Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Two days earlier than she'd expected, seems like Little Treasure caught quite a few ants today.

Qiao Sang thought to herself as she added points to its level status: Beginner (992/1000)+

Little Treasure’s hypnosis technique had now reached mastery, so it was time to prepare for his evolution.

“Xun!”

At that very moment, Little Treasure in the courtyard, busy hunting for ants, felt a surge of energy well up inside him.

Before he could think much about it, a slow-moving ant caught his eye not far away.

“Xun!”

Little Treasure squealed in excitement.

Found you!

The Next Day

In the courtyard, Qiao Sang held up her phone to record Little Treasure.

“Xun.”

In the video, Little Treasure’s face suddenly filled the entire frame.

“Don’t get so close, just keep doing what you were doing.” Qiao Sang said, gently moving its head away from the camera.

“Xun?”

Little Treasure spirit tilted his head, curious.

What’s this all about?

“My intuition says you’ll evolve today, so I wanted to record you as you are now, then we can watch it back later.” Qiao Sang explained.

Evolve?! Today?!

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure froze in surprise, then broke into a wide grin, spinning excitedly in the air.

The next second, he teleported in front of Yabao, who was preparing to summon a shower of Ember.

“Xun xun!”

“Yap!”

Yabao jumped, startled, causing the energy he had just gathered to dissipate.

“Yap yap!”

Yaba looked at Little Treasure, ready to assume the big brother role and lecture him, when he suddenly remembered what Little Treasure had said.

“Yap?”

Yabao’s eyes widened, showing a Really? expression.

“Xun!”

Little Treasure nodded solemnly.

Absolutely true!

His Beast Tamer would never be wrong!

“Yap yap!”

Using telekinesis, Yabao pulled Little Treasure over and patted his head, imitating Qiao Sang’s usual affectionate gesture.

Not bad, kid! You’re actually about to evolve!

“Xun…”

Little Treasure quickly teleported to the side and pouted.

Big bro, do you even realize your paws are covered in dirt?

Before Yabao could respond, Little Treasure teleported next to Lubao, who was floating in the pool, doing a backstroke.

“Xun xun!”

Lubai opened one eye to glance at Little Treasure, then closed it again, unimpressed.

“Xun Xun!”

Unwilling to give up, Little Treasure repeated what he had said.

“Lu lu.”

Without even opening her eyes, Lubao let out a perfunctory congratulatory sound.

“Xun…”

Little Treasure's excitement faded.

Why didn’t she react at all to the news of my evolution?

“Xun…”

He pouted, teleporting back to his Beast Tamer’s side.

Unbeknownst to him, after he left, Lubao opened one eye, sneaking a quick glance.

---

“What’s wrong?” Qiao Sang noticed Little Treasure's downcast expression and asked.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure, still young and unable to hide his emotions, eagerly recounted everything that had just happened.

He couldn’t understand why Lubao was so indifferent to his evolution news.

Qiao Sang glanced over at Lubao’s direction.

Caught peeking, Lubao froze and quickly closed her eyes again.

Qiao Sang smirked softly and said, “I can guarantee that when you actually evolve, Lubao will be far from as calm as she’s acting now.”

“Xun?”

Little Treasure looked doubtful.

Really?

“Really.” Qiao Sang chuckled.

“When you evolve, I’ll record her reaction so you can see it yourself.”

Although she hadn’t known Lubao as long as she had known Yabao and Little Treasure, Qiao Sang had come to understand her character pretty well over time.

Lubao usually kept a cold facade, except when it came to Yabao. Beneath her indifferent exterior, she had a slightly prideful, soft-hearted side.

“Xun~”

Hearing her words, Little Treasure chuckled, covering his mouth with one hand as he nodded.

With one hand holding the phone, Qiao Sang used her other to gently pat Little Treasure's head and said softly, “In the end, whether Lubai is calm or not isn’t that important. You wanted to evolve and grow stronger for me, didn’t you?”

“You’ve done it. That’s enough, right?”

“Xun…”

Little Treasure stared at his Beast Tamer in amazement, recalling his original intentions and remembering why he had started training so earnestly.

“Xun!”

He nodded enthusiastically.

In the next instant, a bright white light enveloped his entire body.

Whoa! Evolution light!

Is he actually evolving right now?!

It’s still morning! Based on the progression rate, it shouldn’t have evolved until tonight!

Caught off guard by the sudden evolution, Qiao Sang was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered.

She adjusted her emotions, stepped back, and found the perfect angle to keep recording.

Yabao rushed over to watch, while Lubao swam to the edge of the pool, her eyes gleaming, never looking away from Little Treasure.

Qiao Sang noticed Lubao’s reaction and remembered her promise to Little Treasure.

She quietly switched to wide-angle mode, zoomed in on Lubao’s position, and captured a close-up of her expression.

As the white light began to fade, Qiao Sang quickly refocused the camera on Little Treasure.

The light dissipated.

What appeared on screen was a small creature, mostly gray with striking golden-yellow eyes.

His hairstyle resembled a flickering ghostly flame, trailing behind with tips matching his golden gaze. Each ear sported a gold hoop earring.

The golden earrings and fiery hairstyle gave the newly evolved Little Treasure-Seeking Demon an air of nobility.

But the noble aura didn’t last long.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure cheerfully floated over to Qiao Sang and began rubbing his face against hers.

“Hold on!"

Qiao Sang finished the recording and slipped her phone into her pocket, grabbing Little Treasure to examine him closely.

“Xun?”

He blinked, confused.

“Why do you look half a size smaller than before?” Qiao Sang hesitated.

Little Treasure's evolution should have doubled his size, but now he looked even smaller than before.

And also…

“Your hair color doesn’t look right either.” Qiao Sang looked puzzled.

She’d done her research on the Treasure-Seeking Demon’s appearance. Its overall look was as expected, but the hair tips were noticeably different.

The typical Treasure-Seeking Demon’s hair tips were bronze, but his were a brilliant gold that shone in the sunlight.

This change was… so cool!