“Yah!”

The barking of the Fire Fang Dog pulled Qiao Sang back from her thoughts.

Looking down, she realized an entire bottle of Qiyuan Milk had been drained dry. The Fire Fang Dog gazed at its Beast Master with longing, wanting another bottle.

Qiao Sang reached over and handed it the water she had prepared earlier. When she was down to just three hundred Alliance Coins, she had to mix water and milk to make it last. Otherwise, by the time the Hundred New Tournament began, she might have nothing left.

The Fire Fang Dog had no qualms about this arrangement. It finished the water in big gulps and took a few bites of the super spicy grilled wings before turning back to its training.

Watching it, Qiao Sang felt a mix of emotions. The Fire Fang Dog really seemed eager to learn the Meteor Fire technique.

She stared at the dog, which was continuously breathing fire, and took out her phone to search for training institutions in Hanggang City that taught the Meteor Fire technique.

Soon, multiple training centers providing skills training popped up on her screen. One of them was just three streets away from where she was.

Curious, Qiao Sang clicked on it.

[One-on-One Nanny Style Tutoring]
[One of the most well-known training institutions for Fire-type Contract Beasts in the country]
[With a training team of nearly 500, including 1 A-grade Beast Master, 12 B-grade Beast Masters, and 122 C-grade Beast Masters]
[Successful training of techniques over 20,000 times each year]

Reading the introduction felt overly extravagant. If this place really was one of the most famous in the country, there should be an extra zero after that 20,000 successful trainings yearly.

However, if they truly had an A-grade Beast Master as a trainer, then this institute’s strength couldn't be underestimated.

Qiao Sang inquired about the cost for the Meteor Fire training.

The price sent by the other party made her dizzy. So many zeros…

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand…

Unable to bear looking further, Qiao Sang quickly closed the page and put her phone away. It seemed best to let the Fire Fang Dog continue training on its own without looking for outside help.

June 30th.

Early in the morning, Qiao Sang took bus 63 to the pet beast arena located in Shoukeyuan.

The entrance was packed with people, most of whom looked to be around her age. A few reporters with microphones were randomly interviewing bystanders.

Cradling the Fire Fang Dog, Qiao Sang chose to take a longer route to queue at Entrance 2, fearing she might be caught by a keen-eyed reporter. After all, with its sunglasses on, her Fire Fang Dog stood out among the crowd of new Beast Masters.

The sunglasses were not the dog’s choice; Qiao Sang had put them on. After seeing no progress in the Meteor Fire training a few days ago, the Fire Fang Dog seemed to have lost some confidence and became quieter. So, Qiao Sang decided to adorn it with sunglasses.

While still a bit muted, the Fire Fang Dog at least seemed more lively with the sunglasses on.

After waiting for over twenty minutes, she confirmed her name and collected her participant badge before heading to section D row 11 of the arena.

“Qiao Sang!”

Someone in seat five of row 11 waved and called out to her.

Qiao Sang sat down next to Fang Sisi and asked, “Aside from you, how many others from our class are here?”

Last night, Fang Sisi had reached out to Qiao Sang and mentioned they had all signed up for the Hundred New Tournament on June 30, which led to their current meeting.

“Not many, maybe four or five. The timing of this tournament coincides with some matches of the Interstellar Cup, and everyone wants to catch the live broadcast,” Fang Sisi replied, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the Fire Fang Dog.

It was her first time seeing the sunglasses-wearing Fire Fang Dog, and she thought it looked so cool!

Fang Sisi couldn’t help but voice her excitement. If the Fire Fang Dog had heard such praise before, it would have strutted with pride. Instead, now it just puffed out its chest but made no sound.

It wanted to make a noise to show off, but alas, it had eaten too many super spicy grilled wings in the last few days. Its throat hurt…

“Your Cottonworm is looking good! It seems much bigger than last time,” Qiao Sang complimented.

She actually meant ‘fatter’…

In just a short five days, the Cottonworm had grown quite round.

But this type of insect Contract Beast undergoes a short evolution cycle, and as long as it eats and sleeps well, it develops faster than other beasts.

Such changes were visibly noticeable.

“Cotton~”

Hearing the praise, the Cottonworm shyly turned its back to Qiao Sang.

“Is it really? I don’t feel like it’s any different,” Fang Sisi said as she lifted the Cottonworm to weigh it in her arms, “But it does seem heavier.”

Cottonworm: “…”

They both meant the same thing, yet hearing it from its Beast Master felt a bit off…

After chatting for about twenty minutes, more people filled the surrounding seats.

With a loud bang of fireworks, the Hundred New Tournament officially commenced.

“What’s your number?” Fang Sisi asked.

“123, and you?” Qiao Sang replied.

“11.” Fang Sisi answered.

Qiao Sang felt a bit uneasy. “Aren't you supposed to queue in the waiting room? I think it’ll be your turn soon.”

The pre-selection battles in the Hundred New Tournament weren’t random; they were determined in pairs by their numbers—1 against 2, 3 against 4, and so on.

“Can’t be! There are still five groups ahead. I’ll wait until the fifth group starts before heading to the backstage. I want to watch more matches,” Fang Sisi explained.

Though Qiao Sang felt this was not a good idea, she said nothing more. Fang Sisi had a point; it would take time for the host to introduce the event and match several groups.

Sixteen minutes later.

“Oh crap! Why is it so fast! Qiao Sang, I’ve got to go!” Fang Sisi exclaimed as she lifted the Cottonworm and dashed out of her seat, heading toward the backstage.

The host had taken about ten minutes just to introduce the event.

In the remaining time, they were averaging almost a match per minute.

The F-grade Beast Masters who competed only had basic Contract Beasts, using simple tactics. Usually, their matches ended within three exchanges if the opponent landed the first hit.

Qiao Sang had initially thought it would be afternoon or even the next day before it was her turn, but now it seemed certain it would come up in the morning…

“Contestant 11, Fang Sisi.”

The announcer called Fang Sisi’s name twice, yet she didn’t appear.

“Let’s congratulate…” the host began, ready to declare contestant 12 the winner, but then a voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

“Let’s give a warm welcome to contestant 11, Fang Sisi, for her dazzling appearance!”

During the entire tournament, the host had been solemnly announcing each contestant’s number and name, but this was the first time “dazzling” was added when welcoming a competitor.

The audience instantly buzzed with excitement.

Three seconds later, Fang Sisi rushed onto the field, panting, followed closely by her plump Cottonworm struggling to keep up…

(End of Chapter)