"Grooming?" Zhao You frowned. "Grooming can keep a Contract Beast clean and in good physical condition, but improve its strength? How is that possible?"
"Never mind. Pay closer attention during your training and keep track of when your Azure Wind Eagle improves the most. That will help you identify patterns in its training."
After offering his usual advice and recording Lin Yue's test results, Zhao You waved a hand. "Head back. Next student, in student-number order!"
Lin Yue returned to the group with her Azure Wind Eagle in her arms. She glanced around, then lowered her voice to speak to Su Xiaoxiao. "Xiaoxiao, I really think it was the grooming."
"I'm not sure." Su Xiaoxiao shook her head thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, Little Flame did seem to perform better when fighting the owner's Contract Beast yesterday."
"It'll be your turn soon." Lin Yue gestured toward the clearing with her chin. "We'll know once you take the test."
"If Little Flame improved as much as Xiao Yu, it must have been the grooming!"
"If that's really the case..." Anticipation grew on Lin Yue's face. "Then I have to go to that foster shop and thank the owner in person!"
"All right, count me in." Su Xiaoxiao nodded earnestly.
Not far from them, Duan Anxun watched the two girls whispering.
"Anxun! Lin Yue did so well that she stole everyone's thunder, but I believe you'll do even better!" Du Ting declared confidently beside her. "Once it's our turn, we'll show her."
"Mm..." Duan Anxun replied absently, her mind lingering on the grooming Lin Yue had mentioned earlier.
Yesterday, Su Xiaoxiao had taken her Contract Beast for grooming, then returned and beaten her to the highest score in the appearance assessment.
Today, Lin Yue's Azure Wind Eagle had also changed dramatically. Clearly, their pet beasts had been groomed at the same shop.
Which shop was it?
Duan Anxun searched her memory for nearby shops offering Contract Beast grooming, but could not think of any capable of producing results like these.
"Su Xiaoxiao's taking her test!" Du Ting spoke with a hint of anticipation. "Her Blazing Fox barely cooperates with training. There's no way it's improved much!"
"Hm?" Duan Anxun snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at the girl stepping into the clearing.
A moment later, disbelief spread across her face.
How could this be?!
"Flame Wall: maximum range, 3.1 meters; core temperature, 863°C." Zhao You read out the test results, then glanced at the records from a month earlier, his expression turning odd.
A month ago, this Blazing Fox's Flame Wall had a maximum range of 2.5 meters and a core temperature of only 793°C.
The increased range was one thing, but raising flame temperature was far from easy for a fire-type Contract Beast.
"Continue. Test Flame Dance," Zhao You said firmly.
"Okay!" With the exact results in hand, Su Xiaoxiao turned to exchange a glance with Lin Yue, then signaled for Little Flame to continue the test.
A moment later, a spinning pillar of fire shot into the sky.
"Flame Dance: startup time, 0.4 seconds; height, 3.2 meters; core temperature, 1,039°C." Zhao You glanced at the records, his expression growing even stranger.
The improvements in the other measurements were relatively normal, but a month ago, this Blazing Fox's Flame Dance had taken a full 0.8 seconds to activate.
Flame Dance was a powerful offensive skill, but its startup time was a significant drawback. In a rapidly changing battle, it had a considerable impact on the skill's practical use.
Halving the startup time in a month? How did she do it?
Amid his surprise, Zhao You suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.
He had experienced this same bewilderment not long ago.
He raised his head and glanced at Lin Yue, who stood among the students with an innocent expression.
If I remember correctly, Lin Yue and Su Xiaoxiao are good friends, aren't they?
He took another look at Su Xiaoxiao's Blazing Fox.
Its long fur, as radiant as sunset clouds, had made the Blazing Fox more than a little prettier. This was clearly another sign of recent grooming.
For a moment, Lin Yue's offhand remark surfaced in Zhao You's mind.
Could it really have something to do with that grooming?!
That's just ridiculous, isn't it?
Zhao You quickly dismissed the unbelievable guess.
He trusted his professional expertise. Some other factor must have greatly improved these two Contract Beasts' training efficiency.
Although he was curious, he knew where to draw the line. Everyone had their own secrets.
"All right, next student, come up for your test!" Zhao You waved Su Xiaoxiao back to the group, quickly finished recording her results, and had the next student begin.
Back in the group, Su Xiaoxiao and Lin Yue linked arms, looking quite excited.
If Lin Yue's Azure Wind Eagle's rapid progress alone had not been enough to establish the cause, the equally dramatic improvement in Su Xiaoxiao's Blazing Fox was enough to prove it had something to do with the grooming.
The two whispered together and soon agreed to visit the Starfire Foster Shop again after school to thank the owner in person.
Meanwhile, Duan Anxun watched the two whispering girls, becoming increasingly interested in that mysterious foster shop.
A shop with exceptional grooming results that might even help with training...
There's no way I'm passing up a place like that!
"Training complete!"
Inside the Long River Pet Beast Training Center, Xu Ran pressed the stop button, bringing three hours of nonstop training to an end.
"Meow~" (Why did we stop?)
Purple Cloud's flickering figure instantly came to a halt, then sprang lightly into Xu Ran's arms and looked at him with a hint of displeasure.
For some reason, throughout the past three hours, Purple Cloud had felt as though there was no end to the strength available. No matter how many skills were used, exhaustion never came.
Being able to use skills without restraint felt wonderful. Purple Cloud felt ready to keep training until the end of time!
"Remember what you drank before training?" Seeing what Purple Cloud was thinking, Xu Ran gently patted the cat's head. "That's the only reason you could train without getting exhausted."
"This potion only lasts three hours. If you keep training as intensely as you were just now, you'll wear yourself out before long."
Understanding dawned on Purple Cloud's face, finally explaining that endless supply of strength. Then the cat lifted that small head, rubbed against Xu Ran's cheek, and looked at him expectantly.
"Meow?" (Do you have any more of that potion?)
"...Not for now." The corner of Xu Ran's mouth twitched.
Although he still had one bottle, the potion could currently only be obtained through the prize draw, which made its availability uncertain.
To be safe, he would keep one bottle in reserve.
"Meow~" (All right.)
Purple Cloud was a little disappointed, but quickly perked up when Xu Ran pulled out a handful of purple candy beans.
"Time to head back." As Xu Ran fed Purple Cloud, he opened the Contract Beast panel.
[Contract Beast: Purple Cloud Species name: Lightning-Chasing Cat Attribute: lightning Growth rank: Transcendent Rank (147/500) Species rank: Commander Species Skills: [★★Electric Spark (Stardust Level)] (21/100) [★★Electric Arc (Stardust Level)] (25/100) [★Bite (Stardust Level)] (1/100) [★Claw Edge (Stardust Level)] (1/100) [★Self-Healing (Stardust Level)] (13/100)]
The training results were better than expected.
Before you continue