Chapter 925: Empathy Positioning

The post didn’t mention that every pet beast in this area would join forces to help the Fruits Sprayers attack!

Honestly, Qiao Sang had expected an ambush from the Fruits Sprayers but she never imagined that so many different species of pet beasts would attack together!

“Xun xun?!”

Little Treasure reached up to touch his head and froze in horror.

His hat! Where was his hat?!

Guo Ruiqi felt a sudden chill on his scalp, his expression instantly stiffening.

Before he could even stammer out “Senior Qiao-”, every Fruits Sprayer opened its mouth in eerie unison.

A rain of pitch-black venom came pouring toward them.

The speed, clearly premeditated!

They’d been waiting for the moment the hat was removed to launch a full-scale attack.

Little Treasure didn’t even have time for his eyes to glow blue.

Just as Qiao Sang felt a chill of dread, already mourning her soon-to-be bald head, a fiery red figure suddenly flashed in front of her!

The next instant, the entire world was bathed in red light and heat.

When she turned, she saw wings blazing with flame.

They were so close she could feel the warmth yet it wasn’t scorching. It was protective, almost gentle.

For a heartbeat, she was dazed, then she realized:

Yabao had used his flaming wings to shield her!

“!!!”

Her mind filled with exclamation marks.

Yabao

…

Her chest tightened with emotion, eyes burning. She had warned Yabao before that the Fruits Sprayer’s venom could make fur fall out, and yet, knowing this, he still shielded her without hesitation!

High above, Mikayla hovered in midair, eyes narrowing in surprise.

She hadn’t interacted much with Fire Qilu, but she knew it was a proud beast, strong and fiercely competitive, and very vain about its appearance.

And yet it had thrown itself in front of Qiao Sang like this…

“Sssss-”

Black venom splattered onto Yabao’s sleek crimson fur, and smoke rose at once, hissing like acid on metal.

“Yap!”

More venom spewed toward them.

Yabao folded his wings tighter around his Beast master, Little Treasure, and Guo Ruiqi, not daring to move even a muscle, terrified that even the tiniest gap would let the poison through.

“Fruit.”

“Fruit.”

The Fruits Sprayers exchanged glances and nodded. Some continued to spew venom, while others began glowing green.

A moment later, countless shimmering leaves materialized in the air, razor-sharp and deadly. With a shrill slicing sound, the green blades shot toward them like a storm.

“Hidden Shield.” Mikayla ordered calmly.

Spengami, already used to the nickname, reacted instantly, eyes flashing blue.

All the flying leaf blades froze midair, suspended as though someone had pressed pause.

Then, the temperature dropped sharply.

A crystalline layer of ice spread across every blade, encasing them in frost shells right before everyone’s eyes.

Mikayla looked down.

The Ice Emperor Ram had poked her head out from under Fire Qilu's flaming wings.

In the next second, hundreds of violet blades sliced through the air, arcing beautifully as they struck down the Fruits Sprayers one after another.

Meanwhile, Yabao unfurled his wings, sweeping his fierce gaze over the swarm.

Without a word, he beat his wings down hard. Waves of red-hot energy wind blasted outward in surging rings.

The world turned crimson.

The Fruits Sprayers burst into flames, their bodies cut apart by purple blades again and again.

Within seconds, the swarm scattered, some collapsing, others fleeing in terror.

Soon, the entire area fell silent.

Yabao’s fur smoked black.

When he landed, tufts of burnt hair fell to the ground.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure flew over, dragging Qiao Sang and Guo Ruiqi with him.

Tears and snot running down his face, he rubbed desperately against Yabao’s cheek.

Big Bro Yabao! You’ll always be my big bro from now on!

Yabao turned his head, about to respond, only to notice a few red hairs stuck to Little Treasure’s face.

That color… that shine… far too familiar.

His body stiffened.

His mind went blank.

“Yabao, thank you!” Guo Ruiqi said earnestly beside him.

“If it weren’t for you, I’d be bald. No hair, no eyebrows… I can’t even imagine!”

Qiao Sang’s heart clenched as she looked at Yabao’s fur, his whole body covered in black venom. Before she could say a word, a soft blue light enveloped him.

“Yap…”

Yabao relaxed into the gentle warmth, turning to look at Lubao, the Ice Emperor Ram, who was healing him.

Then something clicked.

Eyes lighting up, he raised a paw and ran it through his fur.

A handful of crimson hair came loose and fell.

He stared at it blankly and the light in his eyes shattered.

He turned and buried his head into Qiao Sang’s chest, sobbing like a child.

“Yap!”

“Yap!”

His fur!

His beautiful fur was gone!

Qiao Sang gently stroked his head.

Lubao’s healing could fix damage, not baldness. Yabao’s health was perfect, but his fur loss couldn’t be undone.

Watching him cry so hard, she suddenly realized, Yabao might always look mature and reliable, but in truth, he was still so young. Big as he looked, he was barely past a cub himself.

Guo Ruiqi blinked in surprise.

This mighty Fire Qilu… was crying like a little baby beast.

“Qing qing…”

Qingbao appeared nearby, watching the shedding Yabao with sympathy.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure froze.

It was his first time seeing his Big Bro Yabao cry like this.

“Lu Di…”

Lubao hesitated, wanting to comfort him but unsure how.

“Gang Zhan.”

Gangbao flew over, calling out.

She explained that on Chaosu Star, there were pet beasts that could cause rapid hair growth, maybe they could find one here.

Qiao Sang’s eyes lit up.

“Right! We can find a pet beast that can make hair grow!”

“Yap?”

Yabao’s sobs slowed.

He looked up, eyes glistening...

Really? Such a beast exists?

Qiao Sang nodded firmly.

“Yes! Longhair Tuo or Furball, both can help!”

At that, Yabao’s tears finally stopped.

Hope sparkled again in his eyes.

“I remember Longhair Tuo and Furball are native to the Yuhua Region.” Mikayla noted.

Before Yabao could despair again, Qiao Sang quickly added, “But traveling from the Central Hollow to Yuhua won’t take long!”

Guo Ruiqi raised his hand, “There must be pet beasts here too that can make hair grow!”

Mikayla said evenly, “Actually, to regrow fur, you don’t need such beasts. Once a pet evolves, lost fur will naturally grow back.”

Yabao’s eyes gleamed brighter.

Qiao Sang sighed inwardly.

Evolution wasn’t exactly faster than finding a hair-growth pet beast

…but seeing that look of hope, she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.

“This can’t go on like this.” Mikayla suddenly said.

Now that Qingqing Ni had evolved, she was ready to leave the secret realm, but she couldn’t expose her S-rank Beast master identity outright, so she had to guide them subtly.

Both Qiao Sang and Guo Ruiqi turned to her.

“Your Ghost Ring King can use Spatial Shift, right?” Mikayla asked.

“Yes.” Qiao Sang nodded.

“At what proficiency?” Mikayla continued, pretending ignorance.

“Ultimate-level.” Qiao Sang replied.

Guo Ruiqi’s eyes widened.

Ultimate-level Spatial Shift?!

As expected of Senior Qiao!

“Good.” Mikayla nodded slightly.

“Then, have you heard of Empathic Positioning?”

Qiao Sang blinked.

Of course she had.

Mikayla and Spengami had used Empathic Positioning before to precisely teleport Jintian City’s leaders to the Sky Hotel.

Gathering her thoughts, Qiao Sang replied, “Yes, it’s when the Beast master and pet beast share the same spatial perception.”

“Exactly.” Mikayla said.

“Your Ghost Ring King is General-level, and since its spatial proficiency is Ultimate-level, it can teleport anywhere within a 15-kilometer radius. If you can perform Empathic Positioning with it, you can share its perception, see the entire 15-kilometer terrain as it does.”

“And with a little more energy, you can even expand the map view and track moving pet beasts.”

“Sometimes a pet might misjudge its own coordinates, but if you can see what it sees, you won’t get lost, and more importantly, you can quickly locate every Lele Seed nearby.”

So this… was the world of B-rank elites.

Guo Ruiqi could only stare, amazed.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure’s eyes sparkled, he was excited to try.

Qiao Sang, regaining focus, asked, “But if a Lele Seed hides underground or in a cave, we won’t see it, right?”

“That’s correct.” Mikayla replied calmly.

“But even so, it’s the fastest, most reliable search method.”

It made sense.

Qiao Sang looked around, the Lele Seed they’d hypnotized earlier had already vanished.

Well, of course.

With all that chaos, even hypnosis couldn’t keep it asleep.

She turned to Little Treasure.

“Let’s try it.”

“Xun xun!”

He nodded seriously.

“To perform Empathic Positioning...”

Mikayla instructed, “As your Ghost Ring King visualizes the terrain, you must connect to the page of its contract within your Beast Codex, and feel what it feels.”

Guo Ruiqi stayed silent, afraid to interrupt.

Little Treasure’s eyes glowed blue.

Qiao Sang closed her eyes, mentally flipping through her Beast Codex until she reached Little Treasure’s contract page and linked to it.

In an instant, a vivid three-dimensional map of mountains filled her mind.

Streams, basins, forests, many were places they had passed before.

So this is what Little Treasure sees when positioning…

Qiao Sang was awed.

Mikayla’s voice guided her gently,

“What you’re seeing now is the Ghost Ring King’s vision. You can zoom in on any area you wish.”

“Southeast, zoom in.” Qiao Sang commanded.

The map shifted, magnifying the terrain toward the southeast.

“Closer.”

“Xun xun…” Little Treasure adjusted precisely.

Qiao Sang’s sharp eyes caught movement, deep in the forest, a Lele Seed was sprinting madly away.

From the faint traces of black fluid on its leaves, it was clearly the same one they had captured earlier.

Thankfully, Lele Seeds were made of leaves, not fur, otherwise it might’ve ended up bald like Yabao.

“Follow it.” She said quickly.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure responded, energy surging as he maintained the spatial tracking.

Qiao Sang felt as though she were watching from a god’s perspective, observing every move of the fleeing Lele Seed. After a long chase, the Lele Seed finally stopped beside a lake.

Spatial vision couldn’t transmit sound, only sight.

She watched as the Lele Seed opened its mouth, and from the trees and bushes nearby, more and more Lele Seeds emerged.

Qiao Sang’s eyes lit up.

“That’s it! That’s the spot!”

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure chirped in agreement.

The next second, they all vanished from where they stood.

Behind them, a Fruits Sprayer lying on the ground suddenly opened its eyes, glaring at the spot where they disappeared. It opened its mouth and screeched: “Fruit!!!”

Invisible sound waves rippled outward.

The branches all around began to tremble, as though answering its call.

---

By the lakeside...

“Lele!”

“Lele!”

The Lele Seeds were gathered, and one of them was passionately recounting its tale, how it had been captured by foreign invaders, then cunningly escaped using its intelligence and courage.

“Lele…”

The others listened in awe.

Suddenly, the air twisted and several figures appeared out of thin air.

“Lele!!!”

The storyteller screamed, and dove straight into the lake. The rest scattered in panic.

“Did you find any?” Qiao Sang asked.

Guo Ruiqi focused his senses, excited.

“So many Lele Seeds! But…”

His expression fell.

“None of them.”

So many Lele Seeds and not a single one was what they needed.

Qiao Sang sighed in disappointment.

Meanwhile, Yabao walked to the lake’s edge.

He peered at his reflection, his once-fluffy fur now patchy and falling away, some parts completely bald.

“Yap…”

Even though he’d braced himself, seeing his reflection made his heart tremble.

Lubao hopped out of Qiao Sang’s backpack.

She opened her mouth, and a wave of freezing air spread out. The lake instantly froze solid, the reflection vanishing beneath the ice.

“Lu Di.”

Lubao spoke softly, telling Yabao that

this baldness was proof of his courage, a medal of honor.

If he disliked it, he could grow it back after evolution. But for now, it showed what he’d sacrificed to protect his master.

Then, she added seriously:

So evolve faster. I still want a rematch.

Yabao stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded hard.

“Yap!”

He understood.

“Let’s go again.” Qiao Sang said to Little Treasure.

“Xun xun!”

He nodded, eyes glowing blue once more.

Qiao Sang closed her eyes.

First try, success again.

Mikayla blinked in disbelief.

A human who succeeded at Empathic Positioning on her first try…

She was both amazed and numb.

Even if the pet beast’s Spatial Shift had reached Ultimate-level, Empathic Positioning was never that easy. Usually, it took several attempts. For her, it had certainly taken more than one.

A 3D map unfolded in Qiao Sang’s mind again but this time, a few more areas appeared.

“Shift west.” She said, spotting faint red flashes.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure complied.

“Keep going… a bit more… zoom in, stop!”

The image focused sharply.

Between two massive cliffs lay a deep canyon, its rocky walls glowing red, as if flames burned below.

That scene

… made Qiao Sang’s heart race.

It wasn’t identical but it was eerily similar to the site of Yabao’s evolution.

Could it be...that the place where Yabao was destined to evolve was right beneath this canyon?