Chapter 684: Aside From Herself

The next day, Qiao Sang woke up, washed up briefly, and headed to the kitchen, only to find the vice principal already busy there.

“Just five more minutes, it’ll be ready soon.” Liu Yao said while preparing energy pellets for Yabao and the others.

Qiao Sang walked over and asked:

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“No need.” Liu Yao replied without even looking up as he stayed focused on his task.

“I just adjusted the formula for the energy pellets based on Fire Qilu and the others’ current physical conditions. You wouldn’t know which batch is meant for whom.”

Having an A-rank Breeder around really is wonderful…

Qiao Sang sighed inwardly, then suddenly heard some noise nearby.

She turned her head and saw Little Treasure opening the fridge and rummaging for snacks.

“Stop right there.” Qiao Sang called out.

“Xun xun?” Little Treasure turned around with a slightly dazed expression.

“We’ll be having breakfast soon. No snacks right now.” Qiao Sang said.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure looked at the contents of the fridge, then back at Qiao Sang, and pointed toward the living room.

Following the direction he pointed, Qiao Sang saw another Little Treasure watching a tearjerking movie on the computer screen, occasionally dabbing at his eyes with tissues clutched in his paws.

Qiao Sang fell silent for two seconds before asking:

“Did he tell you to get snacks?”

“Xun xun.”

The Little Treasure in front of her nodded.

Qiao Sang had a thought, then checked the Beastmaster’s Codex and went silent again before asking, “Are you a substitute?”

“Xun xun.”

Little Treasure

nodded.

So a substitute could be used like this too…

Qiao Sang gave a complicated look at the nearby Little Treasure who was silently wiping away tears, then looked away and said:

“Don’t get him any snacks. Just tell him breakfast is coming soon.”

“Xun xun.”

Little Treasure

nodded, closed the fridge, and floated back to the original.

Qiao Sang watched the substitute’s direction.

It floated over and said something to the other Little Treasure. The latter nodded, then handed over a tissue to the double. Soon after, both Ghost Ring Kings sat staring at the screen, eyes watery, wiping away tears in sync.

Qiao Sang: ……

At the dining table, Qiao Sang was enjoying the breakfast prepared by the vice principal, though her mind wasn’t on the food.

“What’s on your mind?” Liu Yao asked.

Qiao Sang lowered her voice and asked, “Vice Principal, do you think a substitute at the Ultimate level could develop its own consciousness?”

Last night, while looking through the Beastmaster’s Codex, she’d discovered that Little Treasure's substitute had already reached the Ultimate level, just not at the peak yet.

Liu Yao instantly understood what Qiao Sang was worried about.

He glanced at the Ghost Ring King munching on his food and said, “Substitute at the Ultimate level can’t develop consciousness of their own. It’s just that they can stay outside for longer, understand what the original is thinking, and share the same feelings.”

“An ultimate level substitute can move independently. Your Ghost Ring King probably created the substitute because it felt lonely playing on the computer alone and wanted a companion.”

He paused, then said in a sincere tone:

“But it’s better for contracted beasts to stay off the computer, especially your Ghost Ring King. It’s still young and in its prime growth stage.”

In fact, Liu Yao had been wanting to say this for a while now. Lately, every time he came home or got up at night to use the bathroom, he’d see the Ghost Ring King and its double on the computer.

Definitely not a good habit.

But since Qiao Sang’s beasts were already trained to such a high level, it didn’t feel right for him to step in and lecture her.

This time, at last, he’d found a good opportunity.

Qiao Sang smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry. When Little Treasure uses his substitute, that counts as training. His substitute wasn’t this proficient before, only recently did it improve through playing on the computer with his substitute.”

Hearing that, Liu Yao seemed thoughtful.

Thinking back, it was true, the Ghost Ring King’s substitute had become noticeably more agile lately.

If you didn’t know them well, you’d have trouble telling it apart from the original…

So does that mean… as long as a substitute is summoned, no matter what it does, it still counts toward skill proficiency?

Liu Yao fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, Little Treasure quietly munched on his energy pellet beside them, as if he hadn’t heard a word of the conversation.

“Xun~ hiccup~”

Elsewhere, in an unused room, a Ghost Ring King that hadn’t eaten a thing was letting out little burps while playing on the computer.

After breakfast, Qiao Sang returned to her room, half-reclined on the bed, took out her phone, and opened a second-hand trading platform.

Since she couldn’t use a credit card for the investment, she could only purchase rare materials and items from physical stores or major websites to resell them.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do.

To quickly sell items and raise money, she had to lower the prices. But if the price was too low, people wouldn’t believe it was authentic. If it was just slightly below market price, people thought it was overpriced for second-hand goods.

It was really a hassle.

After spending more than half a month, Qiao Sang finally managed to scrape together enough money to invest in Hulis.

Fortunately, Owen and Wen Xiao hadn’t officially started their own ventures yet, and were easy to talk to, otherwise, the collaboration might’ve fallen through.

Qiao Sang was replying to a buyer’s questions.

After a round of haggling and persistent back-and-forth, the transaction finally went through.

She put down her phone and looked over at Gangbao, who was training Iron Defense nearby. She said:

“Gangbao, go pack up the Ice Mist Bud. Someone bought it.”

“Gang Guard.”

Gangbao stopped training Iron Defense, nodded, and walked out the door.

Qiao Sang looked at Gangbao’s back with a face full of relief. Though Gangbao didn’t talk much, she observed and understood just about everything.

Just that batch of goods, where it was placed, what it looked like, even the name, she knew it all.

That was impressive

. At least, before Gangbao, she had never seen another pet beast with such awareness.

Suddenly, something came to mind. Qiao Sang entered the Beast master's Codex.

The pages flipped quickly to Gangbao's entry.

Name

: Steel Guardian Falcon (Gangbao)

Type

: Steel, Flying

Level

: Intermediate (8466/10000)+

Recently, Gangbao had been training with Lubao, but hadn’t yet learned Substitution. She thought maybe with more internal energy, training might be easier, so she had been adding points to her level from time to time.

Gangbao had previously participated in the pet arena in 3rd District and had accumulated plenty of points, enough to evolve directly into a high-tier beast.

She originally planned to wait until Gangbao mastered a skill to the Ultimate level before triggering her evolution.

After all, her next stage was still unknown. It wasn’t like she’d be lucky enough to find another Dream Enlightenment Stone.

Unfortunately, unlike Yabao’s Shadow Clones or Little Treasure's Substitution, Gangbao didn’t have a clone technique. She also had to sleep regularly because of her feathers, so she couldn’t stay up training like Lubao.

During the day, she had to spend two hours doing mobility training with Lubao, and also practice Iron Defense, Air Absorption, and Wing Blade to protect her fragile beast master. She even occasionally helped care for five Chan Chan Stones beasts. She was really busy.

Given how many points she had, if this training schedule continued, she might evolve naturally before mastering any skill to the Ultimate level.

It looked like she’d need to reduce the number of skills Gangbao was training and have her focus on just one...

With that thought, Qiao Sang checked the proficiency of Iron Defense, Air Absorption, and Wing Blade before exiting the Codex.

Eight minutes later, Gangbao pushed the door open and walked in.

The moment she came in, she noticed her beastmaster’s gaze on her.

“Gang Guard?”

Gangbao called out, asking if something was up.

“Here’s the thing.” Qiao Sang got straight to the point.

“I plan to have you focus on just one skill moving forward.”

“Gang Guard?”

Gangbao looked puzzled.

Why?

Qiao Sang patiently explained:

“You’re going to evolve soon, so we need to prepare. If one skill reaches the Ultimate level before that, you’ll be stronger than other beasts evolving at the same time, and you’ll have more potential.”

She wasn’t just making this u, it was a conclusion based on previous experiences with Yabao and the others.

“Gang Guard...”

Gangbao was stunned.

It was already time for her to evolve...

She didn’t feel like it had been long since reaching the intermediate stage...

But since her beast master said so, it must be true...

“Gang Guard?”

Gangbao looked up at her beast master.

So what skill should she focus on?

Qiao Sang smiled and asked:

“What skill do you want to train?”

“Gang Guard.”

Gangbao thought for a moment and responded,

she wanted to train Iron Defense.

Qiao Sang was a little surprised.

Before the incident in 19th District, Gangbao hadn’t been enthusiastic about training Iron Defense. She preferred offensive skills that caused damage.

Could it be... she wanted to train Iron Defense for her?

Qiao Sang felt a rush of emotion and gently asked:

“Why do you want to train that skill?”

“Gang Guard.”

Gangbao calmly explained her reasoning.

Of the skills she was training now, Iron Defense was the simplest, so she could improve proficiency faster.

Qiao Sang: …

Got emotional too soon…

She controlled her expression and said, “You’re not wrong.”

She had also checked the skill proficiencies earlier and planned for Gangbao to train Iron Defense too.

It had already reached the late Mastery phase, close to Perfect, and was the closest among her three main skills to reaching the Ultimate level.

“Gang Guard.”

At that moment, Gangbao looked serious and added that she also wanted to continue practicing Substitution.

Qiao Sang looked at Gangbao for a moment, didn’t ask why, and just nodded.

“Alright.”

She could tell Gangbao was determined to learn it.

“Gang Guard.”

Gangbao heard this and barely visibly curled the corners of her mouth upward.

---

7:00 PM – Outdoor Training Grounds.

In the pitch-black night, large hailstones like translucent rocks fell from the sky.

A purple silhouette darted between them, not letting a single one touch it.

At first, Gangbao moved with ease, but as time went on, she became increasingly strained.

Practicing Substitution meant less time for Iron Defense, Gangbao knew that.

But she felt like she was this close to learning it. She wasn’t willing to stop now.

Faster, faster... If she could just master Substitution quickly, she could focus more on Iron Defense...

Gritting her teeth, Gangbao pushed herself, picking up speed again.

Bang!

A hailstone struck her wing.

Gangbao faltered, and her speed dropped sharply.

More hailstones pelted down, striking Gangbao over and over.

“Gang Guard!”

Though a mid-tier beast, Gangbao couldn’t take repeated hits from hail, a high-tier weather-based skill, especially with Lubao, who had been practicing it and improved its proficiency greatly.

Gangbao cried out in pain.

From the ground, Lubao instinctively prepared to cast Healing Light when she saw Gangbao falling.

Her gem glowed blue as energy gathered.

But just then, less than 5 cm from the ground, Gangbao suddenly spread her wings and soared back into the sky.

“Lu...?”

Lubao froze, then put away Healing Light.

Up above, hail rained down in droves, many of them striking Gangbao.

She gritted her teeth and stabilized herself.

Faster, faster!

She felt it, she was about to learn Substitution!

“Gang Guard!”

With a burst of energy, Gangbao’s speed surged to her limit.

At the same time, white light shone from her body.

Lubao looked up.

All she could see was a white lightning-like blur darting through the hail, so fast its form was almost invisible.

“Lu…”

---

Inside the Room.

“So you’re telling me, after all this training, you didn’t learn Substitution but picked up Flash instead?” Qiao Sang was surprised but also excited after checking the Beast Codex.

“Gang Guard...”

Gangbao nodded helplessly.

She had always thought she was on the verge of learning Substitution but apparently, it was something else.

Qiao Sang chuckled.

“Flash is great. It’s a solid skill, good for both attack and dodging.”

Flash was a general-type mid-level skill. Only beasts with strong burst power, speed, and physical strength could learn it.

With this skill, even against quick electric-type beasts of the same tier, Gangbao wouldn’t fall behind in speed.

“Gang Guard.”

Seeing Qiao Sang so happy, Gangbao’s mood also improved. She chirped, saying she would stop practicing Substitution for now.

“Why?” Qiao Sang was confused.

That morning, Gangbao was still set on learning it.

“Gang Guard, Gang Guard.”

Gangbao flapped her wings.

She explained that she had been getting the feeling during training that she was about to learn a new skill. She assumed it was Substitution, but it turned out to be Flash.

Now that she had learned it, that feeling was gone.

So until she mastered Iron Defense to the Ultimate level, she didn’t want to waste time on Substitution.

Such clear goals..

. Qiao Sang smiled.

“Alright, we’ll practice Substitution again later.”

“Lu…”

Lubao stood silently on the side, watching.

It felt like everyone, Yabao, Little Treasure, even Gangbao, was improving rapidly... except herself.

A dim glint passed through Lubao’s deep blue eyes.

She walked over to the tank filled with Sacred Water Essence, jumped in, lay down, closed her eyes, and began circulating energy.