Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

The roar of the King-level pet beast made everyone's hearts tremble.

Although the 30th District had many wild pet beasts, those of the King-level were still rare. As for Emperor-level beasts, they each had their own territory, considered forbidden zones by default. As long as humans didn't actively intrude, those beasts typically wouldn't bother coming out to interact with them.

Having a Beast Tamer with a King-level pet stationed at the airport was already an exceptional security measure.

With the airport's barrier and the deterrence of a King-level beast, the number of wild beasts breaking in had clearly declined.

Perhaps it was because King-level beasts had higher intelligence. Knowing the airport was guarded by equals, they never tried to break in.

So, to see a King-level beast storm into the airport, this was a first.

The sudden appearance of the Grass Candle Monster left the airport staff anxious. Their eyes turned to Achill, the Beast Tamer of Lightning Storm Horse, and today's stationed King-level beast Heavy-Suspended Crocodile, hoping they could deal with the situation without damaging the aircraft.

Achill looked at the Grass Candle Monster, face tense, clearly troubled by how to handle it.

Though he had Lightning Storm Horse and the Heavy-Suspended Crocodile, the latter's tamer wasn't present. He couldn't communicate with it, making coordination nearly impossible.

This was going to be difficult...

Meanwhile, the Grass Candle Monster, the center of attention, ignored the King-level Lightning Storm Horse and Heavy-Suspended Crocodile. Its furious gaze locked onto Qiao Sang.

In its eyes, after retrieving her bird pet, that two-second stare from Qiao Sang was brimming with mockery.

Pure provocation!

"Grass Candle!"

The monster bellowed, its eyes glowing purple.

Suddenly, the sky dimmed.

What had been a clear night sky turned pitch black, not a speck of light remaining.

Even with Qiao Sang's enhanced night vision from prior feedback, she could only barely make out the flame wings of Yabao.

Even those wings, usually glowing brilliantly, seemed subdued, as if the darkness itself was suppressing their light.

"Let's go!"

Having met eyes with the Grass Candle Monster earlier, Qiao Sang instantly realized it was after her and didn't hesitate to flee.

"Xun xun!"

To her shock, the teleportation failed. Little Treasure cried out in panic.Spatial Shift had been blocked.

Qiao Sang's heart dropped.

---

Departure Hall.

The rescued passengers had not fled the airport.

The fact that wild beasts in the hall had been cleared all at once gave them a sense of security.

Leaving now might not be safer than staying.

At least there were professional security forces here to drive off wild pets.

But looking out the glass curtain wall at the unnatural darkness outside, unease was rising again.

"That ghost-type pet beast that appeared... it looked over ten meters tall... could it be King-level?"

"Gr- Grass Candle Monster... it... it's King-level..."

A passenger who recognized it paled, voice trembling.

Panic erupted among those who just realized the ghost-type beast was King-level.

"Don't panic! We also have a King-level pet on duty tonight!"

A staff member tried to calm them.

"Please trust us!"

The passengers were slightly reassured.

One heavily pregnant woman stared outside, worried.

She'd seen the girl who saved her still outside before everything turned pitch black.

Please be safe...

---

Darkness Imprisonment, once Qiao Sang realized that Spatial Shift was blocked, she quickly identified the skill.

A high-tier Ghost-type move, Darkness Imprisonment turned a region into pitch darkness, trapping all living beings inside, nullifying sight, signals, and escape. It wasn't an offensive skill, but it made fleeing impossible, and long-term exposure could cause psychological breakdown.

Thankfully, she still had Yabao with her. Feeling his warm, flame-tipped wings and soft fur in her hands gave her some comfort.

Then...

BOOM!

Thunder clapped overhead.

Lightning crackled like writhing serpents, momentarily illuminating the darkness.

In that instant, Qiao Sang sensed two presences approaching.

One of them was flying.

"Yap!"

Yabao sensed the unfamiliar auras too, gathering flame in his throat.

Just as he was about to attack, a voice called out: "Don't panic, it's me."

The thunder faded, and blackness returned.

Qiao Sang, recognizing the voice, asked tentatively: "Uncle?"

"Yes, it's me." Replied Achill.

Yabao silently closed his mouth and extinguished his flame.

"Don't be afraid. The Grass Candle Monster used Darkness Imprisonment, it's not an offensive skill." Achill assured her.

"I called you here to help. I'll take full responsibility for your safety. Just stay by my side."

That made Qiao Sang feel significantly better.

She was just about to reply when a sudden chill hit her back, a massive sense of danger.

"Run!" Qiao Sang shouted instinctively.

"Yap!"

Yabao's eyes glowed blue. In a blink, he teleported Qiao Sang away.

The Grass Candle Monster landed exactly where she had been, clicking its tongue in frustration.

Just as it prepared to pursue, dozens of thunder-charged chains came crashing in from all directions.

---

We left Uncle behind...

Qiao Sang tried to reassure herself: Achill had a King-level pet, he'd be fine.

Darkness Imprisonment prevented teleportation out of the area, but inside the region, short-distance teleportation was still viable.

She looked around, still pitch black, unclear where she was now.

But the ominous chill was gone, meaning she had likely escaped immediate danger.

Suddenly, sounds of fierce battle and explosions came from ahead, with arcs of yellow lightning flashing intermittently.

Did the Grass Candle Monster start fighting Lightning Storm Horse?

She began analyzing.

Actually, even though it was a King-level battle, she wasn't entirely useless.

Lubao's energy was at the peak of the General level and had just been replenished with an A-grade energy potion. She could still use Ice Field Domain again.

Yabao and Little Treasure could use telekinesis. If they coordinated, even briefly controlling a King-level beast for a second or two was possible.

The real problem was the ghost-type's unpredictability, especially inside Darkness Imprisonment where it had full vision and movement, but they did not.

Clearly, the Grass Candle Monster had locked onto her. The fact that it hadn't attacked again meant it was probably being stalled...

Just then,BOOM!

A massive crash sounded.

Followed by Lightning Storm Horse's pained cries.

Dust rose, stones shattered, and the shockwave nearly threw Qiao Sang off Yabao.

Was Lightning Storm Horse defeated?

She hugged Yabao tightly.

Then, an old voice echoed from outside via loudspeaker: "Sandstorm."

"Heavy Heavy!"

With a roar, a massive sandstorm surged in the darkness.

Like a tsunami of dust, it devoured everything.

"Yap!"

Yabao shielded Qiao Sang, Lubao, and Little Treasure with his flame wings, digging in to brace against the wind.

But the sandstorm was too powerful.

After just three seconds, Yabao was swept up.

Qiao Sang felt herself spinning, tossed about.

Dust slipped in through the feathers, but Yabao's wings still held tight.

Then, the sensation of falling.

Qiao Sang tensed.

"Little Treasure!"

"Xun xun!"

Trained against dizziness, Little Treasure remained alert. Hearing her voice, he activated his telekinesis.

Suddenly, the falling stopped.

Then, Lubao's forehead gem glowed, lighting up Yabao.

"Yap!"

Yabao perked up, spreading his wings.

Above them was a dim yellow sky, no longer total blackness.

Qiao Sang saw the Grass Candle Monster nearby, covering its face, and the struggling Lightning Storm Horse.

She felt her heart pound wildly.

This was the perfect moment to teleport and escape, but instead, she shouted: "Ice Field Domain!"

Lubao leapt from Yabao and grew to her full size.

"Lu Ai!"

With a cry, the temperature plummeted. Though there was no frost in the air, the Grass Candle Monster was instantly frozen solid.

Ice Field Domain: All targets within range would freeze instantly, but the spread of ice elsewhere depended on the caster's will.

What kind of skill is this?! It froze a King-level beast instantly!

Even the still-conscious staff from earlier were stunned.

"Everyone! Focus your attacks!"

Qiao Sang picked up the loudspeaker dropped by Lubao and shouted.

Ice Field Domain was an super-tier skill, and though powerful, the gap between General-level and King-level was still enormous.

The only reason it worked was because Lubao had ample energy and the move was powerful.

But the King-level beast could break free at any moment.

They had to strike now.

"Lightning Chain!" Achill commanded, suppressing his shock.

"Power Gem!" Came the old voice.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Ice Beam!"

"Shadow Ball!"

"Seed Machine Gun!"

Everyone began shouting commands.

Qiao Sang made a hand seal.

An orange star array lit up.

Gangbao appeared within it.

"Attack!" She commanded.

Yabao opened his mouth and unleashed a golden-red fireball.

Little Treasure tried to prepare Psychic Headbutt, but seeing the barrage of attacks, switched to a massive Shadow Ball.

"Gang Slice!"

Gangbao, just summoned, flew into the air and grew in size. Her feathers shimmered purple as she launched half of them like arrows.

Dozens of lightning chains wrapped the frozen Grass Candle Monster.

Hundreds of gem-like energy orbs blasted from the Heavy-Suspended Crocodile.

Flames, lightning, ice, green lasers, sparkling gems-

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

The ice shattered instantly.

"Grass Candle!!!"

It screamed in pain.

Explosion after explosion followed.

Shockwaves rippled through the air.

The sky above the tarmac filled with radiant energy, skills clashing, shaking the space itself.

The dark clouds and yellow mist were torn apart, forming a murky curtain that blotted out the airport.

---

Inside the terminal, behind the glass walls...

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the scene.

Then, slowly, they pulled out their phones to record this epic battle.

---

On the tarmac, the explosions lasted a long, long time.

When everything finally quieted down...

The Grass Candle Monster lay on the ground, charred, eyes closed, motionless.

Everyone present let out a long, relieved breath.

Just then, the Grass Candle Monster, despite being severely wounded, slowly opened its eyes. A look of extreme unwillingness appeared in its gaze. It parted its mouth and suddenly began to sing: "Grass grass~ grass grass~ grass..."

"Cover your ears!" An elderly voice shouted through the loudspeaker.

But the singing abruptly stopped.

The Grass Candle Monster closed its eyes again.

The staff, who had just begun to feel relieved, were instantly gripped by dread.

The atmosphere became extremely heavy.

The Grass Candle Monster was known to wander around at night singing. Anyone who heard its song would be cursed...Qiao Sang recalled the information about the monster and felt a chill in her heart.

Could she already be cursed...?

The surrounding staff were clearly concerned about the same thing.

After a short silence, panic began to rise: "Are we cursed?"

"No way... it didn't even finish the sentence, right?"

"Don't scare me like that. I can't handle a King-level beast's curse. I'm still so young..."

"This counts as a work injury, right? The company will find a beast that can break the curse for us, won't they?"

"Can someone tell me what type of curse the Grass Candle Monster uses?"

"No idea! I've never seen it in the books!"

"Maybe it's because all the cursed people... didn't survive, so there's no record..."

"Ah! Don't scare me!"

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down. Finish the post-battle cleanup first." Achill ordered.

As a beastmaster with a King-level pet, Achill's voice clearly carried authority.

Everyone stopped talking and quickly resumed their tasks.

Achill scanned the area, and finally his gaze landed on the black-haired girl in the distance. He smiled and walked toward her.

Crack...

At that moment, a sound like something shattering came from above.

Everyone looked up and immediately turned pale, their faces full of despair.

The barrier in the sky was broken again!

Suddenly, all kinds of flying wild beasts began to dive down excitedly from the sky.

Achill's expression darkened, and he had to stop walking.

What the hell?! Could this really be the curse?Qiao Sang's face changed.

"Yap!"

Yabao continuously spewed fire at the attacking wild beasts.

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure used his three-dimensional shadow control to bind the wild beasts charging at them, one after another.

"Lu Ai..."

Due to the earlier use of her Ice Field Domain skill, Lubao had little energy left. She instinctively started conserving power, using a low-cost water gun attack.

"Gang Slice."

Compared to the others, Gangbao was clearly struggling.

She was attacking with her wing blades, hundreds of purple feather-like blades slashing at the oncoming beasts.

At first, she held her ground, but soon, more wild beasts broke through her attacks and continued forward.

Gangbao had to fully harden into a glowing metallic gray and use Iron Defense.

The occasional pain on her body made Qiao Sang realize something. She looked in Gangbao's direction and asked mentally: [Do you want to retreat?]

[Gang Slice.] Gangbao replied in her mind without moving.

No.

She didn't want to retreat just because things got tough.

Yabao and the others were fighting, why should she be the one to fall back?

She may be weaker, but to become strong, you have to endure pain. True strength isn't built in a comfort zone.

Luckily, she had been practicing defense recently...Qiao Sang looked at Gangbao's stubborn figure, feeling both relieved and proud.

A motivated pet beast was a good thing.

If she and Gangbao experienced a few more battles like this, maybe one day she really could become invincible...

Suddenly, Qiao Sang saw something that made her heart stop. She shouted: "Get out of the way!"

From the sky, a streak of blue shot down like a meteor, targeting Gangbao with overwhelming momentum.

With just one glance, Qiao Sang could tell from its aura and size, it was a General-level beast.

Yabao and the others could handle such beasts, but Gangbao had to avoid it. No direct confrontation!

In the blink of an eye, the blue figure slammed into Gangbao.

It was so fast, dodging was impossible.

Qiao Sang's heart clenched-but the expected pain didn't come.

She sensed something and looked upward.

In the sky, there were now two identical Gangbaos.

Qiao Sang was stunned-then overjoyed.

A clone!

Gangbao had learned to clone herself!

Honestly, after seeing Yabao and the others learn advanced skills and even awaken super skills in short timeframes, she should have been numb to this by now.

But Gangbao had taken so long to learn this one skill.

She even got the Department Dean of Spirit Runes to draw a rune on her to boost comprehension.

To ensure the rune wasn't damaged, Gangbao refused any grooming or styling when she went to the pet beauty salon-just massages.

Even with all that, there had been no progress.

They assumed she lacked talent for this skill.

But no, surprise!

Strength really does grow in battle!

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure moved his short claws, and its ribbon-like shadow wrapped tightly around the blue bird beast, spinning it rapidly 360 degrees.

This move was highly effective against unprepared wild beasts.

Soon, the shadows loosened, and the blue bird dropped to the ground, dizzy, eyes swirling.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure grinned and was about to keep fighting.

But just as he moved, he sensed something. He paused and turned to his beast master, calling out, he said the flute-playing guy wanted to come out and could help.

Huh? Adinishi wants to help? Wait, it can see what's happening outside from inside the ring? That means it saw everything?Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said: "Let it out."

Adinishi had entered the ring on its own, and had eaten so much of her food in there.If it had seen her get into all this danger, it couldn't just walk away so heartlessly...

"Xun xun~"

Little Treasure nodded, removed the ring, and reached in.

But he couldn't pull anything out, then the ring expanded.

Moments later, a round creature with a chubby face-unrecognizable-was pulled out.

It was Adinishi.

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure glared at it.

Every pound of fat on Adinishi came from the food inside the ring!

Adinishi avoided eye contact, looking guilty.

"Dee... hic~"

It looked around, let out a burp, and its eyes turned blue.

The next moment, Adinishi vanished.

Gone?

It just left?!

Qiao Sang couldn't believe her eyes. Her heart metaphorically shattered.

But just then, a melodious flute echoed through the sky.

Qiao Sang quickly looked up, she couldn't see Adinishi.

Despite the intense sounds of battle and explosions, this flute pierced clearly into everyone's ears, human and beast alike.

Inside the terminal's glass walls.

The departure lounge.

With soundproofing, no one heard the flute. But they did notice the sudden silence outside.

Everyone looked at each other, confused.

---

Back on the tarmac.

All the wild beasts looked dazed. Their emotions calmed. No more rampaging or attacking.

The flute echoed above.

That sound...?In a huge crater, Fuanli lifted his bruised, pig-like face.

He struggled to lift his hand and began forming seals, trying to summon his remaining beasts.

That flute...it was Adinishi's!

No flute ever sounded at the airport without reason.

It could only be from Adinishi, who came with Qiao Sang!

At the same time...

All staff had noticed the flute too.

Their earlier despair began to fade. Some even started chatting.

"Where's that flute from?"

"Sounds beautiful..."

"I've never felt this peaceful before..."

"Huh? Why are the wild beasts flying away?"

From a wide view, one by one, wild beasts flapped their wings and left, no hesitation, as if the previous chaos had never happened.

That flute... it must've been Adinishi... As the sound faded, Qiao Sang, overwhelmed with excitement, quickly asked: "Did any of you see your next evolution location just now?"

"Yap."

"Lu Ai."

"Gang Slice."

Yabao, Lubao, and Gangbao all shook their heads.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure paused, then shook his head too.

Qiao Sang: ???

What?

Wasn't the flute supposed to reveal the next evolution site?!

Could it be... Adinishi played a different tune?

That had to be it. Otherwise the wild beasts wouldn't have left so suddenly...

Thinking this, Qiao Sang felt like she couldn't breathe.

Not only did she face danger, but her food stash in the ring was now empty, and all for nothing...

"Dee dee."

Just then, a familiar call came.

Qiao Sang: !!!

Adinishi's voice!

She looked around but saw nothing.

Suddenly, she remembered-first time she met Adinishi, it was invisible too. Must be a space-type skill.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure, looking exhausted, saidthe flute-player wanted to return to the ring. Should it?

"Yes! Of course!" Qiao Sang perked up instantly.

"Xun xun..."

Little Treasure held up the ring.

Just before putting Adinishi in, Qiao Sang added: "Let it go back into the original ring."

"Xun xun~"

Little Treasure acknowledged with a call.

"Dee dee..."

---

Elsewhere, Fuanli slowly climbed out of the crater, looking satisfied.

It seemed Adinishi had left Ghost Ring King's circle. It was likely gone now.

But luckily, he had heard the flute.

If Ogav questioned him later, he couldn't be blamed.It was Ogav's fault for being late...

Fuanli grinned but the pain in his mouth quickly wiped the smile away.

Still, the price was worth it, as long as he heard the flute...

Just then, a voice came from ahead: "Sir, we suspect you're involved in tonight's incident. Please come with us."

-----

T/n: Damn, this was the longest chapter I've done ever.