Around six kilometers away from Qingcheng Gardens was Chagui Park. Under the lush sycamore trees, a slender figure sat cross-legged in the shade, engrossed in a book.
The Fire Tooth Dog had long forgotten how many laps it had run around the park. Each time it tired and returned to its Beast Master, it was met with a look full of trust and encouragement, fueling its sense of capability to keep going. But as soon as it came back to its senses, it found itself running again...
Qiao Sang closed her book and shook her head at the slowly lumbering Fire Tooth Dog.
The Fire Tooth Dog wasn’t doing well; it had only run ten laps and was already worn out. The morning run didn’t really improve its speed, at best it just helped build its stamina, allowing Qiao Sang to gauge the limits of the dog's endurance.
When the Fire Tooth Dog finally managed to trot back to Qiao Sang, their morning training came to an end. Qiao Sang handed over some Qiyuan milk she had bought earlier to the Fire Tooth Dog.
Qiyuan milk was a drink for contracted beasts, known for its good reputation in the market. It could slightly replenish a beast’s stamina, and Qiao Sang had purchased it from a breakfast shop specializing in pet food.
Things related to pets were generally overpriced, but Qiyuan milk had remained the same price for decades, costing just 98 Alliance Coins a bottle.
The Fire Tooth Dog extended its weary paw to accept the milk and gulped it down eagerly, draining the bottle in no time.
“Yah!” The Fire Tooth Dog looked at Qiao Sang with longing eyes.
Qiao Sang was taken aback; she had only bought one bottle...
Unable to withstand those pleading eyes, she handed over the bowl of douhua that she had bought for herself for 3 Alliance Coins.
The Fire Tooth Dog stared at the nearly empty bowl in silence for a moment.
“Yah!” Its moist eyes seemed to plead.
“Alright, alright, I’ll buy you more later,” Qiao Sang soothed.
One mustn’t let their pets go hungry—if she couldn’t even satisfy the dog's appetite, how could it train well?
Now that she had 50,000 Alliance Coins, what was a bit of Qiyuan milk? She was determined to buy more!
Fifteen minutes later, Qiao Sang found herself carrying a large bag of Qiyuan milk, lost in thought. Was it alright to spend this much?
By the time the Fire Tooth Dog finished drinking three bottles, there were still seven left in the bag. After four bottles, the Fire Tooth Dog finally perked up, though its legs were still wobbly, struggling to walk.
Seeing this, Qiao Sang decided not to jump into skill training right away.
“I’ll take you to buy something nice,” she said with a smile to the Fire Tooth Dog.
“Yah!” The Fire Tooth Dog’s eyes brightened, clearly interested in the idea of something nice.
...
Wei Lie Plaza was the largest shopping center in the Tang Xin District, a boutique commercial complex that combined leisure, shopping, dining, and entertainment all in one.
As soon as Qiao Sang arrived, she was approached by a handsome young man with a striking blue wolf-tail hairstyle.
“Beautiful lady, would you be interested in making your pet even more charming? Come visit our Starry Beast Styling Studio! We have a professional team of stylists, and our chief stylist has even designed a look for the champion Luo Gang.”
“Thank you, but I’m not interested,” Qiao Sang refused politely.
“Wait, don’t rush to say no! Look at my Qingyue Butterfly!” The wolf-tail young man stepped aside to reveal a blue-purple Qingyue Butterfly with green-veined wings appearing before Qiao Sang.
The butterfly elegantly twirled in the air, the scattered scale powder glimmering in the sunlight, creating a dazzling display.
It was quite beautiful... Qiao Sang found herself momentarily mesmerized by the Qingyue Butterfly.
Seeing the girl captivated by his pet, the young man seized the moment, “What do you think? Isn’t the blue-purple stunning? Our stylist tailored this based on the butterfly’s preferences. Your Fire Tooth Dog has a nice color but lacks personality. Why not come to the Starry Beast Styling Studio to design a unique look?”
“Yah!” The Fire Tooth Dog was clearly displeased, barking at the young man.
How dare this guy say it had no personality!
With the development of the Beast Master society, many professions had emerged, especially those serving pets, including pet stylists.
Millions of pets existed, but those of the same species generally looked alike, with only height and weight differences. As information spread, rare color variations began to surface.
Without this dissemination of information, one might go their whole life without ever seeing a rare-colored pet in real life.
Things that are rare are valuable. A rare-colored pet may not match the worth of a dragon-type beast, but its price could rival that of a fairy-type beast. If extremely rare breeds appeared, their value could multiply by more than a hundred times.
Thus, the profession of pet stylist was born.
Having no rare-colored pet was not a problem, as it could be dyed!
While this sounded good, very few serious competing Beast Masters would choose to dye their pets. The reason was simple: the color would fade...
A pet would usually sustain some injuries during a competition, and losing a layer of fur or fading color would render the entire styling effort pointless.
That being said, some well-known Beast Masters still found it hard to resist the allure of a rare color.
Not long ago, the player Lin Ruochu used a golden Silver Frost Centipede in a nationally broadcast intercollegiate super league, only to face a Water-type Impact Bubble Turtle in the first round. Ice had a strong advantage over Water. But due to a barrage of high-pressure water attacks, the gold color faded significantly from the centipede, leaving it looking disheveled and affecting Lin Ruochu's mindset, leading to a total defeat.
Though Qiao Sang was indeed charmed by the Qingyue Butterfly, she wouldn’t consider dyeing her Fire Tooth Dog. Its fiery red color was beautiful as it was!
This guy clearly lacked vision.
“No, thank you,” Qiao Sang repeated her firm refusal.
Seeing her unwavering stance, the wolf-tail young man wasted no time and moved on to another passing young woman.
“Beautiful lady, would you be interested in making your pet more charming? Come to our Starry Beast Styling…”
...
Qiao Sang took her Fire Tooth Dog to a retail shop for pet gear on the third floor. She followed the signs to find the products she wanted to buy.
“Come on, Fire Tooth Dog, let’s see which one you like,” Qiao Sang said with a smile.
The Fire Tooth Dog curiously examined the items before it. There were strings of beads and various styles and colors of bracelets.
“Yah.”
The Fire Tooth Dog pointed with its paw at a string of blue beads.
Qiao Sang picked up the beads and weighed them in her hand, realizing they were heavier than expected.
“Maybe we should go for a bracelet instead; this wouldn’t be good for your neck,” Qiao Sang said, looking at the dog's neck.
The Fire Tooth Dog: “???”
(End of Chapter)