The two of them stood in silence for a long while.
Qiao Sang remained quiet, standing to the side.
Prickly Head exchanged glances with Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu, curious, asked, "What’s wrong with your eyes?"
Prickly Head replied, "..."
So clueless.
He suppressed the urge to facepalm and finally managed to squeeze out a single word: "Money."
Only then did Jiang Liu realize, hurriedly pulling out 50 Alliance Coins and handing them over.
Prickly Head sighed. “You really deserve to be single! Can’t you just exchange contact info for a quick transfer?”
"Thanks, I’ll take my leave now," Qiao Sang said with a smile as she took the money. With the peak time after school being so short, she had to take advantage of it and find a few more people.
"Wait, let me go against you too," Prickly Head interrupted Qiao Sang. "I don’t need money, just tell me how to raise a Fire Tooth Dog."
Qiao Sang shook her head. "I don’t have any secret."
"That can't be! If you don’t have any secret, then why is your Fire Tooth Dog so obedient?" Prickly Head looked at her with disbelief.
The methods of raising Contract Beasts weren’t exactly a secret. There were even university programs focused on it. Those who graduated from such programs were called Breeders in the Alliance, and just like Beast Masters, they needed to take exams that ranged from F grade all the way up to SSS grade.
Some people would look for Breeders to create a series of cultivation plans for their Contract Beasts. But some also had unique ways of bonding with their beasts, unwilling to share their methods with others.
For instance, the Wei family in Jiangcheng had gained notoriety for crafting special foods favored by Fairy-type Extraordinary Beasts. This uniquely qualified them to coax these elusive creatures into becoming their Contract Beasts.
That kind of food was extremely coveted. If they ever patented the recipe or sold it, they could earn a fortune. But the Wei family only permitted its use within the family.
As a result, nearly every member of the Wei family ended up with a Fairy-type Contract Beast, earning them the title of Fairy Clan after over 300 years of development.
Prickly Head believed Qiao Sang was simply unwilling to share her secret.
He still vividly remembered the upperclassman who was one of the only two students in school to contract with a Fire-type beast. That senior had taken out his Fire Armored Mouse to show it off, but it had immediately sprayed fire at him. Though he came out unscathed, his hair got singed, forcing him to shave his head, and he now wore a hat every day.
Unlike that Fire Armored Mouse, which had burned him despite his presence, his Fire Tooth Dog stayed obedient and still.
Qiao Sang replied in confusion, "I’m its Beast Master; isn’t it normal for it to listen to me?"
"Tooth."
The Fire Tooth Dog nodded, as if to agree with its master.
Seeing the Fire Tooth Dog’s demeanor, Prickly Head felt uncertain. Could it really just be that this Fire Tooth Dog had a naturally obedient personality?
"Can I pet it?" Prickly Head asked.
“Chen Tongtong, don’t act recklessly,” Jiang Liu interjected.
Everyone at school knew how the upperclassman became a bald head. He feared that Prickly Head would become the second bald student at school.
"It’s fine; go ahead and pet it," Qiao Sang said nonchalantly.
Back at the beast base, before the contract, the Fire Tooth Dog had also been willing to let her pet it.
Prickly Head was tempted. He crouched down to look at the Fire Tooth Dog and reached out his hand.
"Tooth."
The Fire Tooth Dog flashed its sharp teeth at him in a friendly manner.
Prickly Head instinctively pulled his hand back, fearing the next moment it would bite him.
"Let’s just battle; I won’t ask for any secrets. Just tell me how you usually raise your Fire Tooth Dog," Prickly Head said, standing up.
"Alright," Qiao Sang agreed.
Even though the Fire Tooth Dog had only been with her for about 3 or 4 days, she figured she might have some knowledge about its care.
Seeing they had come to a decision, Jiang Liu stepped forward. "I’ll be the judge this time." Qiao Sang nodded in agreement.
Prickly Head summoned his Contract Beast.
Qiao Sang fell silent as she looked at the Extraordinary creature before her.
A brown, worm-type beast about 10 cm long twisted its body on the ground, resembling dogtail grass.
It was actually a Cotton Bug...
Cotton Bugs were usually green, and it was rare to find a brown one. Most Beast Masters with a bit of taste wouldn’t want to contract such a cheap and common creature.
However, it had diverse evolutionary forms, with five kinds already researched. Its evolution into the Ice-type Snow Butterfly significantly increased its value several times over.
But that value depended on its evolution.
Qiao Sang had read in books that Cotton Bugs could only learn spinning and crashing skills; they couldn’t master anything else.
Wasn’t this just bringing her money?
"You can go first," Qiao Sang said.
She worried that the Fire Tooth Dog would easily win with just a spark of fire…
Prickly Head, of course, understood what Qiao Sang was thinking. Every time he summoned his Cotton Bug, the opponent would let him go first.
That feeling of being underestimated always worked to his advantage during battles.
Typically, a Cotton Bug could evolve in 3 to 5 months, but his had taken nearly a year, all to build a solid foundation for perfect evolution.
With that strong foundation, his Cotton Bug was no ordinary creature!
Thanks to the exceptional toughness of its silk compared to regular Cotton Bugs, he had even achieved 39th place in the recent First-Year Beast Battle Competition!
"Cotton Bug! Show her your strength!" Prickly Head shouted while lifting a hand dramatically.
"Bug!"
The Cotton Bug opened its mouth and let out a loud call, sending a bright, snow-white silk line racing towards the Fire Tooth Dog.
The speed was so fast that the Fire Tooth Dog had yet to take a step before it got wrapped up in the silk.
As it struggled to break free, it could not.
Qiao Sang frowned; it seemed like speed training for the Fire Tooth Dog needed to be prioritized.
"Give it the final blow!" Prickly Head yelled again.
The Cotton Bug emitted a faint white glow, and its 10 cm long body didn’t twist but shot forward!
The speed was significantly faster than the Fire Tooth Dog’s previous charge.
Observing the distance, Qiao Sang called out after a brief moment: "Fire Tooth!"
Brilliant flames instantly destroyed the white silk, accurately hitting the charging Cotton Bug.
"Bug!!!" The Cotton Bug let out a tragic cry.
Two seconds later, it rolled its eyes and fainted.
"Qiao Sang wins," Jiang Liu declared.
"Cotton Bug!" Prickly Head rushed over and hugged the collapsed creature.
After confirming that the Cotton Bug had only fainted, he returned it to the Beastmaster Codex.
"Why?" Prickly Head looked up at Qiao Sang with red eyes, questioning.
"What?" Qiao Sang countered.
She couldn't understand why he was so upset. Wasn’t it a normal outcome that her Fire Tooth Dog won against the Cotton Bug?
"Why was your Fire Tooth Dog able to break through the Cotton Bug’s silk so easily?" Prickly Head stared intensely at Qiao Sang, unwilling to accept the outcome.
His Cotton Bug’s silk was incredibly tough; once it bound an opponent, they typically couldn’t break free no matter how strong they were—at least it took a considerable effort.
How could it be like a game now?
"Um…" Qiao Sang pondered for a moment. "Didn’t you know that Fire-type is strong against Bug-type?"
Prickly Head: "…"
"Maybe you haven’t fought against a Fire-type beast before?" Qiao Sang realized the truth.
Prickly Head: "…!!"
(End of Chapter)