At 5:30 PM, the bell rang to signal the end of the school day at the Thirty-Seventh Beastmaster High School.

By 5:33 PM, students began flooding out of the gates in groups of two and three.

"Are we fighting here?" A slightly rough voice asked.

After nearly an hour of reading, Qiao Sang finally looked up to see someone approaching.

Standing before her was a tall, broad-shouldered boy with a thick, earth-colored snake coiled around his waist and up to his neck, where its triangular head poked out.

It was a Longtail Snake, the evolved form of the Shorttail Snake.

Qiao Sang glanced at him briefly before quietly adding a few words to the paper on her backpack:

[Only for Beginner-Level Beasts]

The tall boy clicked his tongue in mild annoyance before turning away without a word.

But where there was one, there would soon be others. Before long, another student approached her.

This time, it was a sunny-looking boy who nervously scratched his head before asking, "If I win, could I get your contact information instead of the money?"

"Sure." Qiao Sang replied cheerfully.

She was relieved that money wasn’t at stake; she only had 532 Alliance Coins to her name, just enough to lose a few rounds and still have enough left for the trip home.

Standing beside him was another boy with spiky hair, watching with an amused expression. Clearly, he was a friend of the first boy.

"Let’s fight over there." The spiky-haired boy suggested, pointing to a poplar tree in South River Park.

They were currently near the park’s entrance, where students were coming and going, making it a poor place for a battle.

Qiao Sang nodded and followed them to the poplar tree, where they found a quiet spot with no one around for about 20 meters.

"I'll be the referee." The spiky-haired boy volunteered.

Qiao Sang had no objections.

The boy made a summoning gesture, and from a white star-shaped array on the ground appeared a chubby, brown bird about 80 centimeters tall.

Typically, a Fat Dove would be around 60 centimeters, so this one had clearly been well-raised.

"Jiang Liu, no problem with letting the lady go first, right?" The spiky-haired boy asked.

Different battles have different rules; some determine who attacks first beforehand, while others allow either side to strike first.

"Of course," Jiang Liu said, shrugging.

With Qiao Sang chosen to go first, she didn’t hesitate.

"Fire Fang Dog, use Ember!"

"Yip!"

The Fire Fang Dog leaped from Qiao Sang’s arms, its gaze sharpening as it opened its mouth to release a baby-fist-sized flame.

Jiang Liu didn’t issue any command, and the Fat Dove casually dodged the Ember by hopping to the left.

Fat Doves were notoriously slow, so this one wasn’t particularly fast either. However, its reflexes were impressive—it had likely undergone targeted training.

Analyzing the situation, Qiao Sang issued another command, "Charge!"

The Fire Fang Dog tensed and charged forward.

"Fly up and use Growl," Jiang Liu ordered.

The Fat Dove flapped its short wings and took to the air.

The Fire Fang Dog, lacking proper training, was slow to attack, still running as the Fat Dove ascended.

"Co-coo!"

Growl was a basic move, incapable of causing direct harm, but it could momentarily disrupt the opponent.

To Qiao Sang, it was merely an irritating noise, but the Fire Fang Dog hesitated, its speed faltering slightly.

"Aerial Strike," Jiang Liu commanded.

Aerial Strike, a move exclusive to flying-type beasts, was similar to a ground-based tackle, except it could harness the power of air currents to deliver a far more powerful blow.

The Fat Dove folded its wings back, and as air swirled around it, it swooped straight toward the Fire Fang Dog.

The Fire Fang Dog instinctively tried to dodge the incoming attack.

"Don’t move!" Qiao Sang commanded sharply.

If it took the full force of the Aerial Strike, it would definitely get hurt. Yet, the Fire Fang Dog heard Qiao Sang’s command and, against all instinct, chose to stand its ground.

This is absurd!

The spiky-haired boy’s eyes widened in disbelief. Everything about this scene—from Qiao Sang’s command to the Fire Fang Dog’s reaction—seemed ridiculous to him.

A fire-type beast that obediently stood still to take a hit? Preposterous!

Fire-type beasts were notoriously hard to control, especially for rookie beastmasters like Qiao Sang.

There were over 3,000 students at his school, and only two had the guts to make a fire-type beast their first contracted partner.

He was in awe. How had she managed to make a fire-type beast this obedient?

"Now, jump!" Qiao Sang’s voice cut through his thoughts.

She had been watching closely, and just before the Fat Dove could collide with the Fire Fang Dog, she gave the order.

The Fire Fang Dog didn’t hesitate. The moment Qiao Sang’s command rang out, it leaped into the air.

Jiang Liu was stunned.

The Fire Fang Dog had... jumped onto the Fat Dove’s back!

"Fire Fang, attack its wings!" Qiao Sang ordered, seizing the moment of surprise.

The Fire Fang Dog bared its fiery fangs and bit down on the Fat Dove’s right wing without hesitation.

"Co-cooo!"

The Fat Dove screeched in pain and plummeted to the ground.

"Ah-Pang!" Jiang Liu cried out.

The Fire Fang Dog jumped off the fallen bird and turned to Qiao Sang, its eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Finish it, Ember," Qiao Sang said calmly.

The Fire Fang Dog quickly turned back around.

With a final, baby-fist-sized flame, the Fat Dove let out a whimper before losing consciousness.

Silence fell over the area.

After about five seconds, the spiky-haired boy awkwardly asked, "What’s your name, uh… ma’am?"

"I’m Qiao Sang," She replied.

"Qiao Sang wins," The spiky-haired boy announced.

Jiang Liu silently recalled the Fat Dove into his beast codex.

"How did you time that jump so perfectly?" Jiang Liu asked as he walked over, his expression complicated.

This girl looked younger than him, yet her battle instincts were clearly superior.

It wasn’t easy to calculate the timing of the jump during an Aerial Strike. If the Fire Fang Dog had jumped even half a second too late, it would’ve been too slow.

And then there was the Fire Fang Dog itself. If it had hesitated for even a moment, it would never have landed on the Fat Dove’s back.

This level of coordination could only come from trust and seamless communication between a beast and its master.

Qiao Sang simply said, "It was just a feeling."

Jiang Liu was speechless.