Chapter 23: See Which One You Like

Chagui Park, located about 6 kilometers from Qingcheng Jiayuan.

Under the lush plane trees, a slender figure sat cross-legged in the shade, reading a book.

The Fire Fang Dog had already lost count of how many laps it had run around this park.

Every time it grew tired and returned to its Beast Tamer, it would see its Tamer shouting words of encouragement with eyes full of trust, making it feel as though it were incredibly powerful and capable of continuing.

By the time it snapped out of it, it found itself running once again...

Qiao Sang closed her book and shook her head as she watched the Fire Fang Dog advancing at a snail's pace in the distance.

The Fire Fang Dog wasn't cutting it; it was already exhausted after only ten laps.

Morning runs couldn't train the Fire Fang Dog's speed; at most, they served as physical conditioning and allowed Qiao Sang to gauge the limits of its stamina.

The morning run drew to a close once the Fire Fang Dog managed to persist until it reached Qiao Sang again.

Qiao Sang handed the pre-purchased Qiyuan Milk to the Fire Fang Dog.

Qiyuan Milk was a beverage specifically for pets, a brand with a fairly good reputation on the market. It could slightly replenish a pet's stamina, and Qiao Sang had bought it from a roadside breakfast shop that specialized in pet food.

Items involving pets always had inflated prices, but Qiyuan Milk had remained consistent for decades; it hadn't increased in price since it first went into production, costing only 98 Alliance Coins per bottle.

The Fire Fang Dog extended a weak paw, took the milk, and began to gulp it down, the bottle hitting bottom in just a few swallows.

"Ya."

The Fire Fang Dog cast a longing gaze toward Qiao Sang.

Qiao Sang froze. She had only bought one bottle...

Unable to withstand the Fire Fang Dog's gaze, Qiao Sang handed over the bowl of bean curd she had picked up for 3 Alliance Coins on her way.

The Fire Fang Dog fell silent for a moment as it looked at the bowl, which had only one bite left.

"Ya!"

The Fire Fang Dog's watery eyes were full of accusation.

"Alright, alright, I'll buy you more in a bit," Qiao Sang soothed.

No matter how hard things got, one couldn't let their pet suffer. If she couldn't even satisfy its appetite, how could she expect it to train properly?

She was someone with 50,000 Alliance Coins now, after all. It was just Qiyuan Milk.

She'd buy it!

Fifteen minutes later.

Qiao Sang stood in deep thought, clutching a large bag of Qiyuan Milk.

These 50,000 Alliance Coins should be enough to last her a while...

By the time the Fire Fang Dog finished its third bottle, seven bottles of Qiyuan Milk remained in the bag.

After consuming four bottles of Qiyuan Milk, the Fire Fang Dog finally regained some spirit, though its limbs were still sore and its walk was wobbly.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang did not immediately have it begin skill release training.

"I'll take you to buy something good," Qiao Sang said to the Fire Fang Dog with a smile.

"Ya."

The Fire Fang Dog's eyes lit up, clearly very interested in this "something good."

...

Vile Square.

The largest shopping center in the Tangxin District, a premium commercial complex integrating leisure, shopping, dining, and entertainment.

As soon as Qiao Sang arrived, she was intercepted by a handsome young man with a blue wolf-cut hairstyle.

"Hey beautiful, are you interested in learning how to make your pet more charming? Come to our Mengli Pet Styling Studio. We have a professional team of pet stylists, and our chief stylist even designed the look for contestant Luo Gang's Purple Demon Vine."

"No thank you, I'm not interested," Qiao Sang refused.

"Don't be so quick to refuse. Just look at my Qingyue Butterfly," the wolf-cut youth said, stepping to the side.

Behind him, a Qingyue Butterfly with blue-purple coloring and cyan-veined wings appeared before Qiao Sang.

The Qingyue Butterfly performed an elegant loop in the air, its scattered scales refracting a dazzling light under the sun.

It was quite beautiful...

Qiao Sang was momentarily mesmerized by the Qingyue Butterfly.

The wolf-cut youth watched with satisfaction as the young girl lost herself in his pet's charm. Seizing the momentum, he said, "How about it? The blue-purple looks great, doesn't it? Our stylist adjusted this based on the Qingyue Butterfly's preferences. Your Fire Fang Dog has decent coloring, but it lacks personality. Why not come to our Mengli Pet Styling Studio to design an exclusive look?"

"Ya!"

The Fire Fang Dog barked indignantly at the wolf-cut youth.

This guy actually said it lacked personality!

With the development of Beast Taming society, many derivative professions had emerged, most of which served pets; Pet Stylist was one of them.

There were millions of pets in the world, all kinds of varieties, but pets of the same species generally looked much the same, with differences only in height, weight, or build.

With the advancement of information, "variant-colored" pets began to appear before the public eye.

If it weren't for the spread of information, a person might go their entire life without seeing a single variant-colored pet in reality.

Rarity makes things precious.

While the value of a variant-colored pet might not yet match that of a Dragon-type pet, its selling price was already comparable to Fairy-type pets.

If one encountered a rare species, the price could be over a hundred times higher.

Thus, the profession of Pet Stylist was born.

If you don't have a variant-colored pet, it doesn't matter—you can dye it!

While it sounded wonderful, almost no professional competitive Beast Tamer would choose to have their pet dyed.

The reason was simple.

The color would fade...

A pet would sustain minor injuries during a match; losing a layer of fur or shedding some skin would render the entire styling useless.

That being said, some famous Beast Tamers still couldn't resist the temptation of a variant color.

Not long ago, contestant Lin Ruochu used a golden Silverfrost Centipede during a nationally televised University Super League match. As it turned out, her opponent in the first round was a Water-type Impact Bubble Turtle.

Normally, the Ice-type had a massive advantage over the Water-type.

However, under a barrage of high-pressure Water Guns, more than half of the Silverfrost Centipede's golden color washed away. It looked incredibly pathetic, which directly affected Lin Ruochu's mental state and performance, causing her to lose the entire match.

It was true that Qiao Sang was mesmerized by the Qingyue Butterfly, but she wasn't about to let the Fire Fang Dog get dyed and styled.

How beautiful was the Fire Fang Dog's fiery red all over!

This guy had no taste at all.

"No thanks," Qiao Sang refused again.

Seeing her firm attitude, the wolf-cut youth didn't waste any more time and moved on to intercept a passing young woman.

"Hey beautiful, are you interested in learning how to make your pet more charming? Come to our Mengli Pet..."

...

Qiao Sang took the Fire Fang Dog to a pet accessory retail store on the third floor.

Following the directional signs, she arrived in front of the products she wanted to buy.

"Come on, Fire Fang Dog, see which one you like," Qiao Sang said with a smile.

The Fire Fang Dog looked at the items curiously.

There were strung beads, as well as bracelets of various styles and colors.

"Ya."

The Fire Fang Dog pointed a paw at a string of blue beads.

Qiao Sang picked up the beads to weigh them, and her hand uncontrollably sank about 50 centimeters.

"Let's go with a bracelet instead; this one is bad for your cervical spine," Qiao Sang said, glancing at the Fire Fang Dog's neck.

Fire Fang Dog: "???"

(End of Chapter)