CHAPTER 871: FLYING TOURNAMENT

So it wasn’t the examiner after all? What a waste of that authoritative aura…

Qiao Sang muttered inwardly, though outwardly she asked politely: “Then, may I ask where the examiner is?”

“Yin Yin.”

The Tail Guide lifted its tail, tip nudging its glasses, and called.

“Yap.”

Yabao translated.

The examiner had gone to a meeting, and no one knew exactly when he would return.

A meeting… Qiao Sang decided to wait patiently. She asked, “Would it be alright if I sat here for a while?”

“Yin Yin.”

The Tail Guide made a welcoming gesture with its tail.

Qiao Sang understood and immediately sat down on a sofa to the side.

The Tail Guide returned to its work.

“Xun Xun~”

Little Treasure appeared, floating over beside it, watching it operate the computer. From time to time, he made an exaggerated expression of awe: “So amazing,” “So impressive,” “You can even do that”, like a professional cheerleader.

“Yin Yin~”

The Tail Guide looked a little embarrassed at the praise. Then, as if remembering something, it got up, went to the side, and with its tail skillfully brewed a few cups of tea, placing them on the coffee table.

Qiao Sang thanked it at once.

“Yin Yin.”

The Tail Guide used its tail to lift one cup and handed it especially to Little Treasure.

“Xun Xun~”

Little Treasure hesitated, but finally took it with his claws.

Truth be told, he wasn’t fond of the taste of tea.

The Tail Guide smiled at him warmly.

“Xun Xun…”

Little Treasure reluctantly brought the cup to his lips and took a sip.

The Tail Guide kept smiling.

Feeling the stare, Little Treasure stiffened and took another sip.

When he peeked down, the Tail Guide was still smiling at him.

“Xun Xun!”

Gritting his teeth, Little Treasure downed the entire cup in one gulp, then proudly showed the empty teacup to the Tail Guide.

“Yin Yin…”

The Tail Guide shook its head with a sigh.

Who drinks tea like that? Such waste.

It sighed again, then returned to its desk to continue working.

Little Treasure: ...…

After that, he didn’t dare linger around the Tail Guide anymore. Instead, he obediently stayed by his Beast Master’s side, practicing Light Wall.

Meanwhile, Qiao Sang pulled out her phone and logged onto the Imperial Beast University website, browsing once more through the list of items available for exchange with points. ȐἁƝ𝔬𝖇ÈＳ

There were so many things listed, it wasn’t possible to look through them all casually.

And almost everything was new to her, she had to click into each entry to read the details.

Time slipped by unnoticed.

After who knows how long, faint footsteps sounded in the hallway outside.

They grew closer and closer, until the door opened.

Qiao Sang looked up and saw a middle-aged man wearing a white shirt and slacks, silver-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. His aura was sharp and imposing, the kind that belonged in a high office.

The aura was so similar

… Qiao Sang couldn’t help but glance at the Tail Guide.

Then she rose with a smile, greeting him: “Hello, I’m a Beast Master registering for the Regional Tournament. I came to receive the assessment task.”

“Yin Yin.”

The Tail Guide rose and moved aside, calling softly.

The man’s gaze immediately fell on the tea cups on the table. His eyes flickered with surprise.

His Tail Guide didn’t brew tea for just anyone.

He studied Qiao Sang briefly, then his attention was caught by Yabao and Gangbao. His eyes lit up as he adjusted his glasses.

“I know you. Through the window earlier, I happened to see your pet evolve.”

The training grounds lay just behind the Beast Center’s main building, so being seen wasn’t unusual.

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Gangbao.

“You came at the right time. I’ve been wanting to ask, what kind of pet is this? The Beast Pet Identifier couldn’t recognize it at all.”

Gangbao stood still, letting herself be examined.

“She’s called the Steel Sword Falcon, a pet from Chaosu Star,” Qiao Sang explained.

“Chaosu Star?” The man blurted, astonished.

“How did you end up contracting a pet from Chaosu Star?”

Gangbao’s eyes narrowed at him.

Realizing his wording was off, the man coughed and corrected himself: “I mean, how did you come to contract a pet from Chaosu Star?”

Just one extra word, but the meaning was entirely different.

“I went to Chaosu Star recently as an interstellar exchange student, and I contracted her there.” Qiao Sang replied.

An interstellar exchange student? Not just anyone could qualify for that. Wait, a student? The man’s expression turned odd. He glanced again at Gangbao.

“What level is the Steel Sword Falcon?”

“General-level.” Qiao Sang answered.

So it was General-level. That nearly gave him a heart attack, he thought a student had raised a King-level pet. He unconsciously sighed in relief, sat down at his desk, and smiled.

“When I saw its evolution earlier, with that size and presence, I thought it was King-level.”

“She’s just a little bigger than most General-level pets.” Qiao Sang said as she handed over her ID card and Beast Tamer badge.

“Not just the size, her presence too. It's unlike ordinary General-level pets. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have guessed wrong.”

As he spoke, he placed the card and badge on the scanner.

Information flashed onto the screen.

He looked first for Steel Sword Falcon’s data, but found only her earlier form, the Steel-Slash Giant Falcon.

“You haven’t updated your pet’s data since her evolution?”

“Mm.” Qiao Sang replied.

“Steel Sword Falcon is from Chaosu Star. Updating the records takes longer. I wanted to collect the task first.”

The man chuckled.

“I just came back from a meeting, you-”

His words abruptly stopped.

Sixteen years old?

Ice Emperor Ram, King-level pet?

He leaned forward, thinking his eyes deceived him.

When he confirmed the data was unchanged, he went silent, removed his glasses, and grabbed his Tail Guide’s tail to polish the lenses. Then he put them back on and checked again.

No difference.

The Tail Guide quietly slid further away.

The man stared at the screen, dazed for a long moment, then asked: “You’re only sixteen?”

Some people altered their IDs to shave off a year or two. But even if she was actually eighteen, that kind of power was beyond absurd. Unreal.

“Almost seventeen.” Qiao Sang replied.

“……”

The office fell silent.

After ten seconds or so, the man finally exhaled and began searching for tasks.

Soon, he settled on one:

“Tomorrow marks the start of the Flying Tournament. They want Beast Masters with at least General-level flying pets to help maintain order. You’ll oversee the venue, keep unauthorized Beast Masters out of the airspace, and maintain order. If nothing goes wrong, the task is complete.”

Qiao Sang blinked.

“That’s it?”

“If you don’t like this one, then I-”

“I like it!” She interrupted quickly.

“This task is perfect.”

After all, the simpler the assessment, the better.

The man confirmed the task, returned her ID card and badge, and added: “The Flying Tournament runs for three days. You’ll be responsible the whole time.”

“Am I going alone, or-?” Qiao Sang asked.

“There are others.” He chuckled.

“This is the Flying Tournament. How could one person handle the order?”

That made sense. With the tournament starting tomorrow, it was unlikely they only just now found Beast Masters for the job. Most were probably assigned already, she was just an extra. What a kind examiner, giving her such an easy task.

Qiao Sang straightened.

“I’ll complete the task without issue.”

Then she hugged Yabao and left.

The man watched her go, sighing with genuine admiration: “The younger generation today… a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius.

Then he turned to the Tail Guide.

“Brew me some tea.”

“Yin Yin.”

The Tail Guide gathered the tea set, calling softly as if to say, Do it yourself, I’m busy.

The man: ……

---

Beast Center Hall.

Qiao Sang stood in line at window 32 with Yabao in her arms, her thoughts drifting.

The task only took three days. Counting today, she would be here four days total.

Could it be that in just four days, her mental domain would break through its barrier…?

She checked herself, no change in her mind or Beast Codex.

Maybe the prediction wasn’t for now, but for the future?

She was a Beast Master, everywhere she went, she usually stopped at the local Beast Center.

Since she would compete in the Central Hollow Region’s tournament, she would stay in Yongtian City for a while. Coming back again later wasn’t impossible…

Her thoughts swirled until...

“Next.”

She stepped forward and handed her ID card over.

“I’d like to update my pet’s information.”

“What information would you like to change?” The staff asked.

“My Steel-Slash Giant Falcon evolved into a Steel Sword Falcon.”

The staff tapped the keyboard, then froze, looking up with sudden respect.

“Please wait a moment.”

They hurried away, calling: “Supervisor!”

---

By the time Qiao Sang returned to her room that evening with a weary Gangbao, night had fallen.

Blue Star had many advantages over Chaosu Star, but in efficiency? Chaosu Star was unmatched.

It was only an information update, yet the whole afternoon was spent. One group after another came to check, and even after office hours they were still making calls, discussing endlessly.

Far more dramatic than when Yabao evolved into Fire Qilu back on Chaosu Star.

“Gang Zhan…”

Exhausted, Gangbao collapsed on the sofa immediately, resting.

Being examined and surrounded by humans was somehow more draining than training.

“Xun Xun~”

Little Treasure hurriedly took off his ring and fetched a bottle of milk, handing it to her only follower.

“Gang Zhan.”

Gangbao blinked, then stood, accepting it with her wings and thanking him softly.

“Xun Xun~”

Little Treasure patted her head with a look that said, No need to thank me, you’re my little brother, who else would I look after?

Gangbao: ……

Knock, knock.

“It’s me.” Professor Mikayla’s voice came.

Too lazy to get up, Qiao Sang looked at Little Treasure.

He understood, his eyes glowing blue, and the door opened on its own.

Mikayla entered, eyes landing on Yabao lying so still it looked asleep. Her expression was complicated.

“He’s been training this whole time and isn’t exhausted?”

Qiao Sang followed her gaze, realizing instantly.

“Yabao, are you still training in the practice field?”

“Yap.”

He nodded faintly, clearly tired from such long training.

And he hadn’t once asked for an Energy Recovery Potion…

Qiao Sang’s chest tightened with guilt.

All afternoon, she had been focused on Gangbao, her evolution, the task, the records. She hadn’t noticed that Yabao’s clones were still training nonstop. Normally, with such intensity, he needed potions every half hour. But this time, nothing.

She sighed softly.

“Rest a bit. Drink some potions first, then continue training.”

She knew with his current drive, he wouldn’t simply stop.

“Yap.”

Yabao agreed.

“Xun Xun~”

Little Treasure removed his ring again, fetching several vials of recovery potion and handing them over.

“Yap.”

Yabao took them, drinking eagerly.

Mikayla frowned slightly. So strict? Even though no major tournament was coming up, he was still training this hard. But then she shook the thought away, asking: “What’s your task?”

“Maintaining order at the Flying Tournament for three days.” Qiao Sang said.

Mikayla nodded. The task was easy, and in three days, Qiao Sang could also observe countless flying-type pets, valuable learning for her age. Clearly, the examiner thought highly of her.

“Good. Rest early. I won’t accompany you for this task. Once you’re done, contact me. If you run into anything outside of the mission, come find me.”

“Understood.”

Mikayla left.

---

The next morning.

Qiao Sang washed up quickly, scooped up Yabao, and headed out.

“Yap!”

Yabao called, stopping her.

She paused.

The next moment, nearly a hundred miniature Fire Qilus appeared in the room, racing out the door in a fiery wave.

Qiao Sang: ……

Yabao was going all out. Even she felt a flicker of fear.