggang City on June 30th.

When the screen showed the rewards for the top three, Qiao Sang's body involuntarily leaned forward.

Third place: A latest model Moonlight brand motorcycle, BD-7800, plus 50,000 Alliance Coins.

Second place: One Water-type Evolution Stone plus 100,000 Alliance Coins.

First place: One random Pet Egg plus 200,000 Alliance Coins.

Qiao Sang's breathing quickened.

The first-place reward was practically tailor-made for her!

Whether it was the pet egg or the Alliance Coins, they were exactly what she needed right now!

Before Qiao Sang could memorize the registration website, her mother picked up the remote and changed the channel.

"Mom!"

Qiao Sang couldn't help but cry out.

She stared at the TV, wanting to tell her mother to change it back, but her voice cut off abruptly.

On the screen, a woman in a professional suit was broadcasting the news.

"At 1:23 PM today, an incident of malicious destruction of building walls occurred on Jiangyi Street..."

(End of Chapter)