The Art of Beast Taming

After a minute, her mother's voice was slightly louder than usual, but her facial expression remained calm. "I'm going to the restroom," she said.

The staff member directed her, "Take a left up ahead and then turn right."

Her mother nodded and walked to the right.

"Ma'am, it's to the left," the staff member reminded her.

Her mother's figure stiffened for a moment, then she pretended as if nothing had happened and turned towards the left.

This made Qiao Sang feel both amused and exasperated. She controlled the upward curve of her mouth.

Mom, your image of being a strong and independent woman just crumbled.

She turned her head to look at the fire dogs, shifting her focus back to them.

Qiao Sang noticed that the fire dogs were energetic and constantly moving around. Not a single one of them stayed still and quiet.

It made sense why the new beast tamers preferred the likes of Little Fatty Dove and the others...

Unable to resist, Qiao Sang asked, "Are there any fire dogs with a calmer temperament?"

The staff member replied tactfully, "Actually, we have many other types of beasts in our facility."

Qiao Sang understood instantly.

After all, her soul was that of an adult. Even without beast taming experience, she didn't think she would be helpless with a temperamental beast like a 15-year-old child.

In that case, she decided to ignore temperament and simply choose the fire dog that caught her eye.

"Can I take a look at that one?" she asked, pointing to the fire dog that had been repeatedly ramming into a tree with purposeful force.

Qiao Sang believed that its target wasn't the tree but itself.

After all, who would mindlessly ram into a tree without a purpose?

"Of course," the staff member replied.

"Toot-toot!" She picked up the iron whistle hanging from her chest and emitted a sharp sound.

All the fire dogs stopped their actions and turned their attention to her, no longer causing any havoc.

A few of the fire dogs tilted their heads.

"Ya?"

Is it feeding time?

With no more flames obstructing her, the staff member walked into the fire dog area and picked up the selected fire dog.

"Ya?"

The fire dog blinked its bewildered eyes, and its flame-like ears twitched.

The fire dog was brought in front of Qiao Sang.

The fire dog was a small-sized canine beast, with fiery red fur adorned with several black stripes. It had a tuft of orange fur on top of its head.

The fire dog before her stood at a height of about 60 centimeters, noticeably smaller than the other fire dogs. It had a scar on its forehead from its recent collisions. With its moist, black irises, it stared at her, giving off an irresistible urge to be touched.

Rather than being fiery like the other fire dogs, it seemed to evoke a sense of pity.

In Qiao Sang's mind, she automatically imagined the bittersweet story of a weak fire dog being ostracized, having its food stolen, and suffering from malnutrition, all while desperately training to become stronger.

Its recent collision with the tree was probably an attempt to practice some special technique, like the Flame Charge or something.

The staff member introduced, "This fire dog is currently the youngest in our facility, less than a month old."

So, it wasn't weak; it was just young...

But being young had its advantages. Many beast tamers chose to establish a connection and rapport with their beasts when they were still in the egg stage, as it was often easier to foster a bond and understanding with the beast.

Qiao Sang had considered buying a young beast egg before, but she quickly dismissed the idea. After all, she was still attending school, and it would be impractical to bring an egg with her to school. It would attract too much attention and wouldn't be safe either.

If she kept it at home, her mother would be working and there would be no one to take care of it, which would make her uneasy.

Qiao Sang crouched down, reaching out to gently stroke the fire dog's head.

Qiao Sang squatted down and gently stroked the fire dog's head, feeling the softness of its fur. She was increasingly satisfied with her choice. She stared into the fire dog's eyes and smiled, "Would you like to come with me?"

The staff member's expression became somewhat strange. This fire dog had a difficult temperament. It took advantage of its young age, fearlessly engaging in fights with other fire dogs. The older fire dogs, knowing it had just been born and hadn't even developed its flame skill or sharpened its claws yet, indulged its antics. Sometimes they would even play along, pretending to be defeated, making it think it was invincible.

As a professional staff member, she had the discernment to understand what kind of beast the customer desired and their specific needs. It was evident that this girl wanted a fire dog with a calmer temperament. Should she give her a heads-up?

However, the facility didn't have any fire dogs with good temperaments. The staff member pondered for a moment, considering the commission she would receive for selling a fire dog and her son's need for a house in a good school district. Ultimately, she remained silent.

Leave? The fire dog naturally understood what that meant.

Should it leave?

Of course, it wanted to leave. There was no longer any competition for it here, and this human's touch felt comfortable...

It seemed it was time to find new opponents outside!

"Ya!"

The fire dog solemnly nodded and extended its soft paw.

Qiao Sang was slightly surprised but quickly reached out and shook its paw.

It went more smoothly than she had imagined...

And so, an agreement was reached between the human and the supernatural being.

...

The contract between humans and supernatural creatures was established through the power of the Beast Contract Codex. The Codex acted as a medium tightly connecting the two parties. Generally, for a contract to be successful, both parties needed to be willing.

However, there were cases where a contract could be formed after completely defeating a supernatural creature when it was unguarded. But such contracts had many hidden risks. Without sufficient intimacy, the beast could easily become disobedient. Only highly skilled beast trainers weren't worried about such situations.

As long as the beast trainer's brain domain was well-developed and the Beast Contract Codex was strong, the contract couldn't be terminated even if the beast suffered from recoil.

At that moment, Qiao Sang was aware of her connection to her own brain domain. The Beast Contract Codex in her brain domain remained still and silent. Although it was called the Beast Contract Codex, it was as thin as an envelope, containing only a blank page.

Qiao Sang had read in a book that when the Beast Contract Codex first awakened, it was white, and there was only one contract space inside. When the brain domain developed to 10%, the Codex would awaken to a gray color, and the contract space inside would increase to two.

Following the gesture she remembered from the Codex, Qiao Sang formed a seal in front of her. Soon, the Beast Contract Codex in her brain domain activated and slowly opened to its one and only page.

A white light gradually converged from all directions above the fire dog's head, forming a small circular constellation.

In fact, there was a simple way to discern a beast trainer's level. Whether it was contract formation or summoning, one could determine their level based on the color of the light that appeared on the beast. Just like the Beast Contract Codex, the color of the light emitted by the Codex determined the color of the constellation formed when summoning the beast.

However, this could only serve as a reference because even if the Beast Contract Codex awakened again for an ordinary person, without a corresponding powerful beast, they wouldn't be able to pass the beast trainer level assessment conducted by the Beast Union.

The light of the constellation covered the fire dog's head, and it curiously looked up at the constellation. It didn't resist.

(End of Chapter)