Hundred New Tournament

"Yap!"

Fire Fang Dog's bark dragged Qiao Sang out of her thoughts.

Looking down, she realized an entire bottle of Qi Yuan Milk had already been drained.

Fire Fang Dog gazed longingly at its Pet Tamer, hoping for another bottle.

Qiao Sang handed it the water she had prepared nearby.

Now that her entire fortune had dwindled to just three digits, she had to alternate between water and milk. Otherwise, before the Hundred New Tournament even began, her assets might hit zero.

Fire Fang Dog had no objections.

After gulping down the water and taking two bites of the Super Invincible Perverted Spicy Grilled Wings, it turned around and threw itself back into training.

Qiao Sang watched with mixed feelings.

Fire Fang Dog truly seemed determined to learn Spark Rain.

After watching Fire Fang Dog continuously breathe fire for a while, Qiao Sang took out her phone and searched for training institutions in Hanggang City that taught Spark Rain.

Soon, the webpage displayed several institutions offering skill training.

One of them was only three streets away from her current location.

Qiao Sang tapped into it.

One-on-one, nanny-style guidance.

One of the country's most renowned Fire-type Pet Beast move training institutions.

A training staff of nearly 500, including one A-rank Pet Tamer, twelve B-rank Pet Tamers, and 122 C-rank Pet Tamers.

Over 20,000 successful move-training cases every year.

The introduction clearly exaggerated quite a bit. If it really was one of the country's most famous training institutions, there ought to be another zero after the annual 20,000 successful cases.

Still, if it really had an A-rank Pet Tamer serving as a trainer as advertised, then the institution's capabilities could not be underestimated.

Qiao Sang clicked in and consulted customer service about the cost of training Spark Rain.

The other side quickly sent over the price.

Qiao Sang felt dizzy at the sight.

So many zeros...

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, millions...

Qiao Sang could not bear to keep looking. She quickly closed the page and put away her phone.

Fire Fang Dog should just keep practicing on its own. Training with someone else was out of the question...

June 30th.

Early that morning, Qiao Sang took the Route 63 Bus to the Pet Beast Arena in Shouke Garden.

The entrance was already packed with people in line, most of them around Qiao Sang's age.

A handful of people who looked like reporters held microphones and randomly stopped people for interviews.

Qiao Sang hugged Fire Fang Dog and deliberately took the long way around to line up at Entrance No. 2, afraid that some sharp-eyed reporter might interview her.

After all, with Fire Fang Dog wearing sunglasses, it stood out quite a bit among the rookie Pet Tamers their age.

This time, Fire Fang Dog was not wearing sunglasses because it wanted to. Qiao Sang had put them on it.

Its Spark Rain training over the past few days had shown no progress at all. Fire Fang Dog seemed to have lost some confidence because of it and had become much quieter, so Qiao Sang decided to put sunglasses on it.

Though Fire Fang Dog was still quiet with the sunglasses on, at least its spirits had picked up.

After standing in line for over twenty minutes, confirming her name, and collecting her contestant badge, Qiao Sang arrived at Row 11 of Area D.

"Qiao Sang!"

Someone in Seat 5 of Row 11 waved an arm and called out.

Qiao Sang walked over and sat beside Fang Sisi. "Other than you, how many people from our class came?"

Fang Sisi had messaged Qiao Sang last night to chat. During their conversation, they discovered that both of them had signed up for the Hundred New Tournament on June 30th, which led to this meeting.

"Not many, probably four or five. The Hundred New Tournament happens to clash with several Interstellar Cup matches, and everyone's unwilling to miss the Interstellar Cup livestream." After answering, Fang Sisi stared at Fire Fang Dog with sparkling eyes.

It was her first time seeing Fire Fang Dog in sunglasses.

This is way too cool!

Thinking that Fire Fang Dog looked cool, Fang Sisi said it out loud.

Normally, if someone praised it like that, Fire Fang Dog would have puffed out its chest and let out a smug bark.

But now, it merely puffed out its chest without making a sound.

Fire Fang Dog wanted to make a sound and show off too.

But it could not help it. It had eaten too many Super Invincible Perverted Spicy Grilled Wings these past few days.

Its throat hurt...

"Your Cotton Segment Worm has been raised pretty well. It looks much bigger than last time," Qiao Sang praised.

What she had actually wanted to say was that it had gotten fatter...

In just five days, Cotton Segment Worm had become a whole lot rounder than before.

However, Bug-type Pet Beasts like Cotton Segment Worm had short evolution cycles. As long as they ate and slept well, they developed much faster than other Pet Beasts.

Those changes were visible to the naked eye.

"Cotton~"

Hearing someone praise it, Cotton Segment Worm shyly turned around, presenting its back to Qiao Sang.

"Has it gotten bigger? I didn't notice." Fang Sisi directly picked up Cotton Segment Worm and weighed it in her hands. "It does seem to have gotten much heavier."

Cotton Segment Worm: "..."

They meant the same thing, so why did it feel so uncomfortable hearing it from its own Pet Tamer...

After chatting for over twenty minutes, the seats around them gradually filled up as well.

With the loud boom of fireworks, the Hundred New Tournament officially began.

"What number are you?" Fang Sisi asked.

"Number 123. What about you?" Qiao Sang asked back.

"Number 11," Fang Sisi answered.

Qiao Sang: "..."

"Shouldn't you go line up in the waiting room? I think it'll be your turn soon," Qiao Sang could not help reminding her.

The Hundred New Tournament preliminaries were not randomly assigned. They simply matched No. 1 against No. 2, No. 3 against No. 4, and so on.

"Probably not. There are still five matches ahead of me. I'll head backstage when the fifth match starts. I want to watch a little more of the competition," Fang Sisi said.

Although Qiao Sang felt that was inappropriate, she did not say anything more.

Fang Sisi had a point. After the host introduced the tournament and several matches took place, it should take quite a while.

Sixteen minutes later.

"Whoa! Why is it so fast? Qiao Sang, I can't talk anymore—I need to go!" Fang Sisi scooped up Cotton Segment Worm and left her seat.

Once she reached the aisle, she sprinted toward backstage.

Of those sixteen minutes, the host's introduction alone had taken around ten.

The remaining time had been nearly one match per minute.

The F-rank Pet Tamers who went onstage only possessed beginner-level Pet Beasts. Their methods were limited, and in roughly three exchanges, whoever was struck first would usually lose.

Qiao Sang had originally thought her turn would not come until the afternoon or even the next day.

Now, it seemed certain that she would be up in the morning...

"Contestant No. 11, Fang Sisi."

"Contestant No. 11, Fang Sisi."

The host at the Pet Beast Arena called Fang Sisi's name twice, but Fang Sisi still did not appear.

"Let us congratulate..." The host was about to directly declare Contestant No. 12 the winner when a voice suddenly came through his earpiece.

"Let us congratulate Contestant No. 11, Fang Sisi, on her magnificent entrance!"

Since the tournament began, the host had rigidly announced only the contestants' numbers and names. This was the first time he had added the words "magnificent entrance" when a contestant appeared.

For a moment, everyone in the audience could not help feeling a little expectant.

Three seconds later.

Fang Sisi appeared on the field, panting heavily.

Beside her, the chubby Cotton Segment Worm was laboriously inching along...