Beast Taming: Starting From Zero-Chapter 654: Snow Concealment

After a dozen seconds, the "SS-grade Yin Dynasty Pearl" replied:

[Did you get the Ghostfire Essence?]

Qiao Sang responded:

[Got it.]

This time, the reply was immediate:

[Let's set a time and place. The SS-grade Yin Dynasty Pearl is still with me.]

That worked. The deal had to happen sooner or later anyway. After a brief moment of thought, Qiao Sang typed and sent:

[One hour later, Beast Tamer Center.]

---

At the same time, on the third floor of the Beast Tamer Center, in the pet beast assessment hall-

"What did she say?" McCarthy asked.

Fleur put down his phone and said, "She got the Ghostfire Essence"

"How the hell could she get the Ghostfire Essence?!" McCarthy looked incredulous.

"We were both at the scene last night. You should know that the Kotea Volcano was sealed off by the officials afterwar, no one could get close!"

Suddenly, he fell silent, as if realizing something, then exclaimed in shock:

"Could she be the Beast Tamer who teleported away my Lava Beast yesterday?! Besides her, no one else could have possibly gotten their hands on the Ghostfire Essence from the Kotea Volcano! Where is she meeting you? I'm coming with you!"

Are you kidding? I finally have a shot at the Ghostfire Essence, there’s no way I’m letting you come and ruin the deal... Fleur glanced at him and said, "Seven o’clock in the evening, right here at the Beast Tamer Center."

---

The items were safely stored in Little Treasure's ring. Once the deal was done, there was no reason to stay here any longer, she’d check out online and head straight to 1st District.

Qiao Sang opened the travel app and booked a ticket to 1st District.

Yulianton University was located in 1st District. Since she was transferring there for half a year, she needed to prepare in advance.

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She had looked up the school online, dorms were villas, training grounds were massive, and it had everything one could ask for.

But just like back in Sainan High School, the training facilities weren’t private. Practicing powerful moves occasionally wouldn't be a problem, but skills with destructive potential, like those of Yabao, needed constant practice and consistent success.

That would definitely disturb others. She still needed to find a separate place that met her training needs.

With the Ghostfire Essence secured, Qiao Sang had already planned her short-term goals:

1. Find a suitable place to live in 1st District.

2. Push Little Treasure to master Shadow Control at the ultimate level, then evolve him.

3. Get Gangbao more real combat experience, train herself as well, and eliminate the side effects of Bond Evolution as soon as possible.

Yabao and the others had evolved from mid-tier to high-tier so quickly before because she had added points to them. Since she needed more points, she had planned for Gangbao to evolve during high school.

But then, with the new form of Steel Falcon, she had acquired a Dream Enlightenment Stone directly, so Gangbao’s evolution wasn’t urgent anymore.

Even though her points were now enough to evolve into a high-tier pet beast after multiple arena matches, she still wanted to strengthen her foundation first.

After all, Steel Guardian Falcon was a new form, and there were no existing references for its development.

There was no rush for competitions or points now. Stability was key. Ideally, she could undergo a spontaneous evolution like Yabao did at the volcano.

As for long-term plans, making money. But for now, her unlimited credit card was still valid, and she had already established income sources on Blue Star. It wasn't an immediate concern.

After buying her ticket, Qiao Sang turned off her phone and slipped it back into her pocket.

The exam arena had switched to a new examinee.

Just then, the red-haired woman from before approached her again.

"You look really young. What skincare products do you use?"

"I don’t use any. Just wash my face with water." Qiao Sang replied.

Maybe it was the constant mild temperature of Chaosu Star, or perhaps it was the multiple instances of rebound effect she had experienced, her skin had always been in excellent condition.

The woman hesitated before finally asking, "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Silence again.

Why did she suddenly stop talking? She had started the conversation twice already, it wouldn't hurt to keep it going... Qiao Sang decided to flex her social skills and asked, "What's your number?"

"Sixteen." The woman replied.

Qiao Sang blinked.

"But isn't the current match for number 23?"

The woman maintained an awkward but polite smile and explained, "I already finished my exam. I just stayed behind to observe other assessments."

So she failed the test... Qiao Sang understood instantly.

She had read online that Beast Tamers who stayed after their exams to watch other matches were usually the ones who failed. They wanted to study the examiners' battle strategies so they’d be better prepared next time.

The woman seemed to realize what Qiao Sang was thinking and quickly added, "My Clockwork Tapir evolved to General-level less than a month ago, I haven't fully mastered its power yet."

"I see." Qiao Sang nodded with a polite smile.

The woman felt a little uneasy, but right then, the loudspeaker announced:

"Number 24, prepare to enter the arena."

Qiao Sang glanced at her number tag: 24.

"I’ll be going for my exam." She said as she stood up.

"Good luck." The woman said.

Thinking about her own failure, she kindly advised, "Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, just stay calm."

Qiao Sang smiled and gave Little Treasure a nod.

"Xuuun~"

Little Treasure's eyes glowed blue.

The next moment, Qiao Sang appeared directly in the arena.

The handful of Beast Tamers present murmured in surprise.

They all pulled out their pet beast identifiers, aiming them at the ghost-like, teleporting pet beast, but none of them got a match. The chatter grew louder.

Qiao Sang was used to the attention. She stood calmly on one side, composed and at ease.

The C-rank Beast Tamer test was the first major threshold for professional Beast Tamers.

Naturally, the requirements were higher.

She had done her research before coming, the Chaosu Star C-rank exam followed a 3v3 battle format, with a strict rule that at least one General-level pet beast must be used.

At this level, a single strong pet beast wasn’t enough to prove a Beast Tamer's professionalism. Only if all their pet beasts were strong could they be recognized as "professional."

"Let’s begin." The examiner said, forming hand seals. A five-meter-tall, snowflake-like pet beast appeared, with a vent on its head continuously spewing icy mist.

Different examiners had different styles.

Some preferred to summon their pet beasts at the same time as the examinee, in line with standard combat rules. Others, confident in their strength, summoned first, allowing the examinee to choose accordingly.

This examiner was clearly the latter type.

Qiao Sang didn’t hold back. She made a hand seal, and an orange-yellow star array shone brightly.

"Yap!"

As Yabao emerged, a powerful air current instantly swirled around him.

In that instant, the surrounding temperature soared.

The frost that had formed due to Snow Concealment Sphere's icy mist quickly melted away.

"What kind of pet beast is that?!"

"I can't find it in the database!"

"And that other one she used to teleport, it's unidentifiable too!"

"She looks way too young for this."

"Uh... maybe she just has a baby face?"

"Wait... I feel like I've seen that pet beast somewhere before..."

The discussion grew even louder.

Qiao Sang, however, had already analyzed her opponent.

Snow Concealment Sphere, an Ice-type General-level pet beast with a body temperature around -10°C, capable of launching fierce blizzards and hiding in snowy conditions. Highly popular on Chaosu Star for its ability to create snowfall.

Meanwhile, the examiner, who had briefly been stunned by Qiao Sang’s pet beasts, regained his composure and signaled the referee.

"Begin!"

"Yap!"

Yabao's face lit up with excitement as his massive flaming wings forcefully flapped downward.

A scorching crimson gale, visible to the naked eye, instantly swept through the area, seemingly capable of obliterating everything in its path.

Dozens of ice arrows met the fiery wind and melted away almost instantly, vanishing without a trace.

The energy within this pet beast was clearly greater than that of Snow Concealment Sphere… The examiner immediately spotted the issue.

The range of the scorching wind wasn’t particularly large, nor was its heat exceptionally intense. However, because the pet beast possessed an abundance of energy, it was able to completely suppress the ice arrows cast by Snow Concealment Sphere.

It seems this isn’t just a recently evolved General-tier pet beast…

As the examiner analyzed the situation, Snow Concealment Sphere ascended into the air, releasing an icy chill from the vent atop its head.

"It's trying to create a snowfall for concealment." A Beast Tamer, who had watched numerous exams without passing his own, remarked knowingly.

A snowfall conjured by a General-tier pet beast was far faster than that of an High-level one.

Within mere seconds, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Is this the Ice Flower Seal?

As the surrounding noise automatically faded, Qiao Sang, who was still debating whether to have Yabao use Lava Purgatory, suddenly tensed. Without further hesitation, she called out:

"Get close to it, Lava Purgatory!"

Lava Purgatory was still at the beginner level. Although it was a super-tier skill, Qiao Sang wasn’t certain how much area Yabao’s energy could cover with it.

To be safe, using it at close range was the best choice.

She wasn’t entirely sure of the power of a General-tier pet beast's Ice Flower Seal, but it was undoubtedly strong. Since Yabao had only just evolved, there was a high chance he wouldn’t be able to resist…

In this situation, the best strategy was to take down the opponent with a big move before Ice Flower Seal could land on Yabao.

Qiao Sang thought carefully.

"Yap!"

Yabao let out a sharp cry.

Then, he vanished from his original position.

When he reappeared, he was already above Snow Concealment Sphere.

His massive shadow loomed over the smaller beast.

There was no need for instructions from his Beast Tamer, Yabao instinctively knew he was in danger and needed to evade.

But complete evasion was impossible.

At the very moment Snow Concealment Sphere moved, Yabao's sharp claws lifted high and slammed down onto its head!

Then, in a straight downward motion, it forcefully smacked Snow Concealment Sphere into the ground!

Dust and gravel flew everywhere, leaving a large crater in the battlefield.

"Xueyin!"

Snow Concealment Sphere struggled frantically beneath Yabao’s claws, but its strength was clearly inferior. It couldn't move at all.

Qiao Sang watched the commotion on the field, and two thoughts flashed through her mind.

First: It almost feels like we don’t even need Lava Purgatory. Yabao might be able to finish this before the snow falls on him…

Second: Never mind, I might as well take this chance to see Lava Purgatory’s true power…

"Ice Spikes!"

The examiner remained calm and promptly issued a counter-command.

From this angle, if Snow Concealment Sphere launched Ice Spikes, Yabao would have no choice but to dodge. By then, the snow would have already fallen, allowing Snow Concealment Sphere to conceal itself and take complete control of the battle.

"Xueyin!"

Snow Concealment Sphere let out a cry, gathering a chilling force at the vent atop its head.

The Ice Spikes were just about to form.

But at that moment, Yabao suddenly stomped his left forepaw into the ground with immense force.

"Xueyin…"

Snow Concealment Sphere suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of oppression, an inexplicable fear creeping into its heart.

Overwhelmed by panic, it failed to release Ice Spikes in time.

Countless streams of scorching lava erupted from the ground, centered around Yabao.

In an instant, they engulfed Snow Concealment Sphere.

Dark red magma surged like waves, layer upon layer, pressing outward in all directions!

In the blink of an eye, the battlefield turned a deep crimson.

The intense heat seemed capable of reducing everything to ashes.

The magma roared, followed by relentless waves of raging flames. The ominous red glow was terrifying, and the entire battlefield distorted under the unbearable heat.

It was like hell itself!