Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Brick-Breaking By Hand might sound literal, but it isn’t quite what the name suggests.

Originally, tile breaking was a physical move exclusive to fighting-type pet beasts.

However, in the second Instellat Cup, a powerhouse named Iril used a bug-type pet beast, Masked Dark Spider, to shatter the opponent’s Aurora Shield, a move performed by a psychic-type pet beast, and won the match, catapulting him to fame.

The key move that broke the Aurora Shield was tile breaking.

Tile breaking can destroy wall-type skills like Light Screen and Reflect Wall, so it wasn’t exactly surprising that it shattered the Aurora Shield.

What was surprising was that a bug-type pet beast was the one to execute it.

It’s well-known that choosing the right type is crucial in battles, and bug-type pet beasts have always been considered the weakest type by beastmasters.

Even if there are a few rare, powerful bug-types, it doesn’t change the perception that bug-types are the weakest.

After all, exceptions don’t represent the whole group.

Yet, the Masked Dark Spider, a non-rare bug-type without any fighting attribute, managed to execute tile breaking and defeat a psychic-type pet beast.

This shocked everyone watching the Instellat Cup back then.

In a post-game interview, Iril stated that any pet beast, even without the fighting type, could perform fighting moves as long as they put in the effort.

This statement sparked a trend in fighting moves, with a portion of trainers successfully teaching their pet beasts fighting skills.

Even those who didn’t teach their pet beasts fighting moves started posting online about how much stronger their pets’ resilience had become.

Since then, Brick-Breaking By hand officially entered the public eye and became a common sport in schools.

That said, a ghost-type pet beast participating in brick breaking by hand was a first in Shengshui High School’s history.

By the end of the school day, the news had spread throughout the entire school.

Everyone knew that Qiao Sang from Class 1 (Grade 10) would be using her Treasure-Seeking Ghost in the brick-breaking by hand event at the sports meet.

"Did you hear? That amazing new student from the opening ceremony is joining the sports meet."

"Yeah, I heard she's competing in tile breaking, using her Treasure-Seeking Ghost."

As the news spread further:

"Did you hear? Qiao Sang’s Treasure Ghost can use a fighting move."

"No way! That’s insane!"

Finally, the rumors evolved to:

"Did you hear? Qiao Sang from Class 1, the one who crushed everyone at the opening ceremony, her Treasure-Seeking Ghost can perform tile breaking with a pretty high proficiency level."

"What? Qiao Sang's Treasure-Seeking Ghost is going to crush all of our school’s fighting-type pet beasts using tile breaking?!"

At Tianjing Courtyard, Room 1075.

Qiao Sang and her Little Treasure exchanged glances.

"You wanted to participate in brick-breaking by hand because you saw this video?" Qiao Sang gritted her teeth.

"Xun!"

Little Treasure pushed the phone forward, pointing to the screen where a championship-winning pet beast was being awarded a golden glove.

It looked so cool! He wanted one too!

Qiao Sang took a deep breath, calming herself, and revealed the harsh truth, "The prize at our school’s sports meet isn’t that."

"Xun…"

Little Treasure froze on the spot, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.

"Yap."

Yabao chimed in from the side, suggesting he accept the bad news.

Qiao Sang picked up her phone and browsed the watch history.

[Today’s Reveals: Just How Luxurious Are the Prizes for County Brick-Breaking By Hand?]

[Magnetic Rat Vending Machine]

[Top Ten Bug Plots in ‘Water City Guardian’, An Insult to Our Intelligence]

[Controversy Surrounding the Year’s Most Popular Young Beastmaster]

[High-Energy Edits Ahead, The Power of Pet Beasts!]

"When did you even watch all these on my phone?" Qiao Sang couldn’t help but ask, staring at the history list.

"Xun…"

Little Treasure answered sadly, still not fully recovered from the earlier blow.

"You didn’t stay up watching videos every night, did you?" Qiao Sang continued to scroll, not finding any of her own videos.

"Xun."

Little Treasure shook his head.

He also played with the virtual helmet.

"At least you remember to charge the phone afterward; it’s been so long, and I didn’t notice a thing."

Qiao Sang put down her phone and said, "Anyway, since we signed up, we have to train properly. We don’t need first place, but let’s at least not come last."

"Xun…"

Little Treasure responded listlessly.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang said generously, "Come on, it’s just a golden glove. If you win, I’ll buy one for you."

"Xun!"

Little Treasure’s eyes brightened as he floated over to nuzzle against Qiao Sang's face in excitement.

Qiao Sang chuckled.

Sure, the real golden glove was pricey, but a replica wouldn’t break the bank!

Ghost-type pet beasts don’t have physical forms, but they can condense bodies with energy.

In the courtyard.

Qiao Sang instructed, "To practice tile breaking, you need to press your hands together and straighten them, focus your energy and power into your hands, and raise them high to maximize strength."

"Xun!"

Little Treasure nodded seriously, listening intently.

Qiao Sang continued, "When you strike, release your power in one explosive burst, chopping downward quickly. Your waist, palm, and arm strength must work together."

"Xum…"

Little Treasure looked down at himself.

Did he even have a waist?

Following his gaze downward, Qiao Sang’s lips twitched, and she added, "I was just repeating what I saw online, this method’s for fighting-type pets. For us, it’s mostly the same; just focus all your power into your hand."

"Xun!"

Little Treasure nodded, signaling that he understood.

Fixing his determined gaze on an egg-sized rock nearby, he instantly teleported, raising his hand in a chopping motion.

"Xun!!"

The next second, Little Treasure raised his now-red paw, teary-eyed.

The rock remained untouched.

Qiao Sang: ...

Feeling a headache coming on, Qiao Sang admitted to herself that she didn’t expect Little Treasure to actually learn tile breaking.

Ghost-types weren’t suited for physical attacks, but since they were signed up, some training was necessary.

They couldn’t very well go out there and fail to break even a single tile, that would be embarrassing.

Besides, Qiao Sang had her reasons for entering Little Treasure in tile breaking.

While the main reason was that Little Treasure wanted to participate, practicing tile breaking would be beneficial for him, too.

Since he wanted to train, his focus would naturally be different.

Even if it couldn’t master tile breaking, practicing it would enhance its courage, resistance to blows, and explosive power.

That was why beastmaster colleges included it as a sport.

"You can’t start with rocks. I’ll order a box of tiles for you to practice with." Qiao Sang said.

Rocks were much harder to break than tiles, and starting with rocks would hurt Little Treasure’s confidence and enthusiasm.

"Xun…"

Little Treasure nodded tearfully.

With 25 days left until the sports meet, Qiao Sang wasn’t in a rush to have Little Treasure start tile-breaking practice immediately.

For now, his main focus was on honing his Hypnosis skill to the ultimate level, preparing him for evolution.

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