"Ha ha, isn't it because I've spent time training my Fire Tooth Dog? Otherwise, how could I have ranked first in the special recruitment? Right, Fire Tooth Dog?" Qiao Sang chuckled awkwardly, secretly putting in some effort to pat her Fire Tooth Dog as she spoke.
Now that graduation had come, explaining everything to the homeroom teacher was no longer important. What truly mattered was explaining things to her mother.
"Yah," the Fire Tooth Dog replied earnestly, nodding its head in agreement.
Before her mother could respond, the homeroom teacher, with a smile, spoke first, "Ranking first in the special recruitment is indeed impressive." He smiled at Qiao Sang but proceeded to talk to her mother, "How is your health, Qiao Sang's mom?"
Qiao Sang felt a jolt; the homeroom teacher was definitely doing this on purpose!
Her mother shot Qiao Sang a knowing glance before smiling, "I'm doing quite well."
"Mom, my aunt is calling me, I'll be off." Seizing the opportunity as someone at another table called her, Qiao Sang quickly made her escape.
"Auntie, did you call me?" Qiao Sang let out a sigh of relief as she arrived at the nearby table.
Most of the people at this table were relatives from her mother's side.
Her mother had three brothers and one sister. Besides her third uncle, who was staying nearby, her other uncles and aunt had all moved to different provinces to develop their careers.
Her third uncle lived not in Hanggang City, but in Qitang Town, over 90 kilometers away.
Qitang Town was Qiao Sang's hometown, where her mother was born.
Her third uncle had spent his whole life in this small town, not for any reason other than to care well for her grandparents. Auntie accompanied him and had always stayed there as well.
They had two children, and the eldest son was already in college, yet they had never really gone out for a fun outing.
For Qiao Sang, relatives on her mother's side, especially the third uncle's family, were closer.
After all, they were still in the same province, and during some holidays, they often visited each other.
"Qiao Sang, do you want to come over to play this summer vacation? Your grandparents really miss you. If it weren't for their health not being well this time, they would have come to see you no matter what," Auntie smiled and said.
Auntie wasn't a Beast Master and didn't have the Beastmaster Codex or Contract Beasts, so the marks of time were particularly clear on her face.
"Sure, I'll come over in mid-July," Qiao Sang replied, immediately giving a specific date.
In fact, she had planned to stay at her hometown during the summer vacation anyway.
Qiao Sang's family lived on the sixth floor, and it wasn’t easy to train her Fire Tooth Dog downstairs in the community.
Since it was a fire-type beast, even a small flame could easily damage the community’s greenery if she wasn’t careful.
But in Qitang Town, things were different.
Her house back home had a large yard behind it.
Taking a bus to the nearby Tan’an Township, there was a small forest, making it a perfect place for training.
Qiao Sang had calculated the time—on June 30th, there would be an F-grade Beast Master competition in Hanggang City that she could sign up for. She planned to participate in the competition before returning to her hometown.
To Qiao Sang, that competition wasn't just a competition; it was a straightforward way to earn points!
"Great, I'll be waiting for you." Auntie smiled, her gaze shifting to the Fire Tooth Dog in Qiao Sang's arms. "This is your contracted beast, right? So cute."
As she reached out to pat it, the Fire Tooth Dog comfortably squinted its eyes.
Seeing this, Qiao Sang felt relieved; sometimes, whether a Contract Beast liked you or not was truly a mysterious art.
…
Once the banquet was over, while her mother accompanied Auntie and the others for some shopping, Qiao Sang headed home first.
Not daring to call the Fire Tooth Dog for help, she cleaned every nook and cranny of the house all by herself.
When the house finally looked spotless, Qiao Sang's heart finally eased a little.
The High School Entrance Exam had ended, and she had been accepted into Holy Water Middle School. Everything that needed to happen had already happened.
Even if she had secretly taken a leave of almost two weeks without telling her mother, seeing the clean room upon returning home shouldn’t bring up any issues…
Carrying her Fire Tooth Dog, Qiao Sang went downstairs in the community, wanting to do her usual speed training.
"Yah," the Fire Tooth Dog shook its head in discontent.
It had worked hard to maintain its handsome appearance, and training meant sweating and ruining all that, right?
"I didn’t know you were so concerned about your appearance," Qiao Sang chuckled while kneeling to stroke the Fire Tooth Dog. Usually, it would eagerly request training, but this time, it was reluctant to train just to keep its looks intact. Naturally, Qiao Sang didn’t force it.
"Yah~" the Fire Tooth Dog hesitated for a moment.
"I'll take you to eat something good," Qiao Sang said, picking up the Fire Tooth Dog.
"Yah?" the Fire Tooth Dog looked puzzled.
Didn’t they just eat?
Still eat?
It turned its head in thought.
Actually… it wouldn’t say no…
Without resisting, the Fire Tooth Dog followed Qiao Sang to a roadside snack place.
"Boss, three skewers of super spicy grilled wings, please!"
"Coming right up!"
Qiao Sang found an empty seat while holding her Fire Tooth Dog.
"Yah?" The Fire Tooth Dog blinked its big, moist eyes.
Were three skewers really enough?
"Absolutely." Qiao Sang smiled and added, “After we eat, you’ll need to try releasing sparks, concentrating the energy into one point before releasing it again.”
Her purpose in coming this time wasn’t just to eat; it was to test out her theory about skill development.
With her golden finger (birth gift) ensuring she didn’t have to worry about skill proficiency, she had been considering how to teach her Fire Tooth Dog new skills.
The vice-principal of Holy Water Middle School told her about using medicinal herbs for baths, but she couldn’t afford that.
She also couldn’t afford to attend specialized skill institutions, and there were no elders around who contracted fire-type beasts that could teach her.
Thus, developing new skills rested solely on her own efforts.
There were quite a few skills that elementary fire-type beasts could learn, but right now, her Fire Tooth Dog only knew "Fire Tooth" and "Sparks."
A few days ago, Qiao Sang had tried to make the Fire Tooth Dog release sparks while compressing energy before letting it out.
But besides being slightly more powerful, there wasn't any significant difference.
The sparks were still the same sparks.
This led Qiao Sang to think of the super spicy grilled wings.
The chili oil poured on it wasn’t ordinary; it was extracted from the seeds of the plant-type beast, Pepper Vine.
Even non-fire-type beasts could probably breathe fire after eating this.
So, how would a genuine fire-type beast handle it? It would surely stir up all the energy inside!
Once that happened, condensing, compressing, and releasing it would definitely yield different results.
Although the Fire Tooth Dog didn’t understand its Master’s reasoning, compressing energy to release sparks sounded much less challenging for it, requiring no sweat at all.
As long as it didn’t affect its appearance, the Fire Tooth Dog naturally nodded in agreement.
Soon, the super spicy grilled wings were served.
The wings, covered in red oil, were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a mouth-watering aroma.
The Fire Tooth Dog's appetite was instantly triggered, and it reached out its paws to grab a skewer.
Qiao Sang quickly lifted all three skewers.
"Yah?" The Fire Tooth Dog looked confused. Didn't they say they were going to eat?
"We're eating outside," Qiao Sang replied.
How could they practice compressing and releasing skills by eating in someone else's restaurant?
If it inadvertently spat out a fire, then she might end up washing dishes for days to pay the debt.
(End of Chapter)