Fire Fang Dog let out a dejected cry, slumped back into its seat, and took a hard gulp of milk to soothe its wounded heart.
When it finished drinking, Qiao Sang considerately handed it another bottle and comforted it, "It's fine. We'll be facing Long Ear Cat soon. You can avenge Little Chubby Dove then."
Although Long Ear Cat was adorable enough to nearly melt her heart, Qiao Sang didn't go soft.
After all, the moment she thought of the 50 points, her heart turned to steel.
"Ya!"
At those words, Fire Fang Dog straightened its upper body again and nodded vigorously.
It would!
The third match was over cleanly and swiftly, but the result was somewhat beyond Qiao Sang's expectations.
As a Poison Type and Flying Type pet beast, Trace Platform Bee's Mouth Needle and Tail Needle were both poisonous.
The difference was that Trace Platform Bee's Mouth Needle had to make close contact with a target to pierce it, while its Tail Needle could be released from a distance.
In theory, Trace Platform Bee was fast enough that it only needed to keep its distance from Short Tail Snake and fire its Tail Needle repeatedly. Sooner or later, it would hit Short Tail Snake.
Yet Trace Platform Bee had chosen to stab with its Mouth Needle.
The Venom inside Short Tail Snake was far more potent than the Venom produced by Trace Platform Bee's Mouth Needle. After that stab, Short Tail Snake was fine, while Trace Platform Bee itself fainted first.
It would be unfair to call Trace Platform Bee stupid, since it had merely followed its Beast Tamer's order.
The command its Beast Tamer had issued was the two words "Poison Needle."
Qiao Sang was speechless.
The Mouth Needle was a Poison Needle, and the Tail Needle was also a Poison Needle. The Beast Tamer couldn't even make a clear command. Sure enough, he was a rookie Beast Tamer.
After the matches for the six-to-three round ended, the three losers competed for one spot in the top two.
Perhaps because he had lost too quickly in the previous match, Qiao Sang felt that Lu Liangye was giving commands with a personal grudge.
When the opponent was already exhausted, he could have ended the match directly with a powerful offensive skill like Water Gun. Instead, he had first used Water Bubble to block the opponent's vision, then ordered Water Ring Fish to use Take Down.
Qiao Sang didn't understand. The other person was already down, so what was there to block from view? Besides, Water Ring Fish had no legs, only a tail. Where would it get any explosive power on land? At most, that final attack could be called a collision, not Take Down...
Besides Lu Liangye, another boy named Hu Cheng entered the top five.
The final first-place winner would then be chosen from among those who had won the six-to-three round.
"Qiao Sang, Zheng Yining, and Li Yang, the three of you will take turns battling. The first person to win two matches will be the champion of this special recruitment," Sun Boyi announced.
Qin Wen brought out that familiar wooden box again. "Only two slips inside have numbers. The examinee who draws a blank slip will sit out this round."
Qiao Sang was lucky enough not to sit out. She flipped over her slip and saw the number 1 again.
Drawing three consecutive ones was practically heaven hinting that she was destined to come first!
Qiao Sang was brimming with fighting spirit, while Zheng Yining, who had drawn the other 1, had the resolve of a salted fish.
Her score usually hovered around 560. Without special recruitment, she definitely couldn't enter Saint Water High School based on her Academic Scores alone. Now that she already had a special recruitment spot, she was guaranteed to pass the High School Entrance Exam. She didn't need to come first.
"Big Boss Qiao, remember to go easy on me later," Zheng Yining said with a smile.
Since she couldn't win anyway, she might as well show weakness before the match and lose with a little more dignity.
Qiao Sang glanced at Fire Fang Dog, which was warming up by moving its limbs, and answered, "...I'll try."
Lu Liangye, who had heard their conversation nearby, was displeased. He walked over to Qiao Sang with a face twisted as if he were constipated. "I... I believe you can win, but you can't let your guard down. You have to attack with full force from the start, in case something unexpected happens."
He had lost so miserably when battling Qiao Sang that he hadn't even lasted two rounds. If Qiao Sang went easy on this Zheng Yining and exchanged blows with her for several rounds, where would that leave his pride?!
Looking at his awkward yet slightly tsundere expression, Qiao Sang smiled. "Thanks for the reminder. I understand."
Zheng Yining: "...?"
The two of them stood at their designated positions.
Long Ear Cat elegantly licked one of its paws.
Fire Fang Dog, meanwhile, kept its eyes fixed on Long Ear Cat. Its hind legs continuously plowed the ground, as if it would pounce at Long Ear Cat the next second.
That posture looked familiar...
Qiao Sang remembered.
Wasn't this the exact movement of the Thunder Horn Rhino that had frightened Fire Fang Dog into learning Spark the first time it watched television?
Before she could think about it further, Sun Boyi gave the command for the battle to begin.
Qiao Sang quickly adjusted her state and ordered, "Take Down."
Fire Fang Dog's posture made it look ready to charge at any moment, so Qiao Sang chose to follow its wishes.
It seemed that showing weakness and building rapport before the match had worked after all.
Zheng Yining was very satisfied with Big Boss Qiao's command. Take Down rarely succeeded at the beginning, so Big Boss Qiao had clearly gone easy on her. If she had attacked the way she did against Lu Liangye, without even giving a command, how could Zheng Yining have responded?
"Dodge," Zheng Yining commanded.
Dodge was a godly skill. No matter what skill the opponent used, as long as it wasn't a tracking skill or a large-area attack, telling one's pet beast to dodge could never be wrong. Zheng Yining had learned that from television dramas.
Long Ear Cat elegantly ran two steps to the side, then was awkwardly sent flying by the collision and crashed to the ground.
It couldn't dodge...
"Fire Fang Dog seems quite a bit faster than before?" Zheng Guoping asked in surprise.
"Perhaps it wasn't using its full strength in the first two rounds," Qin Wen replied.
Liu Yao watched the battle from the side without saying anything.
"Long Ears!" Zheng Yining cried out the name of her Long Ear Cat.
Long Ear Cat was a Normal Type pet beast that stood out among beginner pet beasts for its appearance and agility.
The area was completely open, and Long Ear Cat hadn't even been injured. How had it been hit by such an ordinary Take Down?!
Long Ear Cat looked somewhat disheveled, but it still rose gracefully. The next second—
"Bang!"
Before it could steady itself, its body was sent flying again.
"Long Ears!"
Qiao Sang found the scene before her a little hard to bear.
Fire Fang Dog charged over the instant Long Ear Cat got back up, then slammed into it again as soon as it rose. It repeated the process four or five times, like a bullfight from her previous life, with Long Ear Cat as the red cloth...
"I surrender!" Zheng Yining raised her hand and shouted after Long Ear Cat hit the ground for the fifth time.
"I announce the winner—Qiao Sang," Sun Boyi said.
Little Chubby Dove and its Beast Tamer still hadn't left. After hearing the result, Fire Fang Dog happily ran over to Little Chubby Dove, wanting to celebrate with it. Little Chubby Dove, however, was startled and flapped its wings up onto its Beast Tamer's shoulder.
That thing was so scary just now!
Fire Fang Dog was heartbroken. Its friendship, which hadn't even had the chance to develop, had fallen apart just like that.
It went over to Qiao Sang.
"Ya~"
Qiao Sang crouched down and picked it up.
Fire Fang Dog buried its head and rubbed against Qiao Sang.
My Beast Tamer really is the best.
"That Fire Fang Dog has excellent potential. When you go back, bathe it every day using three stalks of Vitality Grass, two pounds of Comfort Heat Powder, seven ounces of Fire Nitrate, and six ounces of Red Honey. Keep it up for half a month, and it may produce good results." A deep voice sounded from nearby.
Qiao Sang turned around and saw one of the four teachers.
"This is our Vice Principal. He's a Grade A Breeder, so you can't go wrong listening to him," Zheng Guoping introduced.
Before you continue