Chapter 123: Where's the School?
The creature, Tongue Drip, was large in size and currently suspended in mid-air, unable to move in any direction except downward.
As long as the attack speed was fast enough, it was practically a sitting duck.
Unfortunately, given the distance between them, Yabao still wasn't fast enough to strike Tongue Drip before it landed.
The best strategy would be to aim for where it was about to land—precisely where the fireball had just hit.
Qiao Sang, analyzing the situation, was about to speak when, unexpectedly, Yabao seemed to sense her thoughts.
His mouth opened, launching a fireball the size of a basketball toward the exact spot Qiao Sang had imagined.
As Tongue Drip landed, its injured foot made contact with the still scorching ground, but it bit back a scream. In the next second, a flaming ball of energy came hurtling straight toward it.
"Drip!!!"
This was the advantage of attacking first—if done right, one could completely control the rhythm of the battle.
Everyone was stunned.
"Is it just me, or does it look like Qiao Sang is winning..." Wang Jihang blurted out in disbelief.
He was the last contestant in the one-on-one battle group.
"You're not wrong." Lu Liangye nodded seriously.
By now, he had completely given up any thoughts of comparison. If Qiao Sang were only slightly stronger than him, he might still be unwilling to accept it.
But with such a huge gap in strength, all he could feel was admiration and respect.
"Lick." Qin Wen said calmly.
Lick?
Qiao Sang blinked, and instantly thought of Little Treasure. She remembered that Little Treasure also had a skill where it would lick an opponent, potentially causing paralysis. But for that, you'd have to get up close.
Logically, water-type beasts were better suited for long-range attacks. On land, their movement was limited and much slower than in water.
Had Tongue Drip learned some secret technique to close the gap?
"Yabao." Qiao Sang called out without further explanation.
"Yap!"
Yabao responded with a sharp alertness in his eyes.
Tongue Drip stood still and extended its long tongue... and then started licking its own wound...
Qiao Sang: ...
Yabao: ...
If not now, when would be the right time to attack?
Just as Qiao Sang was thinking this, a blue light began to emanate from Yabao's body. Tongue Drip suddenly froze in place, unable to move.
Qin Wen stood there, stunned. Is this... psychic power? How could it be psychic power?! Isn't it a fire-type beast?
Qiao Sang's mind raced. With Tongue Drip's strength, it would likely break free from the control soon, and Yabao's psychic ability wasn't strong enough to deal significant damage.
She had to take advantage of this brief moment of control to land a high-damage attack.
"Meteor Rain!"
Ya-Bao lifted his head, gathering energy within his body.
However, just as the energy began to coalesce, the blue light around it faded, and Tongue Drip was free again.
Qiao Sang froze for a moment. This isn't going as I expected!
What she had planned was for the fire whirl to fall while Tongue Drip was still under control, leaving it with no way to dodge.
After all, with Yabao's current energy level, the Meteor Rain wasn't enough to cover the entire battlefield, and without control, Tongue Drip could likely avoid it.
But now the psychic control was gone.
Could it be that Yabao can't use two abilities at once? She wondered. No, that's not right. When he uses Fire Fang, he can also charge at the same time.
Is it a difference in attributes, or does this require additional training?
As Qiao Sang pondered, Qin Wen's heart pounded wildly. She hurriedly called off the match.
"That's enough! The battle is over!"
If she hadn't heard wrong just now, Qiao Sang had called out Meteor Rain, hadn't she? The Meteor Rain?
Qin Wen tried to steady her emotions.
This was just meant to be a test of combat ability. Whether or not that Meteor Rain was real, it didn't matter anymore...
Upon hearing her words, Yabao paused, and the energy ball he had been forming dissipated.
"Yap?"
Not fighting anymore?
"Qiao Sang, you did very well. There's still more training to be done, so don't waste your beast's energy and strength." Qin Wen said, wiping the sweat from her brow as she stepped forward.
Everyone else was still in shock over the fact that Qiao Sang's fire-type beast could release psychic-type abilities. But hearing Qin Wen's words brought them back to reality.
Don't waste your beast's energy and strength?
Who had drained all of their beasts' energy yesterday?
6:00 PM.
Qiao Sang returned to the dormitory and took a shower.
Lying on her bed, she pulled out her phone to buy a leash that could fit Yabao's current size so she could string the Fire Bead.
She also checked out a few houses for rent near Shengshui Highschool.
Her requirements weren't too high.
Other than proximity to the school, the house needed to be fully furnished, have a pool, and no close neighbors—otherwise, the noise from her beast's constant training might lead to frequent complaints.
Unfortunately, with just these four conditions, she could only find two available rentals.
After confirming viewing times with both, Qiao Sang closed her phone.
She looked up at the ceiling where Yabao and Little Treasure were playing.
Despite a full day of training, Yabao hadn't even reached his limits. He had finished ten laps while the other beasts had only managed two.
The gravity room had been set to 10kg for fairness, but Yabao had mastered that level of gravity long ago.
Qiao Sang felt a bit helpless. One day of training here didn't feel as productive as the time spent back home.
After watching her two beasts for a while, a thought suddenly struck her, and her eyes lit up
6:56 PM.
On the school field.
A blue-glowing figure ran laps around the track. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the figure was hovering about five centimeters above the ground.
"Yabao, slow down a bit. We're aiming for endurance, not speed. The longer you run, the better the training effect." Qiao Sang said lazily as she lay on Yabao's back, hands behind her head, staring at the sky.
"Yap!"
Yabao responded cheerfully and slowed down his pace.
Qiao Sang, resting on his soft fur and feeling the evening breeze, marveled at her own cleverness.
If I can't train fire-type abilities at school, I'll just work on psychic ones instead.
Using psychic power to carry her while running not only trained Yabao's psychic abilities but also enhanced his stamina—and she got to enjoy the night sky. A win-win-win situation!
"Xun~"
Little Treasure lay on Qiao Sang's stomach in the same relaxed position, staring up at the night sky.
He gazed at the twinkling stars, lost in thought.
After a while, Little Treasure reached out with a paw and poked Qiao Sang's belly.
"Xun~"
"Xun-Xun~"
"Sorry, that's something I can't do." Qiao Sang laughed.
Wanting the stars? How cute...
"Xun~"
Little Treasure withdrew his paw and let out a disappointed sound.
Hearing their conversation, Yabao looked up at the sky. He could fly now. How hard could it be to grab a star for his little buddy?
Piece of cake!
Qiao Sang gazed at the stars, feeling both peaceful and content.
It had been a while since she'd felt this calm.
The evening breeze was so gentle... well, maybe not so gentle...
She tightened her grip on Little Treasure and turned her head, instantly dumbfounded.
Where was the school?
Where was the field?!
Where was the ground?!