Qiao Sang's lips twitched uncontrollably.

Oh dear, so she hadn’t misheard after all...

After just surviving a life-and-death battle, and at this late hour, they were now planning to train? Seriously?

While Qiao Sang was mulling over how to persuade Lubao that balancing work and rest was the key to success, Xu Yixuan, standing beside her, was frozen in shock, seriously questioning if her hearing had failed her.

Although she couldn't understand Ice Qiya's words, she could understand Qiao Sang perfectly!

Ice Qiya had volunteered to train?!

For a moment, Xu Yixuan's face contorted with envy.

You see, back when she was in her first year of high school, she'd done everything possible to coax her pet beast into training: Soft methods, hard methods, even resorting to books like Rebellion Isn’t Your Pet Beast’s Fault, A Step-by-Step Guide to Training Your Pet Beast, and Understanding Your Pet Beast Through Daily Behaviors. It had taken her ages to get her Fire Fang Dog, now known as Fire God, to willingly train.

But now, what was this? Ice Qiya was actively dragging Qiao Sang to train!

It wasn’t Qiao Sang dragging Ice Qiya-

It was Ice Qiya dragging Qiao Sang!

“I’m coming too!” Xu Yixuan declared loudly. With such a monster around, she couldn’t just lie down and do nothing!

Hey, hey, hey. It’s so late, what are you getting excited for?

Qiao Sang looked at Xu Yixuan with a mild tone.

“You’ve got a match tomorrow. Are you sure you don’t want to get some rest?”

Say you’ll rest! Please!

Xu Yixuan pondered for a moment before replying earnestly, “You’ve got a point. I’ll just train for an hour then.”

Qiao Sang: ...

At that moment, Lubao tugged at her pants with her paw.

Looking down, Qiao Sang met her gaze.

“Lu.” Lubao called out seriously.

With a sigh, Qiao Sang relented.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Hongrao Beastmaster Training Center

Since it was nearly midnight, the public training grounds were almost deserted.

Xu Yixuan trained with her Dream Lure Spirit while Qiao Sang communicated with Lubao.

“Why did you slam your head into the ground while practicing Water Stream Jet today?” Qiao Sang asked.

“Lu.” Lubao gestured at the gem on her forehead, indicating that she could heal herself.

“That’s not the point.” Qiao Sang said helplessly.

“Whether or not you hit the ground, using Water Stream Jet once increases its proficiency by the same amount.”

The proficiency increase from each use of the skill was fixed. Why take unnecessary risks?

“Lu...”

Hearing this, Lubao’s expression drooped.

She felt so weak. Even her strongest attack couldn’t compare to a casual move from Yabao.

Now that Yabao had evolved, no matter how much she trained, it felt like she could never catch up.

Seeing Lubao’s dejected state, Qiao Sang immediately noticed something was wrong.

Normally, Lubao maintained a cool and aloof demeanor. She would never act like this. During today’s match, she had seemed fine. What had changed?

Reflecting on the day’s events, Qiao Sang quickly had a guess.

“Are you feeling inadequate?” She asked.

“Lu Lu!” Lubao yelled angrily, denying it loudly and insisting she was fine.

“I think you’re doing great.” Qiao Sang nodded in agreement.

“Think about it. You can use the super-tier skill Healing Light. Even Yabao’s most powerful skill is just a high-tier one. And when you wanted to learn Rain Prayer, you picked it up instantly. Isn’t that impressive?”

“Lu...”

Lubao stared at her trainer for a moment before speaking earnestly.

“Lu Lu!”

She wanted to become stronger, much stronger!

You want to surpass Yabao, don’t you? Qiao Sang thought to herself.

In truth, Lubao wasn’t weak. With Healing Light, Rain Prayer, and her innate trait of unmatched agility, plus her mastery of Water Stream Jet, she had a good chance of winning same-tier battles. All she lacked was experience.

But her misfortune was being compared to Yabao and Little Treasure.

Yabao had mastered Shadow Clone to the point of reaching its ultimate form, and his skill proficiency grew at an absurd pace. Most of his abilities were offensive.

As for Little Treasure, his Dark Shadow Control was practically invincible against same-tier opponents.

Meanwhile, Lubao’s strongest abilities were healing and support-based, so she naturally fell short in offensive power.

A support beast with the heart of an attacker...

After lamenting silently, Qiao Sang said, “Let’s learn a new skill.”

“Lu!”

Learning a new skill required careful selection.

Qiao Sang’s criteria were simple: A high-tier Water or Ice attack skill.

But before choosing a skill, there was something more pressing, the competition.

The Next Morning

Qiao Sang and Xu Yixuan arrived early at Huicheng Beastmaster High School.

Thanks to Healing Light, Qiao Sang, despite staying up as late as a dog the night before, showed no signs of fatigue.

The stands were already packed with an enthusiastic crowd, buzzing with conversation.

With Yabao’s recent evolution, Qiao Sang’s hearing had improved significantly. Even amidst the noisy chatter, she could clearly pick out conversations several rows away.

“I just found out this morning!”

“Same here!”

“I heard last night. My wife woke me up in the middle of the night to show me a video.”

“This is big news! Our area’s really improving, only nine years since the last rift, and we’ve already got another one!”

“Shall we check it out after the match?”

“No way. The rift just appeared last night. It won’t be safe until the alert is lifted.”

“I heard Ding Yanjing’s Guwei Blossom evolved into a Guwei Sunflower. Is that true?”

“A rift, huh? I’m worried about wild beasts disrupting the match.”

Qiao Sang froze. Wait, what?

Ding Yanjing? The one from Litan Beastmaster High School? His Guwei Blossom evolved?

Turning her head, she tried to identify the speaker.

But with so many people, she quickly gave up.

Pulling out her phone, she searched online but found no posts about Ding Yanjing’s Guwei Blossom evolving into a Guwei Sunflower.

Could it be a coincidence? No way. Hearing this here meant it was likely referring to the same Ding Yanjing.

“Did Ding Yanjing’s Guwei Blossom evolve?” Qiao Sang asked aloud.

“Impossible.” He Dadao scoffed.

“Where did you hear that?”

Before Qiao Sang could reply, Xu Yixuan chimed in. “If it had, Litan Beastmaster High would’ve announced it by now.”

“Even if the school didn’t, Ding Yanjing would’ve paraded his Guwei Sunflower everywhere.” He Dadao added.

“At such a critical time, news of a beast’s evolution would spread instantly.”

Qiao Sang hesitated.

“But if it hasn’t been summoned in a match, how would others know?”

Xu Yixuan laughed.

“The teachers and teammates would know. It’s huge news. Nobody would keep it a secret, it boosts team morale and prestige.”

After a moment of silence, Qiao Sang said, “Then let me just say this: my Flame Hound has evolved.”

Xu Yixuan: ???

He Dadao: ???