Chapter 288: Don't Worry, You Won't Bite the Dust

Walk through the front door? Liu Qijia froze, his brain short-circuiting for a moment.

The first thought that popped into his head was: What kind of skill could possibly let someone stroll right past Uncle Security under his very nose?!

Everyone knew the school gate was fitted with motion sensors — the moment anyone passed through, the security office would get an alert.

Even if Uncle Security happened to be in the bathroom and away from his post, the surveillance cameras, which rotated shifts every 24 hours, would catch it the instant it happened.

These were hard-won lessons paid for in blood and tears by countless freshmen!

Yet Qiao the Great had just uttered the words "walk through the front door" as casually as anything!

Truly worthy of being the legendary beast who taught a Treasure Seeker how to smash tiles!

Something countless freshmen couldn't pull off, and she handled it with effortless ease!

Liu Qijia lay sprawled on the ground, looking up at Qiao Sang, and for a moment her figure seemed to tower enormously in his eyes!

Just then, Xiang Chengfei asked Qiao Sang, "Is it really fine for you to go through the front gate?"

"It's fine, I'm a day student," Qiao Sang replied.

Liu Qijia: "……"

……

Hongjiang District, Libo Training Hall.

As a training hall specializing in combat-type pet beasts, it housed a large number of combat-type pet beasts and their beast tamers.

Unlike pet beasts of other attributes, combat-type pet beasts could train alongside their tamers.

In one room inside Libo Training Hall, a middle-aged man was doing a one-handed handstand, and beside him, a pet beast was performing the exact same move.

"Switch."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man naturally switched from his right hand to his left.

"Yan yan."

The pet beast beside him switched to its left hand in sync.

In a corner, a pet beast that was entirely earthy yellow, with a spike on top of its head and bandages wrapped around its wrists and ankles, tried to imitate the middle-aged man in the center of the room and do a handstand.

It first placed both hands on the ground, pressed its head against the floor, and very slowly pushed itself up into a handstand.

Once the two-handed handstand was steady, it slowly lifted its left hand.

Immediately after, it showed a pained expression.

The next second.

"Thud!"

It lost its balance and crashed straight to the ground.

"Jian…"

The bandage-wrapped pet beast wore a dejected expression.

The commotion caught the middle-aged man's attention.

"Jian Zhan kid, how did you get in here again? Didn't I tell you not to train anything for now and just rest properly for two days?" the middle-aged man said, maintaining his handstand as he looked at the bandage-wrapped pet beast.

"Yan yan." The pet beast still doing its handstand beside him nodded in agreement.

"Jian jian…"

Jian Zhan kid lowered its head, pressed its lips together, and looked utterly drained, as if lead weights were hanging from its body.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man ended his two-handed handstand, walked to the table by the wall, picked up a water cup, took a few sips, then said to Jian Zhan kid:

"Don't be so anxious. Injuries are something every combat-type pet beast goes through. You'll be fine this time."

"Jian…"

Jian Zhan kid wasn't comforted. It hung its head, opened the door, and walked out.

"Yan yan…"

The pet beast still doing its one-handed handstand showed a worried expression.

"I know." The middle-aged man sighed. "It's a mental block. Its beast tamer needs to come pick it up."

Just then, a shrill phone ringtone pierced the air.

The middle-aged man grabbed his phone off the table. The caller ID read "Old Fang."

He pressed answer.

"Dad, it's me!"

……

"This is where my dad works." Liu Qijia pointed at a building with a "Libo Training Hall" sign and said, "My dad's usually here training pet beasts. At this hour he probably hasn't gone home yet."

Saying that, he lifted his leg and headed inside.

A beast tamer who specializes in raising combat-type pet beasts… Qiao Sang thought back to what Zhang Shuzhou had said when introducing Liu Qijia's dad, as she followed behind.

At that moment, the little Treasure Seeker sitting on Qiao Sang's head suddenly twitched its nose, as if catching a delicious scent. Its face took on a look of Tao Zui, and it drifted unconsciously toward a certain spot.

Liu Qijia had just stepped into the training hall and barely taken a few steps when a burly uncle approached and greeted him:

"If it isn't Old Liu's kid! What brings you here? Don't you have school today?"

Liu Qijia answered without batting an eye: "Evening self-study is off. I brought my classmate to find my dad about something. Uncle Fang, where's my dad?"

Uncle Fang didn't answer, but asked instead: "Your classmate? Where's your classmate?"

Liu Qijia froze, turned his head to look both ways, then went blank.

Where did Qiao the Great go?!

"Give your dad a call first," Uncle Fang suddenly answered the earlier question. "He is here, but I don't know which room exactly."

……

Elsewhere, Qiao Sang followed behind the little Treasure Seeker, calling out: "Where are you going!"

She was a bit dumbfounded — what was wrong with Little Xunbao?

Why did it suddenly drift off?

"Xun…"

Little Xunbao sniffed the air as it drifted in a certain direction.

Before long, it stopped by a corner of a wall.

"Xunxun!"

Little Xunbao excitedly pointed at the pet beast practicing a handstand in the corner.

This guy smells so good! Want to suck it in!

Qiao Sang was stunned at first, then suddenly realized, and looked in shock at the pet beast doing a handstand in the corner.

Is this Sharp Fighter Kid about to kick the bucket?!

Qiao Sang recognized the pet beast before her at first glance.

Sharp Fighter Kid, a beginner Fighting-type pet beast, fights by spinning like a top; when it spins at high speed, the spikes on its head let it drill straight into the ground.

Its vitality is extremely tenacious — it can live in any regional environment.

By all rights, a Sharp Fighter Kid should at least be able to evolve into an intermediate pet beast; it shouldn't be on the verge of dying at such a young age… Qiao Sang thought to herself.

But the moment she heard Little Xunbao say that, the first thing she thought of was the old lady and her Ghost-Sucking Lantern she had run into during her very first mission.

Back then, Little Xunbao had been the same way — wanting to suck.

What had attracted Little Xunbao back then was death energy.

Just as Qiao Sang's thoughts were running wild, the Sharp Fighter Kid doing a two-handed handstand before her slowly lifted its left hand, trying to support itself on just its right.

But its right hand wobbled and couldn't hold up for even two seconds.

"Bang!"

The Sharp Fighter Kid fell down.

That single fall confirmed Qiao Sang's suspicion on the spot.

One had to remember, the Sharp Fighter Kid was a Fighting-type pet beast.

For a Fighting-type pet beast, doing handstands and the like was simply routine — how could it possibly fail to last even two seconds?

For a moment, the look Qiao Sang gave the Sharp Fighter Kid was extraordinarily complicated.

This one was still just a child!

"Jianjian…" Seeing itself fail again, the Sharp Fighter Kid drooped its head and showed a thoroughly disheartened expression.

Just then, it heard a human voice.

"Lubao, give it a Healing Light."

"Lu."

Before the Sharp Fighter Kid could react, a strong blue light shone on it.

"Jianjian?"

The Sharp Fighter Kid froze for a moment, then felt warm all over its body.

It felt like something about itself was a little different.

After the blue light faded, the human who had just spoken stood before it and said, "Don't worry, you're not going to die."

Sharp Fighter Kid: "???"

PS: I went out to pay New Year's visits today, so I'm late.

Also, a huge thank-you to Wide-Brimmed Top Hat for the Alliance Leader! Once the New Year is over, I will absolutely arrange extra chapters for you!