As the third highest-ranked top university in the interstellar system, Yulianton University certainly lacked no training resources.
Having studied at Yulianton for several months, Qiao Sang naturally knew that there was a specialized training hall suited for fire-type pet beasts.
It was said that the hall had multiple training systems tailored specifically for fire-type pets, capable of aiding them in any kind of training.
However, it cost 20 points per hour and required advance booking. It was basically monopolized year-round by upperclassmen.
Qiao Sang thought 20 points was too expensive at the time, and since Yabao was already making steady progress with daily training, she didnât bother making a reservation.
Who would've thought the semester would almost end, and her points still hadnât been put to good use.
During the break after the first class in the afternoon.
Qiao Sang asked, âThe fire-type training room in school can be adjusted based on the beast master's needs, right?â
Dorothy thought for a moment and replied, âI heard there are 108 training systems in there. With that many, it should meet most beast mastersâ training needs.â
Then, she looked over and said, âYouâre planning to take Fire Qilu for a try?â
Qiao Sang didnât deny it.
âIf they have the kind of training Iâm looking for.â
Dorothy sighed in amazement, âProbably only you in our entire class can afford to use that training room.â
âBut didnât everyone earn a lot of points this semester?â Qiao Sang replied.
Students at Yulianton quickly realized the importance of points right after enrollment. If they werenât studying or training pets, they were on the road to earning points.
She remembered that quite a few classmates had tried to take advantage of her.
Even Dorothy once traded a monthâs worth of snack-fetching errands for a single feather from Gangbao, just to trade with a senior in the Pet Beast Genetics department for 12 points.
As the only Steel-Slash Giant Falcon on Chaosu Star, Gangbao was quite sought after at Yulianton University.
âPoints vanish in no time.â Dorothy grumbled.
âIt takes forever to earn just 1 point, and by afternoon, you already have to use 3. How can you save anything? Even borrowing a book from the library costs points! And those seniors, just trying to get some info from them also costs points!â
Qiao Sang thought,
I knew about the library⊠but the seniors are really that ruthless?
She recalled the various seniors sheâd interacted with during tasks. Hesitating, she said, âReally?â
Dorothy gave her a resentful look, âOf course, you wouldnât be charged when asking for information.â
Without thinking, Qiao Sang said, âThen why donât you just let me ask for you?â
Dorothy paused, surprised.
âYouâre willing to?â
Qiao Sang smiled, âWhy not? Itâs just asking a question.â
Dorothy was touched, but then remembered something. She lowered her voice and eagerly said:
âI heard Dean Gilbert lost a few pounds lately because of you. Rumor has it that he once drunkenly said that if anyone could convince you to stay at Yulianton, heâd gift them a purebred dragon-type pet egg! Can you go ask if thatâs true?â
Qiao Sang went silent for two seconds, then stood up and said, âIâm going to the restroom.â
Dorothy: âŠâŠ
---
After school in the afternoon.
Qiao Sang carried Yabao to the fire-type pet training hall, accessible to the entire university.
The building stood several dozen meters tall.
Its movable exterior was constructed from exposed steel trusses, overlaid with a translucent thermal-resistant layer, which completely insulated internal heat from affecting the outside.
As soon as Qiao Sang stepped inside, a slightly deep, unfamiliar voice rang out beside her: âIsnât this Qiao Sang from the Beast Master Department?â
âOh! It really is Qiao Sang!â Followed by a pleasant girlâs voice.
The girl spoke loudly.
Hearing the name "Qiao Sang," almost everyone nearby turned to look.
Qiao Sang turned around and saw two unfamiliar faces.
One was a brown-haired, green-eyed young man, dressed head-to-toe in luxury brands, even wearing red earrings.
The other was a red-haired girl with a bun, full of youthful energy.
As soon as Qiao Sang turned around, the girlâs eyes lit up. She quickly approached and said cheerfully: âHi! Nice to meet you. Iâm Tami from the Sophomore Breeding Department.â
âIâm Camden, Senior Year, also from the Breeding Department.â The young man added.
âHello, Iâm Qiao Sang from the Beast Master Department.â She introduced herself politely.
âI know.â Tami said enthusiastically.
âYouâre kind of a celebrity in our department, everyoneâs heard about you.â
She glanced at Gangbao: âYouâre the first beast master in history to trigger continuous bonded evolution in a Little Steel Falcon!â
âAnd I heard from the teacher.â
Tami looked at Yabao, her eyes sparkling like she was admiring her favorite pet, âYour Fire Qilu is also the first of its kind on Blue Star in this new form.â
âYap.â
Yabao proudly lifted his head.
Qiao Sang smiled awkwardly.
She couldnât help it, sheâd heard all this countless times already.
âYouâre here to help Fire Qilu train?â Camden asked.
Qiao Sang replied, âIâm here to make a reservation.â
âWhy not just book it on the schoolâs website?â Tami asked curiously.
âBecause I donât know if the hall has the training project I need, so I wanted to check first.â Qiao Sang explained.
The universityâs website did list all reservable projects, but their names were often as cryptic as dishes from her previous life, like âEmerald Jade Soup,â âGathering of Heroes,â or âFarewell Kissâ, making it impossible to guess what they actually involved.
âWhat kind of training are you looking for?â Tami asked.
As soon as she asked, she realized it might be a privacy issue. Many professional beast masters clear out rooms during pet training.
Especially the famous ones.
Before Qiao Sang could reply, Tami quickly added, âCamden and I both raise fire-type pets and train here often, so weâre familiar with the available projects. Maybe we know the one youâre looking for.â
Qiao Sang said directly, âIâm looking for something that allows training through fire itself.â
âYou must mean the âRebirthâ project.â Camden blurted out.
Qiao Sang blinked.
âItâs called Rebirth?â
What does that have to do with training in fire?
Tami thought for a bit.
âThe person who named the programs was a teacher from Dragon Nation. I heard thereâs a phrase called âreborn from fire,â so thatâs where the name comes from.â
Camden added, âIâve tried that one. The pet stands inside the room, and suddenly the chamber ignites, roasting them in fire to increase resistance to fire energy. Some students even bring non-fire-type pets to train in it.â
He paused, then added, âThe system monitors the petâs vitals in real time. If it canât endure, the system stops automatically, so itâs quite safe.â
Thatâs exactly the program I need
, Qiao Sang thought, glancing at Yabao.
âYap!â
Feeling her concerned gaze, Yabao looked up and let out a determined cry.
Qiao Sang sighed inwardly and smiled on the surface: âThank you both. Thatâs the one Iâm looking for. Iâll go register now.â
She stepped forward to find the instructor in charge of bookings.
All attribute-specific training halls had a staff member on the first floor for this. Since she was already here, there was no need to reserve online.
âWait!â Tami called out.
Qiao Sang stopped and turned around.
Tami said, âWho knows when your turn might come. You can take my spot. Iâm not from the Beast Master Department anyway, so I donât need to train urgently.â
Camden gave her a bewildered look.
In his impression, Tami wasnât usually this generous.
Qiao Sang felt a stir in her heart and hesitated.
âThatâs not really appropriate, is it?â
It was a lie to say she wasnât tempted. She didnât have much time left at Yulianton University. Each reservation took time to wait, and Yabao probably wouldnât get many more chances to train here.
At times like this, saving time where she could was the smart move.
Tami could see Qiao Sangâs hesitation and was secretly delighted. She smiled and said, âDonât worry about it, go ahead and use it. I came here just to try out the training programs for fire-type pet beasts. Iâm only a sophomore;
Iâve got plenty of time in the future.â
Hearing this, Qiao Sang no longer refused.
âThen Iâll transfer you the points you spent for the reservation.â
âNo need.â Tami quickly waved her hand.
âI only reserved one hour. Just 20 points, itâs not much.â
Are you kidding me? If she took points, how would she ever get closer to Qiao Sang?
Twenty points and she says itâs not much... No wonder everyone said students from the Breeding Department were point-spending royalty.
Qiao Sang sighed inwardly and looked at Tami with more warmth.
âThen I really feel bad.â
Thatâs exactly what I was waiting for...
Tami glanced excitedly in Gangbaoâs direction, then turned back and said what she really came for: âHow about giving me one of Steel-Slash Giant Falconâs feathers to make up for the points?â
Camden thought to himself,
There it is. Thatâs the Tami I know.
Qiao Sang: âŠâŠ
So thatâs what sheâs after. Last time, Dorothy traded one of Gangbaoâs feathers for 12 points. This time, itâs 20 points plus skipping the wait. Not a bad trade...
The only concern was that Gangbao would soon be participating in a coordination competition. Plucking a feather now might affect her performance in the first phase...
âGang Slice.â
While the thought flickered in Qiao Sangâs mind, Gangbao already plucked a feather without hesitation and handed it over.
Qiao Sang: !!!
âYap!â
Yabao looked at Gangbao with an expression of âThatâs my bro!â
Tami was overjoyed, quickly took the feather, carefully stowed it away, and said, âIâll go with you to the registration desk now!â
Qiao Sang: â...Okay.â
Well, itâs already been plucked. What else can I do?
The three of them headed to the registration counter.
Most people here had booked in advance, so there were only two or three people waiting in line.
Soon, it was Qiao Sangâs turn.
Before Tami could speak, the teacher at the counter took the initiative and said: âLooking to transfer your reservation?â
Qiao Sang was momentarily stunned, then quickly realized, the teacher had likely overheard their entire conversation, given how feedback worked in the area.
Tami chuckled, âTeacher, youâre so sharp.â
Then she promptly pulled out her student card and handed it over.
Qiao Sang also took out hers.
âYouâre scheduled for 6:10 PM.â The teacher said, taking the cards and operating the floating interface above the desk. Then, knowingly asked Qiao Sang: âOne hour. Which training program?â
âRebirth.â Qiao Sang answered.
The teacher made a note and handed the cards back.
âWhen the training room is ready, youâll receive a text message.â
Qiao Sang and Tami each took back their cards and turned to leave.
Just then, the teacher said in a meaningful tone: âIn the future, donât casually make these kinds of trades. As of now, a Steel-Slash Giant Falconâs feather is worth far more than 20 points.â
Tami froze stiff on the spot.
Qiao Sang turned her head and gave a polite smile.
âThank you, teacher. I understand.â
The same item holds different value depending on whoâs looking at it. For Dorothy, points were everything, so she was willing to trade. But for someone who wasnât short on points, a feather from the Steel-Slash Giant Falcon was far more valuable than a few dozen points.
After hearing what the teacher said, Tami became noticeably guilty. She quickly said goodbye and dragged Camden away, afraid that Qiao Sang would suddenly change her mind and ask for the feather back.
This is how Iâve been saving up my points all along..
. Qiao Sang thought as she went to the lounge to wait.
âYap!â
Yabao was stretching, bouncing around, taking his warm-up seriously.
âIf it gets too intense later, just come out early.â Qiao Sang instructed.
Most fire-type training programs didnât allow students inside, but they could watch through monitoring equipment, communicate with their pets, and adjust the training progress in real-time.
âYap!â
Yabao cried out confidently, as if to say,
Relax! I wonât give up early.
Qiao Sang: âŠâŠ
Itâs that confidence that worries me...
âGang Slice.â
While they waited, Gangbao didnât want to waste time. She let out a call toward the air.
âXun xun~â
Little Treasure appeared, removed his ring, pulled out some pet care oil, and began rubbing it onto Gangbao.
Twenty minutes later, Qiao Sangâs phone vibrated.
She took it out and checked: [Qiao Sang, your reservation time has arrived. Please bring your ID card to Training Room 13 on the third floor.]
âYabao, itâs time.â Qiao Sang said, putting her phone away and standing up.
âYap!â
Yabao looked thrilled.
Youâre about to be roasted in flames. Anyone seeing your face would think youâre going on vacation
... Qiao Sang silently complained, then bent down and picked up Yabao, heading upstairs.
Soon, she arrived at the door of Training Room 13 on the third floor.
There wasnât anyone else around.
Qiao Sang knocked on the door.
Shortly after, the door opened from inside, and a mechanical-type pet beast came out. It was fully iron black with green eyes and a huge mouth.
It slowly opened its mouth.
At the same time, a mechanical voice seemed to come from its abdomen: âPlease verify your identity.â
Qiao Sang was momentarily taken aback, unsure what to do.
Then it hit her, she pulled out her student card and offered it.
âHere.â
The mechanical voice responded, âPlease place it inside my mouth.â
Qiao Sang was silent for a second, then obediently followed instructions.
As she placed the card in, an involuntary thought flashed through her mind:
I wonder if mechanical-type pets produce saliva.
The machine pet closed its mouth. Its eyes began rotating 360 degrees, seemingly glitching.
After about five seconds, it opened its mouth and revealed the student card.
The mechanical voice echoed again: âIdentity verified.â
Qiao Sang hesitated, then reached in to take her card back.
When she saw there was no liquid on it, she silently sighed in relief.
The mechanical pet stepped aside.
âYou may enter.â