Beast Tamer: I'm invincible because I can see the evolution path!

Chapter 63 Zhou Xinran: Freeloading off me? Talent Skill: Beast Ear Girl!

Countless fiery gazes fell upon Qiao Bai, and the pets of the fourth-tier high level and the fifth-tier low level stared intently at the pitiful man and bird who seemed to have wandered into a wild animal area, all with similar excited smiles on their faces.

Hehehe~

It's been a long time since any new members joined the sixth floor!

Even if the map changes every day, I'm getting tired of this game.

We finally got a new person today.

Although I don't know why I look like a complete beginner, it doesn't matter!

They're good enough!

"Come in, come in! Junior, come on in! Your seniors will definitely give you and your little bird a good welcome!"

The two senior students closest to Qiao Bai hooked their arms around Qiao Bai's shoulders and dragged him into the sixth-floor room.

The door behind me slammed shut with a bang!

Qiao Bai: I want to escape so badly, but I can't.

……

Qiao Bai, known as the "Newbie Battlefield Demon King," and Xiao Wu, who had dominated the Eleventh Middle School and the training ground, never imagined that they would become noobs in other people's eyes so quickly.

But if you ask Qiao Bai... this was truly not a fault of war!

It has absolutely nothing to do with him!

"...I'm really just an ordinary teaching assistant, please let me off the hook, seniors." Qiao Bai said expressionlessly, with his hands clasped in front of his chest and his eyes vacant.

That's enough.

He had already understood the meaning of what Zhou Xinran said before she left.

When Qiao Bai was forced to join this jungle survival game of beast tamers and pets, Qiao Bai and Xiao Wu were destined to be at the bottom of the food chain.

Every senior student who encountered Qiao Bai would playfully tease Qiao Bai and Xiao Wu.

Including but not limited to pointing out Qiao Bai's incorrect hiding method, and using only one skill in combination with the special jungle terrain to beat up Xiao Wu... the senior who was willing to let her pet kill Xiao Wu in one move is already a great person!

After the game ended, everyone sat on the sofa drinking beverages and eating snacks, while chatting with the new junior student.

"Little junior, you don't know this, do you? If you're not a student, the teacher won't give you a classroom key card. Your lie won't work on us." The senior who had just had her three-headed dragon kill Xiao Wu in an instant explained to Qiao Bai with a smile.

The senior student who pointed out Qiao Bai's mistake in hiding smiled and said, "Junior, you don't need to underestimate yourself. Actually, you're quite capable. Your pet beast seems to be only around level three, right? Anyway, it shouldn't be higher than level four."

"We haven't forgotten how your pet beast completely dominated Fatty Liu's Earth Demon Dragon!"

Weighing 200 pounds and standing 1.7 meters tall, the chubby Liu Yiming jumped to his feet and shouted, "I was holding back! Holding back, don't you understand?!"

Everyone, including Qiao Bai, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

However, Qiao Bai still stepped forward and said, "That's because Xiao Wu has an attribute advantage over the Earth Demon Dragon."

First of all.

The fact that the name "Earth Demon Dragon" contains the character for "dragon" does not mean that it is a dragon-type creature.

If I absolutely have to say something...

Qiao Bai thought this thing should be named "Earth Demon Earthworm".

He's gotten quite big.

But Little Wu can eat three earthworms in one go!

Xiao Wu clearly thought so too.

Among all the pets present, Xiao Wu was the only one who could defeat the Earth Demon Dragon. It stood on Qiao Bai's shoulder, glancing at the Earth Demon Dragon from time to time.

Take one more look.

Feeling provoked, Liu Yiming thought to himself, "..."

hateful!

Because his Earth Demon Dragon was the only pet that was defeated by the new junior, he didn't speak with as much confidence.

At this moment, others chimed in, "By the way, according to the rules of our sixth floor, Liu Yiming, you need to help your junior with a problem!"

Qiao Bai: "?"

Liu Yiming jumped up again, shouting, "That's a reward only for the last winner!"

Everyone looked at him with disdain.

"What level are you at, junior? You can only blame yourself for being so weak. Who told you to underestimate him from the start? Now you've suffered a huge setback." The three-headed dragon senior sneered, looking at Liu Yiming with disdain: "In a challenge against someone of a higher level, the weaker party defeating the stronger party should naturally receive the preferential treatment they deserve."

"If you lose, show the composure of a senior, a mentor. If you're a man, stop whining!"

Liu Yiming: ...What else can I say? Just ask him what else he can say!

The three-headed dragon senior sister turned to Qiao Bai with a sweet smile: "Junior, is there any resource you need? As long as it's not particularly precious, just consider it a lesson for this fat guy."

Qiao Bai did not refuse.

Seeing that no one else objected, Qiao Bai knew that this was not a special case for him, but a rule that had been in place for a long time.

As a newcomer who had just joined, he naturally wouldn't be so stubborn as to break the rules.

Qiao Bai pondered for a moment, while Liu Yiming stared at him nervously.

"Um... I have a question. Have you ever seen a pet beast that has cultivated its own essence fire?" Qiao Bai asked.

He has no shortage of resources now, and if he needs them, he can openly and legitimately take advantage of Huangzhou through cooperation with Huangzhou.

Qiao Bai didn't make any unreasonable demands; he just wanted to gather some detailed and useful information as quickly as possible.

Liu Yiming relaxed his tense body and glanced knowingly at the little black bird on Qiao Bai's shoulder. If he remembered correctly, the pet beast that had just defeated the Earth Demon Dragon had used a fire attribute skill.

Although Liu Yiming really couldn't understand why a supernatural creature with flying and special attributes would want to learn fire attribute skills, and then lose so inexplicably because of the nature of birds and the suppression of the earth dragon by fire attribute...

"You want your Hua-bird to cultivate its own essence fire?"

Qiao Bai nodded.

Liu Yiming still felt that Qiao Bai's idea was a bit outrageous, but he didn't say anything. Everyone has different ways of raising pets.

"If I had to say... among the beast tamers I know, I've only seen two whose pets cultivated essence fire. If you want to replicate their methods... it's probably going to be difficult," Liu Yiming told Qiao Bai.

Because Qiao Bai's request was not excessive, Liu Yiming explained it in great detail.

"First of all, these two people are already at the peak of the first tier and are about to become second-tier beast tamers. The two pets that have cultivated the essence of fire are also high-level fifth-tier fire-attribute pets. Their mastery and application of skills can be described as superb."

"I don't know how one of the beast tamers did it, but I have some connection with another beast tamer of the Blazing Horse and we've even had a few private conversations."

"I heard him say that in order to help the Blazing Horse cultivate its own fire essence, he lived and ate with the Blazing Horse at the crater for nearly two months, allowing the Blazing Horse to better experience the fire energy of nature."

Qiao Bai heard an interesting word.

"Fire in Nature"

Qiao Bai repeated the word and then asked, "Was that how he described it back then?"

Liu Yiming seemed surprised that Qiao Bai was so perceptive, and nodded: "Yes, those are his exact words."

Perhaps it was Qiao Bai's quick understanding and lack of excessive questioning that lessened Liu Yiming's embarrassment after losing, making him more talkative.

"I asked him the same question back then: what's the difference between fire in nature and the fire-attribute energy from fire-attribute minerals?"

Others around them also became curious.

"That's interesting. We don't think we've ever really explored this issue before."

"What's the difference between one having energy and one not?"

"It's like the difference between an ordinary river and a lake rich in crystals; if you think about it carefully, you'll definitely see the difference."

Liu Yiming raised an eyebrow: "That's the gist of it."

"He described it to me in such a fantastical and mysterious way that I don't remember any of those words. I wouldn't have remembered them if you hadn't asked me."

"But if I had to say," Liu Yiming paused, then shrugged, "the difference shouldn't be that significant. The key lies in the talent, strength, and battle experience of the beast tamer and the beast."

"Thank you, senior." Qiao Bai smiled and thanked Liu Yiming.

Qiao Bai thanked the three-headed dragon senior, as well as several other seniors who had "beaten" him and Xiao Wu.

Regardless of whether the other person was just looking for fun, he did get something out of it. He can't offer anything else, and a word of thanks is just a matter of words; he won't lose anything.

"Hehehe~ Junior, if you really want to thank us, how about playing another round with us?" The three-headed dragon senior sister revealed a malicious smile.

Liu Yiming, who had just looked listless, suddenly perked up.

Her sparkling eyes seemed to say: It's time for revenge!

This is even more true for others.

Okay, okay.

They're almost tired of playing with these familiar faces, but the new junior is new and exciting, so they can play with him a little longer.

The three-headed dragon senior, seemingly concerned for Qiao Bai, said, "Shall we switch to a volcano map this time? Let your little bird get a feel for the volcanic environment beforehand?"

Qiao Bai: Goodbye, farewell, I'm leaving now!

Refuse the triple like.jpg

Xiao Wu even went straight back into Qiao Bai's spiritual sea beast-taming space. Everyone thought that Qiao Bai had taken it back, using this method to reject them. Everyone sighed. The fun junior and his violent little black bird left, and these old folks could only continue their love-hate relationship out of boredom.

……

In the following days.

Qiao Bai went to the classroom to teach, to the first floor of the Bird's Nest for a match, and to the third floor for training, all in an orderly manner.

Qiao Bai never went up to the sixth floor again.

...The question is that it left a deep psychological scar on both him and Xiao Wu.

After Zhou Xinran returned, Qiao Bai immediately returned the teacher's access card to her.

Zhou Xinran laughed when she saw Qiao Bai's expression: "You've been to the sixth floor? Was it fun?"

"If you still want to go, I can lend you my card for another half month."

Qiao Bai quickly refused, saying seriously, "I think what I need right now is down-to-earth training. The sixth floor... is not suitable for me."

"Pfft—" Zhou Xinran couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing this: "Didn't I warn you?"

Qiao Bai: Hey! Who says otherwise!

But sometimes... when you get curious, you just can't help it.

With so many legends surrounding the sixth floor, Qiao Bai naturally wanted to find out.

Qiao Bai remained calm and composed in the face of Zhou Xinran's laughter, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

He admits that he is too weak now, but neither he nor Xiao Wu will stay at this level forever. They will become stronger sooner or later, to the point that even the sixth floor cannot pose a threat to them.

After laughing enough, Zhou Xinran took back the access card, and as if afraid that Qiao Bai would be upset, she kindly offered an explanation.

"It's normal for you to think they're strong. Those who can reach the sixth floor are all the star students of the teachers specializing in pet combat. The weakest among them are all first-tier beast tamers, and there's even a girl who's about to break through to the second-tier beast tamer threshold."

"The environment on the sixth floor is actually designed to help them better understand each other's strengths so that they can perform at their best in the team beast tamer competition held every three years."

Zhou Xinran looked at Qiao Bai again: "Your strength is not weak among your peers, and it is even at the top level. It would be good to go to the sixth floor and have a direct understanding of stronger beast tamers. This way, your mindset will not be too arrogant."

Qiao Bai: "..."

He wanted to say something.

After watching it, you'll find it much easier to stay grounded.

If it were someone else, they might have been severely impacted!

The strength displayed by the senior students on the sixth floor was enough to make a prospective beast tamer with a weak mentality tremble with fear.

However, it's different when it's Qiao Bai.

fear?

self-abasement?

No, no!

These things simply don't exist!

Neither Qiao Bai nor Xiao Wu would have such feelings.

After Xiao Wu evolves into the Three-Legged Golden Crow, its potential and strength will reach a new level.

Xiao Wu had complete confidence in Qiao Bai.

Little Crow: My Beastmaster is the strongest! No exceptions! None!

Qiao Bai briefly briefed Zhou Xinran on the classes she was absent from this week. Zhou Xinran glanced at the attendance list in her hand and casually put it aside.

The decreasing number of students attending classes was something she had anticipated.

Zhou Xinran was even more inclined to hold a prejudice against this.

However... this doesn't mean Zhou Xinran is easy to talk to; she's prepared for more than half the students to fail this course this year.

Just as Zhou Xinran was thinking of some strange and bizarre ways to deduct points...

She suddenly heard Qiao Bai ask.

"Professor Zhou, I would like to request a month's leave. I have already prepared the PPT and lesson plans for you. Could you please grant me leave?" Qiao Bai blinked and said to Zhou Xinran with a gentle smile.

Zhou Xinran didn't even glance at Qiao Bai's leave request.

"Give me a reason why you must agree, otherwise I'll consider you to be taking advantage of all the conveniences and benefits I provide for free."

Zhou Xinran took a deep breath as she spoke, which startled Qiao Bai so much that he almost jumped up on the spot!

Fortunately, Zhou Xinran added the second half of the sentence in time, and Qiao Bai gave Zhou Xinran a reproachful look.

He was absolutely certain that Zhou Xinran's panting manner was deliberately meant to scare him.

Qiao Bai gave Zhou Xinran a accusing look, but Zhou Xinran didn't feel guilty at all.

Guilty?

Why feel guilty?

The one who should feel guilty is Qiao Bai.

"I want to find a natural volcanic environment to train Xiao Wu there for a while. The round trip time plus my stay time, a month's leave is really not a long time."

"Looking for natural volcanoes?" Zhou Xinran said, glancing at Xiao Wu. "You want the Hua Bird to cultivate its own essence fire?"

Qiao Bai was somewhat surprised, but not entirely.

It's normal for Zhou Xinran, as a professor, to know more than him.

Qiao Bai nodded.

For the first time, Zhou Xinran took a serious look at the little black dumpling standing on Qiao Bai's shoulder.

Its entire body is covered in black feathers.

Several clumps of burned feathers hadn't had time to grow back, making Xiao Wu's overall appearance look somewhat messy.

What Zhou Xinran found most amazing was why Xiao Wu's feathers were black and its eyes were black, but the two shades of black gave people different feelings.

"...You need to know one thing: extraordinary creatures that can cultivate skills such as refined fire, refined water, and divine thunder need to have the conditions for cultivation. In other words, they must possess the attributes corresponding to the skills they cultivate."

A water-attribute supernatural being might be able to learn one or two fire-attribute skills due to its special characteristics, but a water-attribute supernatural being would absolutely never be able to cultivate a refined fire.

Because its body is not naturally endowed with such conditions.

The same reason.

As a flying creature with special attributes, Xiao Wu can learn more than one fire attribute skill, but he cannot cultivate the essence fire because his body does not meet the requirements for cultivating the essence fire.

"No exceptions?"

"No." Zhou Xinran shook her head very firmly.

Qiao Bai, however, would not abandon his plans because of a few words from Zhou Xinran.

Compared to Zhou Xinran, Qiao Bai had more faith in the data displayed by his talent skills.

Since the evolution path provided by the talent skill states that as long as Xiao Wu cultivates "essence fire", Xiao Wu can evolve into a three-legged golden crow.

That little crow must be able to cultivate the essence fire.

Qiao Bai thought for a moment, and out of trust in Zhou Xinran, he revealed a little bit of the information: "If... I mean, if."

Qiao Bai reached out and lifted Xiao Wu off his shoulder. Xiao Wu looked up at Qiao Bai in an awkward posture, and then accidentally fell on its bottom into Qiao Bai's palm.

"If Little U's evolved attributes include fire, is it possible that Little U could actually learn the Fire Essence skill?"

Zhou Xinran silently typed a question mark.

"no?!"

Zhou Xinran, who had been casually flipping through the roster, suddenly stopped, looked up, and her eyes behind her glasses were fixed on Qiao Bai.

"Your pet is a Hua bird, right?"

Zhou Xinran responded to the question with a tone of certainty.

"Based on the currently discovered evolutionary routes of the Hua Bird, none of them grant the fire attribute upon successful evolution, so you are...?" Another new evolutionary route has been discovered?

Zhou Xinran didn't say the second half of the sentence.

That's just...outrageous.

How long has it been?

How long has it been since Qiao Bai first encountered the topic of pet evolution?

Has Qiao Bai already discovered several new evolutionary paths?

The evolution of the honey bug into the fairy butterfly was a coincidence.

The little fox evolved into the Fox Queen in order to study the affinity system.

What new attribute does the Hua Bird gain after evolving?

To know.

The attributes of extraordinary beings are fixed. Based on the skills that extraordinary beings are born with, most extraordinary beings have a single attribute, some have two attributes, and no extraordinary beings with three attributes have been discovered so far.

The beast tamers unanimously agreed that extraordinary creatures with three attributes do not exist.

But listen to this.

Listen to what Qiao Bai is saying—

The Hua Niao Xiao Wu, which is already a dual-attribute bird, has a chance to gain a fire attribute after evolving.

This is going to overturn the understanding that beast tamers have held since ancient times!

Zhou Xinran was shocked and wanted to calm down.

"Yes, I have an idea for a new evolutionary path for Xiao Wu, and I'm currently experimenting with it with Xiao Wu," Qiao Bai said with a smile, finishing what Zhou Xinran hadn't finished saying.

Zhou Xinran's chest heaved with waves of emotion, but thankfully, Qiao Bai's words didn't give her a heart attack.

"Are you going to use the excuse of how you found out again?" Zhou Xinran glared at Qiao Bai with annoyance.

She finally figured it out.

Qiao Bai always manages to come up with a plausible excuse.

She wanted to hear what excuse Qiao Bai could come up with this time.

Is this another test of favorability?

"Um..." Qiao Bai hesitated for two seconds, then gave a kind smile. "I have indeed made a new discovery... for example, our teamwork?"

Zhou Xinran's eye-rolling ability exploded!

"Keep making things up! You'd better keep making things up!"

After getting angry, Zhou Xinran finally calmed down.

Based on Qiao Bai's past performance as reliable... well, he should be reliable. Zhou Xinran knew that Qiao Bai wouldn't speak carelessly about things he wasn't sure about. So, Zhou Xinran really couldn't refuse to approve Qiao Bai's leave.

"But a month is too long. I'll give you half a month. Even if Xiao Wu might have fire attributes after evolving, given Xiao Wu's current condition, if you want to cultivate the essence fire... unless you live directly in the volcano, there's no difference between a month and half a month."

Before Qiao Bai could protest, Zhou Xinran reached out and pressed down in the air, signaling Qiao Bai to listen to her first: "I'll give you half a month to experience it firsthand before deciding whether you want to continue asking me for leave, okay?"

Qiao Bai hesitated for two seconds before agreeing to Zhou Xinran's suggestion.

It's highly unlikely that he'll stay in the crater until the end of the college entrance exam; there's still more than half a year to go!

Xiao Wu and he couldn't stand it!

A two-week trial period is acceptable.

"However, I need to allow some time for my journey..."

"There's a dormant volcano that won't erupt right outside Qingniao University," Zhou Xinran interrupted Qiao Bai again.

Qiao Bai: "?"

Qiao Bai's pupils dilated.

Seriously, officer?

You're just a university, why do you even have this kind of thing?

Seeing Qiao Bai's confusion, Zhou Xinran chuckled: "How do you think Qingniao University has such a status? Just because of the equipment used in the battlefield? That's far from enough."

Top universities all need to be associated with beast tamers.

The more outstanding beast tamers a school admits, the stronger its overall ability assessment will be.

How can we attract more beast tamers to enroll?

Universities have come up with all sorts of ways to attract students.

Qingniao University, located in Jinyang City bordering New York City, came up with a unique solution to this problem—

A portion of the forbidden area was incorporated into the campus of Bluebird University.

Yes.

Qiao Bai had even more questions on his head.

real or fake?

Can forbidden areas still be designated as universities?

"There are prerequisites," Zhou Xinran explained to Qiao Bai simply.

Forbidden Lands are dangerous, but they are also rich in resources. Each Forbidden Land, while dangerous and bloody, is also a huge natural resource repository.

At the same time, it can revitalize several surrounding cities, which is generally impossible to separate out.

But no matter what the matter is, there will always be one or two exceptions.

The location of Qingniao University is right in the part of Jinyang City that is close to New York City. When the campus was being built, there were suggestions to change the location.

Some areas within the zone are too close to forbidden territory.

Although the forbidden area at the border is a huge buffer zone with little resources and energy, and extraordinary creatures rarely go there due to the scarcity of resources, danger still exists.

Some supernatural creatures that are too weak and unable to survive in a brutal environment will secretly move towards this buffer zone.

Upon learning this news, the school leaders at the time had a brilliant idea immediately come to mind—what if this buffer zone were included within the campus area?

Although it lacks resources, it boasts complex and varied terrain, including extinct volcanoes, lakes, and rock formations, making it ideal for placing students for realistic wilderness training.

Lucky students might even encounter a few extraordinary creatures that are considered weak in the forbidden land, just right for them, and they can easily subdue and form contracts with them!

The school can also be responsible for guarding this area. If there are any changes, they can contact the Beastmasters guarding the forbidden land immediately. At other times, they do not need to waste the energy of the country and the alliance.

In conclusion, after a long process of repeated applications and reasoned arguments, with the support of the city government, Qingniao University finally succeeded in acquiring the area.

"That's roughly how it is. Students from Bluebird University can freely enter and exit this area, and can contract with one extraordinary creature from here every year."

"If you're looking for ice fields, oceans, or places with extremely dark auroras, I might not be able to help. But there happens to be one in a volcano crater," Zhou Xinran said with a smile. "Actually, every year some students try to spend a few days there, but very few actually manage to cultivate their refined fire..."

Zhou Xinran shook her head.

Only a handful.

"Then half a month it will be." Qiao Bai once again gave a thumbs up to Qingniao University for being so awesome.

That's really amazing.

No wonder Qingniao University has become the top university in South China.

With such a great geographical location and a visionary school leadership team, it's no wonder other universities lost.

……

After the holiday was approved.

Qiao Bai immediately went to investigate the area.

Why didn't I see him on the map before?

After browsing the school's online forum, Qiao Bai understood.

This is because—ultimately, this area is still essentially a forbidden zone. This buffer zone occupies 5% of the 35% of the forbidden zone that has been explored in NY City.

It's not something you can just give up.

Even if it has no apparent energy or value, it is still part of the complete forbidden land!

However, students of Qingniao University have the right to freely enter and exit this 5% buffer zone, but unless there is a life-or-death crisis, they must not step into the unexplored area or the remaining 30% of the exploration area. If they are discovered, the school will issue a warning, and in serious cases, they will be expelled.

"Let me see... are there any requirements if I want to go..." Qiao Bai browsed through the forum briefly and quickly found the requirements.

Not difficult.

Only certified beast tamers are qualified to enter.

If you are in danger, crush the alarm on your body, and the Bluebird University security team will come to your rescue.

Qiao Bai: "..."

Everything was so reasonable.

There was absolutely no intention to target him, right?

Qiao Bai, who was still just a prospective beast tamer, took out his phone. He didn't mean anything by it; he just wanted to thank Professor Zhou.

Upon opening his contact list, Qiao Bai saw one of the contacts and his eyes suddenly lit up.

If he can't do it himself, why not just call someone else to help?

[Qiao Bai: Forbidden Zone Buffer Zone, accepting orders?]

A message came from the other side a minute later.

[Xu Xiaoyan: Check it out! Boss, are you going to contract a pet? Leave it to me! We can provide a service to beat up the extraordinary creature until it's half dead, then you can beat it a quarter of the way to death, and you can easily contract it! Our fees are also very reasonable, it only costs...]

[Qiao Bai: -_-||]

[Qiao Bai: No contract. I'm going to stay at the volcano for half a month. Unless I can't beat you and you come to my rescue, I don't need you to provide a substitute. How much?]

[Xu Xiaoyan: Huh? I haven't encountered this kind of request before. Well, we'll customize it according to the boss's requirements. Let me see... I'm new here, so I'll give you a discount: 15,000. A second-year student would charge you at least 30,000 to 50,000!]

Qiao Bai's typing hand stopped in mid-air.

Special offer?

Fifteen thousand?

Qiao Bai really wanted to ask Xu Xiaoyan if they were still hiring, because he wanted to go too.

Considering his current situation where he needs someone to accompany him even to the buffer zone of a forbidden area... let's wait until he enrolls in school next year!

Qiao Bai finally agreed.

[Xu Xiaoyan: Okay! Then I'll have the next two weeks to myself, boss. When would you like to leave?]

[Qiao Bai: Are you okay with class tomorrow?]

[Xu Xiaoyan: Okay, boss, don't worry, I promise I won't delay your business!]

Having agreed on a time, Qiao Bai touched his pockets, which were about to shrink again, and let out a long sigh.

"Shouldn't we be thankful that Professor Zhou helped me apply for a stipend from Chairman Huang?" Qiao Bai sighed.

Huang Zhou approved the payment readily, directly transferring 100,000 yuan to Qiao Bai through official channels, telling Qiao Bai to make do with it for now. Once the Fire Fox Queen's evolution path is fully determined and the concept of favorability is beyond doubt, there will be new subsidies later.

At the time, Qiao Bai thought that 100,000 yuan was a huge sum of money, and he didn't have any need to spend money, so it would definitely last a long time.

Unexpectedly... one-fifth of it was gone in an instant.

Qiao Bai sighed and stroked Xiao Wu's ahoge (cowlick): "Xiao Wu, oh Xiao Wu..." What a money-devouring beast!

Little Wu tilted its head and stared curiously at Qiao Bai with its black beady eyes: ?

Speak up!

Qiao Bai still didn't say it.

Hey!

Don't put any more pressure on Xiao Wu to support his family.

In the end, Qiao Bai bore the burden alone, because he was the Beast Tamer.

The little bird shook its feathers, looked away, and continued to eat.

Xiao Wu: ╭(╯^╰)╮

Beast tamers are really strange!

It doesn't speak, but it keeps calling out the bird's name!

Never mind, maybe the beast tamer just misses it?

The little bird flapped its wings somewhat shyly.

Oops~

Who can resist the charm of a bird when I'm so adorable?

……

Early the next morning.

Qiao Bai fed both Xiao Wu and himself until they were full before carrying Xiao Wu on his shoulder and going out.

He and Xu Xiaoyan had arranged to meet at the entrance to the buffer zone of the forbidden land. When Qiao Bai arrived, Xu Xiaoyan was already there.

Xu Xiaoyan was dressed in a strange outfit: a long-sleeved top, a short skirt, and Martin boots. Without any concern for her image, she squatted on the main road, eating steamed buns with gusto, her eyes darting around, trying to spot the passersby.

The moment she saw Qiao Bai, she stood up abruptly, hopping and waving in his direction, causing Qiao Bai to subconsciously hallucinate again the enthusiastic dog wagging its tail.

"Boss! Boss! Over here! Look at me!" Xu Xiaoyan had a steamed bun in her mouth, her voice was muffled but her voice was loud.

All the few eyes around him were focused on Qiao Bai.

Qiao Bai: "..."

A look in her eyes confirmed it: Xu Xiaoyan is a socially anxious person.

Social terrorists.

Qiao Bai stared at the strange looks and walked toward Xu Xiaoyan.

As expected of someone with social anxiety, Xu Xiaoyan didn't think there was anything worth paying attention to in the way people were looking at her.

She flashed a bright smile, revealing two small, pointed fangs, and said, "Boss, have you eaten yet? I even brought you some steamed buns! Pork and cabbage kind! Two yuan each, that's expensive!"

"I've already eaten." Qiao Bai sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Xu Xiaoyan casually stuffed the steamed buns back into her backpack: "It's okay, we'll eat them at noon!"

After saying this, Xu Xiaoyan finally finished the bag of steamed buns in her hand.

He casually wiped his mouth.

Xu Xiaoyan sprang into action: "Boss, shall we go in now?"

"Okay." Qiao Bai glanced at Xu Xiaoyan's outfit, "But are you sure it's alright to wear this?"

The weather in early December wasn't completely cold, but it wasn't hot either; a gust of wind could easily make you catch a cold.

"Don't worry, boss, I'm very reliable in this regard!" Xu Xiaoyan patted her chest loudly.

Qiao Bai could see the soft, undulating areas of her body with just a slight lowering of her head.

"As long as you know, that's fine. Let's go register now." Qiao Bai waved his hand, no longer looking at Xu Xiaoyan, and strode towards the entrance.

As part of the forbidden land.

Even if the buffer zone arbitrarily grants access rights to Qingniao University, this area is still walled off. What's special is that it has a separate gate that Qingniao University students can use to enter and exit.

The registration process is still different from the complicated one at the main city gate.

Qiao Bai and Xu Xiaoyan only need to swipe their teaching assistant cards and student cards, show their contracted pets, and prove that they have the ability to protect themselves to enter.

Qiao Bai only made a contract with Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's displayed strength was only at the advanced level of the third tier.

No additional pets were released.

The teacher in charge of grades at the entrance gave Qiao Bai a surprised look, then glanced at him again.

"Given your situation..." The teacher looked at the teaching assistant card that Qiao Bai had swiped, and confirmed that the person registered on the card looked exactly like Qiao Bai. The card was also newly issued this year. Only then did the teacher reluctantly withdraw his suspicion that Qiao Bai had forged the card.

"Alright... your situation is quite unique; I've never seen anything like it in all these years," the teacher muttered, his gaze shifting to Xu Xiaoyan. "Let your pet beast out."

"Okay!" Xu Xiaoyan responded loudly, "Ha!"

next second.

Two large, fluffy, drooping, white and purple mixed ears appeared on Xu Xiaoyan's head.

A large, fluffy, white-purple tail appeared behind them, swaying wildly from side to side.

Qiao Bai: "?"

teacher:"?"

"What is this...?" The teacher stared dumbfounded at the ears on Xu Xiaoyan's head and the tail behind her, his mouth agape, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"Teacher, my innate skill is Symbiotic Fusion." For the first time, Xu Xiaoyan's face showed a slightly embarrassed smile. She bent her index finger and tapped her cheek twice. "I'm not very good at controlling it yet. Every time I release the Star-Burning Hound, it merges together... Anyway, that's how it is."

The teacher nodded knowingly: "I think I did hear that they recruited a girl this year whose talent is being a beast-eared girl... cough cough!"

Xu Xiaoyan smiled broadly.

"Hey! Everyone says that, teacher, don't be embarrassed! I'm used to it anyway!"

There's a saying, isn't there?

As long as the person in question isn't embarrassed, it's definitely someone else who's embarrassed!

Qiao Bai was also taken aback by Xu Xiaoyan's appearance.

Good guy!

He used to often hallucinate Xu Xiaoyan as a big dog without realizing it, and he would always see a non-existent big tail wagging behind Xu Xiaoyan.

Qiao Bai was almost reflecting on whether his own heart was too filthy, which was why this situation had occurred.

I never expected Xu Xiaoyan to be a genuine beast-eared girl!

Those animal ears like a big dog's!

Qiao Bai had to admit that this image matched Xu Xiaoyan's temperament very well. The things that seemed a bit off about Xu Xiaoyan before disappeared completely after the appearance of these big ears and this big tail.

Moreover, Qiao Bai understood why Xu Xiaoyan was wearing a short skirt.

Of course... it's so that the tail can be easily exposed!

Qiao Bai swore that he was absolutely not curious about where Xu Xiaoyan's tail came from.

However, because Xu Xiaoyan and the Burning Star Dog were fused together, it was a little troublesome to test Xu Xiaoyan's strength. In the end, the machine displayed that she was at the intermediate level of the fourth tier.

"I've always felt there's something wrong with this machine. Every time it detects strength, it's a little lower than the actual strength of the Burning Star Hound!" Xu Xiaoyan pouted. "My Burning Star Hound is already a high-level fourth-tier hound!"

With just one more push, she can break through to the fifth rank with the Burning Star Hound!

"That's normal. This is the case for all beast tamers with fusion talent skills." The teacher's eyes softened considerably after seeing Xu Xiaoyan's strength. "This is because after the pet fused with you, a portion of its strength was used to strengthen your body, so the test results will be slightly worse. It's perfectly normal."

"But once you break through to the fifth rank, you will be able to fully master this talent skill and contract a new pet beast." Facing a talented student, the teacher, who wasn't very busy early in the morning, kindly offered a few more words.

"Take your time, don't rush. What you need to do is steadily break through to the fifth rank."

P.S.: Here's my update plan for this month: I guarantee at least 10,000 words per day. This month has 31 days, so my guarantee is 310,000 words. Let's do our best!

I'm asking for your monthly votes. I just want to try my luck with the monthly vote lottery this month, even just once would be great!

There's a minimum guarantee of 100 yuan!

However, judging from the low level of enthusiasm for voting, the number of monthly votes is pitifully small.

Let's have an extra chapter event then!

One extra chapter for every 1000 monthly votes! One chapter will be 10,000 words! No upper limit!

Just a reminder, there will be a double monthly pass event for two or three days at the end of December, so you can try to get extra chapters then!

Even if it's just 10 extra chapters, I promise I'll do it as long as everyone is able to!

(End of this chapter)