Chapter 30: Arrived Too Early

Snuggled in the arms of her Beast Tamer, Firetooth Dog felt a sense of security and plucked up the courage to turn around and look in the direction it had just come from.

"Ya!"

One look, and Firetooth Dog's fur stood on end.

It was gone!

Realizing what Firetooth Dog was thinking, Qiao Sang was quite speechless.

Who gets afraid of their own shadow clone?

However, Firetooth Dog might not have realized yet that it was its own shadow clone.

Research shows that many pets learn skills without even realizing it.

Some learn through the natural accumulation of time, while others are triggered by external stimuli that activate the energy within their bodies, causing them to learn suddenly.

Just a few days ago, a competition in the Lianbo region sparked a minor civil dispute and compensation case regarding a pet suddenly learning and releasing a skill.

A Mr. Wang from Yuecheng was watching the match at Seat 16, Row 21, Section B, accompanied by his Leifei Seed.

At the time, the match might have been too exciting; the Leifei Seed became so excited that it mobilized the energy within its body, unconsciously learning and releasing the skill "Sleep Powder." This caused over a dozen spectators in Rows 20, 21, and 22 of Section B to fall into a deep sleep, causing them to miss the entire match.

Afterward, Mr. Wang was only willing to compensate them for their ticket fees, but some people had traveled specifically from other regions and demanded compensation for mental distress, travel expenses, accommodation, and other costs.

Mr. Wang naturally refused, and the resulting stalemate made the news.

Firetooth Dog fell into the category of learning a new skill unconsciously due to external influence, just as it had with "Spark" last time.

Now, startled, the imbalance of energy in its body caused the shadow clone—which it had only just learned and was not yet proficient with—to vanish.

But Firetooth Dog misunderstood this as a paranormal event; the horror movies it had watched recently had left a deep impression on it.

"Ya ya ya!"

"Ya ya, ya ya!"

"Ya!"

Firetooth Dog kept pointing its paw in the direction where the shadow clone had disappeared, gesturing frantically to Qiao Sang.

"That was your own shadow clone," Qiao Sang explained helplessly.

"Ya?"

Firetooth Dog's gesturing abruptly stopped, its dark eyes filled with confusion.

"Congratulations, you've learned a new skill," Qiao Sang said with a smile.

Firetooth Dog understood.

It froze for a moment, then began to sense and regulate the energy within its body.

A Firetooth Dog that looked exactly like itself instantly appeared at its Tamer's feet, down to the messy fur caused by the dodgeball earlier.

"Ya!"

Firetooth Dog grew excited, jumping out of Qiao Sang's arms to circle its shadow clone, inspecting it incessantly.

Because it had learned a new skill, Firetooth Dog forgot about continuing its dodgeball practice, and Qiao Sang naturally didn't bring it up.

As she walked out of the baseball training hall and passed the Pet Sanatorium, Qiao Sang felt a slight pang of regret.

If she hadn't just lost 5,000 Alliance Coins last night, she would have brought Firetooth Dog inside to relax properly today.

Returning home, Qiao Sang opened her computer and searched for streamers famous for their pet massage techniques.

After clicking on a random streamer who was currently live, Qiao Sang called Firetooth Dog over and began massaging it, mimicking the techniques demonstrated by the streamer.

*We might not have the money for the Pet Sanatorium, but we can do it ourselves!*

"Does it feel good?" Qiao Sang asked softly.

"Ya."

Firetooth Dog gave a dishonest response.

It was lying on its side, its head facing the livestream screen.

On the screen, a burly man was performing a massage on a thick-skinned Liaoshan Boar.

The boar let out occasional grunts of satisfaction.

Watching the livestream while feeling the pressure of her Tamer's massage, Firetooth Dog felt that something was... off.

...

...

The next morning.

6:10 AM.

Qiao Sang appeared in the living room with dark circles under her eyes. She looked around; her mother was still sleeping in her room.

Understandably, it was quite early...

Last night was the day of another Interstellar Cup match she had bet on.

Recalling how she couldn't sleep the day before because she lost a bet, she had tried to endure last night without watching, fearing that losing again would ruin her mood for today's Shengshui High School special recruitment exam.

As it turned out, the more she thought about it, the less she could sleep...

One moment she was wondering how the Interstellar Cup was going, the next she was thinking about tomorrow's exam. She stayed awake until 2:00 AM before finally falling asleep.

Because she had been up late thinking, she woke up early; she woke up naturally even before her alarm went off.

Qiao Sang prepared breakfast listlessly, while Firetooth Dog wagged its tail happily by her side, waiting to eat.

*This little guy is quite energetic...*

*Not bad, yesterday's hard work massaging it wasn't wasted.*

After breakfast, Qiao Sang left a portion in the pot for her mother and headed toward the subway station.

Shengshui High School was located in the Beidian District of Hanggang City, quite far from Qiao Sang's area.

Taking a bus would require four or five transfers, but taking the subway, Line 2, would take her directly there.

...

Shengshui High School.

Beside the open-air grounds, four or five people were sitting scattered on adjacent lounge chairs.

"Qin Wen, hasn't Luo Qian arrived yet?" asked a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and a large belly.

Usually, a middle-aged man with a potbelly gives off a greasy impression.

However, this man's slicked-back hair revealed the contours of his features, and his steady temperament gave off the impression that he might have been quite a handsome man in his youth.

"Not yet. I've already called to urge him; he said he's stuck in traffic," replied a woman in professional attire sitting nearby.

"Bullshit. He probably stayed out at some bar until midnight and can't get up. He even posted on his Moments. He has no dignity as a teacher," Zheng Guoping sneered.

"It's not like you weren't the one who recruited him to the school," said another man, looking through a stack of papers with measured composure.

"Don't blame me, Sun Boyi. You cast a vote in favor of him back then too," Zheng Guoping said discontentedly.

"That was because you gave me a Water Condensation Bead to beg me to vote for him," Sun Boyi said indifferently.

"You!" Zheng Guoping was too angry to speak.

"Alright, alright, stop it. Business first. Are there any good prospects among the special recruits this time?" The middle-aged man with slicked-back hair acted as a mediator, changing the subject.

"The truly good prospects were all recommended for early admission long ago," Zheng Guoping said, his voice still tinged with irritation.

"Don't say that, there actually is one." Sun Boyi's gaze stopped on a specific line in the papers. "You know Lu Liangye from Taidan Junior High, right? He was in the news about half a year ago."

"The child who underwent spontaneous awakening just as he entered the third year of junior high?" Qin Wen asked.

"Yes, him," Sun Boyi replied.

Most children who undergo spontaneous awakening do so around the age of 15, but Lu Liangye awakened shortly after starting his third year at age 14.

If it weren't for the fact that the middle school entrance exams for that year had already ended, all the recruitment quotas for various schools had been distributed, and classes had already begun, Lu Liangye might have been able to skip grades directly into a Beast Taming High School.

"Why wasn't he recommended for early admission?" Qin Wen followed up.

"They say that after his spontaneous awakening, he rarely went to school, so his academic scores fell behind," Sun Boyi explained.

Qin Wen understood.

He had likely contracted a pet and couldn't stand the boredom of just studying.

If that was the case, he really was a good prospect. Lu Liangye had been contracted with a pet for over half a year; his strength would certainly be greater than his peers.

...

Outside the gates of Shengshui High School.

Qiao Sang sat by a flowerbed, staring blankly.

She had arrived too early.

The gates weren't even open yet...